"Turn to the Lord with weeping and with mourning."
Joel 2:12
The best way to be holy is to accuse, indict, arraign,
and condemn yourself for your unholiness. Greatly
lament and mourn over your own unholiness, over
your own wickedness. The first step to holiness, is
melting and mourning over a man's own unholiness.
Go to your closet, and fall down before the most
high and holy God, and mourn bitterly over . . .
the unholiness of your nature,
the unholiness of your heart,
the unholiness of your affections,
the unholiness of your intentions,
the unholiness of your resolutions,
the unholiness of your expressions,
the unholiness of your life.
Oh, who can look upon sin . . .
as an offence against a holy God,
as the breach of a holy law,
as the wounding and crucifying of a holy Savior,
as the grieving and saddening of a holy Sanctifier,
as an eternal loss and undoing of his own soul—
and not mourn over it?
Oh, who can cast a serious eye . . .
upon the nature of sin,
upon the exceeding sinfulness of sin,
upon the aggravations of sin—
and not have . . .
his heart humbled,
his soul grieved, and
his spirit melted for sin?
Oh, who can look upon sin as it strikes at . . .
the honor of God,
the name of God,
the being of God,
the glory of God,
the design of God—
and not have . . .
his mouth full of penitential confessions,
his eyes full of penitential tears, and
his heart full of penitential sorrow?
The Christian mourns that he has sinned against . . .
a God so great,
a God so gracious,
a God so bountiful,
a God so merciful.
Oh, how should a sinner fall a-weeping when he
looks upon the greatness of his wickedness and
his lack of holiness! As ever you would be holy,
mourn over your own unholiness.
Those who weep not for sin here—shall weep
out their eyes in hell hereafter. It is better to
weep bitterly for your sins on earth, than to
weep eternally for your folly in hell.
"Blessed are those who mourn, for they
will be comforted." Matthew 5:4
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.