Chapter X.
If God had not been to our right hand, that place would be taken over by the devil, as happened to our first parent: when Christ played the role, he placed the devil on his right side in order to throw him down more gloriously: finally, the greatest benefits will return to those on Christ's right hand.
27. From where, as if visited by Him, he says: You have held my right hand, and in your will you have led me, and with glory you have taken me up (Psalm 72:24). Thus we have received it, and it agrees with the Greek. For the Greek says: Ἐκρατῆσας τῆς χειρὸς, that is, you have held the hand, τῆς δεξιᾶς μου, my right hand. Well is directed whose right hand God holds with His own hand. He can say: The Lord is at my right hand, so that I may not be shaken (Psalm 16:8). If Adam had desired to have God on his right hand, he would not have been deceived by the serpent. But because he forgot the commandment of God and fulfilled the will of the serpent, the devil held his hand and caused him to reach for the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, in order to eat of the forbidden fruit. In him, judgment was pronounced on all, and the adversary began to stand at the right hand of all. Hence, that cursed form came forth against Judas: And let the Devil stand at his right hand (Psalm 108:6). If that curse is severe, then this blessing is the greatest, by which the chains of harsh curses are loosened. Therefore, the Lord Jesus placed the devil at His right hand, just as we read in the book of Zechariah (Zach. III, 1); for He had taken up the cause and place of mankind. There He stood, where the inheritance of Adam stood. Like a good athlete, He allowed him to stand at His right hand, in order to repel him backward, saying: 'Get behind me, Satan' (Matth. IV, 10). Therefore, the enemy, being thrown down, retreated from his position; but in order that the devil would not stand at your right hand, he said, 'Come, follow me' (Matthew 19:21). Therefore, foreseeing the coming of the Lord, who would come down from heaven to deliver us from the power of the enemy, David said, 'The Lord is at my right hand, so that I may not be shaken.' But the devil, who was at his right hand, was shaken. Therefore, rightly does he say, 'You have held my right hand,' that is, so that I may no longer be able to sin; so that, being unstable before on the slippery path, I may be able to stand firm with a secure station. How well the apostle said this, when the Lord saw him troubled and, extending his right hand, he did not allow him to stagger, and with fearless steps, he strengthened him (Matt. XIV, 30 and 31). Therefore, Peter, having been freed, spoke nothing else but these prophetic verses: You have held my right hand, and in your will you have led me, and with glory you have taken me up. What is the right hand if not the active power of the soul? If it is directed by the will of the Lord, it desires nothing else, requires nothing, seeks no worldly riches, asks for no assistance.