Revelation 2:1-7 To the angel of the church of Ephesus write; These things said he that holds the seven stars in his right hand… Here are two things. 1. An exception from the former reproof, "But this thou hast." 2. A commendation, "that thou hatest the works of the Nicolaitunes. In the exception, note how careful the Spirit of God is, not to pass over any good in this Church, without due commendation.Reason: 1. He walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks, and exactly discerneth their works and describeth them. 2. Iniquity is not in Him to call good evil or evil good (Isaiah 32:5). He justifies not the ungodly nor condemns the innocent. 3. His pure eyes sever between the precious and the vile. He hath a fining pot, which tries gold from the dross; and a fan in His hand, which in the same floor severeth wheat and chaff.Use: 1. To teach us to imitate this goodness of God in acknowledging and encouraging good gifts and graces wherever they be. 2. Those sin against this example of Christ who (as flies follow festers) fasten upon the faults of men and are eloquent in disgracing their evils; some perhaps only pretended or conceived, but all that is praiseworthy they bury and traduce. 3. The ministers (the angels of the Churches) must imitate their Lord in writing to the angel of this Church, namely, so warily to touch upon the faults of professors, as not to throw down their profession or oppose all that is good in them. A wise husbandman will rather spare the weeds than hurt the corn. 4. Encourage good men in pursuing what is good; for, howsoever they may reap reproach among men, yet there is nothing commendable in them which shall want its due praise before God. 5. To keep us in humility. Sometimes we may be commended for many things, as was this Church, and yet be in great danger and near cutting off. Let us, therefore, take notice of these rules of wisdom. First, let no man content himself with some good things unless he separate from all evil, both in affection and actual endeavour. Secondly, content not thyself with the presence of some good things unless thou hast attained the best things and graces which only shall prevent this danger of casting off; such as are faith, love, repentance, humility, and the fear of God. Thirdly, content not thyself with many acts of goodness, but labour for sincerity, else many seemly and good things will prove unsound and unfruitful in the end. 6. Note the lively power of the Word of Christ. As His eyes are pure and sharp to discern between good and evil, so is His Word as piercing and descries in the soul and conscience that good or evil which other men, yea, the own heart itself, never takes notice of (Hebrews 4:12). Of the commendation that followeth, "Thou hatest the works of the Nicolaitanes." This commendation is for a work of the soul, for an affection, and that not such an affection as whereby they were carried unto good, but such an affection as whereby they were averted from gross evil. The good commended was this affection. Where observe the abundant patience and pity of the Lord, who for a poor affection, and that not unto good, but against evil, and that very weak and cold spareth this Church and removeth not her candlestick as she had deserved. The true commendation of a people or person is from true inward disposition and affection (1 Corinthians 4:5).Reason: 1. The just judge of all the world judgeth by the surest rule of trial, and approveth or reproveth from that which is within, and that which is hid from men's eyes. 2. The affections and desires are the feet which move the soul, and are most respected of God as being chiefly and principally commanded in the taw; all the duties of the first table, and all service and worship of our Creator being comprised under that one affection of love. 3. The chief matter of praise or dispraise, both in good and bad men, is the desire and affection, because, first, action without affection is but as a body without a soul, as a painted fire without heat, or the picture of a man without life. Secondly, God accepteth the affection more than the action, as in many kings of Israel, who did such and such good things, but the heart and soul and inward affections being wanting, they lost their commendation. Thirdly, for evil men: they are not so bad in action as in affection and desire; they have more evil in their hearts than in their hands. Fourthly, for good men: their goodness is not in perfection but in affection, and striving to perfection. And they have more goodness in their hearts than in their hands, as there is more water in the fountain than in the stream. 4. It is affections and desires that formally make a man good or bad, and lead him either to a final happy or unhappy estate. By all which arguments we have cleared the conclusion, that the true commendation of a people or person is from true inward disposition and affection.Use: 1. To discover the vain practice of many professors that engross knowledge and please themselves in speculation, contemplation, and place all their religion in hearing, reading, and adding to their knowledge; but look not to their affections or desires, to add or gain anything unto them, as if God's image consisted alone in knowledge and not in righteousness and holiness. 2. Hence we learn which is the most commendable ministry and most approved of God, namely, that which worketh most (not upon the understanding, but) upon the heart and affections, to warm the heart and make it burn within a man, as Christ's speech did the two disciples going to Emmaus. 3. To show who are the best hearers in our assemblies, namely, those that bring best desires and affections unto these sacred ordinances and exercises of religion. 4. If the Lord especially commendeth good affections, how unlike are they to the Lord, that pinch and reproach good affections, and are of that malignant quality that no good desire or affection can peep or appear in any near them, but they nip and blast it. 5. All Christians must be ambitious to seek this true commendation from the Lord, that He may say of us, But this thou hast, a true affection and sound desire of grace. In the persons that hate the works of the Nicolaitanes, note that a man may live in a deep consumption of grace for a time and yet retain the hatred of some foul sins.Reason: 1. A man wanting grace may hate some sins; and much more a man in decay of grace. A Jew may abhor a Samaritan, and yet have no love to the light and truth offering itself unto him. And hardly can we conceive any so wicked, but may hate some sin. 2. Carnal policy and earthly respects may ground the hatred of some sin, when neither the love of God nor the hatred of sin as sin, doth ground it. And any Ephesian can hate a Nicolaitane if his works will not stand with the light of nature, or credit of men, or name of profession. 3. Where the love of goodness is decayed, no marvel if hatred or evil be for sinister respects; and men may hate what the Lord hateth, though not because the Lord hateth it, for so did this Church. And no hatred of evil is good, but that which floweth from the love of good. Use: Here is a rule of trial of our hatred of evil. As is our love of good so is our hatred of evil. Fervent love stirs up earnest hatred; little love of good, little hatred of evil; no love of good, no hatred of evil. We must not hate the persons of men, but their evil works. Not the Nicolaitanes but the works of the Nicolaitanes (Psalm 101:3; 2 Samuel 15:31).Reason: 1. The object of our hatred must be works, not the man, because we must hate nothing that comes from God by grace or nature. God made the man, but the man made himself sinful. 2. We must hate no man without a cause. For, as we must not love vices for persons, so neither may we hate persons for vices, nor the man for his evil manners. 3. All just hatred floweth from the love of God; therefore we may not hate the person of our brother (1 John 4:20). 4. There is an unwarrantable hatred which fasteneth on that that God hateth not. This is a hatred of malice, not of zeal which is kindled in heaven. But we know not the state of the persons of our brethren, whether they belong to God or no, but their works are hateful to God, and condemned in His law.Use: 1. We must not hate where no hateful work appeareth; and where it doth appear we must hate nothing else. 2. Seeing much deceit lieth herein, and we often do mistake ourselves thinking we do well in hating sins, when, indeed, our hatred is against persons, we shall do well to examine our hatred. For the trial whereof take these rules. (1) Hasty reproofs issue commonly more from the hatred of persons than of sins, when a man is reproved before his offence be proved (1 Corinthians 5:1). (2) When our own causes be primarily interested with God's cause, we may suspect ourselves carried rather against persons than sins. When a man is as a lamb, mild and moderate in the cause of God, but a lion in his own cause, here is apparent hatred of persons more than sins. (3) The hatred of sin in another, but not of the same sins in ourselves, is the hatred of the person, not of the sin. For true hatred of sin hateth it in himself most of all. No man can hate that sin in another which he loveth in himself. (4) The true hatred of sin doth restrain from sin in the hatred, and casts out raging, railing, scorning, swearing, reviling, or abusing of the person. For, where any of these discover themselves, the hatred is of the person, not of the sin. Satan is not cast out by Satan. (5) True hatred of sin goes ever with love and pity of the person. Moses so hates the sin of Israel that he still prayeth for their persons. (6) According to the measure of true hatred of thy brother's evil is thy rejoicing in his good. Here is the reason of the commendation: because they hated what God hated. God is well pleased when our affections are comfortable to His; whence are those many precepts and exhortations (Matthew 11:29; Luke 6:36; 1 Peter 1:15).Reason: 1. His affections flow from His righteous will; He loveth good, because His nature is goodness itself, and His will the rule of all goodness. So He hateth evil, because His nature and will is absolutely contrary unto it. And, therefore, because His will must be our will, our affections must be framed to His also. 2. He is an unfailing pattern and an unerring example, and we shall be sure never to miss in the proper object of our love or hatred if we love what He loveth and hate what He hateth. 3. That perfection which we expect in heaven we must begin on earth. But this is the life of heaven, that our souls shall so perfectly cleave unto Him, as we shall be like Him, and be satisfied with His image. We shall never love nor hate but what He loveth and hateth. And to this life we must frame here in sincere affection and endeavour. 4. If one affection of ours resembling His prevail so much with Him, as we see in this text, how much more if all our affections were trained to His? If the hatred of gross evils bring us in request with Him, what would the love of all the goodness that He loveth. Use: This doctrine affords us many directions concerning our affections which are quick and hardly kept in order, and in which as many sins lie in the dark as in any other faculty. I. Concerning the matter of our hatred. Whatsoever we love or hate we must ask ourselves whether God loveth or hateth it. If God love it, it is worthy of our love. If God express hatred against anything we must take heed we affect it not. II. Concerning the rule of our hatred. That which we may lawfully hate we must inquire whether we hate it because God hateth it. For, first, heathen can hate some sins for the inconveniences they bring who hath no eye to God in them. Secondly, to avoid sin because men punish it, or human laws condemn it, or because shame attends it is not praiseworthy. Thirdly, even so it is in embracing good. To love religion and embrace the truth because the law favours it and the kingdom embraceth it, and is now the safest, is but policy, and an atheist can do it. But a truly religious heart therefore embraceth it, because it is the truth of God, and because God Himself loveth, honoureth, and promoteth it, and hath commended it to our love and trust. III. Concerning the measure of our hatred. Our direction is, that wheresoever the Lord expresseth the greatest measure of hatred, we must also there most earnestly hate. For our affection must even in the measure of it be framed to God's. The manner of our hatred. 1. We must try the intention and vehemency of our affections. The Lord doth not lightly hate sin or barely mislike it, but pursues it with an hostile hatred, and abhors it as the most hateful thing in the world, even so we must not only simply refuse sin or forbear it, but bear a fervent indignation against it, esteeming it the most hateful and hurtful thing in the world (Psalm 119:163). 2. The Lord hateth sin generally and universally; not one, or two, or more scandalous sins, but all sin everywhere, both all kinds and all acts of sin. So we must try our hatred by the generality, whether we hate all the ways of falsehood. It is not enough to hate this or that sin, but the heart must be set against all that is called sin. 3. The Lord hateth sin only and innocently; so hateth evil, that He hateth not the good near it or with it; no, nor will not hate the good for it. He will be sure His wrath shall fasten on the works of Nicolaitanes, but rejects no good for evil, no wheat for chaff, no gold for dross. So we may not hate good with evil or for evil. 4. The Lord hateth sin implacably; He can never be reconciled unto it, but goes on to the abolition and destruction of it. So must we try our affection against sin, whether it be a short fit of anger or an extreme just hatred. And the rule of trial of just hatred is, that of the Jews toward their wives, "If thou hatest her put her away"; divorce thy sin from thyself: allow it no room or harbour. One thing it is for a Jew to be angry at his wife, another to hate her to divorce. And so are many sometimes angry at some sins in extremity, and will curb and moderate and keep them in some compass; but they put them not away altogether because they hate them not. 5. The Lord hates all sin perpetually and constantly. His wrath is so kindled against it that it can never be quenched, but burneth to the bottom of hell. So if our hatred of sin be true it will be lasting and increasing. We see, therefore, what an advantage it is to hold our affections in conformity unto the Lord's, and a piece of His own image who, being perfectly good, cannot but hate that which is perfectly evil. And the more we grow to His perfection in good the more perfectly must we hate all that is evil. (T. Taylor, D. D.) Parallel Verses KJV: Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write; These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks; |
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