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.”

We are now approaching the end of the prayer. It is here we find the final plea of the Psalmist to the God of Israel.

“Let thy hand“
The hand of God is referenced in relation to many different things, whether it’s for discipline, guidance, or blessing. It refers to His power and action. One could read this in both senses, whether it’s in punishment or blessing, both can be seen in a positive sense, for every son who the Lord loves, He chastens. So it is here, the Psalmist prays for the hand of God to be present.

“be upon the man of thy right hand, upon the son of man“
The hand of God is requested to be upon the man of God’s right hand. The right hand of God is a reference to when God does something powerful, such as parting the Red Sea, it would be referenced as, “Thy right hand, O Jehovah, hath dashed in pieces the enemy!” The right hand is a reference to strength. So one could read this as, Let your hand be upon the man in whom you have showed power. This reading is further strengthened by the fact that this verse is incredibly similar to verse 15, where which says: “And the vineyard which thy right hand hath planted, and the branch that thou madest strong for thyself.”

If anything, what we see here is a progression once again. In the previous section where it was called to memory what God had done, it’s declared how that God had established the nation with His power (His right hand). Now the request is, may your hand be upon the nation that your power has established. It is worth of note that the word for man here is not always understood to be strictly an individual but can be a reference to mankind as a whole. It’s a request for God to hold on to His people.

We see this reinforced by the second phrase, ‘upon the son of man whom thou madest strong for thyself’, which you may recall is almost exactly the same as verse 15 that says, ‘and the branch that thou madest strong for thyself’. In a moment we will look at some of the inferences we can take away from this, but needless to say, I believe this is sufficient proof to indicate that verse 17 is a repetition of verse 15, with a change from recalling the past to a request.

“whom thou madest strong for thyself.”
The err of Israel was to forget that their elevation and blessing was for the glory of God. Their strength was for His glory.

Before we have a look at the inferences we can draw from verses 15 and 17, let’s have a look at a key concept in this verse: God needs to hold onto us for us to have any chance of salvation.

Many prayed, indeed I have, Lord, I’m going to hold onto you. We mean well, but the more accurate thing to say is, Lord, hold onto me!

If God’s hand ever lets go of us, then there is no hope for us. If there is something you should pray ever day, it’s ‘Lord Jesus, don’t let go of me! May your hand be upon me!’

It’s not that you chose to follow Christ, but that Christ chose you. That is always of paramount importance.

Inferences:

15  And the vineyard which thy right hand hath planted, and the branch that thou madest strong for thyself. 

17  Let thy hand be upon the man of thy right hand, upon the son of man whom thou madest strong for thyself.

Hopefully the different formatting helps illustrate the similarities between the two texts. The key differences are in bold, but I would venture to say, these are not differences in meaning, but rather, a different word is used with the same meaning. One is representative, the other literal. Vineyard is representative. Man (mankind/people) is literal. The branch is representative. The son of man is literal.

It indicates a difference between the two as well. The first being general, the second is specific. Vineyard is a large amount of ‘branches’. Branch is just the one. One refers to men. The other refers to a man.

Consider how Jesus would use a vineyard in parables as a symbol of Israel. Consider also how Jesus is referred to prophetically as ‘The Branch’. (Jer 33:15) As such, we could draw the following from these two verses being compared: vineyard = people. Branch = son of man This then would provide a key to understanding other areas of prophetic language when vineyard and branch is used.

Note:

There are strong messianic undertones in this passage, though due to context, I would not say that this is a direct messianic prophecy. Jesus is, however, the ultimate answer to this prayer, as we will see in the last few verses, He would and will literally quicken (bring back to life) His people