"I hate vain thoughts." Psalm 119:113
The heart of a holy man rises against secret sins,
against such as lie furthest off from the eye of man.
What is more secret than vain thoughts? And yet
against these, the heart of a holy man rises.
Hezekiah humbled himself for "the pride of his heart."
Heart-sins lie most hidden and secret; and yet for
these, a holy man humbles himself.
A holy man knows that secret sins are sins—as well as
those which are open. He knows that secret sins must
be repented of—as well as others. He knows that God
takes notice of secret sins—as well as of open sins. He
knows that secret sins—like secret diseases and secret
wounds—do oftentimes prove most dangerous and
pernicious. He knows that secret sins are the price of
Christ's blood—as well as open sinnings. He knows that
secret sins are a grief to the Spirit—as well as those
which are manifest. Upon all which accounts—a holy
heart rises in a detestation of secret sins.
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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.