The General Epistles - Part 4

So, once again, I say good evening to all of you, and we have come to James chapter 3. Before we do James chapter 3, I want to briefly review what we have learned from chapter 2. Remember last time we quickly reviewed what we had learned from chapter 1, so here's what we have learned from chapter 2. Of course, we learned many other things. It just depends. I have written down here 16 key things.

Number one, God is not a respecter of persons. God hates partiality. The poor were the ones who, in the general sense, believed in Jesus. Not the rich, not the elite, not the mighty. It was the poor, as it says in 1 Corinthians, not many mighty, not many powerful, not many great people have been called into the truth. A few have been, and there were some people who were of the upper class, and when Jesus Christ was here on earth. According to the commentaries and history, Jews have a tendency to regard persons and admire those who dress well.

So that is really addressed in James chapter 2. They admire those who dress well, well-educated, highly educated people who are wealthy. Now, in Israel at the time of Jesus Christ, there were several sects, S-E-C-T-S, sects of the Jews. The Pharisees, the most powerful group, they had power to excommunicate. The Jews feared excommunication more than anything, and the Pharisees dominated the Sanhedrin. Secondly, there were the Sadducees. Now, the Pharisees believed in a resurrection, but the Sadducees did not believe in resurrection.

Sadducees is the traditional priestly line coming from Zadok. So from Zadok we get Sadducees. They maintained the literal interpretation of the scripture. The Pentateuch Sadducees were violently against the apostles. They did not believe in the resurrection. And then we have the Essenes. It was a very small sect. Sect communal groups living in the desert in Judea. They spent their lives in contemplation and ascetic piety. Those who were given to asceticism are the ones who do without.

They believed that you can purify the body, and they believed in a soul. Purify the body and soul through doing without. Another group were the Zealots. The Zealots were a patriotic group that had the desire to overthrow the Roman yoke. They were politically zealous and fanatical. Then you had the Herodians. It's strange that at the same time it's enlightening to know that the Edomians were... The Edomia is another name for Edom.

And so from Edom we get Edomians, and Herod was an Edomian. So they called the those who were Herod, and really supported Herod, Herodians. They believed that the hope of the Jews rested on the Herod's, and they looked to them for the promise of the Messiah. And there the Therapeutae, the Therapeutae, the widespread community in Egypt, lived in greater seclusion than the Essenes. And then there were the Aramaeans. So there were seven different sects of the Jews.

Samaritans adopted much of the Jewish culture and thought. They combined Jewish and Oriental ideas. And the languages that were extant was Aramaic. The Pharisees spoke Aramaic. Greek, the Greeks were called the Helens. These people were a division of the Jews who spoke Greek. Then there was here Hebrew. And there was Latin, which was the language of the Romans. So when Ezra and Nehemiah returned to Palestine, the priestly lion returned. The Aramaic Hebrews looked down on those who could not speak Hebrew. And of course, there was a dispute, as you recall, in Acts 6 between those that spoke Hebrew and those who speak Greek, and they were called the Helens.

The Helens also had a great deal of influence that the New Testament was written in Greek. So we learned that Jews have attended Sijid regard persons, and remember that James has written this book to the Jewish Christians who were scattered abroad throughout the Roman Empire. The Jews, yet, are admired in a lot of ways. They have been the ones who have been invented many things, and many of them have excelled in literature and education. The Word of God is equated with God. Remember John 6, 63, the words I speak, they are spirit and they are life.

So when we read and study the Bible, we are actually reading and studying the very words of God. I know various authors wrote it with various styles, but yet they were inspired by the Holy Spirit to speak what they spoke. We learned that Christians were moved by the Holy Spirit. God expects Christians to obey the royal law, do unto others as you would have them to do unto you, love your neighbor as yourself. We learned that if you break one commandment, you have broken all of them.

So if you are partial, and you have respect of persons, you break the law of God, and you have broken all of the commandments. Number nine, we are to judge ourselves and exercise judgment, mercy, and faith with everyone.

We learned that judgment, mercy, and faith proceed from the law, and we are to observe the weightier matters of the law. It's very interesting that faith, the very thing that is talked about so often among the Protestants, stem from the law. And it's called, Judgment, Mercy, and Faith, or called, the weightier matters of the law. Number eleven, we learned that mercy glories against judgment because a person can only experience ultimate mercy by, first of all, being judged whether by himself or someone else.

So you have to make a judgment like the one who went, the two that went up in the temple to pray. The publican said, Lord, have mercy on me, a sinner. So he judged himself. And the Pharisee thanked God that he was not like other men. So he did not judge himself. And, of course, the publican was the one who came down and was justified before God. We learned that faith without works or obedience is dead. James writes, show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. Number fourteen, the devils believe that God exists and trembles, but they will not repent and they will not trust in Jesus Christ.

Their goal from the Garden of Eden to the present day is to break the Word of God and to overthrow the Word of God and to break prophecy. The devils believe in tremble. Satan is also, as it says in John 8.44, the Gospel of John 8.44, that the devil is a liar and the father of lies. So the devils believe in tremble.

So you have to have more than just faith. You have to have works and or obedience to God. Through works and or obedience, faith is made perfect. And the example of Abraham offering his only begotten Son is used as an example of faith and works and obedience. In other places in the Bible, when the example of Abraham is used to show that he was willing to sacrifice his only Son, Isaac, his only Son at that time, he was ready to sacrifice him and apparently had the knife in his hand and ready to come down on his throat.

And God stayed his hand and he looked up and there was a ram caught in the thicket. And the last verse in James 2 says, the body is dead without the Spirit. Now, when we see the word Spirit in the Bible, in the Old Testament is Ruach, in the New Testament is Pneumon, and it can mean the breath of light, the breath that we all breathe, unconverted people breathe air.

Or it can mean the Holy Spirit. So it says the body is dead without the Spirit. And whether it be the body is dead without the Spirit in the physical sense, that is the breath of light, and the body is dead spiritually without the Holy Spirit in the spiritual sense. So those are some of the key things that we learned from chapter 2. And now we'll go to chapter 3. At this time we'll pause.

Any of you have any questions or comments you would like to make? As I said, these are not the only things that we learned from chapter 2, but it's good to review and try to tie things together from one chapter to the other.

So now we have come to James chapter 3. Any questions or comments at this point?

Okay, we will continue then with James chapter 3. My brethren be not many teachers. Now the King James translators use the word masters.

The Greek word here is didaskalos, and it's from the word didactic. And very clearly you can look in Strongs or other places. And we'll see that this word appears in the New Testament here several times. It appears 58 times in the New Testament. It is generally translated as doctor, master, teacher. So it's speaking about teaching. My brethren be not many teachers. Now it is not wrong to desire the office of a bishop or desire the office of a deacon. It is not wrong to desire that. As we can read from Scripture if you'll turn to 1 Timothy 3.1, we'll see very clearly it's not wrong to desire the office of a deacon. 1 Timothy 3 and verse 1. And 1 Timothy 3 and verse 1.

1 Timothy 3 and verse 1. And it's not the right verse. Anybody know right quick that any man desires the office of a bishop, he desires a good word of verse? It is 1 Timothy 3.1. 1 Timothy 3.1. Yes. Okay, in 1 Timothy 3 and verse 1.

This is a true saying. If a man desired the office of a bishop, he desires a good word. The bishop means an overseer, one who perhaps is a pastor and elder. A bishop then must be, and blameless, a husband of one wife, and so on. It goes getting the qualifications of a bishop. So, there's nothing wrong with desiring the office. We are ordained in things pertaining to God. A true minister or teacher realizes he is but clay. He's not perfect. He will sin, yet he is to strive for perfection and set an example. In fact, when you are a minister, when they hang the title on you, elder, minister, deaconess, you really are now subject to a double standard. Or, if you teach something you're really looked at as a double standard, they expect more of you. The true minister, he views himself just as a piece of clay. He's not perfect. As I said, he will sin. You recall, even with Aaron, he formed the golden camp. God did not remove him from the priesthood. And another big thing about being a teacher is I would really hesitate to volunteer to teach. This doesn't mean teaching is wrong, but teaching is usually done through expressing views with others. No man should take this honor unless call of God. And so, for an elder, or for a deacon, or a deaconess, or one who teaches, they have demonstrated already by their fruits, by their works, that they are worthy of the office, and they are then ordained to the office of a teacher. So, we repeat, my brethren, be not many didaskalos, teachers, knowing that we shall receive. Notice he says, we, James, includes himself, we shall receive the greater judgment. Now, this word, condemnation, is crema, and it is generally used for damnation, condemned, or judgment. Remember that. That this word can be used for avenge, condemned, damnation, or judgment. I would say here, it is the greater judgment. He will receive the greater judgment. For in many things we offend all. If any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man, and able also to bridle the whole body. I don't guess there's ever been a person who lived in the flesh, except Jesus Christ, who has not misused the tongue at one time or the other. I would say that we all stand guilty before God of using the tongue wrongly. The use of the tongue is a very large subject in the Bible. The Hebrew word for tongue is lachon, L-A-W-N, and is pronounced lachon. It appears 117 times in the Old Testament. This word appears 117 times in the Old Testament. It appears the Greek word for tongue. If we're able to control the tongue, it's near like a perfect man. In the Greek, the word for tongue is glossa, and it appears 50 times in the New Testament.

I have basically looked up many of the key scriptures. I think I have about 30 or 40 listed. I'm not going to read all of those scriptures. I'm going to read maybe four or five of those so we get the flavor of how important it is. Let's read verse 2 again. For in many things we offend all. If any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man, and able also to bridle the whole body. And of course, a tongue, as we shall see, is a chief thing that we need to bridle. In Psalm 10, verse 7, his mouth is full of cursing and deceit and fraud. Under his tongue is mischief with vanity. Mischief, of course, is to do evil vanity, is baying things, temporal things, short-lasting things. Psalm 12, verse 3, The Lord shall cut off all flattering lips, and the tongue that speaks proud things. And one of the other things, like God hates partiality, he hates flattering lips. If you've ever been around a flattering person, they flatter you with their lips, but yet they expect praise to be heaped on them in return. They expect flattery in return, and if you don't exhibit some form of flattery to them, they usually won't say anything. Now, we are going to have a lot to say in just a moment about passive and active use of the tongue. In Psalm 12, verse 3, The Lord shall cut off all flattering lips, and the tongue that speaks proud things. Now, from the New Testament, this collage is 4, verse 6, Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer every man. Also, in verse 28, in the Bible, it says, a great Bible study project would be to read every verse in the Bible that has word tongue in it, or has speech in it, has word in it, has words in it. The tongue is behind the teeth and the lips, and it is the shield of the heart, and when it is loosed, it reveals the contents of our heart. So, let's show that from Scripture. It reveals the contents of our heart. I'm going to read Luke 6, verse 45.

Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks.

And we have a bit of a conundrum with regard to speaking and holding our tongue. James tells us in chapter 1, verse 19, wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath, for the wrath of man works not the righteousness of God. Now, we also have what we need to the passive use of the tongue. In the passive use of the tongue, it can work two ways.

We can sit and listen to gossip and slander, and the fact that we sit and listen to it makes us responsible, even if you say nothing. If you say nothing, the person will think you agree. So you can always say, oh, I don't think I agree with that. You can say it in such a way that perhaps it doesn't alienate him, but God expects you to stand up for them, which is right. Psalms 15, verses 1-5. I'm just going to read the paraphrase of it.

Psalm 15, verses 1-5 paraphrases abomination to justify the wicked. The wicked cannot be justified. We have a situation going on in the news right now about the bombing of the second boat in the Caribbean, where the two survivors were going, and whether or not the Secretary of War, as they call it now, used to be defense. Defense, Pete Heck said, whether he gave the order or the commander gave the order to strike that ship, and then it turned somewhat even tonight.

So there are examples all the time of people who misuse the tongue, and sometimes in misusing the tongue, we make grave mistakes, as was made in this case. And of course, the Democrats were trying to do everything they can to get at Trump and his team when they make a mistake. When you make a mistake that costs people their lives, that is a very costly mistake. In Isaiah 33 verses 13 through 15 we see, and we believe them to join on. In Zachariah 7 verses 9 through 10 it says, Let not of you imagine evil against his brother, or in your heart. If you do, you will misuse the tongue either actively or passively.

In the age of manipulation, we have been trained to try to escape, and we covet and worship. We, when I say we, we the general populace, and if you do it, well, if the shoe fits, wear it. So we are masters of escapism. We worship sex, beauty, youth, worship romance, adventure. We try to use the tongue to get our own thing. We use flattery. Remember Absalom. He is a classic use of flattery against his father David.

Absalom had killed his brother because his brother was interested in one of Absalom's sisters. And so he killed him and fled, and then David brought him back, and he led a rebellion against David. And you know the story. He would say to the people, oh, if I were made judge of Israel, there would not be that kind of thing happening. So once again, if any man can bridle in the tongue, he is a perfect man.

There are just so many verses in the Bible about it. So I encourage you to use a Bible aid like the Pong Line Bible, or you can use Strong's Concordance, and you can look up tongue and read every verse there. Tongue, mouth, those kind of things. However, that is misuse of the tongue in the active sense. Now, in the passive sense, we've already talked about passive sense and listening to gossip, rumor, and not correcting it at all. However, if we sit and never express our opinion or give our input, we may cease to have the urge of the Spirit working with us.

We may lose the opportunity to give any input or to receive the urge from the Holy Spirit. Hey, speak up now, you need to say something. The general principle illustrated by the particular example that we just mentioned, knowledge or ideas that God lays on your mind and your heart should be shared. The failure to do so is to send an omission. Nothing kills the inner man more than wasted impressions and or wasted feelings. You have wasted impressions and wasted feelings where you say you get home and you say, well, I should have said something.

I should not have let that slip by. Feelings that are beliefs exhaust themselves and evaporate if they're not expressed and embodied in practice. If we will not share our feelings, we shall cease to feel. Pint up feelings, feelings that are repressed, will result in apathy or a sudden explosion of frustration that may lead to destruction. So you need to be careful about that. We have a people now, generally, our church people, they will not speak up and tell the teacher or the speaker or ask him questions or comment.

They will tell somebody else. They will say, well, I always heard such and such. I always thought this was what we always said. But really the test is what does Scripture say? Read the Bible from what it says. So we must remember that thought should be the precursor of words. So pin up feelings, feelings that are repressed will result in apathy or a sudden expression of frustration. But then we need to think about what we say before we say it. However, to say it always passively and not ask a question, not say anything, also is not the right way.

We hear the expression oftentimes, his mouth was in gear before his brain. That happens when we speak from emotion as opposed to speaking before we consider the consequences. Words are like throwing a stick of dynamite out.

Once the words are out there, they cannot be recalled. They're out there. And we have seen in recent times the mastery of deception in using words against people or twisting words against people, or on the other hand, saying things that flatter people and they get the wrong impression of what they think they are doing when really they are not. So we oftentimes speak before thinking. But if we could think before we speak, that would be a great help.

So when someone says something that cuts in the quick of our emotions, oftentimes we're quick to blurt out their response. That is why James writes, Let every man be slow to anger, swift to hear, slow to speak. Once words are spoken, as we said, they're out there.

We can apologize. But oftentimes, the hero will only focus on what they have, what you have said, and not hear the apology. They will think he or she must admit it or they would not have said it. So it seems that our tongues are loosely connected with our emotions. That perhaps is the main reason that no one can perfectly control his or her tongue. Because our tongue seems to be connected with our emotions. And I know that sometimes people may say something, and you can feel your face burning or your insides actually burning because on the one hand it may be true what they said, on the other hand it may be false.

And you didn't say that at all. So that is some background, some things to consider in controlling the tongue because that is one of the keys to going on to perfection. Now, verse 3, James 3 verse 3, and we called them the plow lines, the lines that you use to guide the horse. And you can turn them about. And behold also, verse 4, the ships which though be great, and are driven of fierce winds, yet are they turned about with a very small helm, whether so ever, the governor, at least.

So wherever you want the ship to go, all you have to do is steer a little bit to the left or the right, and that moves the nose of the ship, and it goes in the direction of the otter. Even the tongue is a little member, so he's using the analogy of that which is on a ship, turned about with a very small helm. And so the tongue is small in comparison to the body. Even so, the tongue is a little washer placed in the rear. The tongue, even though the tongue is a little member and boasts great things, behold how great a matter a little fire kindles.

You can just say the wrong thing at the wrong time and set somebody on fire. And as I said, you can even feel, at times, I've had it happen to me. People say certain things and you feel a fire, a flush go over your body because you either know it's true or you know it's not true, and either way, it can really do damage. And the tongue is a fire, a fire, a world of iniquity, so the tongue among our members that it defiles the whole body and sets on fire the course of nature and it is set on fire of hell.

And that is Yihinah fire, set on fire of Yihinah fire. That word hell is not Hades, grave or target, rear, or string. It is Yihinah fire. It is set on the fire of hell, for every kind of beast and birds and serpent and of things in the sea is tamed and has been tamed of mankind.

He uses these metaphors and analogies to show that nature can control these things. Of course, they are guided by instinct and not thought and they don't have freedom of thought. But the example is they're small and yet they are able to control themselves through what is there, it is by nature. But the tongue can no maintain. It is an unruly evil full of deadly poison. It can absolutely kill a person. Deadly poison. And that means what it says. And you can kill a person on the inside without them literally dying and giving up the breath of light.

You can kill them through the tongue. One of the great tragedies and one of the things that's happening in the world today is what they call bullying. Bullying begins in kindergarten and it continues until the day we die. As one author wrote, High School is kindergarten all over again. Well, actually, I think he wrote that life is kindergarten all over again. The little whispers that go around is really damaging to a lot of people. Therefore, bless we God, even the Father, and therewith curse we man, which are made after the simility of God.

Now, this is a very important understanding. When it says back in Matthew, I believe, Chapter 5, that we are not to call our brother a fool because they are made in the image of God. Here it says that we praise God and then at the same time, with the same mouth, with the same tongue, we curse men, which are made after the simility. And this word, simility, is the word that is homo-e-osis. Homo-e-osis. Homo-e-osis. It is, of course, the word from which we get homosexual, but this is not having to do with anything with homosexuality.

Homosexuality is having to do with mankind is made similar to God in his own image made he dim, male and female made he dim. So out of the same mouth are she's blessing and cursing, my brother, these things ought not to be. Does a fountain send forth at the same place sweet and bitter water? We, if we tune in to Satan's link, his wavelength, he is a liar and a murderer from the beginning.

He has tried to subvert the plan of God and he is busily right now walking about as a roaring lion seeking whom he made of our and he wants you as well. These things ought not to be. On the one hand, bless God and on the other hand curse man. Now verse 11. Does a fountain send forth at the same place sweet and bitter water? I'm including the word water. Does a fountain send forth at the same place sweet water and bitter?

No, it doesn't. Can a fig tree, my brother and bear, olive berries? No, it can't. Either a vine, figs, or can no fountain both yield salt, water, and fresh. The next part is really, really just all of this. James just lays it on the line. Wisdom from above. Not earthly sensual wisdom, but wisdom that comes from God. This is linked to the golden rule, do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

It is also linked to exercise, judgment, mercy, and faith, the way near matters of the law. Try your dead-level best to walk in reconciliation with God and Christ, each member of the body of Christ, and the world at large. So we begin in verse 13. Who is a wise man? And in deed with knowledge among you? You can look about and say, well, who is the wise man? Let him show out of a good conversation or good conduct. Of course, conversation is a vital part of it.

A great word there is anastrophe, or anastro-phae. Let him show out of a good conversation or conduct his word with meekness of wisdom. And it says about Moses, if you recall, that he was meek above all men on the face of the earth. What does that literally mean? That I am meek above all the men on the face of the earth?

Now, Moses didn't say that in itself, but the Scripture says it.

In fact, he said, when God called him, he said, who am I to lead out this people so great of yours? Who am I to lead them to the promised land?

The word meekness means, essentially, who am I to be the husband of this wife? Who am I to understand the truth? Who am I? Meekness of wisdom. But if you have bitter in being and strife, see bitter in being and strife. This has to do with the judgment, mercy, and faith, exercising that with your brothers and sisters and the world at large. But if you have bitter in being and strife in your hearts, glory not and lie not against the truth.

This bitter in being and strife has been man's downfall from Cain and Abel to the present time. There are little people with small minds who want to be number one. They may not say it, but they desire it. They want to be number one. And this says, if you have bitter in being and strife in your hearts, glory not and lie not against the truth. This wisdom, bitter in being and strife, this wisdom descends not from above, but is earthly, sensual, and devilish, or demonical. It is how Satan the devil, liar, and murderer from the beginning. For where in being and strife is, or are, where in being and strife are, King James says he is, there is confusion and every evil work. It didn't say some evil work. It said every evil work. In being and strife, we have had in being and strife in the church, and this passive use of the tongue, oftentimes, is what causes people so much grief. And it can go both ways. We usually just hammer away at the active use of the tongue, using it wrongly, but also the passive use of the tongue, not speaking up and saying what you really believe and what is laid on your heart and mind. For where in being and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work. Not just some, every, but the wisdom that is from above, God's wisdom. You remember in James chapter 4, chapter 1 verse 4, it says, If any man lack wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives liberally and uprighteth not. That is so hard to do in so many cases. We have had a lot of prayers in which we ask people to be healed, or whatever we ask of God, and it's not answered. Now, God of Brooks has a song out. I don't necessarily recommend the song, but it has a line, Thank God for unanswered prayer. God knows what he's doing with each one of us, and it is our response to whatever situation we're in that counts. That is what counts with God. Of course, we want to cry out to him and ask him to remove whatever it is that's troubling us. Paul says that he besought the Lord three times. It might have been about eyesight, but who knows? Apparently, Paul had bad eyesight and had a terrible speaking voice, but yet he wrote a major part of the New Testament. So God's wisdom is what counts. Pure, then peaceable, gentle, easy to be entreated, full of mercy, and good fruits without partiality and without hypocrisy. I mean, he covers generally everything in one verse there. That is a memory verse, a verse to be reckoned with. But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, easy to be entreated, full of mercy, out of good fruits without partiality, without hypocrisy. There are rare few people who can live up to that. And the fruit of righteousness is shown in peace of those who make peace.

So peace and blessed are the peacemakers, for theirs is the kingdom of God. Where we can always egg something on. We can always say the wrong thing at the wrong time. So that's why we need to always make sure our brain is in gear before we speak. And all of us have been guilty of misuse of the tongue. And that's one thing that the Bible scripture says. If you can bridle the tongue, then you are a perfect man. So we'll let it rest there for this evening. And we will now ask for questions and comments. Of course, we'll take up chapter four, which is as weighty and mighty as this chapter next time. So Dr. Ward, a question or comment? Yes, I was just thinking as you were talking about the tongue and how important it is to guard our lips, guard our tongue, and perhaps know more so important than with our spouse. Because it can be so easy to... we spend so much time with them, more time with them than with anybody. And we can very easily say something or let something slip or whatever. And we have the highest of highs in the words that we say with our spouse, or it can be the lowest of lows. Yeah, that's a very good point. Yeah, so just have to work very, very hard, especially with a spouse or members of our household, to keep our tongue in control because it can... it can really, like I said, it can really do a lot of good or it could do a lot of damage. Yeah, so it seems that wives, females, maybe in general, are more sensitive to what is said to them and many other actions that can occur. And that is a great point to consider that... It's not always just the words, it can even be the inflection of the voice. Yeah, the inflection of the voice.

There are other aspects of it as well.

And sometimes I think all of us need hearing aids.

Anybody else have a question or comment?

In Isaiah 54, Dr. Ward, it talks about... of course you covered this, but basically, God will give us what we need to say. If we study, He says He will give us the word in season, and our words can be good for the hearing or it can be evil for the hearing. But we need to ask God for His wisdom so that we can know how to speak and how to react when we're spoken to. Basically, what I get out of this is, you know, you're basically foolish if you try to answer a question, especially spiritually based, if you haven't studied on it or ask God for help in it. Right. Great point.

You know, in prayer, I ask God to give me the gifts that are necessary to fulfill His will for me, and that I'd not offend anyone. I know I do, but I ask God, please don't let me offend one of your little ones. You know, it says in Matthew that it's better than a meal stone was hung around Nick than to offend one of these little ones. And little ones can apply to more than just a child. You know, they can apply to one that's new in the faith. And a lot of people have been driven from the church by people serving as uncalled apostles with new people. Anybody else have a question or comment? Be sure and read chapter 4. As I said, it is a loaded chapter as well. It seems like in every chapter, James takes the devil to task. No more questions or comments. We'll call it a night.