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rich, and increased with goods, | ed, and miserable, and poor, and and have need of nothing; and blind, and naked: knowest not that thou art wretch

18 I counsel thee to buy of

on that case. "And Ephraim said, soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid Yet I am become rich, I have found up for many years; take thine ease, me out substance: in all my labors eat, drink, and be merry ;" Luke xii. they shall find none iniquity in me 18, 19. When men are rich, they too that were sin;" Hosea xii. 8. That frequently think they "have need of this was an instance of pride and nothing;" while in the spiritual and self-confidence, is evident from the more important sense, they are very 14th verse. "Ephraim provoked him poor. "They that will be rich, fall to anger most bitterly: therefore shall into temptation, and a snare, and into he leave his blood upon him, and his many foolish and hurtful lusts, which reproach shall his Lord return unto drown men in destruction and perdihim." The Laodiceans had increased, tion;" 1 Tim. vi. 9. "Charge them it may have been, in earthly goods. that are rich in this world, that they Their city had prospered. They be not high-minded, nor trust in unthought more of this than they ought certain riches, but in the living God, to have done; they placed their trust who giveth us richly all things to in it, and gloried in it. They had enjoy; that they do good, that they forgotten the excellent advice of the be rich in good works, ready to prophet: "Thus saith the Lord, Let distribute, willing to communicate; not the wise man glory in his wisdom, laying up in store for themselves a neither let the mighty man glory in good foundation against the time to his might, let not the rich man glory come, that they may lay hold on eterin his riches: but let him that glo- nal life;" 17-19. The terms wretchrieth, glory in this, that he under-ed, miserable, poor, blind, naked, are standeth and knoweth me, that I am often used in the Scriptures to signify the Lord which exercise loving-kind- spiritual poverty. ness, judgment, and righteousness, in 18. I counsel thee.· "I will give the earth; for in these things I de- thee advice that thy true condilight, saith the Lord ;” Jer. ix. 23, 24. | tion requires - hear what I say unto Thou art wretched. The revelator thee." Buy of me.. -"Buy," is embraced the opportunity to impress often used in the sense of obtain. upon them a sense of their spiritual | “ Buy the truth and sell it not;" poverty. In the more important sense, they were wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked. The sacred writers often warn men against "the deceitfulness of riches." We are told in the parable that it "chokes the word:" Matt. xiii. 22. The Lord Jesus said, "How hard it is for them that trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of God;" Mark x. 24. The deceitfulness of riches consists in this, they often lead men to suppose that they can furnish the soul all that it desires. "I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. And I will say to my

Prov. xxiii. 23. "He that hath no money, come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread? and your labor for that which satisfieth not? hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul. delight itself in fatness;" Isaiah lv. 1, 2. This was the only sense in which Jesus ever sold anything. He never received money for what he communicated to men. ¶ Gold tried in the fire. — The precious metals are used in different senses in the word of God. They are often put for

me gold tried in the fire, that | clothed, and that the shame of thou mayest be rich; and white thy nakedness do not appear; raiment, that thou mayest be and anoint thine eyes with eye

earthly riches. But in their purest state, they are sometimes used to represent "durable riches and righteousness." And so the process of the purification of the metals is used to represent the process of divine grace in the purification of the sinful; and afflictions and chastisements, because they purify, are compared to the fire of the furnace. "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 they shall call on my name, and I will hear them; I will say, It is my people; and they shall say, The Lord is my God;" Zech. xiii. 9. "But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? for he is like a refiner's fire, and like fuller's soap. And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness;" Mal. iii. 2, 3. Hence, gold as the purest metal, and especially in its highest state of purification, is put for truth and purity. "A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver;" Prov. xxv. 11. "How is the gold become dim! how is the most fine gold changed! the stones of the sanctuary are poured out in the top of every street. The precious sons of Zion, comparable to fine gold, how are they esteemed as earthen pitchers, the work of the hands of the potter!" Lam. iv. 1, 2. Buy of me gold, tried in the fire, i. e., the purest gold; that which has no alloy. It is certainly put here for truth and righteousness, the virtues which that church greatly needed. They had supposed themselves rich; they had gold and silver; but they needed a better kind of riches, which the revelator represents by "gold

tried in the fire." ¶ White raiment.. We have already explained this metaphor, in the notes on iii. 5. White was the color that denoted honor, purity and rejoicing. The inhabitants of the heavenly world, the attendants who stand around the throne of God, messengers who bear the will of God to men, are all sup posed to be clad in white. The heavenly messenger who appeared to Daniel, was in white; vii. 9. At the transfiguration, the raiment of Jesus was "white as the light;" Matt. xvii. 2. The angel who appeared at the resurrection of Jesus, had on raiment "white as snow;" Idem, xxviii. 3; see also Rev. iv. 4; vii. 9, 13; xv. 6; xix. 8, 14. From these facts, the redeemed, cleansed from all their sins, are said to be without "spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing;" Eph. v. 27; that is, they are wholly white. "Many shall be purified and made white, and tried ;" Dan. xii. 10. And this whiteness, or purification, is pro duced by the virtue of Christ's word; for it was said of those who had been redeemed, "These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb;" Rev. vii. 14. When, therefore, the Laodiceans were counselled to buy white raiment, it was in effect urging them to be purified; and as their spiritual destitution had been described, among other metaphors, by a want of clothing, the purity they so much needed was beautifully represented by raiment of whiteness. TEye-salve.

The Laodiceans had been said to be blind, as well as poor and naked; the correspondence of the metaphor required, therefore, that the improve. ment of their spiritual condition should be described as the improvement of the sight. Eye-salve is to promote the health of the eye; and they were

salve, that thou mayest see. 19 As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten; be zealous therefore, and repent.

20 Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the

to apply it that they might see. But it is easily perceived that the triplicate of metaphors in this verse are all aimed at the same thing, viz., to convince the church addressed, they were truly in a destitute condition in spiritual things, whatever they might think of themselves; and that Jesus, if they would but listen to his voice, would lead them to such an improvement as they needed.

19. As many as I love. The Son of God was specially careful that they should not think he loved them not, because he rebuked and chastened them. He therefore stated, that he rebuked and chastened those whom he loved. This is the principle of the divine administration. "My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him for whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth;" Heb. xii. 5, 6. Be zealous therefore, and repent. Their sin had been that of lukewarmness. They were called on to be zealous. Zeal is the counterpart of coldness. Paul said, "It is good to be zealously affected always in a good thing;" Gal. iv. 18. The Christian's duty was a good thing; and the Laodiceans therefore were urged to enter into it with zeal, or heartfelt earnestness. They were called on to change their lives specially in regard to this matter of luke

warmness.

20. I stand at the door and knock. This is a figure of our Lord that Jccurs in the gospels; see Luke xii. 36. It implies, that Jesus was interceding, by his word, for admission to their souls. I will come in to him,

door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.

21 To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with

and will sup with him, and he with me. - When a man receives the truth, Jesus is said to take up his abode with him. So we read, in John xiv. 23, "If a man love me, he will keep my words; and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him." The same in substance is found in John's 1st Epistle: "Let that therefore abide in you, which ye have heard from the beginning. If that which ye have heard from the beginning shall remain in you, ye also shall continue in the Son, and in the Father;" ii. 24. In the same sense God is said to dwell with men upon the earth, viz., by the power of his truth.

21. Sit with me in my throne. Some think this refers to distinguished honors to be conferred upon the saints, or believers, in the immortal world. But wherein does it differ from the rewards offered to those of the other six churches who were faithful? Rev. 11. 7, 10, 11, 26; iii. 5, 12; -all the figures in these passages refer to the same class of honors. To sit with Christ on his throne, is to reign with him. And where does he reign? Where is his kingdom? Is it not among men? Let it be observed that Jesus promised to his disciples that they should be exalted to thrones when his kingdom was fully set up, provided they followed him in the regeneration and suffered with him. "Ye which have followed me in the regeneration, when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel;" Matt. xix. 28. Jesus was a spiritual king, and, of

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We are not obliged to confine it to the immortal world. It is expressly declared to be on the earth. "Thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; and hast made us unto our God kings and priests; and we shall REIGN ON THE EARTH;" Rev. v. 9, 10. See also the notes on Rev. ii. 26, 27. 22. He that hath an ear. - See the remarks on ii. 7, 11, 17, &c.

CHAPTER IV.

course, reigned in a spiritual king-place where Christians are faithful dom. And according to Paul's application of a passage in Isaiah, this was a matter of prophecy. "And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots; and the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord and shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the Lord and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears: but with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked;" Isa. xi. 1-4. For Paul's application of this passage to Christ, see Rom. xv. 12. The wicked will not have Christ to reign over them. "But those mine enemies, which would not that I should reign over them, bring hither, and slay them before me;" Luke xix. 27. Jesus will continue to reign until all enemies are put under his feet; 1 Cor. xv. 25. And how does he reign? We have already said, spiritually. He reigns by the power of his truth and of his life. His faithfulness, his resignation, his piety, benevolence, love, have a great influence over all his followers. In this sense, all faithful Christians, whose lives are an imitation of his, reign with him, in the proclaiming and illustrating of his truth and in the influence of their lives. But this they cannot do, unless they are faithful. "If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us; 2 Tim. ii. 12. This reigning with Christ exists in any

1. After this I looked. After the things which had been described, I looked, &c. &c. We now enter on an entirely new section of the Apocalypse. The revelator had stated, in the commencement, the authority by which he spake; and had described the actual state of the seven Asiatic churches, which perhaps were put forth as representatives of all the churches. Having finished so much, he proceeded to the prophetic parts of his communication. And let it be observed, the prophetic part of the Apocalypse begins with the verse now before us. The manner in which he had been prepared to make the communication to the seven churches, was described i. 10; and what he saw, he was instructed to write and communicate to those churches, ver. 11. A distinct epistle was written to each church. He had spoken by the Spirit, or rather the Spirit had spoken by him; and at the end of each epistle, he had called on men as follows: "He that hath an ear to hear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches." And here it strikes the mind, that the language is not what the Spirit saith to the seven churches, but what the Spirit saith to

in heaven and the first voice which I heard, was as it were

the churches, as if meaning the churches at large. The presumption is, that although John addressed only the seven, yet being put as representatives of all the rest, they were all interested in the communications which he made. After he had concluded his communications to the seven churches, he came to the prophetic parts, which seem not to be addressed to those churches, but to the Christian world at large. Nothing more is said in the Apocalypse about the seven churches. The testimony is "to every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book;" xxii. 18. I looked. The word here is not to be taken in the ordinary acceptation of merely seeing; but is to be understood as having an insight, after the manner of the prophets, or seers, by which he was enabled to foretell the events which he subsequently described. ¶ Door was opened in heaven. - We take the opportunity, in this place, to offer a few remarks on the scriptural, and especially the apocalyptical, sense, of the word heaven. It is put, 1st. For the region of the air, as when we speak of the fowls of heaven; Rev. viii. 13, x. 6; xiii. 13; xiv. 6; xvi. 21; xix. 17; xx. 9. 2d. It is put for the firmament, as when we speak of the sun in heaven, or the stars of heaven; vi. 14; viii. 10; ix. 1; xx. 11. 3d. It is put for the imaginary dwelling-place of God. The firmament is but an imaginary place; and in the same sense heaven may be understood when spoken of as God's dwelling-place. The form of God's existence is altogether mysterious. We do not suppose we are to understand heaven, when spoken of as the dwelling-place of God, to be strictly a locality. It partakes of he metaphorical, the scenical. God, among the ancients, was supposed to dwell in any place where he specially manifested his presence. When Jacob

of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither,

As

slept upon the ground, on his way towards Haran, he had a vision, and behold, a ladder was seen reaching from the earth to the heaven, on which the angels of God were ascending and descending; and he heard a voice above it saying, "I am the Lord God of Abraham, thy father," &c. He awoke, with the spell of the dream upon him. "Surely (said he) the Lord is in this place, and I knew it not; this is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven;" Gen. xxviii. 16, 17. though he had said, this is the avenue to God's presence. The Jews of old supposed that God inhabited some spiritual dwelling, (if we may so speak,) which they called eternity, a high and holy place. They also sup posed him to dwell in the humble and contrite spirit; Isaiah lvii. 15 This high and holy place, of which the Jews had an indistinct idea, they called heaven. But they held, from the earliest times, that God also dwelt among them. He dwelt beneath the cherubim, at the mercy-seat, upon the ark of the covenant; 2 Kings xix. 15; Psa. lxxx. 1; Isa. xxxvii. 16. In the case before us, it would seem that heaven was put for the supposed dwelling-place of God. This was represented to the Jews, in the temple, by the mercy-seat. By the door open ing in heaven, may be understood the opening of the door, or gate, to the mercy-seat. A trumpet talking with me. —' This was the first voice the revelator heard. He had seen no person, but he heard a voice, which seemed to be as if a trumpet had life, and had the power to talk. The meaning is, it was a trumpet-like voice. In the view of the ancient Hebrews, men could not see God with the outward eye. They could see a representation of him; but it was not supposed they could see God himself; John i. 18; 1 Tim. vi. 16. There was a moral or spiritual sense,

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