Psalms 45:5

Thine arms are sharp in the heart of the King’s enemies: whereby the people fall under Thee.

Enemies turned into friends

I. The arrow of conviction. It is “sharp in the heart,” and is sure to kill the man. Where there is real conviction of sin the man is sure to become dead to what he was. If he were a profligate he now becomes a praying man; if a Pharisee, a self-loathing, self-despairing man; he will be humbled in the dust before God. This may explain the words, “Let the brother of low degree rejoice in that he is exalted,” as he is exalted when picked up from the dunghill of profligacy. And the Pharisee may rejoice that he is brought low. The two, meeting, may rejoice together for what God has done for them. There is a great variety of things the Lord turns into arrows. Dissatisfaction with self; the man gets into a pensive, moody state of mind, confesses himself unhappy, and begins to think the Christian the happiest man after all. The Lord may use this. Or the loss of a child may lead the mother to think about her own future state. What if it had been she who was taken. Or the loss of a friend, or husband, or wife, teaches the solemnity of death and the uncertainty of all human hopes. I have known men’s own bad conduct sometimes turned into an arrow of conviction; I have known instances; two young men engaged to go out one Sunday and swear all the oaths they could think of. These oaths were turned, the awfulness of it, into an arrow of conviction to the one; he was stopped, paralyzed, and could no longer go on. Then again men may see that, though much despised and spoken against, Christians are best off after all, There is no sudden conviction here, no terror; the arrow may enter the heart almost imperceptibly, so gently, that they can hardly tell the time when they were converted. It does not matter if you are really Christ’s now. Or affliction, loss of property--this oftentimes--has been used of God. And, very often, usually by the Word itself. So, then, whatever the means were, if we are but brought,, if the arrow of conviction has but entered the heart, whether suddenly from the bow of God’s truth, whether from your own thoughts, whether from loss of friends, or property, or affliction, or whatever may be the means, if the conviction be but there, then thou art saved, for my text says, “Whereby the people fall’ under Thee.” This is sure to be the effect, only there must be this personal wounding more or less, this personal conviction, so as to bring you down to pray for yourself. For note--

II. The sure effect.

“The people fall under Thee.” Under the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the very Son of God. (James Wells.)

The arrows of Zion’s King, sharp in the hearts of His enemies, and the people falling in subjection under Him

I. Inquire who may be said to be Christ’s enemies. In general we may observe that He has as many enemies as there are devils in hell and irregenerate men upon earth. Should it then be inquired, What way do men evidence their enmity at Christ? We answer--

1. By setting up their own wisdom and carnal reasoning in opposition to the revelation He has made of His Father’s will to us in the Gospel.

2. By refusing to submit to His righteousness revealed in the Gospel (Romans 10:3).

3. By declining His yoke, and refusing to take on His burden.

4. By neglecting and despising His ordinances.

5. By persecuting His servants and people, both by tongue and hand.

6. By unbelief.

7. By raising, propagating and defending error.

8. By apostatizing from Christ after professing subjection to Him and kindness for Him.

9. By affecting to be neither His friends nor His foes; they do not choose to oppose religion, and as little can they think to be seen taking part with it. There are many other ways whereby the natural enmity of the heart exerts itself against Christ, which we cannot insist upon; such as resting on a form of godliness without seeking acquaintance with the power of it; living in the neglect of known duty when the Lord gives them an opportunity to perform it. Taking up with the hope of the hypocrite, and retaining a heart enmity to Christ under the cloak of pretended friendship. This is, indeed, a way of exerting the enmity of the heart against Christ, that eludes the eye of man; but He sees it, who will in a little make all the Churches know that “He searches the hearts and tries the reins of the children of men.”

II. Speak of that work of Christ which consists in his making his enemies become his friends by means of the gospel.

1. When our Lord Jesus is about to bring a person into u state of friendship with Himself, He convinces the man of the sinfulness of his condition, persuading him both of the reality of his enmity against Him, and the danger to which he is exposed on account of it.

2. Our Lord having thus convinced the sinner of his sin, He also shows him the danger to which it exposes him, letting him see that they who do the things with which He stands chargeable are worthy of death.

3. As our Lord Jesus convinces the man of his danger on account of his sin, He also causes him to see the vanity and fruitlessness of every attempt he is ready to make in order to recommend himself to the Divine favour by his own works of righteousness.

4. The Spirit of God enlightens the mind of the convinced and awakened sinner in the knowledge of Christ; He destroys the veil of ignorance: wherewith the man’s understanding was covered, and shines into his heart, giving him the light of the knowledge of the glory of God as it is displayed in the person of our glorious Immanuel.

5. Christ having made Himself known to the sinner, the Spirit apprehends the man for Christ, works faith in his heart, with all the other saving graces which are inseparably connected with it; and having implanted faith in the soul by means of the promise, He draws it forth into exercise SO as that the soul is brought actually to embrace the Saviour and close with Him.

III. Offer some thoughts upon the effect of that work which consists in Christ’s making his enemies become his friends.

1. A real sense of the person’s error and mistake in taking up the weapons of rebellion against God.

2. Falling in subjection under Christ includes in it faith’s views of forgiveness, notwithstanding all the provocations the man sees himself chargeable with.

3. A sinner’s falling under Christ by kindly subjecting the heart and soul to Him, has in it a holy blushing and confusion of face on account of sin the man has done.

4. This falling under Christ includes in it a cordial renouncing and giving up with every other lord and lover lisa. 26:13).

5. It includes a hearty embracing of, and closing with, Christ as our Saviour, Head and Husband.

6. It has in it a solemn giving up of the Whole man unto Christ, to be saved by Him, and also to serve Him.

IV. The application.

1. Of information.

(1) We may see from this subject the woeful condition which all men are in by nature; they are enemies to God in their minds, and daily discovering they are so in their life and conversation (Colossians 1:21).

(2) We may see that men are not only enemies to God, but obstinately so; they are disposed to continue in that unhappy condition until Divine power is exerted in their behalf.

(3) We may see the kindness and love of God toward sinners of mankind in devising means to have them brought back into a state of favour and friendship with Himself.

(4) We may see the power and efficacy of the Word of Christ when accompanied by the Spirit.

(5) We may see that there is no standing it out against the Captain of salvation; His arrows are sharp and piercing. All must either bow to Him, and yield Him the subjection of faith, or be broken by the iron rod of His irresistible power.

(6) We may from this subject infer the safety and preservation of the Church and every particular believer. Zion’s’ King is a man of war; He fights for Mount Zion and the hill thereof. He is never at a loss to strike a blow with success upon His adversaries; for strong is His hand, and high is His right hand.

2. Of examination. Have you really seen the contrariety of your nature and practice to the image, will, and holy law of God? Has the Holy Spirit convinced you of sin, because ye believed not on the only begotten Son of God? Have you really received Christ Jesus the Lord in all His offices?

3. Of exhortation.

(1) We exhort such of you as are brought over to Christ, by the all-conquering power of His Spirit and grace, to bless the Lord, that ever He was pleased to make a saving revelation of His powerful arm to you, determining you to give up with the service of sin and Satan, and take on the yoke of Christ.

(2) We exhort you, who have had, it may be, some experience of what is affirmed concerning the arrows of Christ in the text, but have not as yet been brought to fall under Him, in a kindly manner, taking Him as the Captain of your salvation; we intreat you to beware of stifling your convictions and quenching the motions of the Holy Spirit.

(3) We exhort all who may be labouring under convictions to be on their guard against giving way to despondency or despair, though for the present you may not see anything but blackness, darkness and tempest, attended with the trumpet sounding loudly from Mount Sinai; yet you know not how soon the day may break and the shadows flee away.

(4) It may, perhaps, be the case with some that they cannot say but they have had some convictions; yet they have not had experience of so many strong and lasting convictions as they have heard and read of in the case of others, and so labour under doubts and fears whether or not they are yet brought over to Christ. If Christ be precious to you, if your souls cleave to the covenant of promise in faith and love; and if sin be the object of your real hatred, you have reason to conclude you are passed from death to life and shall never come into condemnation.

(5) We exhort you who are yet in the camp of Satan, and so acting the part of enemies to Zion’s King to consider the sinfulness of your conduct. You are engaged in a most unrighteous, dangerous and soul-ruining war. (T. Bennet.)

The Saviour’s conquests in the hearts of His enemies

I. Who are the enemies with whom the Saviour carries on a strife of mercy in seeking to subdue them unto Himself? They are mankind at large, all men by nature. And every believer was once His enemy and the bond-servant of sin. To this point our view can never be too stedfastly or too intensely directed. For until we see the guilt, the shame, the destitution, the ingratitude, the misery, and (if God interfere not to save), the hopelessness of every natural man’s rebellion against his Maker, and the suicidal hand with which, in this dreadful treason, he is striking at every interest of his own soul as the soldier of Satan, and the slave of sin, he can have no saving view of a Redeemer; he cannot know the love of Christ which passeth knowledge; he cannot be filled with all the fulness of God.

II. Against these enemies what are the weapons employed, and with what success? They are the arrows of God in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, sharp in the heart of the King’s enemies, whereby the people fall under Him. They are so called from the suddenness, the secrecy and the swiftness of their motion. And every one of the arrows of Christ, piercing and penetrating as they all are, is taken from the same exhaustless quiver, brought by the victorious Lamb from heaven, wherewith to subdue His enemies. And whereof are they made? Feather, shaft and point, they are wholly and entirely love, pure, unimaginable, undeserved, unconditional, everlasting love. These arrows probe the wound that hath been slightly healed by the deceitfulness of sin, and probe it to the quick. They force the humbled transgressor toffee from himself and take refuge in the righteousness of Christ. Oh, it is a wonderful process, and as sure as it is wonderful, whereby that arrow of the Word, when it reaches a sinner, alters the whole mass of the mind’s affections, that he can no more stay himself up in the chariot of his guilty battle against God, but is carried forth that he may be “dead indeed unto sin.” If I should strike a rock of marble or adamant with an arrow, and see it cleft, and gushing out with water, I must needs imagine some wonderful and secret virtue to have wrought an effect so strange. Now, our hearts are of themselves harder than the nether millstone. When, therefore, the arrows of the love of Christ strike them so mightily, yet so tenderly, and transforms the soul into His nature, who can question whence it comes and where the glory ought to be? But, while there are these arrows of love, there are also arrows of wrath in a quiver of judgment for obdurate sinners. What these are may we never know. (J. P. Buddieom, M. A.)

Effective soul archery

(Psalms 45:5):--There was something very fascinating about the archery of olden times. Perhaps you do not know what they could do with the bow and arrow. Why, the chief battles fought by the English Plantagenets were with the longbow. They would take the arrow of polished wood and feather it with the plume of a bird, and then it would fly from the bowstring of plaited silk. The broad fields of Agincourt and Solway Moss and Neville’s Cross heard the loud thrum of the archer’s bowstring. Now, we have a mightier weapon than that. It is the arrow of the Gospel; it is a sharp arrow; it is a straight arrow; it is feathered from the wing of the dove of God’s Spirit; it flies from a bow made out of the wood of the Cross. As far as I can estimate or calculate, it has brought down four hundred million souls. Paul knew how to bring the notch of that arrow on to that bowstring, and its whirr was heard through the Corinthian theatres, and through the courtroom, until the knees of Felix knocked together. It was the arrow that stuck in Luther’s heart when he cried out, “Oh, my sins! Oh my sins!” If it strike a man in the head it kills his scepticism; if it strike him in the heel it will turn his step; if it strike him in the heart, he throws up his hands as did one of old when wounded in the battle, crying, “O Galilean, Thou hast conquered!” (T. De Witt Talmage.)