"Men of the world, whose portion is in this life."
Psalm 17:14
Certainly, men . . .
whose hearts are worldly,
whose minds are worldly,
whose spirits are worldly,
whose desires are worldly,
whose hopes are worldly,
whose main ends are worldly—
have only the world for their portion; and what a
pitiful perishing portion is that! Such men . . .
choose the world as their portion, and
delight in the world as their portion, and
trust to the world as their portion, and
in straits run to the world as their portion, and
take contentment and satisfaction in the world
as their portion.
Doubtless that word was a thunderbolt to Dives—
"Remember that during your life you received your
good things, just as Lazarus received bad things; but
now he is comforted here, while you are in agony!"
Wicked men have their best here, their worst is to come.
They have their comforts here, their torments are to come.
They have their joys here, their sorrows are to come.
They have their heaven here, their hell is to come.
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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.