Venning's remains, or, Christ's school consisting of four classes of Christians, I. babes, II.…

Again, you may observe in them, that as the sight and sense of a particular sin did first awaken them, so it still startles them, and they think that scarce any other, or all the other are such a cloud between God and them as that one sin; and they scarce mind so much a general pardon, as the pardon of that one sin: Indeed they sometimes cry out in general, Wretch that I am! who shall deliver me from this body of death? But their most common complaint is of such particular sins; and of such in which Satan generally hath an hand; but as for the secret lurkings of lust, the stealings away of the heart from God, private correspondencies with ⟨p. 85⟩pride and worldly love, &c. these things (which are the great trials and exercises of grown Saints) are little taken notice of, or minded by the Babes.

Again, you may observe in them, that as the sight and sense of a particular sin did first awaken them, so it still startles them, and they think that scarce any other, or all the other are such a cloud between God and them as that one sin; and they scarce mind so much a general pardon, as the pardon of that one sin: Indeed they sometimes cry out in general, Wretch that I am! who shall deliver me from this body of death? But their most common complaint is of such particular sins; and of such in which Satan generally hath an hand; but as for the secret lurkings of lust, the stealings away of the heart from God, private correspondencies with ⟨p. 85⟩pride and worldly love, &c. these things (which are the great tryals and exercises of grown Saints) are little taken notice of, or minded by the Babes.

Where they do sorrow, 'tis true they do sorrow greatly, and sometimes like Rachel refuse to be comforted, and are in danger to be swallowed up with over much sorrow, i. e. with despair; of which there are these reasons, 1. Because they have a sense of sin but not of forgiveness, they are convinced of sin but not of righteousness: Now though the sense of a pardon do not take away all sorrow for sin, yet it takes away the excess of it, as also the legality, but this being not fully attained by Babes, they sorrow many times as men without hope: and this continues the more violent, because, 2. They find their corruption yet strong and unmortified: and because 'tis not done, they think it shall not be done, but they shall one day perish by the hand of Saul. The taste and tang of their former sins is (many times by Satan) kept fresh and strong, though they have repented, and therefore they fear and mourn desperately, but this sorrow needs sorrowing for, it being so drossy and mercenary, for they even think to make God amends this way, and to compound with God, so much sorrow for so much sin, without eying Jesus Christ (the Propitiation and the Advocate) as they ought. All this (beside the confirmation that is from experience of young converts) will be evinced by the story of the Prodigal,