Is David talking about waking up the next morning or waking up from the sleep of death?

There is much discussion on whether David is referring only to satisfaction he receives in this life, or to what awaits him at the resurrection. So when he says, when I awake, is he speaking of the morning after this prayer, or to awakening after the sleep of death, in the resurrection?

Those who say he is referring to waking up the next morning believe there is no compelling reason to say that David was anticipating death and therefore seeing the face of God shortly. Rather, he was expecting the Lord in his favour to deliver him from his particular peril, and in such deliverance he would behold the face of the Lord.¹ Believers do not have to wait until after this life to see God. ² Rather, as Rolf Jacobson and Beth Tanner conclude, “the psalmist, having prayed himself as it were almost into an exhausted sleep, closes his eyes in the trusting confidence that the new day will dawn with hope—because all tomorrows are in the hands of the Lord."³

Those who believe David is referring to waking up from the sleep of death find that the above interpretation unsatisfactory, and carrying little force here. This verse ought to be read not only in the light of the immediate, historical occasion for the prayer, but also with awareness of what biblical authors have written elsewhere. The word awake can refer in the Old Testament to awakening from death (2 Kings 4:31; Job 14:12; Jeremiah 51:39; Isaiah 26:19; Daniel 12:2). Contrary to popular opinion, the Israelites knew something about the afterlife, not least because they had to think about life after death. The psalmists are not infrequently close to death’s door, with enemies only too eager to push them into Sheol. Their words reveal that they knew of life with the Lord after death (Psalm 37:27–29; Psalm 49:14–15; Psalm 73:23–26; Psalm 71:20). In this very psalm, David is setting himself apart from the worldly orientation of the enemy who finds their portion only in this life (Psalm 17:14). And so his when I awake is a natural contrast, pointing beyond this life, when he will receive full vindication. That is when the Lord will reveal his glory to the righteous, who will be like him.

What emerges from this is that rather than seeing David using the term when I awake to refer to one option or the other, we can interpret his words as capturing both. David is confident not only in the Lord’s immediate deliverance of his servant, but also in his ultimate vindication, when he appears in the presence of God. As Ross notes, a present vindication would bring temporary satisfaction, but a future and final deliverance would bring complete satisfaction in the presence of God.⁴

So this verse cannot merely point to David’s confidence in waking up to a new day. Surely it points us to a hope that is beyond this life.