A77976:341
The Evil of Evils
The eighth book of Mr Jeremiah Burroughs. Being a treatise of the evil of evils, or the exceeding sinfulness of sin. Wherein is showed, 1 There is more evil in the least sin, than there is in the greatest affliction. 2 Sin is most opposite to God. 3 Sin is most opposite to mans good. 4 Sin is opposite to all good in general. 5 Sin is the poison, or evil of all other evils. 6 Sin hath a kind of infiniteness in it. 7 Sin makes a man conformable to the Devil. All these several heads are branched out into very many particulars. / Published by Thomas Goodwin, William Bridge, Sydrach Simpson, William Adderly, [double brace] William Greenhil, Philip Nigh, John Yates.The eighth book of Mr Jeremiah Burroughs. Being a treatise of the evil of evils, or the exceeding sinfulness of sin. Wherein is shewed, 1 There is more evil in the least sin, than there is in the greatest affliction. 2 Sin is most opposite to God. 3 Sin is most opposite to mans good. 4 Sin is opposite to all good in general. 5 Sin is the poyson, or evil of all other evils. 6 Sin hath a kind of infiniteness in it. 7 Sin makes a man conformable to the Devil. All these several heads are branched out into very many particulars. / Published by Thomas Goodwyn, William Bridge, Sydrach Sympson, William Adderly, [double brace] William Greenhil, Philip Nye, John Yates.
London: printed by Peter Cole, 1654
Title page typeset from the transcription.
Modern spelling is a reading aid: the words are the author’s, only the spelling is modernized. Original shows the page as printed, with the transcription marks.
Yea, to such a one all the ways of Gods Providence are full of terror; if there be any Judgment of God abroad, Oh the terror that this brings upon his foul. Brethren, Sin is committed quickly, you ⟨p. 274⟩have a temptation comes, and you fall upon the Sin and act it; the Sin, the act of it, is transient and quickly gone; the guilt that sticks to you. When a man or woman hath satisfied their Just in a sinful way, the guilt sticks behind: may be the time is gone for the pleasure of it; it was perhaps yesterday, or such a night or time thou haddest the pleasure of it, but now the sin is gone the pleasure of it, but the guilt sticks, and that abides upon thy Spirit to all eternity if thou look not to it. Nay, certainly it must stick upon the Spirit, it is not in the power of any Creature in heaven or in earth to deliver thee from it: yea the guilt so remains, that though thou feel it not now for the present, it may stick terribly many years after. But Affliction is terrible only for the present, not for afterward; but guilt and sin lays a foundation of Mis• for many years after. Nay, many times it is grievous painful to the Soul long after it is committed: as it was in Josephs Brethren, we read of them that they committed that great Sin against their Brother, and it troubled them not a great while; but twenty two years after when they were in an affliction, then the guilt of their sin comes a fresh, Oh then we sinned against our Brother; when they were in prison there: now it was twenty two years from the time they committed that sin to that time when they were in trouble there. So you that have committed sin and think some slight sorrow may wash it away, know the guilt may abide upon your spirits perhaps twenty, may be forty years after. ⟨p. 275⟩And you that are young take heed and know that sin is more evil than any affliction, for the sin that you commit when you are young in your Masters Families, the guilt may abide upon you, and youthful sins may prove ages terror. It may be with you as with a man that gets a bruise, when he is young he feels it not, but when he is old than it ach in his bones, and puts him to terrible pain many times; so many young people feel not sin when their blood is hot, but afterward, the guilt of sin abides upon them, and is the torment of their souls when their blood is cold.