CHAPTER XX. THE SIXTH COMMANDMENT. THOU SHALT NOT KILL. THIS commandment, as well as others, was greatly TH perverted by the traditions and glosses of the Scribes and Pharisees. So when our Saviour came, the design of a part of his teaching was to rescue it from perversion: "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; but I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment; and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council; but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell-fire," Matt. v. 21, 22. The general scope of this teaching of our Lord is to show that not only actual murder is thus forbidden, but also all that leads to it. A few preliminary remarks seem to be called for. 1. The command reads, "Thou shalt not kill;" and upon the face of it, we seem to be prohibited from taking the life of any creature. But other Scriptures inform us, that it is lawful for us to eat the flesh of beasts, birds, and fishes. Thus God says to Noah, "Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given thee all things," Gen. ix. 3. This grant is the more remarkable as it was not made until more than 2300 years after the creation. The New Testament fully sustains this grant to Noah. Our Lord himself partook of animal food, Luke xxiv. 42. And Paul says, "I know and am persuaded by the Lord Jesus that there is nothing unclean of itsel," Rom. xiv. 14. And again, "Whatsoever is sold in the shambles, that eat, asking no questions for conscience' sake," 1 Cor. x. 25. And again, "Every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving," 1 Tim. iv. 4. So that it is clear that we are not forbidden to take the life of animals for food. Nor is it wrong to take the life of animals which are dangerous or ravenous. By miracle David slew a bear and a lion; and Paul shook off the serpent into the fire. The law of self-preservation fully justifies our destruction of noxious animals. But lest this liberty be misunderstood, it is proper to state that all cruelty to the brute creation is clearly forbidden. Durham: "God once made a dumb ass to rebuke the madness of a prophet," Num. xxii. 28. "A righteous man regardeth the life of his beast." The emperor Domitian began his career of crime and cruelty by torturing flies with a bodkin. Benedict Arnold, when a lad, delighted in tormenting calves, colts, and lambs, thus preparing for his end of infamy. 2. There are three reasons why we are bound to be careful of human life. The first is, that mankind are our brethren and our flesh. Gen. xxxvii. 27; Isa. lviii. 7; Acts xvii. 26, 28. Nature ought to move, and if we were not sadly depraved, would mightily move us in this direction. The second is, that God made man in his own image. Gen. ix. 6. Although by the fall, man has lost the moral image of God, yet he still has his natural image, consisting in his intellectual nature, which though marred is not destroyed. A third reason is, a clear and explicit command of God, hedging about human life with great care, as in this commandment, and often elsewhere; so that God requires that every beast that shall shed the blood of man shall itself be slain. Gen. ix. 5; Ex. xxi. 28. 3. Important as is the preservation of our own lives and the lives of our fellow-men, yet we are not at liberty to use unlawful means for that purpose. We may not lie, or steal, or swear falsely, or deny God's truth, even to save life, our own or that of others. Gen. xii. 12, 13; Rom. iii. 8; 1 Tim. i. 19, 20. Honour, truth, and conscience are worth more than life. It was the devil (and not God) who said: "Skin for skin, yea, all that a man hath will he give for his life." Job ii. 4. 4. There is nothing in this command forbidding us to take the life of men, who are seeking our lives, if we have no other way of escaping their malicious plots. This was clearly settled just after giving the moral law from Sinai. "If a thief be found breaking up, and be smitten that he die, there shall no blood be shed for him." Ex. xxii. 2. Our Lord, himself, may allude to this law as of force in his day. Matt. xxiv. 43. The reason of the law is, that there is always a strong presumption that a house-breaker will commit murder, if necessary to effect his nefarious designs. Nearly the whole Christian world has united in de claring the right of self-defence against murderous assaults. 5. Nor is there anything in this command prohibiting war, when necessary for the defence of a nation, or for the recovery of unquestioned rights. Gen. xiv. 13-16; Ex. xvii. 8-12; Judges v. 23; 1 Sam. xxx. 3-20, &c. John the Baptist called upon soldiers to "do no violence, and accuse no man falsely, but be content with your wages," Luke iii. 14; but he never hinted to them that their calling was unlawful. Our Lord also greatly commended the faith of the centurion, but never called on him to renounce his profession. Luke vii. 8, 9. While all this is so, the world ought not to forget what Dwight says: "Aggressive war is nothing but a complication of robbery and murder;" and what Robert Hall says: "War is nothing but a temporary repeal of all the principles of virtue." We are also warned in Scripture that war is full of terrors and horrors. The prophet Isaiah thus describes war: "Howl ye, for the day of the LORD is at hand; it shall come as a destruction from the Almighty. Therefore shall all hands be faint, and every man's heart shall melt; and they shall be afraid; pangs and sorrows shall take hold of them; they shall be in pain as a woman that travaileth; they shall be amazed one at another; their faces shall be as flames. Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate: and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it. For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light; the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her and if we were not sadly depraved, would mightily move us in this direction. The second is, that God made man in his own image. Gen. ix. 6. Although by the fall, man has lost the moral image of God, yet he still has his natural image, consisting in his intellectual nature, which though marred is not destroyed. A third reason is, a clear and explicit command of God, hedging about human life with great care, as in this commandment, and often elsewhere; so that God requires that every beast that shall shed the blood of man shall itself be slain. Gen. ix. 5; Ex. xxi. 28. 3. Important as is the preservation of our own lives and the lives of our fellow-men, yet we are not at liberty to use unlawful means for that purpose. We may not lie, or steal, or swear falsely, or deny God's truth, even to save life, our own or that of others. Gen. xii. 12, 13; Rom. iii. 8; 1 Tim. i. 19, 20. Honour, truth, and conscience are worth more than life. It was the devil (and not God) who said: "Skin for skin, yea, all that a man hath will he give for his life." Job ii. 4. 4. There is nothing in this command forbidding us to take the life of men, who are seeking our lives, if we have no other way of escaping their malicious plots. This was clearly settled just after giving the moral law from Sinai. "If a thief be found breaking up, and be smitten that he die, there shall no blood be shed for him." Ex. xxii. 2. Our Lord, himself, may allude to this law as of force in his day. Matt. xxiv. 43. The reason of the law is, that there is always a strong presumption that a house-breaker will commit murder, if necessary to effect his nefarious designs. Nearly the whole Christian world has united in de |