"They delight in doing wrong and rejoice in the
perverseness of evil." Proverbs 2:14
Unsanctified people . . .
take pleasure in unrighteousness,
rejoice to do evil,
make a sport of sin,
delight to dishonor God,
damn their own immortal souls.
Holiness only debars men from the sinful
joys, delights, and pleasures of life.
What a mercy it is, to be taken off from that carnal
mirth which ends in mourning—and from those vain
delights which end in unspeakable torments—and from
that foolish jollity which leads to everlasting misery!
Ah, what folly and madness it is, for men to run the
hazard of losing the kingdom of heaven, and the
eternal pleasures which are at God's right hand—for
those short-lived pleasures which are like the early
dew which soon passes away! Ah, who would
endure an ocean of torture—for a drop of
sensual pleasure?
All sensual pleasures . . .
defile the soul,
debase the soul,
debauch the soul,
take off the heart from God,
deaden the heart towards God.
Sensual pleasures and delights cannot satisfy the
soul of man; they are but frothy and flashy. They
only wet the mouth—they never warm the heart.
Sensual pleasures seem substantial in the pursuit
—but are mere clouds in the enjoyment.
There is nothing in carnal delights, but imagination
and expectation. For they can neither fill the heart,
nor satisfy the heart.
O sirs, there is no real pleasure in sin! All the
pleasures of sin are counterfeit pleasures; they are
but the shapes and shadows of pleasure. They are
the seeds of future grief; they are but a pledge laid
down for sorrow or ruin. Certainly if there were the
least real delight in sin—hell could never be hell.
Yes, then it would follow that hell would be the
place of greatest pleasure—for doubtless hell
is the place of greatest sin.
Oh, don't deceive your own souls! There can be no real
joy in sensual pleasures. What real delight or pleasure
can there be in fooling and staggering in an ale-house
or tavern; in swaggering and swearing; in dicing and
carding; in dancing, partying, and whoring; in pursuing
after lying vanities? Surely none! As for those seeming
pleasures which attend the ways of sin—ah, how soon
do they vanish and leave a sting behind them!
Look! all the pleasures which manhood takes a person
off from—are babyish and toyish pleasures; such as from
delighting in a rattle, a doll, a feather, a hobby-horse, a
wooden sword, etc. Just so, all the pleasures and delights
which holiness takes a man off from—they are babyish
and foolish; yes, they are vile, dangerous, and devilish!
Holiness is only an exchange . . .
of sinful delights—for those which are holy;
of carnal delights—for those which are spiritual;
of earthly delights—for those which are heavenly.
He who delights in sensual pleasures shall find at
last—that his greatest pleasures will become his
bitterest pains!
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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.