sage is very obscure ; but the obscurity arises from our igno- rance of the facts described, which, though familiar to those to whom the apostle wrote, have ceased to occur." That this gift should be specially connected with prophesying, as in Acts 19, 6, "they spake with tongues and prophesied," and elsewhere, is to be explained from the fact that all speaking under divine, supernatural influence, was included under the head of prophesying; and as all who spake with tongues " spake as the Spirit gave them utterance," in the wide sense of the word they all prophesied. But it is not so easy to understand why this gift should have been so common, nor why it should so often attend on conversion; see Acts 10, 46. 19, 6. There are many things also in this chapter which it is not easy to understand on any theory of the nature of the gift. Under these circumstances it is necessary to hold fast what is clear, and to make the certain our guide in explaining what is obscure. It is clear, 1. That the word tongues in this connection, as already proved, means languages. 2. That the speaker with tongues was in a state of calm self-control. He could speak, or be silent, 14, 28. 3. That what he said was intelUgible to himself, and could be interpreted to others. 4. That the unintelligibleness of what was said, arose not from the sounds uttered being inarticulate, but from the ignorance of the hearer. The interpretation of particular passages must, therefore, be controlled by these facts.
1. Follow after charity, and desire spiritual (gifts), but rather that ye may prophesy.
In the preceding chapters Paul had taught, 1. That aU the extraordinary gifts of the Spirit were proper objects of desire. 2. That they were of different relative importance. 3. That love was of greater value than any gift. In accordance with these principles, the apostle exhorts his readers to follow after love ; i. e. to press forward towards it, as men do towards the goal in a race, Phil. 3, 12. 14. Pursue it earnestly as the great- est good. But at the same time, desire spiritual gifts. Be- cause love is more important than miraculous gifts, it does not follow that the latter were not to be sought. The same word is used here as in 12, 31. But rather that ye may prophesy. The two gifts specially in the apostle's mind were the gift of speaking with tongues, and that of prophecy, i. e. the gift of speaking as the organ of the Spirit in a manner adapted to in-