All right, we're studying Isaiah, and hopefully all of you know that by now, and we're in Isaiah chapter 14. We left off in verse 28, Isaiah 14, verse 28, and we'll be covering the rest of that chapter, 15 and 16. Remember, this is the section of Isaiah's prophecy where he talks about judgment on foreign nations. So we see that God is sovereign over the nations and he will hold them accountable to his law. And last time we saw his judgment in particular on Babylon. And it continues to move through. Tonight, we'll see judgment on Philistia and judgment on Moab. You see at the top of your notes here a quote from Edward Young. Before Yahweh, no world empire can stand, for Yahweh has control of all heaven and earth. So these passages show us God's universal reign and that all peoples are accountable to him. So let's start by just reading the rest of chapter 14, 14, 28 to 32, and we'll pray and begin, and then we'll read the rest of it later and kind of go through it bit by bit as we've been doing. So Isaiah chapter 14, verse 28. In the year that King Ahaz died came this oracle. Rejoice not, O Philistia, all of you, that the rod that struck you is broken. For from the serpent's root will come forth an adder, and its fruit will be a flying, fiery serpent. And the firstborn of the poor will graze, and the needy lie down in safety. But I will kill your root with famine, and your remnant it will slay. Wail, O gate! Cry out, O city! Melt in fear, O Philistia, all of you! For smoke comes out of the north, and there is no straggler in his ranks. What will one answer the messengers of the nation? The Lord has founded Zion, and in her the afflicted of his people find refuge. All right, let's pray. Father in heaven, we thank you for this time for us to be together tonight as your people. We thank you for the joy of singing your praise and of hearing your word and growing in the knowledge of you through it. We thank you for good food and good fellowship. We ask that you would bless us as we spend time in your truth. May your Holy Spirit give us wisdom, not only to understand your word, but also its significance for our daily lives. Speak to us, Lord, for your servants are listening, and help us to be doers of your word. In Jesus' name we pray, amen. So he's going through these different oracles of judgment on foreign nations. He's gone through Babylon, and now he comes to Philistia. And remember, Philistia, the Philistines kind of lived southwest Israel, and they were often antagonists of the people of God. So God's judging wicked nations. that will be enemies of Israel. And this particular oracle, and remember we said last time, oracle means like a burden of the Lord. It's something that weighs heavy on the prophet's heart, and he's sharing this prophecy as a burden. But this particular prophecy comes to us in the year that King Ahaz died. So remember we were told at the beginning of this prophecy that Isaiah prophesied in the years of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah. So Isaiah is a prophet to the southern kingdom in Judah, in Jerusalem, and he began his ministry, you'll remember, in the year that King Uzziah died. And so this is later into his ministry. And we've already seen from earlier on in the book that King Ahaz was one who is constantly tempted throughout his reign to trust in foreign alliances rather than the Lord in light of different situations he found himself in. Like in chapter 7 you'll remember there was the Syro-Iphramite alliance where the northern kingdom and Syria were allied against Ahaz and they were coming down to invade his territory and Ahaz was tempted to trust in these foreign alliances. Well in the year that he died, God gave this oracle to Isaiah about the judgment that's coming on the Philistines, and essentially when the Assyrians would come in, the dominant Gentile world power at that time, Philistia would suffer at that time as well. And what happened was one of the kings of Assyria died, and the people of Philistia began to rejoice as if everything was done. And so in verse 29, it says, Rejoice not, O Philistia, all of you. that the rod that struck you, that's Assyria, is broken. For from the serpent's root will come forth an adder, and its fruit will be a flying, fiery serpent." So basically that's kind of weird imagery, but it's saying just because the king of Assyria is dead doesn't mean there aren't more enemies to come. And there are different ideas from scholars as to, well, who's the serpent's root, and who's the adder, and who's the flying fiery serpent? But essentially, the point that Isaiah is making is, just because Assyria, an Assyrian king is going to die, doesn't mean there won't be more enemies that follow. But even though all of these enemies are going to come in, and they're going to judge Philistia, We do see that God will show mercy to the weak and vulnerable within that society because it refers to the poor, in verse 30, who will end up grazing and the needy will lie down in safety. And so Assyria is going to come in, these enemies are going to come in, but even within Philistia, God's going to have mercy on people who are weak and vulnerable. He's going to preserve a remnant. But in spite of that mercy that God's going to show to a small remnant within Philistia, there is this imagery of more judgment is coming, this picture you see in verse 31 of smoke coming out of the north. And most likely the smoke is kind of like the dust smoke that the trampling armies are kicking up into the air as they're coming in from the north, referring to this other Assyrian invasion that's kind of on the cusp of happening. And so Philistia was tempted to say, well, one king down, we're great. But God said, no, there's more judgment that's coming. And so God's true people, though, even within, He has a true people even within Philistia, and they have security, not because they are strong, but because of God's mercy. Edward Young says they have security because God has protected them, for in God and not in men is true security to be found. So that's how the poor find their security. But what about, so that's within Philistia, what about Judah? What about the people of God? What are they going to be tempted to do? Well, in verse 32, it talks about messengers coming from the nation, presumably of Philistia, who want to form an alliance with Judah. so that they can be strong against the Assyrians when they come back to do more damage. And we saw that same theme under the reign of King Ahaz, that there was this constant temptation to trust in foreign powers, to build up those powers of nations, to fortify yourself against Assyria. And what verse 32 says is essentially that the people of God are not defined their refuge or their safety or their strength in these political alliances, but in the Lord. It says, what will one answer the messengers of the nation? So the messengers from Philistia are coming, form alliance with us. And the answer from the people of God is supposed to be, the Lord has founded Zion, and in her, the afflicted of His people find refuge. So God is the refuge of His people in Zion. So Alec Moitier says, The times might well be menacing and the prospect of recovering independent sovereignty enticing, but all the security of Zion and its people was in the Lord. So they were supposed to find their security and their refuge in God. Same theme we've seen kind of throughout Isaiah. Edward Young says, This is the gospel. When any inquire, they are to be told that Zion is God's work, and that in Zion the afflicted of the people may find refuge. The spiritual truth is here expressed in terms of the Old Testament time. Zion has been founded by the Lord, the God of hosts, and for that reason cannot be destroyed. those people among Judah who have been afflicted may find refuge there. So essentially, in light of all this that's going on, the question becomes, as it has often been the question in Isaiah, when God's people are in times of distress, when God's people are afraid, where do they turn for help? Do they turn to human sources of help against the enemy, or do they turn to the Lord? And we see that's a major theme throughout the Bible. You think of Psalm 20 and verse 7, some trust in chariots, some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God. And so it's always a question that people of God are confronted with. And in your discussion groups tonight, you'll actually talk about that a little bit in terms of what are the false sources of help that we can turn to for refuge in times of trouble, and how do we actually turn to the Lord. So that's the oracle on Philistia, but it moves from Philistia to another nation that was surrounding Judah, and that is Moab in chapter 15. Now remember Moab, the people of Moab, or the Moabites, lived east of the Dead Sea and south of the Arnon River. And so they're people who lived on the other side of the Jordan, right? And the Moabites, you may remember from our study in Genesis, the sordid story of where they came from. But remember, after God rescued Lot and his daughters from Sodom and Gomorrah, they fled out of there. And then Lot kind of became a hermit, right? He was just afraid of living anywhere and be contaminated by that society after all that he experienced in Sodom and Gomorrah. And so he ends up living in a cave. Well his daughters are like, well this is where it ends for us. We're not going to be able to have any children and have no future. And so Lot's daughters get Lot drunk and they They do the thing with him and then they have babies. That's how they secure offspring. And essentially, one of those daughters has a son that's named Moab, Shudder, which means from father. And so the Moabites were the incestuous descendants of the incestuous relationship between Lot and at least one of his daughters. The other one was the Ammonites. So the Ammonites and the Moabites both live east of the Jordan River. And while they are kind of an Abrahamic people, they become kind of a thorn in the side of Abraham and his descendants later on in history. So for example, you remember in the book of Numbers when there's that King Balak And Balak hires Balaam to curse Israel. That's a Moabite king. And so the Moabites are enemies of God's people, and they lived in idolatry and wickedness. Well, what this oracle is about is a lament over Moab and the judgment that's coming upon it. And what's interesting about this lament in chapter 15, which we'll read here in a second, is that you can see Isaiah is not rejoicing, he's not delighting in the destruction that's coming on these enemies of God's people, but rather he reflects the compassionate heart of God, that though God brings judgment, he still weeps, he doesn't delight in judgment even when he has to bring it. So Edward Young says, Isaiah enters the suffering of Moab for his own heart is painfully affected and grieved by what he knows must come to pass. What a picture of a true evangelist. Here is no vaunting oneself over the sinner, but a compassionate tenderness for those against whom one is called to preach. And so Isaiah essentially is preaching judgment on Moab, but not in a self-righteous, arrogant way, in a lamenting way, because they refuse to repent. So look at chapter 15, starting in verse 1. An oracle or a burden of the Lord concerning Moab. Because Ar of Moab is laid waste, Ar is a city of Moab on the Arnon River. Because Ar of Moab is laid waste in a night, Moab is undone. Because Ker of Moab, that's the capital city of Moab, is laid waste in a night, Moab is undone. He has gone up to the temple and to Dibbon, to the high places to weep. Remember, high places were sites of pagan worship. And so this is lamenting the Moabites going up in the city of Dibbon to weep. Over Nebo and over Medabah, Moab wails. On every head is baldness, every beard is shorn. So when people were in mourning, they would cut their beard, right? And they would cut off their hair. In the streets, they wear sackcloth. On the housetops and in the squares, everyone wails and melts in tears. Heshbon and Elialeh cry out, their voices heard as far as Jehoz. Therefore the armed men of Moab cry aloud, his soul trembles. So even their strongest men, their warriors are in despair. My heart cries out for Moab. Her fugitives flee to Zoar, to Eglath and Shel-i-she-ah. That's my best attempt. Interestingly, in verse 5, her fugitives flee to Zoar. Remember, that's where Lot fled when he left Sodom. So there's kind of that retelling of history almost there. For at the ascent of Luhith they go up weeping, on the road to Horonam they raise a cry of destruction. The waters of Nimrim are a desolation, the grass is withered, the vegetation fails, the greenery is no more. Therefore, the abundance they have gained and what they have laid up, they carry over, over the brook of the willows. For a cry has gone around the land of Moab. Her wailing reaches to Egelem. Her wailing reaches to Birelem. For the waters of Dibbon are full of blood, and I will bring upon Dibbon even more, a lion for those of Moab who escape, for the remnant of the land. So again, Isaiah is lamenting this judgment that is coming on the Moabites in the near future from Isaiah's perspective, through especially the Assyrians who would come in. And you see, just like the judgment that took place on the northern kingdom when the Assyrians destroyed them, and the judgment that would take place in the future on the southern kingdom when the Babylonians destroyed them, So the root of God's judgment coming on Moab is also for idolatry. God holds this nation accountable to acknowledging Him as well. You can see that the judgment comes on this idolatrous people, like we said in verse 2, where they're going up to the high places. they were worshipping these false gods on these high places, especially the Moabite god was Chemosh, and you can read in the Old Testament about times they were worshipping Chemosh, and one of the things that you would do is you would sacrifice your children to Chemosh and burn them alive as a burnt offering, and so you even see later on in verse 9, The waters of Dibbon are full of blood, so bloodshed, injustice, blood guilt is in this nation. And so when the Assyrians come in, though, the Moabites are forced to flee. So remember, they're east of the Dead Sea. They're forced to flee southward and westward to go over to Judah for help. And when it describes that at the end of chapter 15, you see that just like there was a remnant or a people who were spared alive in Philistia, so in Moab, there's a people who survive the judgment through the Assyrians coming in. But even those people who survive there in verse 9, a lion chases them and they run off. And so there's this picture of The judgment comes in, and there's a small group left, and then there's still an enemy that comes in and chases them out. So it's a picture of thorough judgment. When we saw judgment of Babylon, there was no remnant that was preserved. At least in Philistia, there's a small remnant of people who survive and in Moab. But even those people who survive end up still coming under further judgment. And so what happens is the Moabites have to go somewhere for aid. They were trusting in false gods and they came under judgment. But when God by his judgment strips them of their trust in their false gods, they have to look elsewhere for a source of refuge. And what they do is essentially they go to Judah. And so when they go to Judah in chapter 16, they bring tribute, look at that, it says, chapter 16, verse one, send the lamb to the ruler of the land. from Sila by way of the desert to the mount of the daughter of Zion, like fleeing birds, like a scattered nest, so are the daughters of Moab at the fords of the Arnon. So what they do is they go to Judah and they bring a lamb, essentially as a way of bringing tribute to ask for help from the people of Judah. You can see a reference there, 2 Kings 3 and verse 4, if you flip there just for a second, 2 Kings 3 and verse 4. From another time in Moab's history, when Mesha was the king of Moab, he was a sheep breeder. as the Moabites were throughout their history, and he had to deliver to the king of Israel 100,000 lambs and the wool of 100,000 rams. So that tribute that he's making to try to make peace with Israel, something similar is happening here in chapter 16 when the Moabites are running with their tail between their legs from the Assyrians. They're desperate for help. And so they were given the words that they plead to the Judahites, the people of Judah, to ask for safety or asylum. And so look in verse three through five. This is the speech of the Moabites. Give counsel, grant justice, make your shade like night at the height of noon, shelter the outcasts, do not reveal the fugitive. Let the outcast of Moab sojourn among you, be a shelter to them from the destroyer. When the oppressor is no more and destruction has ceased, and he who tramples underfoot has vanished from the land, then a throne will be established in steadfast love, and on it will sit in faithfulness in the tent of David, one who judges and seeks justice and is swift to do righteousness. Now this is very interesting if you take it the way that the ESV has translated it and then also punctuated it is that you notice in verse 3 there's the beginning of a quotation mark right before give you see those quotation marks and then at the end of verse 5 there's a closed quotation marks. In other words from verse 3 to 5 at least as it stands in ESV is this is a quotation of what the Moabites are saying to the people of Judah when they bring this tribute and ask for help. The reason why that is significant is because essentially there's a messianic prophecy on the lips of these Moabites. Because if you look in verse 5, it speaks of oppression coming and that oppression coming to an end. And then it says in verse 5, a throne is going to be established. In steadfast love, what is steadfast love? Well, in the Bible, it's the Hebrew word hesed, which means covenant faithfulness. So here's covenantal language. A throne, place where a king sits, will be established in steadfast love. Well, where is that gonna be? And on it will sit in faithfulness in the tent of David. Oh, this is gonna be a descendant of David. And what is he going to do? He's going to judge, he's going to seek justice. And he's going to be swift, unlike the wicked people of Moab, he's going to be swift to do righteousness. This is the same kind of language that has been used earlier on in Isaiah for the Messiah. Go back to Isaiah 11, it's the same kind of language for the shoot that comes from Jesse's stomp. Remember that Messianic prophecy? What was the characteristic of that shoot that came from Jesse's stomp? He was a righteous king. He brought around justice and righteousness. Or going back earlier to Isaiah 9 when it spoke of that, for to us a child is born, to us a son is given. and the government will be on his shoulders, and his name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. And remember it said of the increase of his government and of peace, there will be no end to sit on the throne of David and establish it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore, and that the zeal of the Lord of hosts would do this. And so it's fascinating that the Moabites who are fleeing from the enemy are actually doing what Ahaz should have done, what Philistia should have done, and that is find refuge in the Lord's anointed and in the Lord's covenant with David. And so, very messianic language used there in verse five that finds ultimate fulfillment, we know, in Jesus. And so, but how do the people of Judah respond? These Moabites are coming, they're seeking refuge. They're fleeing the judgment that's coming from Assyria. How did the people of Judah respond? Well, very interesting. We see that in verse 6. They respond with suspicion because they know about the wickedness of the Moabites. They say, we have heard of the pride of Moab, how proud he is of his arrogance, his pride and his insolence in his idol boasting he is not right. So what was wrong with Moab? Ironically, the same thing was wrong with Judah. Pride, right? It's been the same thing we've seen again and again. People are proud, therefore they turn to idols, not to the Lord, and God blows them away with judgment. People are proud. they turn to idols, not the Lord, and God blows them away with judgment. Well, Moab was no different, but when they're coming to the people of Judah, they're kind of met with that, they're stiff-armed a little bit, you know, yes, come, but you need to deal with your pride, and how do they tell them, the Moabites, to do that? Verse seven. Interesting language. Therefore, let Moab wail for Moab. Let everyone wail. Mourn, utterly stricken, for the raisin cakes of Kir Hereseth." So essentially, the people of God call the people of Moab to mourn their sin. Blessed are those who mourn, they will be comforted. To mourn their idolatry. To mourn the fact that their idolatry has brought judgment on the people. To mourn the fact that they are proud and self-sufficient. And notice that Moab has no one else to blame for its sin but Moab. It's almost like something you'd say to your kid. Let Moab wail for Moab. It's not Assyria's fault, it's not Judah's fault, it's not anyone else's fault, but Moab. Their sin has invited God's judgment into their lives. Now notice that language there of they should be mourning for the raisin cakes of Kir Haraseth. Kir Haraseth, by the way, is the capital city of Moab. But why should they be mourning? Because of their fig newtons. are because of their, I mean, you shouldn't put raisin in oatmeal cookies, you should put chocolate chips in there, but this is the biblical support for that. What's wrong with these raisin cakes? Essentially, they were associated with idolatrous worship. In fact, there's a parallel passage, and I didn't put it down here, I think it's in Hosea. 3, Hosea 3 in verse 1, it says there, hopefully that's right, it says, yeah, okay, so God's talking to Hosea about his wife, a woman who was an adulteress, it was a picture of God's love for faithless Israel, and God says, Hosea 3 in verse 1, the Lord said to me, go again, love a woman who is loved by another man and is an adulteress, even as the Lord loves the children of Israel, Though they turn to other gods and love what? Cakes of raisins. It's associated with idolatrous worship. They would food sacrifice to these false idols. No human being in his right mind would want an oatmeal cookie with raisins in it. And so they gave them to the idols. So anyway, that's idolatrous worship, and they were supposed to lament the fact that they worship these false gods. It is gross to put raisins in it. Verse eight, for the fields of Heshbon languish in the vine of Sibma. The lords of the nations have struck down its branches, which reached to Jazzer and strayed to the desert. It shoots spread abroad and passed over the sea. Therefore, I weep with the weeping of Jazzer for the vine of Sibma. I drench you with my tears of Heshbon and Elilah. Man, these are hard words to pronounce. It's like tongue twister. For over your summer fruit and your harvest, the shout has ceased, and joy and gladness are taken away from the fruitful field. And in the vineyards, no songs are sung, no cheers are raised, no treader treads out wine in the presses. I have put an end to the shouting. Therefore, my inner parts moan like a liar for Moab, and my inmost self for Keir Haraseth. Now, what's interesting at that point is that Isaiah is mourning for Moab. Moab is not part of the covenanted people of God, right? It's descendants from Lot, but not part of what we consider Israel. And yet, he's still, and he knows, and Isaiah knows judgment is coming upon them, yet he still feel his heart recoils within him thinking about the judgment they're going to face. And so it tells us something about God's compassion. Essentially that God's compassion is such that judgment is always his strange work. We say God is a God of grace and mercy. He is ready to forgive. He loves to forgive. He would much rather restore. And you might say He brings about judgment reluctantly. He's not willing that any should perish, the Bible says. He doesn't delight in the death of the wicked. Why will you die, O house of Israel, he says in Ezekiel. So God is not a sadist. He doesn't take pleasure in judgment coming. Yes, he's glorified when he brings judgment. It glorifies his justice, and God is a God of justice and wrath. but it's certainly not something he takes pleasure in when he has to do it. And so Isaiah reflecting that heart of God's compassion is a mourning over what's coming to the Moabites, and that should just stir our hearts to the character of who God is, you know, that God is a God who weeps over sin, and weeps over people choosing to come under his judgment rather than repenting. Think about Jesus when he weeps over Jerusalem, right? He's sorrowful over the fact that Jerusalem has chosen to reject him and to reject God and fall into idolatry. And so that should be our attitude as well. We shouldn't delight in people coming under judgment. We should want them to repent. So, in the final section here, though, God is warning Moab, again, this judgment's coming in, that they need not find refuge in all the wrong places. They've been seeking refuge in the wrong places. Verse 12, Moab presents himself, when Moab presents himself, when he wearies himself on the high place, When he comes to his sanctuary to pray, he will not prevail. There's a sense there of just the folly of trusting in something other than God, right? That language of he's gone up to his high place, so they worship false gods on these high places. They felt like at the top of the mountains they were closer to these deities. and they weary themselves with it. You think about the prophets of Baal atop Mount Carmel, remember, when they're having the contest with Elijah, the God who answers by fire, you know, he's the true God. There's a kind of a pathetic scene when they're cutting themselves with their lances and swords and crying out, O Baal, answer us, send the fire. And there's something pathetic about Moab going up to their high places and trying to call out to these false gods and yet not being any better for it. But we know that. We know that Jeremiah tells us that when we commit two evils, when we turn away from God, the living God, who's the fountain of living waters, and we make out broken cisterns that hold no water, those broken cisterns are kind of like alternative sources of help, rather than finding satisfaction in the Lord and in his mercy. And that's what Moab was doing, and they were finding that it did not satisfy them. And so, It says in verse 13, this is the word that the Lord spoke concerning Moab in the past. But now the Lord has spoken, saying, in three years, like the years of a hired worker, the glory of Moab will be brought into contempt, in spite of all his great multitude, and those who remain will be very few and feeble. So God says He's not going to wipe out every single last one of them, but basically very few people will be left when that judgment comes in. Because even though God was offering them mercy, even though God foretells where they will find mercy one day through the line of David and the Messiah in verse 5, they were stubbornly refusing that and they were continuing to worship foreign deities. But the important thing to see here is that the only true refuge for anybody, whether within Israel or outside of Israel, the only true refuge is the Lord. He's the only one who can deliver from the coming judgment. He's the only one who can truly satisfy. He's the only one who can ultimately give us security and peace and hope and fulfillment. And so, and he gives his refuge to those who find it bowing at the throne of David, the line of the Messiah in verse 5 of chapter 16. And so it's only through this Christ who is coming that all the nations of the earth will be blessed. And it's very interesting as we just kind of give you a foretaste of this and we'll wrap this up and go to our discussion groups. But in chapter 17, he goes into judgment on Damascus. Remember, that's the capital of Syria, another Gentile nation. And then Cush in chapter 18, Old Testament Ethiopia, 19, Egypt. But just, I want you to see kind of where this is going. When he goes through those other nations, here's essentially what he's going to be saying. If you jump ahead to chapter 19 in verse 20. 19 verse 23, there's a lot more we could read, but choose this section. It'll say, in that day, there will be a highway from Egypt, that was an oppressor of God's people, to Assyria, a later oppressor of God's people, and Assyria will come into Egypt, and Egypt into Assyria, and the Egyptians will worship with the Assyrians. So remember you have kind of Israel right there and then Syrians to the north and Egyptians to the south and Israel, they're kind of crossing through and they're worshiping with the Assyrians. And notice this isn't pagan worship, because look what it says in verse 24. In that day, Israel will be the third with Egypt and Assyria, a blessing in the midst of the earth, whom the Lord of hosts has blessed, saying, blessed be Egypt, my people. and Assyria the work of my hands, and Israel my inheritance." Isn't that incredible? Essentially what God is foretelling is not just the salvation of the remnant of Israel, but also the salvation of the nations. That these pagan nations, oppressors, enemies of God's people, will one day actually become part of His people. And so we know, ultimately, that that's looking ahead to the time of the Messiah, when, of course, we'll read, you know, God so loved the world. Not just God loved Israel, but God loved the world, and He gave His Son to be its Savior. And Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, not just of Israel, but of all the people from all the nations. So, pretty beautiful. Even though there's a lot of judgment and a lot of historical details that make these chapters hard, pretty beautiful picture of God's heart for restoration. Let's pray. Father in heaven, we thank you for your word. It is trustworthy and true. It is life-giving. We think of the words of Jesus. These words are spirit and life. And even though this was written a long time ago and has a lot of historical details that are not familiar to us and has names that are hard to pronounce, we thank you that you reveal that you're a God of justice and wrath, you punish sin and idolatry and wrongdoing, but you're also a God of grace and mercy. You weep over those who are perishing and you long for for Moab to wail Moab, for sinners to wail their own sin, to mourn and to find sorrow for sin and turn away from sin and find refuge in you alone. And we thank you that you have, you've provided a refuge for us in Jesus, who is great David's greater son, and whom we are blessed. And we pray that we would be thankful for the salvation we have in him, in whose name we pray, amen.