# Link to Turretin's Sermon,"The Happiness of the People of God" on Psalm 33:12



## Willem van Oranje (Aug 1, 2010)

A translation of Francis Turretin's sermon on Psalm 33:12 entitled, "The Happiness of the People of God" is now available here.


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## Willem van Oranje (Aug 2, 2010)

Willem van Oranje said:


> A translation of Francis Turretin's sermon on Psalm 33:12 entitled, "The Happiness of the People of God" is now available here.


 
My translation is now available in the Kindle e-book format for a purchase price of $ .99 on Amazon.com. (I tried to make it free, but Amazon wouldn't let me.) Any proceeds of mine will go to supporting Reformed missions in francophone countries.


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## py3ak (Aug 2, 2010)

Thank you very much for making this available.


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## Willem van Oranje (Aug 2, 2010)

py3ak said:


> Thank you very much for making this available.


 
You're welcome! I have more in the works.


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## MW (Aug 2, 2010)

Riley, thankyou for your translation work. Did you also produce the translation on "Christ's tears?" If so, are you available to answer a question as to the mood of the original paragraphs which begin with "God desires" and "God wills?" I would like to learn if the original grammar contains a subjunctive or an indicative. The "God desires" sentence seems to reflect an indicative while the "God wills" sentence seems to reflect a subjunctive.


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## Willem van Oranje (Aug 2, 2010)

armourbearer said:


> Riley, thankyou for your translation work. Did you also produce the translation on "Christ's tears?" If so, are you available to answer a question as to the mood of the original paragraphs which begin with "God desires" and "God wills?" I would like to learn if the original grammar contains a subjunctive or an indicative. The "God desires" sentence seems to reflect an indicative while the "God wills" sentence seems to reflect a subjunctive.


 
'Twas I. Can you give me some specific quotations? 

By the way, the original French edition of these two sermons is also available to read on my website.


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## MW (Aug 2, 2010)

The two selections are translated as follows:

"God desires that he renounce himself so that he may trust God more, and that he recognize his powerlessness so that he may run back to him who fulfills his strength in our weaknesses. God desires that the faithful man have a vivid sense of the punishment which he has earned in order that he might be in a proper state to receive the grace which God promises him."

"God wills, my brothers, that we would not fall into this cursed state."


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## Willem van Oranje (Aug 3, 2010)

armourbearer said:


> The two selections are translated as follows:
> 
> "God desires that he renounce himself so that he may trust God more, and that he recognize his powerlessness so that he may run back to him who fulfills his strength in our weaknesses. God desires that the faithful man have a vivid sense of the punishment which he has earned in order that he might be in a proper state to receive the grace which God promises him."
> 
> "God wills, my brothers, that we would not fall into this cursed state."


 
Rev. Winzer,

The former quotation begins with the active indicative tense, "God desires", then the rest of the verbs in that string, (i. e. the believer's actions) are in the French "subjunctive" tense, which is roughly similar to English subjunctive.

In the latter quotation, the verb which I translated "wills" is in the French _subjunctive_ tense, followed by the _conditionnel_ and the _subjunctive_ continuing in the paragraph. 

Incidentally, both "desires" and "wills" above are translated from two different forms of the same french verb, "vouloir", which I chose to translate with two different English verbs. I hope you find this helpful.

And I do welcome feedback and suggestions on my translation from you and everyone else. It is not set in stone. I can make changes if necessary. Thanks!


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## MW (Aug 3, 2010)

That's very helpful, Riley; thankyou. I raise the question because Turretin is clear in his Institutes on the distinction between the preceptive and decretive will of God. One would expect a subjunctive mood when using words like "desire" and "wish" in relation to the preceptive will.


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## TimV (Aug 3, 2010)

Dude, you're a genius. I wish I could translate like that.


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## Willem van Oranje (Aug 4, 2010)

armourbearer said:


> That's very helpful, Riley; thankyou. I raise the question because Turretin is clear in his Institutes on the distinction between the preceptive and decretive will of God. One would expect a subjunctive mood when using words like "desire" and "wish" in relation to the preceptive will.


 
This was quite an accurate supposition of yours, assuming that the original is not accessible for you. And you have an accurate memory of Turretin's institutes.

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TimV said:


> Dude, you're a genius. I wish I could translate like that.


 
Thanks for the compliment, dude. With comments like that you are liable to swell my head too big to exit doorways.

---------- Post added at 02:43 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:36 PM ----------




armourbearer said:


> That's very helpful, Riley; thankyou. I raise the question because Turretin is clear in his Institutes on the distinction between the preceptive and decretive will of God. One would expect a subjunctive mood when using words like "desire" and "wish" in relation to the preceptive will.


 
Also, he was preaching in French, not the Latin of his Institutes. So your reference is in regards to the case and tense structure of a completely different language from that in which he was preaching.

Additionally, in the genre of systematic theology, writing in Latin, Turretin would have been inclined toward precision in use of language, whereas in the preaching genre, he would have been more inclined toward the effect and oratorical quality/memorability of his language.


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