"Yet they say to God—Leave us alone! We have no
desire to know Your ways." Job 21:14
Heaven would be a very hell to an unholy heart.
If now—the presence of God in His servants, and the
presence of God in His ordinances—is such a hell to
unholy souls; ah, what a hell would the presence of
God in heaven be—to unholy hearts!
It is true, an unholy heart may desire heaven—as
it is a place of freedom from troubles, afflictions,
oppressions, vexations, etc., and as it is a place of
peace, rest, ease, safety, etc. But this is the least
and lowest part of heaven.
To desire heaven as it is . . .
a place of purity,
a place of grace,
a place of holiness,
a place of enjoying God, etc.
—is above the reach of an unholy heart.
The company of heaven are all holy,
the employments of heaven are all holy,
the enjoyments of heaven are all holy—
therefore heaven would be a most undesirable
thing to unholy hearts.
An unholy heart is no way desirous nor ambitious
of such a heaven . . .
as will rid him of his darling sins,
as will make him conformable to a holy God,
as will everlastingly divorce him from his precious lusts,
as will link him forever to those gracious souls whom
he has scorned, despised, and persecuted in this world.
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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.