Grace Gems

[nChrist]

Oh stand and wonder!

(Thomas Brooks, "The Crown and Glory of Christianity")

"Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed upon
 us--that we should be called the sons of God." 1 John 3:1

It is an infinite condescension in God, to honor us with the
title of sons, and therefore we should never think of it, nor
ever speak of it--but with much admiration. O sirs! what
matter of admiration is this--that the great and glorious
God, who has many millions of glorious angels attending
Him--that He should . . .
  look upon all holy people as His sons,
  and love them as His sons,
  and delight in them as His sons,
  and clothe them as His sons,
  and feed them as His sons,
  and protect them as His sons,
  and stand by them as His sons,
  and lay up for them as His sons,
  and lay out Himself for them as His sons;
that those who have not deserved . . .
  a smile from God,
  a good word from God,
  a bit of bread from God,
  or a good look from God,
should be made the sons of God!

What manner of love is this--that those who have . . .
  so highly provoked God,
  walked so cross and contrary to God,
  were so exceeding unlike God,
  preferred every lust, and every toy and vanity before God,
  fought many years under Satan's banner against God,
  refused all the offers of mercy that have been made by God,
--that those who have deserved to be reprobated by God,
damned by God, and to be thrown to hell by God--that
these should be made the sons of God!

Oh stand and wonder! Oh stand and admire the
freeness of His grace, and at the riches of His grace!

____________________

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[nChrist]

Righteousness exalts a nation

(Thomas Brooks, "The Crown and Glory of Christianity,
 or, HOLINESS, the Only Way to Happiness", 1662)

"Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a
 disgrace to any people." Proverbs 14:34

It is not valor in war--but righteousness;
it is not policy in government--but righteousness;
it is not wittiness of invention--but righteousness;
it is not civility in behavior--but righteousness;
it is not antiquity of laws--but righteousness;
it is not largeness of dominion--but righteousness;
it is not greatness of command--but righteousness
--which is the honor and the safety, the renown
and the security of a nation.

It is not rich mines of gold and silver, nor armies,
nor councils, nor fleets, nor forts--but justice and
righteousness which exalts a nation; and which will
make a lowly people to become a great, a glorious,
and a famous people in the world. That nation which
exalts righteousness--that nation shall be certainly
exalted by righteousness.

Ah! England, England! If injustice shall grow rampant,
and you shall brandish the sword of protection to the
desperate swearer, and to the cruel oppressor, and to
the roaring drunkard, and to the cursing monster; and
shall be a devouring sword to the upright and godly
in the land--divine vengeance will dig your grave, and
divine justice will tumble you into it!

____________________

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[nChrist]

The fool's bauble, the fool's fiddle

(Thomas Brooks, "The Crown and Glory of Christianity,
 or, HOLINESS, the Only Way to Happiness", 1662)

"The wicked freely strut about, when what is vile is
 honored among men." Psalm 12:8

"They love to indulge in evil pleasures." 2 Peter 2:13.

"Their souls delight in their abominations." Isaiah 66:3

Proverbs 10:23, "A fool finds pleasure in evil conduct."
Evil conduct is the fool's bauble, the fool's fiddle.
Fools take great delight and pleasure in doing evil.
Sin and wickedness are a sport or recreation to a fool.
It is a great pleasure and merriment to a fool--to do
wickedness.

Proverbs 14:9, "Fools make a mock of sin." They make a
jeer of sin--which they should fear more than hell itself!
They make a sport of sin--which will prove a matter of
damnation to them. They make a pastime, a game of
sin--which will them miserable to all eternity. They make
a mock of sin on earth--for which the devil will mock and
flout them forever in hell.

Justice will at last turn over such fools to Satan, who will
be sure to return mock for mock, jeer for jeer, and flout
for flout. Those who love such kind of pastime, shall have
enough of it in hell. All unbelievers are such fools--for
they delight and take pleasure in sin, which is the most
corrupting and dangerous thing in the world. "And so that
all will be condemned who have not believed the truth, but
have delighted in wickedness." 2 Thessalonians 2:12

Well, sirs! Sin is the poison of the soul, the nakedness of
the soul, the disease of the soul, the burden of the soul--
and if God in mercy does not prevent it--sin will prove the
eternal bane of the soul. Oh, then, how great is their folly,
who delight in sin, and who make a sport of it!

____________________

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[nChrist]

An ignorant, profane, and soul-flattering clergy

(Thomas Brooks, "The Crown and Glory of Christianity,
 or, HOLINESS, the Only Way to Happiness", 1662)

A preacher's life should be a commentary upon his
doctrine; his practice should be the counterpart of his
sermons. Heavenly doctrines should always be adorned
with a heavenly life.

An ignorant, profane, and soul-flattering clergy, are
the greatest pest, plague, affliction and judgment, which
can befall a people! There is no rank nor order of men on
earth, who have so enriched hell, who have been such
benefactors to hell--as the ignorant and profane clergy!
How many are there in these days, who are more ready
and willing to make a sacrifice of the gospel--
  for profit sake,
  and preferment sake,
  and honor sake,
  and lust's sake!

Where there is no serious, sincere, faithful, and powerful
preaching--there the people grow abominably wicked, and
will certainly perish, and go tumbling to hell.

Pastors! Either preach as the ministers of Jesus
Christ ought to preach--
  plainly,
  spiritually,
  powerfully,
  feelingly,
  fervently,
  frequently;
and live as the ministers of Jesus Christ ought to live--
  heavenly,
  graciously,
  holily,
  humbly,
  righteously,
  harmlessly,
  exemplary
--or else lay down your names of being the ministers of
Jesus Christ. Do not any longer a cheat upon yourselves,
nor upon the people--by making them believe that you
are ministers of Jesus Christ, when you have
  nothing of the spirit of Christ,
  nor of the anointings of Christ,
  nor of the grace of Christ,
  nor of the life of Christ in you.


    ~  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~


Please forward this on to your pastors.

____________________

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[nChrist]

        Get out of My sight!

        (Thomas Brooks, "The Crown and Glory of Christianity,
         or, HOLINESS, the Only Way to Happiness", 1662)

        Many now-a-days say there is no hell. Multitudes think that all that is spoken of hell in Scripture--is false and mythical. They will not believe that there is a hell--until they come to feel themselves in hell--until they find everlasting flames about their ears--until they are sentenced to the fire--until they are doomed to everlasting fire!

        The last words that Christ will ever speak to the ungodly, will be the most tormenting, and horrifying, the most killing and damning, the most stinging and wounding! "Then He will also say to those on the left--Depart from Me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the Devil and his angels!" Matthew 25:41. This terrible sentence breathes out nothing but fire and brimstone, terror and horror, dread and woe!

        "Depart from Me!" Here is utter rejection--"Pack! Begone! Get out of My sight! Let Me never see your face again!"

        "You who are cursed!" Here is malediction. You shall be cursed in your bodies and cursed in your souls! You shall be cursed of God, and cursed of angels, and cursed of saints, and cursed of devils, and cursed of your companions! Yes, you shall curse your very selves, your very souls. All your former curses, all your maledictions--shall at last recoil upon your own souls! Now you curse every man and thing which stands in the way of your lusts, and which cross your designs! But at last all the curses of heaven and hell shall meet in their full power and force upon you!

        "But, Lord, if we must depart, and depart cursed, oh let us go into some good place!" "No! Depart into the eternal fire!" There is the vengeance and everlasting continuance of it. You shall go into fire, into everlasting fire, which will neither consume itself, nor consume you! Eternity of extreme punishment is the hell of hell. If all the fires which ever were in the world were contracted into one fire, how terrible would it be! Yet such a fire would be but as a 'painted fire'--compared to the fire of hell. The greatest and the hottest fires that ever were on earth--are but ice in comparison to the fire of hell. Ah! how sad, how dreadful would it be to experience what it is to lie in unquenchable fire--not for a day, a month, or a year, or a hundred, or a thousand years--but forever and ever!

        "If it were," says one, "but for a thousand years, I could bear it--but seeing it is for eternity--this astonishes and affrights me!" "I am afraid of hell," says another, "because the worm there never dies, and the fire never goes out!"

        It is called "unquenchable fire," and "eternal fire." The torments of the damned are very grievous for the bitterness of them--and more grievous for the diversity of them--but most of all grievous for the eternity of them!

        Wronged justice can never be satisfied, and therefore the sinner must be forever tormented. The sinner in hell will sin forever, and therefore he must be punished forever. It will not stand with the unspotted justice and righteousness of God to cease punishing--while the sinner ceases not sinning.

        "But, Lord, if I must go into fire, into everlasting fire, oh let me have some good company in my misery!" "No! The devil and his demons shall be your companions!" Ah! who can conceive or express the misery of living with devils and damned spirits and hellish fiends and furies forever!

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[nChrist]

A house of fools!

(Thomas Brooks, "The Crown and Glory of Christianity,
 or, HOLINESS, the Only Way to Happiness", 1662)

"The heart of fools is in the house of pleasure."
    Ecclesiastes 7:4

A fool prefers toys and trifles--above things of greatest
worth. Just so, wicked and ungodly men prefer their lusts
before the Lord. Upon choice, they prefer the honors, the
riches and glory of the world--above their own souls and
the great concerns of eternity.

I have read of the foolish people of Ceylon, who preferred
a consecrated ape's tooth--above an incredible mass of
treasure. Such fools are all unholy people, who prefer the
toys, the trifles of this world--above the pleasures and
treasures which are at God's right hand. The world is
full of such fools.

Says one--"If you behold the lives of men, you will judge
the whole world to be a house of fools!" Ah, friends!
What folly can be compared to that of men's spending
their time, their strength, their lives, their souls--in getting
the great things of this world, and neglecting that one thing
necessary--the salvation of their souls! Oh, what vanity is
it to prefer . . .
  a smoke of honor,
  a blast of fame,
  a dream of pleasure,
  a wedge of gold,
  a Babylonish garment,
  and such like transitory trifles and trash
--before a blessed eternity!

____________________

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[nChrist]

I look to You for strength

(A Puritan Prayer)

O Lord of grace,
The world is before me this day, and I am weak
and fearful--but I look to You for strength.
If I venture forth alone, I stumble and fall--but
on the Beloved's arms I am firm as the eternal
hills. If left to the treachery of my heart, I shall
shame Your name--but if enlightened, guided,
upheld by Your Spirit, I shall bring You glory.
Be . . .
  my arm to support,
  my strength to stand,
  my light to see,
  my feet to run,
  my shield to protect,
  my sword to repel,
  my sun to warm.

To enrich me will not diminish Your fullness.
All Your loving-kindness is in Your Son. I bring
Him to You in the arms of faith. Accept . . .
  His worthiness for my unworthiness,
  His sinlessness for my transgressions,
  His purity for my uncleanness,
  His sincerity for my deceit,
  His truth for my lies,
  His meekness for my pride,
  His steadfastness for my backslidings,
  His love for my enmity,
  His fullness for my emptiness,
  His faithfulness for my treachery,
  His obedience for my lawlessness,
  His glory for my shame,
  His devotedness for my waywardness,
  His holy life for my unchaste ways,
  His righteousness for my dead works,
  His death for my life.

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[nChrist]

Many divine miracles

(Thomas Brooks, "The Crown and Glory of Christianity,
 or, HOLINESS, the Only Way to Happiness", 1662)

"Therefore if any man is in Christ, he is a new
 creature: old things are passed away; behold,
 all things are become new!" 2 Corinthians 5:17

In every saved person, there are many divine
miracles; there is . . .
  a dead man--restored to life,
  a dumb man--restored to speech,
  a blind man--restored to sight,
  a deaf man--restored to hearing,
  a lame man--restored to walking,
  a man possessed with devils--possessed with grace,
  a heart of stone--turned into a heart of flesh, and
  a life of wickedness--turned into a life of holiness.

____________________

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(My Note: where is there true holiness for a man? The answer is ONLY in JESUS CHRIST. The same is true for righteousness. Our ONLY Righteousness and Holiness is in JESUS CHRIST. We are seen in and through JESUS CHRIST, and he imputes some of HIS Righteousness and Holiness to our account. Apart from JESUS CHRIST, we have no righteousness or holiness of our own, and we are lost and undone. JESUS CHRIST is our ONLY answer and the ONLY Way to Salvation. Thanks be unto GOD for HIS Unspeakable GIFT - JESUS CHRIST - our LORD and Saviour forever.)

[nChrist]

The diamond in that ring!

(Thomas Brooks, "The Crown and Glory of Christianity,
 or, HOLINESS, the Only Way to Happiness", 1662)

The whole Scripture is but one entire love-letter, all
written in golden letters, dispatched from the Lord
Christ to His beloved spouse on earth. In it, there
is so much to be read of . . .
  the love of Christ,
  the heart of Christ,
  the kindness of Christ,
  the grace of Christ, and
  the glory of Christ,
that a holy heart cannot but love, and embrace,
and endeavor to conform to every line.

The whole word of God is a field--and Christ
is the treasure which is hidden in that field!

The whole word of God is a ring of gold--
and Christ is the diamond in that ring!

"The Scriptures point to Me!" John 5:39

____________________

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[nChrist]

Other men's sins

(Thomas Brooks, "The Crown and Glory of Christianity,
 or, HOLINESS, the Only Way to Happiness", 1662)

By other men's sins, a holy man is put in mind of the
badness of his own heart. Bernard makes mention of an
old man, who, when he saw any man sin, lamented and
wept for him; and being asked why he grieved so, for
other men's sins, answered, "He fell today--and I may
fall tomorrow!" The falls of others puts a holy man in
mind of the roots of sinfulness which are in himself.
Other men's actual sins are as so many glasses, through
which a holy man comes to see the manifold seeds of sin
which are in his own heart--and such a sight as this
cannot but melt him and break him.

A holy heart knows that the best way to keep himself
pure from other men's sins, is to mourn for other men's
sins. He who makes conscience of weeping over other
men's sins--will rarely be defiled with other men's sins.

A holy heart looks upon other men's sins as their bonds
and chains--and this makes him mourn. Ah, how can
tears but trickle down a Christian's cheeks, when he sees
multitudes, fast bound with the cords of their iniquity,
trooping to hell? Who can look upon a sinner as a bound
prisoner to the prince of darkness--and not bemoan him?

If holy people thus mourn for the wickedness of others,
then certainly those who take pleasure in the wickedness
of others--who laugh and joy, who can make a sport of
other men's sins--are rather monsters than men! There
are none so nearly allied to Satan as these--nor any so
resemble Satan as much as these! (The devil always joys
most--when sinners sin most!) To applaud them, and take
pleasure in those who take pleasure in sin--is the highest
degree of ungodliness!

____________________

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[nChrist]

Such guilty, filthy, and polluted souls!

(Thomas Brooks, "The Crown and Glory of Christianity,
 or, HOLINESS, the Only Way to Happiness", 1662)

"Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom
 of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor
 idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual
 offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor
 slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God."

1 Corinthians 6:9-10

What a sad roster of vile people! These monstrous sinners and
prodigious sins were enough to have brought another flood upon
the world; or to have provoked the Lord to rain hell out of heaven
upon them--as once he did upon Sodom and Gomorrah; or to have
caused the ground to open and swallow them up--as once it did
Korah, Dathan, and Abiram!

And yet behold some of these are changed and sanctified!
"And that is what some of you were! But you were washed,
 you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the
 Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God." verse 11.

Oh, the infinite goodness!

Oh, the infinite grace!

Oh, the infinite wisdom and power of God--which has
pardoned, washed, sanctified, and cleansed such guilty,
filthy, and polluted souls! The worst of sinners should
never despair of being made saints--considering what
notorious sinners have been made holy. There is no
heart so wicked--but grace can make it holy.

Well! sinners, remember this--it is possible that those . . .
  proud hearts of yours may be humbled;
  hard hearts of yours may be softened;
  unclean hearts of yours may be sanctified;
  blind minds of yours may be enlightened;
  stubborn wills of yours may be tamed;
  disordered affections of yours may be regulated;
  defiled consciences of yours may be awakened and purged;
  vile and polluted natures of yours may be changed and purified.

____________________

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[nChrist]

The beauty and glory of a Christian

(Thomas Brooks, "The Crown and Glory of Christianity,
 or, HOLINESS, the Only Way to Happiness", 1662)

Holiness will render you most beautiful and amiable. As
holiness is the beauty of God, and the beauty of angels
--so it is the beauty and glory of a Christian also.
Holiness casts such a beauty upon man, as makes him
very amiable and desirable.

The redness of the rose, the whiteness of the lily, and all
the beauties of the natural universe--are but deformities,
compared to that beauty which holiness puts upon us. If
all natural beauty were contracted into one beauty--yet
it would be but an obscure and an unlovely beauty,
compared to that beauty which holiness puts upon us!

Holiness is lovely, yes--loveliness itself. Purity is a Christian's
splendor and glory. There is no beauty compared to that of
sanctity; nothing beautifies and bespangles a man like holiness.
Holiness is so attractive and so lovely a thing--that it draws all
eyes and hearts to an admiration of it. Holiness is so great a
beauty--that it puts a beauty upon all other excellencies in a
man. That holiness is a very beautiful thing, and that it makes
all those beautiful who have it--is a truth that no devil can deny!

"Demetrius," says Plutarch, "was so lovely of face, that no
painter was able to draw him." Just so, holiness puts so rare
a beauty upon man--that no painter under heaven is able to
draw him! Scipio Africanus was so lovely a person, that the
Spaniards stood amazed at his loveliness. Holiness puts such
a loveliness, and such an amiableness upon a person--that
many admire it, and stand amazed at it.

O sirs, as ever you would be amiable and desirable--be holy!

As ever you would be attractive and lovely--be holy!

As ever you would outshine the sun in splendor and
glory--labor to be holy!

Many have ventured their names, their estates, their liberties,
their lives, yes, their very souls--to enjoy a lovely Bathsheba,
an attractive Helena, a beautiful Diana, a lovely Cleopatra, etc.,
whose beauties have been but clay, well-colored. Oh, how
much more, then, should you be provoked to labor and venture
your all for holiness--which will imprint upon you that most
excellent and most exquisite beauty--which will go to the grave
and to glory with you; yes, which will render you not only amiable
and excellent in the eyes of men--but also lovely and lovely in
the eyes of God!

Unholy souls are . . .
  foul souls,
  ugly souls,
  deformed souls,
  withered souls,
  wrinkled souls,
  altogether unlovely souls.

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[nChrist]

You should follow in His steps

(Thomas Brooks, "The Crown and Glory of Christianity,
 or, HOLINESS, the Only Way to Happiness", 1662)

"He who says he abides in Him, ought himself also
 to walk even as He walked." 1 John 2:6

Christians are to set all Christ's moral actions before them
as a pattern for their imitation. In Christ's life, a Christian
may behold the picture or lineaments of all virtues--and
accordingly he ought to order his life in this world.

To walk as Christ walked is to walk . . .
  humbly,
  holily,
  justly,
  meekly,
  lovingly,
  fruitfully,
  faithfully,
  uprightly.

To walk as Christ walked is to . . .
  slight the world,
  despise the world,
  make a footstool of the world,
  to live above the world, and
  to triumph over the world as Christ did.

To walk as Christ walked is . . .
  to love those who hate us,
  to pray for those who persecute us,
  to bless those who curse us, and
  to do good to those who do evil to us.

To walk as Christ walked is to be patient, and silent,
and submissive, and thankful, under the vilest reproaches,
the heaviest afflictions, and the greatest sufferings.

"Leaving you an example, that you should follow
 in His steps." 1 Peter 2:21

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[nChrist]

The richest man in the world

(Thomas Brooks, "The Crown and Glory of Christianity,
 or, HOLINESS, the Only Way to Happiness", 1662)

"Having nothing--and yet possessing all things." 2 Cor. 6:10

This is a riddle the world cannot understand. A holy man
cannot be a poor man. A holy man is always the richest
man. The riches of a Christian have no bottom. All a
saint's bags, are bottomless bags.

Experience tells us that unholy men's bags, purses, coffers,
and mints--may be drawn dry. But the treasury, the riches
of a saint--can never be exhausted, for he possesses all
things in Christ and with Christ! The Christian has the
God of all--he has Him who has all.

Though he has nothing in hand--yet he has all things
in hope. A holy man is the richest man in the world,
for he has the great and glorious God engaged by many
thousand promises to own him, to bless him, to stand
by him, to give grace and glory to him, and to withhold
nothing from him that may be good for him.

When wicked men brag of their great possessions and
riches, a holy man may make his boast of God, and say,
"God is mine! God is mine! He is my great all; He is my
all in all; and therefore I am richer and a greater possessor
than any wicked man in the world--yes, than all wicked
men in the world put together!"

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[nChrist]

The dregs of old age!

(Thomas Brooks, "The Crown and Glory of Christianity,
 or, HOLINESS, the Only Way to Happiness", 1662)

"Let me die the death of the righteous, and may my
 end be like theirs!" Numbers 23:10

Many desire to repent when old age comes--when . . .
  their wits are cracked,
  their souls distracted,
  their senses stupefied,
  their hearts astonished,
  their minds darkened, and
  their bodies diseased and distempered.
Oh, then they think that they will be able to leap into
heaven, with a "Lord have mercy upon me" in their
mouths. Even though they have lived like devils
--yet they hope they shall die like saints!

Do you think, O vain man--that after you have spent your
time, and wasted your strength, and exhausted your energies
in the work of Satan, and in the service of your lusts--that
God will receive you to His grace and favor? If you do thus
flatter yourself--it is ten thousand to one--that you will
deceive yourself! Though true repentance is never too
late--yet late repentance is seldom true. Ah, how many
millions are now in hell--who have thought, and resolved, and
said that they would repent hereafter--but that hereafter
never came!

You say "Tomorrow, tomorrow I will repent," when you know
not what a tomorrow will bring forth. Alas! how many thousand
ways may death surprise you before tomorrow comes! Though
there is but one way to come into the world--yet there are a
thousand thousand ways to be sent out of the world. Oh, the
diseases, the hazards, the dangers, the accidents, the deaths
--which daily--which hourly attend the life of man!

Ah friends! it is a dangerous thing to make repentance to be
the task of old age. The longer any man defers his repentance,
the more difficult it will be for him to repent:
 his heart will every day grow more and more hard, and
 his will more and more perverse, and
 his judgment more and more corrupted, and
 his affections more and more disordered, and
 his conscience more and more benumbed or enraged, and
 his whole life more and more defiled and debauched.

Friends, do not deceive yourselves! Old age is but a tottering
and sinking foundation for you to build your eternal hopes
and happiness upon--your eternal making or marring upon!
Are the dog-days of old age--are the trembling hands, the
wrinkled face, the failing eyes, the gasping lungs, the fainting
heart, the feeble knees, and the broken down legs--are these
a sacrifice worthy of a majestic God? Is a body full of sores,
aches, and diseases--and a soul full of sin--an offering worthy
of a holy God? Surely not!

Oh, what madness, what wickedness is this--to serve Satan,
your lusts, and this world with full dishes--and to put off God
with scraps! To serve Satan, your lusts, and this world in the
flower, in the prime and primrose of your days--and to put
off God with the dregs of old age! Oh, do not let Satan
deceive you, do not let your own hearts delude you!

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