Psalm 51 and verse 14. Many of you will recognize Psalm 51 as one of the penitential psalms that David wrote. In fact, it is probably the most prominent and the most known penitential psalm. And I was reading through the book of Psalms, and I got to verse 14 where David said, Deliver me from blood guiltiness, O God, thou God of my salvation, and my tongue shall sing aloud of thy righteousness." And as I read that verse, an interesting question came to my mind. And the question is, should we be praying this prayer? Should we be acknowledging and confessing the sin of blood guiltiness? Should we ask for deliverance from blood guiltiness, as David did? And usually, if you would probably ask these questions to the average Christian, you would very readily and very quickly get a very fat, big, negative no. And the reason they would give for that answer is simply because, well, we're not murderers, and therefore we have no blood on our hands. I'm going to show you there's a lot more to blood guiltiness than just simply being guilty of murder. David certainly had a lot of blood on his hands. He slew many men in war, and those slain in war were not necessarily counted as being blood guilty or related blood guiltiness. Because some of those men that David slew were not only in self-defense, but in defending Israel. And, of course, God Himself directed some of those wars. For instance, if you'll hold Psalm 51, but look in your Bibles to II Samuel 5. II Samuel 5. And as you're turning there, let me just simply say this. There's absolutely no way for you and I to know exactly how many men David actually killed. You remember in I Samuel 18, he and Saul were coming back from fighting the Philistines, and The women came out with their music, and they began to sing that Saul has slain his thousands, and David his tens of thousands. So David undoubtedly was indeed a man of war, and he killed probably many, many men in war. And he was certainly a warrior. But those heroic acts of David and many of those wars were indeed directed by God Himself. And they certainly would not be related to blood guiltiness. So in 2 Samuel 5, beginning there with verse 22, we read this, And the Philistines came up yet again, and spread themselves in the valley of Rephaim, And when David inquired of the Lord, he said, Thou shalt not go up, that is, not by a frontal attack, but fetch a compass behind them, and come upon them over against the mulberry trees. And let it be, when thou hearest the sound of a going in the tops of the mulberry trees, that then thou bestir thyself, or then shall the Lord go out before thee to smite the host of the Philistines. And David did so. as the Lord had said, and the Lord has commanded him, and smoke the Philistines from Geba until thou come to Gazer." So here's a very interesting passage where God Himself said, you don't do a frontal attack, you do a rear attack, and you don't even move until you hear Me in the tops of the mulberry trees, and then you go out and take care of them. So obviously this was indeed a biblical battle. David was also saved from the sin of blood guilt, and it's by Abigail, who was the wife of Nabal. If you'll look there in I Samuel 25, I Samuel 25, you remember David and his men, while they were out in the wilderness, when Saul was chasing them, they kept Nabal's sheep and all of his cattle, and kept them safe. And, of course, when it came time to shear the sheep, David sent some of his young men and asked for a blessing, and share some of your blessings with us. And, of course, Nabal railed on them and said, there'll be many men that break away from their masters today. Why should I share my meat with you? And when they came back and told David, David told his men, gird you on every man his sword, we're going to take care of Mr. Nabal. Well, Abigail, of course, did not hear and did not know of this until afterwards. So if you look in verse 23, I Samuel chapter 25, she runs out and she meets David with several asses laden with food. to give to His men. And she says in verse 25, "...let not my Lord, I pray thee, regard this man to be liel, even Nabal. For as his name is, so is he." So his name means fool. Nabal is his name, and folly is with him. But I, thine handmaid, saw not the young men of my Lord, whom thou didst send. Now therefore, my Lord, as the Lord liveth, and as I so liveth, seeing the Lord hath withholding thee from coming to shed blood, and from avenging thyself with thine own hand, now let thine enemies, and they that seek evil to my Lord, be as Nabal. And now this blessing which thine handmaid hath brought unto my lord, let it even be given unto the young men that follow my lord. I pray thee, forgive the trespass of thine handmaid, for the lord will certainly make my lord a sure house, because my lord fighteth the battles of the lord, and evil hath not been found in him all these days. Yet a man is risen to pursue thee, and to seek thy soul. But the soul of my Lord shall be bound up in the bundle of life with the Lord thy God, and the souls of thine enemies shall he sling out as in the middle of a sling." And, of course, David now answers and says, blessed be the Lord. Yes, you have you have kept me from avenging myself, for had you not been here, surely by morning light there'd not been one man left standing." So in this instance, David was once again saved from blood guiltiness because this was not necessarily protecting God's people or defending himself per se. He was just insulted is what it amounts to. So, although David was spared blood guiltiness in this instance, he certainly failed in the matter of Uriah the Hittite. When you look at Psalm 51 and verse 14, and David prays, deliver me from blood guiltiness. David certainly needed to pray that prayer. He had necessity to pray that prayer, because in the life of Uriah he had taken life without cause and without justification. He was not fighting in self-defense. He was not fighting to protect his people. He had Uriah murdered just simply to hide and to cover his sin. I mentioned this before, and I'm going to mention it again. In 2 Samuel 12 and verse 9, twice in one verse, God charges David with the murder of Uriah the Hittite. Let me read it. God asks David, Wherefore hast thou despised the commandment of the Lord to do evil in his sight? Thou hast killed Uriah the Hittite with a sword, and hast taken his wife to be thy wife, and hast slain him with the sword of the children of Ammon." So twice now, in one verse, God said, you murdered Uriah. Now, let me show you something. I want you to look in your Bibles to II Samuel, II Samuel 11. You see, most people can name Uriah the Hittite. They said, yes, David is responsible for the death of Uriah. But let me just point out the fact, David was responsible for the lives of other men other than Uriah. Look, if you would please, II Samuel 11, beginning there with verse 15, because he writes this letter and sends it to Joab, and look what he says. II Samuel 11, verse 15, and he wrote in the letter saying, Set ye Uriah in the forefront of the hottest battle, and retire you from him, that he may be smitten and die. And it came to pass, when Joab observed the city, that he assigned Uriah unto a place where he knew that valiant men were. And the men of the city went out and fought with Joab. And there fell some of the people of the servants of David. And Uriah the Hittite died also. Then Joab sent and told David all things concerning the war, and charged the messenger, saying, When thou hast made an end of telling the matters of the war to the king, and if so be that the king's wrath arise, and he say unto thee, Wherefore approached you so nond to the city, when you did fight, knew you not that they would shoot from the wall? Who smote Abimelech the son of Jerubbeth? Did not a woman cast a piece of millstone upon him from the wall, that he died in Thebes? Why went ye not to the wall? Then saith thou, Thy servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also. So the messenger went and came and showed David all that Joab had sent him for. And the messenger said unto David, Surely the men prevailed against us, and came out unto us into the field, and we were upon them, even unto the entering in of the gate. And the shooters shot from off the wall upon thy servants, and some of the king's servants be dead, and thy servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also." Ah, notice what he said, some of the king's servants be dead. How many men died with Uriah? I don't know, the Bible does not say, but there were a number of men who died. So David now is not only responsible for the blood of Uriah, but also the blood of these innocent men whom he sent to their deaths in order that he might cover up his own sin. So certainly he did indeed have blood on his hands. So these men died needlessly in order that the murder of Uriah might take place. Now, when David prays, deliver me from blood guiltiness, The Hebrew word is the word dom, which is translated in our Bibles as blood, bloody, bloodthirsty, and blood guiltiness. In fact, the truth of the matter is, the word blood guiltiness only occurs one time in our Bibles, and it occurs here in Psalm 51 and verse 14. So we have to ask this question. Should we be praying and asking the Lord to deliver us from blood guiltiness? And once again, so many people will say, but I haven't murdered anyone. I haven't plotted to have anyone murdered, so there is no blood on my hand. Well, let me just mention this to you. There are a number of commentators that will say that the term blood guiltiness refers to any major sin, and not just simply the sin of murder. In other words, it would refer then to what you and I would call major, reprehensible sins, which will block God's favor and God's blessings from individuals specifically, and from His people in general. Now, let me just show you some passages on how that interpretation is indeed a valid interpretation. So, I want you to look in your Bibles, first of all, to the book of Ezekiel 18. When you get to the book of Ezekiel chapter 18, God is differentiating between a just man and an unjust man. And also He is showing in this particular passage the difference between a just father and an unjust son, or a righteous father and an unrighteous son. So if you look in Ezekiel chapter 18, beginning there with verse 5, notice what the Bible says. But if a man be just, and do that which is lawful and right," and notice if you would what this lawful, righteous man does not do and what he does do. And he said, "...and hath not eaten upon the mountains," that is involved in idolatry, "...neither hath lifted up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, neither hath defiled his neighbor's wife, neither hath come near to a minstress woman, and hath not oppressed any, but hath restored to the debtor his pledge, hath spoiled none by violence, hath given his bread to the hungry, and hath covered the naked with a garment, He that hath not given forth upon usury neither hath taken increase, that hath withdrawn his hand from iniquity, hath executed true judgment between man and man, hath walked in my statutes, and hath kept my judgments to deal truly, he is just, He shall surely live, saith the Lord God." Now, notice if you would, all of these duties, all of these obligations, principles, and privileges, and responsibilities, this just man has kept and done. But watch verse 10, If he beget a son that is a robber, a shedder of blood, and that doeth the like to any one of these things, note, doeth the like to any one of these things, and that doeth not any of those duties, and even hath eaten upon the mountains, and hath defiled his neighbor's wife, hath oppressed the poor and the needy, hath spoiled by violence, hath not restored the pledge, and hath lifted up his eyes to idols, and hath committed abomination, hath given forth upon usury, and hath taken increase, shall he then live? He shall not live. He hath done all these abominations. He shall surely die. His blood shall be upon Him." Now, I want you to note, the son has done absolutely opposite of that which the father did. So the son then has committed all of these sins. If you'll look in verse 10, He said, if the son, if he beget a son that is a robber, a shedder of blood. And then in verse 13, the latter part, he shall surely die, his blood shall be upon him. So the word blood in verse 10 and the word blood in verse 13 is the same exact Hebrew word as you find in Psalm 51 and verse 14. Now, every one of these sins that the Son commits is what you and I would call a horrific sin, a reprehensible sin. I mean, He's a thief. He's a murderer. He's a adulterer. He's a persecutor. He's covetous. He's a violent man. He refuses to restore the pledge. And the truth of the matter is, each of these basically merit the death penalty. And God says, here is a man, his blood is going to be upon him. He is indeed a bloody man in that sense. He deserves to die. Now, look in your Bibles, if you would, to the book of Isaiah chapter 1. Isaiah chapter 1, I'm just trying to show you that when you talk about blood guiltiness, It can also refer to what you and I would call any reprehensible sin. So notice Isaiah 1 and verse 10. Look what the Bible says, Isaiah 1, verse 10. God begins, and He says in this paragraph, Hear the word of the Lord, you rulers of Sodom, give ear to the law of our God, you people of Gomorrah." Now He's not talking to Sodom and Gomorrah. He is calling them that, but He's talking to Judah and Jerusalem. If you'll go back to verse 1, just look, the vision of Isaiah the son of Amos which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah kings of Judah. So God addresses the rulers of Judah and Jerusalem as the rulers of Sodom and Gomorrah. because of their wickedness. Watch verse 11. He asks them, To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto me, saith the Lord? I am full of the burnt offerings of rams, and the fat of fed beasts, And I delight not in the blood of bullocks, or of lambs, or of he-goats. When you come to appear before me, who has required this at your hand to tread my courts? Bring no more vain, that is useless, worthless oblations. Incense is an abomination unto me. the new moons and sabbaths, the calling of assemblies. I cannot away with. It is iniquity, even the solemn meeting. Watch now. Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hateth. They are trouble unto me. I am weary to bear them. And when you spread forth your hands, I will hide mine eyes from you. Yea, when you make many prayers, I will not hear. Your hands are full of blood." Now, you know as well as I know that not everyone in Judah and Jerusalem was a murderer. Undoubtedly there were some murderers there. Undoubtedly some of the rulers probably were guilty of some of those things. But what God is complaining about here is they've turned His worship into a mere ritual, into a mere ceremony. And the fact that they were violating His law while they were worshiping Him. And it's not just that they did something one time, but it is something that is consistent and constant. And when they came to Him, yes, they had come to Him guilty as all get out. And they had no idea and no plans to repent. They were going to continue in their sins. And I want you to note verse 15 again. Look at it. God said, And when you spread forth your hands, that is, when you pray to Me, I will hide my eyes from you. Yea, when you make many prayers, I will not hear. And here's why, your hands are full of blood." So God is saying, your prayer is hindered because of the sin of blood guiltiness. Having hands full of blood denotes crimes and sins and guilt of a high order, as in murder you would have blood on your hands, you would have the stain on your hand, which would be proof that you were indeed a murderer. So this phrase, that your hands are full of blood can indeed be figurative in the sense that he is saying that this whole people are given over to repairing an injustice, to the oppression of the poor, to the oppression of the widow. They are covered in their sins, and when they come and try to worship Him and pray to Him, God said, I will not hear, because your hands are full of blood. Now, David says essentially the same thing in Psalm 66 and verse 18, when he said, If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me. Now, the word regard simply means to put in a high place. It's not that you're necessarily actually committing the iniquity yet, but you are regarding it. You're holding it in your heart. You are respecting it. You're giving it a place that it should not be given. And so David said, if I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me. And then Solomon said it like this in Proverbs 28 and verse 9, He that turneth away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer shall be an abomination. So God says, you don't listen to me, even your prayer will be a stench in my nostrils. I will not listen to you. So in Isaiah chapter 1, God now is accusing His people of murder, oppression, and other wicked sins which He abhors and which He has forbidden. But yet they continue to engage in these sins. constantly and continually, and therefore He's turned His favor and His blessings away from them. Now, I want you to turn over to the book of Hosea 4. So right after the book of Ezekiel, you're going to find Daniel, and then Hosea, Hosea 4. And look at verses 1 and 2. Hosea 4, verses 1 and 2. Here's a similar expression. Watch it. Hosea 4, verse 1. God says, Hear the word of the Lord, you children of Israel. So again He's talking to the children of Israel. For the Lord hath a controversy with the inhabitants of the land, because there is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land." Well, what happens when there's no truth, mercy, or knowledge of God? By swearing, and lying, and killing, and stealing, and committing adultery, they break out, and blood toucheth blood. But notice, if you would, he does mention killing, in verse 2. But he also mentions adultery, and swearing, and lying, and stealing. And now he says, blood toucheth blood. So interestingly, it can be not just murder, but it can be any reprehensible sin that brings upon oneself blood guiltiness. Some of you will remember that Shakespeare wrote a lot of plays. One of those was Macbeth. And in Macbeth, it happens to be Act 5, Scene 1, Lady Macbeth has gone mad. Her husband, has already died, and she cannot find any rest. She's sleepwalking. Her conscience is condemning her because of the murders that they committed. They had murdered Duncan and Banquo and Lady Macduff. And so she's walking in her sleep, and her doctor and a lady-in-waiting hears her, and she has kept trying to wash her hands to get the stain of blood off. And finally, she says, out, damned spot, out, I say, because there's a spot of blood on her hand, and she can't get it off. She can't get it out. Well, a little bit later, She says this, listen carefully, I still have the smell of blood on my hand. All the perfumes of Arabia couldn't make my little hand smell better. Oh, oh, oh. Well, let me just point something out. It is true, and you and I understand this, that without divine forgiveness, without the cleansing of the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, the spot will never vanish from anyone's conscience, individually, or from society in general. In other words, it takes the blood of Jesus Christ to wash away any and all sin. John said it like this in 1 John 1 and verse 7, but if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ, God's Son, cleanseth us from all sin. And then He said it like this in 1 John 1 and verse 9, if we confess our sins, He's faithful and just to cleanse us from our sins and to forgive us from all unrighteousness. So, He forgives our sin, and He cleanses us from all unrighteousness. Now, we understand this aspect. We understand the sin of blood guilt, and it's where someone may have murdered, or participated, or planned it, or whatever. And we understand that only the blood of Jesus Christ can actually cleanse us from our sins. But here is my question. Should we be praying and asking the Lord to deliver us from blood guiltiness, as David did? And again, I'm going to say that most people are going to answer no, because we haven't killed anyone. We haven't planned on killing anyone. But let me give you another perspective on blood guilt, and it's something that you may not have thought about. So, here's some questions. Have you ever really considered the lack of justice? Let me go further. Have you ever really considered the lack of biblical justice? And by biblical justice, I mean, of course, justice that is in agreement with and in accord to the Word of God. To give you an illustration, we have so forsaken the law of God in this land, in America, that murderers are incarcerated instead of being put to death. The same is true for kidnappers and men-stealers and rapists. You know what the Bible says in Genesis 9 and verse 6? Whosoever sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed. In other words, God demands the death penalty. Now, let me show you something. I want you to look in your Bibles to the book of Numbers, chapter 35. Numbers, chapter 35. We're talking about justice. We're talking about blood guiltiness. Look at Numbers 35, and let's begin reading there with verse 30. Numbers 35, and verse 30. Here it is. Numbers 35, verse 30. God says, Whoso killeth any person, The murderer shall be put to death by the mouth of witnesses, but one witness shall not testify against any person to cause him to die." Now watch verse 30, "'Moreover, you shall take no satisfaction for the life of a murderer which is guilty of death, but he shall surely be put to death.'" And then he said in verse 32, And you shall take no satisfaction for him that has fled to the city of his refuge, that he should come out again to dwell in the land until the death of the high priest. So you shall not pollute the land wherein you are. For blood, it defileth the land, and the land cannot be cleansed of the blood that is shed therein, but by the blood of him that shed it. Defile not, therefore, the land which you shall inhabit, wherein I dwell, for I, the Lord, dwell among the children of Israel." Wow! Now, let me go back, and let's take this one at a time. Look at it, if you would, please, in verse 31. He says, Moreover, you shall take no satisfaction for the life of a murderer, which is guilty of death, he shall surely be put to death. So no atonement could be made for the murderer. There could be no computation of his sentence or anything that would save him from death. There could be no intercession. There could be no ransom that would save him or procure a pardon for him. He was to be put to death. If he was not put to death, the land was defiled and polluted. Ah, now, I'll mention this a little bit later, but look in verse 32, And you shall take no satisfaction for him that has fled to the city of his refuge, that he should come again to dwell in the land until the death of the high priest. Now, in Israel there were cities of refuge. That means if you kill someone accidentally, then you had to flee to the city of refuge. And once you were there, there was a trial held, and if you were found indeed innocent, not guilty, you had to remain in the city of refuge until the death of the high priest. You could not go back home. If you left the city of refuge before the death of the high priest, and the avenger of blood caught you, he would kill you. and He would be free of your blood, because you should have stayed there." Now, all God is saying is, you are not to have any satisfaction. No one could go back to his home until the death of the high priest. Now, the interesting thing is this. He said in verse 31, the murderer shall surely be put to death. If the murderer is not put to death, then the land is defiled and polluted. Most of us understand the fact that most crimes in this country are committed by what you and I would call repeat offenders. You look at the illegal immigrants that have been arrested. for certain crimes, deported for certain crimes, and yet they are released, or somehow some that are deported get back in this country, and they commit the same crimes over and over again. And it's the same thing with any other prisoner. Once he is let out, especially the murderer, it's usually him that murders again. So, let me just put it to you very plainly. Here's the principle that God is enunciating in Numbers 35. If the murderer is put to death, as God demands, society lives. If the murderer is not put to death and the murderer lives, society dies. It's just that simple. So, God is saying, look, here's a principle of justice. Here's a principle of blood guiltiness. Here's a man that deserves to die, that I've condemned to death, and God says you're to take no ransom for him. If you do, then blood defiles your land. There's blood guiltiness in the land. Now, let me give you something else. Since we're talking about justice and blood guiltiness, Just as there is a failure to execute the wicked, which would result in blood guiltiness, what about the persecution of the righteous? When innocent men and women have been falsely accused, wickedly condemned, and wrongly sentenced, Is that not incurring blood guiltiness as well? May I remind you that the cities of refuge were not for the guilty, they were for the innocent. So, if a guilty man fled to the city of refuge, there was a trial, and he was found guilty, and he was just handed over to the avenger of blood. For instance, look in your Bibles to the book of Deuteronomy 19. Watch this, Deuteronomy 19, and let's begin reading there with verse 9. Deuteronomy 19, verse 9, you're reading about the cities of refuge, okay. Deuteronomy 19, verse 9, God says to His people, If thou shalt keep all these commandments to do them, which I command thee this day, to love the Lord thy God, and to walk ever in His way, then shalt thou add three cities more for thee besides these three. that innocent blood be not shed in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee for an inheritance, and so blood be upon thee." Now, notice if you would, if an innocent man was slain, blood was upon us. or upon them at that particular time. Verse 11, But if any man hate his neighbor, and lie in wait for him, and rise up against him, and smite him mortally, that he die, and fleeth unto one of these cities, then the elders of his city shall send and fetch him thence, and deliver him into the hand of the avenger of blood, that he may die. Thine eye shall not pity him, but thou shalt put away the guilt of innocent blood from Israel, that it may go well with thee. Thou shalt not remove thy neighbor's landmark, which they of old time have set it, and thine inheritance, which thou shalt inherit in the land that the Lord thy God giveth thee to possess it." One witness. shall not rise up against a man for any iniquity, or for any sin, in any sin that he sinneth. At the mouth of two witnesses, or at the mouth of three witnesses, shall the matter be established." Now notice if you would, God says, The cities of refuge are only for the innocent. They're not for the guilty. Why did God have these cities of refuge? And by the way, they were strategically located throughout the land, on each side of the river, so that you would not have to run far to get to a city of refuge. So it's just like if If Francis and I are out cutting wood, and the head of my axe slips off and hits him in the head and kills him, then if we were alive in those days, I would have to flee to the city of refuge. I didn't mean to kill him, but it just happened. But now if I took my axe and purposely hit him in the head, then I might flee to the city of refuge, but then they would just simply turn me over to the avenger of blood, and I'd be killed. Because God says there is to be absolutely no satisfaction taken for the murderer. Now, we're talking about the innocent. And God is saying here that failure to protect the innocent also brings blood guiltiness upon the land. So let me ask you some questions. Does it bother you that numbers of innocent men and women have been railroaded, incarcerated, and their lives have been destroyed because they refuse to conform to the status quo? Some have even been killed, or should I say murdered. I hope you read this past week about the Amish man who just got six years in prison because he was making organic, homemade salves and creams to help people. And they demanded he stop making these homemade salves and creams, which were made of all-natural ingredients. And he refused to do so, and so they put him in prison for six years. FDA wanted to persecute them. And here the FDA approves all kinds of things. It destroys people all the time. I watched a little video where Sheriff Mack was there, and he was speaking, and he said this. He said, the federal government today created a criminal. They did not catch one. They did not investigate one. They made one. And you just stop and think of all the innocent people that have been railroaded. I know preachers that have been put in jail for nothing other than refusing to take a license from the state. Since when is the state in the business of licensing ministries? I never will forget what Lester Roloff said years ago. He's been dead a multitude of years now, but they were trying to license all of his ministries. And one woman was interviewing him, and she was saying, Now, Pastor Roloff, you know what the Bible says, that you're to submit yourself to the higher powers, thinking that she was a higher power, she was a bureaucrat. And Lester Roloff said, I don't have any problem being in submission to the higher powers. It's you lower powers that are giving me fits. And so that's about the truth. But think about that. And again, these cities of refuge were for the innocent. They were not for the guilty. By the way, since we're talking about the innocent, and since we're talking about blood guiltiness, May I remind you of the sin and the murder that is involved in abortion? When you stop and think that there have been 60 to 70 million babies legally murdered since Roe v. Wade, and that doesn't count the back alley abortions and the self-induced abortions. Can you say blood guiltiness? Can you say defilement and pollution? Can you say blood-soaked hands? Let me show you. Look in your Bibles to Psalm 106. Psalm 106. In this passage, Psalm 106, there are a number of the sins of Israel being enumerated. And in Psalm 106, beginning there with verse 37, look at what is said. Psalm 106, verse 37, talking about the Israelites. Yea, they sacrificed their sons and their daughters unto devils, and shed innocent blood, even the blood of their sons and of their daughters, whom they sacrificed under the idols of Canaan. Watch, and the land was polluted with blood. Thus were they defiled with their own works, and went a-whoring with their own inventions. Let me ask you a question. What material difference is there between someone who would sacrifice their child to an altar or to a false god of Moloch, or Ashtoreth, or Venus, or sacrifice the same child to the god of convenience and irresponsibility? It's the same thing. So God is saying, that it's not just the actual act of murder that brings blood guiltiness. It's a failure to execute those who deserve to die that brings blood guiltiness, and a failure to protect also the innocent. Now, here's a question. How fastidious is God when it comes to justice? You know, I could answer that. And I thought of this verse this morning. How concerned is God for justice? Well, He's so concerned that the Bible tells us in Romans 8, he that spared not his own son. I would think God is pretty well interested in justice because He executed His wrath fully and freely upon His own Son when His Son was put there to be our propitiation, to be our sacrifice. But I want you to see this in Deuteronomy 21. Turn back there. Here's a good illustration. And it's going to bring me to the point that I want to make. I want you to look in Deuteronomy 21. And let's begin reading there verse 1, and we're going to read through verse 9. Watch, Deuteronomy 21, verse 1 through verse 9. Deuteronomy 21, If one be found slain in the land, which the Lord thy God giveth thee to possess it, lying in the field, and to be not known who is slain him. So here's a man that is murdered. He's out in the country. He's dead, there are no witnesses, no one's around. What happens? Look in verse 2, Then the elders and the judges shall come forth, and they shall measure unto the cities which are round about him that is slain. It shall be that the city which is next, or the closest to the slain man, even the elders of that city shall take a heifer, which hath not been wrought with, and which hath not drawn in the yoke. And the elders of that city shall bring down the heifer into a rough valley, which is neither eared nor sewn, and shall strike off the heifer's neck there in the valley. And the priests, the sons of Levi, shall come near, for them the Lord thy God hath chosen to minister unto him, and to bless in the name of the Lord. And by their word shall every controversy and every stroke be tried. And all the elders of that city that are next unto the slain man shall wash their hands over the heifer that is beheaded in the valley. And they shall answer and say, Our hands have not shed this blood. have our eyes seen it. Be merciful, O Lord, unto thy people Israel, whom thou hast redeemed, and lay not innocent blood unto thy people of Israel's charge, and the blood shall be forgiven them." Now watch verse 9, "...so shalt thou put away the guilt of innocent blood from among you, when thou shalt do that which is right in the sight of the Lord." Now the interesting thing is this, here's a man that is found in the field. No one knows who did it. So the elders come forth, and they measure, and they get the closest city. The principle is someone has to take responsibility to do that which is right in the Lord, in the sight of the Lord. And so they get the elders into the closest city. They bring a heifer out, which has not been wrought with nor a yoke put upon her, and they cut off her head. This is not a sacrifice, because it's not done in the temple, it's done out in the field. Though blood is being sprinkled by the priests. Okay. So the elders then wash their hands over this heifer that they have killed, and they say, Our hands have not shed this blood, neither our eyes have seen what happened. So let me tell you bluntly what is happening and what they are saying. First, they're saying, we're innocent. Our hands have not shed this blood. We did not commit this murder. Secondly, our eyes have not seen it. That is, we do not know who did it. And thirdly, is this very strong implication. If we did see it, if we do know who did it, we would not be executing a heifer. We would be executing the man who did the murder. So they were not guilty themselves, And they did not know who was guilty. So this heifer then was executed until the murderer could be discovered. And then as they executed that heifer, they said in verse 8, Be merciful, O LORD, unto thy people Israel, whom thou hast redeemed, and lay not innocent blood unto thy people of Israel's charge, and the blood shall be forgiven them. And notice verse 9 again, So shalt thou put away the guilt of innocent blood from among you, when thou shalt do that which is right in the sight of the Lord. Now let me give you the impact and the implication that is very plain in Deuteronomy chapter 21, verses 1 through 9, and that is this. This passage teaches us that there is a community and a societal responsibility for justice." Stop and think about this. Here's a man that's found murdered. No one knows who did it. God said, wait a minute. Something has to be done. You get the closest town, the closest city, the closest jurisdiction. And at least you have to go through this little ceremony and say, lay not this sin to our charge. So where there is no community or societal justice, where it is not enforced, then obviously community and societal guilt follows, or the sin of blood guiltiness. Look back in your Bibles to the book of Leviticus 19 and verse 16. Leviticus 19 and verse 16. Look what God says. Leviticus 19 and verse 16. God says, thou shalt not go up and down as a tail bearer among thy people. So no gossip is allowed. But look at the latter half of that verse. Neither shalt thou stand against the blood of thy neighbor, I am the Lord. Now to stand against the blood of your neighbor is to do nothing to protect your neighbor. So, what if it was the neighbor who was killed? You can't say, well, I didn't do it. I don't know who did it. It's not my problem. If it's your neighbor, if it's in your community, if it's in your immediate society, yes, it is. It is connected to you. That is exactly what God is telling us. To stand against the blood of your neighbor, it's not just simply do not bear false witness against him, but you must do whatever you can to see that he is not violently harmed. You must try to protect Him. And if He is harmed, you must try to find out who did it so that justice may be rendered. Rush Dooney, in his Institutes on Biblical Law, says this concerning Deuteronomy 21, verses 1-9. Listen to this quote. He says, Thus the entire community or society has a responsibility to right the wrongs within its jurisdiction. This is an aspect of the police power of the citizenry. Now, let me make two observations. The first one is this. He says, The entire community or society has a responsibility to right the wrongs within its jurisdiction. So I call up the state of Michigan, and I say, I want to protest against this six-year sentence that you've given this innocent man for making salves and creams that never hurt anyone. All you've done is destroyed his family. You removed him from his wife and from his children, and you've destroyed his source of income, and he's committed no crime. I could call, I could protest. I'm one individual. I'm not saying I should not do it. I'm just saying I'm one individual. And one individual is very easily discredited, ignored, But you get an entire community or an entire society that says, look, we are not going to put up with this. This is wrong. It will be reversed. It will be taken care of. It's just like Everett Dirksen, the senator who's been dead for many years. He said, when I feel the heat, I see the fire." In other words, I don't like to be hounded on either. So it takes a community, and that's exactly what God is saying. There is a community responsibility. Secondly, when Rush Duny says, this is an aspect of the police power of the citizenry, Rush Duny certainly does not mean, nor does he imply, that a citizen has a responsibility to execute a murderer. But what he is saying is that we must do whatever is necessary to see that justice is in force, and justice is done. We must remember, if we deny justice, we deny God, for God is the God of justice. Justice and mercy are the habitation of His throne, the Scripture says. He is the God of justice. He is the just God. Moreover, listen carefully, Deuteronomy 21 also demonstrates our responsibility to each other. It not only teaches restitution to God, but it teaches responsibility to each other. So let me ask you, if one of your family members was murdered, would you not like to see justice done? And would you not like to have your neighbors and the people in your community to come and support you and to demand that justice be done? Well, of course. But what if I took the attitude, well, it's not my kid, it's not my family, I, you know, doesn't bother me, no skin off my nose. But what we don't understand is this. What can be done over there can also be done over here. What is going to affect someone else inevitably, sooner or later, is going to affect me as well. So here's teaching responsibility, community responsibility, societal responsibility. We've gotten to the place in this country, let Washington take care of it. Let Tallahassee take care of it. Let Atlanta take care of it. And they're not going to take care of anything except to deprive us of more and more property and more and more rights. I want to tell you something. John Trapp was an English Puritan. And I was looking at Deuteronomy 21, and I read what John Trapp said concerning Deuteronomy 21. And I was just so amazed. Many of us have never even heard of King Alfred. King Alfred was an early English king. He was a Christian. In fact, there's a song, and you should check it out on the internet. We have sung it a number of times. It's called King Alfred's War Song. And it's a praise to the Lord Jesus Christ. But just look it up, King Alfred's War Song. But John Trapp said this concerning King Alfred, since he was one of the original Christian kings. Listen to what he said. King Alfred was the first that divided his kingdom into shires. He ordained also that his subjects be divided into tens, or tithings, every of which severally should give bond for the good bearing of each other." Now, let me just stop there just for a moment. So, here are ten men. So what the ten men would mean, we would be called a tithe, because ten percent. So that means I have to vouch for your conduct, and your conduct, and your conduct. I have to watch nine of you. But the other nine are watching nine more as well. And each of you nine are watching me. Okay. Listen to what he said now. He said, King Alfred was the first that divided his kingdom into shires. He ordained also that his subjects should be divided into tithings, every of which severally should give bond for the good bearing of each other. By this course, men were not only careful of their own actions, but each had an eye to all the nine for which he stood bound, as the nine had over him, insomuch that a poor girl might travel safely with a bag of gold in her hand, and none does dare meddle with her. The ancientest of these men were called tithing men." Isn't that amazing? Said a poor girl could walk down the street with a bag of gold in her hand, and no one would accost her. No one would dare touch her, because every man was watching out for the other man. We have lost accountability and responsibility. Consequently, we have incurred blood guiltiness. Because we've not seen and we've not demanded that the wicked be executed when he deserves to be executed, nor have we demanded that the innocent be protected. Let me just make a couple of applications. I want you to think about these. The first one is this. Politicians and rulers should learn a lesson from David. Do you understand that King David never actually took a sword and plunged it in Uriah's heart? He never took a sword and murdered those other men who fell in battle. But he gave the order. Do you understand that politicians, congressmen, presidents, whoever they are, that give the order for unjust wars and unjust military actions are actually guilty of the murder of innocent people. There is blood guilt in this. This drone warfare, I read one article that said the United States admits a little more than 600 innocent civilians have been killed through drone warfare, but it's really over 6,000. Who's responsible? Who gave the order? Look at the men and women who've been dispossessed of their own property. Look at the problems the Bundys have faced, and other of those ranchers out there. Do you realize a lot of that's because uranium was on the land, and the Clinton Foundation, and Harry Reid, and all those people were involved. Someone is guilty. And someone will pay, if not in this life, when they face the judgment of God. So politicians should learn from David. The second one is this. For Christians to sit back and say nothing and to do nothing is to incur the sin of bloodguiltiness. It is just as wicked to fail to fight for righteousness and justice as it is to fail to demand the punishment of the wicked. You want to know what's happened in our land today? Here it is. Whenever there is a decline in biblical law and in Christianity, there's always a decline in personal responsibility and accountability and justice. You want to know why no one takes responsibility, why no one is saying, I'm accountable, why no one is saying the buck stops here? Because we failed to believe and act upon God's law. And wherever there is a decline in biblical law and Christianity, inevitably there's going to be a destruction of society. So here's the question that we should ask. Why should God hear our prayers when according to Isaiah 1 and verse 15, our hands are full of blood? Should we confess the sin of blood guiltiness? Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. David said, deliver me from blood guiltiness. When we fail to do that which is right in the sight of the Lord, we're guilty. Thankfully, it's the blood of Jesus Christ that cleanses us from our sin and cleanses the land But we are still guilty for not applying His Word and His truth. Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we bow to Thee. We thank You for Your Word. We pray that You would teach us, Lord, that You would help us, that You would give us wisdom and understanding, and help us, Lord, to stand for that which is right and holy and pure and just. Give us grace that we may serve Thee acceptably with reverence and godly fear. In Thy name we pray. Amen.