Selected quad for the lemma: prayer_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
prayer_n	forgive_v	lord_n	trespass_n	3,485	5	11.3824	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A29132	The last conflicts and death of Mr. Thomas Peacock, batchelour of divinity, and fellow of Brasen-nose Colledge in Oxford published by E.B. from the copy of that famous divine Mr Robert Bolton, late minister of Broughton in Northhampton-shire.	Bolton, Robert, 1572-1631.; Bagshaw, Edward, 1629-1671.	1646 (1646)	Wing B414A; ESTC R34191	21,040	82

THE LAST CONFLICTS and DEATH OF Mr THOMAS PEACOCK Batchelour of Divinity and fellow of Brasen-nose Colledge in Oxford Published by E.B. from the Copy of that famous Divine Mr Robert Bolton late Minister of Broughton in North-hampton shire LONDON Printed by George Miller dwelling in Black-Fryers 1646. THE PREFACE TO the READER Christian Reader I Had not performed a trust had not I published this ensuing Narrative and I had not paid a debt which I doe and shall ever owe to the Publike had not I made it common Mr Bolton a man of precious memory and famous in his generation desired me upon his death-bed to publish such of his papers as I thought fit for the Presse which I have already done This copy being found amongst them though penned by another hand I durst not withhold being to my knowledge intended by him for the presse in memory of his familiar friend and spirituall father Mr Thomas Peacock who was a very Godly Minister of Christ and of rare example for humility and holines of life for a Religious care in educating his scholars and for exceeding charity to the bodies and souls of poor distressed Christians And yet this godly man that for piety had in him the root of an Oak when God cast him upon his bed of sicknes and suffered Satan to winnow him he was no more in his hands then a leaf tossed too and fro with the winde Gods dealings with him in these his last conflicts are of singular use in these present times in which the ends of the world and the dreggs of schisme and sinne are come upon us at once First for caution to the true servants of God to take heed of small sinnes for from the lesser sinnes and infirmities of Mr Peacock the Devil did thence take a rise to cast him into the most bitter spirituall desertion that we shall lightly read of under which he had sunk had not God wonderfully pat to his hand by making the issue of his afflictions more glorious and comfortable then the combate was grievous and terrible It was a memorable saying of Francis Spira which he spake to his mournfull children and friends beholding that sad spectacle of his finall despaire earnestly wishing them to take heed of committing the smallest sinnes against conscience By this means saith he I fell into greater sinnes till I came to deny the Gospel of Christ and after that to renounce it in writing and deliberately to subscribe to it with my hand though saith he I heard a voice in my conscience telling me Spira doe not subscribe it after which I thought I heard the voice of Christ whom I denyed before men to pronounce the sentence of death upon my soul and to exclude me from salvation And thus he dyed Secondly for confutation of sundry sorts in Religion in these unhappy dayes of Civill warre as naturally producing them as mud and filth doe toads and vermin Some there are that quite abrogate the Law which Christ came to fulfill and so make the gate of Heaven wider then ever our Saviour made it by admitting lawlesse persons into it Holy Bradford was of another minde who was wont to say that the gate of Heaven was so strait that he which halted could not enter into it and the way so narrow that he which reeled could not walk in it Others there are whe though they doe not wholly destroy the law yet they cast it into a dead sleep thinking it unlawfull in the children of God to be sorry or to mourn for sinne contrary to the Doctoine of the primitive Fathers teaching this lesson Semper doleat paeniten● de dolore gaudeat Let the penitent person alwaies mourn and rejoyce in that mourning agreeing with the rule of our Saviour Blessed are they that mourn for they shall be comforted Nay I lately heard it not without horrour that some men in outward appearance of great sanctity doe hold an opinion that it is a fault in godly men to pray for pardon of sin all sinnes being pardoned in Christ before they pray contrary to the prayer of our Saviour Forgive us our trespasses Neither Mr Peacock nor any of those godly Divines that came to comfort him knew this kinde of Doctrine neither we nor the Churches of God till within these few late unhappy dayes What will become of our reformed Religion streaming down to us in the blood of so many Martyrs if God by a miracle of mercy should not shorten these our miserable dayes For whiles some are taking from us the Ten Commandements others the Lords Prayer there is scarce any thing left us of Christianity but our Creed and how long we shall enjoy this the Lord in Heaven knowes For so long as the civill sword of warre devoures so much Protestants blood from without and a worse civill warre of sinne and separation destroyes so many Protestant souls from within we may justly feare that we shall either want sound Orthodox Protestants to maintain it or we shall want a Creed for them to maintain I shall for conclusion desire that Reader into whose hands this ensuing discourse shall fall to observe three things concerning Mr Peacock a man whom I well knew and blesse God that ever I knew him 1. That the sorest and sharpest afflictions doe very often befall the dearest and choisest servants of God I mean not outward and temporall afflictions common to good and bad but inward and spirituall afflictions and the heaviest of these spirituall desertions whereby God withdrawes his glorious countenance from his children and Satan in liew thereof shews them his ugly visage thereby convincing a secure world That it is no easy matter to goe to Heaven and that the safest and surest way to it is to sayl by the gates of Hell If the righteous can scarcely be saved saith the Apostle where shall the wicked and sinner appear 2. That the deepest humiliations of Gods children doe usually determine in the highest consolations And hereby the wicked who like ravening wolves hunt after such opportunities doe misse of their prey and returne ashamed when they consider what end God hath made And thus it fell out with Mr Peacock here 3. Lastly Though a spirituall desertion be the highest affliction that befalls Gods childe yet it discovers in him the greatest sincerity of an upright heart For at such a time he is so farre from hiding his sinnes that he cares not what shame he puts upon himself so God may have glory For in a spirituall desertion though the soul of a Christian be extreamly distressed through the terrour of sinne yet at the same time hath it a true touch of grace though not of the comforts of it like iron touched with the Load-stone it stands directly Northward though with much trembling So doth the soul of a Christian stand directly Heaven-ward in this hellish agony and the absence of God and of his consolations is the cause of those bitter convulsion-fits in the soul

point at some things which your quick sight may sooner or better apprehend The Devils malicious policy was great toward him in that he assaulted him most strongly in that which might and ought to have been his greatest comfort Again I saw that the opinion of the Physician helps somewhat in bodily maladies or diseases whereas in that his estate his soul remained as it were uncapable of comfort from the souls Physician He much respected some few He dolefully poured out his soul in the bosome of a well willer on this manner I took upon me too proudly many things and being negligent performed nothing cursed be the day when I took Scholars If I had not taken them I had been happy with a great flourish I was stirring many wayes and in the mean space left the essence of my calling teaching Scholars What saith the other what shall I now doe when I see you thus tossed Well for I was an Hypocrite and now therefore there is no hope of comfort for me in Gods presence I have no sense of it The sunne is in the firmament though it may be hid in a cloud This comparison agreeth not to me What then would you counsell me to doe Abide within the bounds of your calling take not too much on you and the Lord will blesse you Will it avail me to hear sermons Yes if you mean to be saved What good shall I reap thence Nothing from the bare hearing Oh this heavy lumpish fear hath oft-times shaken me and now it hath broken out Another said you know the poor in spirit are blessed I am not such You see you are empty of all good you feel your burthen I pray you goe your wayes He turned his head aside and stopped his eares what though you have done but little good if you have but given a cup of cold water c. He thrusted him away with his foot either as some thought being troubled with his shrill voice or as he replyed through the Devils subtilty That evening he was grievously afflicted Suddenly he brake out Oh if God! The standers by endeavoured to cherish this good motion and said to him He will give you grace I doubt it Then presently after he uttered this prayer Oh God give me a spark of grace and enlarge my heart that it may apprehend it He asked a friend how he might give satisfaction for some speeches Mr Dod although he departed on Saturday and had then an unseasonable journey yet being requested by letters returned on Tuesday following He at the first sight started up as desirous to meet him Oh Mr Dod and in friendly sort complained I have no grace I will not saith Mr Dod beleive every one that saith he hath grace nor every one that saith he hath none Answer the Devil as Christ did A man must not alwaies be led by sense Let us enquire by the effects and it may suffice if we can finde but one yea the least it is enough You forgive your enemies and love them and would doe them no hurt if you could Yes Then your sinnes are forgiven An Hypocrite may give alms and fast but this he cannot That is a small matter I think it to be a great one yea such an one that I had need to pray for That is put for a reason in the Lords Prayer and if Christ had thought any more forcible he would have given it Sir that is true but in those that are elected Doe not you put an exception where God hath not I would not handle you as I doe but that I know your estate I come hither to cherish you you love your good friends I cannot Had you rather that bad or good men should be with you Good Yet you say you doe not love them A sow will be with swine There is no fellowship between light and darknes Would you believe your self or the Physician touching the estate of your body The Physician Believe not your self then now you are sick yet shall be restored It is impossible Why so If you had sinned so much as you could you could not have sinned so much as Adam yet he is in Heaven It repented him Doth it not you No Doth your sicknes or sinne more trouble you or had you rather have grace or health Grace Well then But it cannot be God will wash you I have no water God will bring it with him He hath denyed it He hath offered it by his Ministers which are as the buckets to draw and pour it You must not look now that God should come to you himself Doe you think it a small favour of God that so many good friends come to you God did send none to comfort Cain or Ahithophel Think of that saying of Manoahs wife If the Lord would kill us he would not have shewed us all these things Iudg. 13.23 Behold the properties of Christs sheep They are 1. Weak 2. Sick 3. Broken 4. Driven away 5. Lost Ezek. 34.4 You are such see therefore your comfort he will 1. strengthen 2. heal 3. binde up 4. bring again and 5. seek you You finde your self a great debtor the Lord hath pardoned onely he looks that you should come to him for an acquittance This fight is not yours but the Lords 2 Chron. 20.20 put your trust in him If you ask me how may I it followeth Beleive his Prophets and you shall prosper You may remember that Christ did pray for Peter that his faith might not fail but it failed afterwards How came that to passe That failing did rather strengthen it For whereas he gloried that if al should deny Christ yet he would not had he been asked Doest thou promise this by thine own strength or by mine he must have answered Mine for otherwise he would have requested his help making him hereby to seek to Christ for the strengthening of his faith This happeneth to you because you credit the suggestion of carnall reason and not the word rather Oh the cunning of the adversary deal not with him by cunning but hold him to the Word seek for strength in God to resist him You may see the Apostles in the tempest it was from their weaknes that they distrusted yet of God that they prayed I cannot pray Here what St Iames saith Is any man sick c. afflictions further prayer but most sicknesses hinder wherefore behold your friends whose mindes as the Lord hath stirred up to pray for you so will he also stirre up himself to hear them Their prayers are yours yea you have the prayers of many which never knew you And as God said to Cain sinne lyeth at the door ready as it were to doe him an ill turne so his promised blessing doth as it were expect you If your salvation were now in your own hands it is likely you would yeild up all but your name is written in the heart of Christ Sir let me watch with you this night No Why because it would hurt you