v 31. David was looking into the future and speaking of the Messiah’s resurrection. He was saying that God would not leave him among the dead or allow his body to rot in the grave.
The New Testament writers also look to David to establish the promise of the Messiah’s resurrection.
From the very beginning of the Apostle’s preaching this was announced loud and clear. On the day of Pentecost, in his first sermon, Peter said:
God released him (Jesus) from the horrors of death and raised him back to life, for death could not keep him in its grip. King David said this about him:
I see that the Lord is always with me.
I will not be shaken, for he is right beside me.
No wonder my heart is glad,
and my tongue shouts his praises! My body rests in hope.
For you will not leave my soul among the dead,
or allow your Holy One to rot in the grave.
This is a quotation from Psalm 16, written by David, and is taken to refer to the resurrection of Jesus.
In this sense, David is not only seen as King but also as Prophet, writing about the coming Messiah and his death and resurrection. The early Apostles got this connection very quickly, which leads me to wonder if this Psalm was one of the scriptures that Jesus himself taught the disciples on the road to Emmaus, about which we read in Luke 24, ‘Wasn’t it clearly predicted that the Messiah would have to suffer all these things before entering his glory?” Then Jesus took them through the writings of Moses and all the prophets, explaining from all the Scriptures the things concerning himself. ‘
Once again, this connection with David would have been a significant element of the Apostles’ preaching to Jewish people.