John Calvin Commentary Psalms 73:23

"Nevertheless I am continually with thee: Thou hast holden my right hand." — Psalms 73:23 (ASV)

Nevertheless I was continually with thee. Here the Psalmist declares, in a different sense, that he was with God. He gives God thanks for having kept him from utterly falling when he was in such great danger of being precipitated into destruction. The greatness of the favor to which he refers is the more strikingly shown by the confession he made a little before: that he was bereft of judgment and, as it were, a brute beast; for he richly deserved to be cast off by God, when he dared to murmur against him.

Men are said to be with God in two ways:

1. Regarding their perception and thought, when they are persuaded that they live in his presence, are governed by his hand, and sustained by his power.
2. When God, unperceived by them, puts a bridle on them, by which, when they go astray, he secretly restrains them and prevents them from totally apostatizing from him.

Therefore, when a man imagines that God exercises no care about him, he is not with God, according to his own feeling or perception. Still, if that man is not forsaken, he abides with God, because God’s secret or hidden grace continues with him. In short, God is always near his chosen ones; for although they sometimes turn their backs on him, he nevertheless always has his fatherly eye turned towards them.

When the Psalmist speaks of God as holding him by the right hand, he means that he was, by the wonderful power of God, drawn back from that deep gulf into which the reprobate cast themselves. He then ascribes it wholly to the grace of God that he was enabled to restrain himself from breaking out into open blasphemies, and from hardening himself in error, and that he was also brought to condemn himself for foolishness—this he ascribes wholly to the grace of God, who stretched out his hand to hold him up and prevent him from a fall that would have involved him in destruction.

From this we see how precious our salvation is in the sight of God; for when we wander far from him, he still continues to look upon us with a watchful eye and to stretch out his hand to bring us to himself. We must indeed beware of perverting this doctrine by making it a pretext for slothfulness; but experience nevertheless teaches us that when we are sunk in drowsiness and insensibility, God exercises care for us, and that even when we are fugitives and wanderers from him, he is still near us.

The force of the metaphor in the language representing God as holding us by the right hand, should be particularly noticed. For there is no temptation, however slight, that would not easily overthrow us if we were not upheld and sustained by the power of God.

The reason then why we do not succumb, even in the severest conflicts, is simply because we receive the aid of the Holy Spirit. He does not indeed always put forth his power in us in an evident and striking manner (for he often perfects it in our weakness); but it is enough that he aids us, although we may be ignorant and unconscious of it, that he upholds us when we stumble, and even lifts us up when we have fallen.