"As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants
for You, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.
When can I go and meet with God?" Psalm 42:1-2
The rattle without the breast, will not satisfy the child,
the house without the husband, will not satisfy the wife,
the cabinet without the jewel, will not satisfy the maiden,
nor will the world without Christ, satisfy the soul.
The hungry soul will not be put off with any bread but
with the bread of life; the thirsty soul will not be put off
with any water but with the wellsprings of life.
As the king of Sodom said once, "You take the goods,
give me the people," Gen. 14:21. Just so, says the hungry
soul, "You take the goods—take your honors, and riches,
and the favor of creatures, take the grain, the oil,
and the wine; give me Christ, give me the light of His
countenance, give me the joy of His Spirit, 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.