Psalm 18 6

Psalm 18:6 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.

Psalm 18:6 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.

Psalm 18:6 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.

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.

Psalm 18:6 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.

Psalm 18 verses

Psalm 18 6 Meaning

Psalm 18:6 portrays a profound divine interaction: in his deepest trouble, the psalmist, David, earnestly called upon Yahweh, his covenant God. From His exalted dwelling place in heaven—His temple—God actively heard and fully received David's desperate cries. This verse affirms God's immediate accessibility and attentive responsiveness to the sincere prayers of His afflicted servants, demonstrating His power and readiness to intervene from His sovereign throne.

Psalm 18 6 Context

Psalm 18 is a monumental psalm of thanksgiving from David, also appearing as 2 Samuel 22. It celebrates God's miraculous deliverance of David from all his enemies, including King Saul. Verse 6 initiates a powerful narrative within the psalm, shifting from David's dire circumstances to God's awe-inspiring intervention. The verse serves as the turning point where human distress meets divine power. It underscores the foundational belief that amidst chaos and persecution, the righteous King's direct appeal to his sovereign God in heaven results in immediate and earth-shattering rescue. Culturally, it reinforces the unique responsiveness of Yahweh compared to the deaf and powerless idols of surrounding nations, portraying Him as the active, reigning God.

Psalm 18 6 Word analysis

• In my distress (צר לי - tsar li):

  • Tsar (צָר) means "narrow," "tight," "constricted," signifying extreme anguish, a feeling of being pressed in on all sides, a truly dire situation where there seems to be no escape. This word emphasizes the overwhelming nature of David's tribulation, making his cry all the more desperate and authentic.

• I called upon (אקרא - 'eqra'):

  • From the verb qara' (קָרָא), meaning "to call," "to call out," "to invoke," "to proclaim." It signifies an earnest, often vocalized, and intentional appeal. This isn't a mere thought, but a deliberate act of seeking divine attention.

• the Lord (יהוה - Yahweh):

  • The sacred, covenant name of God, revealing His personal, unchanging, and redemptive nature. Calling upon Yahweh indicates an appeal based on an established, intimate relationship, invoking God's faithfulness to His promises made to His people and especially to His anointed.

• and cried to (ואשוע אל - va'eshavva' el):

  • From the verb shava' (שָׁוַע), meaning "to cry for help," "to supplicate," "to implore." This term intensifies "called upon," conveying a desperate plea, often born of extreme necessity and helplessness. It signifies a fervent, emotional outpouring for urgent rescue.

• my God (אלהי - 'elohey):

  • Elohim (אֱלֹהִים) is the general term for God, but with the suffix '-my,' it becomes intensely personal and relational. "My God" reflects a deep, established bond of dependence and trust. It grounds David's prayer in his personal experience of God's character and past faithfulness.

• He heard (ישמע - yishma'):

  • From shama' (שָׁמַע), meaning "to hear," but also implies "to listen," "to understand," and even "to respond" or "to obey." This is not just passive audition; it implies active attention and positive reception, signaling a willingness to act.

• my voice (קולי - qoli):

  • Literally "my sound" or "my call." It is the audible expression of his prayer, underscoring the directness and concrete nature of his petition reaching God's presence.

• from His temple (מהיכלו - mehekhalo):

  • Heykhal (הֵיכָל) can refer to a palace, a grand building, or specifically God's sanctuary. In early psalms and narratives, predating Solomon's permanent Temple, it most often signifies God's dwelling in heaven, His cosmic throne room (as in Ps 11:4). This indicates that God hears and responds from the seat of His ultimate sovereignty, power, and authority over the universe.

• and my cry (ושועתי - ushu'ati):

  • Another noun form derived from shava' ("cry for help"). This reiterates and reinforces the previous phrase "and cried to my God," emphasizing the deep urgency and nature of the plea.

• came before Him (תבוא לפניו - tavo' lefana'v):

  • "Came before" means "entered His presence." This conveys the immediate and direct access David's prayer had. There were no intermediaries or blockages; the prayer went straight to the divine sovereign.

• even to His ears (באזניו - be'ozna'v):

  • This is an anthropomorphism, attributing human body parts to God to help us comprehend His divine actions. It provides a vivid image of God's perfect and undivided attention. It emphasizes that the cry was fully registered and understood by God, leaving no doubt about the successful communication.

Words-group by words-group analysis:

• "In my distress I called upon the Lord, and cried to my God": This powerful opening highlights both the extreme depth of human need and the intense, personal nature of prayer. The parallel phrasing ("called upon the Lord" and "cried to my God") serves to emphasize the earnestness and desperation, appealing to God both in His covenant faithfulness (Yahweh) and in His personal relationship with the worshipper ("my God"). This dual emphasis underscores the psalmist's foundational trust and dependency in a moment of utter helplessness.
• "He heard my voice from His temple, and my cry came before Him, even to His ears": This section beautifully articulates God's active and complete reception of prayer. The statement "He heard my voice" establishes the fact of divine reception. "From His temple" points to the source of God's action as being from His place of sovereign majesty and authority (His heavenly abode). The follow-up "my cry came before Him, even to His ears" intensifies this image, depicting the prayer as having full, unobstructed access, penetrating directly into God's presence and receiving His perfect, attentive hearing. The anthropomorphic "ears" highlights the intimate, immediate, and definite reception of the desperate plea by the all-hearing God.

Psalm 18 6 Bonus section

• Messianic Implication: While David is the immediate speaker, Psalm 18 also contains Messianic echoes. Jesus, during His ultimate distress in Gethsemane and on the cross, uttered "vehement cries and tears" to God (Heb 5:7, Lk 22:44), demonstrating a profound parallel. The Father heard Him, ultimately raising Him from the dead and glorifying Him, providing the ultimate fulfillment of divine deliverance from "the snares of death" (Ps 18:5).
• Divine Transcende nce and Immanence: The verse masterfully balances God's transcendence ("from His temple," signifying His lofty dwelling above creation) with His immanence ("He heard my voice," "to His ears," indicating His close, personal involvement with humanity). This demonstrates God as both utterly sovereign and intimately accessible.
• Polemics against Idolatry: This verse inherently contains a subtle polemic against the pagan deities worshipped by surrounding nations, who were often depicted as mute, deaf, or unconcerned with human affairs. The living God of Israel, Yahweh, in stark contrast, actively hears, listens, and responds to the cries of His people.
• The Power of Earnest Prayer: The progression from "distress" to "called upon" and "cried," followed by "He heard" and "came to His ears," emphasizes that genuine, heartfelt, and persistent prayer, especially in dire circumstances, moves the heart of God and invokes His intervention.

Psalm 18 6 Commentary

Psalm 18:6 is a foundational statement of God's responsive nature in the face of human crisis. It powerfully illustrates that when sincere, desperate prayer ascends from a soul in profound trouble to the covenant God, Yahweh, it receives direct attention from His celestial throne. David's experience is presented not as a unique anomaly but as a paradigm: God, from the supreme authority and power of His "temple" (His heavenly abode), actively inclines His ear to hear and heed the cries of His people. This verse conveys absolute confidence in God's accessibility and His willingness to engage personally in the affairs of His distressed servants, guaranteeing that no genuine cry for help goes unheard by the living, attentive God, who unlike the idols of the nations, is never deaf or indifferent. It sets the stage for the dramatic, cosmic deliverance described in the subsequent verses, affirming that God's intervention is not merely possible but an assured outcome of genuine, fervent prayer.