"Death has been swallowed up in victory!"
1 Corinthians 15:54
DEATH is an outlet and an inlet to a holy man.
Death is an eternal outlet . . .
to all sins,
to all sorrows,
to all shame,
to all sufferings,
to all afflictions,
to all temptations,
to all oppressions,
to all confusions, and
to all vexations.
Death is an eternal inlet into . . .
the clear, full, and constant enjoyment of God,
the sweetest pleasures,
the purest joys,
the highest delights,
the strongest comforts, and
the most satisfying contentments.
Death is the funeral of all a holy man's sins and miseries—and
the perfection of all his joys, graces, and spiritual excellencies.
Death is not the death of the man—but the death of his sin.
Death is a Christian's discharge from all trouble and misery!
Death came in by sin—and sin goes out by death.
Death cures all diseases—the aching head and the unbelieving
heart; the diseased body and the defiled soul. Death will cure
the holy man of all natural and spiritual distempers.
Death is God's gentle usher to conduct us to heaven.
Death to a holy man, is nothing but the changing of . . .
his grace—into glory,
his faith—into vision,
his hope—into fruition, and
his love—into eternal rapture!
Oh, who would not go through death . . .
to heaven!
to eternal life!
to immortality and glory!
Death, to a Christian, is . . .
a welcome guest,
a happy friend,
a joyful messenger!
"Death has been swallowed up in victory!" 1 Cor. 15:54
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Thomas Brooks (1608 - 1680)
Much of what is known about Thomas Brooks has been ascertained from his writings. Born, likely to well-to-do parents, in 1608, Brooks entered Emmanuel College, Cambridge in 1625, where he was preceded by such men as Thomas Hooker, John Cotton, and Thomas Shepard. He was licensed as a preacher of the Gospel by 1640. Before that date, he appears to have spent a number of years at sea, probably as a chaplain with the fleet.After the conclusion of the First English Civil War, Thomas Brooks became minister at Thomas Apostle's, London, and was sufficiently renowned to be chosen as preacher before the House of Commons on December 26, 1648. His sermon was afterwards published under the title, 'God's Delight in the Progress of the Upright', the text being Psalm 44:18: 'Our heart is not turned back, neither have our steps declined from Thy way'. Three or four years afterwards, he transferred to St. Margaret's, Fish-street Hill, London. In 1662, he fell victim to the notorious Act of Uniformity, but he appears to have remained in his parish and to have preached as opportunity arose. Treatises continued to flow from his pen.[3]
Thomas Brooks was a nonconformist preacher. Born into a Puritan family, he was sent to Emmanuel College, Cambridge. He soon became an advocate of the Congregational way and served as a chaplain in the Civil War. In 1648 he accepted the rectory of St. Margaret's, New Fish Street, London, but only after making his Congregational principles clear to the vestry.
On several occasions he preached before Parliament. He was ejected in 1660 and remained in London as a Nonconformist preacher. Government spies reported that he preached at Tower Wharf and in Moorfields. During the Great Plague and Great Fire he worked in London, and in 1672 was granted a license to preach in Lime Street. He wrote over a dozen books, most of which are devotional in character. He was buried in Bunhill Fields.