The Works of Jeremiah Burroughs 8, Title page – To the reader
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,
William Greenhil,
Philip Nye.
John Yates.
London, Printed by Peter Cole in Leaden-Hall, and are to be ſold at his Shop at the Sign of the Printing Preſs in Cornhil, neer the Royal Exchange. 1654.
MR Burroughs on the Evil of Sin.
A TESTIMONY TO THE WORLD, Concerning Several Books of MR Jeremiah Burroughs, that are Printing, and will ſhortly be Publiſhed.
WHAT we have by way of Preface ſet before the ſeveral Books already publiſhed of this Reverend Author, Mr. Jeremiah Burroughs, may ſufficiently ſerve for all that are come forth: So that we only need now, to give Letters Teſtimonial to the World, that theſe (viz. The Sermons on Job, 36. chapt. 21. verſe: The Second Epiſtle of Peter, the 1. chapter, the 1. verſe: The Firſt Epiſtle of John, the 3. chap. 3. verſe: The Second Epiſtle to the Corinthians, the 5. chapter, 7. verſe: Matthew, the 11. chapter, 28, 29, and 30. verſes: The Second Epiſtle to the Corinthians, the 5. chapter, the 18, 19, and 20. verſes, which are, or will ſhortly be Printed) We avouch likewiſe to be the painful and profitable Labors of the ſame Author, and publiſhed by the beſt and moſt Authentick Copies.
Thomas Goodwin,
William Greenbil,
William Bridge,
Sydrach Simpſon,
Philip Nye,
John Yates,
William Adderley.
To the Reader.
READER,
THE Creatures vanity and emptineſs, the abounding Sinfulneſs of Sin, and Chriſts All-ſufficiency and Fulneſs, and how to live the life of Faith in Chriſt, are Subjects containing the Sum and Subſtance of Religion, and much treated on promiſcuouſly amongſt Divines. And I think amongſt all the Treatiſes of this bleſſed man, Mr. Jeremiah Burroughs (now triumphing in glory above all ſin and ſorrow) which have been received with ſo much acceptation amongſt the Saints, there hath not been preſented to thy view a more Practical Piece than this now under thy hands: And though divers Divines have written and ſpoken much concerning this Subject, yet in my poor Judgment, this out-goes all of this Nature, that ever my eyes beheld, ſetting forth with life and ſpirit the Subject in hand, and bringing it down powerfully in a practical way to convince the Judgment, and work upon the affections of the weakeſt Reader. That which is the undoing of thoſe who think themſelves no ſmall Chriſtians, is reſting in a bare notion of the Creatures emptineſs, Sins filthineſs, Chriſts Fulneſs, and having ſome high towering ſpeculations concerning the Nature and Object of Faith: and to be able to diſcourſe of theſe things in company, and upon occaſion, is the Religion of the World, and more eſpecially of our Formal Profeſſors. Now the reality of theſe confeſt Principles are not made powerful upon the conſcience by the cleereſt natural aquired light in the World: but when the Lord is pleaſed to ſet home thoſe over-awing, ſoul ballaſting-thoughts of Eternity, then, and never till then, ſhall we live, act, and walk as a people who acknowledg theſe Principles of Chriſtianity to be true: Whilſt the things of Religion, and thoughts of Eternity lie ſwimming only in our Brains, they never conquer, command, and ſubdue the heart in a way of Practical Obedience. Many mens thoughts language, and lives are ſuch, that if they were certain there is no God, no Sin, no Hell, no wrath to be feared, no Grace to be minded and attained, no Judgment day when they muſt give an account, they could not be worſe than they are, nor do worſe than theydo; Oh the horrid Athieſm bound up in mens hearts, and they ſee it not, how elſe durſt men be ſo prophane in their lives under Goſpel light? how durſt they ſit ſo ſtupidly under the powerful awaking means of Grace? how elſe could ſuch vile thoughts be cheriſh'd, and ſuch curſed practiſes and principles maintained? how elſe durſt men chule ſin rather than affliction when they are brought into ſtreights? how otherwiſe are men more afraid of open ſhame than of ſecret ſins? In a word, how durſt men walk without God in the world, at leaſt without ſecret prayer and communing with their own hearts, dayes, weeks, months, years together? I am perſwaded more ſouls drop down to Hell in our dayes under the abuſe oſ Goſpel Light, than ever did in the groſs darkneſs of Popery; they then better improved their Talents according to the light afforded, and walked better and more ſutably to the light they receiv'd; wheras theſe Goſpel truths which now ſhines more fully and cleerly in the faces of ſo many thouſands, are not ſo much improved in a more circumſpect, holy, and humble walking, but rather abuſed to a more looſe and wanton carriage and cenſorious judging of one another, men ſinning the more becauſe grace ſo much abounds; how could the Saints then love and embrace with ſingleneſs of heart? but now the foundations of love are ſhaken, and a perverſe ſpirit is mingled amongſt us; Oh how heavily doth the wrath of God lie upon the Profeſſors of our Age for the abuſe of Goſpel light, and they feel it not; Gods Adminiſtrations in this latter Age of the World, being more ſubtil and Spiritual, and therefore more undiſcernable than in former Ages: Oh how many have we now adaies, who think they walk cleerly in the midſt of Goſpel Light, magnifying and exalting free Grace, triumphing in their Chriſtian liberty, looking upon others as kept in bondage, who come not up to their pitch and practice, and yet are no better than Solomons fools, who make a mock of ſin, being conceitedly ſet at liberty, but really ſin and Satans bond ſlaves: Certainly, till mens conſciences be made tender and fearful of the leaſt touches and appearances of evil, they have good cauſe to ſuſpect, not only the ſtrength, but the ſoundneſs of their hearts in Grace: Whilſt men are bold with ſin, and can put it off at an eaſie rate of ſorrow, let their attainments ſeem never ſo high in underſtanding the Myſteries of the Goſpel, they never yet knew truly what it is to exalt Chriſt and free Grace, for look in what meaſure we ſlight Sin, in the ſame meaſure we ſlight God himſelf in his Perſons and Attributes; And how can that great Goſpel Duty of walking humbly with God, be expreſſed? how can Chriſt be rightly lifted up and advanced in our ſouls without a right ſight and ſence of ſin? Never wil Chriſt be wonderful Chriſt, and Grace wonderful Grace, till ſin be wonderful ſin, and experimentally apprehended as out of meaſure ſinful; never till ſin be ſeen and ſorrowed for as the greateſt evil, wil Chriſt be ſeen and rejoyced in as the greateſt good; were we once throughly convinced of the infinite evil in ſin, as containing in it the Evil of all Evils (nothing being an evil indeed properly, but as it hath the bitter ingredient and curſed ſting of ſin in it) how would ſin be hated and ſhunned more than the moſt deadly poyſon, and feared more than the Devil, more than Hell it ſelf? ſeing nothing hath made and founded Hell but ſin, nor made the Devil ſuch a black feind but ſin; nay, nothing is ſo much a Hell, I mean a Torment, as ſin it ſelf; nothing binds the Creature in ſuch chains of miſery as when it is held in the cords of its own ſin, Prov. 5. 22. Men look upon ſin through falſe Mediums, and beleeve the reports and interpretations which the world and the fleſh gives of ſin, and thus are cheated to their own deſtruction: Could we but a little lay our Ears to Hell and hear the howlings and yellings of thoſe damned ſpirits aggravating ſin, we ſhould then have a true Comment upon the Subject in hand: Afflictions in this world now and then awaken the conſcience, reviving the ſight and ſence of ſin by ſome grievous pains; but one half hour in Hell, being ſeparated from the comfortable preſence of all good and bleſſed… will make the evil of ſin rightly underſtood. Certainly there's an evil in ſin beyond what the largeſt Created Underſtanding is able to fadam, ſin being one of thoſe things which can never be puniſhed enough, which appears in that all thoſe unſpeakable, unſufferable torments inflicted upon the damned through all Eternity, is but a continual paying this ſad debt, and giving ſatisfaction to Divine Juſtice for the wrong which ſin hath done, in regard Divine Juſtice ſhall not otherwiſe ſufficiently in time have taken it's due out of the ſinner. Now the Judg of all the world who is the Standard of Juſtice it ſelf, neither can, nor will do any wrong to his Creature in puniſhing it more than it's iniquity deſerves.
Reader, I ſhall ſay no more now, but beſeech the Lord to carry home theſe Truths by his Spirit into thy boſom, that there may be a Divine Impreſſion made upon thy heart in reading, ſutable to the Authors in preaching, and that thou mayeſt (out of love to Holineſs) ſo fear and hate ſin now, that thou mayeſt never ſuffer the vengeance of Eternal Fire (the wages of ſin) hereafter: Which is the unfeigned and earneſt deſire of
Thy Souls Well-wiſher in Chriſt Jeſus, John Yates.