O Sirs! in the grave it is all the same—to one who has had all,
and to another who has had none. What folly is it to lay up
goods for many years, when we cannot lay up one day for the
enjoyment of our goods! Christ, who never miscalled any, calls
him "fool!" who had much of the world under his hands—but
nothing of God or heaven in his heart.
All this whole world is not proportionable to the precious soul.
All the riches of the Indies cannot pacify conscience, nor secure
eternity, nor prevent death, nor bring you off victorious in the
day of judgment; and therefore be contented with a little.
All the good things of this world, are but cold comforts: they
cannot stretch to eternity, they will not go with us into the
eternal world; and therefore why should the lack of such
things either trouble our thoughts, or break our hearts?
The whole world is but . . .
a paradise for fools;
a beautiful but deceitful harlot;
a dreamed sweetness,
a very ocean of gall.
There is nothing to be found in it, which has not mutability
and uncertainty, vanity and vexation stamped upon it. And
therefore he cannot be truly happy who enjoys it; nor can he
be miserable who lacks it. And why then should not he be
contented, who has but a little of it? The greatest outward
happiness is but honeyed poison; and therefore do not mutter
or murmur because you have but little of the 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.