1 Thessalonians 5:20 - Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible

Thereby we may quench the Spirit, which usually works upon men's minds and hearts by it. By prophecy is sometimes meant foretelling of things to come, and speaking by extraordinary revelation, 1 Corinthians 14:29,30; sometimes the Scriptures are so called, especially the Old Testament, 2 Peter 1:21; and sometimes the interpretation and applying of Scripture, which is the same that we now call preaching, 1 Corinthians 14:3. And the duty with respect to it, is not to despise it, to set it at nought as a thing of no worth. The word is often used in the New Testament, Luke 18:9 Acts 4:11 Romans 14:3,10. But the apostle useth again the figure meiosis before mentioned, and means, prize, value, and highly esteem it, attend upon it, have great regard to it; it being an ordinance of God for instruction and edification, yea, and for conversion also, 1 Corinthians 14:24,25. Some despise it because of the outward meanness of the persons which prophesy; some, through a proud conceit of their own knowledge; some, by a contempt of religion itself. These Thessalonians had been commended for their great proficiency, and yet were still to attend upon prophesying in the church; which he calls prophesyings, in the plural number, referring either to the several prophets that prophesied, or to the several parts of their prophecy, or the times they prophesied. And the prophets were either such as prophesied only by an extraordinary gift, and immediate revelation, which some private members of the church had in those times, 1 Corinthians 14:29,30; or such as prophesied not only by gift, but office also, Ephesians 4:11.