[7.] Seventhly, An hypocHte cannot mouivi for sin as sin, nor grieve for sin as sin, nor hate sin as sin, nor make head against sin as sin. Mark, to hate sin is not (1.) Merely to refrain from sin, for so Balaam did, even then when he was tempted to it. Num. xxii. (2.) To hate sin is not merely to confess sin, for so Pharaoh and Judas did, Exod. X. 16, Mat. xxvii. 4. (3.j To hate sin is not merely to be afraid to sin, for this may be where the hatred of sin is not. (4.) To hate sin is not merely to mourn because of the dreadful effects and fruits that sin may produce, for so Ahab did, and the Ninevites did, &c. He that fears sin for hell, fears not to sin but to burn, but he hates sin indeed whoso hates sin as hell itself,^ It was a saying of one of the ancients, that if hell and sin were before him, he would rather fall into hell than fall into sin.^ Here was a true hatred of sin indeed. An hypocrite may be troubled for sin, as it blots his name, and wounds his conscience, and brings a scourge, and destroys his soul, and shuts him out of heaven, and throws him to hell ; but he is never troubled for sin, he never mourns for sin, he never hates sin because it is contrary to the nature of God, the being of God, the law of God, the glory of God, the desion of God, or because of the evil that is in the nature of sin, or because of the defiling and polluting power of sin. True hatred of sin is universal; it is of the w^hole kind. He who hates a toad because it is a toad, hates every toad ; and he who hates a man because he is holy, hates every holy man ; and so he who hates sin because it is sin, hates every sin : Ps. cxix. 128, 'I hate every false way.' True hatred is ever against the whole kind of a thing.* Every sincere Christian hath in him a ge- neral hatred of every false way, and dares not allow himself in the least sin. ' What I do I allow not,' Rom. vii. 15 : Rom. xii. 9, ' Abhor that which is evil' The Greek word d'Troffrvyouvrn is very significant. The simple verb imports extreme detestation, which is aggravated by the composition.* The word signifies to hate evil as hell itself Though an hypocrite mav hate some sins, — ' Thou abhorrest idols,' Rom. ii. 22, — yet that is out of some peculiar and particular indisposition to a particular sin ; but this hatred of this or that particular sin, ariseth not from an inward nature
' 1 John i. 2 ; Mat. ii. 6 ; Heb. vii. 21, 26 ; Acts iii. 22 ; John xii. 46.
* Augustine. ^ Auselm. [Cur. Deus Homo ? as before. — G]
* T^os T« yifn . Arist, Rhet. lib. ii. ^ Chrysostom,
448 A CABINET OF JEWELS. [ChAP. IV.
or gracious principle, as it doth in him that is a sincere Christian ; and the reason is this, because that contrariety to sin which is in a real Christian arising from this inward gracious nature, is to the whole species or kind of sin, and is irreconcilable to any sin whatsoever. As contrarieties of nature are to the whole kind, as light is contrary to all darkness, and fire to all water ; so this contrariety to sin arising from the inward man, is universal to all sin.^ Tliough a sincere Christian has not a universal victory over all sin, yet there is in him a universal contrariety to all sin. Victory argues strength, contrariety argues nature. Hence it is that an hypocrite may hate one sin and love an- other, because there is not a gracious nature in him which would be contrary to all. The inward nature of a Christian is to be judged by the universal contrariety of his inward man to all sin. Now this uni- versal contrariety to all sin will beget a universal conflict with all sin. O sirs ! remember this : universal contrariety to sin can be found in no man but he that is sincere ; and this universal contrariety to sin argues an inward nature of grace, and this is that which differences a real Christian from an hypocrite, who may oppose some sins out of other principles and reasons. An hypocrite may be angry with this sin and that, which brings the smarting rod, and wounds his conscience, and disturbs his peace, and embitters his mercies, and strangles his com- forts, and that lays him open to wrath, and that brings him even to the gates of hell, but he can never hate sin as sin. An hypocrite, he hates some sins but likes others, he loathes some but loves others, he opposes some but practises others, like the angel of the church of Eph-esus, that hated the deeds of the Nicolaitans, but loved lukewarmness. Many men detest theft that love covetousness, abhor whoredom that like irreligious- ness, &c., Kev. ii. 5, 6. There is no hypocrite under heaven that can truly say, I hate every false way ; but a sincere Christian he hates aU sinful ways, but his own first and most. An upright h-eart leaves no nest-egg for Satan to sit on, but the hypocrite always does. Mark, in true hatred there are six things observable :
(1.) First, Ttnie hatred includes an extreme detestation. Every dislike is not hatred, but true hatred is an extreme loathing : ' Thou shalt cast them away as a menstruous cloth ; thou shalt say unto it, Get thee hence,' Isa. xxx. 22 ; 'In that day a man shall cast his idols of silver, and his idols of gold, which they made each one for himself to wor.ship, to the moles and to the bats,' chap. ii. 20. Their detestatioa should be so great that they should cast their most costly idols of silver and gold to the most dark, nasty, dusty corners. To testify the sincerity of their conversion to God, they should hate and abhor, abandon and abolish, their gold and silver idols which they valued above all others.
(2.) Secondly, True hatred includes earnest separation. He that hates his sin would fain be separated from his sin ; ' For we that are in this tabernacle do groan being burdened,' 2 Cor. v. 4. A sincere Chris- tian finds no burden to lie so heavy and weighty upon liis spirit as sin, and therefore he groans to be delivered from it. In the law, he that hated his wife did sue out a bill of divorce from her, Deut. xxiv. 3. He
* Doctor Sibbe3, in his ' Soul's Conflict,' makes the hatred of sin the surest and never failing character of a good soul, page 340.— [Works, vol. i. page 236, aeq. — O.]
Chap. IV.] a cabinet of jewels. 449
that truly hates sin, puts in many a bill into the court of heaven that he may be for ever divorced from his sin.
(3.) Thirdly, Ti^ue hatred includes an irreconcilable alienation. He that hates sin has his heart for ever alienated from sin ; he who hates sin can never be one with sin. Two angry men may be made friends ; but if two men hate each other, all friendship is everlastingly broken betwixt them. A man may be angry with sin, and yet made friends with sin again ; but if once he comes to hate his sin, then all friendship with sin is everlastingly broken. When Christ and the soul comes to be really one, then sin and the soul comes to be everlastingly two, &c.^