Psalm 25:1-3 – Real World Talk

Again, here is my literal translation of these verses:

[Given] to David: To You, Yahveh, I lift up my soul. My God, I trust [recklessly] in You. Let me not be ashamed. Do not let my enemies triumph over me. Also, do NOT let ones waiting for/hoping in You be ashamed. Let be ashamed ones dealing unfaithfully without cause.

I have become more and more convinced over the years that preaching today does people an enormous disservice by focusing almost entirely on “church” and utterly failing to address people’s everyday lives. With all due respect, I think that those in full-time ministry have developed a severe case of “in-grown eyeballs.” Their world centers around the church-building and its programs. And so their preaching does the same. But, sadly, as I’ve lamented before, the fact is that the average lay-person will spend no more than maybe 3 hours a week at the church building. They spend the other 165 hours of their week in a real world – a real world where those same people need desperately to be equipped to know how to live out their faith – the real world of their workplace, their families, their grocery stores, their mechanics, a world of pressing deadlines, bills to be paid, grass to be mown, runny noses, and soccer games. God help me, as I study the Bible, I am trying desperately to bridge that gap in my own life. What I’m reading MUST apply to my life all day every day or it really means nothing at all. It needs to change me as I live in that real world. It needs to make me different, make me like Christ, whether I happen to be inside the four walls of a church building or sitting in a meeting at work.

I say all of this because I think even these first three verses have everything to do with my everyday life. I have read a number of commentaries, both from my own shelves and on-line, and they have offered many helpful insights. Yet not one of them made any connection to real life, at least nothing beyond the very general sentiments of trusting God in difficulty.

What I’d like to do here is offer a way I see the passage applying in my life. I believe my application is valid and hope it might be encouraging to someone else who stumbles onto this post.

The passage involves a stark contrast between those who “wait for/hope in God” and those who “deal unfaithfully without a cause.”

The word “bagad,” which I have translated “to deal unfaithfully” is a word that gets translated by others in a variety of ways. One of the most familiar to me is “to deal treacherously” as in Malachi 2:14 of husbands “dealing treacherously” against “the wife of their youth”. I feel personally that translations like “deal treacherously” lose their effectiveness in their very melodrama. Apparently, in the right context, the word could mean that. But even in Malachi 2:14, the problem is not that the man turned into some kind of arch-fiend and sold his wife into slavery or gambled her away to some ex-con. Even in the passage, the Lord says, “Yet she is your companion and the wife of your covenant.” The man’s heinous crime is simply that he failed to live up to his promise. He promised to be her husband, to take care of her, in sickness and in health, for richer for poorer, till death do us part. But she displeased him in some way so he packed her bags and pointed her toward the door. He simply was unfaithful. He didn’t keep his promises.

I believe the real and very practical meaning of bagad is simply “to deal unfaithfully;”  “to not keep one’s promises;” “to fail to follow through when others are counting on me.” Can I just pause and say I find that immediately far more likely than that I might “deal treacherously.” I don’t feel “treacherous.” But I am very, very capable of simply not doing what I said I would – whether out of forgetfulness, laziness, distraction, or whatever. I doubt if I’ll be “treacherous.” But I am all too often “unfaithful.”

Now why is that a big deal? It is a COLOSSAL deal. The very essence of our relationship with God is His faithfulness. He keeps His promises. He is Who He said He’d be. He does what He said He’d do. You can count on it. Jesus said, “I am the Truth.” We build our lives, hang our eternal souls, stake our hopes on His promises. And He is absolutely, 100%, totally, unwaveringly dependable. Faithful. He won’t disappoint you. He won’t leave you ashamed. In fact, as I just learned in II Peter, it is through His "very great and precious promises" that we are allowed to "particpate in the divine nature!" So much is built on the fact that He keeps His promises!

You and I live in a world where we MUST do the same. We count on God. Others count on us. They base their plans on what we said we’d do, who we said we’d be. In a sense the entire human race is like a house of cards built on our mutual promises.

So then there are the others. They’re not like God. They “deal unfaithfully without a cause.” Can I say again in warning, don’t lose the practicality here by being melodramatic. We’re not looking here at some kind of monsters. We’re talking simply about people who don’t keep their promises, who don’t do what they said they would. The monstrosity is in the sin itself. Unfaithfulness, the simple act, no matter how seemingly small or insignificant, is itself a MONSTROUS sin. And why? As I said above, because we all depend on each other – to do what we said we would. Again, the whole human race is like a house of cards built on our mutual dependence. And simple unfaithfulness is the death of it all.

Back to our passage. David is praying as one of the people who is sincerely trying to live faithfully. It’s a precarious thing. It’s often uncertain. Just trying to be who I’m supposed to be, do what I’m supposed to do, to live with integrity. I have to make a lot of hard choices. I have to make promises. I have to present myself as a person of integrity, a person of sincere and good intentions. But I live in a world where it can all blow up in my face, turn out not at all as I planned, leave me looking like a liar, a charlatan. On the other hand, even as I’m going about trying to be faithful, I live in a world where others have no such intentions. They make the same promises as me, present themselves the same way, yet have no intention at all of living up to it. And they usually are the ones who seem to succeed. They’re the ones who get rich. David says, “No, no, no. Lord, please don’t let me be ashamed. Don’t let the people who are trying to be faithful be the ones who end up ashamed. The ones who ought to do down in shame are all these slinky jerks who go around promising people the world, then just using them. May those be the ones who end up ashamed!”

This antithesis is patently obvious in my business world. I am an engineer. I work particularly with small towns. I want to be their engineer. I want to help them. They need an engineer who cares, who is sincerely watching out for their best interests. They need someone who will help them plan projects that really will benefit the town. They need someone who is always available to answer questions, give them advice, and simply provide them with the technical expertise that they cannot possibly have on their own. The same is true of Town attorneys, but I’m not one, so I won’t go there. But I hope you see my point. And although we have to be paid and we have to make money (my creditors  insist on it!), yet it’s not about the money. It’s about sincerely providing a real service to meet real needs. I sincerely believe I can trust God that if I’m faithful to take care of my clients, then, in the long run, they’ll take care of me.

Let me not be ashamed (!).

On the other hand, everywhere I go I am literally awash in an ocean of others’ unfaithfulness. These poor little towns (and pardon me now if I seem to get melodramatic) have been raped for years by engineers and salesmen who have promised them the world, been more than happy to take their money, but utterly failed to look after their best interests. It is heart-breaking to see the junk they’ve been sold, the messes they’ve been left with, the money they’ve paid for nothing. I don’t want to be that way. Even if by sincere failure on my part. To fail is to fail whether the intent was sincere or not. I don’t want to be ashamed.

As I related in my last post, I’m working on a project right now that MUST succeed. There is no plan B. I walked into a hopeless situation where 350 people could lose their jobs and, based on my knowledge of engineering, I offered them a solution that I sincerely believe will work and will work well. I’m sure it will. And based on my recommendations, they are now spending $30,000 to see if it will work.  I sincerely believe it will. I’m sincerely pursuing this for their benefit. Yes, I’m getting paid, but that isn’t what it’s about. Others have made many, many, many similar promises, have pawned themselves off as someone who cares, only to let them down and run off with their money. I don’t want to be like them. I really do want to help. But I could fail too.

And so I pray,

To You, O Lord, I lift up my soul. My God, I trust [recklessly] in You. Let me not be ashamed. Do not let my enemies triumph over me. Also, do NOT let ones waiting for/hoping in You be ashamed. Let be ashamed ones dealing unfaithfully without cause.

For whomever might have stumbled across this post, I hope you see what I mean. This passage is NOT just some general nice sounding religious words. This is a very real and heartfelt prayer in a world where I desperately need my God to carry me in His arms, to bless the work of my hands, to honor me so that I can in turn honor Him by doing my work well and being a real benefit to those who depend on me.

O my God, I trust in Thee. Let me not be ashamed. Let not mine enemies triumph over me.

Psalm 25:1-3 – Nice Psalm

Here is my literal translation of these verses:

[Given] to David: To You, Yahveh, I lift up my soul. My God, I trust [recklessly] in You. Let me not be ashamed. Do not let my enemies triumph over me. Also, do NOT let ones waiting for/hoping in You be ashamed. Let be ashamed ones dealing unfaithfully without cause.

Lots of things cross my mind as I’ve pondered these verses.

First of all, this Psalm has a characteristic opening which says simply “To David.” Once when I was studying the Psalms with a Rabbi, I said something attributing a Psalm to David, at which time the Rabbi most emphatically corrected me, pointing out that the Hebrew says “to David,” not “by David.” He suggested that someone else wrote it and perhaps presented it to David. I had to acknowledge that his translation was correct. It does say, “To David.” On the other hand, I knew there was some explanation. Interestingly, in Matthew 22: 43-45, Jesus very clearly recognizes David as the author of Psalm 110:1. He says, “How is it then that David, speaking by the Spirit, calls him ‘Lord’? For he says, ‘The Lord said to my Lord: Sit at my right hand until I put your enemies under your feet.’ If then David calls him ‘Lord,’ how can he be his son?" Also interestingly, Psalm 110 begins with the same “To David;” yet Jesus unequivocally recognizes David as the author.

So why is it “to David?” I think Jesus explains it in the passage quoted above when He says, “…David, speaking by the Spirit …” I doubt not one whit that David was far too humble to claim authorship of a Psalm. He was all too aware that the Psalms were given to him, and so, in that humility, he never signed them “By David” but rather “To David.” Simple explanation, in my humble opinion.

Then I notice that David says, “To You, Yahveh, I lift up my soul.” This is in stark contrast to Psalm 143:3, where he says, “The enemy pursues me, he crushes me to the ground.” That is why we have to constantly “lift up our souls” to the Lord. We have an enemy who is constantly crushing us down to the ground. David says in Psalm 27:13, “I would have fainted except I believed …” Satan and this world and even our own sin natures work quadruple over-time to knock us down, in a million different ways: “You’re no good. You’ll never make it. You’ll never amount to anything. See, you just can’t win, can you? What’s the point of trying? Give it up, stupid. That’s what you get for hoping. Of course you’re angry. You should be. Go ahead, let them have it! Go ahead, you deserve it! Go ahead. Give in. Why fight it any longer?” On and on, day after day, ad nauseum. Spurgeon said, “Very often, the soul cannot rise, [it is] more like a burrowing mole than a soaring eagle.” I personally can imagine no other cure than to “lift up my soul to the Lord.” “Much of what they’re saying may be too true. But You are my strength, my hope, my shield. By grace let me walk today. By grace give me the victory of love. To You I lift up my soul.” Apparently I find life very much like David did. Guess things haven’t changed much in 3000 years.

Another thing I love: In v2, he says, “I trust in You.” “Be-ka batakti.” I love the Hebrew word Batak. Simply translated it means to trust. But the Hebrew picture is far more colorful. It means to trust recklessly. It means to leave nothing in the bank. It’s like the “trust falls” the kids like to do. I hope that is how I trust the Lord: recklessly. He certainly deserves it.

Then he says, “Let me not be ashamed.” This is an important point, I think, where we have to shift cultures. In English, to be ashamed can be a very personal, private thing, the bad feelings I have when I deeply regret a course of action I pursued. But that is very, very American. We are first and foremost individuals. There is almost no sense of community in our souls. Yes, I am an American. Yes, I may be part of a team. But I am very much an individual within those communities and I expect to be recognized as such.

From what I have read of history and certainly from reading through the Old Testament numerous times, I am often amazed at how much more the ancient world was truly a community. People saw themselves first of all as members of a family, of a village, of a nation. I think we saw that in the Beijing Olympics even with the opening ceremonies, where there was an amazing number of Chinese able to perform together in perfect harmony and rhythm. As I watched that performance, I thought to myself, “You could never do that in America. You couldn’t get that many people to perform together in a group so large that they completely lose their independent existence". What this all comes down to is this word “shame.” In Hebrew it is not a private word for feelings I have sitting alone in my room. It is a very public word. It describes the feelings I have when I know I have failed and everyone else knows it too … and they’re all standing around pointing at me.

David is saying, “Lord, I want to trust recklessly in You. But if I do so, I fear my own failure. I fear people mocking and saying, 'Trust in God? Ha! See where it got you?'” The problem is that, even if what I’m doing is good, I have an infinite capacity to screw it up and make a mess of everything. I desperately need God’s help to actually succeed, to stick it out to the end, to overcome the obstacles, to not lose heart in the middle, to see it through to a successful end. I have projects at work right now where that is exactly what I’m praying. They must succeed. One in particular we are pusuing specifically because I said it will work. $30,000 from now, it had better work. If it doesn’t, I’ll be ashamed for recommending it, for wasting their money. And I’ll also be ashamed in the community sense because it simply must work. It is critically important.

So, although, we are very individual in America, public shame is a very real threat. While I hate the private feelings of regretting my own failures, I like that this Hebrew word is so much bigger. And I’m glad I can pray, “Let me not be ashamed,” and mean it in that very large public sense. The simple fact is, I fear that too.

There is much, much more to say, but I’ll end this post by noting that David adds, “Also, do NOT let ones waiting for/hoping in You be ashamed …” I don’t know if he means “Don’t let them be ashamed because of my failure” or just in general he’s thinking of others. Either way, he’s thinking of others. There’s that community thing again. And it’s a good thing. I hope when I’m praying, and especially when I’m praying out of suffering and anguish, that my heart is big enough to remember that people all around me are suffering too. David obviously was like that. Jesus certainly was like that. I should be too. Also, for whatever it's worth, I capitalized the NOT because it is the most emphatic Hebrew word for "Not." If anything, David was more concerned for others than for himself! "Let me not be ashamed, but let them NOT be ashamed." finally, I love the word translated wait/hope. It interestingly means both in one word. That is why I translated it with both.

Very encouraging Psalm. Thank you, Lord.

II Peter – “Good-bye, Old Friend!”

As I mentioned in my last post, one of the reasons I chose to study II Peter was to ponder its similarity to Jude. There was no question in my mind that Jude is chiastically ordered and I wondered if II Peter is also … and then whether the two were interrelated.

Also as I mentioned in the last post, as I have waded through II Peter, I did in fact find a considerable amount of repetition and often that repetition does appear to be symmetrical around the center of the book, all strongly suggesting order and likely chiastic order. I am especially intrigued when the center of the book is in the area of the reference to Balaam and his greed – which is the apex of the chiasm in Jude.

However, all of that said, I simply cannot see the pattern. Lots of repetition. Repetition that often appears symmetrical. Repetition of highly significant words like “promise” and “diligence” and the “Coming.” But for all my staring and diagramming, I just can’t see the pattern. So I think I’m going to have to close the file and move on.

It is possible that the “order” used is something I’m not familiar with. Pretty much I only know to look for chiasms. There’s no question in my mind that there is in fact some kind of order going on. I just can’t see it.

Here is where I give it my best shot, pray about it, and at some point decide that now simply is not the time. If I live long enough I may come back. It may be that I have to learn some other things, grow in some other ways, know God better, then it will fall off the page in my lap.

The fact is, I have learned so much from this book. There may be more to learn if I can discern an order. But regardless, the journey has been a sweet refuge sitting at the feet of my Lord. He reminded me how much He loves me and intends to do me good (“grace and peace be multiplied to you). He explained that it is by His promises that I actually participate in His divine nature – very great and precious promises indeed! Then He laid out for me the seven virtues of 1:5-7 and explained their meaning. I particularly was struck by the concept of “group love” and have tried to remember that as I deal with the many, many different “teams” I work with day in and day out. Once again, it appeared that, if there is a chiasm, the apex centers on Balaam and his greed. In Jude I concluded that greed is the supreme symptom to watch for in those who would propose to teach the Word – whether it is greed for money, or perhaps (as in the fundamentalist camp) for power and applause. People who give any evidence at all that they’re “in it for themselves” are utterly unfit to be teaching the Word, and, in fact, according to Jude and Peter, they’re dangerous(!). Finally, it was great being reminded that “the end of it all” is quite in God’s hands. It is thrilling to me to ponder this earth and the entire universe recreated in its original perfection and then to have forever to explore its magnificence. There will definitely be some awesome camping trips! And I’m looking forward to exploring the universe – “to go where no man’s gone before”(!).

According to my records I started my study of this book on August 11, 2009. Today is January 15, 2011. It has sure been fun. But it’s time to move on. So … good-bye, old friend. Till we meet again … The Lord and I have plans to meet in Psalm 25. Only He knows what delights He has awaiting me there. He's quite the tour guide, you know! So, off we go!

II Peter – “Pondering Order”

One of the reasons I chose to study II Peter was to ponder its similarity to Jude. There was no question in my mind that Jude is chiastically ordered. II Peter 2 in particular is obviously very similar to Jude, such that people have pondered for years whether Peter is copying Jude or Jude Peter or if perhaps both are referencing some other document. Regardless, the similarities are undeniable. After observing the very clear chiasm in Jude, the thought occurred to me that maybe II Peter is also chiastically ordered and that the two chiasms were deliberately related—perhaps one the mirror image of the other, like the top and bottom v’s of an X.

(For whatever it’s worth, once again, I want to assert that such investigations are not mere academic exercises. The text we’re considering is the Words of the living God. If there is order present, it is deliberate – and since it’s His Word, it’s Him being deliberate. He’s using order to provide emphasis, to communicate His truth in some way. Now, since His truth is logically fractal, one does not have to discern that order to “understand” Him. As anyone would read or study the Word, every little nugget we grasp, every individual piece of the fractal pattern we see is divine truth and when we know the truth, the truth sets us free. But, to understand more is to know Him better … and that is my goal. It’s not a matter of knowing Him at all. It’s a matter of knowing Him better. If the order is there, it is His order, it is deliberate, and to understand it is to understand Him a little better, to think just a little more like Him, to see the world just a little more through His eyes. So, just in case anyone is wondering, I don’t think it is at all a frivolous academic exercise to ponder the order of Scriptural text. I intend it to be intensely practical).

So, is there an order to the book of II Peter?  And is that order somehow tied to Jude?

I don’t know. I think there is order in the book itself, although I don’t see it yet. But I “smell” it. There is considerable repetition of terms within the book. I noted about 25 Greek words that get repeated in ways that look suspiciously like ordered terms.

In particular, there are two phrases that get repeated, one word for word, and the other very closely. In 1:20 and then again in 3:3, the Greek words identically say, “…knowing this first, that ...”. In the NIV, 1:20 is translated, “Above all you must understand that …” and 3:3 gets translated, “First of all, you must understand that …” The two phrases are obviously similar in English, but they are identical in Greek. Their position on either side of chapter 2 looks suspiciously ordered and deliberate.

The other repeated phrase has to do with “stirring you up to remember” and is in 1:13 and 3:1. Interestingly, in Jude 5 and 17, there is also reference to “remembering” and there the two references serve clearly as level D in the chiasm(!). In 1:13, the phrase is “διεγειρειν ύμας εν ύπομνησει” while in 3:1 it is “διεγειρω ύμων εν ύπομνησει”.

Then another very interesting repetition is the word and concept of “coming.” In 1:16, Peter asserts, “We did not follow cleverly invented stories when we told you about the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ …” Then specifically what the scoffers challenge in 3:4 is His coming: “They will say, ‘Where is this coming He promised?’” Of course chapter 3 centers entirely around the fact of verse 10, “The Day of the Lord will come …” (although “coming” is a different Greek word there).

Other interesting repetitions include the word “promise” (1:4,2:19,3:4,9,13), “diligence” (1:5,10,15;3:12,14), “destruction” (2:1a,1b,3; 3:6,7,16), and words for “remembering/forgetting” (1:9,12,13,15;3:1,2,5,8).

Then, interestingly, the list of virtues in 1:5-7 contains exactly seven virtues.

I strongly suspect that chapter 2 does somehow correspond to the chiasm in Jude while chapters 1 and 3 serve as some kind of (perhaps) chiastic border around it.

I still don’t see anything for sure but I do see a lot of indications that the order is there. So I’ll keep staring at it for just a bit longer before I close up my file and head off to another delicious study.

II Peter 3:17,18 – “Conclusion of the Matter”

And so I come to the end of this book. My very literal translation of the final two verses of this passage would be as follows:

“Therefore, you, beloved, knowing [these things] beforehand, beware that you do not fall of your own stability, being led away by the error of the lawless, but keep on growing in [the] grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him [be] the glory both now and into [the] eternal day. Amen.”

There are two identical statements in the book, in 1:20 and 3:3. Both say “continually knowing this first …” In 1:20, we must “continually know this first” that “No prophecy of Scripture is of its own interpretation but …” while in 3:3, we must “continually know this first” that mockers will come mocking, asking ‘Where is this Coming He promised?” and following their own desires.

In both cases what is in question are God’s promises. We must believe God’s promises and act on them. Mockers mock at God’s promises and follow their own desires. That is the antithesis of the entire book.

Another way this is expressed is that false teachers and those who follow them ignore God’s promises to their own destruction (2:1a,b,3;3:16) and thus become part of the final destruction of the entire material universe (3:6,7,10,12).

Alongside this, the passage warns us that believers are in danger of imbibing the same error, of “being led away by the error of the lawless” – of failing to remember and act on God’s promises. Peter warned us in 1:9 that we are quite capable of being “blind, near-sighted and forgetting the purification of our old sins” and this comes from failing to be diligent to provide along with our faith virtue, self-mastery, etc. (1:5-7), which in the current passage equals failing to “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” Also in the current passage, failing to grow causes believers to “fall from their own stability.” Believing God’s promises and acting on them makes us “stable.” Disregard (whether deliberate or slothful) of God’s promises leaves us sinking like Peter on the waves.

So, rather, believers, “knowing all this” are to “look forward to the Day of the Lord” (believe God’s promise) and thus be diligent to be found by Him “spotless and blameless” (3:14). God gave us His “very great and precious promises” that we might “participate in the Divine nature” and “escape the corruption in the world through desires” (1:4). That is another way to express our “stability” – to “participate in the Divine nature” and “escape the corruption in the world through desires.” To not “beware,” to “be led away” by the error of the lawless, is to lose sight of God’s promises, to fail to act on them, to fail to be diligent to grow in grace, and thus be left to follow only our desires, to participate not in the Divine nature but instead the corruption and thus destruction of this world.

All of this keeps leading us back to His admonitions in chapter 1 to “remember” those “very great and precious promises” and “be diligent to provide with our faith virtue …”

So what do we do with all of this? To “remember” His “very great and precious promises” first of all requires us to give earnest heed to the Scriptures. I must be constantly reading and studying the Scriptures that His promises might “ride herd on my heart” (Deut 6:4). But I need to do more than just read and study. I have to be diligent to be thinking through those Scriptures – to be asking how they should apply in my life. I need desperately to see my life through God’s eyes. What is really “right” and what is “wrong?” What am I thinking? Why do I do the things I do? Am I making my choices in light of His promises? Or am I forgetting them and instead making my choices based simply on my own desires? I need God’s Word to cast His light on these questions and help me be honest, to not be “blind” and instead to see the truth about myself. And then I must act on that knowledge.  From back in 1:5-7 I do that by:

For this very reason, make every effort to furnish along with your faith manly resolve; and with manly resolve, knowledge; ⁶and with knowledge, self-mastery; and with self-mastery, endurance; and with endurance, godliness; ⁷and with godliness, brotherly kindness; and with brotherly kindness, love.

Once again, what does this mean? For me, the fact is I am facing what to me (like everyone else) are very fiery trials even as I type. There are many things right now weighing heavily (crushing to be precise) on my heart. I feel the pain. I feel the fears. I feel they’re crushing the very life out of me. I’m deciding on some course to follow. What will I do? How will I deal with those things? “Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, and I, I chose …” “I chose …” I chose what?

I chose what? Is that not the very question? Every moment of every day I stand at the two roads and I choose. Again and again and again. Choose what?

Choose to see it and believe God’s promises and act accordingly? To choose to provide with my faith manly valor, …” Or choose instead to follow some self-devised plan to somehow “escape” or “conquer”?

Ahhhh (or “ow”), God help me as I face these trials – at this very minute – to cling to Your promises. I don’t want to sink in the waves. I don’t want to suffer the destruction of this world’s rottenness. I want to participate in Your nature – to love, to live truth. God help me not to “jump ship” on You. Help me not to choose the path of my own self designs. Help me to choose the path that is lit by Your promises. Whether they make sense or not. No matter how much I fear. God help me. Help me. Help me.

That is the conclusion of the matter.

If I succeed, and I guess whether I do or do not, like the book closes: “to Him be the glory both now and into the eternal day. Amen.”  What more can I say? Without Him, I am nothing. Without Him, I’ll surely fail. God give me the victory of love and truth. Today. In these trials. In this pain. You will have Your Day. May I somehow be to Your glory then. May I somehow be to Your glory now.

“…to Him be the glory both now and into the eternal day. Amen.”

God help us.