Thomas Brooks

Thomas Brooks was born in 1608, probably in London, in a family of the Puritan stamp, though little is known of his early years. He was educated at Emmanuel College, Cambridge, which he entered in 1625. Emmanuel was the great Puritan college of England, and it shaped many of the men who would lead the Puritan cause. He did not take a degree, and he left the university to serve in the ministry. He was an able and warm-hearted young man, who had a talent for speech. During the English Civil War, in the 1640s, he served as a chaplain with the Parliamentary forces, both in the army and on a ship of the navy. He was in the thick of the fighting and saw the suffering of the soldiers and the sailors. It gave him a tender regard for those in distress.

In 1648, he became the minister of St. Thomas the Apostle's Church, in the City of London. In 1652, he moved to St. Margaret's, Fish Street Hill, near London Bridge, where he preached until 1662. He was one of the best known preachers of the city. He preached before the House of Commons several times. Crowds came to hear him, and his church was full. He was an Independent, which meant that he favored the self-government of local congregations, though he was not given to disputes about church order. He was known for his gentle and winning way. He had a rich imagination and used a wealth of images and similes. He was a man of great warmth, who often wept as he preached.

He wrote a number of books, which were printed in the 1650s and 1660s. His first great work was Precious Remedies Against Satan's Devices, published in 1652. It is a practical guide to the strategies of the devil. It sets out the various ways in which Satan tempts believers, such as by presenting the bait of sin without the hook, by making sin look small, and by urging us to put off repentance. For each device, it gives remedies from Scripture. It is a book of wisdom, which has been in print for more than three and a half centuries. Charles Spurgeon recommended it highly. In 1654, he published Heaven on Earth, a study of assurance, in which he argued that a believer may be sure of his salvation and that this assurance brings joy. In 1657, he wrote Apples of Gold for Young Men and Women. In 1659, he wrote The Mute Christian Under the Smarting Rod, a study of the Christian's duty to be silent under the hand of God in affliction. It is a book of comfort for the sufferer.

In 1662, the Act of Uniformity required every minister to give his full assent to the Book of Common Prayer. He could not, and he was ejected from his pulpit. He remained in London, where he continued to preach to a congregation of Independents who gathered in private homes and then in a meeting house in Moorfields. The years of persecution were hard. He was under the threat of fines and imprisonment, and he lived on the gifts of his friends.

In 1665, the Great Plague struck London. Thousands of people died each week, and the city was in terror. Many of the clergy fled. He stayed. He ministered to the sick and the dying, and he wrote a book of comfort for the afflicted, A Heavenly Cordial, which was published in 1665. In 1666, the Great Fire of London destroyed most of the city, including his church. He lost his home and his library. He preached on the ruins. In 1670, he published London's Lamentations, a work on the fire, in which he called the people to repent. In these years, he showed himself to be a man of courage and of compassion.

He was criticized for his style. Some thought that it was too ornate and that his books were too long. Some said that his piling up of similes was tiresome. He was also criticized for his lack of order in organization. His strength lay in his warmth and in his gift for the memorable phrase. He was a man who felt deeply and who had a great concern for souls. He also was a man who struggled with fear. He wrote that he had gone through periods of darkness. He bore with faith the loss of his wife and of several of his friends.

He died on September 27, 1680, in London, at the age of seventy-two. He was buried in the Nonconformist burying ground at Bunhill Fields. His books were widely read in the following centuries, and they were admired by Spurgeon, who said that he was a man of rich gifts. His life shows the effect of a chaplain who became a London pastor, and who stayed with his people in the plague and the fire. His works remain a source of help to those who face temptation and sorrow.