The historical superscription includes a citation from 1 Samuel 23:19. The ancient interpreter who wrote the superscription and first associated this psalm with this event in David’s life was probably prompted to do so by some similarities of situation and by the phrase, “to seek one’s life,” found in both Psalm 54:3 and 1 Samuel 23:15. As discussed in the Introduction, this is a very intriguing and helpful way of reading the psalm, once one understands “David” as the archetypal person of God. But as also discussed, psalms were first and foremost composed within and for a liturgical setting, not within a desert setting (1 Sam. 23:15), where prose prayers appear to have been the custom (e.g., vv. 2, 10–12).

In the quest for this psalm’s original setting, some interpreters begin with what ap…