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Grace & Peace: Proverbs 16:26

Douglas Wilson on September 15, 2021

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

He that laboureth laboureth for himself; For his mouth craveth it of him (KJV).
The person who labors, labors for himself, For his hungry mouth drives him on (NKJV).

Proverbs 16:26

A working man’s hunger is the equivalent of a blinking fuel gage. God created us in such a way as to require food, and without it we cease to function.

In the first place, a man works for himself. This is simple creational self-interest, and there need be no selfishness in it. The things that make us want to watch out for ourselves—seeking warmth, or shelter, or food, or drink—might provide an occasion for sin, but there are not sinful in themselves.

If a man wants to come in out of the rain, that is in his self-interest to do so, but it need not be selfish. If a man wants to eat when he is hungry, or drink when he is thirsty, that need not be selfish and sinful. We can say the same about all of our creational desires.

Not only so, but God made these desires in such a way as to motivate us. Here in this proverb, a man’s hunger drives him on. He keeps working because he wants to have dinner that night.

One of the great mistakes that Christians make when it comes to economics is the mistake of confounding self-interest, which God gave to us, and selfishness, which we collaborated with the devil on. Selfishness and self-interest are not the same thing at all. 

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Grace & Peace: Proverbs 14:26

Douglas Wilson on August 31, 2021

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

In the fear of the Lord is strong confidence: And his children shall have a place of refuge (KJV).
In the fear of the Lord one has strong confidence, and his children will have a refuge (ESV).

Proverbs 14:26

One of the more surprising things about Scripture is how the fear of the Lord is treated, and how much it clashes with what we tend to assume about it. We tend to think of all fear as being the same kind of thing, something that is a craven or crawling thing. And it is true that the fear of God is rightly called fear, in that we are to work out our salvation with fear and trembling (Phil. 2:12), and we are to worship God rightly in reverence and godly fear (Heb. 12:28-29), for God is a consuming fire. So being thunderstruck with awe does have something in common with ordinary fear.

But this proverb points to the great difference. The fear of the Lord is our delight, our joy, and to the most immediate point, our strength. One of the things that the fear of the Lord does is to provide the God-fearer with strong confidence. Not only so, but the one fearing God also knows that his children will have a place of refuge. “With salvation’s walls surrounded, thou mayest smile at all thy foes.”

It is as though there is a spiritual toggle switch, which means that if we fear man then we will not fear God. “The fear of man bringeth a snare: But whoso putteth his trust in the Lord shall be safe” (Proverbs 29:25). The two fears exclude one another. The man who fears God does not live in the fear of man. The one who lives in the fear of man does not fear God.  

So that is why this proverb can speak as plainly as it does, using terms that appear to be inconsistent. They are not inconsistent at all. The fear of God is strong confidence. Strong confidence arises from this fear.

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Grace & Peace: Proverbs 14:23

Douglas Wilson on August 24, 2021

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

In all labour there is profit: But the talk of the lips tendeth only to penury…

Proverbs 14:23

Everyone knows that the book of Proverbs frequently contrasts work with laziness. Work leads to wealth, and laziness leads to poverty. So much is . . . well, proverbial.

But there are variations on the theme, and this proverb is one of those variations. This is not a proverb about hard work in the field and lying on the couch at home. It is not a comparison between work and sleep. Rather, it is a contrast between work and talking about work. 

Now of course, we have to be careful here because there is a kind of talking about work that actually is a part of the work. We call it planning, or brainstorming, or outlining. This is preparation for work that is the first part of the work. In fact, because this is part of the work, it is what gives the mere talker the cover he needs to justify his talk, the kind that leads only to penury. 

Penury is a condition of extreme poverty or destitution. Talking about not becoming poor is a great way to become really poor.

Anyone who is acquainted with those who know how to work hard knows how to tell the difference between the talk of workers and the talk of idlers. If you have ever gotten up early for a work day with a bunch of farmers, you know how they all like to pull up in their big rigs, get out of them in order to chat for about fifteen minutes. They do this as a preliminary exercise before putting in a hard 12 hour day.

But the talking idler is one who wants to substitute the chat in for the work. He wants to replace one with the other. And that leads only to poverty.  

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Grace & Peace: Proverbs 14:11

Douglas Wilson on August 17, 2021

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

The house of the wicked shall be overthrown: But the tabernacle of the upright shall flourish.

Proverbs 14:11

There is a double contrast in this passage. The first and more obvious one is the contrast between the wicked and the upright. One category disregards the holy word of God, and the other embraces it, submitting to it. 

The other contrast is between a house and a tent, between a permanent structure and a temporary one. And with that contrast stated, each dwelling place has something surprising said about it. The house, the permanent dwelling, will be overthrown. The tent, the tabernacle, the temporary dwelling place, will flourish.

Put another way, the security of the wicked is insecure, and the apparent insecurity of the saints is founded on a rock. 

The wicked man likes to have a tangible scoreboard, something he can point to. “See, look at that, and see how I am prospering.” And God says to him, in effect, “you fool. This night your life is required of you” (Luke 12:20).

By way of contrast, the upright lays up treasure in Heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves cannot break in and steal (Matt. 6:19-20). He may look like a pilgrim, or a wayfaring stranger, but he is actually nothing of the kind. The tabernacle of the upright will flourish. Abraham dwelt in tents, but Abraham was also a very wealthy man—and with both kinds of wealth.

There are many places where this principle may be applied, but this is most certainly one of them. “Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment” (John 7:24).

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And There is None Beside & Fauré’s Requiem

Christ Church Music on August 9, 2021

And There is None Beside (Canto I)

Mark Reagan
Douglas Wilson (text)

Speak gentle words and glorious comfort comes 
so comfort all the wretched people here
your God has spoken all these words of grace 
speak peace and comfort to Jerusalem
and call down comfort on her bended head.

what shall I speak? 
what can I know? 
though comfort strains to speak.

Her warfare done, and all her battles past 
iniquities are pardoned fully now
for she receives from God’s own righteous hand 
a double wage for all her crimson sins
and now her war is peace complete and full.


The voice of one who cries out in the wild
prepare the way so that the Lord might come
make straight a highway for our savior God
across the desert, come prepare the way
a voice that calls, that in the desert cries.

the Tishbite comes 
with water comes 
to cleanse and wash the dead.

 

And every valley shall be lifted up
and every mountain, every hill brought low
the crooked straight, the rough place plain 
our mountainous pride is humbled here
the lowly stand when their salvation comes.

The glory of the Lord shall be revealed
all mortal flesh shall see it when it comes
for now the mouth of God has spoken it 
and eyes will see what eyes cannot behold
the glory of the Lord shone round about.

A voice said, cry—what can a mortal cry?
all flesh is grass, and like the meadow flowers
the grass dries up, the flower fades away
all men are grass, like grass they brown and die
in this dry wind, the spirit of the Lord.

obey the voice 
and hear a plaintive cry 
the way of flesh 
is withered brown.

The grass turns brown, the flower fades away
the words of God are ever lush and green 
and this good news is Zion’s living hope 
for God is life and all His words alive 
but all created plants are withered through. 

O Zion’s voice, you bring the great, good news 
so get yourself up to the sloping hills 
lift up your voice in living, rolling strength 
ascend the mountains with no craven fear 
and Judah’s cities all will heed the word.

can withered grass 
bear this good news? 
and cities live
where cities died?


Requiem – Gabriel Fauré (1845–1924)

I. INTROIT

Grant them eternal rest, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them.

A hymn belong to You, O God, in Zion: and to You the vow shall be fulfilled in Jerusalem.

Hear my prayer: all flesh shall come to You

Lord have mercy.
Christ have mercy.
Lord have mercy.

II. OFFERTORY

O Jesus Christ, King of Glory, deliver the departed souls from infernal pains, and from the deep pit;

O Jesus Christ, King of Glory, deliver the departed souls from the lion’s jaws, that hell may not swallow them up… lest they fall int oddarkness.

We offer You, Lord, sacrifices of praise and prayers:

Receive them for those we remember today:

Allow them, O Lord, to pass from death to life, which once Your promised to Abraham and to his seed.

III. SANCTUS

Holy, holy, holy,
Lord God of hosts.
Heaven and earth are full of Your glory.
Hosanna in the highest.

IV. PIE JESU

Merciful Lord Jesus, grant them rest.

V. AGNUS DEI

Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, grant them rest…

Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, grant them eternal rest.

May eternal light shine upon them, O Lord, wi Your saints forevermore: for You are gracious.

Grant them eternal rest, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them.

VI. LIBERA ME

Rescue me, O Lord, from eternal death on that dreadful day:
When the heavens and the earth shall be moved,
When You come to judge the world by fire.

I am made to tremble and fear until the Judgement and the coming wrath.

That day, the day of wrath, calamity and misery, great day and exceeding bitter.
Grant them eternal rest, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them.

VII. IN PARADISUM

May the angels lead you to Paradise;
May the martyrs welcome toor coming and lead you to the Holy City of Jerusalem.
May the Angelic choirs receive you;
And with Lazarus, who was once a beggar, have eternal rest.

Program Notes

This concert is in error, at least by Protestant standards. Gabriel Fauré was a catholic composer, in the marginally catholic country of France, so it comes as no surprise when things like prayers for the dead sneak into his Requiem (The sacrifice of praise and prayers we offer, Lord, receive them on the behalf of those we today remember). Nevertheless, Fauré has given us something unique even by catholic liturgical-musical standards. Many famous composers have set the Requiem text (the Mass for the Dead), often with dramatic spectacle. The centerpiece of the Requiem mass is the Dies irae (Day of Wrath), a liturgical song that provided fodder for the musical imagination of many composers. Its fiery text was matched with equally infernal music, and in the 19th century its tune was quoted with some regularity even in secular music. Most famous is probably the “Witch’s Sabbath” scene in Berlioz’s Symphonie Fantastique. 

But the show-stopping Dies irae moment in the requiems of other composers (on YouTube enter search terms “Verdi Requiem bass drum”—you’ll get the picture) doesn’t even appear in Fauré’s Requiem, at least not in full force. It’s touched upon but twice: once in the prayer Libera me and again in the lyrical Pie Jesu. This second reference extracts the last and mildest of the song’s fifty-seven lines: “Merciful Lord Jesus, grant them rest.”

Fauré’s Requiem is a rather significant departure from other famous settings. Not only is his Requiem much shorter—35 minutes compared to Mozart’s 50 or Verdi’s 90 minutes—but Fauré’s is free of the anxieties of hell fire and is instead fixed on the comfort of eternal rest in the presence of God. It is difficult to say what Fauré personally believed (his frequent womanizing isn’t a credit to his faith) but the ethos of his Requiem is consistent with the faithful preaching of the Gospel: “blessed are they that die in the Lord.” His setting of the song In paradisum, which closes the work, leaves no doubt as to his focus on eternal rest in the New Jerusalem.

Counterpart to the Requiem, And There Is None Beside, Canto I, was actually the first of the two works to be programmed in this evening’s concert. Wilson’s entire poem, a paraphrase of Isaiah 40-48, touches on several biblical themes including the temporality of human flesh contrasted with the enduring nature of the Word of God. Canto I paraphrases Isaiah 40:1-9. The phrase all flesh is grass (Isaiah 40:6) is as reminiscent of a Requiem as any in Scripture, and the conclusion of Canto I—can withered grass/ bear this good news?/ and cities live/ where cities died?—leaves life and death in the balance. 

The two works not only share religious themes, but they share the same keys of F major (Agnus dei) and d minor (Introit, Libera me). They also share the same instrumentation—a mellow combination of bassoons, trumpets, horns, timpani, harp, low strings (violin is reserved for solo passages) and organ—an ensemble Fauré conceived as befitting funeral music.

But far from being a funeral piece, Canto I develops other happier themes: comforting God’s suffering people (also present in the Fauré), truth proclaimed in the dead places (John the Baptist/Elijah preaching in the wilderness), and God’s earth-quaking justice (flattening out rough spots, humbling the proud). The soprano, mezzo-soprano, and baritone soloists are the main vehicle for proclaiming the words of Isaiah’s prophesy. They are answered by the chorus, who, as in Greek drama, speak virtue into the situation. They react, question, comment, and even laugh at what the prophet says, always clinging to the ancient truths they’ve received.

This canto is set in four sections. First, “Speak Gentle Words” is a serene, somewhat atmospheric description of the Isaiah’s comforting words. “Her Warfare Done” is an excited anticipation of future peace. “And Every Valley” is the lyrical centerpiece of Canto I, but it ends on a dour note, considering that God’s future justice does not bring comfort but should worry us apart from Christ Jesus. Finally, “The Grass Turns Brown” is a further digression upon the eternal nature of God and fleeting flesh. This perplexing reflection is interrupted by the soprano who proclaims to the cities of Judah: behold your God! but the chorus rebuts with a “reality check,” scoffing at the idea that Judah’s wasted cities will see restoration and Canto I ends in a whimper of tragic desolation.

CONDUCTOR
Mark Reagan

MUSICIANS
Selena Tutino | bassoon
Martin King, Steven Randall | horn
David Turnbull, Calvin Pfund | trumpet
Tom Miller | timpani
Kathryn Fenstermacher | guest harpist
Diane Cook | guest violinist
Maria Rusu | guest violist
Alethea LeBrun, Jocelyn Meyer, Cole Tutino | cello
Vegas Harmon | double bass
Stuart Evans | organ

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Gabriel Gollehon | assistant to the music director
Jonah Grieser | rehearsal accompanist
Belphoebe Merkle | event coordinator
Joey Nance | graphic and program designer

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