Amen. In verse 13 we have there the sixth commandment, Thou shalt not kill. In coming to consider the sixth commandment, Thou shalt not kill, We notice regarding this commandment its place. We, of course, have ten commandments. And we see where this particular commandment is placed in the Decalogue. It is there in sixth place. Of course, we know that's no coincidence. Six in Scripture. is the number of man. We know that numbers in the Bible mean certain things. And here we have the number six. When we go back to God's work of creation, it was on the sixth day that God created man and gave him life. Genesis 1, verses 27 and 31. And so there, in the sixth day of creation, God made man, and man breathed life into him, and man became a living soul. Now we see that when God created man, God gives a commandment declaring that man's life must not be taken. God has given life, and yet God has to give this commandment, Thou shalt not kill. Thou shalt not kill the life that I have given to man. Six is the number of man. And so there you have the number six with regard to God's creation. And you have the number six in regards to God's commandments. And the number six deals with men on both occasions. The creation of man, the giving of life to man, and then the taking of man's life. Thou shalt not kill. As well as the place Looking at these words, you see there's a plainness. In our Authorized Version, we have the commandment and it's made up of just four words. You couldn't get anything plainer than that. The words are plain that even a child could understand and read those words. So that when man takes another's life, they are without excuse. And as we will see later on this morning, they will be without excuse on the day of judgment. Thou shalt not kill. Thou shalt not kill. They will be without excuse. because they have broken God's holy law. It's plain. Thou shalt not kill. As well as its place and its plainness, we see also that it's pointed. It's very pointed. Four words. Just like all of the other commandments, God does not leave anyone in any doubt about what he demands. and what His commands are. You cannot read the words of verse 13 and you cannot say, I don't understand what those words mean. They are plain and they are pointed. Thou shalt not kill. Seven of the Ten Commandments begin with the words Thou shalt not. Seven out of the ten. One commandment begins with, Thou shalt have no other gods before me. If a father commands his son and says to him, Thou shalt not do this or that, well, the father would expect the son to obey. God expects man to obey His plain and pointed commandments. And of course, we know for many that is not the case. Even though, as the disciples said, the winds and the sea obey Him, yet man has difficulty obeying God. And certainly when it comes to the sixth commandment, man completely ignores God's holy word, Thou shalt not kill. So let us now turn our attention to these words which God gave to the children of Israel, Thou shalt not kill. First of all, we want to look at the command, the command itself. As pointed out, this command is clear and it is plain. It is a command which deals with the preservation of life, the preservation of human life. God is the giver of life and only God has the right to take life. One first of all to consider regarding the command the meaning. This command has been misused by many to push philosophies wholly opposed to what the Bible teaches. You think of the animal rights crowd. They say, oh, you shouldn't kill animals. Well, the Bible teaches we are to do that very thing for food and for clothing. And, of course, we know when God's people came to worship God, they did so when they offered up sacrifices. They killed lambs and they killed ox and calves, and they use those sacrifices in their worship of God. But when you look at the word kill and what it means, it cannot be used for anything else, for killing anything else, because the word kill means to murder. It comes from a Hebrew word which means to murder. And so the commandment is, thou shalt not commit murder. This word we seem to hear every day when we turn on the news or listen to the radio. We hear of somebody else who has been murdered. Somebody else has had their life taken from them. Reminded of the words of Jeremiah 4 and verse 31. My soul is weary because of murderers. My soul is weary because of murderers. Because of the disturbances Across the border in recent weeks, surely our souls have been weary as well, as we've listened practically every day of someone being murdered, someone's life being taken from them. And so the word kill means, thou shalt not unlawfully kill a human being. This understanding of the commandment was endorsed by the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. Matthew 19, verse 18, Thou shalt do no murder. Those are the words of Christ. Thou shalt do no murder. The first murder, of course, recorded in Scripture was the killing of Abel. by his brother, Cain. Genesis 4, verses 8 to 10. And you look at the circumstances of that murder. It teaches us that in the eyes of many, life is very cheap. Murder has been committed by someone in a fit of rage, They've had to live with that the rest of their days. Murder has been committed because of jealousy, or because of hatred, or for some other reason. And according to God's Word, according to God's Word, the murderer ought to forfeit his own life. Turn please to Genesis 9. Genesis chapter 9. And there we read in the verse 6. Genesis 9, verse 6. Whoso sheddeth man's blood. There's murder. Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed. For in the image of God made he man. What do we have there? We have capital punishment. Capital punishment is scriptural. The Word of God teaches capital punishment And I believe that if it was practiced today in more places, there would be less murders. Capital punishment is not only a deterrent. That's not why the Lord has put it down here in Scripture. Not just a deterrent, it is punishment for taking another man's life. And that statute that we just read there in Genesis 9, which God gave to Noah, has never been rescinded. It has never been rescinded. The Lord Jesus Christ Himself gave His exposition of the commandment. Matthew chapter 5. Matthew 5 and verse 21, Ye have heard that it was said to them of old time, Thou shalt not kill. Whosoever shall kill, whosoever shall commit murder, shall be in danger of judgment. And that judgment is the forfeiting of their own life. That's what the Bible teaches. So we have considered the command. The meaning, the word Kel means murder. We come now, not only to the meaning, but to the method. You think of the different ways that man's life has been taken. Murder is that willful act of one man purposely taking the life of another. And murder may be committed in a variety of ways. We all know that, of course. There is, if you like, the murder with the hand. Someone can have a gun in their hand, or a knife, or whatever. As Joab. Joab killed Abner. How did he do that? Well, we are told in 2 Samuel 3, verse 27, he stabbed him under the fifth rib. And then it says, died Abner at a full death. Abner was stabbed to death. Then murder can be committed by the use of the tongue. You may not have thought of murder being committed by the use of the tongue. But over in the book of James, we are told about how dangerous the tongue can be. In James chapter 3 and verse 6, and the tongue is a fire. a world of iniquity. So is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature, and it is set on fire of hell. But the tongue can no man tame, It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison, deadly poison. And how this little member, James has spoken about, this little member set on fire of hell, full of deadly poison was used in the killing of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. Yes, He was nailed to the cross. Lifted up was He to die, and His finish was His cry. Now in heaven exalted high. Hallelujah! What a Saviour! But the tongue of man fell apart in the killing in the murder of the Lord Jesus. You recall, as the Savior stood there in Pilate's judgment hall, and there the dear Savior stood alone, and Pilate said, What shall I do then with Jesus which is called Christ? And the crowd cried out, Let him be crucified. Shall I crucify your king? They responded, We have no king but Caesar. And then they started into a chant, Crucify, Crucify, Crucify, Crucify. Then we read so Pilate willing to content the people. He responded to their cry. So Pilate, willing to content the people, released Barabbas unto them and delivered Jesus. When he had scourged Him to be crucified, the tongue sat on fire of hell. And it was used in the slaying of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. So Pilate heeded the chanting crowd and put our Savior to death. And then we think of another way that murder is committed. We think of how it was planned and plotted by David. David took Uriah and then we are told he wanted rid of Uriah's, or Bathsheba took Uriah's wife and wanted rid of Uriah. And how did he do that? He planned it. He made sure that Uriah was placed in the battle at the very forefront of the battle. And of course in that battle, Uriah was killed. That's how David planned the murder of Uriah. No, he didn't have the sword in his hand. He didn't have the spear in his hand, but he might as well have had. Thou shalt not kill. But then, there's another way in which an individual can be charged with murder. You turn, please, to 1 John. You turn to 1 John. Chapter 2. 1 John 2. Verse 11. But he that hateth his brother is in darkness. and walketh in darkness, and knoweth not whither he goeth, because that darkness hath blinded his eyes. Mark the words. He that hateth his brother is in darkness. Now go over to the chapter 3. Verse 15. 1 John 3 verse 15. Whosoever hateth His brother is a murderer. That's what that individual is in the eyes of God. Whoso hateth his brother is a murderer. And ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him. So we have looked at the different methods that are used to commit murder. And maybe what we have just read there in 1 John is something we never really thought about in connection with murder. But God's Word declares that it does. So we have looked at the meaning and the method And then there is also the must. The must. Thou shalt not. There's the must. Thou shalt not kill or thou shalt not commit murder. Now that raises the question. What happens if someone takes someone else's life by accident? Well, God has made provision for that set of circumstances. For the accidental manslaughter, for the accidental manslayer, God provided. Again, declaring in His Word, God provided seven cities of refuge. If you turn to Joshua, Chapter 20. Joshua 20, and there we read in the opening two verses, The Lord also spake unto Joshua, saying, Speak to the children of Israel, saying, Appoint out for you cities of refuge. Whereof I speak unto you by the hand of Moses, that the slayer that killeth any person unawares and unwittingly may flee thither, and they shall be your refuge for the avenger of blood. And so the verse 2 speaks about someone who has been killed by accident and God appointed seven cities and those cities were called cities of refuge where the individual who had taken another man's life by accident may flee to that city of refuge and no one could touch him there. until his case was heard before the congregation. Look at verse 9 of Joshua chapter 20. These were the cities appointed for all the children of Israel and for the stranger that sojourneth among them that whosoever killeth any person unawares might flee thither and not die by the hand of the avenger of blood. If someone accidentally kills an individual, well then someone else ain't going to get that man's life. He's killed my friend, or whatever. The Lord says they have the cities of refuge. The offender can flee to that city, dwell there lest he die by the hand of the avenger of blood until he stood before the congregation. Until he receives a fair trial. That's what it means. Until he receives a fair trial. Also, Even though God has said, thou shalt not kill. There are incidents where, in a sense, it's unavoidable. You say, what do you mean? Well, I think about times of war. Times of war. Abraham, where Saul had to fight the hosts of Cedar Laomai. He had to go to battle with the hosts of Cedar Laomai to rescue Lot. He had to fight. People were killed in that battle. It was a legitimate reason to go to war. Exodus, that's in Genesis 14. In Exodus 17, We've already covered this in our study of Moses. The Lord commanded Israel that they were to go and fight Amalek. Do you recall how Moses stood on the top of the mount with hands raised up to heaven and Joshua was down in the valley of Rephidim fighting Amalek? It was a legitimate war. Israel had been commanded to do so by God. What did we say at the beginning? God has given life and only God, only God has the right to take life. And that includes situations like these where there's battles and there's wars. So we have looked at the command I want to look now at the situation when this command is broken and human life is taken unlawfully. That leads us from the command to the crime. The sixth commandment forbids us to disregards human life and condemns every murderous act or intention against it. And the crime, you think of the sixth commandment today, thou shalt not kill. What is the crime that comes to mind immediately? It is the crime of feticide, that is, abortion. It now grieves me more. I can hardly listen to anybody talk about it. But the killing of children, it grieves me sore. Feticide means abortion. So in these abortion clinics, murder is committed every day. I did a little bit of research and checked on how many murders of children take place in Canada. Listen to these figures. In Canada alone, since 1970, approximately 3.2 million, 3.2 million unborn babies have been killed, have been murdered. Today in Canada, bring it up to date, there are almost 100,000, 100,000 children murdered every year. bringing it down to one day. In Canada, it is estimated 300 children are murdered every day. These are horrific numbers. And every time a child's life is taken, God's command goes out, thou shalt not kill. Of course, abortion advocates do not talk about babies. No, they don't use that phraseology. What is it? It's a fetus. They refer to the unborn child as a thing, not a person. It's a thing. It can be easily disposed of. The Old Testament has no such word as fetus. It speaks of the unborn child as a person. Nothing less than a person. And life begins at conception. So any time after that, if abortion takes place, it's murder. It's murder. God's Word tells us that and teaches us that. that what is in the mother's womb is a person. Turn please to Exodus 21. Exodus 21 verse 22. If a man strive and hurt A woman with child. Mark that. Hurt a woman with child. Not with a fetus. With a child. The woman is expecting a child. So that her fruit, or the child, depart from her. She has a miscarriage. And yet no mischief follow. That is, the child lives. He shall be surely punished according as the woman's husband will lay upon him. And he shall pay as the judges determine. Verse 23. And if any mischief follow, that is, if the child dies because of this strife, if any mischief follow, then shalt give life for life. Capital punishment. We have read that in Genesis 9. And so what do we learn from this? We learn that God regards the life of a child developing there in a mother's womb the same as an adult. In Genesis 9 we read there about if a man takes a life, then he is to forfeit his own life. That's exactly what we have here. If this child dies, then the person who caused that child's death will forfeit his own life. Capital punishment. Capital punishment. So there you have unequivocal proof God considers the unborn child as much a person as any other person and accords him the same rights and protection as others and from this scripture we can see clearly that God looks upon the child in the womb as a real person protected from injury than any other person. We've been looking at Zacharias and Elizabeth and how the Lord blessed Zacharias and Elizabeth with a child, John the Baptist. Before John was born, Elizabeth went to see Mary. And of course, Mary had been told that she would bear a child of the Holy Ghost. And when this was told to Elizabeth, we're told in Luke 1, verse 41, that the babe leaped in her womb. Now it doesn't say the fetus leaped in her womb. The babe leaped in her womb. Following on from that, we know how would-be mothers give a variety of reasons why they want an abortion, why they want their child killed. I read a story. Listen to this. A lecturer at a seminar on abortion confronted some medical students with the following case study. This is what he said to the students. The father has syphilis. The mother tuberculosis. They have had four children. The first is blind. The second died. The third is deaf and dumb. The fourth has tuberculosis. Now the mother is expecting her fifth child. The professor put it to the students in front of him. Now what should she do? What advice would you give her? She will have an abortion, he said, if you advise it. What would you advise, given these circumstances? Overwhelmingly, the medical students said they would advise the mother to have an abortion. The lecturer responded, saying, congratulations, you have just murdered Beethoven. In other words, that mother did have the child and the child turned out to be the great composer, Beethoven. And many Beethovens have been murdered in these clinics up and down the length and breadth of our land. Every child slaughtered in the womb is as precious and as real as a person as Beethoven. Thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not commit murder. So there is then Suicide, that's murder. Suicide, that's murder. Self-murder. It's always very sad to hear of any form of death, but I think especially of someone who commits suicide. Many who commit suicide do so when they are so mentally imbalanced and deeply depressed. Others commit this crime when they find themselves in what they regard as a hopeless situation. I read there recently of a man who stole an enormous amount of money because he owed a another enormous amount of money through his gambling habit. And he found in his eyes there was no way out. So he committed suicide. Paul and Silas, you recall, cried out to the Philippian jailer. He was about to commit suicide. He was in charge of the prisoners and there was an earthquake and all the doors and the gates of the prison opened and he thought all the prisoners had escaped and he was about to commit suicide Paul and Silas cried, I do thyself no harm we are all here that teaches us that the situation is not completely hopeless for anyone contemplating this There's always hope. There's always hope. There's hope in Christ. Praise the Lord, there's hope in Jesus Christ. If only people would turn to the Lord. So we have considered feticide, suicide, and homicide. We've looked at the command and the crime, and finally, the consequences. So what are the consequences of those who break the sixth commandment? What are the consequences facing those who commit murder? I can say, first of all, they are severe. Oh, the man who is captured as a suspect of committing murder He's tried and he's found guilty and he's sentenced to 20, 25 years in jail. And maybe in good behavior he'll be out in 15 or whatever. But God makes it clear what his sentence is for murderers. It will be a prison from which there will be no escape. It will be a sentence that will be without end. It will be a sentence for which there will be no appeal. It will be a sentence for the individual for which there will be no retrial. Did we read in Matthew 5? Verse 21, what the Lord Jesus said, Matthew 5, 21, Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill, and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment. What did Paul say? What did Paul tell the Hebrew believers? It is appointed unto men once to die after this. After this. There's judgment after death. After this, the judgment. Do you see all those murderers standing there before the throne of judgment? Do you see all those who were involved in the slaughter of children standing there with their hand dripping with the blood of countless innocent children? The judgment has come for them. And what will God say? Depart from me, ye cursed. into everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels. That's where the murderers are today. That's where they will be in the future. That's where they will be for all eternity. Revelation 21 and verse 8. but the fearful, and the unbelieving, and the abominable, and the murderers, and the murderers, and the whoremongers, and the sorcerers, and the idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone, which is the second death. They'll have their part. Consequences are severe. But we cannot finish by without saying, even for the worst murderer, there can be salvation. If we confess our sins, it is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. The blood of the Lord Jesus Christ has the power to cleanse a man or a woman from all sin, including murder. I told you before about the man I ministered to in the Maes prison outside Belfast. He had been sentenced to life for committing 13 murders. He had the blood of thirteen victims on his hands. But the Lord saved him. And amazingly, the Lord saved him because his little granddaughter was seriously ill. It's amazing. He murdered 13 people without a thought. And yet when his granddaughter became seriously ill and was lying in hospital, he said to me that Friday night, he said, would you pray for Stephanie? I said, I'll do that. I'll go and visit her. And I learned the next Tuesday I was sent for to go to the Crumlin Road prison. I went to Crumlin Road and there was this particular prisoner. And he came in and I couldn't believe the change there was in that man's life. So this was no empty profession. And he just said that that weekend he tried to make a deal with God and told the Lord that if he would save his granddaughter from dying, he would give his heart to the Lord. And he said, as it ended up, he said, whether she died or not, I was going to get right with God. And he did. There's power in the blood to cleanse from all sin. Thou shalt not kill. Thou shalt not commit murder. Let's bow our heads in prayer. O dear Lord, we come before Thee after considering such a solemn subject O Lord, we think of those today who are left behind because a loved one has been murdered. We think, Lord, of what's going on today in these clinics. O God, come and turn the minds and the hearts of people to how Canada needs revival. Lord, we pray that we will have learned something today from the word, from four simple words. Write them upon our hearts. Lord, be with us now throughout this day, we pray. By thy hand be upon us for good. Continue, Lord. to keep us all safe and healthy. Keep the plague, Lord, from our dwellings. And be with us now by the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit. Abide and remain with us now and forevermore. Amen.