"Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we
are not ignorant of his devices." 2 Corinthians 2:11
Satan knows that if he would present sin in its own nature
and dress, the soul would rather fly from it than yield to it;
and therefore he presents it unto us, not in its own proper
colors—but painted and gilded over with the name and
show of virtue, that we may the more easily be overcome
by it, and take the more pleasure in committing of it.
Consider that sin is never a whit the less filthy, vile, and
abominable—by its being colored and painted with virtue's
colors. A poisonous pill is never a whit the less poisonous
because it is gilded over with gold; nor a wolf is never a
whit the less a wolf because he has put on a sheep's skin;
nor the devil is never a whit the less a devil because he
appears sometimes like an angel of light. So neither is sin
any whit the less filthy and abominable by its being painted
over with virtue's colors.
The most dangerous vermin is too often to be found under
the fairest and sweetest flowers; the fairest glove is often
drawn over the foulest hand; and the richest robes are
often put upon the filthiest bodies. So are the fairest and
sweetest names upon the greatest and the most horrible
vices and errors that be in 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.