Psalms 79:9
in Psalms 79Help 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.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
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.
KJV
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.
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This verse in Psalms 79
Commentary
12 notes on this verseHelp us, O God our Savior. In the Hebrew it has "Help us, O God our Jesus." For wherever there is "Savior," there the Hebrew has "Jesus." Thus Gabriel, when he came to Mary, said, "And you shall call him Jesus: for he shall save his people." Help us, O God our Jesus. See what he says: "help." He who says "help" is himself also striving to be set free: for God does not help us while we sleep, but while we labor.
This site's exposition
Do not hold past sins against us
on Psalms 79:8-9
The prayer turns from the enemy to the people's own sins, and asks pardon before relief. The appeal rests on God's own name and His glory, the same ground Moses took at Exodus 32:12. Henry reads the two requests, rescue and pardon, as one.
This site's exposition
atone for our sins
Jamieson, Fausset and Brown gave the Hebrew as a plea for God to provide atonement. The people own the sins that brought them low. Spurgeon said the defeat had tarnished God's name before the nations, so deliverance would restore the glory of His name.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
Therefore there followeth, "Help us, O God, our healing One" (ver. 9). By this word which he saith, "our healing One," he doth sufficiently explain what sort of poverty he hath willed to be understood, in that which he had said, "for we have become exceeding poor." For it is that very sickness, to which a healer is necessary. But while he would have us to be aided, he is neither ungrateful to grace, nor doth he take away free-will. For he that is aided, doth also of himself something. He hath added also, "for the glory of Thy Name, O Lord, deliver us:" in order that he who glorieth, not in himself, but in the Lord may glory. "And merciful be Thou," he saith, "to our sins for Thy Name's sake:" not for our sake. For what else do our sins deserve, but due and condign punishments? But "merciful be Thou to our sins, for Thy Name's sake." Thus then Thou dost deliver us, that is, dost rescue us from evil things, while Thou dost both aid us to do justice, and art merciful to our sins, without which in this life we are not. For "in Thy sight shall no man living be justified." But sin is iniquity. And "if Thou shalt have marked iniquities, who shall stand?"
...There see: In the beginning was the Word. For it was not made at any time: but in the beginning it was. Not like a creature, of which it is said: In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Therefore, what was in the beginning, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God: and all things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made: and in Him was life, which was made, it came to us. To whom? To the worthy? By no means: but to the unworthy. For Christ died for the ungodly, and the undeserving, but worthy. For we are undeserving of His mercy; but He is worthy who would have mercy, to whom it would be said: For your mercy's sake, Lord, deliver us. Not because of our preceding merits, but for your mercy's sake, Lord, deliver us; and be merciful to our sins for your name's sake, not for our merit. For not because of the merit of sins, but for your name's sake. For the merit of sins, assuredly not a reward, but a punishment. Therefore, for your name's sake.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Help us, O God of our salvation, for the glory of thy name,....
Then deliverances from trouble are granted in love, and are mercies indeed, when they are grounded upon the pardon of sin and flow from that; we should therefore be more earnest with God in prayer for the removal of our sins than for the removal of our afflictions, and the pardon of them is the foundation and sweetness of our deliverances.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Help us, O God of our salvation - On whom our salvation depends; who alone can save us. For the glory of thy name - That thy name may be honored. We are thy professed people; we have been redeemed by thee; and thine honor will be affected by the question whether we are saved or destroyed, It is the highest and purest ground for prayer, that the glory or honor of God may be promoted. See the notes at Mat 6:9, notes at Mat 6:13; notes at Joh 12:28; notes at Dan 9:
4 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century4 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
for . . . glory of thy name [and for] thy name's sake--both mean for illustrating Thy attributes, faithfulness, power, &c. purge . . . sins--literally, "provide atonement for us." Deliverance from sin and suffering, for their good and God's glory, often distinguish the prayers of Old Testament saints (compare Eph 1:7).
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
"Help us, O God of our salvation, for the glory of thy name." This is masterly pleading. No argument has such force as this. God's glory was tarnished in the eyes of the heathen by the defeat of his people, and the profanation of his temple; therefore, his distressed servants implore his aid, that his great name may no more be the scorn of blaspheming enemies. "And deliver us, and purge away our sins, for thy name's sake."
"Help us, O God of our salvation, for the glory of thy name." This is masterly pleading. No argument has such force as this. God's glory was tarnished in the eyes of the heathen by the defeat of his people, and the profanation of his temple; therefore, his distressed servants implore his aid, that his great name may no more be the scorn of blaspheming enemies. "And deliver us, and purge away our sins, for thy name's sake." Sin, —the root of the evil—is seen and confessed; pardon of sin is sought as well as removal of chastisement, and both are asked not as matters of right, but as gifts of grace. God's name is a second time brought into the pleading. Believers will find it their wisdom to use very frequently this noble plea: it is the great gun of the battle, the mightiest weapon in the armoury of prayer.
Purge away our sins - כפר capper, be propitiated, or receive an atonement (על חטאתינו al chattotheynu) on account of our sins.
The words behind it
13 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| עָזְרֵ֤נוּ׀ | ʾazerenu | help us | H5826 → | 81 times |
| אֱלֹ֘הֵ֤י | ʾelohei | O God of | H430 → | 2601 times |
| יִשְׁעֵ֗נוּ | yishenu | salvation our | H3468 → | 36 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| דְּבַ֥ר | devar | [the] matter of | H1697 → | 1440 times |
| כְּבֽוֹד־ | kevod- | [the] glory of | H3519 → | 200 times |
| שְׁמֶ֑ךָ | shemekha | name your | H8034 → | 864 times |
| וְהַצִּילֵ֥נוּ | vehatzilenu | and deliver us | H5337 → | 212 times |
| וְכַפֵּ֥ר | vekhaper | and atone | H3722 → | 102 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| חַ֝טֹּאתֵ֗ינוּ | chatoteinu | sins our | H2403 → | 295 times |
| לְמַ֣עַן | lemaan | for [the] sake of | H4616 → | 272 times |
| שְׁמֶֽךָ׃ | shemekha | name your | H8034 → | 864 times |
עָזְרֵ֤נוּ׀help us
ʾazerenuH5826 →81 times
אֱלֹ֘הֵ֤יO God of
ʾeloheiH430 →2601 times
יִשְׁעֵ֗נוּsalvation our
yishenuH3468 →36 times
עַל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
דְּבַ֥ר[the] matter of
devarH1697 →1440 times
כְּבֽוֹד־[the] glory of
kevod-H3519 →200 times
שְׁמֶ֑ךָname your
shemekhaH8034 →864 times
וְהַצִּילֵ֥נוּand deliver us
vehatzilenuH5337 →212 times
וְכַפֵּ֥רand atone
vekhaperH3722 →102 times
עַל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
חַ֝טֹּאתֵ֗ינוּsins our
chatoteinuH2403 →295 times
לְמַ֣עַןfor [the] sake of
lemaanH4616 →272 times
שְׁמֶֽךָ׃name your
shemekhaH8034 →864 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
2 Chronicles 14:11Then 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…
it leads to
- Jeremiah 1:19
They will fight against you but will never overcome you, since I am with you to deliver you,” declares the LORD.
- 2 Corinthians 12:9–10
But He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is perfected in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly in my weaknesses, so that the power of…
- Psalms 22:5
They cried out to You and were set free; they trusted in You and were not disappointed.
- Psalms 20:7
Some trust in chariots and others in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.
- Romans 8:31
What then shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?
- Jeremiah 1:19
Through
Psalms 25:11For the sake of Your name, O LORD, forgive my iniquity, for it is great.
it leads to
- 1 John 2:12
I am writing to you, little children, because your sins have been forgiven through His name.
- Isaiah 43:25
I, yes I, am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake and remembers your sins no more.
- 1 John 2:12
Through
Jeremiah 14:7Although our iniquities testify against us, O LORD, act for the sake of Your name. Indeed, our rebellions are many; we have sinned against You.
it leads to
- Psalms 25:11
For the sake of Your name, O LORD, forgive my iniquity, for it is great.
- Psalms 25:11
About Psalms

This page draws on 10 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Augustine of Hippo, On the Psalms, Psalm 79; Augustine of Hippo, Sermon 293; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David, Vol. 4; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Homily 12, on Psalm 78; John Calvin, Commentary on the Book of Psalms; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.
