Reflecting on Acts 2:14-41“David said about him: ‘I saw the Lord always before me.'” (Acts 2:25)
Did David really say this about the coming Messiah?
This quote is from Psalm 16:8-11, and is David’s own prayer.
The NIV has “I keep my eyes always on the LORD.” (Psalm 16:8)
Based on this confident, he is certain the Lord will save him from death.
This is his own personal confession, not a prediction about Jesus.
Yet Peter understands David as a foreshadowing or type of Jesus.
As David was, Jesus is too… yet so much more.
This was the Jewish hope: the Messiah as the son/heir of David.
Jesus is the humble shepherd king whom God uses to save the sheep.
Jesus is led through the valley of the shadow of death (Psalm 23).
The OT characters and authors are imperfect guides and helpers.
They are not the One God promised to reverse the curse and restore the world.
In a sense, everything the OT refers to is an anticipation of Jesus.
The bad stuff represents evil; anything good points us toward Jesus.
But it is Jesus, not David, that we should always keep our eyes on!
PRAYER
Lord Jesus, like David we should keep our eyes on You. Our hope is not in the OT authors, nor in the NT authors (Peter, John, Paul, etc.), our hope is in You! "I keep my eyes always on the LORD."