The word translated cleanse is the same word which David found in the laws concerning leprosy in Leviticus 13 and 14. It appears there ten times and is translated to pronounce clean. Let us refer to these passages for the explanation. Whenever someone thought he had leprosy, he had to be brought to the priest. If it was really so, then the priest pronounced him unclean. If it was not this disease, however, then he pronounced him clean. If a leper had been healed of this disease, the priest had to pronounce him clean or unclean. After that, he could return again to the temple and have the enjoyment of all the privileges of the people of God. In like manner, we see that in the New Testament, the word cleanse is always used about leprosy. Whenever anyone was cleansed by Jesus, he still had to go to the priest in order to be pronounced clean in the name of God. Leprosy of the body and soul. From these and similar passages, it is evident that two things were necessary for cleansing. First, the sufferer had to be clean of his leprosy. Then he must be pronounced clean. In this psalm, we find these two elements in the purity which is expected from the grace of God. In verse 7, we hear, Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean. This especially refers to being pronounced clean and acquitted from guilt. Later on, in verse 10, when we hear, Create in me a clean heart, O God. This refers to the inner cleansing. of the nature and the spirit. Nevertheless, we see here a distinction between the leprosy of the body and that of the soul. The leper must first be personally clean and then he is pronounced clean. The sinner, on the contrary, is first pronounced clean and then becomes more and more a partaker of the inward cleansing. The distinction, however, is not as marked as it appears. For the sinner is pronounced clean only by virtue of his union with the Lord Jesus. Jesus, the perfectly pure one, takes him into his purity. He becomes the guarantee that this purity will be given to him. It is because he is clean in Jesus that he is pronounced clean. then he becomes more inwardly purified. So the two aspects of purity have one root, namely, the purity of Jesus. The two are one. The same grace which pronounced clean also makes clean. The same repentance which desires acquittal also longs for inward purity. In this prayer, cleanse me from my sin, Derived from the law concerning leprosy, David appears to have embraced these two elements together. What he later separates is still united here in this one supreme thought. I want to be free from sin. Take the sin which I have committed away from me. Take away from me the sin which is still hidden within me. Cleanse me from my sin. It was the work of the priest to cleanse the leper. David wanted to have this priestly action done at the hands of God. He knew that although this cleansing is a hidden spiritual work, it is nevertheless very real. He knew that no repentance, conversion, or change of spirit in life could cleanse him from sin. He knew that there is only one, the Holy One, who is mightier than sin and is in a position to cleanse him. He knew that this God was the God of all grace and would do it. Therefore, he prays, cleanse me from my sin. You need to be cleansed. What David found necessary, you also need. He wanted the holy God to stretch out his hand from heaven and touch him and take his sins away from him. Let this also be your prayer. Consider it. Sin is mine. It is upon me. It is in me. The purity which God gives can also be mine, both on me and in me. Just as sin is mine, the cleansing must also be mine. Otherwise, I may not be redeemed. Make David's prayer your own. Make your own prayer that of the leper who cried, If thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. Mark 1, 40. If you fail to do this completely, think about your sin like David contemplated his. Read in God's word how terrible the leper's condition was. Leviticus 13, 45 and 46. Separated from his fellow men, from the temple and the service of God, he must continually cry out, unclean, unclean. God ordained this as a symbol of sin. Ask God to help you feel what a deadly, terrible disease consumes your soul. As you wander about, away from God's presence and fellowship with Him, pray, cleanse me from my sin. And when you pray this way, Jesus will also say to you, I will. Be thou clean. The leper went out immediately and was cleansed. Only believe in His power to cleanse, His love which seeks you, and His grace sealed with His blood. then you will know that the cleansing which you cannot understand now has taken place within you. Therefore, let this prayer of David become your own. Your sin like his is also very great. For him and also for you, God is the only helper. Let your prayer like his be a cry from the whole heart have mercy upon me, wash me, cleanse me from my sin. Chapter 5 Confess Your Sin For I acknowledge my transgressions. Psalm 51, 3a. David has prayed for mercy, asked God to blot out his transgressions and wash him clean from the guilt of sin. He now proceeds to say for I acknowledge my transgressions. He helps us to understand for what reasons and in what spirit he pleads for mercy. He comes as one who is guilty to confess his sin. He prays for grace like one in a sinful condition. Everyone who wants to pray from the depths of his heart the words of David, have mercy upon me, O God, should confess that he has sinned. Acknowledge you are a sinner. This knowledge of sin is necessary preparation for receiving the mercy of God. We can do nothing to cover or take away our sin. Besides, God does not require this from us. God only commands this. Simply acknowledge the unrighteousness which you have done. God desires nothing but that we acknowledge ourselves to be both guilty and lost. We must fall at his feet and confess the terrible condition sin has placed us in. We must confess that we have sinned and that sin has made us deserving of punishment. We must admit we are so sinful that we can do nothing to make ourselves acceptable to God. As someone who is guilty and utterly lost, We must submit to God's sentence. We must confess that it would be a wonderful act of divine grace if we were to be received. It is only when we are brought to this point of confessing we are a sinner that we will receive mercy. Then we stand in the presence of God in our true condition. Then we can truthfully honor and praise God for his grace. Many people do not understand this procedure. They think that a change takes place in their hearts when God is persuaded to show them favor. They suppose that whenever they earnestly repent with a great deal of sorrow and deep convictions, then God will show His grace to them. Therefore, they are always taking a great deal of pain. to make themselves in God's presence as pious and earnest as they possibly can. They think that in this way they will receive revelation and comfort. This is not God's way. God wants nothing from you except to acknowledge your sin and stand before him as a guilty sinner. Then you will surely and speedily receive his grace. You are to come as a sinner, one who is ungodly, then forgiveness and life will certainly be granted to you. David's example. The example of David also makes plain to us man's reluctance to confess his sin. For a long time, David was aware that in the matter of Uriah, he was guilty of violating the sixth commandment. In the matter of Bathsheba, he had violated the seventh commandment. But he acknowledges in Psalm 32 that he tried to cover and silence his sin. He knew he had sinned, but he did not know how enormous and wicked the sin was. Otherwise, he would have humbled himself immediately. This state of mind lasted for almost a whole year until he truly realized his sin. When he could no longer hide his evil deeds, he poured them out and acknowledged them in God's presence. There are many sinners who in some measure have a sense of sin, yet they take pains to forget their sin. They do not intend to sin anymore. With this good resolution, they come to God. They think that it will make them too discouraged to think deeply about their sin, so they keep themselves back from really knowing it. The man who wants to receive grace must be willing to look at his sin and think about it. He must become thoroughly acquainted with it. The more thoroughly he makes the bitter confession, I acknowledge my transgressions, the sooner he will be able to express the sincere prayer for mercy. When he does this, the sooner he will be prepared to receive grace. He will experience what David says after he found that suppressing and covering his sin brought him no rest. I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord, and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. Psalm 32.5. God alone reveals sin. This incident in David's life also teaches us a lesson regarding the knowledge of sin. God himself must make our sin known to us. It was only after Nathan the prophet had come to David in the name of God with the word of conviction, thou art the man that he cried out, I have sinned. Man by nature is so under the power of sin that he can hide from himself even when he has committed it. This is one of the most dangerous evidences of sin. It blinds the heart. It allows pride to rise and make man unwilling to humble himself. It is the work of God's Spirit to make the soul acknowledge sin. Many times our conscience makes us afraid of punishment. But this fear is the least element in the knowledge of sin. Sometimes trial, sickness, or fear of death makes a man tremble with the fear of hell. That also is one of the least elements of sin and a very small indication of the sense of guilt. God may use these things and the fear which they awaken as means to arouse a true knowledge of sin. But they are still beneath the level of this knowledge. I have seen many sick and dying men who prayed for mercy without any true knowledge of what sin was. God alone can give you a knowledge of sin. Pray therefore, make me to know my transgression and my sin. Job 13, 23. Let it become your earnest desire to know your sin. think about your sin. Confess it before God. Think about it in the light of God's law and word. Try to think about it as committed against the highest holiness and the eternal love of God. Ask God to send you His Spirit as He sent Nathan to David so that you can say, I acknowledge my transgression. Do not forget to pray There can be no real prayer for sin if this attitude is not found in the depths of the heart. Chapter 6. Sin is a personal matter. And my sin is ever before me. Psalm 51, 3b. In the words, my sin is ever before me, David gives a more precise explanation and confirmation of his confession. I acknowledge my transgressions. He tells the Lord what kind of knowledge this is. His sin has made such a deep impression upon him that he cannot forget it. It is not just a matter of his understanding. It has seized his heart so that he can no longer get rid of it. My sin is ever before me. Sin is enduring. My sin is ever before me. This reminds us of the enduring, abiding character of the sense of sin. A knowledge of sin is not a lesson that has to be learned in order that we can forget it again and simply go forward instead. It must stay with a man to such an extent that he can never forget it. whenever a person confesses his sin and then lives in the world, that is a sign that he is still not in earnest about his knowledge of sin. If he understands his sinfulness, it is so shameful and wicked that he becomes filled with conviction. He is continually weighed down under the thought of the great evil he has done. This is what we expect from anyone who has done some terrible deed and then gets insight into its character. Suppose, for example, someone has committed a murder and then obtains repentance for it. Do we expect him to go on laughing or being joyful? Certainly not, especially if the death sentence has been pronounced on him because of his sin. In like manner, when a sinner becomes aware of the greatness of his sin, it becomes something he cannot forget until he is certain that he has forgiveness. He has sinned against God. He has made himself guilty against the law of God and the love of God. In the midst of all his work and distractions of the world, he states, my sin is ever before me. This is the great question of his life with which he has to deal. This is the one thought which he dwells on, I have sinned. Nothing can possibly bring him comfort until God has caused him to know thy sin is forgiven thee. Although one comes to God with all sorts of pious words concerning the compassion of God, the soul still remains in this condition. until God Himself takes and blots out the sin. We should never think that sorrow for sin is unnecessary. We should never seek superficial comfort. Knowledge of sin is necessary because it is the work of God. Every soul must learn to say in the prayer for grace, my sin is ever before me. Sin is personal. My sin is ever before me. This should further remind us of the personal character of a true sense of sin. Those in whom the confession of sin is not deep are always ready to say, yes, all men are truly sinners. It is as if the thought of the universality of sin made the guilt of each man less. This consideration tends to lessen the guilt of each particular person. We imagine there are others who are greater sinners than we are, to whom grace is given. Why should there not be grace for me too? These are the words of those who are not willing to think much of their own personal sin. They may have some knowledge or some general ideas concerning the greatness of sin, but they do not say, my sin is ever before me. These, however, are the words of the true sinner. He feels that he personally has to deal with God. He feels that he alone has to deal with God in death, in judgment, and everlasting punishment. It is of little importance whether others join him or not, He sees himself as someone who is condemned and lost in the light of God's law. He truly has neither the time nor the desire to think of others. He cannot ask if the sins of others are greater than his own or not. He finds it sufficient to deal only with himself. My sin is ever before me. He is sincere in his confession. My sin. While many are doing everything to show that the sin is not their own, he acknowledges it with all his heart. One person imagines that sin belongs to the devil and he is guilty of it. Another thinks that guilt rests on the world and is dependent upon circumstances. A third, not in words but in his heart, says that sin comes by attributing it to God who caused man to be born in this condition. But the true sinner cries, my sin. Yes, more than my property, my house, or my family. The sin is my own. It is a part of me. No one can take it from me or out of me except God alone. It is a confession of amazing earnestness. My sin is ever before me. See yourself as God sees you. Do you want mercy? Then do not turn away from the painful, humbling side of this confession. Do not consider time or pains too costly in order to make it complete. There will be much you may want to lay aside, but be sure of this, there is nothing that is more important to you than your sin. The first thing God sees in you when he thinks about you or watches your actions is your sin. Since this is true, it is most important that you see yourself as God sees you. In every prayer for grace which you make, this is what God looks at first. Do you truly desire grace and long for it? He wants to see whether you truly hate and condemn yourself as one who is entirely unclean. Are your sins consistently wrong to you? God looks to see whether you will know as a sinner how to receive and value the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. Therefore, learn this lesson. My sin is ever before me. Without this, there can be no true repentance, no sincere prayer for mercy, no living faith, no well-pleasing fellowship with God. We are destined for the knowledge and the enjoyment of the redemption of God in our life. In addition, we are destined for heaven, where we will be praising and enjoying that free grace which has redeemed us. I ask you to consider these things because I know that there are many who deal too superficially with the confession of sin. They are willing to confess that they are sinners, for all men are in the same position. But they know nothing of the tremendous importance of this confession. They do not speak about it with shame. They do not pray it before God and on their knees. They say it without really hungering for grace. May God redeem them from their indifference and teach them to cry out with a contrite heart, Have mercy upon me, O God! My sin is ever before me. Chapter 7. Sin is committed against God. Against thee, thee only have I sinned. Psalm 51, 4a. In this verse, David confesses the seriousness of his sin. He has committed it against God. As we come to understand this, our knowledge of the real nature of sin increases. Our insight into the reasons why only divine grace can take it away also increases. In order to feel this, we have to think about how the wickedness of a deed depends on the person against whom it is committed. The same action is considered much worse when it is done against a father instead of a child, and against a king instead of an ordinary subject. This is the seriousness of sin. It has been committed against God. The character of God. Who is God? God is the holy and perfect one, who manifests himself as a consuming fire against all that is evil. He is the king and the lawgiver of heaven and earth, whose will is joyfully accomplished throughout the whole heaven. He is the creator and upholder who has a right to expect that his creatures will do what he has created them for. He is the God who, in accordance with that right, has given us his law and toward whom we should show obedience. Against this God you have sinned. That is, you have withheld obedience from him. You have refused to do what he commanded you to do. You have not hesitated to violate and break his holy law. You have sinned against him. You have exalted and chosen your will, unjust and perverse as it is, above his will. You have said that the counsel and the will of Satan is more attractive to you and has more influence on you than the will of God. You have robbed God of His glory. You have opposed Him. You have attacked Him in His honor. You have dishonored this great and infinite God. You, a poor worm of the dust, have confronted and insulted the High and Holy One, before whom angels bow down. And since God is the Lawgiver and the Proprietor of the universe, He cannot endure sin. He must maintain his right in the universe. Every transgression of his law violates that right. The terrible wrath of God is kindled in order to maintain it. Against this God you have sinned. What do you think? The moment a man sees this God in his greatness, it becomes self-evident that it is that which startles and bruises his soul. Against thee, thee only, have I sinned. Oh, what have I done? I have rebelled against this God, the highest perfection. I have dared to provoke his wrath and curse him. This God, without whom I cannot live, I have made my enemy. There is still one thought which makes all this more bitter. The God against whom I have sinned is the God of love. He has not only shown me His goodness in the thousands of blessings of this life, but He is also the God of love and the Lord of grace, who has revealed His Son, Jesus Christ, in His eternal glory. And I have been such a child of hell that I have dared to sin against this God. I have despised His Son and turned my back on Him. What an inexpressible bitterness there is for the person who truly feels this when he confesses against Thee. Thee only have I sinned. Sin against God. It is this that makes sin so terrible. It is this that makes it so impossible for man to get rid of his sin. The reason for this is that sin is an act of rebellion against the Holy God and man is not in a position to recall this sin or take it away. Every sin is an assault against God's law and a violation of it. Nothing that man is able to do can possibly erase one single sin that has been committed. Sin has been committed against God. He has observed and noted it. It has attacked Him. He alone can say if He will forgive it. He alone has the power to blot it out and annul it. Yes, the sin has been committed against God and must be accounted for. Once again, this is the terrible element of sin that is expressed in the confession against Thee. Thee only have I sinned. Yet how little thought is given to this fact, even in the case of outright sinners. They think very little of the fact that they have sinned against themselves and their own happiness. They also think very little about what should cause them the greatest concern, namely, the fact that they have sinned against God. Make this a matter of much prayer because you will have to deal with God. On Judgment Day you will meet Him face to face. If you have not thoroughly learned to feel it, then you will experience to your everlasting horror what having sinned against God is. Even here it is sorrowful and painful to make confession, but it is better to be humbled here than be condemned forever. Do not allow yourself to be distracted from your attempt to make this confession. There are thousands of so-called Christians who know nothing of this conviction of sin. Many will say to you that you must not make yourself too anxious about sin. But I feel obligated to tell you that you have reason to worry about your sin. You have sinned against God and He is a consuming fire. Your sin is so great, the danger so threatening, that it is highly unreasonable not to be anxious about sin. You have sinned and God has spoken his sentence of wrath upon you. It is sheer stupidity to look for rest and comfort before you know that God has taken away your sin. At any moment, His anger could explode against you. Hurry to him with the confession, against thee, thee only have I sinned. And if your heart does not feel it as deeply as it should, beg him to work it out in your heart. The spirit who taught David the word will also teach you to say, against thee, thee only have I sinned. Chapter 8. God's judgment against sin. Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in my sight, that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest. Psalm 51, 4. David is perfectly sincere in every confession that he makes. Under the pressure of what he is feeling, he confirms a second time, against thee, thee only, have I sinned. Now there follows another word, and done this evil in thy sight, that thou mayest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest. In these words, he presents the reason why he openly admits his sin. He desires to approve the sentence of God. and acknowledged that his verdict concerning him could be nothing except the righteous judgment which he deserved. He has made confession of his guilt so that God can be justified in his speaking and clear in his judging. The person who prays sincerely for grace will try to be inspired with this same feeling. Let us look at what this really means. the nature of God's judgment. Consider the terrible nature of God's judgment. Everyone is cursed if they do not continue in the things written for them to do. This is the sentence of the lawgiver. He explains that every single transgression of his law brings his curse on man. He does not investigate the excuse which man might make. The sentence is not changed. The soul that sinneth, it shall die. Ezekiel 18, 20. This word will be spoken to every transgressor on Judgment Day. Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire. Matthew 25, 41. The person who is truly aware of his sins admits that this sentence is not too heavy or strict. It is not more than he deserves. He acknowledges that God is perfectly entitled to deal this way with sin and condemn it. However intolerable the judgment of God may be, the sinner feels that it is not too severe. He confesses that he has sinned against God so that he may confirm the truth that God is righteous. This was David's confession. There was no reason for him to plead for any other sentence. If he were still to be received, it must only be by free, undeserved grace. He was, in truth, sincere about his sense of guilt. He must have seen its detestable, inferior nature. differently than most men in order to be able to speak this way. He felt that the sentence of God was something terrible. In his anguished soul, which he had endured for a long time, he had experienced how terrible it feels to be abandoned by God. Yet, he acknowledges the righteousness of the sentence and yields himself to it. This is surely something beyond man's nature. Such a sense of guilt and condemnation must have been formed in him by the Spirit of God. David offers no excuse. This becomes more apparent when we think about man's tendency to excuse himself. David had served God from his youth, and he had suffered more than any other of God's servants for God's name and honor. God himself testified that he had walked with him with a perfect heart. The Lord at a later time allowed it to be stated in his word that he had strengthened Jerusalem because David did that which was right in the eyes of the Lord and turned not aside from anything that he had commanded him all the days of his life. save only in the matter of Uriah the Hittite, 1 Kings 15.5. Must this one sin be considered so severely? An earthly king would certainly forgive a single transgression committed by a faithful servant. God, the merciful and gracious one, should also forgive this sin without being asked. There was no necessity for confession. This is the way that people speak and think. They do not know the terrible reality of God's holiness and his judgment on sin. They do not know that every single sin, although it is only one, is a violation of God's law and an injury to his honor. It is a proof of rebellion in the heart and that it must be avenged. David bows himself before God, not because God is too strong for him. No, that is not the reason. David had such a view of the authority of God that he approved of God's sentence. He saw how good it was that the law of God should be maintained. He saw how necessary it was that the glory and honor of God should be established. Under the power of that feeling, he confesses his sin against God alone. He does this so he can give honor to God and acknowledge that he was justified in his speaking and clear in his judging. The spirit convinces us of sin. This feeling is certainly beyond man's nature. Such a sense of guilt and condemnation had to have been formed in him by the spirit of God. And the Lord has permitted this verse in his word so that we see what happens to a man who is on the way to genuine repentance and conversion. What a different experience this is from the superficial confession of sin with which most people are content. They confess that they are sinners, but they see their sin as a weakness, a flaw in their character, a misfortune. they sympathize with the sinner, but they are unconcerned about the honor of God. The poor sinner must be comforted, but whether the honor of God's law is maintained does not concern them. This is not the kind of repentance the Spirit of God works in the heart. If a person is truly convinced of sin by the Spirit of God, he does not merely think of himself and what concerns him. His great sorrow is that he has dared to commit sin against the holy God whose law is perfect. His great concern is to restore what he has destroyed. Since he can do nothing else, he lays down at the feet of God and yields to him the only honor that he can now give. He acknowledges that God is righteous in his judgment. Have you learned to know your sins? God has given his law to convince you of sin, that every mouth be stopped and all the world may become guilty before God. Romans 3, 19. Have you already given God this honor, trembling as you did it? Have you humbled yourself before him as worthy of the judgment of God? The person who does this and admits he is a sinner, he alone can receive mercy. See to it that you really know and confess your sin. Without this, there is no grace. Humble yourself under the mighty hand of God, and He will exalt you. Chapter 9 Our Sinful Nature Behold, I was shapen in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me. Psalm 51, 5 David's confession of guilt does not end with the sin against God which he had committed. He realized that his whole nature was completely impure from his birth. From his youth, the grace of God had marvelously preserved him from sin. His whole life had been devoted to God's service. But here, he immediately becomes the prey of temptation and makes himself guilty of terrible sin against God. His earlier life of purity cannot comfort him and instead increases the bitterness of his grief. He feels his heart must be terribly corrupted. The power of sin in him must be greater than he imagined. Having received so much from God, how could he possibly have sinned like this? Realizing your true nature. All at once the root of this sin has come to the surface. For a long time the grace of God had preserved him. He had almost forgotten that he was just as corrupt as everyone else. Now he is aware of his sinful nature, and he comes before God with the confession of his inborn corruption. This one sin does not call for punishment, but my whole nature is impure, he cries, since sin is always present. I am a sinner who needs God's grace. Or as David expresses in Psalm 51, Behold, I was shapen in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me. The inborn corruptness of our nature is an important element in the true confession of sin. How perverted are the ideas of those who appeal to that fact to excuse their sin. There are many who even do this when they confess their sin. They think that since they are sinful by nature, the guilt of their sin is not as great. They cannot help being sinful because they were born this way. This is proof that they still know nothing of the real disgust of sin. Instead, they should be so ashamed of their sinful nature and rebellion toward God that it would embarrass them to remember that they are one with their ancestors in sin. In view of the unity of the whole human race, they would see that God put all of us to the test in Adam. This thought should cause such shame that they would be silent in the dust before God. The confession of this inborn corruption and feeling of shame is a necessary element in the true confession of sin. This Reformation audio track is a production of Stillwater's Revival Books. SWRB makes thousands of classic Reformation resources available, free and for sale, in audio, video, and printed formats. Our many free resources, as well as our complete mail order catalog, containing thousands of classic and contemporary Puritan and Reform books, tapes and videos at great discounts is on the web at www.swrb.com. We can also be reached by email by phone at 780-450-3730 by fax at 780-468-1096 or by mail at 4710-37A Edmonton, that's E-D-M-O-N-T-O-N Alberta, abbreviated capital A, capital B, Canada, T6L3T5. You may also request a free printed catalog. And remember that John Kelvin, in defending the Reformation's regulative principle of worship, or what is sometimes called the scriptural law of worship, commenting on the words of God, which I commanded them not, neither came into my heart. From his commentary on Jeremiah 731, writes, God here cuts off from men every occasion for making evasions, since He condemns by this one phrase, I have not commanded them, whatever the Jews devised. There is then no other argument needed to condemn superstitions than that they are not commanded by God. For when men allow themselves to worship God according to their own fancies, and attend not to His commands, they pervert true religion. And if this principle is adopted by the papists, all those fictitious modes of worship in which they absurdly exercise themselves would fall to the ground. It is indeed a horrible thing for the Papists to seek to discharge their duties towards God by performing their own superstitions. There is an immense number of them, as it is well known, and as it manifestly appears. Were they to admit this principle, that we cannot rightly worship God except by obeying His word, they would be delivered from their deep abyss of error. The prophet's words, then, are very important, when he says that God had commanded no such thing, and that it never came to his mind, as though he had said that men assume too much wisdom when they devise what he never required, nay, what he never knew.