Revelation: Witness, Judgment, and the Throne

A Holy War

Transcript: AI Transcript

Professor: John Weaver

Subject: New Testament Studies

Genre: Sermon

Dictation Name:

Date: 2022-03-12

Synopsis: Pastor John Weaver expounds Psalm 45:1-5, arguing that the passage depicts Jesus Christ as a divine warrior king engaged in a holy war. He distinguishes this from unholy human wars of conquest and Islamic jihad. The sermon focuses on the 'arrows' of the King, which represent both arrows of deliverance (conviction leading to salvation) and arrows of destruction (judgment upon the unrepentant). Weaver emphasizes that true conversion requires painful conviction of sin, and that Christ's victory ensures both the willing submission of His people and the forced subjugation of His enemies.

[John Weaver] 45 Psalm 45 and We're going to read the first five verses Psalm 45 the title of the message is a holy war a Holy war notice Psalm 45 beginning there with verse 1 My heart is indicting a good matter I speak of things which I have made touching the King. My tongue is the pen of a ready writer. Thou art fairer than the children of men. Grace is poured into thy lips.

[John Weaver] Therefore God hath blessed thee forever. Gird thy sword upon thy thigh, O Most Mighty, with thy glory and with thy majesty. And in thy majesty ride prosperously because of truth and meekness and righteousness. shall teach thee terrible or awesome things. Thine arrows are sharp in the heart of the king's enemies, whereby the people fall under thee." So the title of the message is, A Holy War. The first question we should ask, can war be holy?

[John Weaver] And the answer is yes, and in a number of ways. But obviously, when I'm talking about war, I am not referring to jihad, the Muslim definition of a holy war, for absolutely nothing is holy about their wars. If you remember John Bunyan, he is the author of Pilgrim's Progress. He is also the author of numerous other books, one of which is entitled The Holy War. And I mentioned to you previously that most wars are absolutely unholy, ungodly, and unbiblical, because most wars arise out of conquest, a desire to conquer, dominate, subjugate, plunder, possess, and confiscate.

[John Weaver] And I would just say that the attitude of our modern day politicians is simply this, you have it, we want it. If you don't give it to us, we'll take it. So that's not just national politics, that is also international politics. If you do not believe that, I would challenge you to read the book, Confessions of an Economic Hitman by John Perkins. That book is also on audio now, and you may listen to it. But John Perkins was an economic hitman, and he tells exactly how we conquer other countries.

[John Weaver] He goes in there and says the first thing we try to do is get them in debt. And if they do not fall for the debt so that we can confiscate their resources, then we assassinate their leaders. If that doesn't work, then we have a real war with them, until we get exactly that which we want. So our wars today mostly are not defensive wars. They are offensive wars, and they are designed to dominate and subjugate. However, when you look in Psalm 45, you're going to find that there is a holy war that goes and is accomplished by our Lord, because our Lord is a warrior. If you look in verse 4, He said, And in thy majesty ride prosperously, because of truth, and meekness, and righteousness.

[John Weaver] And thy right hand shall teach thee terrible things. I will hasten to point out that in this passage we're talking about the Lord Jesus Christ. However, David's son was Solomon. Solomon was a type of Christ, and Christ is actually the fulfillment of that There is in the Bible that which is known as prophetic telescoping, where you're looking at one individual, but you have to look beyond that other individual and see the true individual. And our Lord in Matthew 12 and verse 42 said this,"...the queen of the south shall rise up in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it. For she came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold, greater than Solomon is here." So Jesus Christ is the greater Solomon. When you look in Matthew chapter 1 and verse 1, that verse says this, the book of the generations of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham. So Jesus Christ then is the true seed of David, not Solomon, and He is also the true Son of Abraham.

[John Weaver] Now if there is any doubt as to whom Psalm 45 is referring, you should look at verses 6 and 7, and then be ready to turn in your Bibles to Hebrews chapter 1. So, Psalm 45 verse 6, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever. The scepter of thy kingdom is a right scepter. Thou lovest righteousness, and hatest wickedness. Therefore thy God hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows. So if you will look in your Bibles, holding Psalm 45, to the book of Hebrews chapter 1, at verses 8 and 9, Hebrews 1, verses 8 and 9. And notice, if you would please, what the Word of God says. Hebrews 1, verse 8.

[John Weaver] Now we're talking about the Lord Jesus. But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever. A scepter of righteousness is the scepter of thy kingdom. Thou hast loved righteousness and hated iniquity, Therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows." So clearly, in Hebrews 1, you have Psalm 45, verses 6 and 7, applied directly to the Lord Jesus Christ.

[John Weaver] He is the true warrior king. Now, if you would look in your Bibles to the book of Revelation 6, and then we're going to go to Revelation 19. Revelation chapter 6 verses 1 and 2. We're still trying to show you the warrior king. The Bible says in verse 1 of Revelation 6, And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come and see. Now look closely at verse 2, And I saw, and behold, a white horse.

[John Weaver] And he that sat on him had a bow, and a crown was given unto him, and he went forth conquering, and to conquer." Now if you will study some of the commentaries on the book of Revelation, you will find that there are certain commentators that will say the man on the white horse with the bow that goes forth conquering and to conquer is the Antichrist. I do not believe that for one second. I believe the man in verse 2 is none other than the Lord Jesus Christ.

[John Weaver] Now I want you to listen to me very carefully. It is true that the book of Revelation is full of symbolism. And you really cannot understand the book of Revelation without understanding the book of Daniel and the book of Ezekiel as well. But although the book of Revelation is full of symbolism, the symbolism is consistent. It does not change figures, neither does it change persons. So if you will look in your Bibles, Revelation chapter 19, and interestingly enough the white horse is only mentioned twice in the book of Revelation. And you're going to find who the rider of the white horse is right here. Revelation 19 verse 11, notice, And I saw heaven open, and behold a white horse.

[John Weaver] And he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, And in righteousness he doth judge and make war. His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns. And he had a name written that no man knew but he himself. And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood, and his name is called the Word of God. And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean.

[John Weaver] And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations, and he shall rule them with a rod of iron. And he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness of the wrath of Almighty God. And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords." So here, obviously, the rider on the white horse is indeed the Lord Jesus Christ.

[John Weaver] And it's the same person, I believe, back in Psalm 45. Now, if you look at Psalm 45, I believe the context will show you that the king in view is none other than Jesus Christ. For he says in verse 1, My heart is indicting a good matter. I speak of things which I have made touching the king. Now, if you look in verse 2, here's the same king now.

[John Weaver] Thou art fairer than the children of men. Grace is poured into thy lips, therefore God hath blessed thee forever." So here the king is fairer than the children of men because the Lord Jesus Christ, although He is the Son of Man, He is also the Son of God. He says, Grace is poured into thy lips, therefore God hath blessed thee forever. May I remind you of John 3 and verse 34 which speaks of Jesus Christ, and it says this, For he whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God, For God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto him. So grace is really poured into his lips, and he does not receive a measure of the Spirit, but all of the Spirit.

[John Weaver] Now, if you look in verse 3, you'll see there is a preparation for war. Gird thy sword upon thy thigh, O Most Mighty, with thy glory and thy majesty. It's interesting as you read through the Old Testament, especially with David. Anytime he's about to go to battle, he'd look at his men and said, gird on your swords. That is, we're going to fight. Get ready to fight.

[John Weaver] Well, that's exactly what is happening here. He is girding on his sword.

[John Weaver] Now, watch verse 4 if you would. Verse 4 demonstrates the absolute success of our Lord's campaign. He said, And in thy majesty ride prosperously, Why? Because of truth and meekness and righteousness. Thy right hand shall teach thee terrible or awesome things."

[John Weaver] Now, interestingly, the Hebrew word for prosperously here means to be successful. It means to complete a campaign successfully, or to end the campaign victoriously. So he's going to ride prosperously, he is going to succeed. He is not going to fail. He never loses any of his battles.

[John Weaver] Now, I will tell you it is verse 5 that caught my attention as I was reading through this psalm. So if you will look at verse 5, he said, Thine arrows are sharp in the heart of the king's enemies, whereby the people fall under thee.

[John Weaver] Now there are several things I want you to note about verse 5 before I start explaining it. First of all, the word eras is plural. He says, thine eras. So our Lord then has a multitude of eras, and those eras are designed for certain things. For instance, I used to be an archer. I still am in some sense of the word, not like I used to be. And an archer has all various kinds of errors available to him. There are target errors. There are hunting errors. There are blunted errors.

[John Weaver] Even when I was a boy and I was making my own bow and arrows, when I wanted to shoot a squirrel, I would not use a target tip, but I would take a spent casing of a.38 tap it on the end of an arrow, and I'll just use it to knock him out, that kind of thing, or knock him out of the tree. It's just a blunted arrow. An interesting thing is this. There are also flu-flu arrows, and I used to have some of them a long time ago, but a flu-flu arrow is something like this. It's an arrowhead that goes on the shaft, and it'll spin, and it's designed to shoot a bird out of the air. It actually catches the bird and twists him and brings him down to the ground. There's all kinds of eras that are even available. Of course, today you've got exploding eras and all this. But, you know, when you think about eras, the Lord has different kinds of eras. Let me show you.

[John Weaver] Look in your Bibles to Ezekiel 5, whole Psalm 45. We're coming back to the book of Psalms just momentarily. But look at Ezekiel 5, and let's begin reading there with verse 15. Ezekiel 5, and verse 15. It's interesting because our Lord speaks of famine, He speaks of pestilence, He speaks of wild beasts, as eras. For instance, Ezekiel 5, notice verse 15. The Bible says, So it shall be a reproach, and a taunt, an instruction, and an astonishment unto the nations that are round about thee. When I shall execute judgments in thee in anger and in fury, and in furious rebukes, I the Lord have spoken it. Now watch. When I shall send upon them the evil arrows of famine, which shall be for their destruction, and which I will send to destroy you, and will increase the famine upon you, and will break your staff of bread, so will I send upon you famine and evil beasts, and they shall bereave thee, and pestilence and blood shall pass through thee, and I will bring the sword upon thee, I the LORD have spoken it."

[John Weaver] So he's talking about evil arrows, and in the context he's talking about famine, he's talking about wild beasts, he's talking about pestilence, he's talking about the sword, but they are referred to as evil arrows. And if you will turn back in your Bibles to the book of Psalms, Psalm 18, And look, if you would please, at verse 14. Psalm 18 and verse 14. Look at what the Scripture says. "'Yea, he sent out his arrows and scattered them, and he shot out lightnings and discomfited them.'" So here his arrows are lightnings.

[John Weaver] And, of course, you can do a lot of things with a lightning strike. So look in Psalm 77, Psalm 77, and notice if you would, verses 17 and 18. Psalm 77, verse 17. Here's an interesting thought. He said, the clouds poured out water. The sky sent out a sound. We're talking about a flood. Thine arrows also went abroad. the voice of thy thunder, and in the heavens and the lightnings lighted the world, and the earth trembled and shook." So now we're talking about eras that involve the weather. We're talking about droughts. We're talking about floods. We're talking about tornadoes. We're talking about hurricanes. And they're called eras. Thine eras also went abroad. So the first thing you need to notice in Psalm 45 and verse 5 is the plurality of the eras. There are in the multitude of eras that are available to the divine archer. If you'll look back to Psalm 45, here's the second thing you should note about verse 5, and that is simply that it's not just a plurality of eras, but also the target for the eras.

[John Weaver] He said, Thine eras are sharp in the heart of the king's enemies. So those eras are shot, to the heart, and they are sharp. The third thing that you should notice in verse 5 is the result or the consequence resulting from the divine archer, and that is, the people fall under thee. Look at it. Thine arrows are sharp in the heart of the king's enemies, whereby the people fall under thee.

[John Weaver] In other words, our Lord is victorious. He conquers. He subdues. He dominates.

[John Weaver] Now, although we're talking about a plurality of eras, I just want to point out two specific eras that we can read about in the Word of God. First of all, there are eras of deliverance, an era of deliverance.

[John Weaver] Now, when you think about deliverance, You don't necessarily think of war and pain. You think of being delivered. But I want you to see something. Hold Psalm 45 and turn in your Bibles to 2 Kings chapter 13. 2 Kings chapter 13. Elisha is dying and King Joash comes to visit him. And it's interesting what Joash says to Elisha, the man of God. 2 Kings 13, beginning there with verse 14, Now Elisha was fallen sick of the sickness whereof he died. And Joash the king of Israel came down unto him, and wept over his face, and said, O my father, my father, the charity of Israel, and the horsemen thereof.

[John Weaver] Now let me just stop right there. Do you know what Elisha said when the Lord parted he and Elijah, Elijah into heaven by a whirlwind." You know what Elisha said? My Father, My Father, the charity of Israel, and the horsemen thereof. You know what he's saying? And this is what Joash is saying to Elisha, that the true protection of a people is in the Lord and in His Word, His prophets who preach and teach His Word.

[John Weaver] If God does not protect us, we are not protected no matter what we have. So Joash now comes down and he weeps over Elisha. Watch verse 15, And Elisha said unto him, Take bow and arrows. And he took unto him bow and arrows. And he said to the king of Israel, Put thine hand upon the bow. And he put his hand upon it. And Elisha put his hands upon the king's hands.

[John Weaver] And he said, Open the window eastward. And he opened it. Then Elisha said, Shoot. And he shot. And he said, The arrow of the Lord's deliverance. and the arrow of deliverance from Syria, for thou shalt smite the Syrians in Aphek till thou hast consumed them. And he said, Take the arrows, and he took them. And he said to the king of Israel, Smite upon the ground, and he smoked thrice, and stayed. And the man of God was wroth with him, and said, Thou shouldest have smitten five or six times. Then hast thou smitten Syria till thou hast consumed it, whereas now thou shalt smite Syria but thrice.

[John Weaver] But note, here is my point. Although this was called the era of deliverance, it still involved war. It still involved suffering. It still involved pain.

[John Weaver] Now, all you have to do is understand this. Anytime there's deliverance, there's always pain and suffering. All you have to do is read the book of Judges. So many times they sinned against God, and they were suffering, and then God raised up a judge who delivered them, and there was always war. So, although there is pain and suffering, we understand it is sometimes necessary in order to be delivered.

[John Weaver] It's like cancer in the body. You do not want to face surgery. No one wants to face surgery. But if you have cancer in your body, it is willing, a surgery is willing to be endured. It's necessary sometimes to cut out the cancer. And so this is the way it is with deliverance.

[John Weaver] Now, the era of deliverance, so to speak, perspective of the Word of God is an era of conviction. Let me tell you that conviction is very painful and very distressful, yet it's absolutely necessary. The truth of the matter is no one will ever be converted without being convicted. If you've never been convicted of your sins, then you've never really genuinely been converted. You remember what our Lord said in Matthew chapter 9, when those Pharisees came up and complained to His disciples, saying, Thy master is eating with publicans and sinners. And our Lord said, They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick.

[John Weaver] Go ye and learn what that meaneth. So as long as you think you're whole, you'll never come to the Lord Jesus Christ. It's only when you realize how desperately sick you really truly are that you'll seek the great physician. I've told you many times that the word heart refers to the mind. It refers to the understanding. It refers to what you and I would call the conscience. So when our Lord then intends an era of deliverance, He always sends that era of deliverance, which is conviction, into our heart.

[John Weaver] And the Bible says that we are by nature enemies of the King. That's why the Bible says we're dead in trespass and sin. That's why the Bible said, for if when we were enemies, we were reconciled unto God by the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. So, he sends this arrow of conviction. And may I remind you that when Peter was preaching in Acts chapter 2, the Bible said his hearers were pricked in their hearts. When Stephen was preaching in Acts chapter 7, the Bible says his hearers were cut to the heart.

[John Weaver] So let me just give you a verse to start you thinking. In the book of Job chapter 6 and verse 4, Job makes this statement,"'For the arrows of the Almighty are within me. The poison thereof drinketh up my spirit. The terrors of God do set themselves in array against me.' So he said, the arrows of the Almighty are within me. God had shot him, with his heiress." Now, it is true that Job was basically what you and I would call a righteous man. However, that does not mean that he did not have sins and certainly needed correcting in certain areas because God corrected him beginning in Job chapter 38.

[John Weaver] And Job's response was, I have spoken once, yea, twice, but now I'm going to lay my hand upon my mouth. I'll speak no further. In other words, I've learned my lesson. I've said enough. But notice if you would, he said, that the arrows of the Almighty were within him, and his poison drinketh up his spirit." In other words, he is just absolutely almost dead. That's why he said also, the terrors of God do set themselves against me. In other words, he sees the sin and the wickedness of that sin. The same thing is true when you understand the sin of David. Everyone is aware of the sin of David. Yes, David committed adultery. Yes, David committed murder. And I find it very interesting that a lot of people today are more than willing to identify with the sin of David. They're willing to commit adultery if necessary. They're willing to commit murder.

[John Weaver] It doesn't matter to them. They'll admit, well, David did it. I can do it too. But what they are not willing to identify with is David's conviction and David's repentance. Now, it is true that David sinned. But what most people do not realize out of all the Psalms that David wrote. There are seven of them that are known as Penitential Psalms. Seven times David writes a psalm saying how sorry he is, how wicked he is, and how horrible his sin is. You'll find those seven Penitential Psalms in Psalm 6, Psalm 32, Psalm 38, Psalm 51, Psalm 102, Psalm 130, and Psalm 143. Seven penitential psalms. Now, I do want you to look at Psalm 38. You need to read all of these psalms, because they are so graphic, and they show us really and truly what real, genuine conviction is. So let's look in Psalm 38, And think about David acknowledging his sin, confessing his sin.

[John Weaver] So he says in verse 1, O LORD, rebuke me not in thy wrath, neither chasten me in thy hot displeasure. In other words, I know I've sinned, and Lord, if you give me what I deserve, I'm going to be done. I'll be gone. I can't handle that. Now he said in verse 2, For thine arrows stick fast in me, and thy hand presseth me sore. So God has now shot him with the arrows of conviction. So look how he describes himself in his conviction. There is no soundness in my flesh because of thine anger. Neither is there any rest in my bones because of my sin. So David said, I'm totally, absolutely depraved. I'm totally wicked. I'm absolutely helpless. He said, and my sin will not allow me to rest. Watch verse four. For mine iniquities are gone over my head, I'm drowning.

[John Weaver] As a heavy burden, they're too heavy for me. I can't handle this."

[John Weaver] Now, I will tell you this, and let me just stop right here. I remember when God convicted me many, many years ago, and I will be absolutely honest. I did not understand conviction, but I honestly thought that I was dying. really did well let me hasten to say this you cannot use your experience and press it on someone else it is true that God brings us along the same line everyone is convicted but not everyone has committed the same sins and not everyone has the same main sin and not everyone is Is

[John Weaver] as wicked as some of the others. I mean, we are all totally depraved, but that does not mean that we're as wicked as we possibly can be. There are some that are far more wicked than others, but all are totally wicked. That is for sure. So I cannot say to Steve, well, unless you've been through what I've been through, you're not saying no. My experience is not the standard. The word of God is a standard. David is saying here.

[John Weaver] that he is about to drown, he is about to die. Look what he said in verse 5, My wounds stink and are corrupt because of my foolishness. Even after we have been saved, even after God has given us repentance, when we stop and think back about our sins, they still stink. And we still count them as foolishness. Everyone in this room, I can assure you, If you are saved by the grace of God, everyone wishes there were some things that you had never done, that you had never said. And although God forgives our sin, He does not necessarily wipe them out of our minds. We still are familiar with them. And therefore, David says, my wounds stink and my corruption is because of my own foolishness. Look in verse 6. He said, I'm troubled. I'm bowed down greatly.

[John Weaver] I go mourning all the day long. In other words, I can't get any rest. these things are pressing me sore. He says, For my loins are filled with a loathsome disease, sin, and there is no soundness in my flesh. I can't trust in anything I do. I am feeble and sore-broken. I have roared by reason of the disquietness of my heart. Lord, I'm crying, I'm begging, I'm pleading. Then he said in verse 9, Lord, all my desires before Thee and my groaning is not hid from Thee. My heart panteth, my strength faileth me.

[John Weaver] As for the light of mine eyes, it's almost gone from me." In other words, I'm dying. Or at least that's what I think. He says,"...my lovers and my friends stand aloof from my sword, my kinsmen stand afar off. They also that seek after my life lay snares for me, that they may seek my hurt, speak mischievous things, imagine mischiefs all the day long. But I, as a deaf man, heard not, and I was as a dumb man that opened not his mouth. I was a man that heareth not, and whose mouth there are no reproofs."

[John Weaver] I've thought about this as I read this verse, verse 13 particularly. I've thought of how many times I've spoken to people, declared the truth of God to them, and they never heard it. Never heard it. It's kind of like Martin Luther said. Martin Luther said he'd heard the gospel all of his life, and then one day he heard it. So, this is what David said, I was deaf. Then look at what he said in verse 15, For in thee, O LORD, do I hope. Thou wilt hear, O LORD my God. In other words, you are my only hope. For I said, Hear me, lest otherwise they should rejoice over me when my foot slippeth.

[John Weaver] They magnify themselves against me, for I am ready to halt, and my sorrow is continually before me. Now look what he said in verse 18, For I will declare mine iniquity, I will be sorry for my sin. If you read any of these penitential Psalms, you have to come to this conclusion. Real biblical conviction is painful. It's distressful. But it is absolutely, totally necessary.

[John Weaver] Now, let me explain something, and that is this. David said he's going to be sorry for his sins. There is a difference between godly sorrow and worldly sorrow. Worldly sorrow is this, oh no, I've been caught. I've been discovered. I'm so embarrassed How am I going to lift my face up in front of these people? They caught me, I was doing this, I was doing that, and it's now in the open. Everybody knows what I've been doing. I'm so embarrassed, I can't, you know, that's the world. When you have been convicted by the Holy Spirit of God, it is true you may be embarrassed, but here's what you're going to say. Let me tell you how God delivered me. Let me tell you how wicked I was and what I was doing. And God broke me out of it. Yeah, you're embarrassed, but at the same time, you're willing to confess it and you're willing to acknowledge it. And it's not just simply, I'm sorry, I got caught.

[John Weaver] The apostle Paul explains it like this in second Corinthians chapter seven, verses nine and 10. He says this for now, I rejoice that you were made sorry. but that you sorrowed to repentance. For you were made sorry after a godly manner, that you might receive damage, bias, and nothing. For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation, not to be repented of, but the sorrow of this world worketh death." So the sorrow of the world, like I said, is I'm caught, I'm embarrassed, I don't want to show my face. That's all. That is not conviction.

[John Weaver] The word convict is a translation from the Greek word eklenko, which literally means to convince someone of a truth, to reprove, to accuse, to refute, and to cross-examine a witness. And in other words, in real conviction, the Holy Spirit of God is the prosecuting attorney who exposes our sin and our iniquities. He reproves us and convicts us of our need of the Lord Jesus Christ. When we are convicted by the Holy Spirit of God, we sense the sheer loathsomeness of our sin.

[John Weaver] You remember in Psalm 5 and verse 4, the psalmist said, neither shall evil dwell with thee. In other words, we understand that God is infinitely holy and infinitely righteous. You remember how Isaiah understood this in Isaiah chapter 6. when he said, In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw, so the Lord high and lifted up, and His throne filled the temple. And he talked then about the seraphim, how they had six wings, with twain they covered their feet, with twain they covered their face, and with twain they did fly. And they ceased not, saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty. And then what did Isaiah say? Then I said, Woe is me, I am undone, I am a man of unclean lips, And I dwell in the midst of a people on clean lips, for mine eyes have seen the LORD." So whenever we see who God is and we see who we are, we can also see the loathsomeness of our sin. And so when we're convicted, we see that. We also, when we're convicted, see the dreadfulness of our sins, that we've sinned against a holy, righteous, loving God.

[John Weaver] will end up taking the attitude of Joseph. You remember when Potiphar's wife tried to seduce him in Genesis 39, he left his coat and he ran out saying, how can I do this great evil and sin against God? We're convicted when we understand that our sin dishonors God. You remember, everyone remembers Psalm 51, but David is in that Psalm confessing and acknowledging his sin, and he makes an astounding statement in verse 4. When he confesses his sin, he says to God, against Thee, and against Thee only, have I done this sin.

[John Weaver] Now stop and think about this. Did not David sin against Bathsheba? Of course. Did he not sin against Uriah? Of course. Did He not sin against their families? Yes. Did He not sin against His family? Yes. Did He not sin against the nation? Yes. Well, why in the world is He saying in Psalm 51 and verse 4, Against thee and against thee only have I sinned and done this evil in thy sight. And the answer is because He saw that primarily His sin was a dishonoring of God.

[John Weaver] Surely it dishonored other people. But since God is infinitely holy, He focused on the fact that his sin was dishonoring to God. We're convicted when we see also the just deserts of our sin. The Bible tells you in the book of Romans chapter 1 and verse 18, for the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all unrighteousness and those who commit sins and unrighteousness. You remember that Philippian jailer in Acts chapter 16, the Bible said that he came in trembling and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? In other words, he understood he was under the wrath of God, and if God did not save him, he was doomed, he was damned. So when the Holy Spirit of God convicts us, He convicts us of our sin and of the righteous judgment of God, and there is no appeal of this verdict. We have to agree that yes, we are sinners, we are wicked, we are transgressors, we are iniquitous, we have done everything that we're being convicted of.

[John Weaver] So, no matter how stressful conviction really is, we have to end up praising the Lord for it, for without conviction, there's no turning to the Lord. Without conviction, there's no repentance. You remember in John 6 and verse 44, our Lord said, No man cometh unto me except the Father draw him, and I will raise him up in the last day. Part of that drawing is conviction. You cannot be drawn savingly to Jesus Christ without conviction.

[John Weaver] I want to give you a quote. I got this from John L. Dagg. I have Dagg's Systematic Theology. And listen to this quote. He summarizes what I just told you. He said, Genuine repentance is a deep-felt and abiding sense of sin. a condemnation of ourselves before God on account of it, a turning away from it with abhorrence and loathing, and a fixed purpose of soul never again to commit it or to be at peace with it. This sense of sin drives the soul to Christ and unites with the exercise of faith in Christ to distinguish genuine religion or genuine Christianity from the counterfeits with which the world abounds. So he is saying basically what I just said. Without true conviction, you never ever get savingly to Jesus Christ, because it is conviction that shows you your desperate need of Jesus Christ. Now, I want you to look at Psalm 45 again and verse 5. I want to point something out very quickly. Look at this. Psalm 45 and verse 5, he said, thine arrows are sharp in the heart of the king's enemies, whereby the people fall under thee."

[John Weaver] It would be interesting for you to look up the Hebrew word, fall, because there are various definitions. A couple of the definitions happen to be these. It refers to, to fall prostrate before, or to lay prostrate. So, you could have this, look at verse 5 again, thine heirs are sharp in the heart of the king's enemies, whereby the people lay prostrate under thee, or before thee." You remember that passage in Psalm 110, verse 3? Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power. So it is the power of God, it's the heirs of conviction from the divine archer, which are heirs of deliverance that convicts us and enables us to prostrate ourselves at His feet, trusting only in Him. So you not only have an era of deliverance, here's the second one. There is an era of destruction. Again, I want to point out something in verse 45, verse 5 of Psalm 45. Thine eras are sharp in the heart of the king's enemies, in hunting and in war. A heart shot is a death shot.

[John Weaver] His enemies fall under him. Now, if you will look up the word, fall, in Psalm 45 and verse 5, I told you it can mean to lay prostrate. But there are other definitions as well. It can also mean to fail, to fall, to be thrown down violently which results in death. And it also means to rot. So we're told in the Scripture that God will not at all acquit the wicked.

[John Weaver] He will render to every man according to his works. Listen carefully. Those who refuse His grace and mercy will receive eras of destruction. There are eras of deliverance. There are eras of destruction. I want you to turn back in your Bibles Deuteronomy 32. Deuteronomy 32, and get ready because I want to show you a number of passages before I make the applications. Look at Deuteronomy 32 beginning there with verse 23. Look what God says. We're talking about arrows of destruction. Deuteronomy 32, verse 23, God said, I will heap mischiefs upon them, I will spend mine eras upon them. They shall be burnt with hunger, and devoured with burning heat, and with bitter destruction.

[John Weaver] I will also send the teeth of beasts upon them, and the poisonous serpents of the dust. The sword without, and terror within, shall destroy both the young man and the virgin, the suckling also with the man of gray hairs." Wow! Note, if you would, He said, I will spend mine eras upon them." Errors of destruction. Look in your Bibles to Psalm 7. Psalm 7. And let's begin reading there with verse 11. Psalm 7 and verse 11. Watch carefully. Psalm 7, verse 11. God judgeth the righteous. And God is angry with the wicked every day. If he, the wicked, turn not, he, God, will whet his sword.

[John Weaver] He hath bent his bow, and made it ready. He, God, hath also prepared for him the instruments of death. He, God, ordaineth his arrows against the persecutors. Wow. Hmm. Did you see what God said? He will shoot his arrows of destruction. Look in your Bibles to Psalm 21. Psalm 21, and let's begin reading there with verse 8. Psalm 21, verse 8. Thine hand shall find out all thine enemies, You know, that is an awesome statement. No one can hide from God. No one can deceive Him. You may pretend to be righteous and pretend to be a Christian, but God will find you out. So He says in verse 8, watch it, Thine hand shall find out all thine enemies, thy right hand shall find out those that hate thee.

[John Weaver] Would someone like to tell me where the Lord Jesus Christ is seated today? At the right hand of God, the father. You remember that passage in John five, the father judges no man, but at the committed all judgment unto the son. So it's the right hand man who's going to find out all those that hate him. Now watch verse nine.

[John Weaver] Now shall make them that is the enemies as a fiery oven in the time of that anger. shall swallow them up in his wrath, and the fire shall devour them. Their fruit shalt thou destroy from the earth, and their seed from among the children of men. For they intended evil against thee, they imagined a mischievous device which they were not able to perform. Therefore shalt thou make them turn their back, are you looking? When thou shalt make ready thine arrows upon thy strings against the face of them. Be thou exalted, O LORD, in thine own strength. So will we sing and praise thy power."

[John Weaver] There are eras of destruction. Look, if you would, in Psalm 58. Psalm 58. And let's begin reading there with verse 6. This is a prayer, I think, that you and I need to learn to pray, because David is praying against the Lord's enemies. He starts out in verse 6, and he says this, Break their teeth, O God, in their mouth. Break out the great teeth of the young lions, O Lord. Well, what happens when you break out the teeth of lions? They starve. Okay. Then he says this in verse 7, Let them melt away as waters which run continually.

[John Weaver] When he bendeth his bow to shoot his arrows, let them be as cut in pieces, as a snail which melteth Let every one of them pass away like the untimely birth of a woman, that they may not see the sun. Before your pots can feel the thorns, he shall take them away with a whirlwind, both living and in his wrath. The righteous shall rejoice when he seeth a vengeance. He, the righteous, shall wash his feet in the blood of the wicked. So that a man shall say, Verily, there is a reward for the righteous. Verily, he is a God that judges. in the earth. So the Bible talks about God shooting His arrows.

[John Weaver] Look if you would in Psalm 64, Psalm 64 at the first eight verses. Psalm 64, David says, Hear my voice, O God, in my prayer. Preserve my life from the fear of the enemy. Hide me from the secret counsel of the wicked, from the insurrection of the workers of iniquity.

[John Weaver] Now look what these wicked do, who whet their tongue like a sword, and bend their bows to shoot their arrows, even bitter words, that they may shoot in secret at the perfect. Suddenly do they shoot at him and fear not. They encourage themselves in an evil manner. They commune of laying snares, privately saying, Who shall see them? They search out iniquities. They accomplish a diligent search. inward thought of every one of them in the heart is deep." Watch verse 7,"...but God shall shoot at them with an arrow. Suddenly shall they be wounded, so they shall make their own tongue to fall upon themselves. All that see them shall flee away." Wow! Isn't that astounding? God shall shoot at them. will look in Psalm 66, just the first three verses. Psalm 66, Make a joyful noise unto God all ye lay, and sing forth the honor of his name. Make his praise glorious, saying to God, How terrible art thou in thy works! Through the greatness of thy power shall thine enemies submit themselves unto thee.

[John Weaver] So you have an era of deliverance, and you also have an era of destruction. Let me make some applications. You must understand the difference between the era of deliverance and the era of destruction. The era of deliverance is for the reconciliation of His people. and the error of destruction is for the ruin of his enemies. The error of deliverance causes us to rule and reign with him. The error of destruction makes his enemies his footstool. The error of deliverance enables us to be obedient and submissive and to be ruled by his golden scepter. The era of destruction means that he is to be ruled with a rod of iron. Remember Revelation 19? He shall rule them with a rod of iron. Hmm. There is a difference between an era of deliverance and an era of destruction. Here's the second one.

[John Weaver] I want you to think about this. When God arises, There will both be deliverance and destruction. They are inseparable. You cannot have one without the other. I've heard people say, I've had them say it to me. Well, I don't know about all this war stuff and all this fighting stuff. All I'm going to do is just pray the Lord returns. You cannot even pray the Lord's returns without praying for destruction. What did He say in 2 Thessalonians chapter 1?

[John Weaver] And you who are troubled, rest with us. When our Lord Jesus Christ shall be revealed from heaven in flaming fire, taking vengeance on those who know not God and obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. You can't pray for the Lord to return without praying for deliverance and destruction. Wow! Stop and think about this. When our Lord delivered Noah and his family in the Old World, He destroyed the Old World. When God delivered Israel from Egypt, He destroyed Egypt. When God delivered the land of Canaan to His people, He destroyed the Canaanites who were in the land. When our Lord Jesus Christ delivered His people, He destroyed sin and Satan. You cannot have deliverance without destruction.

[John Weaver] Since you're there, look in Psalm 68, Let's read the first three verses watch this carefully Let God arise Let his enemies be scattered. Let them also that hate him flee before him as smoke is driven away so drive them away as wax melted before the fire so that the wicked perish at the presence of God, but Let the righteous rejoice and be glad let them rejoice before God, yea, let them exceedingly rejoice." What do you see? You see destruction, you see deliverance.

[John Weaver] You cannot have one without the other. Now, let me show you how this works in the New Testament. I want you to turn to 2 Corinthians 2. 2 Corinthians 2. And let's begin reading there with verse 14. 2 Corinthians 2.

[John Weaver] Watch verse 14. The Apostle Paul says, Now thanks be unto God, who always causes us to triumph in Christ, never a failure, He always causes us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savor, or the sweet smell of His knowledge by us in every place. For we are unto God a sweet savor, or a sweet smell of Christ, in them that are saved, and in them that perish.

[John Weaver] To the one we are the saver of death unto death, and to the other the saver of life unto life. And who is sufficient for these things?" So he says that when Christ is preached, we are a sweet saver unto God our Father. So if I had a hundred people in this room who were lost, and I preached Jesus Christ, and everyone repented and trusted in Jesus Christ, God the Father does this. That's a sweet smell. My son is preached, and I'm satisfied. But on the other hand, suppose there's a hundred lost people in this room, and I preach to them Jesus Christ, and they shake their fist in the face of God and gnash their teeth, and they say, I don't want to have this man reign over us, and they hate Christ, and they cast me out." Guess what? God the Father says, that's a sweet smell. My son is preached. We're the saver of life unto life and death unto death. That's what He said. We're the sweet saver in them that are saved and in them that perish.

[John Weaver] And then He asked, who is sufficient for these things? Only Jesus Christ. You have to understand this. The sun that melts the wax hardens the clay. The gospel that always draws will also drive. So, you will either both be drawn to Christ and bow before Him and kneel before His golden scepter in love and obedience, or you and your rebellion and sin will be forced to kneel before Him with His rod of iron. But the truth of the matter is this, everyone will kneel and everyone will confess, whether in deliverance or destruction. The Bible, in Philippians chapter 2, verses 9 through 11, speaking of Jesus Christ, says, Wherefore God also hath highly exalted Him, giving Him a name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, of things in earth, and things under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Everyone will confess, either in salvation or damnation, either in deliverance or destruction, but every knee shall bow, and every tongue shall confess."

[John Weaver] And Jesus Christ, who is a true, holy warrior, shoots his arrows of deliverance, but he also shoots his arrows of destruction. We need to understand this. Even after we're saved, we need oftentimes those arrows of conviction in our hearts, because we're still sinners. I usually tell people I've done far more repenting since I've been saved than when I got saved. Because when I got saved, I repented of sin in general, and maybe a few sins in specific. But since I started studying the Scripture, I found out there was a whole lot more worse off in my life than I thought.

[John Weaver] And I just have to continue in repentance. So whenever God convicts us, we need to make sure that we turn from those sins and do that which is right. So there is, even going on right now, a holy war. And Jesus Christ is the warrior king, and He is victorious. He will be victorious in His people, and He'll be victorious over His enemies. Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we bow to You this day.

[John Weaver] We thank You for Your Word. We thank You that in righteousness you do judge and make war. We're thankful that your arrows are sharp in our hearts. We need the convicting arrow of deliverance. We need repentance and faith. When we stop and think, Lord, of all the enemies today that are marshalling themselves against thee and against thy people, We know, Lord, that they shall fail and they shall fall. You will make them fall into the very pit which they have dug, and you will bring their violence down upon the tops of their own heads, because thou art God of gods and King of kings and Lord of lords. Thou art sovereign, and thou doest according to thy will in the armies of heaven and in the inhabitants of the earth, and none can stay thy hand or say unto thee, what doest thou? We bow before thee, O Lord, and glory in your power and majesty and righteousness and truth. We glory in thy mercy and glory in thy justice. Help us, Lord, to always lay prostrate before thee and worship thee in spirit and in truth.

[John Weaver] In the name of Jesus Christ, we ask and pray. Amen.

[John Weaver] so

A Holy War

John Weaver | YouTube

Lecture Metadata	Details
Speaker	John Weaver
Source	YouTube
Media ID	kznPfUrZZ_M
Subject	New Testament Studies
Course	Revelation: Witness, Judgment, and the Throne
Genre	Sermon
Date	2022-03-12
Dictation Name
Book	Book 140: Revelation: Witness, Judgment, and the Throne — Chapter 13
Source Timed Segments	83

Formatted Transcript

Introduction: Can War Be Holy?

Weaver introduces Psalm 45 and the concept of a holy war, distinguishing it from Islamic jihad and unholy wars of conquest. He references John Bunyan's book 'The Holy War' and critiques modern political wars as offensive and designed for domination.

Psalm 45. We're going to read the first five verses. Psalm 45. The title of the message is "A Holy War." A holy war. Notice Psalm 45, beginning there with verse 1: "My heart is indicting a good matter: I speak of the things which I have made touching the king: my tongue is the pen of a ready writer. Thou art fairer than the children of men: grace is poured into thy lips."

Scripture Reading — Psalm 45:1-5

"Therefore God hath blessed thee for ever. Gird thy sword upon thy thigh, O most mighty, with thy glory and thy majesty. And in thy majesty ride prosperously because of truth and meekness and righteousness; and thy right hand shall teach thee terrible things. Thine arrows are sharp in the heart of the king's enemies; whereby the people fall under thee."

So the title of the message is "A Holy War." The first question we should ask: Can war be holy?

And the answer is yes, and in a number of ways. But obviously, when I'm talking about war, I am not referring to jihad, the Muslim definition of a holy war, for absolutely nothing is holy about their wars. If you remember John Bunyan, he is the author of Pilgrim's Progress. He is also the author of numerous other books, one of which is entitled The Holy War. And I mentioned to you previously that most wars are absolutely unholy, ungodly, and unbiblical, because most wars arise out of conquest, a desire to conquer, dominate, subjugate, plunder, possess, and confiscate. And I would just say that the attitude of our modern day politicians is simply this: you have it, we want it. If you don't give it to us, we'll take it. So that's not just national politics, that is also international politics. If you do not believe that, I would challenge you to read the book Confessions of an Economic Hitman by John Perkins. That book is also on audio now, and you may listen to it. But John Perkins was an economic hitman, and he tells exactly how we conquer other countries.

The Warrior King Identified as Jesus Christ

Using Psalm 45:6-7 and Hebrews 1:8-9, Weaver demonstrates that the king in Psalm 45 is Jesus Christ, the greater Solomon and true Son of David. He also connects the rider on the white horse in Revelation 6 and 19 to Christ as the conquering warrior.

"And thy right hand shall teach thee terrible things." I will hasten to point out that in this passage we're talking about the Lord Jesus Christ. However, David's son was Solomon. Solomon was a type of Christ, and Christ is actually the fulfillment of that. There is in the Bible that which is known as prophetic telescoping, where you're looking at one individual, but you have to look beyond that other individual and see the true individual. And our Lord in Matthew 12:42 said this, "...the queen of the south shall rise up in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for she came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here." So Jesus Christ is the greater Solomon. When you look in Matthew chapter 1 and verse 1, that verse says this: "The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham." So Jesus Christ then is the true seed of David, not Solomon, and He is also the true Son of Abraham.

Now if there is any doubt as to whom Psalm 45 is referring, you should look at verses 6 and 7, and then be ready to turn in your Bibles to Hebrews chapter 1. So, Psalm 45 verse 6:

Scripture Reading — Psalm 45:6-7

"Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: the sceptre of thy kingdom is a right sceptre. Thou lovest righteousness, and hatest wickedness: therefore God, thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows."

So if you will look in your Bibles, holding Psalm 45, to the book of Hebrews chapter 1, at verses 8 and 9. Hebrews 1, verses 8 and 9. And notice, if you would please, what the Word of God says. Hebrews 1, verse 8.

Now we're talking about the Lord Jesus.

Scripture Reading — Hebrews 1:8-9

"But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom. Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows."

So clearly, in Hebrews 1, you have Psalm 45, verses 6 and 7, applied directly to the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the true warrior king. Now, if you would look in your Bibles to the book of Revelation 6, and then we're going to go to Revelation 19. Revelation chapter 6 verses 1 and 2. We're still trying to show you the warrior king. The Bible says in verse 1 of Revelation 6, "And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come and see." Now look closely at verse 2: "And I saw, and behold a white horse."

Scripture Reading — Revelation 6:1-2

"And he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer."

Now if you will study some of the commentaries on the book of Revelation, you will find that there are certain commentators that will say the man on the white horse with the bow that goes forth conquering and to conquer is the Antichrist. I do not believe that for one second. I believe the man in verse 2 is none other than the Lord Jesus Christ. Now I want you to listen to me very carefully. It is true that the book of Revelation is full of symbolism. And you really cannot understand the book of Revelation without understanding the book of Daniel and the book of Ezekiel as well. But although the book of Revelation is full of symbolism, the symbolism is consistent. It does not change figures, neither does it change persons. So if you will look in your Bibles, Revelation chapter 19, and interestingly enough the white horse is only mentioned twice in the book of Revelation. And you're going to find who the rider of the white horse is right here. Revelation 19 verse 11, notice:

Scripture Reading — Revelation 6:1-2

"And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse."

"And he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself. And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God. And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean." "And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS." So here, obviously, the rider on the white horse is indeed the Lord Jesus Christ.

And it's the same person, I believe, back in Psalm 45. Now, if you look at Psalm 45, I believe the context will show you that the king in view is none other than Jesus Christ. For he says in verse 1, "My heart is indicting a good matter: I speak of the things which I have made touching the king." Now, if you look in verse 2, here's the same king now.

The King's Preparation and Success in Battle

Weaver examines Psalm 45:3-4, noting the command to gird on the sword and the promise of prosperous riding. He explains that 'prosperously' means to complete a campaign victoriously, emphasizing Christ's undefeated nature.

Now, if you look in verse 3, you'll see there is a preparation for war. "Gird thy sword upon thy thigh, O most mighty, with thy glory and thy majesty." It's interesting as you read through the Old Testament, especially with David. Anytime he's about to go to battle, he'd look at his men and said, "Gird on your swords." That is, we're going to fight. Get ready to fight. Well, that's exactly what is happening here. He is girding on his sword.

Now, watch verse 4 if you would. Verse 4 demonstrates the absolute success of our Lord's campaign. He said, "And in thy majesty ride prosperously," Why? "Because of truth and meekness and righteousness; and thy right hand shall teach thee terrible things."

Now, interestingly, the Hebrew word for "prosperously" here means to be successful. It means to complete a campaign successfully, or to end the campaign victoriously. So he's going to ride prosperously, he is going to succeed. He is not going to fail. He never loses any of his battles.

Now, I will tell you it is verse 5 that caught my attention as I was reading through this psalm. So if you will look at verse 5, he said, "Thine arrows are sharp in the heart of the king's enemies; whereby the people fall under thee."

The Plurality and Variety of the King's Arrows

Focusing on Psalm 45:5, Weaver highlights that 'arrows' is plural, indicating a multitude of divine instruments. He cites Ezekiel 5:15-17 (famine, beasts, pestilence), Psalm 18:14 (lightnings), and Psalm 77:17-18 (weather phenomena) as examples of God's arrows.

Now there are several things I want you to note about verse 5 before I start explaining it. First of all, the word "arrows" is plural. He says, "thine arrows." So our Lord then has a multitude of arrows, and those arrows are designed for certain things. For instance, I used to be an archer. I still am in some sense of the word, not like I used to be. And an archer has all various kinds of arrows available to him. There are target arrows. There are hunting arrows. There are blunted arrows.

Even when I was a boy and I was making my own bow and arrows, when I wanted to shoot a squirrel, I would not use a target tip, but I would take a spent casing of a .38, tap it on the end of an arrow, and I'll just use it to knock him out, that kind of thing, or knock him out of the tree. It's just a blunted arrow. An interesting thing is this. There are also flu-flu arrows, and I used to have some of them a long time ago, but a flu-flu arrow is something like this. It's an arrowhead that goes on the shaft, and it'll spin, and it's designed to shoot a bird out of the air. It actually catches the bird and twists him and brings him down to the ground. There's all kinds of arrows that are even available. Of course, today you've got exploding arrows and all this. But, you know, when you think about arrows, the Lord has different kinds of arrows. Let me show you.

Look in your Bibles to Ezekiel 5, hold Psalm 45. We're coming back to the book of Psalms just momentarily. But look at Ezekiel 5, and let's begin reading there with verse 15. Ezekiel 5, and verse 15. It's interesting because our Lord speaks of famine, He speaks of pestilence, He speaks of wild beasts, as arrows. For instance, Ezekiel 5, notice verse 15. The Bible says,

Scripture Reading — Ezekiel 5:15-17

"So it shall be a reproach and a taunt, an instruction and an astonishment unto the nations that are round about thee, when I shall execute judgments in thee in anger and in fury, and in furious rebukes; I the LORD have spoken it."

Now watch.

Scripture Reading — Ezekiel 5:15-17

"When I shall send upon them the evil arrows of famine, which shall be for their destruction, and which I will send to destroy you: and I will increase the famine upon you, and will break your staff of bread: so will I send upon you famine and evil beasts, and they shall bereave thee; and pestilence and blood shall pass through thee; and I will bring the sword upon thee. I the LORD have spoken it."

So he's talking about evil arrows, and in the context he's talking about famine, he's talking about wild beasts, he's talking about pestilence, he's talking about the sword, but they are referred to as evil arrows. And if you will turn back in your Bibles to the book of Psalms, Psalm 18, and look, if you would please, at verse 14. Psalm 18 and verse 14. Look at what the Scripture says.

Scripture Reading — Psalm 18:14

"Yea, he sent out his arrows, and scattered them; and he shot out lightnings, and discomfited them."

So here his arrows are lightnings. And, of course, you can do a lot of things with a lightning strike. So look in Psalm 77, Psalm 77, and notice if you would, verses 17 and 18. Psalm 77, verse 17. Here's an interesting thought. He said, "The clouds poured out water: the skies sent out a sound: thine arrows also went abroad. The voice of thy thunder was in the heaven: the lightnings lightened the world: the earth trembled and shook." So now we're talking about arrows that involve the weather. We're talking about droughts. We're talking about floods. We're talking about tornadoes. We're talking about hurricanes. And they're called arrows. "Thine arrows also went abroad." So the first thing you need to notice in Psalm 45 and verse 5 is the plurality of the arrows. There are a multitude of arrows that are available to the divine archer. If you'll look back to Psalm 45, here's the second thing you should note about verse 5, and that is simply that it's not just a plurality of arrows, but also the target for the arrows.

The Arrow of Deliverance: Conviction of Sin

Weaver explains that the arrow of deliverance is conviction of sin, which is painful but necessary for salvation. He uses Job 6:4, David's penitential psalms (especially Psalm 38), and the experiences of Peter's hearers (Acts 2) and Stephen's hearers (Acts 7) to illustrate the distress of genuine conviction.

Now, when you think about deliverance, you don't necessarily think of war and pain. You think of being delivered. But I want you to see something. Hold Psalm 45 and turn in your Bibles to 2 Kings chapter 13. 2 Kings chapter 13. Elisha is dying and King Joash comes to visit him. And it's interesting what Joash says to Elisha, the man of God. 2 Kings 13, beginning there with verse 14:

Scripture Reading — 2 Kings 13:14-19

"Now Elisha was fallen sick of his sickness whereof he died. And Joash the king of Israel came down unto him, and wept over his face, and said, O my father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof."

Now let me just stop right there. Do you know what Elisha said when the Lord parted he and Elijah, Elijah into heaven by a whirlwind? You know what Elisha said? "My father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof." You know what he's saying? And this is what Joash is saying to Elisha, that the true protection of a people is in the Lord and in His Word, His prophets who preach and teach His Word. If God does not protect us, we are not protected no matter what we have. So Joash now comes down and he weeps over Elisha. Watch verse 15: "And Elisha said unto him, Take bow and arrows. And he took unto him bow and arrows. And he said to the king of Israel, Put thine hand upon the bow. And he put his hand upon it: and Elisha put his hands upon the king's hands."

"And he said, Open the window eastward. And he opened it. Then Elisha said, Shoot. And he shot. And he said, The arrow of the LORD's deliverance, and the arrow of deliverance from Syria: for thou shalt smite the Syrians in Aphek, till thou have consumed them. And he said, Take the arrows. And he took them. And he said unto the king of Israel, Smite upon the ground. And he smote thrice, and stayed. And the man of God was wroth with him, and said, Thou shouldest have smitten five or six times; then hadst thou smitten Syria till thou hadst consumed it: whereas now thou shalt smite Syria but thrice."

But note, here is my point. Although this was called the arrow of deliverance, it still involved war. It still involved suffering. It still involved pain.

Now, all you have to do is understand this. Anytime there's deliverance, there's always pain and suffering. All you have to do is read the book of Judges. So many times they sinned against God, and they were suffering, and then God raised up a judge who delivered them, and there was always war. So, although there is pain and suffering, we understand it is sometimes necessary in order to be delivered. It's like cancer in the body. You do not want to face surgery. No one wants to face surgery. But if you have cancer in your body, surgery is willing to be endured. It's necessary sometimes to cut out the cancer. And so this is the way it is with deliverance.

Now, the arrow of deliverance, so to speak, from the perspective of the Word of God is an arrow of conviction. Let me tell you that conviction is very painful and very distressful, yet it's absolutely necessary. The truth of the matter is no one will ever be converted without being convicted. If you've never been convicted of your sins, then you've never really genuinely been converted. You remember what our Lord said in Matthew chapter 9, when those Pharisees came up and complained to His disciples, saying, "Thy master is eating with publicans and sinners." And our Lord said, "They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick." "But go ye and learn what that meaneth." So as long as you think you're whole, you'll never come to the Lord Jesus Christ. It's only when you realize how desperately sick you really truly are that you'll seek the great physician. I've told you many times that the word "heart" refers to the mind. It refers to the understanding. It refers to what you and I would call the conscience. So when our Lord then intends an arrow of deliverance, He always sends that arrow of deliverance, which is conviction, into our heart.

And the Bible says that we are by nature enemies of the King. That's why the Bible says we're dead in trespasses and sins. That's why the Bible said, "For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son." So, he sends this arrow of conviction. And may I remind you that when Peter was preaching in Acts chapter 2, the Bible said his hearers were pricked in their hearts. When Stephen was preaching in Acts chapter 7, the Bible says his hearers were cut to the heart.

So let me just give you a verse to start you thinking. In the book of Job chapter 6 and verse 4, Job makes this statement:

Scripture Reading — Job 6:4

"For the arrows of the Almighty are within me, the poison whereof drinketh up my spirit: the terrors of God do set themselves in array against me."

So he said,

Scripture Reading — Job 6:4

"the arrows of the Almighty are within me."

God had shot him with his arrows. Now, it is true that Job was basically what you and I would call a righteous man. However, that does not mean that he did not have sins and certainly needed correcting in certain areas because God corrected him beginning in Job chapter 38. And Job's response was, "I have spoken once; yea, twice; but I will proceed no further." In other words, I've learned my lesson. I've said enough. But notice if you would, he said,

Scripture Reading — Job 6:4

"the arrows of the Almighty are within me, the poison whereof drinketh up my spirit."

In other words, he is just absolutely almost dead. That's why he said also,

Scripture Reading — Job 6:4

"the terrors of God do set themselves in array against me."

In other words, he sees the sin and the wickedness of that sin. The same thing is true when you understand the sin of David. Everyone is aware of the sin of David. Yes, David committed adultery. Yes, David committed murder. And I find it very interesting that a lot of people today are more than willing to identify with the sin of David. They're willing to commit adultery if necessary. They're willing to commit murder.

It doesn't matter to them. They'll admit, "Well, David did it. I can do it too." But what they are not willing to identify with is David's conviction and David's repentance. Now, it is true that David sinned. But what most people do not realize is out of all the Psalms that David wrote, there are seven of them that are known as Penitential Psalms. Seven times David writes a psalm saying how sorry he is, how wicked he is, and how horrible his sin is. You'll find those seven Penitential Psalms in Psalm 6, Psalm 32, Psalm 38, Psalm 51, Psalm 102, Psalm 130, and Psalm 143. Seven penitential psalms. Now, I do want you to look at Psalm 38. You need to read all of these psalms, because they are so graphic, and they show us really and truly what real, genuine conviction is. So let's look in Psalm 38, and think about David acknowledging his sin, confessing his sin.

So he says in verse 1, "O LORD, rebuke me not in thy wrath: neither chasten me in thy hot displeasure." In other words, I know I've sinned, and Lord, if you give me what I deserve, I'm going to be done. I'll be gone. I can't handle that. Now he said in verse 2, "For thine arrows stick fast in me, and thy hand presseth me sore." So God has now shot him with the arrows of conviction. So look how he describes himself in his conviction. "There is no soundness in my flesh because of thine anger; neither is there any rest in my bones because of my sin." So David said, I'm totally, absolutely depraved. I'm totally wicked. I'm absolutely helpless. He said, and my sin will not allow me to rest. Watch verse 4. "For mine iniquities are gone over mine head: as an heavy burden they are too heavy for me." I'm drowning. I can't handle this.

"As an heavy burden they are too heavy for me." I can't handle this. Now, I will tell you this, and let me just stop right here. I remember when God convicted me many, many years ago, and I will be absolutely honest. I did not understand conviction, but I honestly thought that I was dying. I really did. Well, let me hasten to say this: you cannot use your experience and press it on someone else. It is true that God brings us along the same line; everyone is convicted, but not everyone has committed the same sins, and not everyone has the same main sin, and not everyone is

as wicked as some of the others. I mean, we are all totally depraved, but that does not mean that we're as wicked as we possibly can be. There are some that are far more wicked than others, but all are totally wicked. That is for sure. So I cannot say to Steve, "Well, unless you've been through what I've been through, you're not saved." No. My experience is not the standard. The Word of God is the standard. David is saying here

that he is about to drown, he is about to die. Look what he said in verse 5: "My wounds stink and are corrupt because of my foolishness." Even after we have been saved, even after God has given us repentance, when we stop and think back about our sins, they still stink. And we still count them as foolishness. Everyone in this room, I can assure you, if you are saved by the grace of God, everyone wishes there were some things that you had never done, that you had never said. And although God forgives our sin, He does not necessarily wipe them out of our minds. We still are familiar with them. And therefore, David says, "my wounds stink and are corrupt because of my foolishness." Look in verse 6. He said, "I am troubled; I am bowed down greatly; I go mourning all the day long."

In other words, I can't get any rest. These things are pressing me sore. He says, "For my loins are filled with a loathsome disease: and there is no soundness in my flesh. I am feeble and sore broken: I have roared by reason of the disquietness of my heart." Lord, I'm crying, I'm begging, I'm pleading. Then he said in verse 9, "Lord, all my desire is before thee; and my groaning is not hid from thee. My heart panteth, my strength faileth me: as for the light of mine eyes, it also is gone from me." In other words, I'm dying. Or at least that's what I think. He says, "My lovers and my friends stand aloof from my sore; and my kinsmen stand afar off. They also that seek after my life lay snares for me: and they that seek my hurt speak mischievous things, and imagine deceits all the day long. But I, as a deaf man, heard not; and I was as a dumb man that openeth not his mouth. Thus I was as a man that heareth not, and in whose mouth are no reproofs."

I've thought about this as I read this verse, verse 13 particularly. I've thought of how many times I've spoken to people, declared the truth of God to them, and they never heard it. Never heard it. It's kind of like Martin Luther said. Martin Luther said he'd heard the gospel all of his life, and then one day he heard it. So, this is what David said, "I was deaf." Then look at what he said in verse 15: "For in thee, O LORD, do I hope: thou wilt hear, O Lord my God." In other words, you are my only hope. "For I said, Hear me, lest otherwise they should rejoice over me: when my foot slippeth, they magnify themselves against me. For I am ready to halt, and my sorrow is continually before me." Now look what he said in verse 18: "For I will declare mine iniquity; I will be sorry for my sin." If you read any of these penitential Psalms, you have to come to this conclusion: real biblical conviction is painful. It's distressful. But it is absolutely, totally necessary.

Now, let me explain something, and that is this. David said he's going to be sorry for his sins. There is a difference between godly sorrow and worldly sorrow. Worldly sorrow is this: "Oh no, I've been caught. I've been discovered. I'm so embarrassed. How am I going to lift my face up in front of these people? They caught me, I was doing this, I was doing that, and it's now in the open. Everybody knows what I've been doing. I'm so embarrassed." That's the world. When you have been convicted by the Holy Spirit of God, it is true you may be embarrassed, but here's what you're going to say: "Let me tell you how God delivered me. Let me tell you how wicked I was and what I was doing. And God broke me out of it." Yeah, you're embarrassed, but at the same time, you're willing to confess it and you're willing to acknowledge it. And it's not just simply, "I'm sorry I got caught."

The Nature of True Conviction and Repentance

Weaver contrasts godly sorrow with worldly sorrow, citing 2 Corinthians 7:9-10. He defines conviction (elencho) as the Holy Spirit's work of exposing sin, leading to a sense of loathsomeness, dread, and dishonor against God. He quotes John L. Dagg on genuine repentance.

The apostle Paul explains it like this in 2 Corinthians chapter 7, verses 9 and 10. He says this: "Now I rejoice, not that ye were made sorry, but that ye sorrowed to repentance: for ye were made sorry after a godly manner, that ye might receive damage by us in nothing. For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death." So the sorrow of the world, like I said, is "I'm caught, I'm embarrassed, I don't want to show my face." That's all. That is not conviction. The word "convict" is a translation from the Greek word elencho, which literally means to convince someone of a truth, to reprove, to accuse, to refute, and to cross-examine a witness. And in other words, in real conviction, the Holy Spirit of God is the prosecuting attorney who exposes our sin and our iniquities. He reproves us and convicts us of our need of the Lord Jesus Christ. When we are convicted by the Holy Spirit of God, we sense the sheer loathsomeness of our sin.

You remember in Psalm 5 and verse 4, the psalmist said, "Neither shall evil dwell with thee." In other words, we understand that God is infinitely holy and infinitely righteous. You remember how Isaiah understood this in Isaiah chapter 6, when he said, "In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple." And he talked then about the seraphim, how they had six wings; with twain they covered their feet, with twain they covered their face, and with twain they did fly. And they ceased not, saying, "Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory." And then what did Isaiah say? "Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts." So whenever we see who God is and we see who we are, we can also see the loathsomeness of our sin. And so when we're convicted, we see that. We also, when we're convicted, see the dreadfulness of our sins, that we've sinned against a holy, righteous, loving God.

We will end up taking the attitude of Joseph. You remember when Potiphar's wife tried to seduce him in Genesis 39, he left his coat and he ran out saying, "How can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?" We're convicted when we understand that our sin dishonors God. You remember, everyone remembers Psalm 51, but David is in that Psalm confessing and acknowledging his sin, and he makes an astounding statement in verse 4. When he confesses his sin, he says to God, "Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight."

Now stop and think about this. Did not David sin against Bathsheba? Of course. Did he not sin against Uriah? Of course. Did he not sin against their families? Yes. Did he not sin against his family? Yes. Did he not sin against the nation? Yes. Well, why in the world is he saying in Psalm 51 and verse 4,

Scripture Reading — Psalm 51:4

"Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight"

? And the answer is because he saw that primarily his sin was a dishonoring of God.

Surely it dishonored other people. But since God is infinitely holy, he focused on the fact that his sin was dishonoring to God. We're convicted when we see also the just deserts of our sin. The Bible tells you in the book of Romans chapter 1 and verse 18, "For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness." You remember that Philippian jailer in Acts chapter 16, the Bible said that he came in trembling and said, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" In other words, he understood he was under the wrath of God, and if God did not save him, he was doomed, he was damned. So when the Holy Spirit of God convicts us, He convicts us of our sin and of the righteous judgment of God, and there is no appeal of this verdict. We have to agree that yes, we are sinners, we are wicked, we are transgressors, we are iniquitous, we have done everything that we're being convicted of.

So, no matter how stressful conviction really is, we have to end up praising the Lord for it, for without conviction, there's no turning to the Lord. Without conviction, there's no repentance. You remember in John 6 and verse 44, our Lord said, "No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day." Part of that drawing is conviction. You cannot be drawn savingly to Jesus Christ without conviction. I want to give you a quote. I got this from John L. Dagg. I have Dagg's Systematic Theology. And listen to this quote. He summarizes what I just told you. He said, "Genuine repentance is a deep-felt and abiding sense of sin, a condemnation of ourselves before God on account of it, a turning away from it with abhorrence and loathing, and a fixed purpose of soul never again to commit it or to be at peace with it. This sense of sin drives the soul to Christ and unites with the exercise of faith in Christ to distinguish genuine religion or genuine Christianity from the counterfeits with which the world abounds." So he is saying basically what I just said. Without true conviction, you never ever get savingly to Jesus Christ, because it is conviction that shows you your desperate need of Jesus Christ. Now, I want you to look at Psalm 45 again and verse 5. I want to point something out very quickly. Look at this. Psalm 45 and verse 5, he said, "Thine arrows are sharp in the heart of the king's enemies; whereby the people fall under thee."

It would be interesting for you to look up the Hebrew word "fall," because there are various definitions. A couple of the definitions happen to be these. It refers to "to fall prostrate before," or "to lay prostrate." So, you could have this, look at verse 5 again: "Thine arrows are sharp in the heart of the king's enemies; whereby the people lay prostrate under thee, or before thee." You remember that passage in Psalm 110, verse 3? "Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power." So it is the power of God, it's the arrows of conviction from the divine archer, which are arrows of deliverance that convicts us and enables us to prostrate ourselves at His feet, trusting only in Him. So you not only have an arrow of deliverance, here's the second one. There is an arrow of destruction. Again, I want to point out something in verse 5 of Psalm 45. "Thine arrows are sharp in the heart of the king's enemies." In hunting and in war, a heart shot is a death shot.

The Arrow of Destruction: Judgment on Enemies

Weaver turns to the arrow of destruction, noting that a heart shot is a death shot. He cites Deuteronomy 32:23-25, Psalm 7:11-13, Psalm 21:8-13, Psalm 58:6-11, and Psalm 64:1-8 to show God's arrows of judgment against the wicked.

His enemies fall under him. Now, if you will look up the word "fall" in Psalm 45 and verse 5, I told you it can mean to lay prostrate. But there are other definitions as well. It can also mean to fail, to fall, to be thrown down violently which results in death. And it also means to rot. So we're told in the Scripture that God will not at all acquit the wicked.

He will render to every man according to his works. Listen carefully. Those who refuse His grace and mercy will receive arrows of destruction. There are arrows of deliverance. There are arrows of destruction. I want you to turn back in your Bibles to Deuteronomy 32. Deuteronomy 32, and get ready because I want to show you a number of passages before I make the applications. Look at Deuteronomy 32 beginning there with verse 23. Look what God says. We're talking about arrows of destruction. Deuteronomy 32, verse 23, God said,

Scripture Reading — Deuteronomy 32:23-25

"I will heap mischiefs upon them; I will spend mine arrows upon them. They shall be burnt with hunger, and devoured with burning heat, and with bitter destruction."

"I will also send the teeth of beasts upon them, with the poison of serpents of the dust. The sword without, and terror within, shall destroy both the young man and the virgin, the suckling also with the man of gray hairs." Wow! Note, if you would, He said, "I will spend mine arrows upon them." Arrows of destruction. Look in your Bibles to Psalm 7. Psalm 7. And let's begin reading there with verse 11. Psalm 7 and verse 11. Watch carefully. Psalm 7, verse 11: "God judgeth the righteous, and God is angry with the wicked every day. If he turn not, he will whet his sword; he hath bent his bow, and made it ready."

Scripture Reading — Psalm 7:11-13

"He hath also prepared for him the instruments of death; he ordaineth his arrows against the persecutors."

Wow. Hmm. Did you see what God said? He will shoot his arrows of destruction. Look in your Bibles to Psalm 21. Psalm 21, and let's begin reading there with verse 8. Psalm 21, verse 8: "Thine hand shall find out all thine enemies: thy right hand shall find out those that hate thee." You know, that is an awesome statement. No one can hide from God. No one can deceive Him. You may pretend to be righteous and pretend to be a Christian, but God will find you out. So He says in verse 8, watch it: "Thine hand shall find out all thine enemies: thy right hand shall find out those that hate thee."

Would someone like to tell me where the Lord Jesus Christ is seated today? At the right hand of God the Father. You remember that passage in John 5, "The Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son." So it's the right hand man who's going to find out all those that hate him. Now watch verse 9.

"Thou shalt make them as a fiery oven in the time of thine anger: the LORD shall swallow them up in his wrath, and the fire shall devour them. Their fruit shalt thou destroy from the earth, and their seed from among the children of men. For they intended evil against thee: they imagined a mischievous device, which they are not able to perform. Therefore shalt thou make them turn their back, when thou shalt make ready thine arrows upon thy strings against the face of them. Be thou exalted, LORD, in thine own strength: so will we sing and praise thy power."

There are arrows of destruction. Look, if you would, in Psalm 58. Psalm 58. And let's begin reading there with verse 6. This is a prayer, I think, that you and I need to learn to pray, because David is praying against the Lord's enemies. He starts out in verse 6, and he says this: "Break their teeth, O God, in their mouth: break out the great teeth of the young lions, O LORD." Well, what happens when you break out the teeth of lions? They starve. Okay. Then he says this in verse 7: "Let them melt away as waters which run continually: when he bendeth his bow to shoot his arrows, let them be as cut in pieces."

"As a snail which melteth, let every one of them pass away: like the untimely birth of a woman, that they may not see the sun. Before your pots can feel the thorns, he shall take them away as with a whirlwind, both living, and in his wrath. The righteous shall rejoice when he seeth the vengeance: he shall wash his feet in the blood of the wicked. So that a man shall say, Verily there is a reward for the righteous: verily he is a God that judgeth in the earth." So the Bible talks about God shooting His arrows. Look if you would in Psalm 64, Psalm 64 at the first eight verses. Psalm 64, David says, "Hear my voice, O God, in my prayer: preserve my life from fear of the enemy. Hide me from the secret counsel of the wicked; from the insurrection of the workers of iniquity."

Now look what these wicked do: "Who whet their tongue like a sword, and bend their bows to shoot their arrows, even bitter words: that they may shoot in secret at the perfect: suddenly do they shoot at him, and fear not. They encourage themselves in an evil matter: they commune of laying snares privily; they say, Who shall see them? They search out iniquities; they accomplish a diligent search: both the inward thought of every one of them, and the heart, is deep." Watch verse 7: "But God shall shoot at them with an arrow; suddenly shall they be wounded. So they shall make their own tongue to fall upon themselves: all that see them shall flee away." Wow! Isn't that astounding? God shall shoot at them.

Applications: Deliverance and Destruction Are Inseparable

Weaver applies the message by stressing that deliverance and destruction always accompany God's arising. He uses examples (Noah/Flood, Israel/Egypt, Canaan/Canaanites) and cites 2 Thessalonians 1:7-8, Psalm 68:1-3, and 2 Corinthians 2:14-16 to show that the gospel is both a savor of life and death. He concludes that every knee will bow, either in salvation or judgment.

So you have an arrow of deliverance, and you also have an arrow of destruction. Let me make some applications. You must understand the difference between the arrow of deliverance and the arrow of destruction. The arrow of deliverance is for the reconciliation of His people, and the arrow of destruction is for the ruin of His enemies. The arrow of deliverance causes us to rule and reign with Him. The arrow of destruction makes His enemies His footstool. The arrow of deliverance enables us to be obedient and submissive and to be ruled by His golden scepter. The arrow of destruction means that He is to rule with a rod of iron. Remember Revelation 19? "He shall rule them with a rod of iron." Hmm. There is a difference between an arrow of deliverance and an arrow of destruction. Here's the second one.

I want you to think about this. When God arises, there will both be deliverance and destruction. They are inseparable. You cannot have one without the other. I've heard people say, I've had them say it to me, "Well, I don't know about all this war stuff and all this fighting stuff. All I'm going to do is just pray the Lord returns." You cannot even pray the Lord's return without praying for destruction. What did He say in 2 Thessalonians chapter 1?

"And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ." You can't pray for the Lord to return without praying for deliverance and destruction. Wow! Stop and think about this. When our Lord delivered Noah and his family in the old world, He destroyed the old world. When God delivered Israel from Egypt, He destroyed Egypt. When God delivered the land of Canaan to His people, He destroyed the Canaanites who were in the land. When our Lord Jesus Christ delivered His people, He destroyed sin and Satan. You cannot have deliverance without destruction.

Since you're there, look in Psalm 68. Let's read the first three verses. Watch this carefully: "Let God arise, let his enemies be scattered: let them also that hate him flee before him. As smoke is driven away, so drive them away: as wax melteth before the fire, so let the wicked perish at the presence of God. But let the righteous be glad; let them rejoice before God: yea, let them exceedingly rejoice." What do you see? You see destruction, you see deliverance. You cannot have one without the other. Now, let me show you how this works in the New Testament. I want you to turn to 2 Corinthians 2. 2 Corinthians 2. And let's begin reading there with verse 14. 2 Corinthians 2.

Watch verse 14. The Apostle Paul says, "Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of his knowledge by us in every place. For we are unto God a sweet savour of Christ, in them that are saved, and in them that perish." "To the one we are the savour of death unto death; and to the other the savour of life unto life. And who is sufficient for these things?" So he says that when Christ is preached, we are a sweet savour unto God our Father. So if I had a hundred people in this room who were lost, and I preached Jesus Christ, and everyone repented and trusted in Jesus Christ, God the Father does this: "That's a sweet smell. My Son is preached, and I'm satisfied." But on the other hand, suppose there's a hundred lost people in this room, and I preach to them Jesus Christ, and they shake their fist in the face of God and gnash their teeth, and they say, "I don't want to have this man reign over us," and they hate Christ, and they cast me out. Guess what? God the Father says, "That's a sweet smell. My Son is preached." We're the savour of life unto life and death unto death. That's what He said. We're the sweet savour in them that are saved and in them that perish.

And then He asked, "Who is sufficient for these things?" Only Jesus Christ. You have to understand this. The sun that melts the wax hardens the clay. The gospel that always draws will also drive. So, you will either both be drawn to Christ and bow before Him and kneel before His golden scepter in love and obedience, or you in your rebellion and sin will be forced to kneel before Him with His rod of iron. But the truth of the matter is this: everyone will kneel and everyone will confess, whether in deliverance or destruction. The Bible, in Philippians chapter 2, verses 9 through 11, speaking of Jesus Christ, says, "Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." Everyone will confess, either in salvation or damnation, either in deliverance or destruction, but every knee shall bow, and every tongue shall confess.

And Jesus Christ, who is a true, holy warrior, shoots his arrows of deliverance, but he also shoots his arrows of destruction. We need to understand this. Even after we're saved, we need oftentimes those arrows of conviction in our hearts, because we're still sinners. I usually tell people I've done far more repenting since I've been saved than when I got saved. Because when I got saved, I repented of sin in general, and maybe a few sins in specific. But since I started studying the Scripture, I found out there was a whole lot more wrong in my life than I thought.

Study Guide

Major Themes

Jesus Christ as the Divine Warrior King

Summary: Psalm 45 depicts Jesus Christ as a majestic king girding on his sword and riding forth to conquer, fulfilling the type of Solomon and the vision of Revelation.

Evidence: Weaver connects Psalm 45:6-7 to Hebrews 1:8-9 and identifies the rider on the white horse in Revelation 6 and 19 as Christ.

The Necessity of Conviction for Salvation

Summary: True conversion requires the painful arrow of conviction, which exposes the loathsomeness of sin and drives the sinner to Christ.

Evidence: Weaver cites David's penitential psalms, Job 6:4, Acts 2:37, and Acts 7:54, and quotes John L. Dagg on genuine repentance.

The Dual Nature of God's Arrows: Deliverance and Destruction

Summary: God's arrows serve two purposes: to deliver His people through conviction and to destroy His enemies through judgment.

Evidence: Weaver contrasts the arrow of deliverance (Psalm 38:2) with the arrow of destruction (Deuteronomy 32:23, Psalm 7:12-13, Psalm 21:12).

The Inseparability of Deliverance and Destruction in God's Work

Summary: When God arises to save, He simultaneously judges; the gospel is a savor of life to some and death to others.

Evidence: Weaver cites 2 Thessalonians 1:7-8, Psalm 68:1-3, 2 Corinthians 2:14-16, and historical examples like Noah and Egypt.

The Sovereignty of Christ in Victory

Summary: Christ never loses a battle; He rides prosperously and will ultimately subdue all enemies, either by willing submission or forced subjugation.

Evidence: Weaver explains the Hebrew meaning of 'prosperously' in Psalm 45:4 and cites Philippians 2:9-11.

Key Arguments

Psalm 45 is a messianic psalm about Jesus Christ, not merely Solomon.

Summary: The New Testament applies Psalm 45:6-7 directly to Christ (Hebrews 1:8-9), and Jesus claimed to be greater than Solomon (Matthew 12:42).

Evidence: Weaver reads Hebrews 1:8-9 and references Matthew 12:42 and Matthew 1:1.

The rider on the white horse in Revelation 6 is Christ, not the Antichrist.

Summary: Symbolism in Revelation is consistent; the only other white horse rider is explicitly Christ in Revelation 19:11-16.

Evidence: Weaver argues against commentators who see the Antichrist, citing Revelation 19:11-16.

God uses a variety of 'arrows' (judgments) to accomplish His purposes.

Summary: Scripture describes famine, pestilence, wild beasts, lightning, and weather phenomena as God's arrows.

Evidence: Weaver cites Ezekiel 5:15-17, Psalm 18:14, and Psalm 77:17-18.

Conviction is a painful but essential work of the Holy Spirit.

Summary: David's penitential psalms show the agony of conviction, which is necessary to drive sinners to Christ.

Evidence: Weaver reads Psalm 38:1-18 and references Job 6:4, Acts 2:37, and Acts 7:54.

Godly sorrow leads to repentance, while worldly sorrow leads to death.

Summary: True conviction produces a hatred of sin itself, not just embarrassment at being caught.

Evidence: Weaver quotes 2 Corinthians 7:9-10 and explains the Greek word elencho.

The gospel message inherently brings both life and death.

Summary: Preaching Christ is a sweet savor to God whether people are saved or perish, as stated in 2 Corinthians 2:14-16.

Evidence: Weaver reads 2 Corinthians 2:14-16 and explains the metaphor.

Every person will ultimately bow to Christ, either in salvation or judgment.

Summary: Philippians 2:9-11 declares universal confession; the only question is whether it will be willing or forced.

Evidence: Weaver quotes Philippians 2:9-11 and contrasts the golden scepter with the rod of iron.

Scripture References

Psalm 45:1-5

Context: Primary text of the sermon, describing the king's beauty, majesty, and arrows.

Psalm 45:6-7

Context: Used to identify the king as God, later applied to Christ in Hebrews.

Hebrews 1:8-9

Context: Quotes Psalm 45:6-7 and applies it directly to Jesus Christ.

Matthew 12:42

Context: Jesus claims to be greater than Solomon, supporting the messianic interpretation.

Matthew 1:1

Context: Jesus is the son of David and Abraham, the true seed.

Revelation 6:1-2

Context: The rider on the white horse with a bow, identified as Christ.

Revelation 19:11-16

Context: The rider on the white horse is explicitly named Faithful and True, the Word of God, King of Kings.

John 3:34

Context: God gives the Spirit without measure to Christ, explaining 'grace is poured into thy lips.'

Ezekiel 5:15-17

Context: God's 'evil arrows' include famine, wild beasts, pestilence, and the sword.

Psalm 18:14

Context: God's arrows are lightnings, scattering enemies.

Psalm 77:17-18

Context: Arrows include thunder, lightning, and weather phenomena.

2 Kings 13:14-19

Context: Elisha's arrow of deliverance for Israel against Syria.

Job 6:4

Context: Job feels the arrows of the Almighty within him, drinking up his spirit.

Psalm 38:1-18

Context: David's penitential psalm describing the pain of conviction.

2 Corinthians 7:9-10

Context: Godly sorrow works repentance; worldly sorrow works death.

Psalm 51:4

Context: David says he sinned against God only, showing sin's primary offense is against God.

Deuteronomy 32:23-25

Context: God will spend His arrows of destruction on the wicked.

Psalm 7:11-13

Context: God ordains His arrows against the persecutors.

Psalm 21:8-13

Context: God will make ready His arrows upon the strings against the faces of His enemies.

Psalm 64:1-8

Context: God shall shoot at the wicked with an arrow; suddenly shall they be wounded.

Historical References

John Bunyan, 'The Holy War'

Context: Weaver references Bunyan's book as an example of a holy war in literature, contrasting it with unholy wars.

John Perkins, 'Confessions of an Economic Hitman'

Context: Weaver recommends this book to illustrate how modern nations use debt, assassination, and war to dominate other countries.

Martin Luther's conversion experience

Context: Weaver quotes Luther saying he heard the gospel all his life and then one day heard it, illustrating spiritual deafness.

John L. Dagg, 'Manual of Theology' (Systematic Theology)

Context: Weaver quotes Dagg's definition of genuine repentance as a deep-felt sense of sin driving the soul to Christ.

Important Quotes

Genuine repentance is a deep-felt and abiding sense of sin, a condemnation of ourselves before God on account of it, a turning away from it with abhorrence and loathing, and a fixed purpose of soul never again to commit it or to be at peace with it. This sense of sin drives the soul to Christ and unites with the exercise of faith in Christ to distinguish genuine religion or genuine Christianity from the counterfeits with which the world abounds.

Significance: This quote from John L. Dagg succinctly defines true repentance and its essential role in genuine conversion, summarizing a major theme of the sermon.

The sun that melts the wax hardens the clay. The gospel that always draws will also drive.

Significance: This metaphor captures the dual effect of the gospel: it softens some hearts to repentance while hardening others in rebellion, illustrating the inseparable nature of deliverance and destruction.

You cannot even pray the Lord's return without praying for destruction.

Significance: Weaver emphasizes that praying for Christ's return inherently involves praying for judgment on the ungodly, as described in 2 Thessalonians 1.

I've done far more repenting since I've been saved than when I got saved.

Significance: This personal testimony highlights the ongoing need for conviction and repentance in the believer's life, even after initial conversion.

Discussion Questions

How does understanding Jesus as a warrior king challenge or expand your view of His character and work?

Context: Weaver presents Christ as the rider on the white horse, conquering and judging, based on Psalm 45 and Revelation 19.

In what ways have you experienced the 'arrow of conviction' in your own life, and how did it lead to repentance?

Context: Weaver describes conviction as painful but necessary, using David's penitential psalms as an example.

What is the difference between godly sorrow and worldly sorrow, and how can we discern which one we are experiencing?

Context: Weaver contrasts the two types of sorrow using 2 Corinthians 7:9-10.

Why does Weaver argue that deliverance and destruction are inseparable in God's work? Do you agree?

Context: Weaver uses biblical examples like Noah, Egypt, and the conquest of Canaan to support this point.

How should the reality of God's 'arrows of destruction' affect our evangelism and our prayers for the lost?

Context: Weaver cites 2 Corinthians 2:14-16 and 2 Thessalonians 1:7-8 to show the serious consequences of rejecting the gospel.

What does it mean that every knee will bow to Christ, and how does this truth provide both comfort and warning?

Context: Weaver concludes with Philippians 2:9-11, emphasizing universal submission either in salvation or judgment.

Applications

Embrace the pain of conviction as a means of deliverance.

Summary: Recognize that the distress of conviction is God's arrow of deliverance, designed to drive you to Christ and away from sin.

Evidence: Weaver states, 'No one will ever be converted without being convicted' and illustrates with David's penitential psalms.

Practice ongoing repentance as a believer.

Summary: Even after salvation, believers should continually repent as the Holy Spirit convicts them of specific sins through Scripture.

Evidence: Weaver shares, 'I've done far more repenting since I've been saved than when I got saved.'

Preach the gospel faithfully, trusting God for the results.

Summary: Understand that the gospel is a sweet savor to God whether people are saved or perish; our responsibility is to proclaim Christ.

Evidence: Weaver explains 2 Corinthians 2:14-16, noting that we are a sweet savor 'in them that are saved, and in them that perish.'

Pray for Christ's return with an understanding of its full implications.

Summary: Praying for the Lord's return includes praying for both the deliverance of His people and the destruction of His enemies.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'You cannot even pray the Lord's return without praying for destruction,' citing 2 Thessalonians 1:7-8.

Submit willingly to Christ's rule now.

Summary: Since every knee will bow, choose to bow before His golden scepter in love and obedience rather than be forced under His rod of iron.

Evidence: Weaver contrasts the golden scepter and rod of iron, citing Philippians 2:9-11.

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-05T22:41:05Z

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | weaver_study | 2026-06-06T14:06:30Z

Clean Transcript

A Holy War

Clean readable transcript. This view follows the Commentary.net cleaned segment text while preserving timestamps for audio follow-along.

Psalm 45. We're going to read the first five verses. Psalm 45. The title of the message is "A Holy War." A holy war. Notice Psalm 45, beginning there with verse 1: "My heart is indicting a good matter: I speak of the things which I have made touching the king: my tongue is the pen of a ready writer. Thou art fairer than the children of men: grace is poured into thy lips."
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"Therefore God hath blessed thee for ever. Gird thy sword upon thy thigh, O most mighty, with thy glory and thy majesty. And in thy majesty ride prosperously because of truth and meekness and righteousness; and thy right hand shall teach thee terrible things. Thine arrows are sharp in the heart of the king's enemies; whereby the people fall under thee." So the title of the message is "A Holy War." The first question we should ask: Can war be holy?
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And the answer is yes, and in a number of ways. But obviously, when I'm talking about war, I am not referring to jihad, the Muslim definition of a holy war, for absolutely nothing is holy about their wars. If you remember John Bunyan, he is the author of Pilgrim's Progress. He is also the author of numerous other books, one of which is entitled The Holy War. And I mentioned to you previously that most wars are absolutely unholy, ungodly, and unbiblical, because most wars arise out of conquest, a desire to conquer, dominate, subjugate, plunder, possess, and confiscate.
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And I would just say that the attitude of our modern day politicians is simply this: you have it, we want it. If you don't give it to us, we'll take it. So that's not just national politics, that is also international politics. If you do not believe that, I would challenge you to read the book Confessions of an Economic Hitman by John Perkins. That book is also on audio now, and you may listen to it. But John Perkins was an economic hitman, and he tells exactly how we conquer other countries.
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He goes in there and says the first thing we try to do is get them in debt. And if they do not fall for the debt so that we can confiscate their resources, then we assassinate their leaders. If that doesn't work, then we have a real war with them, until we get exactly that which we want. So our wars today mostly are not defensive wars. They are offensive wars, and they are designed to dominate and subjugate. However, when you look in Psalm 45, you're going to find that there is a holy war that goes and is accomplished by our Lord, because our Lord is a warrior. If you look in verse 4, He said, "And in thy majesty ride prosperously, because of truth, and meekness, and righteousness."
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"And thy right hand shall teach thee terrible things." I will hasten to point out that in this passage we're talking about the Lord Jesus Christ. However, David's son was Solomon. Solomon was a type of Christ, and Christ is actually the fulfillment of that. There is in the Bible that which is known as prophetic telescoping, where you're looking at one individual, but you have to look beyond that other individual and see the true individual. And our Lord in Matthew 12:42 said this, "...the queen of the south shall rise up in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for she came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here." So Jesus Christ is the greater Solomon. When you look in Matthew chapter 1 and verse 1, that verse says this: "The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham." So Jesus Christ then is the true seed of David, not Solomon, and He is also the true Son of Abraham.
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Now if there is any doubt as to whom Psalm 45 is referring, you should look at verses 6 and 7, and then be ready to turn in your Bibles to Hebrews chapter 1. So, Psalm 45 verse 6: "Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: the sceptre of thy kingdom is a right sceptre. Thou lovest righteousness, and hatest wickedness: therefore God, thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows." So if you will look in your Bibles, holding Psalm 45, to the book of Hebrews chapter 1, at verses 8 and 9. Hebrews 1, verses 8 and 9. And notice, if you would please, what the Word of God says. Hebrews 1, verse 8.
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Now we're talking about the Lord Jesus. "But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom. Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows." So clearly, in Hebrews 1, you have Psalm 45, verses 6 and 7, applied directly to the Lord Jesus Christ.
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He is the true warrior king. Now, if you would look in your Bibles to the book of Revelation 6, and then we're going to go to Revelation 19. Revelation chapter 6 verses 1 and 2. We're still trying to show you the warrior king. The Bible says in verse 1 of Revelation 6, "And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come and see." Now look closely at verse 2: "And I saw, and behold a white horse."
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"And he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer." Now if you will study some of the commentaries on the book of Revelation, you will find that there are certain commentators that will say the man on the white horse with the bow that goes forth conquering and to conquer is the Antichrist. I do not believe that for one second. I believe the man in verse 2 is none other than the Lord Jesus Christ.
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Now I want you to listen to me very carefully. It is true that the book of Revelation is full of symbolism. And you really cannot understand the book of Revelation without understanding the book of Daniel and the book of Ezekiel as well. But although the book of Revelation is full of symbolism, the symbolism is consistent. It does not change figures, neither does it change persons. So if you will look in your Bibles, Revelation chapter 19, and interestingly enough the white horse is only mentioned twice in the book of Revelation. And you're going to find who the rider of the white horse is right here. Revelation 19 verse 11, notice: "And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse."
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"And he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself. And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God. And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean."
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"And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS." So here, obviously, the rider on the white horse is indeed the Lord Jesus Christ.
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And it's the same person, I believe, back in Psalm 45. Now, if you look at Psalm 45, I believe the context will show you that the king in view is none other than Jesus Christ. For he says in verse 1, "My heart is indicting a good matter: I speak of the things which I have made touching the king." Now, if you look in verse 2, here's the same king now.
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"Thou art fairer than the children of men: grace is poured into thy lips: therefore God hath blessed thee for ever." So here the king is fairer than the children of men because the Lord Jesus Christ, although He is the Son of Man, He is also the Son of God. He says, "Grace is poured into thy lips, therefore God hath blessed thee for ever." May I remind you of John 3:34 which speaks of Jesus Christ, and it says this: "For he whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God: for God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto him." So grace is really poured into his lips, and he does not receive a measure of the Spirit, but all of the Spirit.
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Now, if you look in verse 3, you'll see there is a preparation for war. "Gird thy sword upon thy thigh, O most mighty, with thy glory and thy majesty." It's interesting as you read through the Old Testament, especially with David. Anytime he's about to go to battle, he'd look at his men and said, "Gird on your swords." That is, we're going to fight. Get ready to fight.
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Well, that's exactly what is happening here. He is girding on his sword.
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Now, watch verse 4 if you would. Verse 4 demonstrates the absolute success of our Lord's campaign. He said, "And in thy majesty ride prosperously," Why? "Because of truth and meekness and righteousness; and thy right hand shall teach thee terrible things."
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Now, interestingly, the Hebrew word for "prosperously" here means to be successful. It means to complete a campaign successfully, or to end the campaign victoriously. So he's going to ride prosperously, he is going to succeed. He is not going to fail. He never loses any of his battles.
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Now, I will tell you it is verse 5 that caught my attention as I was reading through this psalm. So if you will look at verse 5, he said, "Thine arrows are sharp in the heart of the king's enemies; whereby the people fall under thee."
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Now there are several things I want you to note about verse 5 before I start explaining it. First of all, the word "arrows" is plural. He says, "thine arrows." So our Lord then has a multitude of arrows, and those arrows are designed for certain things. For instance, I used to be an archer. I still am in some sense of the word, not like I used to be. And an archer has all various kinds of arrows available to him. There are target arrows. There are hunting arrows. There are blunted arrows.
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Even when I was a boy and I was making my own bow and arrows, when I wanted to shoot a squirrel, I would not use a target tip, but I would take a spent casing of a .38, tap it on the end of an arrow, and I'll just use it to knock him out, that kind of thing, or knock him out of the tree. It's just a blunted arrow. An interesting thing is this. There are also flu-flu arrows, and I used to have some of them a long time ago, but a flu-flu arrow is something like this. It's an arrowhead that goes on the shaft, and it'll spin, and it's designed to shoot a bird out of the air. It actually catches the bird and twists him and brings him down to the ground. There's all kinds of arrows that are even available. Of course, today you've got exploding arrows and all this. But, you know, when you think about arrows, the Lord has different kinds of arrows. Let me show you.
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Look in your Bibles to Ezekiel 5, hold Psalm 45. We're coming back to the book of Psalms just momentarily. But look at Ezekiel 5, and let's begin reading there with verse 15. Ezekiel 5, and verse 15. It's interesting because our Lord speaks of famine, He speaks of pestilence, He speaks of wild beasts, as arrows. For instance, Ezekiel 5, notice verse 15. The Bible says, "So it shall be a reproach and a taunt, an instruction and an astonishment unto the nations that are round about thee, when I shall execute judgments in thee in anger and in fury, and in furious rebukes; I the LORD have spoken it." Now watch. "When I shall send upon them the evil arrows of famine, which shall be for their destruction, and which I will send to destroy you: and I will increase the famine upon you, and will break your staff of bread: so will I send upon you famine and evil beasts, and they shall bereave thee; and pestilence and blood shall pass through thee; and I will bring the sword upon thee. I the LORD have spoken it."
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So he's talking about evil arrows, and in the context he's talking about famine, he's talking about wild beasts, he's talking about pestilence, he's talking about the sword, but they are referred to as evil arrows. And if you will turn back in your Bibles to the book of Psalms, Psalm 18, and look, if you would please, at verse 14. Psalm 18 and verse 14. Look at what the Scripture says. "Yea, he sent out his arrows, and scattered them; and he shot out lightnings, and discomfited them." So here his arrows are lightnings.
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And, of course, you can do a lot of things with a lightning strike. So look in Psalm 77, Psalm 77, and notice if you would, verses 17 and 18. Psalm 77, verse 17. Here's an interesting thought. He said, "The clouds poured out water: the skies sent out a sound: thine arrows also went abroad. The voice of thy thunder was in the heaven: the lightnings lightened the world: the earth trembled and shook." So now we're talking about arrows that involve the weather. We're talking about droughts. We're talking about floods. We're talking about tornadoes. We're talking about hurricanes. And they're called arrows. "Thine arrows also went abroad." So the first thing you need to notice in Psalm 45 and verse 5 is the plurality of the arrows. There are a multitude of arrows that are available to the divine archer. If you'll look back to Psalm 45, here's the second thing you should note about verse 5, and that is simply that it's not just a plurality of arrows, but also the target for the arrows.
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He said, "Thine arrows are sharp in the heart of the king's enemies." So those arrows are shot to the heart, and they are sharp. The third thing that you should notice in verse 5 is the result or the consequence resulting from the divine archer, and that is, "the people fall under thee." Look at it. "Thine arrows are sharp in the heart of the king's enemies; whereby the people fall under thee."
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In other words, our Lord is victorious. He conquers. He subdues. He dominates.
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Now, although we're talking about a plurality of arrows, I just want to point out two specific arrows that we can read about in the Word of God. First of all, there are arrows of deliverance, an arrow of deliverance.
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Now, when you think about deliverance, you don't necessarily think of war and pain. You think of being delivered. But I want you to see something. Hold Psalm 45 and turn in your Bibles to 2 Kings chapter 13. 2 Kings chapter 13. Elisha is dying and King Joash comes to visit him. And it's interesting what Joash says to Elisha, the man of God. 2 Kings 13, beginning there with verse 14: "Now Elisha was fallen sick of his sickness whereof he died. And Joash the king of Israel came down unto him, and wept over his face, and said, O my father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof."
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Now let me just stop right there. Do you know what Elisha said when the Lord parted he and Elijah, Elijah into heaven by a whirlwind? You know what Elisha said? "My father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof." You know what he's saying? And this is what Joash is saying to Elisha, that the true protection of a people is in the Lord and in His Word, His prophets who preach and teach His Word.
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If God does not protect us, we are not protected no matter what we have. So Joash now comes down and he weeps over Elisha. Watch verse 15: "And Elisha said unto him, Take bow and arrows. And he took unto him bow and arrows. And he said to the king of Israel, Put thine hand upon the bow. And he put his hand upon it: and Elisha put his hands upon the king's hands."
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"And he said, Open the window eastward. And he opened it. Then Elisha said, Shoot. And he shot. And he said, The arrow of the LORD's deliverance, and the arrow of deliverance from Syria: for thou shalt smite the Syrians in Aphek, till thou have consumed them. And he said, Take the arrows. And he took them. And he said unto the king of Israel, Smite upon the ground. And he smote thrice, and stayed. And the man of God was wroth with him, and said, Thou shouldest have smitten five or six times; then hadst thou smitten Syria till thou hadst consumed it: whereas now thou shalt smite Syria but thrice."
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But note, here is my point. Although this was called the arrow of deliverance, it still involved war. It still involved suffering. It still involved pain.
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Now, all you have to do is understand this. Anytime there's deliverance, there's always pain and suffering. All you have to do is read the book of Judges. So many times they sinned against God, and they were suffering, and then God raised up a judge who delivered them, and there was always war. So, although there is pain and suffering, we understand it is sometimes necessary in order to be delivered.
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It's like cancer in the body. You do not want to face surgery. No one wants to face surgery. But if you have cancer in your body, surgery is willing to be endured. It's necessary sometimes to cut out the cancer. And so this is the way it is with deliverance.
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Now, the arrow of deliverance, so to speak, from the perspective of the Word of God is an arrow of conviction. Let me tell you that conviction is very painful and very distressful, yet it's absolutely necessary. The truth of the matter is no one will ever be converted without being convicted. If you've never been convicted of your sins, then you've never really genuinely been converted. You remember what our Lord said in Matthew chapter 9, when those Pharisees came up and complained to His disciples, saying, "Thy master is eating with publicans and sinners." And our Lord said, "They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick."
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"But go ye and learn what that meaneth." So as long as you think you're whole, you'll never come to the Lord Jesus Christ. It's only when you realize how desperately sick you really truly are that you'll seek the great physician. I've told you many times that the word "heart" refers to the mind. It refers to the understanding. It refers to what you and I would call the conscience. So when our Lord then intends an arrow of deliverance, He always sends that arrow of deliverance, which is conviction, into our heart.
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And the Bible says that we are by nature enemies of the King. That's why the Bible says we're dead in trespasses and sins. That's why the Bible said, "For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son." So, he sends this arrow of conviction. And may I remind you that when Peter was preaching in Acts chapter 2, the Bible said his hearers were pricked in their hearts. When Stephen was preaching in Acts chapter 7, the Bible says his hearers were cut to the heart.
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So let me just give you a verse to start you thinking. In the book of Job chapter 6 and verse 4, Job makes this statement: "For the arrows of the Almighty are within me, the poison whereof drinketh up my spirit: the terrors of God do set themselves in array against me." So he said, "the arrows of the Almighty are within me." God had shot him with his arrows. Now, it is true that Job was basically what you and I would call a righteous man. However, that does not mean that he did not have sins and certainly needed correcting in certain areas because God corrected him beginning in Job chapter 38.
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And Job's response was, "I have spoken once; yea, twice; but I will proceed no further." In other words, I've learned my lesson. I've said enough. But notice if you would, he said, "the arrows of the Almighty are within me, the poison whereof drinketh up my spirit." In other words, he is just absolutely almost dead. That's why he said also, "the terrors of God do set themselves in array against me." In other words, he sees the sin and the wickedness of that sin. The same thing is true when you understand the sin of David. Everyone is aware of the sin of David. Yes, David committed adultery. Yes, David committed murder. And I find it very interesting that a lot of people today are more than willing to identify with the sin of David. They're willing to commit adultery if necessary. They're willing to commit murder.
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It doesn't matter to them. They'll admit, "Well, David did it. I can do it too." But what they are not willing to identify with is David's conviction and David's repentance. Now, it is true that David sinned. But what most people do not realize is out of all the Psalms that David wrote, there are seven of them that are known as Penitential Psalms. Seven times David writes a psalm saying how sorry he is, how wicked he is, and how horrible his sin is. You'll find those seven Penitential Psalms in Psalm 6, Psalm 32, Psalm 38, Psalm 51, Psalm 102, Psalm 130, and Psalm 143. Seven penitential psalms. Now, I do want you to look at Psalm 38. You need to read all of these psalms, because they are so graphic, and they show us really and truly what real, genuine conviction is. So let's look in Psalm 38, and think about David acknowledging his sin, confessing his sin.
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So he says in verse 1, "O LORD, rebuke me not in thy wrath: neither chasten me in thy hot displeasure." In other words, I know I've sinned, and Lord, if you give me what I deserve, I'm going to be done. I'll be gone. I can't handle that. Now he said in verse 2, "For thine arrows stick fast in me, and thy hand presseth me sore." So God has now shot him with the arrows of conviction. So look how he describes himself in his conviction. "There is no soundness in my flesh because of thine anger; neither is there any rest in my bones because of my sin." So David said, I'm totally, absolutely depraved. I'm totally wicked. I'm absolutely helpless. He said, and my sin will not allow me to rest. Watch verse 4. "For mine iniquities are gone over mine head: as an heavy burden they are too heavy for me." I'm drowning. I can't handle this.
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"As an heavy burden they are too heavy for me." I can't handle this.
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Now, I will tell you this, and let me just stop right here. I remember when God convicted me many, many years ago, and I will be absolutely honest. I did not understand conviction, but I honestly thought that I was dying. I really did. Well, let me hasten to say this: you cannot use your experience and press it on someone else. It is true that God brings us along the same line; everyone is convicted, but not everyone has committed the same sins, and not everyone has the same main sin, and not everyone is
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as wicked as some of the others. I mean, we are all totally depraved, but that does not mean that we're as wicked as we possibly can be. There are some that are far more wicked than others, but all are totally wicked. That is for sure. So I cannot say to Steve, "Well, unless you've been through what I've been through, you're not saved." No. My experience is not the standard. The Word of God is the standard. David is saying here
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that he is about to drown, he is about to die. Look what he said in verse 5: "My wounds stink and are corrupt because of my foolishness." Even after we have been saved, even after God has given us repentance, when we stop and think back about our sins, they still stink. And we still count them as foolishness. Everyone in this room, I can assure you, if you are saved by the grace of God, everyone wishes there were some things that you had never done, that you had never said. And although God forgives our sin, He does not necessarily wipe them out of our minds. We still are familiar with them. And therefore, David says, "my wounds stink and are corrupt because of my foolishness." Look in verse 6. He said, "I am troubled; I am bowed down greatly; I go mourning all the day long."
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In other words, I can't get any rest. These things are pressing me sore. He says, "For my loins are filled with a loathsome disease: and there is no soundness in my flesh. I am feeble and sore broken: I have roared by reason of the disquietness of my heart." Lord, I'm crying, I'm begging, I'm pleading. Then he said in verse 9, "Lord, all my desire is before thee; and my groaning is not hid from thee. My heart panteth, my strength faileth me: as for the light of mine eyes, it also is gone from me."
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In other words, I'm dying. Or at least that's what I think. He says, "My lovers and my friends stand aloof from my sore; and my kinsmen stand afar off. They also that seek after my life lay snares for me: and they that seek my hurt speak mischievous things, and imagine deceits all the day long. But I, as a deaf man, heard not; and I was as a dumb man that openeth not his mouth. Thus I was as a man that heareth not, and in whose mouth are no reproofs."
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I've thought about this as I read this verse, verse 13 particularly. I've thought of how many times I've spoken to people, declared the truth of God to them, and they never heard it. Never heard it. It's kind of like Martin Luther said. Martin Luther said he'd heard the gospel all of his life, and then one day he heard it. So, this is what David said, "I was deaf." Then look at what he said in verse 15: "For in thee, O LORD, do I hope: thou wilt hear, O Lord my God." In other words, you are my only hope. "For I said, Hear me, lest otherwise they should rejoice over me: when my foot slippeth, they magnify themselves against me. For I am ready to halt, and my sorrow is continually before me." Now look what he said in verse 18: "For I will declare mine iniquity; I will be sorry for my sin." If you read any of these penitential Psalms, you have to come to this conclusion: real biblical conviction is painful. It's distressful. But it is absolutely, totally necessary.
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Now, let me explain something, and that is this. David said he's going to be sorry for his sins. There is a difference between godly sorrow and worldly sorrow. Worldly sorrow is this: "Oh no, I've been caught. I've been discovered. I'm so embarrassed. How am I going to lift my face up in front of these people? They caught me, I was doing this, I was doing that, and it's now in the open. Everybody knows what I've been doing. I'm so embarrassed." That's the world. When you have been convicted by the Holy Spirit of God, it is true you may be embarrassed, but here's what you're going to say: "Let me tell you how God delivered me. Let me tell you how wicked I was and what I was doing. And God broke me out of it." Yeah, you're embarrassed, but at the same time, you're willing to confess it and you're willing to acknowledge it. And it's not just simply, "I'm sorry I got caught."
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The apostle Paul explains it like this in 2 Corinthians chapter 7, verses 9 and 10. He says this: "Now I rejoice, not that ye were made sorry, but that ye sorrowed to repentance: for ye were made sorry after a godly manner, that ye might receive damage by us in nothing. For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death." So the sorrow of the world, like I said, is "I'm caught, I'm embarrassed, I don't want to show my face." That's all. That is not conviction.
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The word "convict" is a translation from the Greek word elencho, which literally means to convince someone of a truth, to reprove, to accuse, to refute, and to cross-examine a witness. And in other words, in real conviction, the Holy Spirit of God is the prosecuting attorney who exposes our sin and our iniquities. He reproves us and convicts us of our need of the Lord Jesus Christ. When we are convicted by the Holy Spirit of God, we sense the sheer loathsomeness of our sin.
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You remember in Psalm 5 and verse 4, the psalmist said, "Neither shall evil dwell with thee." In other words, we understand that God is infinitely holy and infinitely righteous. You remember how Isaiah understood this in Isaiah chapter 6, when he said, "In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple." And he talked then about the seraphim, how they had six wings; with twain they covered their feet, with twain they covered their face, and with twain they did fly. And they ceased not, saying, "Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory." And then what did Isaiah say? "Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts." So whenever we see who God is and we see who we are, we can also see the loathsomeness of our sin. And so when we're convicted, we see that. We also, when we're convicted, see the dreadfulness of our sins, that we've sinned against a holy, righteous, loving God.
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We will end up taking the attitude of Joseph. You remember when Potiphar's wife tried to seduce him in Genesis 39, he left his coat and he ran out saying, "How can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?" We're convicted when we understand that our sin dishonors God. You remember, everyone remembers Psalm 51, but David is in that Psalm confessing and acknowledging his sin, and he makes an astounding statement in verse 4. When he confesses his sin, he says to God, "Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight."
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Now stop and think about this. Did not David sin against Bathsheba? Of course. Did he not sin against Uriah? Of course. Did he not sin against their families? Yes. Did he not sin against his family? Yes. Did he not sin against the nation? Yes. Well, why in the world is he saying in Psalm 51 and verse 4, "Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight"? And the answer is because he saw that primarily his sin was a dishonoring of God.
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Surely it dishonored other people. But since God is infinitely holy, he focused on the fact that his sin was dishonoring to God. We're convicted when we see also the just deserts of our sin. The Bible tells you in the book of Romans chapter 1 and verse 18, "For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness." You remember that Philippian jailer in Acts chapter 16, the Bible said that he came in trembling and said, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" In other words, he understood he was under the wrath of God, and if God did not save him, he was doomed, he was damned. So when the Holy Spirit of God convicts us, He convicts us of our sin and of the righteous judgment of God, and there is no appeal of this verdict. We have to agree that yes, we are sinners, we are wicked, we are transgressors, we are iniquitous, we have done everything that we're being convicted of.
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So, no matter how stressful conviction really is, we have to end up praising the Lord for it, for without conviction, there's no turning to the Lord. Without conviction, there's no repentance. You remember in John 6 and verse 44, our Lord said, "No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day." Part of that drawing is conviction. You cannot be drawn savingly to Jesus Christ without conviction.
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I want to give you a quote. I got this from John L. Dagg. I have Dagg's Systematic Theology. And listen to this quote. He summarizes what I just told you. He said, "Genuine repentance is a deep-felt and abiding sense of sin, a condemnation of ourselves before God on account of it, a turning away from it with abhorrence and loathing, and a fixed purpose of soul never again to commit it or to be at peace with it. This sense of sin drives the soul to Christ and unites with the exercise of faith in Christ to distinguish genuine religion or genuine Christianity from the counterfeits with which the world abounds." So he is saying basically what I just said. Without true conviction, you never ever get savingly to Jesus Christ, because it is conviction that shows you your desperate need of Jesus Christ. Now, I want you to look at Psalm 45 again and verse 5. I want to point something out very quickly. Look at this. Psalm 45 and verse 5, he said, "Thine arrows are sharp in the heart of the king's enemies; whereby the people fall under thee."
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It would be interesting for you to look up the Hebrew word "fall," because there are various definitions. A couple of the definitions happen to be these. It refers to "to fall prostrate before," or "to lay prostrate." So, you could have this, look at verse 5 again: "Thine arrows are sharp in the heart of the king's enemies; whereby the people lay prostrate under thee, or before thee." You remember that passage in Psalm 110, verse 3? "Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power." So it is the power of God, it's the arrows of conviction from the divine archer, which are arrows of deliverance that convicts us and enables us to prostrate ourselves at His feet, trusting only in Him. So you not only have an arrow of deliverance, here's the second one. There is an arrow of destruction. Again, I want to point out something in verse 5 of Psalm 45. "Thine arrows are sharp in the heart of the king's enemies." In hunting and in war, a heart shot is a death shot.
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His enemies fall under him. Now, if you will look up the word "fall" in Psalm 45 and verse 5, I told you it can mean to lay prostrate. But there are other definitions as well. It can also mean to fail, to fall, to be thrown down violently which results in death. And it also means to rot. So we're told in the Scripture that God will not at all acquit the wicked.
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He will render to every man according to his works. Listen carefully. Those who refuse His grace and mercy will receive arrows of destruction. There are arrows of deliverance. There are arrows of destruction. I want you to turn back in your Bibles to Deuteronomy 32. Deuteronomy 32, and get ready because I want to show you a number of passages before I make the applications. Look at Deuteronomy 32 beginning there with verse 23. Look what God says. We're talking about arrows of destruction. Deuteronomy 32, verse 23, God said, "I will heap mischiefs upon them; I will spend mine arrows upon them. They shall be burnt with hunger, and devoured with burning heat, and with bitter destruction."
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"I will also send the teeth of beasts upon them, with the poison of serpents of the dust. The sword without, and terror within, shall destroy both the young man and the virgin, the suckling also with the man of gray hairs." Wow! Note, if you would, He said, "I will spend mine arrows upon them." Arrows of destruction. Look in your Bibles to Psalm 7. Psalm 7. And let's begin reading there with verse 11. Psalm 7 and verse 11. Watch carefully. Psalm 7, verse 11: "God judgeth the righteous, and God is angry with the wicked every day. If he turn not, he will whet his sword; he hath bent his bow, and made it ready."
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"He hath also prepared for him the instruments of death; he ordaineth his arrows against the persecutors." Wow. Hmm. Did you see what God said? He will shoot his arrows of destruction. Look in your Bibles to Psalm 21. Psalm 21, and let's begin reading there with verse 8. Psalm 21, verse 8: "Thine hand shall find out all thine enemies: thy right hand shall find out those that hate thee." You know, that is an awesome statement. No one can hide from God. No one can deceive Him. You may pretend to be righteous and pretend to be a Christian, but God will find you out. So He says in verse 8, watch it: "Thine hand shall find out all thine enemies: thy right hand shall find out those that hate thee."
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Would someone like to tell me where the Lord Jesus Christ is seated today? At the right hand of God the Father. You remember that passage in John 5, "The Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son." So it's the right hand man who's going to find out all those that hate him. Now watch verse 9.
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"Thou shalt make them as a fiery oven in the time of thine anger: the LORD shall swallow them up in his wrath, and the fire shall devour them. Their fruit shalt thou destroy from the earth, and their seed from among the children of men. For they intended evil against thee: they imagined a mischievous device, which they are not able to perform. Therefore shalt thou make them turn their back, when thou shalt make ready thine arrows upon thy strings against the face of them. Be thou exalted, LORD, in thine own strength: so will we sing and praise thy power."
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There are arrows of destruction. Look, if you would, in Psalm 58. Psalm 58. And let's begin reading there with verse 6. This is a prayer, I think, that you and I need to learn to pray, because David is praying against the Lord's enemies. He starts out in verse 6, and he says this: "Break their teeth, O God, in their mouth: break out the great teeth of the young lions, O LORD." Well, what happens when you break out the teeth of lions? They starve. Okay. Then he says this in verse 7: "Let them melt away as waters which run continually: when he bendeth his bow to shoot his arrows, let them be as cut in pieces."
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"As a snail which melteth, let every one of them pass away: like the untimely birth of a woman, that they may not see the sun. Before your pots can feel the thorns, he shall take them away as with a whirlwind, both living, and in his wrath. The righteous shall rejoice when he seeth the vengeance: he shall wash his feet in the blood of the wicked. So that a man shall say, Verily there is a reward for the righteous: verily he is a God that judgeth in the earth." So the Bible talks about God shooting His arrows.
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Look if you would in Psalm 64, Psalm 64 at the first eight verses. Psalm 64, David says, "Hear my voice, O God, in my prayer: preserve my life from fear of the enemy. Hide me from the secret counsel of the wicked; from the insurrection of the workers of iniquity."
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Now look what these wicked do: "Who whet their tongue like a sword, and bend their bows to shoot their arrows, even bitter words: that they may shoot in secret at the perfect: suddenly do they shoot at him, and fear not. They encourage themselves in an evil matter: they commune of laying snares privily; they say, Who shall see them? They search out iniquities; they accomplish a diligent search: both the inward thought of every one of them, and the heart, is deep." Watch verse 7: "But God shall shoot at them with an arrow; suddenly shall they be wounded. So they shall make their own tongue to fall upon themselves: all that see them shall flee away." Wow! Isn't that astounding? God shall shoot at them.
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Look in Psalm 66, just the first three verses. Psalm 66: "Make a joyful noise unto God, all ye lands: sing forth the honour of his name: make his praise glorious. Say unto God, How terrible art thou in thy works! through the greatness of thy power shall thine enemies submit themselves unto thee."
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So you have an arrow of deliverance, and you also have an arrow of destruction. Let me make some applications. You must understand the difference between the arrow of deliverance and the arrow of destruction. The arrow of deliverance is for the reconciliation of His people, and the arrow of destruction is for the ruin of His enemies. The arrow of deliverance causes us to rule and reign with Him. The arrow of destruction makes His enemies His footstool. The arrow of deliverance enables us to be obedient and submissive and to be ruled by His golden scepter. The arrow of destruction means that He is to rule with a rod of iron. Remember Revelation 19? "He shall rule them with a rod of iron." Hmm. There is a difference between an arrow of deliverance and an arrow of destruction. Here's the second one.
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I want you to think about this. When God arises, there will both be deliverance and destruction. They are inseparable. You cannot have one without the other. I've heard people say, I've had them say it to me, "Well, I don't know about all this war stuff and all this fighting stuff. All I'm going to do is just pray the Lord returns." You cannot even pray the Lord's return without praying for destruction. What did He say in 2 Thessalonians chapter 1?
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"And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ." You can't pray for the Lord to return without praying for deliverance and destruction. Wow! Stop and think about this. When our Lord delivered Noah and his family in the old world, He destroyed the old world. When God delivered Israel from Egypt, He destroyed Egypt. When God delivered the land of Canaan to His people, He destroyed the Canaanites who were in the land. When our Lord Jesus Christ delivered His people, He destroyed sin and Satan. You cannot have deliverance without destruction.
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Since you're there, look in Psalm 68. Let's read the first three verses. Watch this carefully: "Let God arise, let his enemies be scattered: let them also that hate him flee before him. As smoke is driven away, so drive them away: as wax melteth before the fire, so let the wicked perish at the presence of God. But let the righteous be glad; let them rejoice before God: yea, let them exceedingly rejoice." What do you see? You see destruction, you see deliverance.
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You cannot have one without the other. Now, let me show you how this works in the New Testament. I want you to turn to 2 Corinthians 2. 2 Corinthians 2. And let's begin reading there with verse 14. 2 Corinthians 2.
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Watch verse 14. The Apostle Paul says, "Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of his knowledge by us in every place. For we are unto God a sweet savour of Christ, in them that are saved, and in them that perish."
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"To the one we are the savour of death unto death; and to the other the savour of life unto life. And who is sufficient for these things?" So he says that when Christ is preached, we are a sweet savour unto God our Father. So if I had a hundred people in this room who were lost, and I preached Jesus Christ, and everyone repented and trusted in Jesus Christ, God the Father does this: "That's a sweet smell. My Son is preached, and I'm satisfied." But on the other hand, suppose there's a hundred lost people in this room, and I preach to them Jesus Christ, and they shake their fist in the face of God and gnash their teeth, and they say, "I don't want to have this man reign over us," and they hate Christ, and they cast me out. Guess what? God the Father says, "That's a sweet smell. My Son is preached." We're the savour of life unto life and death unto death. That's what He said. We're the sweet savour in them that are saved and in them that perish.
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And then He asked, "Who is sufficient for these things?" Only Jesus Christ. You have to understand this. The sun that melts the wax hardens the clay. The gospel that always draws will also drive. So, you will either both be drawn to Christ and bow before Him and kneel before His golden scepter in love and obedience, or you in your rebellion and sin will be forced to kneel before Him with His rod of iron. But the truth of the matter is this: everyone will kneel and everyone will confess, whether in deliverance or destruction. The Bible, in Philippians chapter 2, verses 9 through 11, speaking of Jesus Christ, says, "Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." Everyone will confess, either in salvation or damnation, either in deliverance or destruction, but every knee shall bow, and every tongue shall confess.
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And Jesus Christ, who is a true, holy warrior, shoots his arrows of deliverance, but he also shoots his arrows of destruction. We need to understand this. Even after we're saved, we need oftentimes those arrows of conviction in our hearts, because we're still sinners. I usually tell people I've done far more repenting since I've been saved than when I got saved. Because when I got saved, I repented of sin in general, and maybe a few sins in specific. But since I started studying the Scripture, I found out there was a whole lot more wrong in my life than I thought.
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And I just have to continue in repentance. So whenever God convicts us, we need to make sure that we turn from those sins and do that which is right. So there is, even going on right now, a holy war. And Jesus Christ is the warrior king, and He is victorious. He will be victorious in His people, and He'll be victorious over His enemies. Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we bow to You this day.
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We thank You for Your Word. We thank You that in righteousness you do judge and make war. We're thankful that your arrows are sharp in our hearts. We need the convicting arrow of deliverance. We need repentance and faith. When we stop and think, Lord, of all the enemies today that are marshalling themselves against thee and against thy people, we know, Lord, that they shall fail and they shall fall. You will make them fall into the very pit which they have dug, and you will bring their violence down upon the tops of their own heads, because thou art God of gods and King of kings and Lord of lords. Thou art sovereign, and thou doest according to thy will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay thy hand, or say unto thee, What doest thou? We bow before thee, O Lord, and glory in your power and majesty and righteousness and truth. We glory in thy mercy and glory in thy justice. Help us, Lord, to always lay prostrate before thee and worship thee in spirit and in truth.
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In the name of Jesus Christ, we ask and pray. Amen.
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so
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deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-05T22:41:05Z

A Holy War

John Weaver | Freedom Ministries

Pastor John Weaver expounds Psalm 45:1-5, arguing that the passage depicts Jesus Christ as a divine warrior king engaged in a holy war. He distinguishes this from unholy human wars of conquest and Islamic jihad. The sermon focuses on the 'arrows' of the King, which represent both arrows of deliverance (conviction leading to salvation) and arrows of destruction (judgment upon the unrepentant). Weaver emphasizes that true conversion requires painful conviction of sin, and that Christ's victory ensures both the willing submission of His people and the forced subjugation of His enemies.

Introduction: Can War Be Holy?

Scripture Reading — Psalm 45:1-5

"Therefore God hath blessed thee for ever. Gird thy sword upon thy thigh, O most mighty, with thy glory and thy majesty. And in thy majesty ride prosperously because of truth and meekness and righteousness; and thy right hand shall teach thee terrible things. Thine arrows are sharp in the heart of the king's enemies; whereby the people fall under thee."

So the title of the message is "A Holy War." The first question we should ask: Can war be holy?

The Warrior King Identified as Jesus Christ

Now if there is any doubt as to whom Psalm 45 is referring, you should look at verses 6 and 7, and then be ready to turn in your Bibles to Hebrews chapter 1. So, Psalm 45 verse 6:

Scripture Reading — Psalm 45:6-7

"Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: the sceptre of thy kingdom is a right sceptre. Thou lovest righteousness, and hatest wickedness: therefore God, thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows."

Now we're talking about the Lord Jesus.

Scripture Reading — Hebrews 1:8-9

"But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom. Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows."

Scripture Reading — Revelation 6:1-2

"And he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer."

Scripture Reading — Revelation 6:1-2

"And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse."

The King's Preparation and Success in Battle

The Plurality and Variety of the King's Arrows

Scripture Reading — Ezekiel 5:15-17

"So it shall be a reproach and a taunt, an instruction and an astonishment unto the nations that are round about thee, when I shall execute judgments in thee in anger and in fury, and in furious rebukes; I the LORD have spoken it."

Now watch.

Scripture Reading — Ezekiel 5:15-17

"When I shall send upon them the evil arrows of famine, which shall be for their destruction, and which I will send to destroy you: and I will increase the famine upon you, and will break your staff of bread: so will I send upon you famine and evil beasts, and they shall bereave thee; and pestilence and blood shall pass through thee; and I will bring the sword upon thee. I the LORD have spoken it."

Scripture Reading — Psalm 18:14

"Yea, he sent out his arrows, and scattered them; and he shot out lightnings, and discomfited them."

The Arrow of Deliverance: Conviction of Sin

Scripture Reading — 2 Kings 13:14-19

"Now Elisha was fallen sick of his sickness whereof he died. And Joash the king of Israel came down unto him, and wept over his face, and said, O my father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof."

But note, here is my point. Although this was called the arrow of deliverance, it still involved war. It still involved suffering. It still involved pain.

So let me just give you a verse to start you thinking. In the book of Job chapter 6 and verse 4, Job makes this statement:

Scripture Reading — Job 6:4

"For the arrows of the Almighty are within me, the poison whereof drinketh up my spirit: the terrors of God do set themselves in array against me."

So he said,

Scripture Reading — Job 6:4

"the arrows of the Almighty are within me."

Scripture Reading — Job 6:4

"the arrows of the Almighty are within me, the poison whereof drinketh up my spirit."

In other words, he is just absolutely almost dead. That's why he said also,

Scripture Reading — Job 6:4

"the terrors of God do set themselves in array against me."

The Nature of True Conviction and Repentance

Scripture Reading — Psalm 51:4

"Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight"

? And the answer is because he saw that primarily his sin was a dishonoring of God.

The Arrow of Destruction: Judgment on Enemies

Scripture Reading — Deuteronomy 32:23-25

"I will heap mischiefs upon them; I will spend mine arrows upon them. They shall be burnt with hunger, and devoured with burning heat, and with bitter destruction."

Scripture Reading — Psalm 7:11-13

"He hath also prepared for him the instruments of death; he ordaineth his arrows against the persecutors."

Applications: Deliverance and Destruction Are Inseparable

A Holy War

John Weaver | YouTube

Lecture Metadata	Details
Speaker	John Weaver
Source	YouTube
Media ID	kznPfUrZZ_M
Subject	New Testament Studies
Course	Revelation: Witness, Judgment, and the Throne
Genre	Sermon
Date	2022-03-12
Dictation Name
Book	Book 140: Revelation: Witness, Judgment, and the Throne — Chapter 13
Source Timed Segments	83

Lecture Guide

Outline

Introduction: Can War Be Holy?: Weaver introduces Psalm 45 and the concept of a holy war, distinguishing it from Islamic jihad and unholy wars of conquest. He references John Bunyan's book 'The Holy War' and critiques modern political wars as offensive and designed for domination.
The Warrior King Identified as Jesus Christ: Using Psalm 45:6-7 and Hebrews 1:8-9, Weaver demonstrates that the king in Psalm 45 is Jesus Christ, the greater Solomon and true Son of David. He also connects the rider on the white horse in Revelation 6 and 19 to Christ as the conquering warrior.
The King's Preparation and Success in Battle: Weaver examines Psalm 45:3-4, noting the command to gird on the sword and the promise of prosperous riding. He explains that 'prosperously' means to complete a campaign victoriously, emphasizing Christ's undefeated nature.
The Plurality and Variety of the King's Arrows: Focusing on Psalm 45:5, Weaver highlights that 'arrows' is plural, indicating a multitude of divine instruments. He cites Ezekiel 5:15-17 (famine, beasts, pestilence), Psalm 18:14 (lightnings), and Psalm 77:17-18 (weather phenomena) as examples of God's arrows.
The Arrow of Deliverance: Conviction of Sin: Weaver explains that the arrow of deliverance is conviction of sin, which is painful but necessary for salvation. He uses Job 6:4, David's penitential psalms (especially Psalm 38), and the experiences of Peter's hearers (Acts 2) and Stephen's hearers (Acts 7) to illustrate the distress of genuine conviction.
The Nature of True Conviction and Repentance: Weaver contrasts godly sorrow with worldly sorrow, citing 2 Corinthians 7:9-10. He defines conviction (elencho) as the Holy Spirit's work of exposing sin, leading to a sense of loathsomeness, dread, and dishonor against God. He quotes John L. Dagg on genuine repentance.
The Arrow of Destruction: Judgment on Enemies: Weaver turns to the arrow of destruction, noting that a heart shot is a death shot. He cites Deuteronomy 32:23-25, Psalm 7:11-13, Psalm 21:8-13, Psalm 58:6-11, and Psalm 64:1-8 to show God's arrows of judgment against the wicked.
Applications: Deliverance and Destruction Are Inseparable: Weaver applies the message by stressing that deliverance and destruction always accompany God's arising. He uses examples (Noah/Flood, Israel/Egypt, Canaan/Canaanites) and cites 2 Thessalonians 1:7-8, Psalm 68:1-3, and 2 Corinthians 2:14-16 to show that the gospel is both a savor of life and death. He concludes that every knee will bow, either in salvation or judgment.

Major Themes

Key Arguments

Psalm 45 is a messianic psalm about Jesus Christ, not merely Solomon.

The New Testament applies Psalm 45:6-7 directly to Christ (Hebrews 1:8-9), and Jesus claimed to be greater than Solomon (Matthew 12:42).

Weaver reads Hebrews 1:8-9 and references Matthew 12:42 and Matthew 1:1.

The rider on the white horse in Revelation 6 is Christ, not the Antichrist.

Symbolism in Revelation is consistent; the only other white horse rider is explicitly Christ in Revelation 19:11-16.

Weaver argues against commentators who see the Antichrist, citing Revelation 19:11-16.

God uses a variety of 'arrows' (judgments) to accomplish His purposes.

Scripture describes famine, pestilence, wild beasts, lightning, and weather phenomena as God's arrows.

Weaver cites Ezekiel 5:15-17, Psalm 18:14, and Psalm 77:17-18.

Conviction is a painful but essential work of the Holy Spirit.

David's penitential psalms show the agony of conviction, which is necessary to drive sinners to Christ.

Weaver reads Psalm 38:1-18 and references Job 6:4, Acts 2:37, and Acts 7:54.

Godly sorrow leads to repentance, while worldly sorrow leads to death.

True conviction produces a hatred of sin itself, not just embarrassment at being caught.

Weaver quotes 2 Corinthians 7:9-10 and explains the Greek word elencho.

The gospel message inherently brings both life and death.

Preaching Christ is a sweet savor to God whether people are saved or perish, as stated in 2 Corinthians 2:14-16.

Weaver reads 2 Corinthians 2:14-16 and explains the metaphor.

Every person will ultimately bow to Christ, either in salvation or judgment.

Philippians 2:9-11 declares universal confession; the only question is whether it will be willing or forced.

Weaver quotes Philippians 2:9-11 and contrasts the golden scepter with the rod of iron.

Scripture References

Psalm 45:1-5: Primary text of the sermon, describing the king's beauty, majesty, and arrows.
Psalm 45:6-7: Used to identify the king as God, later applied to Christ in Hebrews.
Hebrews 1:8-9: Quotes Psalm 45:6-7 and applies it directly to Jesus Christ.
Matthew 12:42: Jesus claims to be greater than Solomon, supporting the messianic interpretation.
Matthew 1:1: Jesus is the son of David and Abraham, the true seed.
Revelation 6:1-2: The rider on the white horse with a bow, identified as Christ.
Revelation 19:11-16: The rider on the white horse is explicitly named Faithful and True, the Word of God, King of Kings.
John 3:34: God gives the Spirit without measure to Christ, explaining 'grace is poured into thy lips.'
Ezekiel 5:15-17: God's 'evil arrows' include famine, wild beasts, pestilence, and the sword.
Psalm 18:14: God's arrows are lightnings, scattering enemies.
Psalm 77:17-18: Arrows include thunder, lightning, and weather phenomena.
2 Kings 13:14-19: Elisha's arrow of deliverance for Israel against Syria.
Job 6:4: Job feels the arrows of the Almighty within him, drinking up his spirit.
Psalm 38:1-18: David's penitential psalm describing the pain of conviction.
2 Corinthians 7:9-10: Godly sorrow works repentance; worldly sorrow works death.
Psalm 51:4: David says he sinned against God only, showing sin's primary offense is against God.
Deuteronomy 32:23-25: God will spend His arrows of destruction on the wicked.
Psalm 7:11-13: God ordains His arrows against the persecutors.
Psalm 21:8-13: God will make ready His arrows upon the strings against the faces of His enemies.
Psalm 64:1-8: God shall shoot at the wicked with an arrow; suddenly shall they be wounded.

Historical References

John Bunyan, 'The Holy War': Weaver references Bunyan's book as an example of a holy war in literature, contrasting it with unholy wars.
John Perkins, 'Confessions of an Economic Hitman': Weaver recommends this book to illustrate how modern nations use debt, assassination, and war to dominate other countries.
Martin Luther's conversion experience: Weaver quotes Luther saying he heard the gospel all his life and then one day heard it, illustrating spiritual deafness.
John L. Dagg, 'Manual of Theology' (Systematic Theology): Weaver quotes Dagg's definition of genuine repentance as a deep-felt sense of sin driving the soul to Christ.

Important Quotes

Genuine repentance is a deep-felt and abiding sense of sin, a condemnation of ourselves before God on account of it, a turning away from it with abhorrence and loathing, and a fixed purpose of soul never again to commit it or to be at peace with it. This sense of sin drives the soul to Christ and unites with the exercise of faith in Christ to distinguish genuine religion or genuine Christianity from the counterfeits with which the world abounds.

This quote from John L. Dagg succinctly defines true repentance and its essential role in genuine conversion, summarizing a major theme of the sermon.

The sun that melts the wax hardens the clay. The gospel that always draws will also drive.

This metaphor captures the dual effect of the gospel: it softens some hearts to repentance while hardening others in rebellion, illustrating the inseparable nature of deliverance and destruction.

You cannot even pray the Lord's return without praying for destruction.

Weaver emphasizes that praying for Christ's return inherently involves praying for judgment on the ungodly, as described in 2 Thessalonians 1.

I've done far more repenting since I've been saved than when I got saved.

This personal testimony highlights the ongoing need for conviction and repentance in the believer's life, even after initial conversion.

Discussion Questions

[Question]

How does understanding Jesus as a warrior king challenge or expand your view of His character and work?

[Context]

Weaver presents Christ as the rider on the white horse, conquering and judging, based on Psalm 45 and Revelation 19.

[Question]

In what ways have you experienced the 'arrow of conviction' in your own life, and how did it lead to repentance?

[Context]

Weaver describes conviction as painful but necessary, using David's penitential psalms as an example.

[Question]

What is the difference between godly sorrow and worldly sorrow, and how can we discern which one we are experiencing?

[Context]

Weaver contrasts the two types of sorrow using 2 Corinthians 7:9-10.

[Question]

Why does Weaver argue that deliverance and destruction are inseparable in God's work? Do you agree?

[Context]

Weaver uses biblical examples like Noah, Egypt, and the conquest of Canaan to support this point.

[Question]

How should the reality of God's 'arrows of destruction' affect our evangelism and our prayers for the lost?

[Context]

Weaver cites 2 Corinthians 2:14-16 and 2 Thessalonians 1:7-8 to show the serious consequences of rejecting the gospel.

[Question]

What does it mean that every knee will bow to Christ, and how does this truth provide both comfort and warning?

[Context]

Weaver concludes with Philippians 2:9-11, emphasizing universal submission either in salvation or judgment.

Applications

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