A Prayer for the Messiah
Psalm 80:17
Let your hand be on the man of your right hand, on the son of man whom you made strong for yourself.


1. In all ages the saints have greatly longed for their Saviour. Abraham saw His day afar off, and rejoiced that a child was to be born unto him, in whom all nations of the earth should be blessed. And the godly in this verse long for Him, and pray for His coming.

2. He is here shortly three ways described.

(1) First, He is called the Son of God's right hand, for three causes: first, in respect of His marvellous generation in both His natures: in the one, without a father; in the other, without a mother. Secondly, He is called the Son of God's right hand, for that singular love and favour which the Father carries toward Him; for the right hand of God signifies His power, or His favour and love. It is true every Christian man is also the son of God's right hand; by nature his name is Ben-oni, the son of sorrow; but his father hath changed his name with his estate, called him Ben-jamin, the son of his right hand. But in a more special sense doth this title belong to the Lord Jesus. Thirdly, He is the Son of the Father's right hand in respect of his most perfect obedience and ready willingness to do in all things the will of His Father.

(2) They call Him the Son of Man; He is in such sort the Son of God, that He is also the Son of Man, not begotten by man, yet formed, and conceived of the seed of man; He is the companion of Jehova; He is also, as Job calleth Him, our Goel or kinsman. Doubtless this is a strong bulwark of our faith, since we see that the Son of God is become the Son of Man, clothed with all the infirmities of our nature, except sin; since we see the God of glory humbled to the ignominy of the cross, why should we doubt that the sons of men shall also be made the sons of God, and that these vile bodies of ours shall be changed, and fashioned like unto the glorious body of Christ, especially since for no other end became He the Son of Man, but to make us the sons of God?

(3) "Whom Thou hast made strong for Thyself;" this respecteth His threefold office, and His unction to them all (Isaiah 61:1; John 6:27; John 1:14; John 3:34). Of all these it is plain how the Father is said to have made His Son strong for Himself; that is, He anointed Him, He sealed Him, He put His Spirit into Him, not in a measure, but communicated the fulness of grace to Him, that He might be strengthened to do unto us the office of a king, to deliver us from our enemies, or a prophet, to teach us the whole counsel of God, and. of a priest, to offer Himself in a propitiatory sacrifice for us. In all these appeared His wonderful strength; when He suffered like a weak man, then He wrought like a valiant man. Every way the mighty strength of our strong Redeemer is to be admired, but specially His conquests by suffering, there did appear the weakness of God stronger than man; yea, then all these principalities, powers, and spiritual wickednesses that were opposite to Him.

(Bp. Cowper.)



Parallel Verses
KJV: Let thy hand be upon the man of thy right hand, upon the son of man whom thou madest strong for thyself.

WEB: Let your hand be on the man of your right hand, on the son of man whom you made strong for yourself.




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