Thomas Brooks’ description of his day in England is a description of our day in America. The days that we live in give us much to pray about, and many to pray for. I think it is easy for us (Christians) to separate ourselves from the injustice, wickedness, and immorality in our culture and just say under our breath: “I thank my God that I am not like that.” Those are the words from the religious leader who was rebuked and rejected by God (Luke 18:11).
I think of the prophet Daniel. His heart sought God and stood against ungodliness. Here was a man of character, the fear of God, and righteousness. Yet, when he prayed, he spoke in the third person. He did not separate himself from those who were rebellious and wicked (Daniel 9:3-8).
Daniel 9:5–6 (NKJV) “… we have sinned and committed iniquity, we have done wickedly and rebelled, even by departing from Your precepts and Your judgments. Neither have we heeded Your servants the prophets, who spoke in Your name to our kings and our princes, to our fathers and all the people of the land.”
Now consider the descriptive words and lesson of prayer from Thomas Brooks. Indeed, this life gives us ample reason to have a secret place to meet with the high and holy God.
Consider the times wherein we live call aloud for secret prayer.
Hell seems to be broke loose, and men turned into incarnate devils:1 land-destroying and soul-damning wickednesses walk up and down the streets with a whore’s forehead, without the least check or control: Jer. 3:3, ‘Thou hast a whore’s forehead, thou refusest to be ashamed;’ chap. 6:15, ‘Were they ashamed when they committed abomination? nay, they were not at all ashamed, neither could they blush.’ They had sinned away shame, instead of being ashamed of sin. Custom in sin had quite banished all sense of sin and all shame for sin, so that they would not suffer nature to draw her veil of blushing before their great abominations. They were like to Caligula, a wicked emperor, who used to say of himself, that he loved nothing better in himself than that he could not be ashamed. The same words are repeated in chap. 8:12. How applicable these scriptures are to the present time I will leave the prudent reader to judge.
Oh weep in secret for their sins who openly glory in their sins, which should be their greatest shame. Oh blush in secret for them that are past all blushing for their sins; for who knows but that the whole land may fare the better for the sakes of a few that are mourners in secret? But however it goes with the nation, such as mourn in secret for the abominations of the times, may be confident that when sweeping judgments shall come upon the land, the Lord will hide them in the secret chambers of his providence, he will set a secret mark of deliverance upon their foreheads that mourn in secret for the crying sins of the present day, as he did upon theirs in Ezek. 9:4–6.
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Brooks, T. (1866). The Complete Works of Thomas Brooks. (A. B. Grosart, Ed.) (Vol. 2, p. 194). Edinburgh; London; Dublin: James Nichol; James Nisbet and Co.; G. Herbert.
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