Dwell much upon the sweet nature of grace.
Grace begets the greatest joy and sweetness in the
hearts of men, that possibly can be. Grace is a panoply
against all troubles—and a paradise of all pleasures.
Grace is compared to the sweetest things; to sweet spices,
to wine and milk. Grace is a sweet flower of paradise, a
spark of glory, etc. Grace is nourished and maintained by
that sweet word, which is sweeter than the honey or the
honey-comb, and by sweet union and communion with
the Father and the Son.
Grace is exercised about the sweetest objects, namely—
God, Christ, promises, and future glory.
Grace sweetens all your services and duties. Your best
religious performances are but stinking sacrifices—if they
are not attended with the exercise of grace. Grace is that
heavenly salt which makes all our services savory and
sweet in the nostrils of God.
Grace is of the greatest and sweetest use to the soul.
It is an anchor at sea, and a shield at land. Grace is a
staff to uphold the soul, and a sword to defend the soul.
Grace is bread to strengthen the soul, and wine to cheer
the soul. Grace is medicine to cure all diseases, and a
plaster to heal all wounds, and a cordial to strengthen
the soul under all faintings, etc. Grace is . . .
your eye to see for Christ,
your ear to hear for Christ,
your head to design for Christ,
your tongue to speak for Christ,
your hand to do for Christ, and
your feet to walk with Christ.
Grace makes men of the harshest, sourest, crabbedest
natures—to be of a sweet, lovely, amiable, pleasing temper.
Grace turns lions into lambs, wolves into sheep, monsters
into men, and men into angels—as you may see in Manasseh,
Paul, Mary Magdalene, Zaccheus, and others.
Yet sometimes grace, in a rugged unhewn nature, is like . . .
a gold ring on a leprous hand, or
a diamond set in iron, or
a jewel in a swine's snout, etc.
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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.