The Evil of Evils, first printed in 1654, consists of sixty-seven short chapters that expose sin and urge believers to choose affliction over sin. Burroughs organizes his material around seven major thoughts: (1) there is more evil in the least sin than in the greatest affliction; (2) sin and God are contrary to each other; (3) sin is directly against our good; (4) sin opposes all that is good; (5) sin is the evil of all other evils; (6) sin has infinite dimension and character; and (7) sin makes us comfortable with the devil. This treatise is invaluable for sensitizing our consciences to the “exceeding sinfulness of sin” (cf. Rom. 7:13).

Author  Jeremiah Burroughs (1599-1646) During his life, Jeremiah Burroughs was loved for his preaching and gentle spirit and was persecuted for his non-conformity to the Church of England. Forced to flee to Holland and Rotterdam for a time, he eventually returned to England and preached to congregations in Stepney and Cripplegate in London, two of the largest congregations in all of England.