Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands. Serve the LORD with gladness: come before his presence with singing. Know ye that the LORD he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name. For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations. —Psalm 100
This short Psalm seems to merit being rendered here in its entirety, though our “Nugget” is v.3. In our Bibles it is titled “A Psalm of praise.” I should like to suggest another; “A call to worship.”
In the beginning of the relationship with my beloved which eventuated in our marriage we often attended her church together. There it was the practice every Lord’s day to sing “Old Hundredth” as a call to worship. It left a lasting impression, imbedding the essence of this wonderful Psalm in mind and heart. In it God issues a call to the whole world to gather at his footstool and enjoy happy fellowship with Him in joy (v. 1), gladness, singing (v.2), thanksgiving, and praise (v.4). The sad fact is that in “all lands” few have responded to His invitation.
What it takes—what it really takes to respond to this invitation and enter into this experience is suggested in our Verse for today. True praise and worship are generated by ‘the knowledge of the Holy.’
First, one must recognize His sovereignty. “Know ye that the Lord He is God.” The very nature of creation itself, coupled with the nature of man makes God and His lordship evident. Men are without excuse who persist in unbelief (Rom. 1:18-22) and are called “fools.” “The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God [Psalm 14:1].” To join the ranks of those who gather in “His presence with singing,” one “must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him [Heb. 11:6].” To truly know that He is God is to acknowledge His sovereign majesty and His majestic sovereignty.
There follows from this the realization of our true identity. “It is He that hath made us, and not we ourselves.” The man who knows God and realizes himself as the offspring of a heavenly Father is possessed of both meaning and dignity. Those who deny the Lordship of Jehovah and His creatorship have neither. Following the increasingly popular pagan philosophy of evolution, tracing our roots to matter without mind and process without purpose, man has no significance in the universe that can be rationally established, no ground for morality and no hope beyond the grave and disintegration. And of course no reason to worship.
Thirdly, this leads to an appreciation of His fidelity. “We are His people, and the sheep of His pasture.” Those who believe in the true God are His people by virtue of creation, and trace their origin and existence to Him. They have not only a sense of belonging to Him, but an awareness of His goodness. There comes with the recognition of His Deity a sense of dependence; these can say with humility and gratitude, “The eyes of all wait upon thee; and thou givest them their meat in due season. Thou openest thine hand, and satisfiest the desire of every living thing [Ps. 145:15-16].” Our daily bread is a constant reminder of His goodness and greatness.
Not only, though, are we His people by virtue of our being and His daily benefits (common grace), but we are His sheep by reason of His mercy. The figure brings immediately to mind the various references of the Good Shepherd to those who constitute His flock. We were lost, and He found us, giving His life for our rescue (Lk. 15:6; John 10:15-17); prone to go astray, He leads us (if we will follow) in “the good and the right way.” Dependent in a variety of ways, He supplies our every need from here to eternity (Psalm 23). Surely the redeemed will have no difficulty entering into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise. Praise is comely for the upright.
“Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands.” For now this command goes unheeded by the vast majority of mankind. But, there is a great day coming! The prophet Habakkuk anticipated it when he said, …the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea [Hab. 2:14].” And the Beloved apostle got a glimpse of it under the figure of the Holy City: “And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband… And they shall bring the glory and honour of the nations into it. And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb's book of life [Rev. 21:1-2, 26-27].”
Is your name written there? Spurgeon commented here, "Only those who practically recognize his Godhead are at all likely to offer acceptable praise." I would amend that to say, only those are able to offer such!
For His glory and our good,
"Pastor" Frasier
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Psalm 99 - 2009.06.20
“The LORD reigneth; let the people tremble: he sitteth between the cherubims; let the earth be moved. The LORD is great in Zion; and he is high above all the people.” —Psalm 99:1-2
Two great and contrasting things are here represented; the Lord’s majesty, and His mercy.
His majesty is revealed in the opening phrase,”The Lord reigneth.” How little we appreciate the significance of His majesty is evident in how little likely we are to tremble before Him. When Isaiah was afforded a glimpse of His regnant glory, he was smitten to the dust.
“In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple. Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly. And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory. And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke. Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts [Isa. 6:1-5 - italics added].”
When queen Esther was urged by Mordecai to approach king Ahasuerus in behalf of the Jews she protested, “All the king's servants, and the people of the king's provinces, do know, that whosoever, whether man or woman, shall come unto the king into the inner court, who is not called, there is one law of his to put him to death, except such to whom the king shall hold out the golden sceptre, that he may live: but I have not been called to come in unto the king these thirty days,” and when pressed to follow through she responded, “…so will I go in unto the king, which is not according to the law: and if I perish, I perish [Esther 4:10-16].” She trembled at the prospect of standing before an earthly sovereign; how much more should those who will stand before the King of glory!
And the apostle James informs us, “Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble [Jas. 2:19].” If devils tremble out of fear, the saints should tremble out of respect and awe. In either case, it is no light thing to have an audience with His majesty.
The other striking thing in our nugget is the allusion to His mercy; “He sitteth between the cherubims.” The reference is, of course, to the ark of the covenant in the tabernacle, whereupon was a covering called “the mercy seat,” on the ends of which were two angelic figures called cherubs (the cherubim) where Jehovah communed with Israel through the high priest. The blood of the sacrifice on the altar of burnt offering was brought into the holy of holies and sprinkled upon the mercy seat, of which Jehovah said, “There I will meet with thee, and I will commune with thee from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubims… [Cf. Ex. 10:17-22].” All of God’s communication with Israel was, in principle if not in fact, through the mercy seat, which typifies the atoning work of Jesus Christ.
When the Psalmist alludes to this he cries, “Let the earth be moved.” And well we should! “It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is Thy faithfulness [Lam. 3:22-23].”
There is not a day that goes by that any man could stand before God and enjoy His favor were it not for the mercy seat and “the blood of sprinkling” of our Lord Jesus Christ. (See Hebrews 12:18-29!) It is at the cross that His majesty and His mercy come together in favor of otherwise hopeless sinners. It is there that “Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other. Truth shall spring out of the earth; and righteousness shall look down from heaven [Ps. 85:10].” Here is the “throne of grace.”
“The Lord is a great God;” let us tremble before Him. The Lord is a gracious God; let us be moved by His compassion and mercy.
All Hail to the Chief,
"Pastor" Frasier
Two great and contrasting things are here represented; the Lord’s majesty, and His mercy.
His majesty is revealed in the opening phrase,”The Lord reigneth.” How little we appreciate the significance of His majesty is evident in how little likely we are to tremble before Him. When Isaiah was afforded a glimpse of His regnant glory, he was smitten to the dust.
“In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple. Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly. And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory. And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke. Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts [Isa. 6:1-5 - italics added].”
When queen Esther was urged by Mordecai to approach king Ahasuerus in behalf of the Jews she protested, “All the king's servants, and the people of the king's provinces, do know, that whosoever, whether man or woman, shall come unto the king into the inner court, who is not called, there is one law of his to put him to death, except such to whom the king shall hold out the golden sceptre, that he may live: but I have not been called to come in unto the king these thirty days,” and when pressed to follow through she responded, “…so will I go in unto the king, which is not according to the law: and if I perish, I perish [Esther 4:10-16].” She trembled at the prospect of standing before an earthly sovereign; how much more should those who will stand before the King of glory!
And the apostle James informs us, “Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble [Jas. 2:19].” If devils tremble out of fear, the saints should tremble out of respect and awe. In either case, it is no light thing to have an audience with His majesty.
The other striking thing in our nugget is the allusion to His mercy; “He sitteth between the cherubims.” The reference is, of course, to the ark of the covenant in the tabernacle, whereupon was a covering called “the mercy seat,” on the ends of which were two angelic figures called cherubs (the cherubim) where Jehovah communed with Israel through the high priest. The blood of the sacrifice on the altar of burnt offering was brought into the holy of holies and sprinkled upon the mercy seat, of which Jehovah said, “There I will meet with thee, and I will commune with thee from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubims… [Cf. Ex. 10:17-22].” All of God’s communication with Israel was, in principle if not in fact, through the mercy seat, which typifies the atoning work of Jesus Christ.
When the Psalmist alludes to this he cries, “Let the earth be moved.” And well we should! “It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is Thy faithfulness [Lam. 3:22-23].”
There is not a day that goes by that any man could stand before God and enjoy His favor were it not for the mercy seat and “the blood of sprinkling” of our Lord Jesus Christ. (See Hebrews 12:18-29!) It is at the cross that His majesty and His mercy come together in favor of otherwise hopeless sinners. It is there that “Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other. Truth shall spring out of the earth; and righteousness shall look down from heaven [Ps. 85:10].” Here is the “throne of grace.”
“The Lord is a great God;” let us tremble before Him. The Lord is a gracious God; let us be moved by His compassion and mercy.
“O to grace how great a debtor Daily I’m constrained to be!
Let Thy goodness, like a fetter, Bind my wandering heart to Thee:
Prone to wander, Lord I feel it, Prone to leave the God I love;
Here’s my heart, O take and seal it; Seal it for Thy courts above.”
“Come Thou Fount” —R.Robertson
All Hail to the Chief,
"Pastor" Frasier
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Psalm 98 - 2009.06.13
“O sing unto the LORD a new song; for he hath done marvellous things: his right hand, and his holy arm, hath gotten him the victory. The LORD hath made known his salvation: his righteousness hath he openly shewed in the sight of the heathen. —Psalm 98:1-2
There are three grand occasions in scripture associated with song and God’s “marvellous things.” Significantly, all three involve the Son of God.
The first song, the earliest in history, was at creation. When God broke His silence at the end of Job’s long and painful struggle, He asked, “Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth…[and] the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy [Job 38:4, 7]?” The entire chapter celebrates the marvel of creation and the wisdom, power and glory of God. Remember that the Son of God was the executor of that incredible enterprise, for “all things were made by Him; and without Him was not anything made that was made [John 1:3].” On that auspicious occasion a supernatural chorus celebrated the glory of God and of His Christ.
That glorious song was all too quickly turned to sighing when Adam gave his allegiance to Satan rather than His majestic Creator and “the creation was made subject to vanity [Rom. 8:20].” A cry then arises for a new song. It is frequent in the Psalms, but reaches its zenith in the Old Testament in Isaiah 42, where a second “marvellous thing” of Divine origin is noted. “Sing unto the LORD a new song, and his praise from the end of the earth, ye that go down to the sea, and all that is therein; the isles, and the inhabitants thereof [Isa. 42:10].” The occasion is the consecration of the Son of God for His great redemptive undertaking.
This call for a new song anticipates the whole colossal undertaking of Christ, under the Father’s authority, to provide a remedy for the ruin wrought by Adam’s rebellion. A “marvellous thing” indeed!
The third occasion of a “new song” is found in the last book of the Bible. It is this toward which our text for today is specifically focused. Spurgeon says, "the present Psalm is a sort of Coronation Hymn, officially proclaiming the conquering Messiah as Monarch over the nations, with blast of trumpets, clapping of hands, and celebration of triumphs. It is a singularly bold and lively song." The song here called for and anticipated is finally sung:
When the King is crowned and order is restored the “new song” will sound throughout heaven and earth honoring the “marvelous works” and the majesty of Christ who is the Creator, Redeemer and Lord of heaven and earth. For “God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father [Phil. 2:9-11].” What a great day that will be!
May those who are even now numbered among the redeemed be rehearsing that song of praise every day “till He comes.”
For His glory and our good,
"Pastor" Frasier
There are three grand occasions in scripture associated with song and God’s “marvellous things.” Significantly, all three involve the Son of God.
The first song, the earliest in history, was at creation. When God broke His silence at the end of Job’s long and painful struggle, He asked, “Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth…[and] the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy [Job 38:4, 7]?” The entire chapter celebrates the marvel of creation and the wisdom, power and glory of God. Remember that the Son of God was the executor of that incredible enterprise, for “all things were made by Him; and without Him was not anything made that was made [John 1:3].” On that auspicious occasion a supernatural chorus celebrated the glory of God and of His Christ.
That glorious song was all too quickly turned to sighing when Adam gave his allegiance to Satan rather than His majestic Creator and “the creation was made subject to vanity [Rom. 8:20].” A cry then arises for a new song. It is frequent in the Psalms, but reaches its zenith in the Old Testament in Isaiah 42, where a second “marvellous thing” of Divine origin is noted. “Sing unto the LORD a new song, and his praise from the end of the earth, ye that go down to the sea, and all that is therein; the isles, and the inhabitants thereof [Isa. 42:10].” The occasion is the consecration of the Son of God for His great redemptive undertaking.
“Behold my servant, whom I uphold; mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth; I have put my spirit upon him: he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles. He shall not cry, nor lift up, nor cause his voice to be heard in the street. A bruised reed shall he not break, and the smoking flax shall he not quench: he shall bring forth judgment unto truth. He shall not fail nor be discouraged, till he have set judgment in the earth: and the isles shall wait for his law.
Thus saith God the LORD, he that created the heavens, and stretched them out; he that spread forth the earth, and that which cometh out of it; he that giveth breath unto the people upon it, and spirit to them that walk therein:” (See Isa. 42:1-16)
This call for a new song anticipates the whole colossal undertaking of Christ, under the Father’s authority, to provide a remedy for the ruin wrought by Adam’s rebellion. A “marvellous thing” indeed!
The third occasion of a “new song” is found in the last book of the Bible. It is this toward which our text for today is specifically focused. Spurgeon says, "the present Psalm is a sort of Coronation Hymn, officially proclaiming the conquering Messiah as Monarch over the nations, with blast of trumpets, clapping of hands, and celebration of triumphs. It is a singularly bold and lively song." The song here called for and anticipated is finally sung:
“And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth. And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the beasts and the elders: and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands; Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing. And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever. (Rev. 5:9-13)
When the King is crowned and order is restored the “new song” will sound throughout heaven and earth honoring the “marvelous works” and the majesty of Christ who is the Creator, Redeemer and Lord of heaven and earth. For “God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father [Phil. 2:9-11].” What a great day that will be!
May those who are even now numbered among the redeemed be rehearsing that song of praise every day “till He comes.”
For His glory and our good,
"Pastor" Frasier
Saturday, June 06, 2009
Psalm 97 - 2009.06.06
“Ye that love the LORD, hate evil: he preserveth the souls of his saints; he delivereth them out of the hand of the wicked. Light is sown for the righteous, and gladness for the upright in heart.” —Psalm 97:10-11
Through the apostle James the Holy Spirit declared, “A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.” It is a warning that reflects the emphasis in all of scripture against spiritual compromise. Consider for example the frequency of the word “all.” Take for a case in point the familiar, “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths [Prov. 3:5-6].” Here a great promise of divine guidance through the labyrinth of life is extended, but it is predicated upon wholehearted, uncompromising and universal commitment to His lordship. The promise does not apply for those who are living compartmentalized lives.
The same principle is seen in the first clause of our text for today. “Ye that love the Lord hate evil.” Love and hate are diametrically opposed to one another. We are not given the dubious luxury of a middle ground. Everything that follows is predicated upon this perspective; a whole-hearted love for God and a corresponding hatred for all that is contrary to His nature and His will.
Most of our failure as Christians comes from our half hearted attitude toward sin. Or, from our inclination to hate certain sins, but to take a compromising attitude toward certain others. And in too many cases we confuse the issue either by redefining sin as a some kind of unfortunate tendency, or through our ignorance of the word of God failing to recognize it at all. “ALL unrighteousness is sin [I John 5:17].” And all that is contrary to the word of God in thought, word or deed, is unrighteousness. (Which is why believers need to know the word of God!)
“Ye that love the Lord,hate evil.” This is the perspective of victory and blessing. Spurgeon observed, “We cannot love God without hating what He hates.” But it is also to be observed that love for God precedes hatred for sin. Everything begins here, and our problems stem not first from our failure to properly hate evil, but from a superficial love for God. Delilah posed a penetrating question when she asked Samson, “How canst thou say, I love thee, when thine heart is not with me [Judges 16:15]?” God might well ask us the same question. Too often we are not “upright in heart,” (v.11) but tilted toward “the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life,” all of which sent the Savior to the cross.
For those however, who do love the Lord and incline to uprightness in heart, there is here a present promise. He will preserve their souls and deliver them out of the hand of the wicked. It is, in fact, a two fold promise. There is the promise of preservation in the present and deliverance in the future. Those who love the Lord and hate evil face an unending conflict as the “wicked [one]” seeks relentlessly to compromise their testimony. Happily, they are secure in Christ, “Kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time [I Peter 1:5].” God does not promise to remove us from the conflict but to secure us in it. And there will come a “last day” for the individual saint and ultimately for the whole company of the redeemed when we shall be forever removed from the influences of the evil one in a “new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness [II Pet. 3:13].”
For the present the battle continues, and those who love the Lord are called to stand and withstand in this present evil day, wrestling “against…principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” “Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness…,” knowing that there is a glorious prospect before us: “Light is sown for the righteous, and gladness for the upright in heart.” "Weeping may endure for a night," but there is a harvest of blessing coming in the morning when “this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory [I Cor. 15:54].”
To this end may God enable us to resist the compromising spirit of this present age. Love the Lord. Hate evil.
“It will be worth it all when we see Christ!”
For His glory and our eternal good,
"Pastor" Frasier
Through the apostle James the Holy Spirit declared, “A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.” It is a warning that reflects the emphasis in all of scripture against spiritual compromise. Consider for example the frequency of the word “all.” Take for a case in point the familiar, “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths [Prov. 3:5-6].” Here a great promise of divine guidance through the labyrinth of life is extended, but it is predicated upon wholehearted, uncompromising and universal commitment to His lordship. The promise does not apply for those who are living compartmentalized lives.
The same principle is seen in the first clause of our text for today. “Ye that love the Lord hate evil.” Love and hate are diametrically opposed to one another. We are not given the dubious luxury of a middle ground. Everything that follows is predicated upon this perspective; a whole-hearted love for God and a corresponding hatred for all that is contrary to His nature and His will.
Most of our failure as Christians comes from our half hearted attitude toward sin. Or, from our inclination to hate certain sins, but to take a compromising attitude toward certain others. And in too many cases we confuse the issue either by redefining sin as a some kind of unfortunate tendency, or through our ignorance of the word of God failing to recognize it at all. “ALL unrighteousness is sin [I John 5:17].” And all that is contrary to the word of God in thought, word or deed, is unrighteousness. (Which is why believers need to know the word of God!)
“Ye that love the Lord,hate evil.” This is the perspective of victory and blessing. Spurgeon observed, “We cannot love God without hating what He hates.” But it is also to be observed that love for God precedes hatred for sin. Everything begins here, and our problems stem not first from our failure to properly hate evil, but from a superficial love for God. Delilah posed a penetrating question when she asked Samson, “How canst thou say, I love thee, when thine heart is not with me [Judges 16:15]?” God might well ask us the same question. Too often we are not “upright in heart,” (v.11) but tilted toward “the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life,” all of which sent the Savior to the cross.
For those however, who do love the Lord and incline to uprightness in heart, there is here a present promise. He will preserve their souls and deliver them out of the hand of the wicked. It is, in fact, a two fold promise. There is the promise of preservation in the present and deliverance in the future. Those who love the Lord and hate evil face an unending conflict as the “wicked [one]” seeks relentlessly to compromise their testimony. Happily, they are secure in Christ, “Kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time [I Peter 1:5].” God does not promise to remove us from the conflict but to secure us in it. And there will come a “last day” for the individual saint and ultimately for the whole company of the redeemed when we shall be forever removed from the influences of the evil one in a “new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness [II Pet. 3:13].”
For the present the battle continues, and those who love the Lord are called to stand and withstand in this present evil day, wrestling “against…principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” “Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness…,” knowing that there is a glorious prospect before us: “Light is sown for the righteous, and gladness for the upright in heart.” "Weeping may endure for a night," but there is a harvest of blessing coming in the morning when “this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory [I Cor. 15:54].”
To this end may God enable us to resist the compromising spirit of this present age. Love the Lord. Hate evil.
“It will be worth it all when we see Christ!”
For His glory and our eternal good,
"Pastor" Frasier
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