brotherhood and helpfulness of otherR. Therefore, "desire •.. rather that ye may, prophesy." And wherefore? That ye may "speak unto men" with three ends in· vie"·, namely, edification, exhortation, comfort. To edify is to build up the whole framework of Chris_tian character; to_ exhort is to incite to duty by timely, appropriate, and effectual motives; to comfort 1s to show tenderness of fellow-feeling and be partners of the ca~es, b~rdens, _and sorrows of others. What a blessed prerogative, to- go forth from the 1solat10ns of intellect and from the selfish exclusiveness that our own anxieties_ and sufferings. not i1:frequently bind upon us, and impart ourselves in large sympathies to such as m their weakness need our streno-th ! " Himself· " there the benefit lies. Lifted to a lofty height, borne upward fro~ one sublimity' to another . ::apt an_d entranced, it_ is still '.1imsdf that is t~e yarty concerned. 'l'here may b~ qmc~-:enmg a~d ennobling; the immense realm w1thm the soul, where the surprises of possible consc10usness are dormant, may suddenly yield their resources and o-ive the soul a new and astonishing sense of itself; yet, despite of all such results, it is himself, first and last. But he " that prophesieth edifieth 'the Church." A community gets tbe benefit, not th~ mere man_" himself." Is St. Paul depreciating the speaking with tongues? Hear his hearty wish: "I would that ye all spake with toncrues." In perfect consistency with this testimony to the worth of the tongues, he adds that he desires for them more ardently the gift of prophecy. Why this, more fervent wish? Because the prophet or teacher is greater than the speaker with tongues not interpreted -greater because he builds up and inspirits and cheers his brethren more than the mystical speaker with " an unknown tongue ; " greater because." it is more blessed fo give than to receive."-L.
Vers. 6-13.-Argument continued and illustrated. Greater is the teacher than the speaker in a tongue not interpreted, was the statement of the apostle in the fifth verse. Suppose, the.n, that even be were to address these Corinthians "with tongues;" would not the edification be confined to himself? , There would be no, exception in his case, none in his favour as the apostle of the Gentiles, and, hence his usefulness, no: matter what he might say, would be at an end, for lack of interpretation. "What shall I profit you?" The profit is only possible by means of doctrine and knowledge. Tongues unexplained convey no doctrine and knowledge, and hence, as relative to the hearers, are nugatory. For instance, there are musical instruments, "pipe or harp,"· that have a lan~age in the broad sense of the word, and convey their meanings if skilfully used. The instrument in the hands of an intelligent performer, though in itself" without life," yet receives life as it were from him who knows how to handle it. A dead thing, yet his breath or his touch imparts a representative vitality to its sounds, and you hear in those sounds the sentiments and emotions of the soul. What a range they have, rising and falling by turns, exulting, sorrowing, shouting, wailing! 'l'o effect this, there must be "a distinction in the sounds.;" the instrument must obey its laws, and the laws are dictated by the art of music. And, he argues further, that a trumpet in battle can give such discriminating sounds as to direct the movements of soldiers. The commanding officer, though distant, speaks to the trumpeter, and the trumpeter conveys the order through the trumpet. A thing "without life," and yet it outreaches the compass of the living voice and is fully understood, for it gives no "uncertain sound." Musical instruments are interpreters. Their utility exists in their intelligible modulations. If it were otherwise, they would but confuse and bewilder. The comparison is promptly applied. "So likewise ye," with all your admiration for "tongues" and your disposition to give them pre-eminence among the gifts, are indulging in a wild and incoherent display, Uf!less you "utter by the tongue words easy to be understood." Words are not sufficient; they must be words easy to be understood. The capacity of the hearer, the humblest in the congregation 1 must be thoughtfully regarded, otherwise they are to him idle rhapsodies; "ye shall speak into the air." If neither "pipe," nor "harp," nor "trumpet'' give an "uncertain sound,". still less could it be said of human voices (languages) that they are unintelligible. "Many kinds are in the world, and none of them without signification." Varieties exist. The surface of the globe is not more diversified than language, and yet, as the globe is one, so are these languages one, although very unequal as to capacity for the conveyance of ideas. But is the "tongue" like theso voices? If not, then he that oa. :uv.1-40.J THE FIRST 1 ,EPIS'l'LE TO THE CORINTHIANS. 467
epeaketh in, this way is a. barbarian; and would you barbarians in your Christian relations, outside foreigners, you nnd your fellow-citizens in the commonwealth of Christ shut out from intelligible communication with one another? We can see while reading St.· Paurs argument, what force it contains. Pentecost had restored what Babel had destroyed;· the ambitious tower that was to reach so high had been arrested by confusion· of tongues; men bad scattered from one great centre, and human centralization· bad been stopped in the evil form threatened. Pentecost had enabled men to ·co-operate; all languages could now be used as vehicles of makin" known the 0 gospel, and the builders could work together on the temple of the Church. Pentecost, however, was here annulled, and Corinth was making ready to scatter her Christian population, to_ alienate them from community of impulse and aim, and changing the members of the Church in this respect into barbarians to one another. "Even so ye," declares the apostle, who are" zealous of spiritual gifts,'' should esteem it your first concern to edify the Church. "Wherefore," he adds in application, let the speaker in an unknown tongue "pray that he may interpret." Whatever construction may be given this difficult passage, it is certain that St. Paul intended to teach the Corinthians the·absolU:te insulation of this sort of speech, its essential characteristic as opposed to the true function of language 1 and the complete exclusion of its possessor from the fellowship of the outward world.-L.