Bible Strands
Psalms 79:9
Help us, O God of our salvation, for the glory of Your name; deliver us and atone for our sins, for the sake of Your name.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The psalmist speaks for a defeated community addressing God immediately after recounting Jerusalem’s slaughter and preceding a demand for divine vengeance. This plea follows a request to ignore past transgressions and precedes a call for God to demonstrate His power before hostile nations.
The words — עָזְרֵֽנוּ ('a.ze.re./nu) translates literally as "help us," and כְּבוֹד (ke.Vod) means "glory." These terms anchor the prayer in divine reputation rather than human merit.
The thread — The motif of appealing to God’s name despite human failure appears in Jeremiah 14:7, 2 Chronicles 14:11, and Psalm 25:11. Each passage links divine intervention directly to the preservation of His reputation among the nations.
Why it lands — The text demands that readers ground their requests in God’s character rather than their own record. It requires accepting that divine action will vindicate His name before hostile observers.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
Help us, O God of our salvation, for the glory of thy name: and deliver us, and purge away our sins, for thy name’s sake.
Cross-references
- Jeremiah 14:7 Although our iniquities testify against us, O LORD, act for the sake of Your name. Indeed, our rebellions are many; we have sinned against You.
- 2 Chronicles 14:11 Then Asa cried out to the LORD his God: “O LORD, there is no one besides You to help the powerless against the mighty. Help us, O LORD our God, for we rely on You, and in Your name we have come against this multitude. O LORD, You are our God. Do not let a mere mortal prevail against You.”
- Psalms 25:11 For the sake of Your name, O LORD, forgive my iniquity, for it is great.
- Jeremiah 14:21 For the sake of Your name do not despise us; do not disgrace Your glorious throne. Remember Your covenant with us; do not break it.
- Isaiah 48:9 For the sake of My name I will delay My wrath; for the sake of My praise I will restrain it, so that you will not be cut off.
- Ezekiel 20:14 But I acted for the sake of My name, so that it would not be profaned in the eyes of the nations in whose sight I had brought them out.
- Psalms 31:3 For You are my rock and my fortress; lead me and guide me for the sake of Your name.
- Psalms 65:3 When iniquities prevail against me, You atone for our transgressions.
- Isaiah 43:25 I, yes I, am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake and remembers your sins no more.
- Ezekiel 20:9 But I acted for the sake of My name, that it should not be profaned in the eyes of the nations among whom they were living, in whose sight I had revealed Myself to Israel by bringing them out of the land of Egypt.