David was the king of Israel from around 1010-970 B.C., and is the ancestor of Jesus Christ. He is the main human author of the Book of Psalms, having been credited with writing 75 psalms under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, and nearly all of the other Psalms in the Psalter were written under his direction (1 Chron. 25:6). As such, the Psalter as a whole is sometimes referred to as the Psalms of David. He is described as "a man after God's own heart" (1 Sam. 13:14), "the anointed of the God of Jacob," and "the sweet psalmist of Israel" (2 Sam. 23:1).
David is uniquely qualified to be the main human author of the Psalter because of his status as Israel's king and prophet chosen directly by God whose dynasty would bring about God's anointed one (or, messiah) who would reign forever - Jesus Christ. As king, David prepared the Psalter for God's people to use when giving worship to the Lord, acting as God's mediator at the time. Though David was focused on preparing the Psalter for use in the temple which his son would ultimately complete, God was working through David to prepare the Psalter for use by all His saints in all times. As prophet, David was inspired to write about his present circumstances, and in doing so was given divine glimpses into the future life, death, and resurrection of Christ, the man David describes as "his Lord" in Psalm 110.
For David says concerning [Jesus],
"I saw the Lord always before me, for he is at my right hand that I may not be shaken; Therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced; My flesh also will dwell in hope. For you will not abandon my soul to Hades, or let your Holy One see corruption. You have made known to me the paths of life; you will make me full of gladness with your presence." [Quoted from Psalm 16:8-11]
Brothers, I may say to you with confidence about the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. Being therefore a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that he would set one of his descendants on his throne, he foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption.
Acts 2:25-31 (ESV)
Text adapted from 150 Questions about the Psalter by Bradley Johnston.
