The last visitation

First, for caution to the true servants of God, to take heed of small sins; for from the lesser sins and infirmities of Mr Peacock, the Devil did thence take a rise to cast him into the most bitter spiritual desertion that we shall lightly read •f: under which he had sunk, had not God wonderfully put to his hand, by making the issue of his afflictions more glorious and comfortable, •hen the combat was grievous and terrible. It was a memorable saying of Francis Spira, which he spake to his mournful children and friends, beholding that sad spectacle of his small despair, earnestly wishing them to take heed of committing the smallest sins against conscience; By this means, saith he, I fell into greater sins, till I •ame to deny the Gospel of Christ, •nd after that to renounce it in •riting, and deliberately to subscribe ⟨image 4⟩[…] ⟨image 4⟩[…] ⟨image 5⟩[…] ⟨image 5⟩[…] ⟨image 6⟩to it with my hand, though (saith he) I hea•d a voice in my conscience telling me, Spira, do not subscribe it; after which I thought I heard the voice of Christ whom I denied before men, to pronounce the sentence of death upon my soul, and to exclude me from salvation. And thus he dyed.

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 •f: under which he had sunk, had not God wonderfully put to his hand, by making the issue of his afflictions more glorious and comfortable, •hen the combate was grievous and errible. It was a memorable sayng of Francis Spira, which he spake to his mournfull children and friends, beholding that sad spectale of his small despaire, earnestly wishing them to take heed of committing the smallest sinnes against onscience; By this means, saith he, I fell into greater sinnes, till I ame to deny the Gospel of Christ, nd after that to renounce it in riting, and deliberately to subscribe