John Calvin Commentary Psalms 80:17

"Let thy hand be upon the man of thy right hand, Upon the son of man whom thou madest strong for thyself." — Psalms 80:17 (ASV)

Let that hand be upon the Man of thy right hand. Here the Psalmist repeats in plain words the prayer which he had expressed under the figure of a vineyard, pleading that God would defend, under his hand, the Man of his right hand, and the Son of man whom he hath strengthened for himself. It is uncertain whether he speaks of the king alone, or whether the people also are included.

Although Jeroboam was anointed to be king, he did not come to the possession of the royal dignity in a lawful way; and God never approved of any of his successors to such an extent as to divest the posterity of David of the right and power of dominion. God, as we have seen in Psalm 78:67, did not choose the tribe of Ephraim.

On the contrary, the scepter, by his immutable decree, was given to the house of Judah, as is plainly taught in the prophecy of Jacob (Genesis 49:10). It was therefore a base and wicked dismembering of the body when the majority of the people revolted from the house of David and submitted themselves to Jeroboam as their king.

Such being the case, why then, it may be said, is the king of Israel prayed for in this manner? To remove this difficulty, let it be observed that although that kingdom had an unfavorable start, and God, as is stated in Hosea 13:11, gave them a king in his anger, yet he was afterwards pleased to tolerate its continuance. The anointing of Jeroboam testified that he had ratified what had been unadvisedly and wickedly done by the tumult and rebellion of the people.

The nation of Israel might therefore say that their king was created and established by God, who, in order to remedy the rupture which had been made, added him as a sharer in the royal dignity to the children of David. By that rent the state of the people was greatly impaired; but, to prevent an entire overthrow, the erection of the ten tribes into a separate kingdom, under the sovereignty of Jeroboam, was, as it were, a pillar put under it by the secret counsel of God to uphold it.

I have, however, no hesitation in considering the whole body of the Church as comprehended under the expressions, the Man of God’s right hand, and the Son of man. The singular number is very properly used, as it was the Divine will that the chosen people should be as one man.

For the same reason, the Apostle Paul also, in Galatians 3:16, lays great stress upon the words, one seed; for Ishmael, Esau, and others, were separated and scattered when God redeemed and gathered together the seed of Abraham. Thus, by the Son of man is to be understood the people whom God had adopted to himself, that they might be as one man. But as this oneness depended upon the head, I readily admit that the phrase has a particular reference to the king, who preserved the greater part of the people from being involved in utter destruction. Here again the Prophet, in seeking to obtain the Divine favor, founds his argument and hope only upon the benefits which God had formerly conferred upon them. “Lord,” as if he had said, “since it belongs to you to perfect that which you have begun, preserve the king whom you have given us!”

In the 18th verse, the faithful engage, upon God’s hearing them, gratefully to acknowledge his goodness, not only by rendering to him the sacrifice of praise, but also by their whole life. Calling upon God’s name, is here to be understood as the calves of the lips (Hosea 45:3); but when it is said, We will not go back from thee, this means the uniform and continued course of the whole life.

The verse, however, may be interpreted thus: O Lord! We will continue in our obedience to you, even when our circumstances, so far as we can perceive, are hopeless. Never shall the sharpness of our calamities have the effect of driving us to apostasy from you; and when we are restored by your grace and power, we will magnify your name.

It would be superfluous to make any further observations on the last verse, which is repeated for the third time.