After escaping from the Philistine city of Gath, David hid in the cave of Adullam (1 Sam 22:1-2), where he wrote Psalm 57. David was running away and hiding from his enemies. From this cave, David refers to God as his refuge (57:1). God is referred to 21 times by name or pronoun in the Psalm's 11 verses. This God-centered mindset changes the Psalmist's tone from uncertainty to settled praise. There is a change in tone and theme between the two stanzas that has perplexed some scholars seeking a unified theme in the Psalm. Going from the individual plea (vss. 1-4) to an invocation that God would manifest His glory to the whole earth (vss. 9-11), some have proposed that the Psalm is a compilation of two separate compositions. But put together, the two sections present the minutia of individual need in the context of the wider substantial matter of God's glory. When we are experiencing a trial, we can "lose the forest for the trees," by focusing on deliverance from our circumstances, while missing how our trial contributes to the great goal of history – that God might be known and honored. David wants God to be exalted over all the earth, in the way he trusts and praises God in his trials. Psalm 57 shows us that our prayers for deliverance from distress serve a greater end than just a change of circumstance or feeling, but our suffering is ultimately for the glory of God.

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