Psalm 56:3
When I am afraid,I will put my trust in you.
What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee.
Ten words, and one of the shortest answers in the psalms. It admits the fear rather than denying it.
Psalms for Anxiety, Worry and Stress
Eighteen psalms grouped by the kind of worry, with the full text and a printable sheet.
The psalms do not tell anyone to calm down. They put the fear into words and then speak to God about it, which lets a reader borrow them when their own words run out. Several of the psalms below were written, according to their own headings, by someone being hunted, and they say so plainly.
They are grouped by the kind of worry rather than listed at random, so you can go straight to the one that matches. Tick any that help and print them for a pocket, a wall or a bedside table. If anxiety is affecting your health, please also speak to a doctor. This page is scripture, not treatment.
When anxiety hits suddenly
Short psalms that answer fear in a line or two. These are the ones to read when you have no patience for a long passage.
Psalm 27:1
The LORD is my light and my salvation.Whom shall I fear?The LORD is the strength of my life.Of whom shall I be afraid?
The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?
A question rather than an instruction. If God is light and salvation, who is left to be afraid of.
Psalm 118:6
The LORD is on my side. I will not be afraid.What can man do to me?
The LORD is on my side; I will not fear: what can man do unto me?
What can a person do to me is asked as a question, not claimed as a boast.
Psalm 46:1
God is our refuge and strength,a very present help in trouble.
God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.
A very present help in trouble. The help is placed inside the trouble, not after it.
Psalm 34:4
I sought the LORD, and he answered me,and delivered me from all my fears.
I sought the LORD, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears.
The psalm claims an answer came, and that the fear went with it. It is written as testimony, in the past tense.
When your thoughts will not stop
For racing thoughts, overthinking and the kind of worry that circles the same ground.
Psalm 94:19
In the multitude of my thoughts within me,your comforts delight my soul.
In the multitude of my thoughts within me thy comforts delight my soul.
It names the multitude of my thoughts within me. This is the verse for a mind that will not stop.
Psalm 139:23
Search me, God, and know my heart.Try me, and know my thoughts.
Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts:
The psalm invites the search rather than hiding from it, which is the opposite of how anxiety usually works.
Psalm 131:2
Surely I have stilled and quieted my soul,like a weaned child with his mother,like a weaned child is my soul within me.
Surely I have behaved and quieted myself, as a child that is weaned of his mother: my soul is even as a weaned child.
The picture is a weaned child resting with its mother. The quiet is something the writer did: I have stilled and quieted my soul.
Psalm 62:1
My soul rests in God alone.My salvation is from him.
Truly my soul waiteth upon God: from him cometh my salvation.
Rest here is not sleep. It is the settling that comes from stopping the search for another way out.
Psalm 42:11
Why are you in despair, my soul?Why are you disturbed within me?Hope in God! For I shall still praise him,the saving help of my countenance, and my God.
Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God.
The psalmist talks to his own soul rather than to God and asks it why it is disquieted. The same question appears in Psalm 42:5 and again in Psalm 43:5, so it is a refrain rather than a single cry.
When you cannot sleep
Psalms that speak about lying down, sleep and the night.
Psalm 4:8
In peace I will both lay myself down and sleep,for you alone, LORD, make me live in safety.
I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for thou, LORD, only makest me dwell in safety.
Both lie down and sleep appear in one line. The reason given is safety, not tiredness.
Psalm 121:3
He will not allow your foot to be moved.He who keeps you will not slumber.
He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber.
He who keeps you will not slumber. The point is that someone is awake while you are not.
Psalm 3:5
I laid myself down and slept.I awakened, for the LORD sustains me.
I laid me down and slept; I awaked; for the LORD sustained me.
Written, according to its heading, while David was fleeing from his own son. He still slept.
Psalm 91:5
You shall not be afraid of the terror by night,nor of the arrow that flies by day,
Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day;
Terror by night is named directly rather than avoided.
When the worry does not lift
Longer psalms for a worry that has lasted, where a single verse is not enough.
Psalm 23:4
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,I will fear no evil, for you are with me.Your rod and your staff,they comfort me.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
The valley is walked through rather than avoided. The comfort is company, not rescue.
Psalm 55:22
Cast your burden on the LORD and he will sustain you.He will never allow the righteous to be moved.
Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.
Casting a burden means handing over the weight, not pretending it is light.
Psalm 61:2
From the end of the earth, I will call to you when my heart is overwhelmed.Lead me to the rock that is higher than I.
From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee, when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock that is higher than I.
From the end of the earth, when my heart is overwhelmed. The psalm asks to be led to a rock higher than itself.
Psalm 143:7
Hurry to answer me, LORD.My spirit fails.Don’t hide your face from me,so that I don’t become like those who go down into the pit.
Hear me speedily, O LORD: my spirit faileth: hide not thy face from me, lest I be like unto them that go down into the pit.
Answer me quickly. The psalm is impatient, and it is allowed to be.
Psalms for worry and stress
Worry in the psalms is rarely abstract. The writers name what is pressing on them: enemies, illness, betrayal by a friend, a heavy burden. Psalm 55 and Psalm 62 both name the weight directly, and both hand it over rather than talking it down.
Psalms for anxiety and depression together
Psalm 42 and Psalm 43 share a refrain that asks the soul why it is cast down and disquieted, which is as close as the psalms come to describing both at once. Psalm 88 goes further and ends without resolution: its last word in the WEB is darkness.
Anxiety or fear?
This page is for worry, stress and a mind that will not settle. If you are frightened of something specific and immediate, the psalms for fear page is organised around danger and courage instead.
Questions
Which psalm is best for anxiety?
Psalm 56:3 is short and direct: when I am afraid, I will put my trust in you. Psalm 34 and Psalm 27 are longer and work better read whole.
What psalm do you read when you cannot sleep from worry?
Psalm 4:8 speaks of lying down in peace and sleeping, and Psalm 121:3 says the one who keeps you will not slumber. Psalm 3, whose heading places it when David fled from Absalom, says in verse 5 that the writer lay down and slept.
Is there a psalm about racing thoughts?
Psalm 94:19 speaks of the multitude of thoughts within me, which is the closest the psalms come to describing that experience.
Is there a psalm for anxiety and depression together?
Psalm 42 and Psalm 43 share the refrain asking the soul why it is cast down and disquieted. Psalm 88 goes further and ends without relief.
Can reading psalms help anxiety?
The psalms put fear and worry into words and speak to God about it. They are not medical treatment, and anxiety that affects your daily life is worth taking to a doctor.
Other moments
Psalms for FearPsalms for DepressionPsalms for Peace of Mind and ComfortPsalms for Sleep and Night PrayerPsalms About Faith and TrustPsalms for Comfort and Strength
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