One of the most meaningful themes present throughout scripture is the assurance of God’s protection. In our daily lives and in times of trouble, the Bible invites us to experience the care and provision our Creator offers humanity. The poetry of the book of Psalms offers evocative and emotional reflections on the character of God and our relationship to God. 

We offer you this list of psalms centered around God’s protection. We hope these Bible verses bring you encouragement and solace, wherever you are on your journey. Reflect on them yourself, or send them to a  friend or loved one who could benefit from the encouragement of scripture.

Why We Look to the Bible

As we ruminate on these Bible verses from the book of Psalms, we’ll explore why we turn to the Bible for spiritual comfort and guidance. Through scripture, God’s character and nature are revealed; the Bible draws us into God's Word and wisdom. We turn to the Psalms for guidance because it is through scripture that we are reminded of God’s power and providence and invited to experience creation through God’s eyes. 

When it feels like the world is against us, we remember God’s infinite grace is for us. The Bible is our greatest resource, a reminder that in God we can find refuge.

Psalms Overview

The book of Psalms is most importantly about worship and the trials and triumphs of a life lived in pursuit of God. The psalms were written by various authors (read more, “Who Wrote the Book of Psalms?”), over many many years, with psalms spanning across a wide emotional spectrum. The emotion and wisdom of the psalms not only resonated and impacted those writing them, but also those of countless generations after their composition. At multiple points in the Gospels, the Lord Jesus Christ quotes from Psalms—perhaps most prominently on the cross. This Biblical book continues to help us to fix our eyes upon God and encourages us to give thanks for the blessings we have received.

Psalms to Reflect on God’s Protection

Psalm 91

1 Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High

    will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.

2 I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress,

    my God, in whom I trust.”

3 Surely he will save you

    from the fowler’s snare

    and from the deadly pestilence.

4 He will cover you with his feathers,

    and under his wings you will find refuge;

    his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.

5 You will not fear the terror of night,

    nor the arrow that flies by day,

6 nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness,

    nor the plague that destroys at midday.

7 A thousand may fall at your side,

    ten thousand at your right hand,

    but it will not come near you.

8 You will only observe with your eyes

    and see the punishment of the wicked.

9 If you say, “The Lord is my refuge,”

    and you make the Most High your dwelling,

10 no harm will overtake you,

    no disaster will come near your tent.

11 For he will command his angels concerning you

    to guard you in all your ways;

12 they will lift you up in their hands,

    so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.

13 You will tread on the lion and the cobra;

    you will trample the great lion and the serpent.

14 “Because he loves me,” says the Lord, “I will rescue him;

    I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.

15 He will call on me, and I will answer him;

    I will be with him in trouble,

    I will deliver him and honor him.

16 With long life I will satisfy him

    and show him my salvation.”

Psalm 121

1 I lift up my eyes to the mountains—

   where does my help come from?

2 My help comes from the Lord,

   the Maker of heaven and earth.

3 He will not let your foot slip—

   he who watches over you will not slumber;

4 indeed, he who watches over Israel

   will neither slumber nor sleep.

5 The Lord watches over you—

   the Lord is your shade at your right hand;

6 the sun will not harm you by day,

   nor the moon by night.

7 The Lord will keep you from all harm—

   he will watch over your life;

8 the Lord will watch over your coming and going

   both now and forevermore.

Psalm 116

1 I love the Lord, for he heard my voice;

    he heard my cry for mercy.

2 Because he turned his ear to me,

    I will call on him as long as I live.

3 The cords of death entangled me,

    the anguish of the grave came over me;

    I was overcome by distress and sorrow.

4 Then I called on the name of the Lord:

    “Lord, save me!”

5 The Lord is gracious and righteous;

    our God is full of compassion.

6 The Lord protects the unwary;

    when I was brought low, he saved me.

7 Return to your rest, my soul,

    for the Lord has been good to you.

8 For you, Lord, have delivered me from death,

    my eyes from tears,

    my feet from stumbling,

9 that I may walk before the Lord

    in the land of the living.

10 I trusted in the Lord when I said,

    “I am greatly afflicted”;

11 in my alarm I said,

    “Everyone is a liar.”

12 What shall I return to the Lord

    for all his goodness to me?

13 I will lift up the cup of salvation

    and call on the name of the Lord.

14 I will fulfill my vows to the Lord

    in the presence of all his people.

15 Precious in the sight of the Lord

    is the death of his faithful servants.

16 Truly I am your servant, Lord;

    I serve you just as my mother did;

    you have freed me from my chains.

17 I will sacrifice a thank offering to you

    and call on the name of the Lord.

18 I will fulfill my vows to the Lord

    in the presence of all his people,

19 in the courts of the house of the Lord—

    in your midst, Jerusalem.

Praise the Lord.

Psalm 18

1 I love you, Lord, my strength.

2 The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer;

   my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge,

   my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.

3 I called to the Lord, who is worthy of praise,

   and I have been saved from my enemies.

4 The cords of death entangled me;

   the torrents of destruction overwhelmed me.

5 The cords of the grave coiled around me;

   the snares of death confronted me.

6 In my distress I called to the Lord;

   I cried to my God for help.

From his temple he heard my voice;

   my cry came before him, into his ears.

7 The earth trembled and quaked,

   and the foundations of the mountains shook;

   they trembled because he was angry.

8 Smoke rose from his nostrils;

   consuming fire came from his mouth,

   burning coals blazed out of it.

9 He parted the heavens and came down;

   dark clouds were under his feet.

10 He mounted the cherubim and flew;

   he soared on the wings of the wind.

11 He made darkness his secret place, his canopy around him—

   the dark rain clouds of the sky.

12 Out of the brightness of his presence clouds advanced,

   with hailstones and bolts of lightning.

13 The Lord thundered from heaven;

   the voice of the Most High resounded.

14 He shot his arrows and scattered the enemy,

   with great bolts of lightning he routed them.

15 The valleys of the sea were exposed

   and the foundations of the earth laid bare

at your rebuke, Lord,

   at the blast of breath from your nostrils.

16 He reached down from on high and took hold of me;

   he drew me out of deep waters.

17 He rescued me from my powerful enemy,

   from my foes, who were too strong for me.

18 They confronted me in the day of my disaster,

   but the Lord was my support.

19 He brought me out into a spacious place;

   he rescued me because he delighted in me.

20 The Lord has dealt with me according to my righteousness;

   according to the cleanness of my hands he has rewarded me.

21 For I have kept the ways of the Lord;

   I am not guilty of turning from my God.

22 All his laws are before me;

   I have not turned away from his decrees.

23 I have been blameless before him

   and have kept myself from sin.

24 The Lord has rewarded me according to my righteousness,

   according to the cleanness of my hands in his sight.

25 To the faithful you show yourself faithful,

   to the blameless you show yourself blameless,

26 to the pure you show yourself pure,

   but to the devious you show yourself shrewd.

27 You save the humble

   but bring low those whose eyes are haughty.

28 You, Lord, keep my lamp burning;

   my God turns my darkness into light.

29 With your help I can advance against a troop;

   with my God I can scale a wall.

30 As for God, his way is perfect:

   The Lord’s word is flawless;

   he shields all who take refuge in him.

31 For who is God besides the Lord?

   And who is the Rock except our God?

32 It is God who arms me with strength

   and keeps my way secure.

33 He makes my feet like the feet of a deer;

   he causes me to stand on the heights.

34 He trains my hands for battle;

   my arms can bend a bow of bronze.

35 You make your saving help my shield,

   and your right hand sustains me;

   your help has made me great.

36 You provide a broad path for my feet,

   so that my ankles do not give way.

37 I pursued my enemies and overtook them;

   I did not turn back till they were destroyed.

38 I crushed them so that they could not rise;

   they fell beneath my feet.

39 You armed me with strength for battle;

   you humbled my adversaries before me.

40 You made my enemies turn their backs in flight,

   and I destroyed my foes.

41 They cried for help, but there was no one to save them—

   to the Lord, but he did not answer.

42 I beat them as fine as windblown dust;

   I trampled them like mud in the streets.

43 You have delivered me from the attacks of the people;

   you have made me the head of nations.

People I did not know now serve me,

44     foreigners cower before me;

   as soon as they hear of me, they obey me.

45 They all lose heart;

   they come trembling from their strongholds.

46 The Lord lives! Praise be to my Rock!

   Exalted be God my Savior!

47 He is the God who avenges me,

   who subdues nations under me,

48     who saves me from my enemies.

You exalted me above my foes;

   from a violent man you rescued me.

49 Therefore I will praise you, Lord, among the nations;

   I will sing the praises of your name.

50 He gives his king great victories;

   he shows unfailing love to his anointed,

   to David and to his descendants forever.

More Psalms on God's Protection

Psalm 41:1-2

1 Blessed are those who have regard for the weak;

    the Lord delivers them in times of trouble.

2 The Lord protects and preserves them—

    they are counted among the blessed in the land—

    he does not give them over to the desire of their foes.

Psalm 23:5-6

5 You prepare a table before me

    in the presence of my enemies.

You anoint my head with oil;

    my cup overflows.

6 Surely your goodness and love will follow me

    all the days of my life,

and I will dwell in the house of the Lord

    forever.

Psalm 31:4-6

4 Keep me free from the trap that is set for me,

   for you are my refuge.

5 Into your hands I commit my spirit;

   deliver me, Lord, my faithful God.

6 I hate those who cling to worthless idols;

   as for me, I trust in the Lord.

Psalm 55:16-17

16 As for me, I call to God,

   and the Lord saves me.

17 Evening, morning and noon

   I cry out in distress,

   and he hears my voice.

Psalm 106:7-9

7 When our ancestors were in Egypt,

   they gave no thought to your miracles;

they did not remember your many kindnesses,

   and they rebelled by the sea, the Red Sea.

8 Yet he saved them for his name’s sake,

   to make his mighty power known.

9 He rebuked the Red Sea, and it dried up;

   he led them through the depths as through a desert.

Psalm 40:4-5

4 Blessed is the one

who trusts in the Lord,

who does not look to the proud,

to those who turn aside to a false god.

5 Many, Lord my God,

are the wonders you have done,

the things you planned for us.

None can compare with you;

were I to speak and tell of your deeds,

they would be too many to declare.

Closing Thoughts

The psalmists assure us that God’s protection endures forever; in our moments of strength and of weakness, God is watching over us. These psalm Bible verses help guide us back to God in moments of struggle and encourage us to give thanks for the blessings we have received. The Holy Spirit is with us; we can remain confident of the steadfast love of God.

To learn more about the book of Psalms and the rest of the wisdom literature of the Bible, take a look at the  Wisdom Collection. Or consider the entire collection available from  Alabaster.