Reformed Doctrine Daily Devotions

 ¹⁷  Following after Paul and us, she kept crying out, saying, “These men are bond-servants of the Most High God, who are proclaiming to you the way of salvation.”

 ¹⁸  She continued doing this for many days.  But Paul was greatly annoyed, and turned and said to the spirit, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her!”  And it came out at that very moment.

 ¹⁹  But when her masters saw that their hope of profit was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the market place before the authorities,

 ²⁰  and when they had brought them to the chief magistrates, they said, “These men are throwing our city into confusion, being Jews,

 ²¹  and are proclaiming customs which it is not lawful for us to accept or to observe, being Romans.” 

 ²³  When they had struck them with many blows, they threw them into prison, commanding the jailer to guard them securely;

 ²⁴  and he, having received such a command, threw them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks.”  Acts 16:16-24. 

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Reformed doctrine, specifically “TULIP”, the Five Points of Calvinism, proclaims “the way of salvation“. 

Reformed doctrine proclaims “total depravity” (the “T” of “TULIP”),  the condition of man which eliminates any hope in man achieving salvation through his own works or even his own will.  “And you were dead in your trespasses and sins,”  Ephesians 2:1.  

Only after establishing “total depravity” does “TULIP” proceed to teach “unconditional election” (the “U” of “TULIP”).  After we understand and believe that there is no hope for salvation based on the condition of man and anything that man could produce, then we can better understand and believe that the only hope for salvation is based on God and God’s election of those whom He elects to save.  Man could not provide any work or any will or any other condition which would motivate God to save him or her.  “For He says to Moses, “I WILL HAVE MERCY ON WHOM I HAVE MERCY, AND I WILL HAVE COMPASSION ON WHOM I HAVE COMPASSION.”  So then it does not depend on the man who wills or the man who runs, but on God who has mercy.”  Romans 9:15-16.

We cannot manipulate Jesus Christ to be according to our own desires.  Scripture teaches that Christ died only for the elect of God and that Christ’s death, the shedding of His blood, effectively paid the price of salvation necessary to save those for whom Christ died.  If Christ died for everyone, then everyone would be saved.  But, Reformed doctrine teaches “limited atonement” (the “L” of “TULIP”) that Christ’s atonement is limited to God’s elect.  “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her, so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless. So husbands ought also to love their own wives as their own bodies.”  Ephesians 5:25-28.  This is a peculiar love, a special love just for His church. Just as a husband should not love and give himself up for all women, but only his own wife, Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for only His church, not for everyone in the world.  In Christ’s intercessory prayer in John 17:9, we see Christ praying for only those whom God gave Him, not for the world: “I ask on their behalf; I do not ask on behalf of the world, but of those whom Thou hast given Me; for they are Thine;”

“But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,”  Ephesians 2:4-6.  “Irresistible grace” (the “I” of “TULIP”) caused us, the dead in sin, to be made alive and raised up!  Jesus proclaimed:  “All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out.”  John 6:37.

If it was up to us to maintain faith or a righteous walk, then we would certainly fall from grace and lose our salvation.  But, Reformed doctrine consistently teaches that salvation is from the LORD.  God provides everything that we need including “perseverance of the saints” better known as “preservation of the saints” (the “P” of “TULIP”).  “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me;  and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish;  and no one will snatch them out of My hand.  “My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.”  John 10:27-29.

A fitting summary of “the way of salvation” is provided by the following Article 8 of The Canons of Dordt.  

Article 8.  For this was the sovereign counsel, and most gracious will and purpose of God the Father, that the quickening and saving efficacy of the most precious death of his Son should extend to all the elect, for bestowing upon them alone the gift of justifying faith, thereby to bring them infallibly to salvation:  that is, it was the will of God, that Christ by the blood of the cross, whereby he confirmed the new covenant, should effectually redeem out of every people, tribe, nation, and language, all those, and those only, who were from eternity chosen to salvation, and given to him by the Father; that he should confer upon them faith, which together with all the other saving gifts of the Holy Spirit, he purchased for them by his death; should purge them from all sin, both original and actual, whether committed before or after believing;  and having faithfully preserved them even to the end, should at last bring them free from every spot and blemish to the enjoyment of glory in his own presence forever.

Why did Lydia need her heart opened by the Lord?  She was “a worshiper of God”.  She was “listening”.

Reformed doctrine teaches us that man’s condition corrupted by the fall of Adam (through Adam’s sin) is a condition of “total depravity”, the “T” of “TULIP”, the Five Points of Calvinism.  We are “dead” in sin.  Ephesians 2:1.    None of us understands, and none of us seeks God.  Romans 3:10-11.  We are hostile to God.  Romans 8:7 and Colossians 1:21.  We are in bondage to sin.  Romans 7:14-15. 

Because of such “total depravity”, we need such divine action in order to respond faithfully.  Jesus said:  “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day.”  John 6:44.   “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing;  the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life.  “But there are some of you who do not believe ”  For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe, and who it was that would betray Him.  And He was saying, “For this reason I have said to you, that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted him from the Father.”  John 6:63-65.

 ¹²  and from there to Philippi, which is a leading city of the district of Macedonia, a Roman colony;  and we were staying in this city for some days.

 ¹³  And on the Sabbath day we went outside the gate to a riverside, where we were supposing that there would be a place of prayer;  and we sat down and began speaking to the women who had assembled.”  Acts 16:9-13.

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In today’s Scripture, there is the combination of a vision (spiritual sense) and suppositions (common sense).  God used both senses to guide Paul to the place, the time, and the assembly for preaching.

We may think that our work does not need much guidance from God.  We may work only at one place, at one time (9 to 5, Monday to Friday), and at one assembly line.  But, nevertheless, our work covers far more than only what we do to earn a paycheck.

Our work covers all our encounters with all of our family, friends, acquaintances, and everyone else.  “So then, while we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, and especially to those who are of the household of the faith.”  Galatians 6:10

Like the Good Samaritan, we may be called to interrupt what we normally call “our work” (even though our work is truly much broader) to do good for the stranger.  “… Then Jesus said to him, “Go and do the same.”  Luke 10:37.

Who is adequate to do all that we should do? 

“Not that we are adequate in ourselves to consider anything as coming from ourselves, but our adequacy is from God, who also made us adequate as servants of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit;  for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.”  2 Corinthians 3:5-6. 

Who will guide us?

“I will instruct you and teach you in the way which you should go;
         I will counsel you with My eye upon you.”  Psalm 32:8. 

Who will provide the resources?

“And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that always having all sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed;”  2 Corinthians 9:8.

In conclusion, we can trust God to give us all the guidance, all  the resources, and everything else we need to do all that we should do.  We may not receive a vision like Paul received, but whatever guidance, whatever resources, and whatever other things that we need, God will provide.

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At first thought, we may feel “hedged-in” and bristle against such restraint.  Why can’t we speak?  Why can’t we go there?

But later, we understand and appreciate God’s sovereignty and intimate care of us. 

“¹  O LORD, You have searched me and known me.
    ²  You know when I sit down and when I rise up;
         You understand my thought from afar.
    ³  You scrutinize my path and my lying down,
         And are intimately acquainted with all my ways.
    ⁴  Even before there is a word on my tongue,
         Behold, O LORD, You know it all.
    ⁵  You have enclosed me behind and before,
         And laid Your hand upon me.
    ⁶  Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
         It is too high, I cannot attain to it.
    ⁷  Where can I go from Your Spirit?
         Or where can I flee from Your presence?
    ⁸  If I ascend to heaven, You are there;
         If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, You are there.
    ⁹  If I take the wings of the dawn,
         If I dwell in the remotest part of the sea,
    ¹⁰  Even there Your hand will lead me,
         And Your right hand will lay hold of me.”  Psalm 139:1-10.

 ⁴  Now while they were passing through the cities, they were delivering the decrees which had been decided upon by the apostles and elders who were in Jerusalem, for them to observe.

 ⁵  So the churches were being strengthened in the faith, and were increasing in number daily.”  Acts 16:1-5.  

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Although it was not necessary for Paul to circumcise Timothy according to the “decrees which had been decided upon by the apostles and elders who were in Jerusalem” (see Acts Chapter 15), Paul voluntarily elected to circumcise Timothy “because of the Jews who were in those parts”.  Paul used his liberty to do what was best.  Knowing that the Jews would want to see Timothy circumcised, Paul circumcised Timothy.

We are reminded of 1 Corinthians 9:19:23.  “For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a slave to all, so that I may win more.  To the Jews I became as a Jew, so that I might win Jews;  to those who are under the Law, as under the Law though not being myself under the Law, so that I might win those who are under the Law;  to those who are without law, as without law, though not being without the law of God but under the law of Christ, so that I might win those who are without law.  To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak;  I have become all things to all men, so that I may by all means save some.  I do all things for the sake of the gospel, so that I may become a fellow partaker of it.”  1 Corinthians 9:19:23.

And what was the result?  “So the churches were being strengthened in the faith, and were increasing in number daily.”  Acts 16:5.

Obviously, there are things over which we as Christians have liberty to do.  And, there are other things over which we as Christians do not have liberty to do.  The chapter of 1 Corinthians 9 gives some examples of things over which Paul had liberty to do.  There are also other things over which we also have liberty to do. 

For those things over which we have liberty to do, we should not only do those things that we selfishly want to do.  “do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.”  Philippians 2:4.  

Rather, we should follow Paul’s example and give thought and do what would help others, most importantly lead them to salvation.  “for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.”  Philippians 2:13.

 ³⁹  And there occurred such a sharp disagreement that they separated from one another, and Barnabas took Mark with him and sailed away to Cyprus.

 ⁴⁰  But Paul chose Silas and left, being committed by the brethren to the grace of the Lord.

 ⁴¹  And he was traveling through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches.”  Acts 15:36-41. 

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Disagreement is the opposite of encouragement, the topic of yesterday’s Scripture and devotion.  Although we should try hard to avoid disagreements, we neither read about blame or adverse consequences arising from this disagreement in today’s Scripture.

Today’s Scripture “accepts” the disagreement as a matter of fact without assigning blame and without mentioning any negative effects of the disagreement on the mission.  Why?

First, we need to learn that disagreements do occur.  Although we should try to resolve them, we may not be able to resolve them at least as quick as we want.  We may never be able to resolve them.  However, we need to learn that we cannot allow such disagreements to paralyze us or cause us to be embittered or to “stew” over such disagreements.  Here, we see each party, Barnabas and Paul, proceed with their own mission without such paralysis, without bitterness, and without simmering discontent.

Second, we need to remember the resources that God has already given us.  It is not coincidental that God greatly encouraged both Paul and Barnabas in the immediately proceeding Scripture.  See yesterday’s devotion.  God often blesses us with such encouragement not only for its own sake but also to give us strength to handle something approaching in the future.  When we are discouraged and in disagreement, we need to look back and be reminded and be refreshed with what God already has done for us.

Third, disagreement keeps us humble and reminds us of our weakness and constant need for God’s help.  “In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness;  for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words;  and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.”  Romans 8:26-27.

Fourth, whatever we face, God gives us grace to deal with it and causes all things to work out for good.  Here, we read that Paul was “being committed by the brethren to the grace of the Lord”.  “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.”  Romans 8:28.  In spite of disagreement, the churches were strengthened.  Acts 15:41.

 ³³  After they had spent time there, they were sent away from the brethren in peace to those who had sent them out.

 ³⁴  [But it seemed good to Silas to remain there.]

 ³⁵  But Paul and Barnabas stayed in Antioch, teaching and preaching with many others also, the word of the Lord.”  Acts 15:30-35. 

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“³  Encourage the exhausted, and strengthen the feeble.
    ⁴  Say to those with anxious heart,
         “Take courage, fear not
         Behold, your God will come with vengeance;
         The recompense of God will come,
         But He will save you.”
    ⁵  Then the eyes of the blind will be opened
         And the ears of the deaf will be unstopped.
    ⁶  Then the lame will leap like a deer,
         And the tongue of the mute will shout for joy
         For waters will break forth in the wilderness
         And streams in the Arabah.
    ⁷  The scorched land will become a pool
         And the thirsty ground springs of water;
         In the haunt of jackals, its resting place,
         Grass becomes reeds and rushes.
    ⁸  A highway will be there, a roadway,
         And it will be called the Highway of Holiness
         The unclean will not travel on it,
         But it will be for him who walks that way,
         And fools will not wander on it.
    ⁹  No lion will be there,
         Nor will any vicious beast go up on it;
         These will not be found there
         But the redeemed will walk there,
    ¹⁰  And the ransomed of the LORD will return
         And come with joyful shouting to Zion,
         With everlasting joy upon their heads
         They will find gladness and joy,
         And sorrow and sighing will flee away.”  Isaiah 35:3-10. 

“⁶  Each one helps his neighbor
         And says to his brother, “Be strong!”
    ⁷  So the craftsman encourages the smelter,
         And he who smooths metal with the hammer encourages him who beats the anvil,
         Saying of the soldering, “It is good“;
         And he fastens it with nails,
         So that it will not totter.
    ⁸  “But you, Israel, My servant,
         Jacob whom I have chosen,
         Descendant of Abraham My friend,
    ⁹  You whom I have taken from the ends of the earth,
         And called from its remotest parts
         And said to you, ‘You are My servant,
         I have chosen you and not rejected you.
    ¹⁰  ‘Do not fear, for I am with you;
         Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God
         I will strengthen you, surely I will help you,
         Surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’ ”  Isaiah 41:6-10.

“For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.

Now may the God who gives perseverance and encouragement grant you to be of the same mind with one another according to Christ Jesus, so that with one accord you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.”  Romans 15:4-6.

1 Thessalonians 5:11
“Therefore encourage one another and build up one another, just as you also are doing.”

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“But, beloved, we are convinced of better things concerning you, and things that accompany salvation, though we are speaking in this way.

For God is not unjust so as to forget your work and the love which you have shown toward His name, in having ministered and in still ministering to the saints.

And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence so as to realize the full assurance of hope until the end, so that you will not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.

For when God made the promise to Abraham, since He could swear by no one greater, He swore by Himself, saying, “I WILL SURELY BLESS YOU AND I WILL SURELY MULTIPLY YOU.”

And so, having patiently waited, he obtained the promise.

 For men swear by one greater than themselves, and with them an oath given as confirmation is an end of every dispute.  In the same way God, desiring even more to show to the heirs of the promise the unchangeableness of His purpose, interposed with an oath, so that by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have taken refuge would have strong encouragement to take hold of the hope set before us.

This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and steadfast and one which enters within the veil, where Jesus has entered as a forerunner for us, having become a high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.”  Hebrews 6:9-20.

 ¹⁹  “Therefore it is my judgment that we do not trouble those who are turning to God from among the Gentiles,

 ²⁰but that we write to them that they abstain from things contaminated by idols and from fornication and from what is strangled and from blood.

 ²¹  “For Moses from ancient generations has in every city those who preach him, since he is read in the synagogues every Sabbath.”

… (The following is the conclusion of the letter.) 

“²⁸  “For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay upon you no greater burden than these essentials:

 ²⁹  that you abstain from things sacrificed to idols and from blood and from things strangled and from fornication;  if you keep yourselves free from such things, you will do well.  Farewell.”  Acts 15:13-21 and 28-29.

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The council in Jerusalem had spiritual wisdom to preserve the unity of the church.  On the one hand, they  did not want to trouble the Gentiles.  But, on the other hand, they did not want to trouble the Jews who would be deeply offended if there were no requirements.

We are reminded of 1 Corinthians Chapter 8.  I will quote the concluding verses of this chapter. 

“But food will not commend us to God;  we are neither the worse if we do not eat, nor the better if we do eat.  But take care that this liberty of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the weak.  For if someone sees you, who have knowledge, dining in an idol’s temple, will not his conscience, if he is weak, be strengthened to eat things sacrificed to idols?

For through your knowledge he who is weak is ruined, the brother for whose sake Christ died.  And so, by sinning against the brethren and wounding their conscience when it is weak, you sin against Christ.

Therefore, if food causes my brother to stumble, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause my brother to stumble.”  1 Corinthians 8:8-13.

Although we are not confronted today with the specific issue of whether or not to eat food sacrificed to idols, there are more general lessons confronting us.  On the one hand, like the Gentiles, we too need to take care of our liberty, so that we do not use our liberty to cause our brother to stumble.  On the other hand, like the Jews, we too need to take care that we do not place on new converts a greater burden of requirements than essential.  We may be quite comfortable in our spiritual routines to the extent that we may be tempted to make them into requirements to new people joining our church.     

As Reformed believers, we have a lot of knowledge.  We know the freedom that we have in Christ;  we also know the position that we have as the elect.  We need to heed the warning in 1 Corinthians 8:1:  “… Knowledge makes arrogant, but love edifies.”

 ⁴  When they arrived at Jerusalem, they were received by the church and the apostles and the elders, and they reported all that God had done with them.

 ⁵  But some of the sect of the Pharisees who had believed stood up, saying, “It is necessary to circumcise them and to direct them to observe the Law of Moses.”

 ⁶  The apostles and the elders came together to look into this matter.

 ⁷  After there had been much debate, Peter stood up and said to them, “Brethren, you know that in the early days God made a choice among you, that by my mouth the Gentiles would hear the word of the gospel and believe.

 ⁸  “And God, who knows the heart, testified to them giving them the Holy Spirit, just as He also did to us;

 ⁹  and He made no distinction between us and them, cleansing their hearts by faith.

 ¹⁰  “Now therefore why do you put God to the test by placing upon the neck of the disciples a yoke which neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear?

 ¹¹  “But we believe that we are saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, in the same way as they also are.”

 ¹²  All the people kept silent, and they were listening to Barnabas and Paul as they were relating what signs and wonders God had done through them among the Gentiles.”  Acts 15:1-12.

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We see the continued focus on God and what “God had done“.  See above-stated Acts 15:4 and Acts 15:12.  This focus and emphasis continues from the prior chapter and the prior devotion – Click here: “For Thou, O LORD, hast made me glad by what Thou hast done,” « Reformed Doctrine Blog

In comparison, the Law is all about man and all that man should do.  We see that point here in the very first verse of this chapter by the teaching of some.  “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.”  It is important to note the addition to it in verse 5.  “It is necessary to circumcise them and to direct them to observe the Law of Moses.”  That is how those who are of the Law operate.  We can easily imagine that the list of things needed for salvation would grow.  “For as many as are of the works of the Law are under a curse;  for it is written, “CURSED IS EVERYONE WHO DOES NOT ABIDE BY ALL THINGS WRITTEN IN THE BOOK OF THE LAW, TO PERFORM THEM.”  Galatians 3:10. 

But, Peter recognized:  “He made no distinction between us and them, cleansing their hearts by faith”.  There was no distinction or condition (such as circumcision or obedience to the Law) provided by the Jews which motivated God to elect them, and not the Gentiles, to salvation.  God unconditionally elected some to salvation from both groups, Jews and Gentiles.  Peter concluded:  “But we believe that we are saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, in the same way as they also are.”  Salvation is by grace alone.   

Again in today’s Scripture, we are confronted with Galatians 3:1-5.    

“¹  You foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified?

 ²  This is the only thing I want to find out from you: did you receive the Spirit by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith?

 ³  Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?

 ⁴  Did you suffer so many things in vain–if indeed it was in vain?

 ⁵  So then, does He who provides you with the Spirit and works miracles among you, do it by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith?”  Galatians 3:1-5.

In conclusion, then in Acts, and later in Galatians, and now today, God provides us with the Spirit and works miracles among us, not by the works of the Law, but by hearing with faith.

 ²⁷  When they had arrived and gathered the church together, they began to report all things that God had done with them and how He had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles.

 ²⁸  And they spent a long time with the disciples.”  Acts 14:24-28. 

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“I will give Thee thanks forever, because Thou hast done it, And I will wait on Thy name, for it is good, in the presence of Thy godly ones.”  Psalm 52:9.

“For Thou, O LORD, hast made me glad by what Thou hast done, I will sing for joy at the works of Thy hands.”  Psalm 92:4.

Reformed Doctrine gives thanks and praises God for all things that God has done.  As one example, consider the focus on God and all things that God has done in the following Articles 8 and 9 of The Canons of Dordt. 

Article 8.  For this was the sovereign counsel, and most gracious will and purpose of God the Father, that the quickening and saving efficacy of the most precious death of his Son should extend to all the elect, for bestowing upon them alone the gift of justifying faith, thereby to bring them infallibly to salvation:  that is, it was the will of God, that Christ by the blood of the cross, whereby he confirmed the new covenant, should effectually redeem out of every people, tribe, nation, and language, all those, and those only, who were from eternity chosen to salvation, and given to him by the Father; that he should confer upon them faith, which together with all the other saving gifts of the Holy Spirit, he purchased for them by his death;  should purge them from all sin, both original and actual, whether committed before or after believing;  and having faithfully preserved them even to the end, should at last bring them free from every spot and blemish to the enjoyment of glory in his own presence forever.

Article 9.  This purpose proceeding from everlasting love towards the elect, has from the beginning of the world to this day been powerfully accomplished, and will henceforward still continue to be accomplished, notwithstanding all the ineffectual opposition of the gates of hell, so that the elect in due time may be gathered together into one, and that there never may be wanting a church composed of believers, the foundation of which is laid in the blood of Christ, which may steadfastly love, and faithfully serve him as their Savior, who as a bridegroom for his bride, laid down his life for them upon the cross, and which may celebrate his praises here and through all eternity.

On the other hand, beware of preaching and teaching that primarily puts the focus on man and what man should do!   Such preaching and teaching may seem quite pious, and it may pay lip service to God’s sovereignty and be quite subtle, softly exhorting the listener to “yield to God”, but such doctrine is similar to the doctrine which was condemned in Galatians 2.  “Are you so foolish?  Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?  Did you suffer so many things in vain–if indeed it was in vain?  So then, does He who provides you with the Spirit and works miracles among you, do it by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith?  Even so Abraham BELIEVED GOD, AND IT WAS RECKONED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS.”  Galatians 2:3-6.

In conclusion, let us follow the example taught in Scripture today.  Let us report all things that God had done with us.  Let us also be perceptive and understanding and teach how all those things fulfill God’s promises.  Let us thank God and praise God.  “For Thou, O LORD, hast made me glad by what Thou hast done, I will sing for joy at the works of Thy hands.”