Psalms 33:20
in Psalms 33Our soul waits for the LORD; He is our help and our shield.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Our soul hath waited for Jehovah: He is our help and our shield.
KJV
Our soul waiteth for the Lord: he is our help and our shield.
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This verse in Psalms 33
Commentary
13 notes on this verseWhen the psalmist says "he waits," he indicates the endurance of the Christian … since it is endurance that makes the martyrs glorious, that watches over the good things of our faith, that conquers everything that stands against us, not by fighting against God's will, …
This site's exposition
Our soul waits for the LORD
on Psalms 33:20-22
The psalm ends in the congregation's own voice, He is our help and our shield. That help and that shield answer the army and the horse of verses 16 and 17. The last verse asks that loving devotion rest on them.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers3 voices
The psalmist's word waits reflects the patience of the Christian.… Patience is what makes glorious martyrs, what guards the blessings of our faith, what conquers all adversity not by wrestling but by enduring, not by grumbling but by giving thanks. Patience represses the extravagance that …
"My soul shall be patient for the Lord:" that hereafter it may be filled with dainties incorruptible, meanwhile, while here it remains, my soul shall be patient for the Lord. "For He is our Helper and Defender" [Psalm 33:20]: our Helper He is, while we endeavour after Him; and our Defender, while we resist the adversary.
[God] is always helping and providing us with salvation. The term "protector," you see, is a metaphor from those thrusting their own shields among the enemy and by protection from these often sheltering others and freeing them from every disaster.
The Medieval Church1 voice
Then when he says, "Our soul," he shows what effect follows in these people from this consideration. And it is twofold. The first is the effect of hoping. The second, of praying, at "Let your mercy be upon us," and so on. Concerning the first …
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Our soul waiteth for the Lord,.... This, and what follows, are the words of the church, expressing her expectation, faith, and joy, by reason of what is suggested in the preceding verses.
6 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
We must not only in word and tongue profess a believing regard to God, but it must be inward and sincere, a secret and silent attendance on him. [2.] We must rely on God, hope in his mercy, in the goodness of his nature, though we have not an express promise to depend upon. Those that fear God and his wrath must hope in God and his mercy; for there is no flying from God, but by flying to him.
3 Sing unto him a new song; play skilfully with a loud noise. 4 For the word of the L ORD is right; and all his works are done in truth. 5 He loveth righteousness and judgment: the earth is full of the goodness of the L ORD .
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — scripture-overlap:91%@v3-5
The Nineteenth Century4 voices
Our soul waits for the Lord. Here the godly avow their reliance upon him whom the Psalm extols. To wait is a great lesson. To be quiet in expectation, patient in hope, single in confidence, is one of the bright attainments of a Christian. Our soul, our life, must hang upon God; we are not to trust him with a few gewgaws, but with all we have and are. He is our help and our shield. Our help in labour, our shield in danger. The Lord answereth all things to his people. He is their all in all.
Our soul waits for the Lord. Here the godly avow their reliance upon him whom the Psalm extols. To wait is a great lesson. To be quiet in expectation, patient in hope, single in confidence, is one of the bright attainments of a Christian. Our soul, our life, must hang upon God; we are not to trust him with a few gewgaws, but with all we have and are. He is our help and our shield. Our help in labour, our shield in danger. The Lord answereth all things to his people. He is their all in all. Note the three "ours" in the text. These holdfast words are precious. Personal possession makes the Christian man; all else is mere talk.
Our soul waiteth - Our whole life is employed in this blessed work; we trust in nothing but him; neither in multitudes of armed men, nor in natural strength, nor in the fleetest animals, nor in any thing human: we trust in Him alone “who is our help and our shield.”
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Our soul waiteth for the Lord - This and the subsequent verses to the end of the psalm refer to the people of God, expressing their faith in him in view of the considerations suggested in the former part of the psalm. The language is expressive of the general character of piety. True piety leads people to wait on the Lord; to depend on Him; to look to His interposition in danger, sickness, poverty, want; to rely upon Him for all that is hoped for in this life, and for salvation in the life to come. Compare Psa 62:1; Psa 25:3. He is our help - Our aid; our helper. Compare Psa 10:14; Psa 22:11; Psa 30:10. And our shield - See the notes at Psa 5:12. That is, He will defend us from our enemies, as if He threw His shield between us and them.
The words behind it
6 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| נַ֭פְשֵׁנוּ | nafshenu | self our | H5315 → | 754 times |
| חִכְּתָ֣ה | chiketah | it waits | H2442 → | |
| לַֽיהוָ֑ה | layahweh | for Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| עֶזְרֵ֖נוּ | ʾezrenu | [is] help our | H5828 → | 21 times |
| וּמָגִנֵּ֣נוּ | umaginenu | and shield our | H4043 → | 63 times |
| הֽוּא׃ | hu' | he | H1931 → | 1879 times |
נַ֭פְשֵׁנוּself our
nafshenuH5315 →754 times
חִכְּתָ֣הit waits
chiketahH2442 →
לַֽיהוָ֑הfor Yahweh
layahwehH3068 →6520 times
עֶזְרֵ֖נוּ[is] help our
ʾezrenuH5828 →21 times
וּמָגִנֵּ֣נוּand shield our
umaginenuH4043 →63 times
הֽוּא׃he
hu'H1931 →1879 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
Isaiah 40:31But those who wait upon the LORD will renew their strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not faint.
it leads to
- Lamentations 3:25–26
The LORD is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul who seeks Him.
- 2 Corinthians 4:16
Therefore we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, yet our inner self is being renewed day by day.
- Psalms 27:13–14
Still I am certain to see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living.
- Psalms 103:5
who satisfies you with good things, so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
- 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…
- Lamentations 3:25–26
Through
Psalms 27:14Wait patiently for the LORD; be strong and courageous. Wait patiently for the LORD!
it leads to
- Isaiah 40:31
But those who wait upon the LORD will renew their strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not faint.
- Psalms 31:24
Be strong and courageous, all you who hope in the LORD.
- Isaiah 30:18
Therefore the LORD longs to be gracious to you; therefore He rises to show you compassion, for the LORD is a just God. Blessed are all who wait for Him.
- Isaiah 40:31
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
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, Exposition on Psalm 33; Cassiodorus, EXPLANATION OF THE PSALMS 33:20; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David, Vol. 2; Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Psalms; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Theodore of Mopsuestia, COMMENTARY ON PSALMS 33:20A and Thomas Aquinas, Exposition on the Psalms of David.