Psalm 79:9 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.
Asaph writes this Psalm after the people are brought very low. In the depths of defeat and despair, their response is to pray to the God of their salvation to help, deliver, and purge away their sins. God has saved them before; save them now from the present trouble.
Sometimes when we feel down and out, we may turn to God and ask for help in time of need. We ask the Lord to deliver us from the present trouble. And we ask Him to purge away our sins. We do not ask because we deserve it, but we ask for the glory of God’s name, and we receive forgiveness for the sake of the name. For this reason we pray in the name of Jesus. It is for the sake of Jesus and because Christ died for our sins to purge us that God come to help and deliver. Our prayer expresses that faith and the calm assurance of hope. Faith and prayer responds to the time of need.