God's Delight in the Progress of the Upright

by Thomas Brooks

Thomas Brooks was born in 1608. He entered Emmanuel College, Cambridge, in 1625, where such New England Puritans as Thomas Hooker, John Cotton, and Thomas Shepard were also educated, but he appears to have left before graduating. Brooks was ordained as a preacher of the gospel in 1640 and became a chaplain to the parliamentary fleet, serving for some years at sea. That ministry is mentioned in some of his “sea-devotions” as well as his statement: “I have been some years at sea and through grace I can say that I would not exchange my sea experiences for England’s riches.”

32 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 6, 2010

About the author

Little is known about Thomas Brooks as a man, other than can be ascertained from his many writings. Born, probably of well-to-do parents, in 1608, Brooks entered Emmanuel College, Cambridge, in 1625. He was licensed as a preacher of the gospel by 1640 at the latest. Before that date he seems to have spent a number of years at sea, probably as a chaplain with the fleet. After the Civil War, Brooks became minister at Thomas Apostle s, London, and was sufficiently renowned to be chosen as preacher before the House of Commons on 26 December, 1648. Three or four years later he moved to St Margaret s, Fish-street Hill, London, but encountered considerable opposition as he refused baptism and the Lord s Supper to those clearly unworthy of such privileges. The following years were filled with written as well as spoken ministry. In 1662 he fell victim to the notorious Act of Uniformity, but he appears to have remained in his parish and to have preached the Word as opportunity offered. Treatises continued to flow from his agile pen. In 1677 or 1678 he married for the second time, 'she spring-young, he winter-old'. Two years later he went home to his Lord.

Reviews

[ValeReads Kyriosity · Rating 1 out of 5]

The first narrator was aptly named Charles Manson, because he absolutely murdered the English language. A few examples: au-THOR-i-zed (four syllables) for authorized, god-lines (two syllables) for godliness, ap-ə-STAT-ə-zing for apostatizing. So little of Thomas Brooks is available in audio...I would rather this were unavailable than that anyone had unleashed this reader anywhere near a microphone.

How was the book? I hardly know. It's hard to comprehend anything being delivered with an icepick through the ear.

The other two selections (I can't recall now what they were, and whoever wrote the book description didn't bother to tell us) were more competently narrated, but by that time it was past midnight and I had run out of comprehension energy.

I'm sure the content deserves more stars, but the production was just offensively bad.