So will not we go back from thee - That is, if thou wilt thus interpose; if thou wilt deliver the nation; if thou wilt help him whom thou hast placed over it, giving him wisdom and valor, we will hereafter be obedient to thy law; we will not apostatize from thee. It is a solemn promise or pledge of future obedience made by the psalmist as expressing the purpose of the people if God would be merciful and would withdraw his judgments; a pledge proper in itself, and often made by the Hebrew people only to be disregarded; a pledge proper for all who are in affliction, and often made in such circumstances, but, as in the case of the Hebrews, often made only to be forgotten.

Quicken us - literally, Give us life. See the notes at Ephesians 2:1. Restore life to us as a people; save us from ruin, and reanimate us with thy presence.

And we will call upon thy name - We will worship thee; we will be faithful in serving thee.

So wilt not we go back from thee - We shall no more become idolaters: and it is allowed on all hands that the Jews were never guilty of idolatry after their return from the Babylonish captivity.

Quicken us - Make us alive, for we are nearly as good as dead.

We will call upon they name - We will invoke thee. Thou shalt be for ever the object of our adoration, and the center of all our hopes.

So will not we go back from thee,.... From thy fear, as the Targum; or from thy service, as Kimchi; doing as above would encourage them to stand before the Lord, and worship him; which they could not do, if he marked their sins, and demanded satisfaction from them for them; but if he looked to his Son and their surety, and took it from him, this would encourage their faith and hope, and give them boldness in his presence, and attach them to his service:

quicken us, and we will call upon thy name; the people of God are sometimes dead and lifeless in their frames, and in the exercise of grace and discharge of duty, and have need of the quickening influences of the Spirit and grace of God; and which are necessary to a fervent calling upon the name of the Lord in prayer, and without which none will stir up themselves so to do. Kimchi interprets this of quickening, or of raising to life, from the death of the captivity; and so Abarbinel, who thinks also that it respects the resurrection of the dead in the times of the Messiah.

So will not we go back from thee: {o} quicken us, and we will call upon thy name.

(o) For no one can call on God but such as are raised up as it were from death to life, and regenerate by the Holy Spirit.

80:18 Go back - Revolt from thee to idolatry or wickedness. Quicken - Revive and restore us to our tranquility.

18. We need quickening grace (Ps 71:20; 119:25) to persevere in Thy right worship (Ge 4:26; Ro 10:11).

80:17-19 The Messiah, the Protector and Saviour of the church, is the Man of God's right hand; he is the Arm of the Lord, for all power is given to him. In him is our strength, by which we are enabled to persevere to the end. The vine, therefore, cannot be ruined, nor can any fruitful branch perish; but the unfruitful will be cut off and cast into the fire. The end of our redemption is, that we should serve Him who hath redeemed us, and not go back to our old sins.