"As sorrowful, yet always rejoicing." 2 Corinthians 6:10
Godly sorrow is the parent of holy joy; a godly man's
mourning time is his most joyful time. Tears are the
breeders of spiritual joy. A holy man's heart is usually
fullest of joy—when his eyes are fullest of tears. The
bee gathers the best honey from the bitterest herbs.
Christ made the best wine from water; the best, the
purest, the strongest, and the sweetest joys—are made
from the purified waters of evangelical repentance.
Mourning for sin and holy joy are consistent in
one and the same heart. The same eye of faith which
drops tears of sorrow—also drops tears of joy. A clear
sight of free grace, of pardoning mercy, and of a
bleeding dying Savior—will fill the soul both with
sorrow and joy at the same time. A Christian always
joys most, and mourns most—when he is most under
the sense of divine love and mercy, the influences of
heaven, the hopes of glory, and the precious fillings
of the blessed Spirit.
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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.