Psalms 79:9 · Bible study
Psalms 79:9 Commentary: Prayer for the Glory of God's Name
Hebrew · 10 what the commentators say
Meaning in one sentence
Explore the meaning of praying 'for your name's sake' and how it grounds deliverance and forgiveness in God's glory.
Research Summary
- Meaning: The community prays for help, deliverance, and forgiveness, basing the entire plea on God's glory, not their worth.
- Key words: help (עזר, azar), deliver (נצל, natsal), atone (כפר, kaphar), name (שם, shem).
- Main debate: Whether the historical setting is the Babylonian exile or the Maccabean persecution; the verse's meaning is stable across settings.
- Theological theme: God's name, his revealed character and reputation, is the ultimate motive for his saving action.
- Best use: A model for prayer that connects personal need with the honor of God, especially in times of communal crisis or personal failure.
Translation Comparison
BSB Berean Standard Bible 2020
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.
WEB World English Bible 2000
Help us, God of our salvation, for the glory of your name. Deliver us, and forgive our sins, for your name’s sake.
KJV King James Version 1769
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.
ASV American Standard Version 1901
Help us, O God of our salvation, for the glory of thy name; And deliver us, and forgive our sins, for thy name’s sake.
YLT Young's Literal Translation 1898
Help us, O God of our salvation, Because of the honour of Thy name, And deliver us, and cover over our sins, For Thy name's sake.
Darby Darby Bible 1890
Help us, OGod of our salvation, because of the glory of thy name; and deliver us, and forgive our sins, for thy name's sake.
Douay-Rheims Douay-Rheims Bible 1899
Thou hast brought a vineyard out of Egypt: thou hast cast out the Gentiles and planted it.
Translations in other languages (10 available)
Ayúdanos, oh Dios, salud nuestra, por la gloria de tu nombre: y líbranos, y aplácate sobre nuestros pecados por amor de tu nombre.
Socorre-nos, ó Deus da nossa salvação, para glorificar o teu nome; livra-nos, e perdoa os nossos pecados por causa do teu nome.
Secours-nous, Dieu de notre salut, pour la gloire de ton nom!
Hilf du uns, Gott, unser Helfer, um deines Namens Ehre willen; errette uns und vergib uns unsre Sünden um deines Namens willen!
Help ons, o God onzes heils! ter oorzake van de eer Uws Naams; en red ons, en doe verzoening over onze zonden, om Uws Naams wil.
Soccorrici, o Dio della nostra salvezza, per la gloria del tuo nome, e liberaci, e perdona i nostri peccati, per amor del tuo nome.
Wspomóżże nas, o Boże zbawienia naszego! dla chwały imienia twego, a wyrwij nas, i bądź miłościw grzechom naszym dla imienia twego.
Из Египта перенес Ты виноградную лозу, выгнал народы и посадил ее;
拯救我們的 神啊，求你因 你名 的榮耀 幫助我們！為你名 的緣故 搭救我們，赦免 我們的罪。
Give us help, O God of our salvation, for the glory of your name; take us out of danger and give us forgiveness for our sins, because of your name.
Verse in Context
Original Language (Biblical Hebrew)
Old Testament · Biblical Hebrew · Psalms 79:9
Source: STEPBible TAGNT/TEHB (CC-BY 4.0). Click or tap a morphology code to see the full parsing.
Scholars' Consensus
Commentators across traditions agree that Psalm 79:9 anchors the community's plea squarely on God's honor. Barnes calls this appeal to the glory of God's name "the highest and purest ground for prayer." Gill observes that God is "the God of salvation", the only source of deliverance, and that helping his people directly magnifies his name. The Hebrew verb translated "purge away" (כפר, kaphar) carries the sense of atonement or covering, as Clarke, Cambridge, and Jamieson-Fausset-Brown each note. The verse thus binds together physical rescue and spiritual forgiveness into one petition driven by one motive: that God's character would be vindicated before the watching world. Keil and Delitzsch highlight the repetition of "your name" as an epanaphora, underscoring how the whole prayer orbits around God's reputation rather than human worth.
How settled is the interpretation?
Interpretive difficulty: Low
What is clear: The appeal to God's name as the basis for deliverance and forgiveness is the clear center of the verse.
What Scholars Agree and Debate
| Topic | Agreed | Debated |
|---|---|---|
| Motive for Prayer | All traditions see the prayer as grounded in God's glory, not human merit. | Some traditions stress that God's glory is the ultimate end, while others also emphasize God's compassion for the suffering people. |
| Meaning of 'Purge Away' | The Hebrew word kaphar means atonement or covering of sin. | Traditions differ on whether this atonement is directly applied by God in the Old Testament or looks forward to Christ's sacrifice. Both sides affirm that only God can provide cleansing. |
| Historical Setting | The psalm describes the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple. | Calvin notes it could be the Assyrian invasion or the Maccabean persecution; modern scholars often prefer the Babylonian exile. The verse's theological weight remains the same. |
Historical & Cultural Context
Psalm 79 is a community lament arising from a catastrophe. The surrounding verses describe Jerusalem in ruins, the temple defiled, and the bodies of God's servants left unburied (vv.1-4). Calvin suggests the psalm may come from the Assyrian invasion or the Maccabean persecution; modern scholarship often places it after the Babylonian destruction. The prayer in verse 9 follows a plea for God's anger to turn away (v.5) and a confession that the people's sins are the root cause (v.8).
The phrase "God of our salvation" echoes the covenant language of Exodus and Deuteronomy, reminding God of his history as Israel's deliverer. The request to "purge away" sins uses the priestly vocabulary of atonement (kaphar), the same word used in Leviticus for covering sin through sacrifice. This suggests that the people recognize their guilt and know that only God can provide the cleansing needed to restore their standing with him.
What makes the prayer so striking is the motive attached to both petitions: "for your name's sake." This is not a blank check for human desire. It is an appeal based on God's own commitment to his glory, a theme deeply rooted in Torah (Deuteronomy 32:27) and the Prophets (Isaiah 48:9). The surrounding verse (v.10) makes the argument explicit: if God does not act, the nations will say, "Where is their God?" The psalmist turns the community's desperation into a case for God's reputation.
Textual Notes
The supplied sources note no significant textual variants for Psalm 79:9. The Hebrew text is stable across manuscripts.
Reception History
Psalm 79:9 has been a staple in Christian prayers of confession, particularly in liturgical traditions where the plea "for your name's sake" reinforces the gratuity of forgiveness. Reformation commentators such as Calvin and Luther used this verse to argue that salvation is entirely for God's glory, not human works. In Eastern Orthodox worship, the verse appears in the Great Compline, connecting the psalm's lament to Christ's atoning work. The verse also inspired hymnody that emphasizes the motivation of God's honor in prayer.
Preaching This Verse
Three-point outline
- Invoke the Only Source of Help. The psalmist begins by calling God "the God of our salvation", a title that reminds both the petitioner and God that deliverance has always come from him alone. No other power will do.
- Center the Plea on God's Glory. Twice the phrase "for your name's sake" appears. The request is not "help us because we deserve it" but "help us because your reputation is at stake." When God's people are crushed, the nations question his strength.
- Ask for Both Deliverance and Atonement. The verse pairs physical rescue (deliver us) with spiritual cleansing (purge away our sins). The psalmist understands that the outer calamity is tied to inner guilt. Both need God's intervention.
Five-point outline
- Address God rightly, "Help us, O God of our salvation."
- State the first petition, "Help us."
- Give the motive, "for the glory of your name."
- Second petition, "Deliver us."
- Third petition, "Purge away our sins for your name's sake."
Illustration hooks
- A child who breaks a neighbor's window asks his father to cover the cost, not because he deserves it, but so the father's good name isn't tied to his son's carelessness.
- A company recalls a defective product to protect its brand reputation. The customers don't deserve the fix, but the brand's name demands it.
Questions your congregation is asking
- Can I really pray for God's glory when all I want is my own relief?
- Does God forgive me for his own sake rather than because of my repentance?
- How does this Old Testament prayer connect to what Jesus did on the cross?
Leading a Discussion
This verse invites a group into one of the boldest prayers in the Psalms. The community is desperate, Jerusalem destroyed, the temple defiled. Yet they don't plead on the basis of their own covenant faithfulness. They appeal to God's name. What does that mean for how we pray when we have failed and need rescue?
Discussion questions
- What does the title "God of our salvation" tell you about the psalmist's confidence?
- Why does the psalmist repeat "for your name's sake"? What does he think is at stake?
- The word "purge away" is the same word used for atonement in Leviticus. Why is forgiveness necessary for deliverance?
- How is this prayer different from a purely selfish prayer?
- How does praying for God's glory change the way you approach your own needs?
- What does it mean that God acts "for his own sake" (Isaiah 43:25)?
- How does Jesus fulfill this prayer as the one who atones and delivers?
Word Study
The key original-language words in this verse. Select any word for its full lexicon entry — meaning, every occurrence in Scripture, and related words.
Cross-References
Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (TSK, public domain)
| Joshua 7:9 | For the Canaanites and all the inhabitants of the land will hear of it, and will surround us, and cut off our name from the earth. What will you do for your great name?” |
| II Chronicles 14:11 | Asa cried to Yahweh his God, and said, “Yahweh, there is no one besides you to help, between the mighty and him who has no strength. Help us, Yahweh our God; for we rely on you, and in your name we have come against this multitude. Yahweh, you are our God. Don’t let man prevail against you.” |
| Psalms 25:11 | For your name’s sake, Yahweh, pardon my iniquity, for it is great. |
| Psalms 31:3 | For you are my rock and my fortress, therefore for your name’s sake lead me and guide me. |
| Psalms 65:3 | Sins overwhelmed me, but you atoned for our transgressions. |
| Psalms 115:1 | Not to us, Yahweh, not to us, but to your name give glory, for your loving kindness, and for your truth’s sake. |
| Isaiah 43:25 | I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake; and I will not remember your sins. |
| Isaiah 48:9 | For my name’s sake, I will defer my anger, and for my praise, I hold it back for you so that I don’t cut you off. |
Interlinear and lexical data from STEPBible (CC BY 4.0). Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0). Commentaries are public domain.
For personal reflection
Read the devotional page — prayer, application, and "for families"
What the Commentators Say
8 public-domain commentaries, condensed into plain language.
Adam Clarke's Commentary Methodist/Wesleyan 1826
Clarke points to the Hebrew word underlying "purge away" (kaphar), which means to be propitiated or to receive an atonement. The prayer is not simply for removal of sins but for God to accept a covering or satisfaction on account of them.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible Protestant 1832
Barnes stresses that the highest and purest ground for prayer is God's honor, not merely our own need. He notes that the word for "purge away sins" carries the weight of atonement, so forgiveness and deliverance come for the sake of God's name, not human merit.
Calvin's Commentaries Reformed 1564
Calvin highlights that the faithful in this psalm hold two truths together: they accept their suffering as just discipline from God, yet they also see it as undeserved cruelty from enemies. Their plea for mercy rests on God's honor being attacked when the ungodly blasp
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges Anglican 1880
The commentator highlights that the prayer appeals not primarily to God's compassion but to His own honor. If suffering does not move Him, at least jealousy for His reputation should, lest other nations think He cannot save. The request for pardon is essentially a plea for atonement, tied to the glory of His name.
Geneva Bible Notes Reformed 1599
The Geneva note highlights that the psalmist grounds his entire plea for help, deliverance, and forgiveness in the glory of God's name alone. The repeated phrase "for thy Name's sake" makes clear that no human merit is the basis for mercy. The appeal rests entirely on God's own reputation and character.
Gill's Exposition of the Bible Baptist 1748
Gill stresses that the plea to purge away sins points directly to Christ's atoning sacrifice, the only means of expiation and forgiveness. He notes the Hebrew word signifies making atonement, a work Christ alone accomplished to reconcile God and cover sins for the sake of His own glory.
Keil & Delitzsch OT Commentary Protestant 1876
Keil-Delitzsch stresses that God's own honor prevents the nations who chastened Israel from triumphing permanently. The psalm's petition hinges on the repeated cry "thy name," drawing on language from the Torah and Joel. The call for sevenfold requital represents a completed criminal sentence, fully carried out.
Matthew Henry's Commentary Reformed/Presbyterian 1710
Matthew Henry treats the plea for God to pour out his wrath on enemies not simply as a prayer but as a prophecy—a declaration of divine judgment already revealed from heaven. For him, the enemies' ignorance of God and neglect of prayer mark them as ungodly people who live without God in the world.