"My purpose will stand, and I will do all that
I please." Isaiah 46:10
"The plans of the Lord stand firm forever, the
purposes of His heart through all generations."
Psalm 33:11
"Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the
Lord's purpose that prevails." Proverbs 19:21
God's eternal purpose never changes, never alters.
The immutability of God's purpose, springs from . . .
the unchangeableness of His essence,
the perfection of His wisdom,
the infiniteness of His goodness,
the absoluteness of His sovereignty,
the omnipotency of His power.
The gracious purpose of God is the fountain-head
of all our spiritual blessings. It is the foundational cause
of our effectual calling, justification, glorification. It
is the highest link in the golden chain of salvation.
What is the reason that one man is everlastingly saved
—and not another? It is from the eternal purpose of God.
The purpose of God is the sovereign cause of all that
eternal good which comes to man. All a believer's present
happiness, and all his future happiness—springs from the
eternal purpose of God.
"God, who has saved us and called us to a holy life—not
because of anything we have done, but because of His
own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ
Jesus before the beginning of time." 2 Timothy 1:8-9
"For He says to Moses, 'I will have mercy on whom I
have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I
have compassion.' It does not, therefore, depend on
man's desire or effort, but on God's mercy."
Romans 9:15-16
There is no man, no power, no devil, no violent temptation
—which shall ever be able to overturn those whom God has
chosen. "My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and
they follow Me. I give them eternal life, and they shall
never perish; no one can snatch them out of My hand.
My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all;
no one can snatch them out of My Father's hand."
John 10:27-29. (Also, Romans 8:35-39)
If the purpose of God was uncertain, a Christian could
never have a good day all his days; his whole life would
be filled up with tears, doubts, disputes, distractions,
etc. He would be still a-crying out, "Oh, I can never be
sure that God will be mine, or that Christ will be mine,
or that mercy will be mine, or that pardon of sin will be
mine, or that heaven will be mine! Oh, I can never be
sure that I shall escape the great damnation, the worm
which never dies, the fire which never goes out, or eternal
separation from the glorious presence of the Lord!"
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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.