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REVIEW OF BOOKS.

An Apology for the Gift of Tongues and Interpretations at present manifested in the Church of Christ, by Archibald M'Kerrell, Esq. Greenock, 1831. 12mo. pp. 24.

A Sermon preached at Hull on the Unknown Tongues. By R. M. Beverley, Esq. 8vo. pp. 38. Westley and Davis. The Unknown Tongues discovered to be English, Spanish, and Latin; and the Rev. Ed. Irving, proved to be erroneous in attributing their utterance to the influence of the Holy Spirit, &c. &c. By George Pilkington. 8vo. pp. 36. Field and Bull.

The Unknown Tongues: or the Rev. Edward Irving arraigned at the bar of the Scriptures of Truth and found guilty. &c. Sixth Edition. Kidd 12mo. pp. 32,

SHOULD there arrive in this metropolis an individual professing to bring proposals to our government from the King of the French which involve an extraordinary change in the policy of his ministers towards this country, would it not be the obvious duty of our Cabinet carefully to examine the credentials which he produces to authenticate his embassy, lest perchance he attribute to the citizen king a line of policy never proposed nor even contemplated by him?

Such, we conceive, is the duty of the Christian Church at the present day, respecting the extraordinary pretensions to which the above pamphlets refer. For these supposed "gifts" are considered not merely as miraculous endowments, but endowments which fix the broad seal of heaven's approbation upon all the strange doctrines which for five years past, have been taught in "the prophetical school." The sinful

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manity of the Son of God-the monstrous notion of universal par

don, and above all, the millenarian dreams, are to be attested and confirmed by the restoration of the long lost gift of tongues.

Mr. M Kerrell thus speaks:

"Has the Church possessed this entire belief during the greater part of her history? No-the Gospel of the common salvation has indeed been believed all along. But the Gospel of the coming kingdom, the kingdom of Christ, the millenial ́ reign of Christ and his saints upon the earth, survived along with miracles only the first two centuries. The papacy from that time till the Reformation depressed and extinguished the doctrine of the kingdom; because, as Bishop Newton shrewdly remarks,' This kingdom is to be erected upon her ruins.' The reformed churches, on emerging her darkness with them, continued withfrom the papacy, carrying a portion of out the doctrine of the kingdom. It is only within the last few years that this glorious gospel of the kingdom has again been proclaimed in the church as the grand consummation of Christianity. With the doctrine of the kingdom is associated the performance of miracles. They cannot be performed in the church apart from the belief of the doctrine of the kingdom. Miracles are the earnest of this kingdom, (see Eph. i. 13, 14) They are the foretaste of this coming glory. Where the kingdom is not expected, the earnest of it cannot be given. When the twelve Apostles were first sent out to perform miracles, they preached,

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saying, the kingdom of heaven is at hand.' (Matt. x. 7.) When the seventy racles, they preached, the kingdom of disciples were sent out to perform mi

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God is come nigh unto you,' (Luke x. 9.) This then is the true answer to why the church has been without miracles during is now again beginning to be endued so long and so dark a period, and why she with power from on high.' Miracles are declared by Scripture to terminate at the second coming of the Lord Jesus, but not till then, (see 1 Cor. xiii. 10. taken in connexion with the whole preceding

part of the chapter.) Independently of miracles being inseparably connected

with the gospel of the kingdom, it would be an impossible thing that God should grant miracles as a seal to an unentire faith-a faith embracing only a part of revelation-it would be to set a seal against his own glory."―pp. 4, 5.

This avowal gives additional importance to the whole inquiry, as it not only involves the question whether these tongues" are indeed the miraculous gifts of the Holy Spirit, but also whether certain notions, which have been condemned as heresies by the unanimous judgment of the British Churches, are not "doctrines according to godliness." To an impartial judgment of this matter, it is therefore necessary that our readers should first hear the testimony of witnesses as to the nature of" the gift," and the characters of those who exercise it; and the following extracts are from the writings of disciples of the prophetical school.

"The character of those who are endued with the gift is, that they are disciples of the Lord Jesus. What Jesus said is fulfilled in them, "By this shall all know that ye are my disciples, if ye love one another." Not that lukewarm love which the church has been so long content with, but in verity love of the brethren unto death. Their exercise of the gift is perfectly scriptural. Although they speak in tongues by the almighty impulse of the Spirit of Christ, yet the constraint is not irresistible: vide 1st Corinthians xiv. 32, "The Spirits (inspirations in the original) of the prophets are subject to the prophets."-The constraint at times is evidently extremely powerful but still resistible. Some on first receiving the gift were deeply amazed, and ashamed to speak out; but the constraint of the Spirit immediately overcame their partial resistance, and produced for itself utterance. The degree of constraint may be judged of by such instances: I witnessed an individual, while engaged in sewing, all in a moment let fall her needlework out of her fingers, and compressing her eyebrows with her hand, speak out or sing in a tongue, (I forget which of the two). I have heard the same individual, on a different o ccasion, privately express deep grief for having resisted, on a previous part of the day, an impulse of the Holy Ghost which

had come over her, to speak in a tongue; -on its afterwards striking her, that her speaking out on that occasion would have been much unto the glory of God: and it was not, I thiuk, until she had acknowledged her error to Him who is faithful and just to forgive, that she was soothed.

"In the midst of private conversation they are often impelled to speak out in tongues. A previous silence, and an extraordinary change of countenance, will generally intimate to others its approach; and it will then often occur that they will clench the nearest friend by the hand with au iron grasp, and speak out in the tongue; part of the time perhaps with the eyes closed, and then opened with the most intensely searching and fixed look. And on these occasions, that an individual has not faith that he will receive the gift of interpretation afterwards, such an individual, under an impulse to speak in a tongue, will abruptly leave the company and go to a private apartment, and there speak out in the tongue to himself and to God. This is strictly commanded in Corinthians, in the absence of interpretation, (vide 1st Cor. xiv 28)

"The gift of tongues is also used by these persons in prayer. Tongues are then indeed the highest language of converse which the creature can possibly hold with God. It is indeed a deeply mysterious thing that they should thus pray in the spirit, and not in the understanding, (vide 1st Cor. xiv. 14.)

"It is inconceivably solemn and blessed, that the Spirit of Jesus should thus plead through a creature of the dust; and laying aside his faculties, breathe in accents that man understandeth not, independently of the creature, but still in the creature, and in behalf of the creature. O it is a true and stupendous reality to be thus one with Christ, a partaker of his divine nature, (2 Pet. i. 4,) "As thou Father art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.' (John xvii. 21.) And this habitation of God in the church is, that the world may believe that he has sent Christ, which belief is to receive eternal life. abyss of love-of the love of Jesus-flowing through his body, the church-it is truly upon the world that its tide beats

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demanding entrance there-claiming every human being as its redeemed property; being a love that hath died for every human being. And anathema maranatha be the man that shall be able to deny this love entrance.

"I now proceed to insert a written specimen of the gift of tongues, as being

indispensably necessary on account of the references I have made to it, proving tongues to be a language.-This specimen is a very brief vocabulary of a tongue. It was collected by me on different occasions, in the beginning of this present year, on which I heard the same individual speak in a tongue, and it was written down by me on the spot, while the individual was in the act of speaking. I found it difficult to collect a more perfect specimen, from several causes. My not being a very good amanuensis. My resolution that every word I wrote down should be written down accurately as it was spoken; and the time lost by me in this, retarded me in following the speaker. I may remark here, that all the words being articulated with the same distinct ness, admitted of the same facility of being taken down, but for the obstacles I mention. I also felt that the deep, calm, oppressive solemnity of the scene, in which the gift is exhibited, rendered it difficult to write at all. So much of a feeling of sacrilege accompanied an attempt to write, that nothing, I think, but the recurrence to my mind that the apostle John was permitted to write the Apocalypse in the midst of the vision, could have permitted me to write at all. -The exhibition of the gift transcends all power of description--no description can convey a conception of the reality. The deportment of the speaker is extraordinary in the last degree--the countenance receives a dignity and a ravishment of expression superhuman--all traces of a self agent are fled from the features--the tone of voice is quite unearthly. You stand in the immediate presence of God. You feel in the condition of a spirit ushered before that God from its tenement of clay. There is positive shrinking from the feeling of existence. The unseen gaze of the Almighty is felt to be upon you, but it is the gaze of Jesus.

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"The awe and suspense felt during the continuance of the tongue, is somewhat relieved when the speaker begins to interpret. The interpretation is again so worthy of God, its truths so exalted, its language so sublimely simple, every word a living power. And it is in peaceful response of being, that it is heard; the character of Him being declared in it, who left us his peace, not as the world giveth peace.

"The words of the tongue as written down by me are widely scattered, none in the order they were spoken, except those marked within ""; and they are as follow:

Hippo-Gerosto-Hippo-BoorosSenoote--" Foorime Oorin Hoopo Tanto Noostin"-Noorastin-- Niparos -- Hipanos - Bantos -- Boorin--"O Pinitos" Elelastino--Halimungitos - Dantitu— Hampootini — Farimi – Aristos-Ekrampos -"Epoongos Vangami"--Beresessino-

Tereston--Sastinootino-Alinoosis

"O Fastos Sungor O Fastos Sungor". Deripangito - Boorinos - Hypen Eletanteti-- Eretini--Menati."

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M'Kerrell, pp. 9--12.

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'J. M'D. read and prayed. In the course of prayer, and while engaged in intercession for others, began speaking ing for some time, he sung, or rather in an unknown tongue; and after speakchanted, in the same tongue. He then rose, and we all rose with him: and, in a very loud voice, and with great solemfor a considerable time. He then, with nity, he addressed us in the same tongue the same loudness of voice and manner, addressed us in English, cailing on us to prepare for trial-to crucify the flesh, &c. After he had concluded, a short pause ensued: and suddenly the woman-servant of the M'D.'s arose, and spoke for ten minutes in an unknown tongue, and then in English: the latter was entirely from Scripture, consisting of passages from different parts, and connected together in the most remarkable manner.

"Mrs.

one of the ladies who had received the Spirit, but had not received the gift of tongues, (she received the gift while we were in the country,) arose, went out of the room, and began speaking in a loud voice of the coming judgments.

"The tongues spoken by all the several persons, in number nine, who had received the gift, are perfectly distinct in themselves, and from each other. J. M'D. speaks two tongues, both easily discernible from each other. I easily perceived when he was speaking in the one, and when in the other tongue. J. M'D. exercises his gift more frequently than any of the others; and I have heard him speak for twenty minutes together, with all the energy of voice and action of an orator addressing an audience. The language which he then, and indeed generally uttered, is very full and harmonious, containing many Greek and Latin radicals, and with inflections also much resembling those of the Greek language. I also frequently noticed that he employed the same radical with different inflections: but I do not remember to have noticed his employing two words together, both of which, as to root and inflection, I should pronounce to belong to

any language with which I am acquainted. (Morning Watch, VIII. p. 871.)”—p. 21. "I attended," says Mr. Pilkington, "the prayer-meeting at Mr. Irving's Church, at half past six every morning, and was but once absent, for nearly three months previous to the Sunday, Oct. 9th, when the general congregation were surprised and alarmed by a voice from the mouth of a Sister. During that period I frequently heard exhortations from two individuals-one the Brother who continues to speak, the other a Sister, who, as hereafter explained, has discontinued her perorations; for such the conclusions in English appeared to me, as connected with the "TONGUE," which invariably preceded them, and which I at first did not comprehend, because it burst forth from the former with an astonishing and terrible crash,* so suddenly, and in such short sentences, that I seldom recovered the shock before the English commenced; and as the latter always chanted, it became difficult to discriminate the Tongue from the English; nevertheless I was enabled to observe many pious and prophetic expressions. I felt the force of the admonitions and warnings very deeply, because they were consistent in their matter with the laws of God, and uttered in a tone of power and authority from the Brother, or of plaintive and affectionate emotion from the Sister. But as these voices were always heard in the morning services, and not on the Sabbath, or when the whole congregation was assembled, I for some time thought it was nothing more than a high religious feeling in persons who gave vent to it on finding themselves amongst the most zealous of their Christian brethren. This continued without any remarkable occurrence till about six weeks before the Sunday alluded to, when the Brother, after speaking in Tongue, concluded (without pausing) in English: - Oh Britain! thou anointed of the Lord, thy destruction is at hand! Fear not, ye people of God.' These words were uttered, as usual, in an unearthly tone, which had the more imposing effect by the posture he assumed, with his arm

* "The word Crash is descriptive of his voice, not only by its meaning, but by its sound; and without intending to say there was a monotony in all his utterances, I think the reader may form some idea of the sound with which the Tongue was delivered by him, if Cras-cran-cracrash were uttered with a sudden and rapid vociferation."

erect. Mr. Irving, after the solemn silence, which invariably succeeded these movements of the Spirit, praised God for having raised a prophet in the church, and commented on the prophecy. The Sister, either on this or the following morning, prophesied that this country would be afflicted with plague and pestilence, which Mr. Irving noticed with the same deference and gratitude as he did the prophecy of the Brother. In a day or two afterwards the Brother was called on to be the mouth of the congregation.' He of course obeyed the call, and, leaving the pew, advanced to the top of the centre aisle, and took the allotted place at the corner of the uppermost pew, on the flank of the Pastor, Missionary, and Elders. These seats were always full, as none had been reserved on those occasions, so that the Brother and ladies in the pew were close, and face to face. He proceeded with the service, and when, in reading the chapter, he uttered the word 'witnesses,' I observed his voice faulteringa circumstance which atttacted my attention, for I was but three seats distant. I scarcely raised my head when The Crash of Tongue burst from him, and the lady facing him, although ac-, customed to it at a distance, now involuntarily started about three inches from her seat, but composed herself immediately. He uttered very little in tongue, but said in English, Where are the witnesses? There are no witnesses' --[A solemn silence.]-He concluded the service, and retired to his seat with his hands upon his eyes. Mr. Irving then explained that we were the witnesses that it was our duty to witness to the world the prophecies we had heard, and that we should be committing a sin if we did not forewarn all men of the destruction which was predicted."

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We must now request the attention of our readers to the miraculous gift of tongues which the apostles possessed. There cannot be a doubt that yλwood is used in the New Testament to describe a known language, and that foreigners of many nations who were assembled at the Pentecostal festival in the public streets of Jerusalem, heard the unlettered fishermen of Galilee address them in their own language with such correctness and fluency as to cause them to exclaim, “Behold, are not all these

which speak Galileans? And how hear we every man in our tongue wherein we were born, the wonderful works of God?"

The same gift was also exercised at Corinth, at Ephesus, at Cesarea, and wherever the Apostles went to carry forward the great object of their mission.

We presume there are but three reasons assigned for the communication of this extraordinary endowment, namely, to attest the presence of God, to comfort his people, and to diffuse his truth throughout the earth. It is obvious, from the remarks of St. Paul,* "that tongues were for a sign not to them that believe, but to them that believe not." Now to satisfy unbelievers, it appears necessary that the speech should be intelligible, and that though it might be an unknown or foreign tongue to many present, yet that it should be recognized by some unbelieving strangers as their vernacular speech. There is a passage of Chrysostom which fully supports this view of the subject.

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Anciently," says he, " one who believed and was baptized, spoke presently in divers tongues, for the sake of mauifesting the Spirit within him. For as the men of those days were infirm in the faith, and the spiritual gifts, not discernible to the eyes of the flesh, so sensible gift was bestowed upon them, that the spiritual might be made manifest: wherefore he, who was baptized, was enabled to speak, not only in our tongue, but in that of the Persians, in that of the Indians, and in that of the Scythians, to the intent that unbelievers might learn, that he was endued with the Holy Ghost. This was a sensible sign, as it was heard by their bodily ears; and this sensible sign made the invisible grace

* 1 Cor. xiv. 22.

of the Spirit evident to all: and this sign was called the kinds of tongues."

We now cite Mr. M'Kerrell's notion of the matter.

Isaiah, xxviii. 11. "The gift of Tongues was foretold by This prediction is quoted thus by the apostle l'aul, (1 Cor. xiv. 21.) In the law it is written, With other tongues and other lips will I speak they not hear me, saith the Lord.' This unto this people: and yet for all that will prediction by Isaiah is the earliest intimation of the gift of tongues in Scripture; and is the only intimation of that gift

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in the Old Testament. These circumstances give this prediction so emphatic an importance, that I maintain that if in the words of this prediction there be contained any characteristic of the gift legitimate characteristic of the gift. And of tongues, that that is the essential and the words of this prediction do contain a characteristic of the gift of tongues. What do the words, with other tongues and other lips will I speak unto this people' Is it that the tongues and convey? lips' are the same as those of this people?' No;- it is that the tongues and lips' are 'other' than those of this people,' foreign unto this people,' not understood by 'this people,' unknown to them. This then is the essential and legitimate characteristic of the gift of tongues, that the tongues are not naturally understood by the people unto whom they are spoken. And why this unintelligible speech? The apostle Paul, in his own words immediately following his said quotation from Isaiah, says, Wherefore tongues are for asig a sign. A sign is a symbol; something not understood in itself, but referring its meaning to something else The miracle of the brazen serpent was a sign-containing no meaning in itself, but referring its meaning to something else, viz. the Cross and Him who died upon it. The miracle of the prophet Jonah in the belly of the fish was a sign-containing no meaning in itself, but referring its mean. ing to something else of which it mystically said, ' 'Come and see where the Lord lay.' Tongues are therefore a symbolical and mystical language, unintelligible to those who hear them, but referring to something else in which their meaning is expressed and fully understood: and that is the gift of interpretation of tongues. (See 1 Cor. xii. 10, &c.) It will, I anticipate, be objected to this, that the tongues spoken at Pentecost being understood among the multitude, were an exception to this. I thank God, that if they were indeed an exception to this,

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