As the mercy of God is infinite towards the elect—
so the justice of God is infinite towards the reprobate
in hell. The reprobate shall have . . .
punishment without pity,
misery without mercy,
sorrow without support,
crying without compassion,
mischief without measure,
and torment without end!
All men in misery comfort themselves with
the hope of an ending to their misery.
The prisoner comforts himself with hope of a deliverance.
The mariner comforts himself with hope of a safe harbor.
The soldier comforts himself with hope of victory.
The slave comforts himself with hope of liberty.
But the impenitent sinner has no hope in hell!
He shall have . . .
death without death,
night without day,
mourning without mirth,
sorrow without solace,
bondage without liberty!
The damned shall live as long in hell,
as God Himself shall live in heaven!
Suppose, say some—that the whole world were turned
to a mountain of sand, and that a little bird should come
every thousandth year and carry away one grain of sand
from that heap. What an infinite number of years—not to
be numbered by all finite beings—would be spent and
expired before this supposed mountain would be fetched
away!
Now if a man should lie in everlasting burnings so long a
time as this—and then have an end of his woe—it would
administer some ease, refreshment, and comfort to him.
But when that immortal bird shall have carried away
this supposed mountain a thousand times over and over;
alas! alas! man shall be as far from the end of his anguish
and torment as ever he was! He shall be no nearer coming
out of hell, than he was the very first moment that he
entered into hell.
If the fire of hell were terminable, it might then
be tolerable; but being endless, it must needs be
easeless and remediless!
Be the first to react on this!
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.