Albert Barnes Commentary Revelation 3:18

"I counsel thee to buy of me gold refined by fire, that thou mayest become rich; and white garments, that thou mayest clothe thyself, and [that] the shame of thy nakedness be not made manifest; and eyesalve to anoint thine eyes, that thou mayest see." — Revelation 3:18 (ASV)

I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire. This refers to pure gold, the kind that has been subjected to the action of heat to purify it from dross. (See Barnes on 1 Peter 1:7).

Gold here is emblematic of religion—as being the most precious of the metals and the most valued by people. They professed to be rich but were not, and he counsels them to obtain from him that which would make them truly rich.

That thou mayest be rich. This means to be rich in the true and proper sense of the word. With true religion, and with the favor and friendship of the Redeemer, they would have all that they really needed and would never be in want.

And white raiment. This is the emblem of purity and salvation. (See Barnes on Revelation 3:4).

This is said in reference to the fact (Revelation 3:17) that they were then naked.

That thou mayest be clothed. This means with the garments of salvation. This also refers to true religion, meaning that what the Redeemer furnishes will serve the same purpose for the soul as clothing does for the body. Of course, this cannot be understood literally, nor should the language be pressed too closely, as if there were too strict a resemblance.

And that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear. We clothe the body for decency as well as for protection against cold, storm, and heat. The soul is to be clothed so that the "shame" of its sinfulness may not be exhibited, and so that it may not be offensive and repellent in sight.

And anoint thine eyes with eye-salve. This is in allusion to the fact that they were blind (Revelation 3:17).

The word eye-salve—kollourion—occurs nowhere else in the New Testament. It is a diminutive from kollura—collyra—a coarse bread or cake, and properly means a small cake or cracknel. It is applied to eye-salve as resembling such a cake and refers to a medicament prepared for sore or weak eyes. It was compounded of various substances supposed to have a healing quality. (See Wetstein on this passage).

The reference here is to a spiritual healing—meaning that, regarding their spiritual vision, what he would furnish would produce the same effect as the collyrium or eye-salve would on diseased eyes. The idea is that the grace of the gospel enables people who were previously blind to see clearly the character of God, the beauty of the way of salvation, the loveliness of the person and work of Christ, and so on. (See Barnes on Ephesians 1:18).