spirit." The spirits of the prophets means the Holy Ghost as manifested in the prophets, or the spiritual influence of which they were the subjects. And that is just the meaning of my spirit in this passage.
15. What is it then ? I will pray with the spirit, and I wiU pray with the understanding also : I will sing with the spirit, and I will sing with the under- standing also.
What is it then? i. e. what is the practical conclusion from what has been said ? That conclusion is expressed by Paul's avowal of his own purpose. The interpretation of this verse of course depends on that of the preceding. Accord- ingly, some say, the meaning is, I will pray not only with the reason, but with the understanding also, i. e. not only with the higher powers of my nature in exercise, but also with such a command of the understanding as to be able to comprehend and to interpret what I say.* 2. Others say the passage means, ' I will pray with the heart and with the understand- ing ; my mind and feelings shall unite in the exercise.' A very good sense, but entirely foreign to the context. The sentiment is correct in itself, but it is not what Paul here says. 3. According to the third interpretation the sense is, ' I will not only pray in the exercise of my spiritual gift, but so as to be understood by others ; ' i. e. not only spiritually but intelli- gibly. If to) vol, with the understanding^ may mean, as the moderns say it does, ' with a view to interpret ' (Meyer) ; it certainly may mean, ' with a view to be understood.* That is, this is what is implied and intended in what the apostle says. When a man spoke tw Trvcu/xan, with the Spirit^ the Spirit was the principium movens^ the moving principle, determining him to speak, and what to say. When he spake with tw vot, with the understanding^ the understanding was that control- ling principle. These two could be combined. The man could so speak under the guidance of the Spirit as to be intel- ligible to others.
* This view of the subject supposes the speakers Trith tongues to have been in a state somewhat analogous to that of somnambulists; whose spiritual na- ture is in activity, but their ordinary intellectual consciousness is suspended, 60 that when they are recovered, they do not remember any thing they said or did when in their somnambulistic condition.
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