A77976:392
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.
To that I answer three things.
Answ. 1. That at first when God doth begin to work upon the soul, God doth usually move us from self most; and these self grounds works most to take men and women off from the acts of their sin (from outward acts at least) and to stop them from the commission of sin and bring them to the means of grace; self motives God makes use of at first: but yet the work is not done till the soul goeth beyond these: it is good for men and women to abstain from sin upon any grounds; there is so much evil in sin, that upon any grounds men and women abstaining from sin, it is well, but only except it be such a ground, that the ground it self be a greater sin than the sin I abstain from. But yet the work is not done: Therefore
2. Know, That though when grace is come into the soul, God useth self arguments, and self motives to further the abstaining from sin (and it is Lawful to do so) yet self motives, and self arguments be not the chief and highest of all. But
3. That which I most pitch upon, and most fully answereth this Question is this; That if we did but know wherein our self good consists, which is certainly to live to God; our self good is in this, not only the glory of God, but our own good and happiness; our self good is in our living to God, that infinite first-Being of all things. Now if we understand this, I say, that thing which is our self good, we may make to be our highest aim in abstaining from sin, and in doing any good; that thing wch is our self good: