The last conflicts and death of Mr. Thomas Peacock, bachelor of divinity, and fellow…The last conflicts and death of Mr. Thomas Peacock, batchelour of divinity, and fellow…

You are such, see therefore your comfort, he will 1. strengthen, 2. heal, 3. bind up, 4. bring again, and 5. seek you. You find your self a great debtor: the Lord hath pardoned: only 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, Believe 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 pass? That failing did rather strengthen it. For whereas he gloried that if all should deny Christ, yet he would not: had he been asked, Doest thou promise this ⟨p. 35⟩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 carnal 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 weakness that they distrusted, yet of God that they prayed. I cannot pray. Here what St James saith, Is any man sick, &c. afflictions further prayer, but most sicknesses hinder: wherefore behold your friends, whose minds as the Lord hath stirred up to pray for you: so will ⟨p. 36⟩he also stir 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, sin lieth at the door, ready as it were to do him an ill turn: so his promised blessing doth as it were expect you. If your salvation were now in your own hands, it is likely you would yield 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. He (fearing the conclusion) said, Here is a snatching argument: nay rather, I will not suffer you, because you would trouble me. In the morning M. Dod came again to him, and asking him how he did, he answered, wretchedly, lamentably, abominably, no stamp of grace in me. Do you ⟨p. 37⟩desire to be eased? Infinitely. Oh if God would give me a drop: I was so foolish that I would always be doing something, but did nothing well.