336 Would expose them to the censure of infidels. 1 Cor. SECT. in a manner to him very surprising and unac- fest, and so falling xxvii. countable; insomuch, that sometimes a person will worship God, down on his face, he who comes into your assembly out of mere and report that God iv.25 curiosity, or possibly with some ill design, is is in you of a truth. not able to command himself under the impression which the word of God thus spoken makes upon him; and so, under the power of it, falling down upon [his] face he will worship that one living and true God, whom you adore; declaring, that this ever blessed God is indeed among you; and perhaps, immediately professing on that account, his resolution of joining himself to you; and proclaiming afterwards wherever he comes, in what an extraordinary manner he has met with the divine presence, and what a wonderful impression hath been made upon his mind. Now surely, that degree of honour which is brought to God and his gospel by one such effect of prophesying, should appear far more desirable to you than any applause or admiration which you can receive from your fellow christians by the exercise of your most splendid gifts. 26 brethren? when ye come together, every one of you hath a 26 How is it then, I might also urge, upon this head, the great disorder which is introduced into your assem blies, by this ostentatious manner of proceeding; for indeed, if you think seriously, what a shock- psalm, hath a doctrine, hath a tongue, ing thing it is, my brethren, that when you come hath a revelation, together for the purposes of social worship, in hath an interpreta which all hearts should unite, each of you is desirous himself to officiate publicly, in such a manner as best suits his present inclination, without any regard to decency and order? Every one of you hath a psalm to read, hath a doctrine to inculcate, hath a tongue in which to preach or pray, hath a revelation of some mystery to produce, hath an interpretation, which perhaps he immediately begins, while the person, from whom he is to interpret, hath but begun to speak, and thus five or six,d if not thoughts and state of the mind which such a stranger might be conscious of. Many memorable instances of which still happen, where ministers preach in an experimental manner; and lasting effects have often been produced, in consequence of such impressions. prophet; perhaps the ill designs which had brought them into the assembly, when they came only as spies; and this was well suited to the purpose of producing strong convictions of the presence of God with Christians. But I chose to paraphrase the words in such a manner, as to include any remarkable correspondence Five or six, &c.] Five such cases between what was spoken, and the are mentioned. It seems probable, that Those who speak with tongues, should speak in course. 337 1 Cor. xv. 26 tion. Let all things more, may be speaking at the same time in SECT: be done to edifying. consequence of which no one can be distinctly xxvii. heard, and the assembly degenerates into a kind of tumultuous riot. I beseech you, my friends, to rectify this, and to proceed upon the general canon, which I would recommend to you upon all such occasions, let all things be done, not for ostentation, but for edification, in such a man27 If any man ner as you do in your consciences believe will speak in an unknown be most like to do good to the souls of men, tongue, let it be by and to build up the church of Christ. by three, and that by interpret. two, or at the most And in particular, if any should speak with 27 course; and let one an [unknown] tongue, [let it be] by two, or at most, [by] three in one meeting, and that by 28 But if there be course: and let some one present still interpret Do interpreter, let him keep silence in what is said.f But if there be not an inter- 28 the church; and let preter, let him be silent in the church, where he some of these Christians were so full of themselves, and so desirous of exercising their respective gifts, that without waiting for the permission and direction of him who presided in the assembly (which in the synagogues the apostles themselves seem to have done, compare Acts xiii. 15,) several began speaking, or singing, in the same minute, and some began while others were speaking. The manner in which discourses were carried on in the schools of the philosophers, where several little knots of disputants seem to have been engaged at the same time, and what happened in Jewish synagogues after worship was concluded, might possibly have given some occasion to an irregularity which to us seems so shocking one e Done for edification.] I must presume to say, that it appears probable to me, that had officer been appointed, as a representative of the apostle, to whose direction the society would in conscience have been obliged in all indifferent matters to submit, some hint would have been given of it, amidst the many opportunities which the state of this Corinthian church especally, gave both to St. Paul, and afterwards to Clemens Romanus. Let one interpret.] In this method it is evident, that any discourse thus delivered, would take up more than twice the time in which it might have been delivered had it first been spoken in a known tongue. & If there be no interpreter, let him be silent] Dr. Whitby thinks this was only enjoined to avoid the ostentation of a VOL. 4. 44 man's speaking, first in an unknown tongue, and then actin, as his own interpreter; but I think it evident, from this text, compared with verse 13, that a man might have the gift of speaking with tongues, who could not interpret; and the great difficulty is to say, how this could happen, and yet the thing wanting not be another tongue; which the distinction between the gift of tongues, and the interpretation of tongues, seems to demonstrate that it was not. I can only offer a conjecture here, which it becomes me to do with the greater modesty, as I think it is a pretty singular one; (as indeed the difficulty itself, great as it is, has seldom been stated by commentators.) The miracle, which conferred the gifts of tongues, seems to have been the instantaneous impressing on the mind the familiar and perfect knowl edge of a language with which the person was before unacquainted; yet so, that from that time the person receiving it should be able, without any new miracle, to use it as he thought fit, and this, as Dr. Leland well observes, is the only hypothesis on which the abuse of this gift can be accounted for. (See Leland against Morgan, Vol. I. chap. xiii. p. 375.) But I apprehend, that though every man using this gift, and understanding what he said, must have been able to have rendered his discourse sentence by sentence, into his native language, he might be unable to render it into a third, which might be that of many present. Now in such a circumstance, the gift of interpretation mighttake 338 1 Cor. Some one present should interpret what is said. SECT. can do no manner of service by uttering what him speak to him. xxvii. none but himself can understand; and let him self, and to God. speak to himself, and to God let him make use xiv. 28 of this language in his own private devotions, if he has a mind by exercise to keep up his readiness in it: but let him not produce it so 29 unreasonably, as in the present case. And as 29 Let the proph for those prophesyings which we chiefly speak ets speak two or of, when scriptures are explained; let only two three, and let the other judge. or three of the prophets speak in one assembly; and let the rest judge, and compare one doctrine with another for the farther improve30 ment of all. But if while the discourse con- 30 If any thing be tinues, [any thing] be revealed to another that revealed to another that sitteth by, let sitteth by, let him not immediately arise, and the first hold his interrupt the first; but let him sit still, till he peace. 31 have done speaking.h For by this means ye 31 For ye may all may all, who are thus furnished for it, proph- prophesy one by one, that all may learn, esy one by one, that your instruction and con- and all may be com solation may not be thrown away, which would forted. be the case, if many were speaking at once; but all may learn, and all may be comforted. 32 And there is no impossibility of doing this; ets. 32 And the spirits for the Spirit of God that inspires you, is not of the prophets are a wild irresistible impulse, like that, by which subject to the proph the Pythian priestess, and others who profess inspiration and prophesy among the Gentiles, pretend to be agitated; but the spirits, or inspirations, of the Christian prophets produce those calm emotions which are subject to the prophets they leave a man master of himself, so that he can moderate his passions, and wait the most convenient time and manner of utter33 ing his oracles. For God is not [the] [author] the author of confu 33 For God is not of disorder and confusion, but of peace and sion, but of peace, as place, if it consisted, as I conjecture it did, in an instantaneous capacity of understanding a strange language, just for that time, and rendering what was spoken in it, into the native tongue of the interpreter. (Compare the paraphrase on chap. xii. verse 10) On this hypothesis, and truly I think on this alone, one, who had the gift of interpretation, might not be able to speak any foreign language at all; and he who had the gift of a tongue, might not in some circumstances be able to interpret to those who were then his hearers. In this case, the gift of interpretation, enabling a man only to act a secondary part, would be less splendid; but whenever it was exercised, it would always argue the person under an immediate agency of the Spirit, and conduce to his usefulness. h Let the first have done speaking.] Sol think a must here be rendered; for if the direction had been, "Let him that was speaking immediately hold his peace, as soon as another intimates that he has & revelation;" it would introduce a confusion, which this advice was intended to prevent; and I think such an interpreta tion equally inconsistent with reason, and the connection of the place. Compare verse 32, 33. the saints. The women must be silent in their religious assemblies. 339 1 Cor. in all churches of regularity; and this orderly method of pro- sECT. ceeding, I the rather urge upon you, as it is xxvii. practised in all the other churches of the saints: and I should be sorry, that you, my Corinthian xiv. friends, should be remarkable for the irregu- 33 larity of your proceedings, when God hath been pleased so graciously to distinguish you by such a variety of gifts, and the flourishing state of your society. ence, as also saith the law. 34 Let your woLet your women be silent in your religious 34 men keep silence in assemblies, if they have not some extraordinary the churches: for it revelation; for it is not commonly permitted is not permitted unto them to speak; but to them to speak on such public occasions, but it they are commanded is their duty to be in subjection to the superior to be under obedi- authority of the man as the law also says, in recording that early sentence on Eve and her daughters for the first transgression, (Gen. iii. 16,) To him shall be thy desire subjected, and 35 And if they he shall rule over thee. And if they have a 35 will learn any thing, mind to learn the meaning of any thing which husbands at home: they cannot well understand, let them ask their for it is a shame for own husbands at home, as they may more cona woman to speak in veniently and freely talk with them, without the church. let them ask their 36 What? came any appearance of ostentation, or suspicion of I know the present custom among you is 36 the word of God out contrary to some of these regulations, and perfrom you? or came haps some opposition may be made to them: it unto you only? but permit me to ask, Did the word of God indeed come out from you ? Are you the first church in the world, by whose example all others should be modelled? Or did it reach to you alone? Are you the last, and the only an unlawful action. Taking this prohibition to be universal, I should suppose with Dr. Whitby, that prophesying in the foregoing place, signified singing psalms, and praying, not leading the devotions, but joining with others in prayer. A woman to speak, &c.] There is an apparent difficulty in reconciling this with chap. xi. 5, 13, in which the apostle seems to grant a liberty, which he here denies. Besides the solution suggested in the paraphrase on verse 34, some have thought, he intended in the former passage only to say, how women should speak, if they spoke at * Did the word, &c.] That scepticism, all; but here absolutely to prohibit their whether did the word of God come forth from doing it but I cannot think he would de- you alone, would be the exactest version of bate and adjust the circumstances of doing a vμav, &c. 340 The apostle exhorts them to regard these as Divine precepts. pel came from Jerusalem, it is going all over 1 Cor. the world, and therefore I must admonish you 36 to behave with such a modest respect to others xiv. 37 as becomes those who know yourselves to be And if any of you appear to be a prophet, or S7 If any man spiritual [person] endowed with extraordinary think himself to be a gifts above his brethren, let him prove that he prophet, or spiritual, let him acknowledge is indeed under the influence of the Divine that the things that I Spirit, by his submission and obedience to these write unto you, are determinations: for he must necessarily ac- of the Lord. knowledge, that the things which I now write unto you, are the commandments of the Lord, dictated by inspiration from him, and not the 38 private conception of my own mind. But if the commandments 38 But if any man any one is, or affects to appear, ignorant, or be ignorant, let him 39 Therefore, my brethren, to conclude this long 39 Wherefore, bre 40 But especially remember this great compre- 40 Let all things hensive rule, to be applied to a thousand varie- be done decently, ties which may arise, Let all things be done de- and in order. cently, and according to order: let all be con 1 Let him be ignorant.] Dr. Whitby decent or indecent, according to different would render ayvoile, let him not be acknowl- circumstances attending them. In the edged to be a true prophet; but that is chang. sense given in the paraphrase, the words ing the interpretation of the word, in a are used by the philosopher, when be exmanner one would not choose to admit horts men to consider the exact order and without greater necessity. regular motions of the heavenly bodies, that they may thereby learn To uxor To Taqueror, what is decent and orderly. Whichcot's Șel. Serm. p. 177, Edin. Edit. m Decently, &c.] It must be by a mere accommodation, that this expression can be applied to ceremonies, which may be |