John Calvin Commentary Deuteronomy 33:27

"The eternal God is [thy] dwelling-place, And underneath are the everlasting arms. And he thrust out the enemy from before thee, And said, Destroy." — Deuteronomy 33:27 (ASV)

The eternal God is your refuge. This is just as if he had said that the Israelites were protected from above by the help of God, and also based, as it were, upon Him. The beginning of the prayer corresponds with that other in Psalm 90:1, Lord, you have been our dwelling-place in all generations. The sum is, that although the Israelites might be exposed to many injuries, still there was secure repose for them under the shadow of God’s wings; and assuredly, unless the hand of God had been like a roof to protect them, they would have perished a thousand times over.

But, since it would not be sufficient for our heads to be in safety, the other point is also added, namely, that God’s arms should be stretched out to sustain them from beneath. He calls them “everlasting,” because the security of the pious, who rely upon God, is never shaken. It is, therefore, just as if he represented God to be at the same time the foundation and the roof of their abode.

Others translate it less correctly, “You shall live under the arms of the Everlasting;” for an elegant distinction is drawn, ³²⁶ which, however, tends to the same point, when God is called קדם, kedem, and His arms עלם, gnolam, the first of which words has reference to the past, while in the other there is allusion to the future; as if he had said of God, that He was from the beginning and that His power would endure to the end.

He presents experiential evidence of the above statements, since God had ³²⁷ miraculously destroyed the enemies of His people. At the same time, he specifies the manner in which this was done, namely, that He had said, Destroy, or blot out, or dissipate. And by this word he signifies that, although God had made use of the agency of the Israelites, still He alone was the conqueror, since the Israelites prevailed only at His bidding and by His will.

³²⁶ This sentence is omitted in the Latin edition of 1563 though given in substance in the French of 1564.

³²⁷ It will be seen that C. translates the verbs here in the past tense; . translates the verbs here in the past tense; A. V. in the future: “he . in the future: “he shall thrust out, etc.”thrust out, etc.”