John Calvin Commentary Psalms 132:10

"For thy servant David`s sake Turn not away the face of thine anointed." — Psalms 132:10 (ASV)

Regarding the phrase For your servant David’s sake, etc., some would connect the first part of the verse with the preceding. Without offering reasons against this, it must immediately strike the reader that this verse should be taken as a whole. Before beginning an explanation of the Psalmist’s meaning, I should say that it would be to force the meaning of the words if we were to understand turning away the face of your Christ as meaning depriving us of a view of the Redeemer.

We may infer with certainty from Solomon’s prayer that it is a request for God to show favor to the king. The same expression is used by Bathsheba in the request she made to her son Solomon, Turn not away your face, meaning that he would not cast her out of his sight (1 Kings 2:20).

It is an expression equivalent to showing displeasure; and we might say a word or two about it because the other idea of referring the words to our Redeemer is plausible, and might mislead less discerning people. Therefore, nothing more is asked here than that God would not despise and reject the prayers David had offered in the name of all the people.

The favor is asked for David’s sake only because God had made a covenant with him. As far as that privilege was concerned, he did not stand in exactly the same position as any other ordinary man. In short, the prayer asks that God, remembering his promise, would show favor to David's descendants. For although this prayer for the Church must be considered as provided for each of the kings, its foundation was in the person of David.

The Church was thus taught figuratively that Christ, as Mediator, would make intercession for all his people. He had not yet appeared in the flesh, nor entered by the sacrifice of himself into the Holiest of all, and in the meantime, the people had a figurative Mediator to embolden them in their supplications.