by Thomas Brooks
in epub, .mobi & .pdf formats
Step inside the spiritual treasury of one of the Puritan era’s most penetrating pastors—Thomas Brooks—as he opens A Cabinet of Jewels, a rich storehouse of soul-searching truths and comforting evidences for believers seeking assurance of eternal life. In this masterful work, Brooks answers with pastoral compassion and theological precision the great question that haunts every honest Christian: What am I worth for eternity?
Written “to show what men are worth for eternity, and how ’tis like to go with them in another world,” this book is no shallow manual of religious behavior. It is an intense and searching exposé of the heart, laced with biblical clarity, experiential insight, and Christ-centered hope. Brooks calls the reader to solemn self-examination—not as an end in itself, but as a means to deepen communion with Christ, anchor assurance in grace, and elevate the soul above every carnal confidence and false hope.
With divine precision, Brooks lays out:
Eighteen spiritual maxims for determining one’s true interest in Christ;
Unmistakable evidences of saving grace that distinguish the sincere believer from the hypocrite;
A searing analysis of the limits of hypocrisy—what the counterfeit Christian cannot do;
Evangelical repentance as the pathway to life, exposing superficial sorrow for sin that falls short of true conversion;
Directions for sober self-use of one's evidences, urging believers to walk not in self-reliance but in continual dependence upon the blood and righteousness of Christ.
One of Brooks’ most potent themes is this: Sanctification is not the root of salvation, but it is the fruit and evidence of it. Thus, the weakest saint need not despair if they cannot scale the heights of assurance; for even the smallest spark of grace testifies to the Spirit’s indwelling presence. “Where there is any one grace in truth,” Brooks writes, “there is every grace in truth.”
But this is no book for the complacent or proud. It unmasks the hypocrite, silences the self-deceiver, and calls every professing Christian to stand before the mirror of God's Word and ask: Am I truly in Christ? Brooks’ style is both piercing and tender, frequently driving home the urgency of the matter by reminding us that death is never far off—“a hair, a stone, the prick of a pin” may send a man into eternity. It is, therefore, “the greatest wisdom under heaven to make sure work for another world.”
Brooks is a faithful physician of souls. He offers not only diagnostic tools but balm for the bruised reed—encouraging the doubting believer to rest not in emotional highs or spiritual achievements, but in the covenant of grace, the blood of Christ, and the testimony of the Spirit through the Word. He corrects both legalistic introspection and antinomian presumption, guiding the reader to examine themselves without taking their eyes off of Christ.
A Cabinet of Jewels is not a trinket box of religious clichés—it is a deep vault of soul-riching theology and practical godliness. It will challenge you, convict you, and comfort you—sometimes all in a single paragraph.
For the awakened soul seeking assurance, for the troubled saint fearing hypocrisy, and for the spiritual guide shepherding others—this is indispensable reading. Brooks writes with eternity in view, and those who read him well will find themselves drawn ever nearer to the God who is not only gracious, but just, and who delights to crown His saints with “jewels” of grace in this life and glory in the next.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
EPISTLE DEDICATORY
CHAPTER I. — Eighteen special Maxims for the clearing up of a man's interest in Christ
CHAPTER II. — Many choice, precious, and infallible evidences of true saving grace
CHAPTER III. — Sound, saving repentance, repentance unto life; that evangelical repentance that hath the precious promises of remission of sin and salvation running out unto it.
CHAPTER IV. — How far an hypocrite cannot go. What an hypocrite cannot do. What a hypocrite is not.
CHAPTER V. — Some propositions and directions, that so you may see what a sober use and improvement Christians ought to make of their evidences for heaven