And knowest not that thou.—Of all others, so the Greek indicates.
Art wretched.—“To our eternal disgrace, the United States leads all civilized countries in homicides—over 8,000 yearly. There are twelve murders in New England to one in London; in California seventy‐five to one; in Nevada 245 to one.” (Z. ’08‐83.) “Each nation feels that theirs is the greatest talent, theirs are the finest guns, theirs the best everything; and it is this feeling of self‐sufficiency that led the nations into the present conflict. They think that they are so good and so great that God could not help giving them the victory.”—Z. ’15‐174.
And miserable.—“How blind we all have been not to have noticed: (1) That the numbers of the heathen in proportion even to the nominally Christian doubled last century; (2) That if we could bring all the heathen up to the standard of our most civilized nation it would mean that God’s will would be less done the world over than it is now.”—Z. ’08‐83.
And poor.—“The Laodicean Church is poor in that she has so little of the Master’s Spirit, so little of the Truth and of the Spirit of the Truth.”—Z. ’01‐56.
And blind.—“She cannot see afar off, cannot see either the High Calling of the Church or the blessed provisions of Restitution for the world in general.”—Z. ’98‐128.
And naked.—“The clergy, under the name of Higher Criticism and Evolution, are rapidly denuding her, making her naked, taking from her the robe of Christ’s righteousness, and leading her to trust, not in the precious blood of the Redeemer, but in an evolutionary process which needs no Savior, which denies that there is, or has been, any sin to make atonement for.”—Z. ’01‐56.
3:18. I counsel thee.—“Thou shalt guide me with Thy counsel and afterward receive me into glory.”—Psa. 73:24.
To buy of Me.—“Not until we lay hold by faith upon the _exceeding great and precious_ promises is there any of the ‘gold’ of the ‘Divine nature’ in us. This treasure can be _purchased_ only at the cost of entire consecration, or sacrifice of all that we have, to Christ”—Z. ’96‐44; Prov. 23:23; Matt. 13:44.
Gold tried in the fire.—“If we would purchase the ‘gold _tried in the fire_,’ it must be at the cost of faithful and constant submission to the discipline of the Lord in fiery trials. How otherwise can the dross be eliminated? There is no other way. Wherefore, think it not strange; let the fire burn; let the dross be consumed; and see to it, beloved, that in the heat of the flame you remove not the ‘living sacrifice.’ ”—Z. ’96‐44; 1 Pet. 4:12.