The Apostle now shows that charity is not mere softness or human affection, for true love cannot rejoice in evil. There are many who excuse sin under the appearance of kindness, and who call indulgence charity. But charity does not delight in what separates the soul from God. It does not take secret pleasure in another’s fall, nor rejoice when an enemy is humiliated, exposed, or brought low. For the heart that truly loves grieves over evil even when evil appears advantageous to itself. (St. John Chrysostom)

“Rejoiceth not in iniquity.” This applies not only to outward wickedness, but also to the hidden movements of the heart. There are some who outwardly condemn sin while inwardly taking satisfaction in scandal, gossip, or the failures of others. Augustine warns that the soul can become corrupted by feeding upon the faults of its neighbor. Charity refuses this cruel delight. It mourns sin because it sees in it the ruin of a soul made for communion with God. Therefore charity cannot hate the sinner, even while it hates the sin itself. (St. Augustine)

“But rejoiceth with the truth.” Charity rejoices wherever truth is found because truth belongs to God. It rejoices when a sinner repents, when virtue grows, when justice is done, and when souls advance toward holiness. The proud man rejoices chiefly when he himself is exalted; the charitable soul rejoices whenever God is glorified, even if no honor comes to itself. Thus charity frees the heart from the narrow prison of self-love and teaches it to find joy in the good itself. (St. John Chrysostom)

The Fathers often connect truth and charity inseparably. Truth without charity becomes harshness; charity without truth becomes sentimentality and error. In Christ both are perfectly united. He loved sinners deeply, yet never called evil good. Augustine teaches that charity seeks the eternal good of the beloved, and therefore it cannot be indifferent to truth. The soul that grows in charity learns gradually to love what God loves and to reject what destroys communion with Him. In this way the heart itself begins to be reordered according to divine truth. (St. Augustine)

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Sources: St. John Chrysostom, Homilies on First Corinthians, Homily 33; St. Augustine, sermons and writings on charity, truth, sin, and repentance.