A77976:465
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.
Fourthly, A Fourth thing is this, That Sin, it is a fulfilling of the will of the Devil: That is another distinct Consideration, and you shall see that in the opening of it, it will be of distinct use to you: I say, it is a fulfilling the will of the Devil; that place is very famous for that in the ⟨p. 364⟩2 Tim. 2. 26. That they may recover themselves out of the snare of the Devil, who are taken captive of him at his WILL: There wicked men be taken captive by the Devil at his Will, or to do his Will, so you may read it: some they be ensnared by Satan to do his will, his lusts you do, as Christ speaks: you may think you do your own will in sinning, but certainly you do the will of the Devil as well as your own: As for instance, that of passion and anger Ephes. 4. 26. Be angry, but sin not, let not the Sun go down upon your wrath; neither give place to the Devil: you think you give place to your own passion, but you give place to the Devil, and fulfil the will of the Devil: You come by sin to do the Devils drudgery and slavery; you do his work he sets you about, and his will you fulfil. Now for such a Noble Creature as Man is, to come to be a slave of the Devil, that is the lowest now of all Creatures; it must needs be a very dreadful thing; it is an evil to be in slavery to any thing vile or base. I remember I have read a Story of one Gunno, King of the Danes, that having overcome a People, he set a Dog over them to be their Governor; that is thus, he would have all Commands to go out under the name of the Dog, and they should be under the Government of the Dog; this he did in disdain and indignation against those people he overcame. But now, as he would show the baseness of that People that he designed to be under a Dog; much more debasement is it for an immortal Soul to be under the Command of the Devil, as all wicked men ⟨p. 365⟩are under the command of the Devil himself. Thou wilt not fulfil the will of God when it is opened to thee out of his Word and Will, what thou oughtest to do; thou standest out against the Will of God: But now you that think it such a bondage to be obedient to the will of God, you be brought under a worse bondage, you are fain to be obedient to the will of the Devil. And certainly those men and women that think they be at most liberty when they be free from obedience to the Will of God;