Wicked Men Naked

    "And covered thy Nakedness, &c., Thou hast not remembered the days of thy youth, when thou wert naked and bare" &c. Eze 16:8,22.

    "Poor, and blind, and Naked," &c. Re 3:17.

    There is a two-fold Nakedness, viz, an external, and an internal Nakedness: the Nakedness of the soul, as well as of the body.

    PARALLELS

    I. Nakedness since the fall doth not only import not having of clothes, but the want of clothes. As Adam before he fell, had no clothes, so he needed none; his Nakedness was an ornament to him; but' no sooner had he sinned, but he saw the want of a garment. So all ungodly men are not only without spiritual clothes, but they exceedingly need them; as they have no righteousness to cover them, so it is their misery. It is a lamentable thing to be Naked, and it is a far more grievous thing to be spiritually Naked, to have no real and divine cover for the soul.

    II. The shame, deformity, and all natural filthiness of a Naked person doth appear; it is visible, and he is thereby exposed to reproach. So the shame, deformity, and vileness of Wicked Men, who are not spiritually Naked, having not the righteousness of Christ to cover them, doth appear; and this exposeth them to shame and reproach. "Sin is the shame of any people," Pr 14:34. To see a man Naked, that hath a rotten and, polluted carcase, full of sores and stinking ulcers, is a loathsome sight. But such is the state of the souls of the ungodly men, they are Naked, and their inward filthiness lies fully open to the eyes of the great God, nay, and much of it appears to the sight of men; spiritually there is no soundness in them, from the crown of their head to the soles of their feet, nothing but wounds, bruises, and putrifying sores," Isa 1:6.

    III. A Naked person is exposed to the extremity both of cold and heat. Clothes keep the body warm in winter, and defend from the parching heat in summer; and he that is without them, from hence is in a miserable condition; every blast pinches him, the sun scorches him, &c. So wicked men lie open to the dreadful wrath of God, which is set forth in scripture by things extreme in their nature, both in respect of heat and cold. O how unable will these naked souls be to abide the day of God's wrath, or to stand before him who is a consuming fire! The righteousness of Christ will be as a cover and screen between the saints, and the devouring flames of God's anger. But wicked men have no defence, no screen nor cover; they are Naked, exposed not only to the shame of every eye, but to the direful effects of God's dreadful wrath and vengeance, &c., whilst they live, and when they die, and for ever.

    IV. A Naked man is exposed to great danger by his enemies; every small blow may wound him, who hath nothing on to defend him from it: every small prick will make him bleed. But much greater danger is he in by great strokes, and thrusts of swords and spears, and by arrows and darts that enemies may let fly against him; his condition is not only full of shame, but also full of danger. So wicked Men, who are spiritually Naked, are exposed to great danger from the enemies of the soul. (1.) Sin, nay, every sin wounds him; the least sin makes a wound in bis soul, what wounds then do great sins make! (2.) Conscience wounds him and lashes him sorely. (3.) Satan lets fly his fiery darts and arrows against him, and wounds him to the very heart, and like an hungry lion, tears his soul., as it were, to pieces. (4.) Death and wrath wound him, he having nothing to defend him from any of these, &c.

    V. A Naked person is not fit for any employment; he is not fit to fight, nor fit to labour. So such who are spiritually naked, are not fit for any spiritual service: they can neither work for God, nor suffer for God, nor resist sin and Satan; they are not fit for any society of spiritual men, but are unspeakably miserable every way.

    DISPARITY

    Naked men desire clothes, they will beg hard for something to coyer their Nakedness; but the Wicked are unsensible of their Nakedness, and therefore seek not to be clothed; nay, like mad Men, refuse raiment. We read, Lu 8:27, of a man possessed with a legion of devils, and the text saith, he wore no clothes; his madness is evidenced by that, he would suffer no clothes to be put upon him. It is a sign Men are spiritually possessed with a legion of devils, that refuse to put on the garment of faith and holiness to cover their Nakedness. These garments are held forth every day to be sold, without money and without price, in the ministry of the Word; but so mad are ungodly men, they had rather go Naked, than lay hold on them, and put them on. And is it not just, that such Men should be buried in hell, in their own rags, that will not embrace Christ and holiness, that they may be clothed with eternal salvation; Isa 55:1-2; Re 3:18.