Precious faith considered in its nature, working, and growth

For mine own part, I conceive that such gross sins, being the plain merits of eternal wrath, do stab the Believer at the very heart, and leave an hellish sting upon the Conscience. They lie as a dog at the door, ready to tear out his throat, and do, as it were, thrust off his Soul from Christ and Grace. They very much weaken the habits of faith, and other graces, so that these languish and are ready to die. Such dismal effects as these made David roar all the day, and cry out of broken bones; and Peter go out and weep bitterly, judging and condemning himself for ⟨p. 223⟩his soul denial of Christ, [Greek or Hebrew], Mark 14.72. which we translate, he thought thereon and wept; but others render it, obvelavit see, he covered his head and wept: As a condemned Malefactor he veiled his face in the sense of that sin which deserved no less than eternal death. Such sins make Believers in their return to their Father, acknowledge, as the Prodigal did, that they are unworthy to be called the Sons of God. Nevertheless such gross sins of Believers are, as I take it, pardoned as soon as committed, even before actual faith and repentance renewed; I say before actual faith, for the habit of faith is still in the believer; I say, before repentance renewed afterwards, for the believer in the very commission of a known sin hath a kind of repentance; there is some renisus voluntatis; the regenerate part opposes it, the spirit lusteth against the flesh. Cum peccant, eâ tantùm parte quâ non sunt regeniti peccant, secundum verò interiorem partem nolunt, detestantur peccatum, ergò non plenâ voluntatate peccant: ¹thus Learned Zanchy. My grounds, why such gross sins of believers are pardoned before the subsequent acts of Faith and Repentance, are these:

For mine own part, I conceive that such gross sins, being the plain merits of eternal wrath, do stab the Believer at the very heart, and leave an hellish sting upon the Conscience. They lie as a dog at the door, ready to tear out his throat, and do, as it were, thrust off his Soul from Christ and Grace. They very much weaken the habits of faith, and other graces, so that these languish and are ready to die. Such dismal effects as these made David roar all the day, and cry out of broken bones; and Peter go out and weep bitterly, judging and condemning himself for