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Grace & Peace: Proverbs 19:21

Douglas Wilson on March 25, 2022

At thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore (Ps. 16: 11)

There are many devices in a man’s heart; Nevertheless the counsel of the Lord, that shall stand.
Proverbs 19:21

We have a proverb in English that states much the same truth. Man proposes, God disposes.

A man’s head can be crammed full of ideas, and he thinks that he can go first here, and then over there. When he is done, he will do thus and such, and make a pile of money.

“Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain: Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that. But now ye rejoice in your boastings: all such rejoicing is evil” (James 4:13–16).

Men can think up many plans, but only the Lord’s will is going to be accomplished at the end of the day. That being the case, the point should be surrendered in principle before the first step is taken.

Note that we are not surrendering the point in principle if we say something like, “I have prayed about it, and it is the Lord’s will that . . .” This is compounding the sin of arrogance, not actually hedging against it. James tells us that we must leave the outcome entirely in the hands of God. If He determines that the thing will be done, then it will in fact be done. If not, then not.

At this point, some become fatalistic. They shrug and say, “What’s the use then?” Whatever is going to happen is going to happen. But this is too simplistic as well. If we read through the book of Proverbs carefully, we see that we are commanded in multiple places to pay attention to cause and effect. If we pay attention to this pattern of cause and effect, then we will see trouble coming and avoid it—we will learn that industry leads to wealth, we will not marry a quarrelsome woman, and so on. If we put this together, we will see that our planning is essential, and that it is equally important that we not trust in our planning.

Grace & Peace: Proverbs 12:27

Douglas Wilson on March 15, 2022

At thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore (Ps. 16: 11)

The slothful man roasteth not that which he took in hunting: But the substance of a diligent man is precious (KJV).
The lazy man does not roast what he took in hunting, but diligence is man’s precious possession (NKJV).
Proverbs 12:27

Proverbs about laziness can be pretty colorful. We have one about the time it was raining porridge, and one poor fellow had forgotten to bring his bowl. Or you could be as lazy as Ludlum’s dog, who had to lean his head against the wall to bark.

This ancient Hebrew proverb captures much the same idea. The lazy man might be prevailed upon to go hunting, but if he manages to catch his food, he is too lazy to feed himself with it. Cooking looks suspiciously like work, and there is always the clean up afterwards.

The contrast here is to the industrious man. His diligence is his precious possession, which is the central reason why he has any other possessions. To be the owner of diligence is to own a number of other fine things as a consequence. This relates to another proverb I once saw on a poster in a business that is renowned in our area for its industry—“everything comes to him who hustles while he waits.”

The indigent often wonder (complainingly) about how some people seem to get “all the breaks.” Now sometimes there really is a lucky break, and the ball bounces just right. But Scripture teaches us that diligence messes with these averages.

We need to remind ourselves that these are proverbs, meaning that they are not universally true, the way an axiom in geometry is universally true. Parallel lines do not meet, and this is not generally true. It is simply true. But there are times when layabouts win at Powerball, and there are other times when men are as hardworking as they come, and they still struggle to make ends meet. That said, proverbs are generally true, and diligence really is a prize possession.

Grace & Peace: Proverbs 11:26

Douglas Wilson on March 8, 2022

At thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore (Ps. 16: 11)

He that withholdeth corn, the people shall curse him: But blessing shall be upon the head of him that selleth it (KJV).
The people will curse him who withholds grain, But blessing will be on the head of him who sells it (NKJV).
Proverbs 11:26

A generous heart can be revealed and manifested in a number of different ways. This is surprising to some because it is easy to assume that generosity is manifested simply and solely through giving. But if we look at the sweep of scriptural teaching, we should be able to see that a generous heart can be revealed through giving on your own initiative, through giving when asked, through loaning when asked, through loaning with no expectation of a return, and through selling. The Bible does not have a “one size fits all” approach to this.

“Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven” (Matt. 6:1).

“Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away” (Matt. 5:42).

“But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil” (Luke 6:35).

But a generous spirit can also be manifested when a merchant with grain to sell does not try to be too clever by half trying to manage the futures market. If the people need grain, and you have grain, then a generous spirit sells it now. A generous spirit does not try to manipulate the price through hard dealing now.

So there is a way to give that is selfish and a way to give that is not. There is a way to loan that is selfish and a way to loan that is not. And there is a way to sell that is selfish, and a way to sell that is not. A commercial transaction can be a manifestation of a righteous demeanor.

Some Thoughts on Church Choirs

Christ Church Music on March 3, 2022

True. Centuries ago Calvinists resisted establishing choirs in their churches. Seems that in looking for a reason to abolish popish abuses, Calvinists, Puritans especially, adopted a strict regulativist view of worship: whatever is not commanded in Scripture is strictly forbidden.

We are regulativists too, but less strict. If Scripture speaks of it, clearing a space for it in worship, it is reasonable and appropriate to include it. For example, if choirs are mentioned at various points in the Bible—assumed in the Psalms, on the move in accounts of Jehoshaphat and Nehemiah, and present and active in Revelation—choirs are, in effect, normative in God’s worship.

The spirit of the Reformation was, among other things, a recovery of the authority of scripture in church life and practice. To some extent, the Reformation rejected those practices that effectively rehung the partition between God and His people. In medieval worship, the singing, if there was any, was done by trained choirs, not the congregation. Recovering the “priesthood of all believers” (1 Peter 2:5), resulted in giving duties formally assigned to priests (i.e. serving God in worship), to everybody, and thus, congregational singing was restored.

Now that singing and music arises from the assembly of saints, does this mean that choirs are abolished and are now unnecessary?

The short answer, “no.”

The church choir provides skillful music in worship that is impractical for the congregation to do on its own. Where scripture commands skillful praise (Psalm 33:3), the choir is able to fulfill this requirement. It is impractical or impossible to have the congregation to do so.

At Christ Church, we value musical skill highly, and particularly the ability to read music. Whereas these skills will be more prominent in the choir, there is no reason to expect that they be uncommon in the congregation. But an honest assessment leads us to conclude that, since God is to be worshipped with our best, and in fact, makes His demands plain,“Your lamb shall be without blemish” (Exodus 12:5), the congregation’s offering is not as good (putting it bluntly) as it could be. And so, a church choir can help fill the gap.

The skill and ability a choir brings to worship is extraordinary compared to the ordinary worship provided by the congregation. In his book The Supper of the Lamb, Robert Capon applies similar categories to food. Capon calls everyday food “ferial” and special food “festal.” For him, the distinction is not inferior food vs. superior. All the food he talks about is more than fit for human consumption. The division lies along the lines of “honest frugality and generous expense,” food our pocketbooks can afford and that we have time to prepare day by day as compared to special and extravagant food. How great it would be to enjoy expensive dishes all the time, except that we’d soon eat ourselves out of house and home. And besides, we tend to devalue extravagance if we have it around us every day. On the other hand, we look forward to special occasions, budgeting time and money in the planning.

So, there is a hierarchy to our priorities. In the church year, we celebrate Christ’s Resurrection each Lord’s Day. (Why else is it called the “Lord’s Day” if not for the Resurrection?) But only one Lord’s Day out of the year is called Easter. To have egg hunts, Peeps, jellybeans, and white lilies every Sunday would be too much. Once a year is a whole lot of fun and worth preparing for. Only one day in seven is a Sabbath. If every day were a Sabbath, where would the working be?

This digression is all to say that if we like the separation between the special and the ordinary when it comes to observing time and meals, why not music too? A church choir can give more time and attention to preparing music than a congregation can. A choir can provide vibrant and glorious meditations on God’s Word that the congregation simply can’t do. A choir can bless the congregation with performances of say, Messiah, that deserves to be rehearsed and celebrated regularly. The congregation ordinarily cannot do these things on its own.

Finally, just as we look forward to special occasions to mark times and seasons, we look to role models for how we ought to live. In church, the congregation looks to the choir to set a standard of glorious praise of God and how to do so joyfully.

So yes, if the church choir truly presents an obstacle to the authentic worship of God, we agree with our Calvinist forefathers that the choir’s got go. But insofar as choirs, organs, and instruments enhance praise and help us worship our glorious Lord in the beauty of holiness, we ought to continue to use them. We should encourage those in our midst that are willing and able to help our sacrifice of praise ring out more faithfully each Lord’s Day.

A Caveat

I’ve made the claim that the church choir is more skilled than the congregation and fills a niche that the congregation can’t. But understand that the choir’s skill is not inherent skill but is mostly learned skill. Singers in the choir are not necessarily better singers than ones in the congregation. The difference is quantity of time in preparation. The choir practices. The congregation is not expected to, at least not to the same degree. If any in the congregation are intimidated by the choir, thinking I could never do that, hear this encouragement: yes you can, it just takes time. The invitation to join extends to all. You just need to be willing to commit time to learning. We certainly want our best singers to use their talent in the choir. They are the most qualified. But those who are willing to learn and commit the time to it will not be turned away. With time and instruction, they will become better singers.

Mark Reagan
Lent A.D. 2022

Grace & Peace: Proverbs 27:2

Douglas Wilson on February 22, 2022

At thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore (Ps. 16: 11)

Let another man praise thee, and not thine own mouth; A stranger, and not thine own lips.
Proverbs 27:2

This particular doctrine is one that has gained widespread recognition in our culture, and even acceptance (on paper). In the ancient world, it was possible for a well-bred man, according to Aristotle, to be very open about his virtues.

But Scripture teaches us that it is perilously easy to be self-deceived, misguided, or delusional about our virtues.

“For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith” (Rom. 12:3).

Because of the teaching of Scripture, the expectation that we should avoid too much self-praise has been incorporated into our manners. For those who have been taught good manners, they do avoid this blunder in speech. But only the Spirit of God within us can mortify the silent wish that others would notice us more.

Now while we are the closest witness to our thoughts, efforts, intentions, and deeds, we are also the witness who has strong incentives to inflate the splendor of what was actually accomplished.

And so this proverb says that we should leave the task of praising us to others. Let someone else do it. This creates a problem for us, because it immediately occurs to us that these others might fail in their responsibility of praising us. They might not pick up the ball, and they might not run with it. It is like the two people conversing at the party, where one says, “Well, enough of me talking about me. Time for you to talk about me.” He gives the other a nudge because it turns out that others cannot be relied upon when it comes to how much praise should be lavished on us.

But this proverb would have us contented to receive whatever praise came naturally. And by contented I mean really content.