Shirley H Supporter Wife, mother, veteran in the spiritual war we all face!

In this Psalm, Asaph calls on the Lord for mercy. Please do not begrudge our sins. He asks God to be a defender of Israel. 

Please execute justice against this evil that has befallen your chosen Israel. This will glorify your Holy name! 

Before you ask for the Lord's help, confess that you are probably somewhat at fault. This acknowledgement will encourage God that you care about His feelings. In turn, he is then encouraged to act in mercy toward your request. 

This is not to manipulate. This is to be a sincere recognition of the situation.

We cannot manipulate God, ever!

14 hours ago • 1 response • Vote Up • Share • Report

Jack Gutknecht Supporter Arizona Bible College & Dallas Seminary graduate, Pentair

God’s mercy is the chosen instrument through which His glory is displayed, and His glory is the ultimate purpose for which He extends that mercy. We receive deliverance, and He receives praise. This relationship is woven into the very logic of biblical prayer and Christian worship. Warren Wiesbe said, "His [Asaph, the writer of this psalm] -- his concern was for the glory of God’s name (Ps 79:9, 12), and he felt that a miraculous deliverance for Judah would accomplish that, but no deliverance came." What was the problem? Sin! He had to confess their sins!

The foundational text is Psalm 79:9, where the psalmist prays, "Help us, O God of our salvation, for the glory of your name; deliver us, and atone for our sins, for your name's sake!" (ESV). The repeated phrases "for the glory of your name" and "for your name's sake" establish the causal link. Mercy in the form of help, deliverance, and atonement is not requested because Israel deserves it, but because God's own reputation and honor are both the motive and the goal of the plea. See Psalms 115:1 - "Not unto us, O LORD, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory, for thy mercy, and for thy truth's sake." His glory is the reason for the petition, and His merciful action is the requested means.

John Piper, in his book Desiring God and in his sermon on Psalm 79:9, explicitly connects mercy and glory by observing that the psalmist does not appeal to human need alone but to the divine name. Piper summarizes this with his well known principle that we get the help and God gets the glory. He argues that God’s mercy magnifies His grace rather than human merit, and that the highest love God can show is to save us in a way that causes us to enjoy His glory forever. For Piper, mercy is the bridge that brings us into that enjoyment, and God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him through the reception of undeserved mercy.

Charles Spurgeon, in his Treasury of David, comments directly on this verse and calls the plea "for your name's sake" a masterly plea. Spurgeon explains that the psalmist takes hold of the attribute of mercy but urges it not from any merit in man, but from the glory of God. He further notes that when God's people are oppressed and their sins have brought them low, God's own honor is at stake in the eyes of the nations. Therefore, God's merciful deliverance is necessary to vindicate His holy name. For Spurgeon, no plea in prayer carries more weight than this one, because it aligns the supplicant's request with God's own deepest passion, which is the glory of His character.
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6 hours ago • 2 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report