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Psalm 18:6
ESV In my distress I called upon the Lord; to my God I cried for help. From his temple he heard my voice, and my cry to him reached his ears.
NIV 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.
NASB In my distress I called upon the Lord, And cried to my God for help; He heard my voice from His temple, And my cry for help before Him came into His ears.
CSB I called to the Lord in my distress, and I cried to my God for help. From his temple he heard my voice, and my cry to him reached his ears.
NLT But in my distress I cried out to the Lord; yes, I prayed to my God for help. He heard me from his sanctuary; my cry to him reached his ears.
KJV In my distress I called upon the Lord, and cried unto my God: he heard my voice out of his temple, and my cry came before him, even into his ears.
NKJV In my distress I called upon the Lord, And cried out to my God; He heard my voice from His temple, And my cry came before Him, even to His ears.

What does Psalm 18:6 mean?

It has been observed that, when you are on your back, you can look up. David faced a crisis in which he felt doomed. Saul's forces had hemmed him in, and he was flat on his back (1 Samuel 23:15). But David looked up. In his distress he prayed. He called out to God for help, and the Lord answered him from heaven.

Jeremiah 33:2–3 holds God's invitation to call on Him and His promise to answer (Matthew 7:7–11). Hannah is a good example of what happens when a person in distress calls to the Lord for help. Ridiculed by her husband's other wife because she was barren, Hannah entered the tabernacle and silently but fervently asked the Lord to give her a son. First Samuel 1:1–20 reveals that Hannah was "deeply distressed" (1 Samuel 1:10) and "troubled in spirit" (1 Samuel 1:15) and prayed out of "great anxiety and vexation" (1 Samuel 1:16). The Lord answered her cry for help, and gave her a son, whom she named Samuel, meaning "asked or heard of God."

For all who feel distressed, God is "a very present help in trouble" (Psalm 46:1).
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Context Summary
Psalm 18:1–19 expresses David's love for the Lord and his praise to God for delivering him from his enemies. This is very similar—perhaps an updated version—of David's song of praise recorded in 2 Samuel chapter 22. Psalms 3—5 recall David's prayer for deliverance from his foes and his trust in the Lord to deliver him from them. Psalms 48:1; 96:4; 145:3; and 150 also express praise to the Lord. An account of David's deliverance from his enemies is found in 2 Samuel 19—21. Other passages of Scripture that reveal God's deliverance of His people include Exodus 14; Joshua 10; Judges 7; 2 Kings 19:20–37; and Revelation 19:11–21.
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Chapter Summary
In 2 Samuel chapter 22, David expresses praise for all the times in his life where God gave him victory. That prayer or song is copied almost identically here. Psalm 18, itself, might have been adapted for use in public worship. David remembers dire situations where God rescued him. He dramatically recounts how God provided rescue and power. David also credits God with rewarding his obedience by making him a powerful and successful military leader. For these reasons, David commits himself to the praise and worship of the Lord.
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