The fear of the LORD [is] to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I hate.
Ver. 13. The fear of the Lord.] Which is a high point of heavenly wisdom, Pro 1:7 to the praise whereof this therefore appertaineth. There are those who make this verse an explanation of the former, thus: I find out the knowledge of witty inventions, such as are the fear of the Lord, the hatred of evil, yea, of inward evils, as pride, arrogancy, &c. Odi fastum istius Ecclesiae. I hate the pride of that Romish Church, said Basil, long since. "I hate vain thoughts; but thy law do I love." Psa 119:113 "I hate and abhor lying." Psa 119:163 "Yea, I hate every false way," both in myself and others. Psa 119:104 "Thou hatest the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate." Rev 2:6 God's people partake of the Divine nature, and so have God-like both sympathies and antipathies. They not only leave sin, but loathe it, and are at deadly feud with it. They purge themselves - by this clean fear of God Psa 19:7 - from all pollutions, not of flesh only, worldly lusts, and gross evils, but of spirit also, that lie more up in the heart of the country, as pride, arrogance, &c., so "perfecting holiness in the fear of God." 2Co 7:1 There may be some kind of pride in sincerity, and of humility in hypocrisy. But hypocrisy's humility is followed with pride, and sincerity's pride with humility. This latter humility is the better. And here only it is seemly for virtue to come behind vice. Hypocrisy is proud because it is humble; sincerity is humble because it is proud.
And the evil way.] That is, Custom of committing sin. Viam pro frequentatione accipiunt Hebraei. And this the godly man doth, not that he may appear to do so, sed quia aliter facere non potuit - as one a falsely and flatteringly said of Cato - but because having his heart seasoned with this holy fear, he can do no otherwise.
a Velleius.