1 Corinthians — Chapter 14

This then being the scope and direct drift of the Apostle, as is most cleere by his whole discource, & by the record of al antiquitie: let the godly, graue, & discret Reader take a tast in this one point, of the Protestants deceitful dealing, abusing the simplicitie of the popular, by peruerse application of God's holy word, vpon some smal similitude & equiuocation of certaine termes against the approued godly vse & truth of the vniuersal Church, for the seruice in the Latin or Greek tongue: which they ignorantly, or rather wilfully, pretend to be against this discourse of S. Paul touching strange tongues.

1. Rather prophecie.) A paraphrastical exposition of this Chapter concerning vnknowen tongues. The guift of prophecying, that is, of expounding the hard points of our religion, is better then the guift of strange tongues, though both be good.

2. Not to men.) To talke in a strange language, vnknowen also to himself, profiteth not the hearers, though in respect of God who vnderstandeth al tongues and things, and for the mysteries which he vttereth in his spirit, and for his owne edification in spirit and affection, there be no difference: but the Prophet or Expositour treating of the same matters to the vnderstanding of the whole assemblie, edifieth not himself alone but al his hearers.

6. If I come.) That is, If I your Apostle, and Doctour should preach to you in an vnknowen tongue, and neuer vse any kind of exposition, interpretation, or explication of my strange words; what profit could you take thereby?

8. If the trumpet.) As the Trumpeter can not giue warning to or from the fight, vnles he vse a distinct & intelligible sound or stroke knowen to the souldiars: euen so the Preacher that exhorteth to good life, or dehorteth from sinne, except he doe it in a speach which his hearers vnderstand, can not attaine to his purpose, nor doe the people any good.

13. Let him pray that.) He that hath only the guift of strange tongues, let him pray to God for the guift of interpretation; that the one may be more profitable by the other. For, to exhort or preach in a strange tongue was not vnlawful nor vnprofitable, but glorious to God, so that the speach had been either by himself, or by another, afterward expounded.

14. My spirit praieth. Also when a man praieth in a strange tongue which himself vnderstandeth not, it is not so fruitful for instruction to him, as if he knew particularly what he praied. Neuertheles the Apostle forbiddeth not such praying neither, confessing that his spirit, hart, and affection praieth wel towards God, though his mind & vnderstanding be not profited to instruction, as otherwise it might haue been if he vnderstood the words. Neither yet doth he appoint such an one to get his strange praier translated into his vulgar tongue, to obteine thereby the foresaid instruction. See the Declaration following of this Chapter.

22. A signe.) The extraordinarie guift of tongues was a miraculous signe in the primitiue Church, to be vsed specially in the Nations of the Heathen for their conuersion.

23. Infidels.) In the primitiue Church, when Infidels dwelt neer or among Christians, and oftentimes came vnto their publike preaching & exercises or exhortation and exposition of Scriptures and the like: it was both vnprofitable and ridiculous to heare a number talking, teaching, singing Psalmes, & the like, one in this language, & another in that, al at once like a black-saunts, and one often not vnderstood of another; sometime not to themselues, and to strangers or the simple standers by, not at al. Where otherwise if they had spoken either in knowen tongues, or had done it in order, hauing an expositour or interpreter withal, the Infidels might haue been conuinced.

26. A Psalme.) Of what spiritual exercise the Apostle speaketh. We see here that those spiritual exercises consisted specially, first in singing or giuing forth new Psalmes or praiers and lauds: secondly, in Doctrine, teaching, or reading lectures: thirdly, in Reuelation of secret things either present or to come: fourthly, in speaking tongues of strange Nations: lastly, in translating or interpreting that which was said, into some common knowen language, as into Greek, Latin, &c. Al which guifts they had among them by miracle from the Holy Ghost.

27. In course.) The disorders in the same. Al these things they did without order, of pride and contention, they preached, they prophecied, they praied, they blessed, without any seemly respect one of another, or obseruing of turnes and entercourse of vttering their guifts. Yea women without couer or veile, and without regard of their sexe or the Angels, or Priests or their owne husbands, malapertly spake tongues, taught or prophecied with the rest. This was then the disorder among the Corinthians, which the Apostle in this whole chapter reprehendeth and sought to redresse, by forbidding women vtterly that publike exercise, and teaching men, in what order and course as wel for speaking in tongues, as interpreting and prophecying it should be kept. A MORE AMPLE DECLARATION OF THE sense of this 14. Chapter. That S. Paul's place maketh nothing against the seruice in the latin tongue. This then being the scope and direct drift of the Apostle, as is most cleere by his whole discource, & by the record of al antiquitie: let the godly, graue, & discret Reader take a tast in this one point, of the Protestants deceitful dealing, abusing the simplicitie of the popular, by peruerse application of God's holy word, vpon some smal similitude & equiuocation of certaine termes against the approued godly vse & truth of the vniuersal Church, for the seruice in the Latin or Greek tongue: which they ignorantly, or rather wilfully, pretend to be against this discourse of S. Paul touching strange tongues. By strange tongues the Apostle meaneth not the Latin Greek or Hebrew. Know therfore, first, that here his no word written or meant of any other tongues but such as men spake in the Primitiue Church by miracle: & that nothing is meant of those tongues which were the common languages of the world or of the Faithful, vnderstood of the learned & ciuil people in euery great citie, & in which the Scriptures of the Old or new Testament were written, as, the Hebrew, Greek, and Latin. For though these also, might be giuen by miracle & without study, yet being knowen to the Iewes, Romans, or Greek, in euery place, they be not counted among the differences of barbarous & strange tongues here spoken of, which could not be interpreted commonly, but by the miraculous guift also of interpretation. And therfore this Apostle (as the Euangelists also and others did their books) wrote his Epistles in Greek to the Romans & to al other Churches. Which when he wrote, though he penned them not in the vulgar language peculiar to euery people, yet he wrote them not in Tongue, that is, in any strange tongue not intelligible without the guift of interpretation, wherof he speaketh here: but in a notable, knowen, & learned speach, interpretable of thousands in euery countrie. S. Augustine our Apostle brought in the Seruice in the Latin tongue. No more did S. Augustin our Apostle speaking in Latin, & bringing in the Scripture & Seruice in Latin, preach & pray in Tongues according to the Apostles meaning here. For the Latin was not, nor is not, in any part of the West, either miraculous or strange, though it be not the National tongue of any one countrie this day. And therfore S. Bede saith, (li. 1. hist. Aug. c. 1.) that being then foure diuers vulgar languages in our countrie, the Latin was made common to them al. The Latin seruice one and the same in al countries and strange to none. And indeed of the two (though in truth neither sort be forbidden by this passage of S. Paul) the barbarous languages of euery seueral prouince in respect of the whole Church of Christ, are rather the strange tongues here spoken of, then the common Latin tongue, which is vniuersally of al the West Church more or lesse learned, and pertaineth much more to vnitie and orderly coniunction of al Nations in one faith, Seruice, and worship of God, then if it were in the sundry barbarous speaches of euery Prouince. The seruice in vulgar tongues strange & barbarous to euery stranger. Wherin al Christians that trauel about this part of the world or the Indes either, where soeuer come, shal find the self-same Masse, Mattins, & Seruice, as they had at home. Where now if we goe to Germanie, or the Germans or Geneuians come to vs, each others Seruice shal be thought strange and barbarous. Yea and the Seruice of our owne language within a few hundreth yeares (or rather euery Age) shal wholy become barbarous and vnknowen to ourselues; out tongue (as al vulgar) doth so often change.

34. Let women hold their peace.) Women may haue any temporal Soueraigntie, but no Ecclesiastical function. There be, or were, certaine Heretikes in our Countrie (for such euer take the Scriptures diuersly for the aduantage of time) that denied women to hold lawfully any kingdom or temporal Soueraignty: but that is false and against both reason and the Scriptures. This only in that sexe is true, that it is not capable of holy orders, spiritual Regiment or Cure of soules: and therfore can not doe any function proper to Priests and Bishops: not speake in the Church, and so not preach, nor dispute, not haue or giue voice deliberatiue or definitiue in Councels and publike Assemblies, concerning matters of Religion, nor make Ecclesiastical lawes concerning the same, nor bind, nor loose, nor excommunicate, nor suspend, nor degrade, nor absolue, nor minister Sacraments, other then Baptisme in the case of mere necessitie, when neither Priest nor other man can be had: much lesse prescribe any thing to the Clergie, how to minister them, or giue any man right to rule, preach, or execute any spiritual function as vnder her & by her authoritie: no creature being able to impart that wherof itself is incapable both by nature & Scriptures. This Regiment is expresly giuen to the Apostles, Bishops, and Prelates: they only haue authoritie to bind and loose, Mat. 18: they only are set by the Holy Ghost to gouerne the Church, Act. 20.: they only haue cure of our soules directly, and must make account to God for the same, Hebr. 13.