1401 O Lord, take me out of the power of the evil man; keep me safe from the violent man: 2 For their hearts are full of evil designs; and they are ever making ready causes of war. 3 Their tongues are sharp like the tongue of a snake; the poison of snakes is under their lips. (Selah.) 4 O Lord, take me out of the hands of sinners; keep me safe from the violent man: for they are designing my downfall. 5 The men of pride have put secret cords for my feet; stretching nets in my way, so that they may take me with their tricks. (Selah.) 6 I have said to the Lord, You are my God: give ear, O Lord, to the voice of my prayer. 7 O Lord God, the strength of my salvation, you have been a cover over my head in the day of the fight.
8 O Lord, give not the wrongdoer his desire; give him no help in his evil designs, or he may be uplifted in pride. (Selah.) 9 As for those who come round me, let their heads be covered by the evil of their lips. 10 Let burning flames come down on them: let them be put into the fire, and into deep waters, so that they may not get up again. 11 Let not a man of evil tongue be safe on earth: let destruction overtake the violent man with blow on blow. 12 I am certain that the Lord will take care of the cause of the poor, and of the rights of those who are troubled. 13 Truly, the upright will give praise to your name: the holy will have a place in your house.
1411 Lord, I have made my cry to you; come to me quickly; give ear to my voice, when it goes up to you. 2 Let my prayer be ordered before you like a sweet smell; and let the lifting up of my hands be like the evening offering. 3 O Lord, keep a watch over my mouth; keep the door of my lips. 4 Keep my heart from desiring any evil thing, or from taking part in the sins of the evil-doers with men who do wrong: and let me have no part in their good things.
5 Let the upright give me punishment; and let the god-fearing man put me in the right way; but I will not let the oil of sinners come on my head: when they do evil I will give myself to prayer. 6 When destruction comes to their judges by the side of the rock, they will give ear to my words, for they are sweet. 7 Our bones are broken up at the mouth of the underworld, as the earth is broken by the plough. 8 But my eyes are turned to you, O Lord God: my hope is in you; let not my soul be given up to death. 9 Keep me from the net which they have put down for me, and from the designs of the workers of evil. 10 Let the sinners be taken in the nets which they themselves have put down, while I go free.
1421 The sound of my cry went up to the Lord; with my voice I made my prayer for grace to the Lord. 2 I put all my sorrows before him; and made clear to him all my trouble. 3 When my spirit is overcome, your eyes are on my goings; nets have been secretly placed in the way in which I go.
4 Looking to my right side, I saw no man who was my friend: I had no safe place; no one had any care for my soul. 5 I have made my cry to you, O Lord; I have said, You are my safe place, and my heritage in the land of the living. 6 Give ear to my cry, for I am made very low: take me out of the hands of my haters, for they are stronger than I. 7 Take my soul out of prison, so that I may give praise to your name: the upright will give praise because of me; for you have given me a full reward.
141 Go after love; still desiring to have the things which the Spirit gives, but most of all that you may have the prophet's power. 2 For he who makes use of tongues is not talking to men but to God; because no one has the sense of what he is saying; but in the Spirit he is talking of secret things. 3 But the word of the prophet gives men knowledge and comfort and strength. 4 He who makes use of tongues may do good to himself; but he who gives the prophet's word does good to the church. 5 Now though it is my desire for you all to have the power of tongues, it would give me more pleasure to be hearing the prophet's word from you; for this is a greater thing than using tongues, if the sense is not given at the same time, for the good of the church.
6 But, now, my brothers, if I come to you using tongues, what profit will it be to you, if I do not give you a revelation, or knowledge, or the word of the prophet, or teaching? 7 Even things without life, having a voice, such as a music-pipe or other instrument, if they do not give out different sounds, who may be certain what is being played? 8 For if the war-horn gives out an uncertain note, who will get ready for the fight? 9 So if you, in using a strange tongue, say words which have no sense, how will anyone take in what you are saying? for you will be talking to the air. 10 There are, it may be, a number of different voices in the world, and no voice is without sense. 11 But if the sense of the voice is not clear to me, I am like a man from a strange country to him who is talking, and he will be the same to me. 12 So if you are desiring the things which the Spirit gives, let your minds be turned first to the things which are for the good of the church. 13 For this reason, let the man who has the power of using tongues make request that he may, at the same time, be able to give the sense. 14 For if I make use of tongues in my prayers, my spirit makes the prayer, but not my mind.
15 What then? let my prayer be from the spirit, and equally from the mind; let my song be from the spirit, and equally from mind. 16 For if you give a blessing with the spirit, how will the man who has no knowledge say, So be it, after your prayer, seeing that he has not taken in what you are saying? 17 For your giving of the blessing is certainly well done, but of no profit to the man without knowledge. 18 I give praise to God that I am able to make use of tongues more than you all: 19 But in the church it would be better for me to make use of five words of which the sense was clear, so that others might have profit, than ten thousand words in a strange tongue. 20 My brothers, do not be children in mind: in evil be as little children, but in mind be of full growth.
(Read 1 Corinthians 14:1-5)
Prophesying, that is, explaining Scripture, is compared with speaking with tongues. This drew attention, more than the plain interpretation of Scripture; it gratified pride more, but promoted the purposes of Christian charity less; it would not equally do good to the souls of men. What cannot be understood, never can edify. No advantage can be reaped from the most excellent discourses, if delivered in language such as the hearers cannot speak or understand. Every ability or possession is valuable in proportion to its usefulness. Even fervent, spiritual affection must be governed by the exercise of the understanding, else men will disgrace the truths they profess to promote.
(Read 1 Corinthians 14:6-14)
Even an apostle could not edify, unless he spoke so as to be understood by his hearers. To speak words that have no meaning to those who hear them, is but speaking into the air. That cannot answer the end of speaking, which has no meaning; in this case, speaker and hearers are barbarians to each other. All religious services should be so performed in Christian assemblies, that all may join in, and profit by them. Language plain and easy to be understood, is the most proper for public worship, and other religious exercises. Every true follower of Christ will rather desire to do good to others, than to get a name for learning or fine speaking.
(Read 1 Corinthians 14:15-25)
There can be no assent to prayers that are not understood. A truly Christian minister will seek much more to do spiritual good to men's souls, than to get the greatest applause to himself. This is proving himself the servant of Christ. Children are apt to be struck with novelty; but do not act like them. Christians should be like children, void of guile and malice; yet they should not be unskilful as to the word of righteousness, but only as to the arts of mischief. It is a proof that a people are forsaken of God, when he gives them up to the rule of those who teach them to worship in another language. They can never be benefitted by such teaching. Yet thus the preachers did who delivered their instructions in an unknown tongue. Would it not make Christianity ridiculous to a heathen, to hear the ministers pray or preach in a language which neither he nor the assembly understood? But if those who minister, plainly interpret Scripture, or preach the great truths and rules of the gospel, a heathen or unlearned person might become a convert to Christianity. His conscience might be touched, the secrets of his heart might be revealed to him, and so he might be brought to confess his guilt, and to own that God was present in the assembly. Scripture truth, plainly and duly taught, has a wonderful power to awaken the conscience and touch the heart.
