At death, you shall gain full freedom and liberty
from all your enemies within and without—namely,
sin, Satan, and the world!
Death will free you from the indwelling power of
sin. In this present world, sin plays the tyrant; but
in heaven there is no tyranny—but perfect felicity.
As in hell there is nothing but wickedness, so in
heaven there is nothing but holiness.
Death will free you from all provocations, temptations,
and suggestions to sin. You shall be above all Satan's
assaults. The old serpent is cast out, and shall be
forever kept out of the new Jerusalem above!
Death will free you from all the effects and consequences
of sin—namely, losses, crosses, sicknesses, diseases,
disgraces, sufferings, etc. When the cause is taken away,
the effect ceases. When the fountain of sin is dried up,
the streams of afflictions, of sufferings, must be dried up.
Sin and sorrow were born together, live together, and
shall die together. Death will free you from all bodily
infirmities and diseases.
Death will free you from all your sorrows, whether inward
or outward, whether for your own sins or the sins of others,
whether for your own sufferings or the sufferings of others.
Now, it may be, you are seldom without tears in your eyes,
or sorrow in your heart. Oh, but death will be the funeral
of all your sorrows! Death will wipe all tears from your
eyes, "and sorrow and mourning shall flee away!"
Dear friend, death shall do that for you, which all your
physicians could never do for you. It shall both instantly
and perfectly cure you of all sorts of weaknesses and
maladies, both inward and outward, of both your body
and your soul! O my dear friend, is it not better to die,
and be rid of all sin;
and be rid of all temptations;
and be rid of all sorts of miseries;
than to live, and still carry about with us our sins,
our sorrows, our burdens, and our constant ailments?
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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.