A77976:487
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.
Corollaries and Consequences from all the former Particulars. › Chapter 48
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.
The Fifth Corollary.] It is worse to be given up to one sin, than to be actually possessed by the Devil.
Fifthly, Shall I say further (and this will make it plainly appear what abundance of […] •ere •s i• Sin, more than in Affliction: for though •oken abundance of it, yet all this […] draw the Point higher and higher, and •ve the nail deeper and deeper, that this Truth of God might settle upon your spirits; and therefore a Fifth is this, which follows from this reference sin hath to the Devil) That it is worse to be given up to any one Sin, than to be actually possessed by the Devil, than for the Devil to come and actually possess us as those poor Creatures were in the Gospel; and this is worse than to be given up to Satan: There is a spiritual possession of Satan, as in Judas, and that is a spiritual possession of their hearts to rule them: but there is a temporal possession spoken of in the Gospel, and that is of their bodies, that the Devil possest them, and caused them to rage and foam at the mouth, and rend and tear: and the men we read of in the Gospel that lived among the graves and dead people, and cut themselves with knives and stones; this was a ⟨p. 380⟩grievous thing to see men thus possest. Many men have extraordinary fits of the Convulsion; and the like, and men think they be possessed; we ordinarily mistake, and it is but a mere fit of the Convulsion; but if we did know they were really possessed, we should be terrified: Oh such a friend, such a neighbour lived wickedly before, and now the Devil hath possessed him; we thought it a Disease till now, we thought it the Convulsion, but now we see it is from the Devils possession of them. Would you not endure any affliction in the world rather than God should say of you, the next oath you swear, when you open your mouths to swear, the Devil shall come in and take possession of your bodies; or the next evil language you speak, the Devil shall come in and possess you; this were a fearful thing, and you would take heed of this. But this I am to make good, That when you go on in sin, in any one sin, it is a greater evil than if never so many Devils possest you, if there should be Legions; as he said to Christ when he asked his name, he said, Legion, because we be many. It is not so great an evil if God should give up your bodies to be possessed by Legions of Devils; you will say, surely that is a great evil, but not so great as to be under the power of one sin. How will that appear you will say? Thus: