"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."

It is needless to inquire very critically into the precise meaning of these figurative expressions. I reckon that every necessary blessing, even all the unsearchable riches of Christ, are comprehended in these three articles. It is sufficient to observe, that the supply here offered is exactly suited to the sinner's wants-that it is not scanty and penurious, but full and complete-and that all the parts of it are perfect in their kind. Let us dwell a little upon each of these heads.

I. Then, you will observe, that the supply here offered is exactly suited to the sinner's wants.As we come into the world we are poor bankrupt creatures. Adam had a vast stock put into his hands; but by his apostasy from God, he lost it for himself and for all his posterity; so that nothing is left that we can call our own, but guilt and misery. The image of God, which was the glory and riches of man in his first creation, is quite effaced; so that, as the Apostle expresses it, "in us, that is, in our flesh, dwelleth no good thing." Well, then, to supply this woeful defect, Christ here tells us that he hath gold to enrich

us-even all divine and saving graces. The spirit was given to him without measure, to be communicated to his people. He is able not only to expel that corruption which hath got possession of our natures; but he can give us a new heart stamped with the image of God, and make us partakers of the divine nature. The truth of this is attested by the apostle John, from his own experience, John i. 16. where he says, " Of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace."

Another branch of our misery is NAKEDNESS. We have nothing to cover us either from shame or hurt. We are exposed to the wrath of an holy, just, and omnipotent God, who infinitely hates sin, and hath pledged his faithfulness, that he will not suffer it to pass unpunished. To relieve us in this case of extreme necessity, Christ hath raiment to clothe us, that the shame of our na

kedness may not appear. He can spread his righteousness over us. He can sprinkle us with his atoning blood, so that the destroying angel, the minister of his Father's justice, shall have no power to hurt us: "For there is no condemnation to them who are in Christ Jesus-being justified by faith, we have peace with God, through our Lord Jesus Christ."

Again, we are BLIND creatures, having our understandings darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in us.

To remedy this, our great physician hath eye

salve to anoint our eyes that we may see. By his Holy Spirit, he can dispel the thickest darkness, and diffuse heavenly light through the whole soul. "Ye were sometimes darkness," says Paul to the converted Ephesians," but now are ye light in the Lord." In a word, something is to be found in Christ that exactly suits us in every case we can imagine. He hath bread for the hungry, water for the thirsty, wine for the faint, medicine for the sick; or, as the apostle beautifully expresseth it," He is made of God unto his people, wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption." 1 Cor. i. 30.

II. It deserves our notice, that the supply here offered is not only such as we need, but likewise full and complete. A poor man may get an alms to keep him from perishing, a naked creature may get a rag to cover his nakedness, and to screen his body from the inclemency of the weather; but our bountiful Lord doth not deal with his people in such a sparing and niggardly manner. He gives them gold to enrich them-not merely to relieve their wants, to answer their pressing necessities-but to raise them above poverty. He advances them to a large and opulent estate. The raiment he clothes them with is fair and complete, so that the shame of their nakedness can no more be seen. He covers them from head to foot, spreads his whole satisfaction over them, so

that no part is left exposed to the sword of justice. They are made righteous by his righteousness imputed to them, and comely by his comeliness put upon them. And,

III. As this supply is suitable and full, so I farther observed to you, that all the parts of it are perfect in their kind. His gold is the most fine gold, gold tried in the fire, not only precious in itself, but thoroughly purged from all dross or alloy. His raiment is white, without spot or blemish; not only a covering, but an ornament to the soul. His eye-salve has a sovereign and never-failing virtue. Other medicines may strengthen the eye, or recover a weak sight; but this cures blindness itself, and gives such vigour to the eye that is anointed with it, that the person can even look within the veil, and read his name written in the Lamb's book of life. And now let me ask you, What think ye of Christ? Is he not a gracious, as well as a faithful Witness? Are not his offers great, inconceivably great? and is not this counsel most kind and obliging?

But what is his counsel, and how does he direct us to obtain this full and all-sufficient supply? Let us hear his own words :

"I counsel thee," says he, "to buy it of me." I frankly own to you, there is something in this expression which startles one at the first sight; but when we examine it more accurately,

the difficulty vanishes. It is evident that the word buy cannot be taken in a strict and literal sense, unless we suppose it to have been said by way of ridicule; for the description of those to whom the advice was addressed necessarily implies that they had nothing to give. They were in the greatest extremity of misery and wretchedness, not only blind and naked, but poor, without money to buy either clothing or medicine. Where then could they find a price that hore any proportion to the blessings here spoken of? I think I could challenge the most sanguine advocate for merit to tell me what these people had to give, unless it was self-conceit, of which indeed it appears they had enough, and to spare; for poor and naked as they were, they boasted of great things, saying they were rich and increased with goods, and had need of nothing. Indeed I am of opinion, that this hint may help us to the meaning of the expression; for the very notion of buying, necessarily includes in it that something must be parted with, and as these Laodiceans had nothing to dispose of but their pride, our Saviour's advice might be intended to intimate this much to them, that in order to their receiving these invaluable blessings, it behoved them to forego their self-conceit in the first place, and then to come to him naked and empty as they were, under a deep and humble sense of their verty and wretchedness, and on their knees to ac

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