The Glory of a Gritty Faith Text: Psalm 79:9-12
Introduction: God's Reputation and Our Mess
We live in an age of therapeutic deism. The god of modern evangelicalism is a sentimental grandfather figure, a celestial guidance counselor whose chief aim is our personal fulfillment and emotional well being. He is safe, tidy, and above all, manageable. He would never, ever be associated with the kind of raw, blood-soaked, and fiercely partisan prayers we find in a psalm like this one. Our generation wants a god who helps them feel good about themselves, not a God who demands that the nations answer for the blood of His saints.
Psalm 79 is a corporate lament. Jerusalem has been sacked, the temple defiled, and God's people slaughtered and humiliated. The surrounding nations are laughing. "Where is their God now?" they sneer. This is the context. This is not a private grievance or a petty complaint. This is a crisis of cosmic proportions because the reputation of God Himself is on the line. The psalmist is not primarily concerned with his own personal comfort. He is consumed with a holy zeal for the glory of God's name.
This is where our modern sensibilities get squeamish. We are taught to be nice. We are taught that praying for vengeance is sub-Christian, a relic of the old, angry God of the Old Testament that Jesus came to replace with a much gentler deity. But this is a lie from the pit. The God of the Old Testament is the God of the New. The Father of our Lord Jesus Christ is the one who promises vengeance. And the saints in Heaven, under the altar, are crying out "How long, O Lord, holy and true, until You judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?" (Revelation 6:10). It seems the saints in glory have a much better grasp of biblical justice than the average worship committee in our day.
This psalm teaches us how to pray when the world is winning. It teaches us to anchor our pleas not in our own deserving, but in God's character. It teaches us that true faith is not afraid to ask God to be God, to act like the sovereign King He is, and to vindicate His own great name before a watching, mocking world. This is not about personal vindictiveness; it is about a passion for public justice and the public glory of God.
The Text
Help us, O God of our salvation, for the glory of Your name;
And deliver us and atone for our sins for Your name’s sake.
Why should the nations say, “Where is their God?”
Let it be known among the nations before our eyes:
Vengeance for the blood of Your slaves which has been poured out.
Let the groaning of the prisoner come before You;
According to the greatness of Your power preserve those who are doomed to die.
And return to our neighbors sevenfold into their bosom
The reproach with which they have reproached You, O Lord.
(Psalm 79:9-12 LSB)
The Central Argument: For Your Name's Sake (v. 9)
The psalmist grounds his entire appeal in the character and reputation of God.
"Help us, O God of our salvation, for the glory of Your name; And deliver us and atone for our sins for Your name’s sake." (Psalm 79:9)
Notice the logic. The plea is not, "Help us because we are so good," or "Help us because we don't deserve this." The foundation of the prayer is God's own glory. "For the glory of Your name." God's "name" in Scripture is not a mere label; it is the sum total of His revealed character. It is His reputation. The psalmist understands that God has publicly identified Himself with this people. Their defeat is His public relations disaster. Their deliverance, therefore, will be His public relations triumph. God is zealous for His own glory, and the believer's most powerful argument in prayer is to appeal to that divine zeal.
But there is a crucial admission here. The psalmist knows why they are in this mess. He prays, "atone for our sins." He is not self-righteous. He understands covenant theology. The reason the heathen are in the holy city is because Israel broke covenant. The curses of Deuteronomy have come upon them. So this is not a demand for God to rescue them based on their innocence. It is a plea for God to act for His own sake, in spite of their guilt. This is a gospel prayer. It acknowledges sin and appeals to grace, a grace that is motivated by God's desire to magnify Himself.
He asks for atonement. This is a request for the covering of sin, the propitiation of wrath. In the Old Testament, this was accomplished through the blood of bulls and goats, a shadow pointing to the ultimate reality. We pray this with even greater confidence on this side of the cross, knowing that the Lord Jesus Christ is Himself the atonement for our sins (1 John 2:2). When we pray for deliverance, we must always pray for forgiveness, because our ultimate problem is never the Babylonians outside the gate, but the sin within our hearts. And we ask for both, not because we have a claim on God, but because His name is at stake.
The Taunt and the Vindication (v. 10)
The psalmist then voices the central insult that drives his plea for God's intervention.
"Why should the nations say, 'Where is their God?' Let it be known among the nations before our eyes: Vengeance for the blood of Your slaves which has been poured out." (Psalm 79:10)
This is the ultimate blasphemy. When the enemies of God's people triumph, the world does not conclude that God's people were sinful. They conclude that God is impotent. "Where is their God?" This is the question that echoes from Pharaoh at the Red Sea to the scoffers at the cross. It is a direct challenge to the reality and power of the living God. And the psalmist takes this personally, on God's behalf. He is saying, "Lord, they are not just mocking us; they are mocking You. Your reputation is being dragged through the mud of international opinion."
And what is the solution? A strongly worded letter? A protest? No. The biblical answer is public, visible, unmistakable vengeance. "Let it be known among the nations before our eyes." This is not a secret, spiritualized vengeance. The psalmist wants the same nations who asked "Where is their God?" to get their answer in a way they cannot ignore. He is praying for God to act in history, on the ground, in a way that demonstrates His justice and power.
This is what our soft-handed generation cannot stomach. But vengeance is not a dirty word in the Bible. It is the righteous response of a holy God to the shedding of innocent blood. When God's people are slaughtered, He takes it as an attack on Himself. Vengeance is not about personal payback; it is about God setting things right. It is about God demonstrating that He is not a disinterested spectator in the affairs of men. He is a judge, and He will repay. To pray for this is to pray for justice. It is to pray, "Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven."
A Plea for the Powerless (v. 11)
The prayer then turns to the immediate, desperate plight of the survivors.
"Let the groaning of the prisoner come before You; According to the greatness of Your power preserve those who are doomed to die." (Psalm 79:11)
This is a cry for the remnant. The battle is lost, the city is taken, and the survivors are either in chains or on death row. Their "groaning" is not just a sound of discomfort; it is the deep, guttural cry of utter helplessness. They have no political power, no military might, no legal recourse. All they have is a voice, and they send that voice upward. The psalmist asks that this groaning would "come before" God, that it would ascend to the heavenly court and be entered as evidence.
And the basis of this appeal? Not their worthiness, but God's omnipotence. "According to the greatness of Your power." The problem is immense, but God's power is greater. The sentence of death has been passed by the Babylonians, but God has the authority to issue a pardon. This is a prayer that recognizes the reality of the situation, the utter desperation of the people, and throws them completely upon the sovereign power of God. This is the prayer of the persecuted church in every age. When all human help fails, we appeal to the greatness of His power.
Imprecation as Covenant Justice (v. 12)
Finally, the psalm concludes with a raw, shocking, and glorious imprecation.
"And return to our neighbors sevenfold into their bosom The reproach with which they have reproached You, O Lord." (Psalm 79:12)
Here it is, in all its unvarnished glory. A prayer for God to repay the enemy, sevenfold. "Sevenfold" signifies a complete and perfect retribution. "Into their bosom" is a graphic image of receiving a payment pressed right up against you. This is not a request for a slap on the wrist. This is a request for total, devastating, covenantal justice.
But notice carefully what is being repaid. It is "the reproach with which they have reproached You, O Lord." This is key. The psalmist is not asking God to settle a personal score. He is asking God to vindicate His own honor. The enemies have not merely harmed Israel; they have reproached, blasphemed, and insulted Yahweh Himself. This prayer is an act of loyalty. It is siding with God against His enemies. It is saying, "Lord, the insults they hurled at You, hurl them back. Let the world see that You are not to be trifled with."
We are often told that this kind of prayer was fine for David, but not for us. We are under the new covenant of love. But this is a profound misunderstanding. Jesus taught us to love our personal enemies, yes. But Jesus did not teach us to love God's enemies. He Himself pronounced terrible woes upon the Pharisees. Paul said of Alexander the coppersmith, "the Lord will repay him according to his deeds" (2 Tim. 4:14). Praying an imprecatory psalm is not taking vengeance into our own hands. It is the exact opposite. It is formally handing the matter over to the only one who is qualified to deal with it. It is an act of faith, entrusting the scales of justice to the righteous Judge of all the earth.
Conclusion: The God Who Vindicates
So what do we do with a psalm like this? We pray it. We pray it for the persecuted church in China, in Nigeria, in the Middle East. We pray it for the unborn, slaughtered by the millions in our own land. We pray it against the spiritual forces of wickedness in high places that mock God, defile His creation, and seek to destroy His people.
This prayer is ultimately answered and fulfilled in the person and work of Jesus Christ. At the cross, God's justice and mercy met. There, the sins of His people were atoned for. There, the reproach we deserved was laid upon Him. But the cross was not the end. The resurrection was God's public vindication of His Son. And the final judgment will be God's public vindication of His name in all the earth. On that day, every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Until that day, we are in the position of the psalmist. We live in a world where God's name is reproached, and His people are often afflicted. And so we pray with this gritty, robust, God-centered faith. We pray for help, for atonement, and for deliverance, all for the glory of His name. We ask Him to hear the groans of the prisoners. And we ask Him, with full biblical warrant, to render to His enemies the just reward for their rebellion, so that the nations might finally learn that our God is not absent, not weak, but is the living, reigning, and righteous King of all.