Psalm 33 22

Psalm 33:22 kjv

Let thy mercy, O LORD, be upon us, according as we hope in thee.

Psalm 33:22 nkjv

Let Your mercy, O LORD, be upon us, Just as we hope in You.

Psalm 33:22 niv

May your unfailing love be with us, LORD, even as we put our hope in you.

Psalm 33:22 esv

Let your steadfast love, O LORD, be upon us, even as we hope in you.

Psalm 33:22 nlt

Let your unfailing love surround us, LORD,
for our hope is in you alone.

Psalm 33 22 Cross References

VerseTextReference
God's Steadfast Love (Chesed)
Psa 36:5Your steadfast love, O Lord, extends to the heavens, your faithfulness to...God's immense love.
Psa 51:1Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love...Love as the basis for mercy and grace.
Psa 86:15But you, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding...Yahweh's character defined by His love.
Exod 34:6-7The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding...Fundamental description of God's covenant nature.
Jer 31:3I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore with steadfast love I...Eternal nature of God's drawing love.
Mic 7:18Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity... He delights in steadfast love.God's delight in demonstrating His love.
John 3:16For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son...Ultimate demonstration of divine love.
Eph 2:4-5But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved...Love as the source of salvation and life.
Hope and Trust in God
Psa 42:5Why are you cast down, O my soul...? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him.Exhortation to place hope in God.
Psa 130:5I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word I hope.Patient and expectant waiting based on God's word.
Rom 5:5And hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into...The certainty of hope rooted in God's love.
Rom 8:24-25For in this hope we were saved... But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait...The nature of enduring Christian hope.
Heb 11:1Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not...Defining faith by its connection to hope.
1 Pet 1:3He has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection...Hope made living and active through Christ.
Psa 37:3-4Trust in the Lord, and do good; dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness.Instruction for living a life of trust.
Prov 3:5-6Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own...Benefits of complete reliance on God.
God's Favor/Blessing on Those Who Trust
Psa 5:12For you bless the righteous, O Lord; you cover him with favor as with a shield.God's favor as protection and blessing.
Psa 84:11For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor...God as the source of grace, honor, and protection.
Isa 26:3-4You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts...Perfect peace resulting from trust in God.
Jer 17:7-8Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose hope is the Lord.The blessedness and flourishing of the trusting one.
Matt 6:33But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these...Divine provision for those who prioritize God.
Phil 4:6-7Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication...Peace of God guarding hearts through prayer and trust.
1 Pet 5:7casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.Encouragement to cast burdens on a caring God.

Psalm 33 verses

Psalm 33 22 Meaning

Psalm 33:22 is a prayer and declaration of faith, expressing the psalmist's deep desire for God's loyal and unfailing love to be experienced by His people, precisely because their hope and confident expectation are anchored in Him alone. It is a plea for the active manifestation of divine kindness and faithfulness to rest upon those who place their trust in the Lord. This verse acts as a summation of the psalm's themes, linking divine sovereignty and faithfulness with the human posture of confident reliance.

Psalm 33 22 Context

Psalm 33 is a hymn of praise, unique among the Psalms in that it does not have an author or historical superscription. It is a communal song of worship, focusing on God's character as creator, ruler, and deliverer. The preceding verses (Psa 33:6-9) celebrate God's creative power through His word. Then, Psa 33:10-12 speak of God's sovereignty over the nations and His eternal counsel, contrasting it with human plans that fail. Psa 33:13-15 declare God's omnipresent gaze upon humanity, emphasizing His unique insight into their hearts. Psa 33:16-17 then offer a clear polemic, stating that military might (horses, great armies) does not guarantee deliverance; strength is not found in human power. This leads directly to Psa 33:18-19, which introduces God's attentive gaze on those who fear Him and hope in His steadfast love, providing deliverance from death and famine. Psa 33:20-21 describe the waiting heart of the righteous, declaring confidence in God as helper and shield, culminating in the joy that arises from trust. Psalm 33:22 is thus a fitting concluding petition, summarizing the entire psalm's message: a plea for God's faithful love to manifest, precisely because the righteous choose to hope in Him over all earthly powers. Historically, this aligns with Israel's frequent temptations to rely on alliances or military strength rather than fully on Yahweh.

Psalm 33 22 Word analysis

  • Let your steadfast love: The phrase introduces a prayer, a volitional petition, signaling a heartfelt desire for God's divine quality to be active.
  • steadfast love: Hebrew: ḥesed (חֶסֶד). This is a crucial theological term in the Old Testament, denoting covenant loyalty, faithful love, lovingkindness, and mercy. It's not mere sentiment but active, demonstrated, and dependable loyalty within a relationship, particularly God's covenant with Israel. It speaks to God's inherent character to deal graciously and faithfully with His people, even beyond what is deserved. Scholars highlight its dynamic and committed nature, going above and beyond.
  • O Lord: Hebrew: Yahweh (יְהוָה). This is God's personal, covenant name, emphasizing His unique relationship with Israel and His unchangeable, ever-present being. It underscores that the steadfast love sought comes from the one true, self-existent God who fulfills His promises.
  • be upon us: Hebrew: ʿalenu (עָלֵינוּ). This preposition signifies rest upon, covering, or extending over. It indicates a desire for God's ḥesed to actively envelope, protect, and be clearly present with the petitioners, not just passively existing but manifesting as a tangible experience of His favor and care. It implies protection, blessing, and visible presence.
  • even as: Hebrew: ka'asher (כַּאֲשֶׁר). This comparative conjunction introduces a correlation or correspondence. It signifies that the granting of God's steadfast love is consistent with or in proportion to their hope in Him, or it frames the reason for their request – their hope makes them recipients. It's not a condition to earn love but describes the alignment of their posture with His giving.
  • we hope in you: Hebrew: yaḥal (יָחַל) combined with the preposition 'in' (lak). Yaḥal means to wait expectantly, to confidently look for, or to trust. It's not a passive wish but an active, patient, and firm reliance on God's character and promises. It conveys confident expectation, endurance, and quiet trust in God's faithfulness to act. The 'you' refers to Yahweh, solidifying that this hope is directed solely toward God.

Psalm 33 22 Bonus section

The order of "steadfast love" before "hope" in this verse is significant. It implies that God's ḥesed precedes and calls forth human hope. We hope because we know His steadfast love. It's not a transactional relationship but a relational one: God initiates with His unchanging character of love, and our appropriate response is confident hope and expectation in Him. This reciprocal dynamic is central to many Psalms and prophets. This verse also serves as a beautiful summary of what distinguishes believers from the nations mentioned earlier in the psalm (Psa 33:10, 16-17): nations rely on their own strength, but God's people rely on His steadfast love. This places the ultimate confidence not in visible power, but in the unseen, yet utterly reliable, character of God.

Psalm 33 22 Commentary

Psalm 33:22 crystallizes the heart of Old Testament piety: a confident dependence on God's active, faithful love. The verse is a profound petition where human hope is intricately linked with divine ḥesed. It acknowledges that God’s steadfast love is always present, but the petition is for its manifestation "upon us." This is not a demand but a prayer for alignment – our confident trust positions us to receive and experience His loyal, saving kindness. The "even as" clause does not suggest that God's love is earned by our hope, for His love is inherent and unmerited. Rather, it signifies that our hope is the proper and expected human response to such a God, making us receptive vessels for His abundant goodness. In an agricultural context, just as rain falls on cultivated land, God’s steadfast love pours out upon hearts tilled by hope and trust. Practically, this verse teaches believers to boldly pray for God's demonstrated presence and favor, resting assured that their active trust in Him provides the spiritual framework for receiving His covenantal blessings, contrasting with worldly reliance on human strength or fleeting circumstances.