The Text Opened, and the Doctrines Propounded
Revelation iii. 17, 18.
“Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou raayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eye-salve, that thou mayest see.”
Although the Revelation of St. John is a compendium of intricate visions and obscure prophecies, containing almost as many mysteries as words, yet that cloud overshadows the prophetical part only, which begins where this chapter, with the doctrinal part, ends. Here the waters are found no deeper than in other places of the Scripture; but if we go a little farther, they become an overflowing flood. Hitherto we touch ground, but a step farther carries us into the depths, which are above the heads of the tallest Christians. Here the Spirit speaks doctrinally and perspicuously; but in the following chapters mystically and in great obscurity.
Seven epistles are found in this doctrinal part, immediately dictated from heaven, and sent by John to the seven churches of Asia, to instruct, correct, encourage, and confirm them, as their several cases required.
My text falls in the last epistle sent to the church of Laodicea, the worst and most degenerate of all the rest. The best had their defects and infirmities, but this laboured under the most dangerous disease of all. The fairest face of the seven had some spots, but a dangerous disease seems to have invaded the very heart of this. Not that all were equally guilty, but the greatest part, from which the whole is denominated, were lukewarm professors; men who had a name to live, but were dead; who, being never thoroughly engaged in religion, easily embraced that principle of the Gnostics, which made it a matter of indifferency to own or deny Christ in times of persecution, the most saving doctrine that some professors are acquainted with. This lukewarm temper Christ hated: he was sick of them, and loathed their indifferency: “I wish,” says he, ver. 16. “thou wert either cold or hot;” an expression of the same meaning with that in 1 Kings xviii. 21. “How long halt ye between two opinions?” and is manifestly translated from the qualities of water, which is either cold, or hot, or lukewarm, a middle temper betwixt both, and more nauseous to the stomach than either of the former. Cold is the complexion and natural temper of those who are wholly alienated and estranged from Christ and religion; hot is the gracious temper of those who know and love Jesus Christ in an excelling degree; lukewarm is the temper of those who have too much religion to be esteemed carnal, and too little to be truly spiritual; a generation that is too politic to venture much, and yet so foolish as to lose all; they are loath to forsake truth wholly, and more loath to follow it too closely: the form of religion they affect as an honour, the power of it they judge a burden.
This is that temper which the Lord hates; and this was the disease of Laodicea, which Christ, the great and only heart-anatomist and soul physician, discovers in ver. 17. and prescribes a cure for it in ver, 18.: so that the words resolve themselves into two parts: 1. A faithful discovery, and, 2. A proper remedy of the disease of Laodicea.
I. Their disease is faithfully discovered to them, both in its symptoms, cause, and aggravations.
1. Its symptoms; an unconcerned, indifferent, regardless spirit, in matters of religion, neither hot nor cold: the true temper of formal professors, who never engage themselves thoroughly and heartily in the ways of God, but can take or leave as times govern, and worldly interest comes to be concerned.
2. Its cause and root; which is the defect and want of the truth, and power of inward grace, noted in these expressions — “Thou art wretched and miserable, poor, blind, and naked;” thou are destitute of a real principle, a solid work of grace. These five epithets do all point at one and the same thing, the defectiveness and rottenness of their foundation. The two first, “wretched and miserable,” are more general, concluding them in a sad condition, a very sinful and lamentable estate; the three last, “poor, blind, and naked,” are more particular, pointing at those grand defects and flaws in the foundation, which made their condition so wretched and miserable.
“Poor;” that is, void of righteousness and true holiness before God. These are the true riches of Christians; and whosoever wants them is poor and miserable, how rich soever he be in gifts of the mind, or treasures of the earth.
“Blind;” without spiritual illumination, and so neither knowing their disease nor their remedy, the evil of sin, nor the necessity of Christ.
“Naked;” without Christ and his righteousness. Sin is the soul’s shame and nakedness; Christ’s pure and perfect righteousness is its covering or garment: this they wanted, how richly soever their bodies were adorned. These were Laodiceans; that is, a just or righteous people, according to the meaning of that word; whose garments, with which they covered themselves, were made of the home-spun thread of their own righteousness.
3. The disease of Laodicea is here opened to them in its aggravations: “Thou saidst, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; but knowest not that thou art wretched,” &c. To be really graceless and Christless, is a miserable condition; but to be so, and yet confidently persuaded of the contrary, is most miserable. To have the very symptoms of death upon us, and yet to tell those who pity us, that we are as well as they, is lamentable indeed. O the power of a spiritual delusion I This was their disease, gracelessness; and the aggravation of it was, their senselessness.
IL We have a proper remedy prescribed: “I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eye-salve, that thou mayest see.” In which we have to consider, 1. What is prescribed for the cure. 2. Where it is to be had. 3. How it is to be obtained.
1. What are the remedies prescribed? They are three; gold, white raiment, and eye-salve. First, “gold,” the cure of poverty, yea, “gold tried in the fire;” that is, grace which has been variously proved already; and the more it is proved, the more its truth will be conspicuous. The next is “white raiment,” the remedy against nakedness. And, lastly, “eye-salve,” the effectual cure of blindness. Under all these choice metaphors, more choice and excellent things are shadowed, even spiritual graces, real holiness, more precious than gold. Christ’s imputed righteousness, the richest garment in all the wardrobe of heaven; and spiritual illumination, the most excellent eye-salve that ever was, or can be applied to the mental eye or understanding of man in this world.
2. Where may these precious remedies be had? You find Christ has the monopoly of them all. “Buy of me,” says Christ in the text. He is the repository of all graces. Angels, ministers, ordinances, cannot furnish you with them without Christ.
3. How they may be obtained from him: “Buy of me.” On this place Estius and others build their doctrine of merit; which is to build a superstructure of hay and stubble upon a foundation of gold. The
k3 exigence of the very text itself destroys such conceits: for what have they that are poor, wretched, miserable, and in want of all things, to give as a price, or by way of merit, for those inestimable treasures of grace? Buying, therefore, in this place, can signify or intend no more than the acquisition, compassing, or obtaining these things from Jesus Christ, in the use of such means and methods as he has appointed; and in the use of them we merit grace no more than the patient merits of his physician by coming to him, and carefully following his prescriptions in the use of such medicines as he freely gives them. And that place, Isa. Iv. 1. from which this phrase seems to be borrowed, fully clears it; “He that hath no money, let him come and buy wine and milk without money, and without price.”
From all which, these three observations fairly offer themselves to us: —
Doctrine I. That many professors of religion are under very great and dangerous mistakes in their profession.
Doctrine II. That true grace is exceedingly precious afid greatly enriches the soul that poS’ sesses it.
Doctrine III. That only is to he accounted true grace, “dohich is able to endure all those trials appointed or permitted for the discovery of it.
The first doctrine naturally arises out of the scope of the text, which is to awaken and convince unsound professors. The second, from the use which the Holy Ghost makes of the best and choicest things in nature, to shadow forth the inestimable worth and preciousness of grace. And the third, from that particular and most significant metaphor of gold tried in the fire; by which I here understand a real and solid work of grace, evidencing itself to be so in all the proofs and trials that are made of it: for whatsoever tries grace, and puts its soundness and sincerity to the test, is that to it which fire is to gold. In this sense it is used in Scripture: “Thou hast tried us as silver is tried;” and, “I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried.” So that, whatsoever it is which examines and tries grace whether it be sound and sincere, that is the fire Christ here speaks of; and such grace as abides these trials, is the gold here intended.