And their abominations were as they loved
And their abominations were as they loved.
That is, First, as they loved, so they were guided, they were not guided by the Word, nor by any Divine Rule, not by right reason, but according as they loved, they followed what they had a mind to, never regarding what God's mind was. The judgment is soon gone when the heart is taken with a thing. Ordinarily people love that way they go, not that way the rule guides them to, but what way their affections carry them on in; this is a very sinful thing for men to be acted with, and carried upon, merely by the violence of their affections, and especially this is evil in the matters of God's worship, there we may not do things as we love, that is, because we think such things are very fair and there appears no hurt in them to us, and they like us well. Yes, but we must examine whether we have warrant out of the Word for that, we must not do as we love, but according as the rule is.
Secondly, they were abominable as they loved; they were turned into the very likeness of what they loved. And indeed our loves, whatever they are upon, does turn us into the likeness of the thing. The understanding turns the object into a likeness to it, but the heart is turned into the likeness of its object.
Austin has a notable expression for this, says he, Such is every man as his love is, does a man love the earth? He is earth; does a man love God? What shall I say, says Austin, he shall be even God too. And indeed the Scripture says we are partakers of the Divine Nature, Oh! what care had we need have of what we love. Do you love a base filthy thing? Then your soul is base and filthy too. Do you love the glorious and blessed God? Then your soul is made like to God: choose therefore good objects for your love, love the Lord, and love his holy ways, love things that are excellent and glorious, and by the loving of those things your heart will come to have excellency and glory put upon it. But if you love that which is drossy and filthy, you come to have a base and drossy heart of your own. Man's soul is like to the Cameleon that is changed into the color of the object it looks upon.