My Notes
What Does Psalms 33:20 Mean?
"Our soul waiteth for the LORD: he is our help and our shield." The COMMUNAL confession — 'OUR soul' — not 'my' but 'ours.' The waiting is COLLECTIVE. The help is SHARED. The shield covers a COMMUNITY. The psalm that began with individual praise ('I will bless the LORD' — 34:1, different psalm but same theological tradition) arrives at corporate dependence: WE wait. HE helps. HE shields.
The phrase "our soul waiteth for the LORD" (naphshenu chikketah laYHWH — our soul waited/waits for the LORD) uses CHAKKAH — to wait, to linger, to expect with patience. The waiting is the posture of dependence — not passive inactivity but ACTIVE anticipation. The soul WAITS because the soul EXPECTS. The waiting implies CONFIDENCE: you only wait for someone you believe will COME. The waiting is faith expressed as patience.
The phrase "he is our help and our shield" (ezrenu umaginenu hu — our help and our shield is He) makes God TWO things: HELP (ezer — aid, assistance, the same word used for Eve — Genesis 2:18 — 'I will make him an help') and SHIELD (magen — defensive covering, protection). Help is ACTIVE — God doing something for you. Shield is DEFENSIVE — God blocking something from you. The complete divine care: God acts for you AND protects you. The help addresses your NEED. The shield addresses your THREAT.
Reflection Questions
- 1.What are you waiting for — and do you trust the One you wait for is both help and shield?
- 2.What does waiting being COMMUNAL ('our soul') teach about dependence as a shared practice?
- 3.How does God being HELP (active provision) and SHIELD (defensive protection) describe complete divine care?
- 4.What does God Himself being the help (not just sending it) teach about the identity of your provider?
Devotional
OUR soul waits. Not my — OURS. The waiting is a community practice. The dependence is shared. The help is collective. The shield covers a people, not just a person. The singular soul of the community waits for the LORD in unified anticipation.
The WAITING (chakkah) is faith expressed as PATIENCE: the soul doesn't demand immediate action. It WAITS — lingering, expecting, anticipating with confidence. The waiting isn't resignation. It's EXPECTATION. You wait for someone you believe will arrive. You linger for something you trust will happen. The patience IS the faith.
The 'HELP and SHIELD' cover both OFFENSIVE and DEFENSIVE needs: HELP is God doing something — actively aiding, providing, supporting. SHIELD is God blocking something — defending, covering, protecting. The help addresses what you LACK. The shield addresses what THREATENS you. Together: God provides what you need AND protects you from what would harm you. The complete care.
The 'HE IS' (hu — He) emphasizes IDENTITY: God Himself — not His agents, not His instruments, not His created mechanisms — HE is the help. HE is the shield. The identity and the function are the same. God doesn't just SEND help. He IS help. He doesn't just DEPLOY a shield. He IS the shield. The person of God is the provision of God.
What are you waiting for — and do you trust that the One you're waiting for is BOTH your help AND your shield?
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
Our soul waiteth for the Lord,.... This, and what follows, are the words of the church, expressing her expectation,…
Our soul waiteth for the Lord - This and the subsequent verses to the end of the psalm refer to the people of God,…
We are here taught to give to God the glory,
I. Of his common providence towards all the children of men. Though he has…
The people's concluding profession of patient trust and hope, corresponding to the introductory invitation of Psa…
Cross References
Related passages throughout Scripture