THE KING’S BUSINESS
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the early church gatherings, not only did all join silently in the prayer and giving of thanks, but they also voiced their assent by saying “Amen!” aloud (cf. Deut. 27:15- 26; Neh. 8 : 6 ). So ought it to be today. But in order that this may be done intelli gently it is necessary to pray and give thanks in a language that can be easily understood, or else the one who “filleth the place of the unlearned” cannot say Amen, intelligently. The thanksgiving may be a good one in itself, but there is no edi fication in it for the one who does not understand it. It is evident from a com parison of verses fifteen and sixteen that -in the early church, as in the ancient syna gogues, prayer and thanksgiving went hand in hand (cf. Col. 4:2; ,1 Thess. 5:17, 18; Phil. 4:6). Friday, December 14 . 1 Corinthians 14 : 18 - 20 . It was not because He himself did not possess the power of speaking with tongues that Paul disparaged this gift. He did speak with tongues. He spoke with tongues more than all the rest. He had this gift in a pre eminent degree. Nevertheless, though he possessed this gift in such an unusual degree, so that he could say truthfully “I speak with tongues more than you all,” yet he also says, “in the church (i.e., in the public assembly of God’s people) I had rather speak fiye words with my under-: standing, that by my voice I might teach others also, than ten thousand words in an unknown tongue.” To the Spirit taught man the purpose of speaking in the assem bly was to impart information to others and not merely to get a blessing for oneself; and, therefore, there should be very little, if any, speaking with tongues in the public assembly, and the principal part of the time should be given to speaking in such a way,” with „the understanding, (i.e., intelligently and intelligibly, that the speaker under stands what he has spoken and the hearers understand what he says. In many of the gatherings of those who today say that they possess the power to speak “with tongues," the emphasis is laid upon the speaking with
tongues, and instead of their choosing, as ■Paul did, to speak five words with their understanding rather than ten thousand words in an unknown tongue, they would choose rather to speak five words in an unknown tongue than ten thousand words that they understood and that their hearers understood. In this 19th verse there is a great principle for all who speak in public, even if their speech is only a testimony in prayer meeting, and that principle is, talk so you will be understood. A short talk understood is better than one two thousand times as long not understood. People may admire your gifts if you talk in a tongue no one will understand, but God will be pleased with your grace if you talk so as to instruct and help others. In the twen tieth verse Paul addresses those whom he has been admonishing, and whose foolish ness he has been correcting, and whom he will shortly further admonish and exhort, very tenderly. He calls them “Brethren.” Exhortations and admonitions spoken in tenderness and love sink far deeper into the heart than those spoken in brusqueness and severity. Paul clearly implies that to speak in tongues that the hearers cannot under stand is a childish thing to do. To use a gift, even though it be a supernatural gift of God, merely for display, to speak with tongues when no one present can under stand and so be profited by what is said, is chijdish/and Christians should not be child ish. They should be children in malice, but in understanding, that is in their thoughts, they should be men, full grown men (cf. Matt. 10:16; Rom. 16:19; 1 Cor. 3:1; Eph. 4:14). - Those who today are conducting assemblies where there is an excessive speaking with tongues assume that they are wiser than the ordinary run of Christians, but the Holy Ghost through the Apostle Paul here says that they are acting like children. Saturday, December 15 . 1 Corinthians 14 : 21 , 22 . Paul now brings forward another argu ment against the excessive and indiscrimi nate exercise of the gift of tongues. The
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