Aurel Gheorghe

“As for me, I shall behold your face in righteousness; when I awake, I shall be satisfied with your likeness.”

From the language and Bible context it's obvious that David is talking about being awakened to see God in the resurrection of the saints, at Lord's second coming. 

In the first part of the text David is expressing his yearning to see God’s face – the Bible tells that we will see God in the resurrection, at the end of time (1 Cor 13:12; 1 John 3:2).

Then, the Psalmist is even more explicit about when he will see God: when he’s awakened from the dead. To “awake” from the sleep of death is a common figure of speech in the OT, as well as the NT (2 Kings 4:31; Daniel 12:2; Ps 13:3; Matt 9:24; Acts 13:36; 1 Thess 4:14, 15). 

Moreover, here the word “awake” is the same Hebrew word used for “to awake” from death also used in 2 Kings 4:31, Jeremiah 51:39, Isaiah 26:19, Job 14:12 and Daniel 12:2 – this strongly suggests that it refers to the resurrection of the dead.

Finally, the last part of the Psalm, David is expressing his joy to receive his new body in the likeness of our Creator – only at the Lord’s second coming the saints will receive their new imperishable and glorified bodies (1 Cor 15:51-54; Phil 3:20, 21).

December 27 2018 • 1 response • Vote Up • Share • Report