Amen. Well, brothers and sisters, please remain standing and, uh, take your Bibles and open them to the chapter that we've been on for several weeks now. Proverbs eight Proverbs chapter eight. And before I read, uh, verse 32 through 36, let's ask the Lord's blessing upon us. Now, gracious father. Come and now attend your word in power and efficacy. Lord, use this scripture to inform our minds and direct our hearts. Deepen those rightful convictions, Lord. Give us a sense of justice, of truth, of moral duty. Lord, help us to see and understand that it is not safe to rebel against you. It is not safe, nor is it honorable, nor is it wise, oh God, to turn our backs to you and not acknowledge not only your rightful authority, but Lord, your rightful law. So Lord, come and Lord, bless us as we hear, as we listen, Lord, to this message, Lord, that is pertinent and applicable for our day and for this very moment. Lord, as we seek to bring the gospel light to this crime of abortion, we pray this in Christ's name. Amen. Verse 32, brothers and sisters, the word of God says, now, therefore, oh, sons, listen to me. For blessed are they who keep my ways, heed instruction and be wise and do not neglect it. Blessed is the man who listens to me, watching daily at my gates, waiting at my doorpost. For he who finds me finds life and obtains favor from the Lord, but he who sins against me injures himself. And all those who hate me love death. And thus ends the reading of God's word. You may be seated. As I have stated a couple of times now, this text of scripture to me rightly sets forth the problem of our day. The problem of our day is that men and institutions have turned their back on God and the effects or the consequences and the punishments of that rebellion has been a cultivation of a culture of death. The culture of death is the punishment of Almighty God. It's not that we're entering into this punishment or its future, we are in it and God has handed us as a nation over to our own depravity and it's on display every day. Particularly, For us, the reason I began this series was to address the opportunity that we have in the state of Georgia, which is to rid this nation or this state of this crime of abortion, this murder called abortion. Opportunity. Duty. We have an opportunity. There's a bill that's going before the Georgia legislators, the Equal Protection Act. So there's an opportunity for us to leverage our relationship, our support with these legislators, with these representatives, and to demand that they stand up for life. that they perform their God sworn given duties and stand as protectors of innocent life, that's all. We're not asking anything else. We're not demanding of them something that they have not sworn to do when they put their hand on the Bible and swore to the constitution to defend its principles and rules. And not to mention that divine moral right that civil magistrates have to the protection of all life under its care. So there's a opportunity and we wish to seize the opportunity. But there's also the duty. It's the duty that God's people have to be salt and light, that we have as God's children who have a dual role in this. Not only are we created in the image of God, that all men owe God service and obedience because he is their father by creation, but we have also an added duty and responsibility given to us because he's our savior. because he's established with us a covenant of grace. And we have a higher motivation to obey God because of his love, his mercy, his tenderness toward us as rebellious sinners who have been turned back to him and now rest in him in his son, Jesus Christ. putting our faith in his son as that propitiation, as that satisfaction for our sins, our sins being placed upon him. I mean, the gospel's at the heart of all of this. The gospel's at the very heart of our duty. Beating our chest and looking down upon all of these moral inferiors that's been suggested in articles written against our position We have taken a moral high ground But it's a moral high ground that God has established and it's high because it's God's hill and we stand on God's hill and we can do no other and So we are not embarrassed and nor do we or will we ever apologize for standing upon moral high ground. We should desire to do that. We should desire to stand on this moral high ground and be a salt and light to all. Now listen, I haven't said this, I don't think, At least clearly maybe in a lesson or two or Sunday or two. But I want to I want to I want to say I want to give another I want to give another plea to any woman either here or that's been that may listen to these sermons because people are listening to them. I understand That we cannot take for granted in our culture that this is minimal, that it hasn't touched many people. This has, we either know someone directly or someone outside of our circles of influence, but there's, there's brothers and sisters. You, you, you can't have over 60 million babies aborted over the last 50 years and it not touch some of us. That's a lot of, that's a lot of children. And my plea to these women that have done this is to come to Christ and find healing. You can be forgiven. There's mercy. God can forgive you and will forgive you if you call out to him and he will heal you. That's not to say that he will take away all the pain because sometimes he does leave certain things in our lives to always remind us of that moment as a motivation to us to continue on in faith and to be encouraged to pursue him So I don't ever want to be that person, that man, that preacher that comes across as unkind or unforgiving or in some way very harsh toward those women that have done this. That's just not true. I think as Christians and as a man myself who has been forgiven of much, by Almighty God that we ought to be forgiving of much and to recognize that this world is a very dark and dangerous and deceitful place. And that's the lies that have been propagated and I'll end it there. But I want us to know that this congregation, this place where the gospel is preached, where Christ is honored, where God is adored, There's healing here for those who have committed the act of abortion. There's healing here. On my drive up this morning, I noticed, and I don't have all the billboards memorized, but I've seen quite a few of them, and I've seen them over the year many times, and I recognize when billboards change. Well, I noticed a new one this morning. Just right outside of the Atlanta city limits as I was coming by up under the under overpasses there. Big green and white billboard that said, abortion is safe and legal in the state of New York. Now, I wonder, And I'm just speculating. Is that pressure being put on these Georgia representatives and the battle that's raging over this bill, this Equal Protection Act? Is that the superior state of New York looking down upon this southern city saying, listen, if you really want to own the title of progressive, Well then you need to have safe and lawful abortions in your state too. Now I don't know that to be true. But would it surprise you? It would not surprise me. And then there's the irony of the statement itself. Safe for who? Huh? Not for the child. and mostly not for the woman either. She's sort of forgotten about in this because she's just a political pawn, to be honest with you. She's just being leveraged politically, that's all. I saw this week one of the prescriptions I have come across my newsfeed that Suicide among women that have abortions is higher than it's ever been. That's not safe. They're not addressing and dealing with just not only the physical pain, but the psychological, the spiritual pain that comes with that grievous act and sin. So safe for who? We have to start calling spades, spades, wolves, wolves, jackals, jackals. It's not safe and it ought not be lawful. This morning as I am going to finish off the fifth commandment, I'm going to particularly focus upon the civil magistrate. Why? Well, because the commandment itself, as already stated, addresses and deals with all of those duties, right, all of those relationships, all of those duties and subsequent obligations flowing out of that commandment and the following commandments all are related to all of our relationships in life. It's the honor of authority. That's the essence of the fifth commandment is the honor of authority. Beginning with that basic essential nurturing authority of father and mother. You don't have to turn there but Just so you know where it is, because again, I don't want to take for granted that we do, but Exodus chapter 20 and verse 12 sets forth this commandment as does Deuteronomy chapter five. It is honor your father and mother. That's that basic natural. relationship that it begins with. Everything else flows from that. Honor your father and mother that your days may be prolonged in the land which the Lord thy God gives you. There's a commandment and then there's a motivation to obedience to the commandment. The commandment is honor father and mother. Honor authority. The motivation is that it may go well with you and that your days may be prolonged upon the land that the Lord thy God gives you. There's a motivation attached to that obedience of that commandment and it's a good one. Paul cites it in Ephesians six, when he brings the commandment back up, when he's addressing those domestic duties and civil duties. And he says, children, obey your parents in the Lord for this is right, which is the first commandment with a promise that it may go well with you and you have long life on the earth. The fifth commandment sits as the head of the second table of the law, as the first commandment sits as the head of the first table of the law. It's the head commandment of the second table and all of those other commandments are related to the fifth commandment, the honor and the honoring of authority. There's certainly some misunderstandings that circulate among Christians today, especially in times of national distress like we have. There seems to always be a discussion about the civil magistrate and what our role is to that civil magistrate. And it's not uncommon to find the misunderstanding promoted and argued and vehemently that the civil magistrate is nothing but a necessary evil. It's a necessary evil. It's just here because, well, we have to have it, and there's really no need for it, no use for it, and so we, you know, we don't want it. Well, we certainly don't want what we have. We certainly don't, when I say what we have, I'm talking about the tyranny and the treasonous actions of those that are in power that are supposed to be legislating for the good of the people rather than the hurt or the harm of the people. We certainly don't want that. We want the good. The fifth commandment sets forth the duty and recognizes that we are by God social creatures. We have been made and designed for relationships, certainly as children to fathers and mothers. As parents to husbands and wives and to children, sons and daughters. But it also flows into and extends out to the, well, the church as a ordained institution of God with its officers and with its congregants, roles, responsibilities, duties that we owe each to one another. And then it flows to the civil magistrate. The same way that there's a moral obligation, that there's a moral duty to what? That we are, I like what some of the American, our Reformed fathers understood this, and even those early American theologians in the 17th century, such as Samuel Willard, I know I quoted him a couple of times. Last week and I'll quote him some more this morning, but he's related to that. We are civic beings We are political Now you may you may ask yourself why is there always talk about religion and politics Well, mainly because God created us to be this way God created it for it to be important to us and God made us with an interest in those societies, in those establishments that have been given to us by God to foster and promote our well-being. Isn't your well-being interesting to yourself? I mean, don't you care? And I don't really have to go far into it in detail, for you to see how that's not the case in Washington and even not locally. There's a, certainly ought to be some concern for our blessed governor visiting the World Economic Forum. Ought to be, well, at least somewhat concerning. You know, before I launch into some biblical duties and responsibilities of the civil magistrate, as we talk about human welfare, when I say the word welfare, I'm not talking about its political use. What we have as political welfare is not welfare, it's slavery. It's slavery. When we talk about political or when we talk about welfare in its biblical understanding, in its normal, natural understanding, it's the welfare that enhances the person, the man and the woman, to be the image of God they've been created to be. And sometimes that requires help from various institutions and people and places in order to aid us to sort of maximize what we can, where we are with the gifts and talents and resources and time that we've been given so that we can be the image of God that we've been called to be. That's what it means to have welfare. That's what the home is about, isn't it? It is growing up these little men and women. so that they may be in the image of God, bring him glory, and that they may conduct themselves in a way that is good to themselves and to others. Now Proverbs 8 teaches us it is not safe to rebel against God. Nor is it good, it's not safe, it's dangerous to rebel against God. And when we do, whether as a person, or as a family, as a church, or as a society, we will bring to ourselves a culture of death. We will bring it, we will foster it, and it will continue to foster, it will continue to be fostered and fester and grow darker and darker and darker until we can come to our senses. I know that most of us have been certainly brought up understanding the role of the civil magistrate. I'm sure some of us haven't. I'm sure there's an opportunity there for many of us to learn and grow. But brothers and sisters, let me share with you a phrase, a Latin phrase, that is very popular among Reformed people during the time of the Reformation that might surprise some of us here this morning. That is, what is the goal? What's the end purpose? I know I'm taking the end and I'm putting it up front. When we talk about the civil magistrate and we talk about those duties that flow from the fifth commandment to the civil magistrate, what are their God-given responsibilities? The Latin phrase, I'm not going to even try to read it because I'd butchered up, but basically the English is this. Let the good of the people be the Supreme law. Let the good of the people be the Supreme law. Now, before you jump all over that, let me remind you, he's not talking about the Supreme law over God. He's talking about the moral law. What did our Lord Jesus teach us? To love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, mind, soul, and strength. That's the first. The second is likened unto it, is like it. That we should love our neighbors as ourselves. Turn with me to Matthew chapter seven. As I begin to go back and look at various, uh, divines Westminster divines and read some of their commentaries and sermons. Uh, I mean, most all of them bring this, these verses to bear and, and I want you to see it in this light. Look at, should I start? Before I get to verse 12, let's back up to verse seven. Let me just read the context there. Now notice he's talking about prayer. and he's gonna attach this golden rule to this aspect of prayer, so there's something connecting the two things. He says, asking it will be given to you. Seek and you will find, knock and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. Or what man is among you who when his son asks for a loaf will give him a stone? Or if he asked for a fish, he will not give him a snake, will he? Now, if you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly father, who is in heaven, give what is good to those who ask him? Now notice, before we get to the golden rule, what's Jesus just establish? Well, a motivation to pray. What's the motivation to pray? Ask and you will receive. Knock and it will be opened. That our heavenly father knows how to answer prayer rightly. That he knows how to give good gifts when we ask. Remember what James said about prayer. You have not because you what? Ask not. And when you do ask, you ask for all the wrong motivations. So keep that in mind. Now notice the golden rule is attached to this teaching on prayer. He says, in everything therefore, treat people the same way you want them to treat you for this is the law and the prophets. Now you don't say that this is the golden rule, that's what we've called it. He says, listen, do to others what you would have them do to you. It doesn't say wait for others to do to you and then do likewise to them. That's not what it says. It says go ahead and be first. Act, do to others as you would want them and desire them and pray for them to do to you. And notice the authority he attached to it. For this is the law and the prophets. This is the teaching of the Old Testament. Jesus is saying that the whole Old Testament is testifying to this fact. It's the authority of all of the Word of God stands behind this statement. You and I should act to others as we would hope in the future they would act to us. It's not reactionary. It's being proactive, right? Now, there's a direct correlation to that when civil magistrates will create laws, right? That these laws ought to be enacted and written in such a way that they foster what? True welfare and well-being to all of its citizens. Now brothers and sisters, the obvious is abortion does not do that. What motivation does a civil magistrate, what is it when we talk to our local representatives, how do we motivate them to act in a way that they are agents prescribed, ordained by God for the well-being and the good of the citizens. And look, that does not have anything to do with there's a group of people out there screaming and begging for death. It doesn't matter. They may desire death, but that's not a good thing. More on that later. The essence of this civil relationship, this familial relationship between parents and children and children and parents, between congregation, congregants and pastors and deacons and officers of the church and the congregation, one and others, if you will, as well as civil magistrates and citizens, all flow, all flow from the rule of love, love. Now, I know that sounds foreign. I'm sure when they took an oath of office in the state of Georgia, they didn't think, what are you saying, Pastor Stanfield? Are you saying I have to love my constituents? Yes, I'm saying that's what God says. What I'm telling you is based on the summary of the two commandments that our Lord gave us and based on that which we see as the golden rule to do unto others that the underlying bond of every relationship is love, every relationship. Even the person you meet in the store that you do not know that you pass by and say good morning, it's love. But let me show you something. Here's what's confusing about it. Those who are the most intimate in our circles and closest in our circles have the greatest bond of love that we owe, right? We owe those closest to us love. And that love as it's protection, as it's nurturing, as it's fostering, as it's encouraging, as it's rebuking, as it's admonishing, all of those things that come with a loving relationship, it starts in the home. Children, honor your father and mothers. Parents, nurture, educate, protect, defend the honor of your children. Honor them. That commandment does not negate the honor a parent has for the child, for their good name. And as that circle gets further and further away from us, The love is still love, but it's mitigated. It's weakened, if you will, just for the sake of explanation. And it goes out, and the further and further and further and further it gets, it's always love, but it's, again, manners. Manners, respect is an expression of love. You know, we used to do that around here. We used to foster manners. respectful replies, handshakes, hugs, or, you know, respecting someone's space, distance, respecting, you know, I mean, you know, I remember, now this is such a small thing, but it's caring for people, even in the smallest ways. You know, we talk about this, we just don't connect the dots. We talk about, hey, encouraging someone, say, hey, good morning. I know when somebody typically speaks to you, they don't expect a response back because we have such a rude culture. But I can't name how many times I have said, well, good morning to you. And they were like, wow, thank you. I mean, but why? They don't hear it. And I remember, you know, I was raised, you know, you're going to be, you look people in the eye. I mean, that's, I mean, I was raised not in a religious home, but certainly in a home that fostered manners is a very disciplined home. And, you know, you shake hands and you're looked at person. No, you're there. You look them in the eye. And that became sort of an idol in and of itself, because I didn't realize going forward that, you know, older people have arthritis. Yes. And I was embarrassed one day because I went to shake this man's hand for the second time and he drew back. He said, Oh no, no, no, no, no. He said, you hurt me the first time. And it, it just struck me. I didn't know. And I was just struck. I wouldn't want to, I wouldn't do that on purpose. But then I thought, you know what? It's not about the way I shake someone's hand. It's about letting them know you care about them. And I was just reminded as a very young man at the point in time, but at that point in time, I began to be very conscientious about people and their needs. Because what is that? That's love. Right? Understanding the differences. Understanding that everyone's not the same, but yet, brothers and sisters, as we get into this commandment, civil, the civil bonds, familial bonds, church bonds, all flow from love. All flow from love. Without love, there can be no true bond. There can be no true society. We can't all do our own thing and exist together, right? It doesn't work. It won't work. It's not working. So how do we encourage the civil magistrates to rise up and to take on a moral responsibility to foster the well-being of their people? Well, first of all, we can do this by recognizing what the Bible calls civil magistrates. what the Bible calls civil magistrates. And this is very important because again, if what we believe does not agree with scripture, the Bible tells us out of Isaiah that there's no light in what we believe. There's no good in what we believe, that it can't contradict scripture. Even our political philosophy cannot contradict scripture, and it should conform to it if it's going to be for the well-being and the welfare of its citizens. First of all, civil servants are styled in scripture as the heads, the heads. And you might think, well, okay. Well, first of all, That's a position, if you will, or office of great responsibility to be the head. It's like the head of the body, isn't it? Like the head of the body. Paul uses that same terminology in Ephesians chapter five, talking about the relationship with a man and a woman. In Ephesians 5 verse 29, Paul says, no man hates his own flesh. And for the head to act in a way that's contrary to the bond of love and the welfare, true welfare and well-being of the people is to act contrary even to his own safety and good. What typically happens to tyrants? They're overthrown. They're overthrown. In history, what have we seen? After hundreds of years of oppression, what do we find? We find some overthrow of government. They act contrary to themselves. They destroy themselves. They destroy their reputation. They destroy their livelihood, so to speak. And for generations, and it's not a good thing. In fact, here's what I would suggest. I'm just gonna throw this out there. I say we take all of the politicians on both sides that have enacted law, supported, encouraged laws that are against the good and welfare of the citizens of their state or country, this country, and I say we exile them to China. What do y'all think? Yeah. I say we pack them up. We pack them up, free one-way ticket, and we ship, we exile them, right? They're no longer welcome in this country, because they don't love it anyway. They don't care about it. Listen, for the civil magistrate that's doing nothing but filling their own bank account is not for the well-being and welfare of the citizens. It's all about greed and power. And so what we should do is send them to another country so they can exercise their greed and power all they want. But it's not and it shouldn't be welcome in a Christian country. Now I know that statement has gotten a lot weaker, but there's a lot of Christians in this country. And if they'd ever wake up, abortion wouldn't even be an issue. It wouldn't be an issue. There's a lot of, there is a lot of things in this country that would not be an issue if the Christian people would wake up. In Judges chapter 11 in verse nine, Japheth said to the elders of Gilead, he said, if you take me back to fight against the sons of Ammon and the Lord gives them up to me, will I become your head? The picture there is the citizens are the body, the magistrate is the head. A more endearing statement given to a civil magistrate is the term father. The term father. Where the magistrate is seen as a father or mother and the citizens are seen as the children. Turn to Joshua chapter seven and verse 19. Joshua chapter 7 verse 19, and then Joshua said to Achan, now Achan violated the covenant commandments of God and now he's being punished for it. He said, and Joshua was the civil magistrate, he says to Achan, my son, Notice the tenderness that he's even dealing with Achan even in this very very difficult moment. I implore you to give glory to the Lord the God of Israel and give praise to him and tell me now what you have done and did not hide it from me. In that text, there's a tenderness there that Joshua is dealing with Achan as he is asking for his confession of this crime of theft. There are others, 1 Samuel 24, 11, 2 Kings 5, 13. Another style is called, they're called shepherds. called shepherds. You know the head leads the body, the fathers and mothers nurture, protect, and defend children, and shepherds do the same for animals. Isaiah 44 verse 28 denotes the gentleness that they should have when they look for the good of the people and stand firm against those seeking to do harm. That's Isaiah 63 11 as well. And that's very convicting if you're a civil magistrate, because that's, these are pictures that the Bible uses to foster the duties and responsibilities of the civil magistrate. And I'm sure that these are, these are, these are word pictures that they have not thought of or have not seen, but yet this is how we as Christians should see them if they are not educated in this. They have a duty, what? To apply this love and to study the good of the people. They should seek God's blessing and help in serving the people. You know, I love the way, I love what England calls their magistrates, right? Ministers. Servants. Prime minister. If minister conveys the idea of servant, right, what does prime minister convey? The chief of servants. He's the prime servant. He's the servant of servants civilly to the citizens. Where did we get that? Romans chapter 13. Romans chapter 13, where Paul calls the political figure, what? A minister for good. This idea that, and again, this is another idea that's being fostered. Do we exist for the magistrate or does the magistrate exist for us? Well, the fifth commandment answers that question. The civil magistrates exist in God's world to carry out an order for the well-being and the welfare of God's people. And when I say people, I mean all men. It's a good thing, except when civil magistrates become tyrants and selfish and greedy. When I say selfish and greedy, look at the lobbyist. Look at the pharmaceutical companies, the hold it has on government. Look, look at the national right to life movement and the financial hold it has on the conservatives that are just clamoring to have the label pro-life next to their name when they're not. Not truly pro-life. Some get life, some don't. But who makes that choice? Who makes that decision? Who determines this? And have they been given the authority to determine that? No. They've been given the authority to exercise welfare and well-being, which, anticipates that they are going to utilize God's moral law in doing so because, again, what does Proverbs 8 teach us? That if we turn our back on God, that is not a safe and good thing. If our state representatives will not pass a bill abolishing abortion as a crime, the Equal Protection Act, then we should not expect favor and blessing moving forward, particularly when we have the opportunity to do so and people are scratching their head going, well, we can't vote for the Equal Protection Act because it will upset this demographic over here. Again, it goes back, when are we going to stop offending God? And forget about the lobbyists. I'm not convinced it's not about the money. I read a recent article that says, oh my, oh, how poor the national right to life. And I mean, they on average, anywhere from $3 to $5 million a year, they raise. I'm sure the local volunteers aren't getting that money. Civil magistrates must be careful to implement laws that do not offend God. Laws that are in accord with natural law, the moral law as set forth in the Ten Commandments will support God's favor and God's blessing moving forward. Proverbs chapter eight, the chapter that I read from this morning. Look at verse 15. By me, kings reign, and rulers decree justice. By me, princes rule and nobles, all who judge rightly. That's what's required. Isaiah chapter 10 and verse one, woe to them that decree unrighteous laws, because God will reject them, not the laws, them. Psalm 94 and verse 20, God rejects their fellowship. And he's talking about the civil magistrates who rule contrary to his will. Now, I know we have a lot of professing Christians down there in the Georgia representatives, among the Georgia representatives, and this ought to be concerning to them if they're Christians. There ought to be no law passed in this state or any state of this union that would implore, motivate, or encourage any citizen to break God's law. Abortion does that. There are a lot of naive young ladies. Well, it's legal, so it can't be wrong. We have to do a better job in being salt and light. Listen to Samuel Willard. To enact anything that is repugnant to the will of God and directly opposes a negative precept of the moral law, thou shalt not murder. which is given without limitation of expectation is utterly unlawful, even though civil magistrates declare it to be lawful. Samuel Willard says there's a higher magistrate, there's a higher judge who has nullified, vetoed that law. For the same reason, the light of nature is to be consulted and followed, and that general rule is well to be regarded in making laws as in any other thing." What's this general rule, this law of nature that he's talking about? Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. I love the quote by the late President Ronald Reagan. It's been passed around. you know, some of these conservative circles, but he said something to this effect, I may get it a little wrong, bear with me, be patient, kind. That he said it's interesting to him that the people that are all advocating for abortion have all been born. And I think there is some light to that. But I will say because we live in such a broken society and we are depraved, we come into this world darkened in love with sin and darkness that we've seen signs of these young ladies standing out there to say, and I wish my mom had aborted me. Where did they get that? That's indoctrination. That's brainwashing. That comes from the educational system. That comes from state education. That's not natural. And offensive to all people and to God mostly. That he put her in this world for a purpose, for a reason. And it's completely being squandered at the help of greedy tyrannical magistrates. No law should ever be accepted that tolerates evil. Nor any law that commands that God, what God forbids, that good may come from it. And I've heard this in some Christian circles too about rape and incest. And this is where conservatives get real squirrely, because that's the exception to the pro-lifers. Well, here, these babies, yes, they have a right to be born, but not these babies. Remember what I said early on, what is murder? Murder is the unjust taking of innocent life. We have to stop focusing upon the innocent and start focusing upon the guilty. I'm talking about the one that did the raping. I'm talking about the one that did the incest. Let's start there. Brothers and sisters, again, The Latin phrase, let the good of the people be the supreme of the law, or be the supreme law, it's not unbiblical. It's the second greatest commandment. And without the first great commandment, love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, mind, soul, and strength, you can't honor this commandment. Remember what I said, the first commandment, all the other commandments flow out of it. have no other gods before me. If we are truly God-loving people, we will be a people that loves culture and society and will seek to foster it to the good of Almighty God who's directed us. And what we should be as image bearers of God and how we should live. And we should demand our state and local representatives not to be contrary to it. Because to be contrary to the revealed rule of God is to bring about a culture of death. What does Proverbs 8 say? Those who sin against me harm themselves. and those who hate me love death. Let's pray. Almighty God, gracious heavenly Father, Lord Jesus, bring light to these words, Lord, not because they came from a man, but because Lord, they're from your word. And they are in agreement with the whole counsel of your word. Enlighten our minds, our hearts, give us a genuine, honest boldness that comes with knowing truth. And as we carry on with conversations, Lord, with our representatives, our local representatives, may we be as bold as lions. May we not shrink back from that duty, that obligation we have, Lord, to address this evil as evil, because it is offensive in your sight. It is a grievous sin and it breaks the fifth commandment as well as it does all the other commandments that we've looked at and we'll look at. Lord, it is a grievous sin in your sight. So we pray for the protection of those unborn preborn children. We pray, Oh Lord, that you would in even now today, as you have been work upon the heart of these representatives, Lord, the enemies that have circled their wagons, so to speak to attack representative Donahue, Lord, I pray that they would have their own arguments turned against them. And they will fail. They will fail. We pray for life, Lord. We pray, oh Lord, that our civil magistrates would rise to the occasion and do what they have been called to do for the good of the people, for the good of all of its citizens. and rid this state of this grievous, grievous sin. We pray this in Christ's name, amen.