Look upon death as that which is best.
"Better is the day of death, than the day of one's
birth." Ecclesiastes 7:1
"I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is
better by far." Philippians 1:23
The Greek is very significant—"far, far the better!"
A saint's dying day is the daybreak of eternal glory!
In respect of pleasure, peace, safety, company and
glory—a believer's dying day is his best day.
Look upon death as a remedy, as a cure. Death
will perfectly cure you of all bodily and spiritual diseases
at once: the infirm body and the defiled soul, the aching
head and the unbelieving heart. Death will cure you of
all your ailments, aches, diseases, and distempers.
In Queen Mary's days, there was a lame Christian,
and a blind Christian—both burned at one stake.
The lame man, after he was chained, casting away
his crutch, bade the blind man to be of good cheer;
"For death," says he, "will cure us both; you of
your blindness, and me of my lameness!"
As death will cure all your bodily diseases, so it will
cure all your soul distempers also. Death is not the
death of the man—but the death of his sin! Death
will at once free you fully, perfectly, and perpetually
from all sin; yes, from all possibility of ever sinning!
Sin was the midwife which brought death into the
world—and death shall be the grave to bury sin.
Why, then, should a Christian be afraid to die,
unwilling to die—seeing death gives him an
eternal separation . . .
from infirmities and weaknesses,
from all aches and pains,
from griefs and gripings,
from distempers and diseases,
both of body and soul?
When Samson died, the Philistines died together with
him. Just so, when a saint dies, his sins die with him.
Death came in by sin, and sin goes out by death!
Death kills sin which bred it.
Look upon death as a rest, a full rest.
A believer's dying day is his resting day . . .
from sin,
from sorrow,
from afflictions,
from temptations,
from desertions,
from dissensions,
from vexations,
from oppositions,
from persecutions.
This world was never made to be the saints' rest.
Arise and depart, for this is not your resting place,
because it is polluted! (Micah 2:10)
Death brings the saints . . .
to a full rest,
to a pleasant rest,
to a matchless rest,
to an eternal rest!
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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.