"Unto you therefore who believe, He is precious."
1 Peter 2:7
Christ is only precious to those who believe.
As Christ is the Father's chief jewel, so He is
your choicest jewel, is He not? Yes!
The true Christian prizes Christ . . .
above all duties,
above all privileges,
above all mercies,
above all graces,
above all contentments,
above all his enjoyments.
The true believer loves Christ for Christ; he
loves Christ for His personal excellencies.
What Alexander said of his two friends, is applicable
to many in our day; says he, "Haehestion loves me as
I am Alexander; but Craterus loves me as I am King
Alexander." One loved him for his person, the other
for the benefits he received from him.
So true Christians love Christ for His person,
for His personal excellency,
for His personal beauty,
for His personal glory.
They see those perfections of grace and holiness
in Christ, which render Him very lovely and desirable
in their eyes; though they should never get a kingdom,
nor a crown by it. But most of those who profess to
belong to Christ, do it only in respect of the benefits
they hope to receive from Him. When one asked Cato's
daughter why she would not marry again, she being
young when her husband died, answered, 'Because
she could not find a man that loved her more than
her goods.' Few there are, who love Christ more than
His benefits.
"I tell you the truth, you are looking for Me, not
because you saw miraculous signs but because
you ate the loaves and had your fill." John 6:26
It was Augustine's complaint of old, that 'scarcely any
love Christ, but for His benefits.' Few follow Him for love;
but many follow Him for loaves. Few follow Him for His
inward excellencies, many follow Him for their outward
advantages. Few follow him that they may be made
godly by him; but many follow him that they may
be great by him.
Certainly, you are the bosom friends of Christ, you are in
the very heart of Christ—who prize Christ above all. This is
a work too high and too hard, too great and too noble, for
all who are not true Christians, who are not twice born,
who are not of the blood-royal, who are not partakers
of the divine nature.
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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.