God loves to see the graces of His children in continual
exercise. All the glory which God has from us in this life,
is from the actings of our graces. Sleepy graces bring
God no glory—nor do us any good. There is little difference
—as to the comfort and sweet of grace—between sleepy
grace, and no grace at all.
The strongest creature, the lion; and the subtlest creature,
the serpent—if they are asleep, are as easily surprised and
destroyed as the weakest worm!
Just so, the strongest saints, if grace is not in exercise,
are as easily surprised and captivated by sin, Satan,
and the world—as the weakest saints are! O sirs! God,
by some severe providence or other, by some fiery
dispensation or other—will stir up your sleepy graces!
There are several cases wherein the graces in a Christian's
heart may seem to be hidden, cold, dead and covered over;
as sparks of fire are hidden in the ashes; or as bits of gold
are hidden in a dust heap, or as pearls may be hidden in
the mire. The sparks of divine grace, by the prevalency of
some strong corruption, or by the violence of some dreadful
temptation—may burn low, as to their lively operations. But
God, by one severe providence or another, by one fiery trial
or another—will blow that heavenly grace, that divine fire,
into a flame—and cause their hidden graces to revive!
By severe providences and fiery trials, God designs
the reviving, quickening, and recovering of our
decayed graces. By fiery trials, He will . . .
inflame that love which was ice-cold,
raise that faith which had fallen asleep,
quicken up those hopes which were languishing,
put life and spirit into those spiritual joys and
comforts which were withering and dying!
God, by fiery trials, will unfreeze the frozen graces
of His people, and put new life and spirit into them!
God may have burnt up your outward comforts,
so that He might lead you forth to live in a daily
exercise of grace . . .
upon Himself,
upon His power,
upon His all-sufficiency,
upon His goodness,
upon His faithfulness,
upon His fullness,
upon His graciousness,
upon His unchangeableness,
upon His promises.
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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.