And here are two things with which he comforts himself:, I. I have become the ridicule of all my people The LORD is my portion: As in Psalm 119:57, Jeremiah found the key to satisfactionfinding ones portion in the LORD. GenesisExodusLeviticusNumbersDeuteronomyJoshuaJudgesRuth1 Samuel2 Samuel1 Kings2 Kings1 Chronicles2 ChroniclesEzraNehemiahEstherJobPsalmsProverbsEcclesiastesSong of SongsIsaiahJeremiahLamentationsEzekielDanielHoseaJoelAmosObadiahJonahMicahNahumHabakkukZephaniahHaggaiZechariahMalachiMatthewMarkLukeJohnActsRomans1 Corinthians2 CorinthiansGalatiansEphesiansPhilippiansColossians1 Thessalonians2 Thessalonians1 Timothy2 TimothyTitusPhilemonHebrewsJames1 Peter2 Peter1 John2 John3 JohnJudeRevelation, Select a Beginning Point Like a lion in ambush. Do we succeed in our designs, or are we crossed in them? Even when I cry and shout, That God's compassions fail not; they do not really fail, no, not even when in anger he seems to have shut up his tender mercies. i. It has already been noticed in the introduction, that this chapter contains a triple acrostic, three lines always beginning with the same letter; so that the Hebrew alphabet is thrice repeated in this chapter, twenty-two multiplied by three being equal to sixty-six. II. To every mourner we may say, on the authority of God, Fear not! He has filled me with bitterness, a bitter sense of his calamities." 6 He hath set me in dark places, as they that be dead of old. He has led me and made me walk in darkness: This seems to be the hardest part of our lot, that God should lead us into darkness: He hath led me, and brought me into darkness. Yet dear brethren, that is, on the other hand, the sweetest thing about our trial; because, if the darkness be in the place where God has led us, it is best for us to be in the dark. (Spurgeon). Destroy them from under the heavens of the Lord; let them have no benefit of the light and influence of the heavens. The complaint renewed, ver 42-54. VII. We read it as a petition for further audience: Hide not thy ear. Who could exist throughout the day, if there were not a continual superintending Providence? Do not be in a hurry; do not expect to be delivered out of your trouble the first time you begin to cry unto God. 25 The Lord is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him. Your curse be upon them: According to the terms of the covenant Israel made with God (as in Deuteronomy 27-28), Israel would be terribly cursed if they disobeyed and rejected God. 61 Thou hast heard their reproach, O Lord, and all their imaginations against me; 62 The lips of those that rose up against me, and their device against me all the day. i. Surely He has turned His hand against me Time and time again throughout the day. 1. I. You have slain and not pitied. That he was ready to despair of relief and deliverance: "Thou hast not only taken peace from me, but hast removed my soul far off from peace (v. 17), so that it is not only not within reach, but not within view. The Lord approved not. GenesisExodusLeviticusNumbersDeuteronomyJoshuaJudgesRuth1 Samuel2 Samuel1 Kings2 Kings1 Chronicles2 ChroniclesEzraNehemiahEstherJobPsalmsProverbsEcclesiastesSong of SongsIsaiahJeremiahLamentationsEzekielDanielHoseaJoelAmosObadiahJonahMicahNahumHabakkukZephaniahHaggaiZechariahMalachiMatthewMarkLukeJohnActsRomans1 Corinthians2 CorinthiansGalatiansEphesiansPhilippiansColossians1 Thessalonians2 Thessalonians1 Timothy2 TimothyTitusPhilemonHebrewsJames1 Peter2 Peter1 John2 John3 JohnJudeRevelation, Select a Beginning Point Hoping and waiting differ but as the mother and daughter, hope being the mother of patience and waiting; or as the habit and act, hoping and waiting being ranch the same, flowing from a gracious power and habit given the soul to wait. Note, The distresses of God's people sometimes prevail to such a degree that they cannot find any footing for their faith, nor keep their head above water, with any comfortable expectation. Jeremiah proposes his own experience under afflictions, as an example as to how the Jews should behave under theirs, so as to have hope of a restoration; hence the change from singular to plural ( Lamentations 3:22 Lamentations 3:40-47 ). Without interruption, This and other passages in this poem have been applied to Jesus Christ's passion; but, in my opinion, without any foundation. He actually felt it useful to remember it, to understand it for what it was, and to not pretend it wasnt there. 3. 2. This St. Paul refers to in his account of the sufferings of the apostles. Note, We all owe it to the sparing mercy of God that we are not consumed. This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope. Distressed soul! It is our duty, and will be our comfort and satisfaction, to hope and quietly to wait for the salvation of the Lord. And sinks within me. Johannine Writings The struggle between unbelief and faith is often very severe. The above verse is quoted in reference to our Lord's passion, by Matthew 26:62. The stanzas consist of three lines, each of which begins with the same Hebrew letter. Verse 48. Instead of Adonai, seventeen MSS., of Kennicott's, and one ancient of my own, have Yehovah. It will tell her so much. Your curse be upon them! That God appears against him as an enemy, as a professed enemy. There may yet be hope. The prophet here seems to check himself for the complaint he had made in the former part of the chapter, wherein he seemed to reflect upon God as unkind and severe. Here we find a different feeling; he humbles himself under the mighty hand of God, and then his hope revives. (Clarke). O Lord, You have pleaded the case for my soul; While there is life there is hope; and instead of complaining that things are bad, we should encourage ourselves with the hope they will be better. That God does not approve of them. What is said of the idols is here said of their worshippers (who in this also shall be like unto them), They shall perish from under these heavens, Jer 10 11. And said, Do not fear! Prayer is the breath of the new man, drawing in the air of mercy in petitions, and returning it in praises; it proves and maintains the spiritual life. You have redeemed my life. If men injure them under colour of law, and in the pretended administration of justice,if they turn aside the right of a man, so that he cannot discover what his rights are or cannot come at them, they are out of his reach,if they subvert a man in his cause, and bring in a wrong verdict, or give a false judgment, let them know, (1.) Passwords should have at least 6 characters. That is, Thou wilt give it to them freely, and without reserve; intimating that God felt no longer any bowels of compassion for them. You have covered Yourself with anger 65 Give them sorrow of heart, thy curse unto them. The New Testament If inward impressions do not answer to outward expressions, we mock God, and deceive ourselves. It is good because obedience to God is best learned when young. You need to be saved from sin, in this Book God has revealed the way of salvation, therefore do not shut up the Book, and fasten the clasps, and leave it neglected. He appeals to God's knowledge of the matter of fact, how very spiteful and malicious his enemies were (v. 59): "O Lord! Major Prophets Thus sometimes God seems to be angry even against the prayers of his people (Ps 80 4), and their case is deplorable indeed when they are denied not only the benefit of an answer, but the comfort of acceptance. He has not only failed in his dutyhis own suffering has left him without peace, happiness, energy, or hope (verses 17-18). "If God, who now covers himself with a cloud, as if he took no notice of our troubles (Job 22 13), would but shine forth, all would be well; if he look upon us, we shall be saved," Ps 80 19; Dan 9 17. 1. II. That prayer should not pass through. (2.) We must keep silence under the yoke as those that have borne it upon us, not wilfully pulled it upon our own necks, but patiently submitted to it when God laid it upon us. Luke-Acts He has hedged me about, that I cannot get out." He hath - brought me into darkness In the sacred writings, darkness is often taken for calamity; light, for prosperity. Nor grieve the children of men. V. That afflictions are really good for us, and, if we bear them aright, will work very much for our good. My eyes bring suffering to my soul They had not the assurance and comfort of the pardon; the judgments brought upon them for their sins were not removed, and therefore they thought they could not say the sin was pardoned, which was a mistake, but a common mistake with the people of God when their souls are cast down and disquieted within them. His experience of God's goodness even in his affliction. Let us see what these things are which he calls to mind. We are men, and not brutes, reasonable creatures, who should act with reason, who should look upward and look forward, and both ways may fetch considerations enough to silence our complaints. He has made my chain heavy: As the convict sometimes drags about his chain, and has a ball at his foot, so the prophet felt as if God had clogged him with a heavy chain, so that he could not move because of its terrible weight. (Spurgeon). Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament. Early habits, when good, are invaluable. I have forgotten prosperity. c. LORD, You have seen how I am wronged: Jeremiah rested in the confidence that God was a righteous judge, who would see how he was wronged and who would rightly judge his case. He who has his life still lent to him has small cause of complaint. In Lamentations 3:34-36, certain acts of tyranny, malice, and injustice are specified, which men often indulge themselves in the practice of towards one another, but which the Divine goodness is far from countenancing or approving by any similar conduct. How great soever his affliction may be, he is still alive; therefore, he may seek and find mercy unto eternal life. Every morning brings new provision for the day. God had been for him, but no "Surely against me is he turned (v. 3), as far as I can discern; for his hand is turned against me all the day. Like the book of Job, Lamentations pictures a man of God puzzling over the results of evil and suffering in the world. Note, The prolonging of troubles is sometimes a temptation, even to praying people, to question whether God be what they have always believed him to be, a prayer-hearing God. Note, God will one day call sinners to account for all the hard speeches which they have spoken against him and his people, Jude 15. Prophets Verse 17. 2 He has led me into darkness, shutting out all light. David often complains of those that hated him without cause; and such are the enemies of Christ and his church, John 15 25. b. That he bear the yoke in his youth. The Old Testament Let us lift our hearts and hands 45 Thou hast made us as the offscouring and refuse in the midst of the people. He must expect, and yet be dumb, as the words imply; ever feeling his utter unworthiness; and, without murmuring, struggle into life. (Lamentations 3:37-39) The God who cannot be opposed. They complain of the lamentable destruction that their enemies made of them (v. 47): Fear and a snare have come upon us; the enemies have not only terrified us with those alarms, but prevailed against us by their stratagems, and surprised us with the ambushes they laid for us; and then follows nothing but desolation and destruction, the destruction of the daughter of my people (v. 48), of all the daughters of my city, v. 51. He had already begun to appear for them (v. 58): "O Lord! like those long dead. i. No; he has more reason to be thankful for life than to complain of any of the burdens and calamities of life. 2 He has driven me away and made me walk in darkness rather than light; 3 indeed, he has turned his hand against me again and again, all day long. Others have been consumed round about us, and we ourselves have been in the consuming, and yet we are not consumed; we are out of the grave; we are out of hell. He has hedged me in: This also may refer to the lines drawn round the city during the siege. If they had not made themselves vile, their enemies could not have made them so: but therefore men call them reprobate silver, because the Lord has rejected them for rejecting him. Lamentations 3:21-23. Read full chapter Lamentations 2 Lamentations 4 New International Version (NIV) 2. The lips of my enemies (Genesis 18:25). This is the consequence of their hardening their hearts from thy fear. I see nothing but misery; and I feel, in consequence, nothing but pain. God's compassions fail not; of this we have fresh instances every morning. Some read it, at my gasping. However, while Job dealt with unexplained evil, Jeremiah lamented a tragedy entirely of Jerusalem's making. Let him put his mouth in the dust He delights not in the misery of any of his creatures, but, as it respects his own people, he is so far from it that in all their afflictions he is afflicted and his soul is grieved for the misery of Israel. i. The LORD is my portion, says my soul, Let us observe the particulars of it. Such burdens can best be borne in youth when a man has the requisite vigour, and when his personality needs to be disciplined more than would be the case in his more mature years. (Harrison). It is good because it gives you more years to serve God. a. Surely He has turned His hand against me: Jeremiah did not stay in this dark and desperate place, but he would not deny being there. It is the heart that God looks at in that and every other service; for what will a sacrifice without a heart avail? Verse 34. He will deliver his people from every trouble, and revive his church from every persecution. "Lamentations: The Expositor's Bible Commentary" Volume 6 (Isaiah-Ezekiel) (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 1985), Harrison, R.K. "Jeremiah and Lamentations: An Introduction and Commentary" Volume 20 (Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries) (Downers Grove, Illinois: Inter-Varsity Press, 1973), Meyer, F.B. He faithfully announced His judgments and performed them, and God would prove to be just as faithful in His promised restoration. He does not dispense his frowns as he does his favours, ex mero motufrom his mere good pleasure. God will take his part, and bring him safely through all hardships. "While I have an interest in God, therein I have enough; I have that which is sufficient to counterbalance all my troubles and make up all my losses." And again, a man! 5. In three things the prophet and his pious friends had found God good to them:1. 4. 2 15, 16. Did ever man paint sorrow like this man? Our own wickedness corrects us, Prov 19 3. Note, We should consider, to our terror and caution, that God knows all the revengeful thoughts we have in our minds against others, and therefore we should not allow of those thoughts nor harbour them, and that he knows all the revengeful thoughts others have causelessly in their minds against us, and therefore we should not be afraid of them, but leave it to him to protect us from them. We have no reason to quarrel with God, for he is righteous in it; he is the governor of the world, and it is necessary that he should maintain the honour of his government by chastising the disobedient. He has led me and made me walk (Lamentations 3:57-63) Thankful and confident of future help. And pursued us; Life in any sense is a sweet mercy, even that which to the afflicted may seem a lifeless life. (Trapp). - Blayney. He has caused the arrows of His quiver (2.) This verse seems to allude to the Chaldaic prediction, in Jeremiah 10:11. Its New Testament counterpart (1 Corinthians 4:13) is equally rare, depicting the suffering of the apostles. (Harrison), ii. Jesus gave his cheek to the one who strikes him as He patiently received the suffering His Father had appointed (Matthew 26:67-68, Luke 22:64). General Epistles For the Lord will not cast off forever. Poetical Books Perhaps they had some tune or play, some opera or interlude, that was called the destruction of Jerusalem, which, though in the nature of a tragedy, was very entertaining to those who wished ill to the holy city. Lamentations 3 The scope of this chapter is the same with that of the two foregoing chapters, but the composition is somewhat different; that was in long verse, this is in short, another kind of metre; that was in single alphabets, this is in a treble one. Due thoughts of the evil of sin, and of our own sinfulness, will convince us that it is of the Lord's mercies we are not consumed. 2. It hindered their prayers from coming up unto God (v. 44): "Thou hast covered thyself with a cloud," not like that bright cloud in which he took possession of the temple, which enabled the worshippers to draw near to him, but like that in which he came down upon Mount Sinai, which obliged the people to stand at a distance. a. They were surrounded, hedged, and blocked. "We have transgressed;" let our confession of sin be fervent and sincere. Does God Really Work All Things Together for Good? In the sacrificial tariffs of the Pentateuch, animal kidneys were held to be one of the locations of life, this being thought true of human kidneys also. 10 He was unto me as a bear lying in wait, and as a lion in secret places. He answers in the following verses, 1. 16 He hath also broken my teeth with gravel stones, he hath covered me with ashes. "Do I well to be angry? He is good to those who do so, v. 25. He has bent His bow Yes, he did: Thou hast heard my voice; and some read the following words as carrying on the same thankful acknowledgment: Thou didst not hide thy ear at my breathing, at my cry; and the original will bear that reading. My eyes overflow with rivers of water Here is, I. The next figure is not less expressive. I make to return to my heart (so the margin words it); what we have had in our hearts, and have laid to our hearts, is sometimes as if it were quite lost and forgotten, till God by his grace make it return to our hearts, that it may be ready to us when we have occasion to use it. II. The prophet had owned that a living man should not complain, as if he checked himself for his complaints in the former part of the chapter; and yet here the clouds return after the rain and the wound bleeds afresh; for great pains must be taken with a troubled spirit to bring it into temper. These mercies are always new because they come from God. They shall be not only excluded from the happiness of the invisible heavens, but cut off from the comfort even of these visible ones, which are the heavens of the Lord (Ps 115 16) and which those therefore are unworthy to be taken under the protection of who rebel against him. They rejected and rebelled for generations, then looked to others for rescue. God's having heard our voice when we cried to him, even out of the low dungeon, is an encouragement for us to hope that he will not at any time hide his ear. Is it not what he has ordained and appointed for us? Give them a veiled heart; To every mourner we may say, on the authority of God, Fear not! III. Their taunting song all the day. It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed Being thus humbled, and seeing himself and his sinfulness in a proper point of view, he finds that God, instead of dealing with him in judgment, has dealt with him in mercy; and that though the affliction was excessive, yet it was less than his iniquity deserved. As Abraham said of God, shall not the Judge of all the earth do right? 1. Though we be but weak in prayer, cannot cry aloud, but only breathe in groanings that cannot be uttered, yet we shall not be neglected if we be sincere. The yoke in his youth. Why should a living man complain, They complain that there was a wall of partition between them and God, and, (1.) It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed Being thus humbled, and seeing himself and his sinfulness in a proper point of view, he finds that God, instead of dealing with him in judgment, has dealt with him in mercy; and that though the affliction was excessive, yet it was less than his iniquity deserved. 3 I am the one who has seen the afflictions. He marvels that God should have drawn near to him, for his condition was a very pitiful one. c. For He does not afflict willingly, nor grieve the children of men: When God does allow or send His judgments, He does not do it with a happy heart. Pentateuch We dont live constantly focused on our sins and failings, but there are appropriate times to carefully, deliberately search out and examine our ways. 2. Johannine Writings The Old Testament Afflictions do and will work very much for good: many have found it good to bear this yoke in their youth; it has made many humble and serious, and has weaned them from the world, who otherwise would have been proud and unruly. 17 And thou hast removed my soul far off from peace: I forgat prosperity. "This is that which I depend upon and rest satisfied with: Therefore will I hope in him. He has led me and made me walk In darkness and not in light. Verse 24. 2. 1. We must pray to him, with a believing expectation to receive mercy from him; for that is implied in our lifting up our hands to him (a gesture commonly used in prayer and sometimes put for it, as Ps 141 2, Let the lifting up of my hands be as the evening sacrifice); it signifies our requesting mercy from him and our readiness to receive that mercy. But the weakest believer is wrong, if he thinks that his strength and hope are perished from the Lord. The villages about Jerusalem. (2.) The Chaldeans said that they would destroy Jerusalem, and it came to pass, not because they said it, but because God commanded it and commissioned them to do it. Jeremiahs personal lament is a reminder that suffering is always personal. This may refer to the prophet's personal experience, with which he encourages himself in reference to the public troubles. Pauline Epistles The Lamentations are the expression of a heart full of love for the earthly people of Jehovah, a people punished for their sins by loosing their kingdom, their land, their city and their sanctuary. That great is his faithfulness. Here is one word of comfort. All rights reserved. The prophet here laments the injuries and indignities done to those to whom respect used to be shown, ver 1, 2. They complain of their own excessive grief and fear upon this account. Seeking Him again would bring renewed expressions of His goodness. 27 It is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth. When we are in affliction, 1. 5. Of this, death would deprive him; therefore let not a living man complain. "In more ways than one this brings us to the very heart of the book. He has made me desolate. III. Why Does God Compare Our Relationship with Him to That of a Bride and Groom? We may bear ourselves up with this, 1. They silenced my life in the pit God can interpret all. (Meyer). (Lamentations 3:21-23) New mercies from a faithful God. 26 It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord. I am the man who has seen affliction by the rod of His wrath, He has led me and made me walk in darkness, He has been to me like a bear lying in wait, My strength and my hope have perished from the LORD, My soul still remembers and sinks within me, This I recall to mind, therefore I have hope, Through the LORDs mercies we are not consumed, The LORD is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul who seeks Him, It is good that he should hope and wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD, It is good for a man to bear the yoke in his youth, Let him give his cheek to the one who strikes him, according to the multitude of His mercies, For He does not afflict willingly, nor grieve the children of men, To turn aside the justice due a man before the face of the Most High. Some think Jeremiah makes these complaints, not only as an intercessor for Israel, but as a type of Christ, who was thought by some to be Jeremiah the weeping prophet, because he was much in tears (Matt 16 14) and to him many of the passages here may be applied. b. I called on your name, O LORD: Even from the pit Jeremiah knew he could call upon the LORD, and that God would hear His voice. When those who are afflicted in their youth accommodate themselves to their afflictions, fit their necks to the yoke and study to answer God's end in afflicting them, then they will find it good for them to bear it, for it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who are thus exercised thereby. As breathing is a proof of animal life, so is prayer, though never so weak, of spiritual. Note, Men are but tools which the great God makes use of, and manages as he pleases, in the government of this lower world; and they cannot accomplish any of their designs without him. This chapter is another single alphabet of Lamentations for the destruction of Jerusalem, like those in the first two chapters. But when do we bear the yoke so that it is really good for us to bear it in our youth? 15 He hath filled me with bitterness, he hath made me drunken with wormwood. Prophets We are sinful men, and what we complain of, is far less than our sins deserve. If so be there may be hope. He has pulled me in pieces; he has torn and is gone away (Hos 5 14), and has made me desolate, has deprived me of all society and all comfort in my own soul." And surely they are such as afford a sufficient ground for trusting in God under the severest trials. God's ear is wont to be open to the prayers of his people, and his door of mercy to those that knock at it; but now both are shut, even to one that cries and shouts. 3. i. A sad complaint of God's displeasure and the fruits of it, ver 1-20. though thou knowest not what thy enemies meditate against thee; yet he who loves thee does, and will infallibly defeat all their plots, and save thee. 3. That, whatever men's actions are, it is God that overrules them: Who is he that saith, and it cometh to pass (that designs a thing and bring his designs to effect), if the Lord commandeth it not? Yes, certainly they do; and it is more emphatically expressed in the original: Do not this evil, and this good, proceed out of the mouth of the Most High? Things are bad but they might have been worse, and therefore there is hope that they may be better. It is good because it keeps from bearing the devils yoke. 34 To crush under his feet all the prisoners of the earth, 35 To turn aside the right of a man before the face of the most High, 36 To subvert a man in his cause, the Lord approveth not. What hope is there of either peace or prosperity? God can entangle the head that thinks itself clearest, and sink the heart that thinks itself stoutest. He giveth his cheek to him that smiteth He has that love that is not provoked. Verse Lamentations 3:66. The reflected beams of God's kindness to them used to be the beauty of Israel; but now "thou hast covered us with anger, so that our glory is concealed and gone; now God is angry with us, and we do not appear that illustrious people that we have formerly been thought to be." There was rich comfort in realizing that the tender affection of God was not completely spent; these compassions were new every morning. He has broken my bones. In his own day he was called the German beast, that for lust must needs marry Catharine. It was only a breathing. 6 He has made me dwell in darkness. The perverting of justice, and the subverting of the just, are a great affront to God; and, though he may make use of them for the correction of his people, yet he will sooner or later severely reckon with those that do thus. Matthew Henry Commentary on the Whole Bible (Complete). ii. 60 Thou hast seen all their vengeance and all their imaginations against me. The poets mention of the LORD broke the spell of misery that had bound him. (Ellison). 7 He hath hedged me about, that I cannot get out: he hath made my chain heavy. a. and has broken my bones. i. By this rod we must expect to see affliction, and, if we be made to see more than ordinary affliction by that rod, we must not quarrel, for we are sure that the anger is just and affliction mild and mixed with mercy. The Whole Bible And their whispering against me all the day. These complaints we had before, ch. That his neighbours make a laughing matter of his troubles (v. 14): I was a derision to all my people, to all the wicked among them, who made themselves an one another merry with the public judgments, and particularly the prophet Jeremiah's griefs. When a man hopes for salvation, he should not only wait for it, but use every means that may lead to it; for hope cannot live, if there be no exercise. We are men, and not gods, subjects, not lords; we are not our own masters, not our own carvers; we are bound and must obey, must submit. Pentateuch 3 He has turned his hand against me. And it is no diminution to any to be much in tears for the sins of sinners and the sufferings of saints; our Lord Jesus was so; for, when he came near, he beheld this same city and wept over it, which the daughters of Jerusalem did not. Una eademque manus vulnus opemque tulitThe same hand inflicted the wound and healed it. In Your anger, Verse Lamentations 3:5. That they were satisfied that God's gracious regard to them in their miseries would be an effectual redress of all their grievances. The yoke in his youth: Early habits, when good, are invaluable. He has aged my flesh and my skin, 29 He putteth his mouth in the dust; if so be there may be hope. If he show us kindness, it is because so it seems good unto him; but, if he write bitter things against us, it is because we both deserve them and need them. Though He causes grief, 1 I am the man that hath seen affliction by the rod of his wrath. e. Great is Your faithfulness: All this made Jeremiah consider the great faithfulness of God; that He never fails in sending His mercies and compassions. What God does we must not open our mouths against, Ps 39 9.
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