“From the wicked who despoil me, My deadly enemies who surround me…. They have now surrounded us in our steps; They set their eyes to cast us down to the ground. He is like a lion that is eager to tear, and as a young lion lurking in hiding places…. As for me, I shall behold Your face in righteousness; I will be satisfied with Your likeness when I awake” (Psa 17:9, 11-12, 15).
Several leading Psalms scholars have pointed out the chiastic structure of Psalms 15–24 with Psalm 19 at the center. In Psalms 15 and 24, the righteous king ascends the LORD’s holy mountain. In Psalms 16 and 23, the king celebrates the fullness of the cup of God’s blessings. Psalms 17 and 22 describe enemies circling like lions ready to pounce upon the king as prey. Psalms 18 and 20–21 are royal psalms, rehearsing the promised victories of the Messianic king. Psalm 19 stands in the middle, where the king celebrates the perfection of the LORD’s Torah.
“Surrounded by enemies, David concludes with confidence that he will see God’s face when he ‘awakes’ (Psa 17:15).”
It is only when we see the literary relationship between Psalm 17 and Psalm 22 that we can better appreciate the rather unusual final verse of Psalm 17. Surrounded by enemies, David concludes with confidence that he will see God’s face when he “awakes” (Psa 17:15). Given the apparent certainty of the king’s death in Psalm 22, where the enemies divide the king’s clothing (Psa 22:18), the final verse of Psalm 17 reads more like David’s prophetic confidence in the Messiah’s resurrection (see also Psa 22:22) than merely waking from sleep. This becomes even more plausible when we consider the frequent use of this verb to refer to resurrection (Isa 26:19; Jer 51:39, 57; Job 14:12; Dan 12:2).
It is therefore no surprise that the book of Psalms is one of the most cited books in the New Testament, given the extent to which it details the fullness of the Messianic gospel, which includes a suffering, dying, and risen Messiah.
