Thomas Brooks

“ Sixthly, You cannot be thankful for any thing that God giveth you when you fear you have no good success.
Oh! how happy are we Christians if we did but know, if knowing would enjoy our happiness, we are cared for in every thing we need, and can be good for us; we may live without taking thought or care in anything; our work is only to study and endeavour how to please God, walking before him in sincerity, and with a perfect heart ”

“ God is all-sufficient; if we shall wisely and diligently do our work, we need not fear our wages; having so bountiful a Master and Father as God is, we need not be careful for our maintenance here in minority and non-age, nor for an inheritance when we come to full age: Thus we might live a heaven upon earth, and not only when we have means, but when we have no means, for God is above and more than all means to all his that rely sincerely upon him. ”

“ The Lord gives us wisdom to fear him, that can raise fears and terrors in our hearts, that can set thy affrighted conscience against thee, and can bring more misery out of thy own bosom than all the world besides. ’Tis more dangerous to have God against us, than all the men in the world.
From hence we learn, that all the riches in the world cometh out of the treasure of God’s all-sufficiency, therefore, if thou wouldst be rich, get God to be thy portion; know this, that all the riches in the world are nothing without God ”

“ Let us not only depend upon God in flight troubles, but even in our greatest afflictions; let us not murmur in troubles, saying, "What a burden do I bear, no man is so troubled as I am;" but be it never so grevious, tiresome, and as weighty as a mountain to carry, yet cast thy care and cross on the Lord, and he will support thee ”

“ I shall shew you several reasons why you should not care eagerly and inordinately for things. First, Inform thyself thoroughly, that all earthly things are of little worth, fading and withering away like grass; it is extreme folly for us to set our hearts and minds upon that which are little worth, as riches are, that God gives rather to his enemies than to his friends. ”

“ Much less had men better say, There is no God, than to say, God is unfaithful. Men commonly say and unsay that which they have said, but so will not God: Joshua charges the children of Israel to shew but in one thing, that God failed them in the good things that he had promised them. If God in his faithfulness afflict his People to make good his threatenings, oh! ”

“ Not only in regard of our souls, but in regard of our bodies; also in all things live, walk, and do every thing by faith, without faith we cannot please God, nor walk evenly before him. Grounds to know whether God will bless us in our calling, and spiritual way to thrive, and live without care.
FIRST, to think if you be not provident and diligent in your calling, and if God do not bless your diligence, you may do the work of your calling in vain, and that you may look for bad success ”

“ First, From the desire of happiness; every man naturally desires happiness. If there be any evil that lies upon him that is not removed, or any good that he desires and wants, and doth not enjoy, his heart cannot rest, and if he find not all-sufficiency in God, he will be ready to step aside from God.
Secondly, In every sin there is a turning aside from God to the creature; now it is certain, if a man did find an all-sufficiency in God, he would not go from him, nor seek to the creature. ”

“ God is a God of pity and compassion to all his, see Psal ciii 13. "Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear him." You know there is a great love, pity, and compassion of a tender father towards his child, much more in God to his children. ”

“ Not, my friends, that we should be idle; he that doth not labour, must not eat; we must use means that God hath appointed, and those we are to use, and no other than God hath appointed, without distracting cares about the success. ”

“ Again, it is for want of faith, that causes us to distrust God when it is low with us, as to all things of this world; therefore, labour to get faith, and exercise faith; the use of faith is one of the notalest means to keep the soul from being over-charged with care; act faith in the wisdom and providence of God. Faith quiets the heart in want of any thing, by making it sure and present, Heb. ”

“ A second sort of men are such as come in and perform many things, and bring forth some fruit, and become professors of the fear of God; and yet they do it not thoroughly but by halves, and the cause of their doing so is, that they cannot apprehend God to be all-sufficient. ”

“ Again, in the third place, be diligent in the calling that God hath placed you, let there be truth, plainness and equity in your dealings with men; circumvent nor defraud no man, make not your gain the scale and measure to trade by. ”

“ Secondly, Immoderate care for earthly things is exceeding hurtful, it breatheth many hurtful lusts, which draw men into perdition, it hindereth growth of heavenly and spiritual things; it will cause a man to err from the faith 2 Tim. vi 10. He whose cares are too much about the earth, his care will be too little for heaven. Next consider, why we must not care at all about the success of our lawful endeavours any more than to commend them to God. ”

“ But, Thirdly, Inordinate cares are a dishonour and reproach to the mercy and bounty of God; they proclaim God a hard Master and not so free, and noble and generous a Spirit as the scripture and many thousands speak him to be. ”

“ Hope in the Lord; be strong, and he shall comfort thine heart, and trust in the Lord Psalm xxxvii. 3, 25. "Trust in the Lord and do good, so thou shall dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed. ”

“ Having shewed you how God is a present help and support to his people in all afflictions and trials, we shall further prove these truths by God’s all-sufficiency and the creature’s insufficiency, from Gen. ”