Psalm 17:15 concludes with the psalmist's confidence that, unlike the wicked whose portion is limited to this life, he will behold God's face in righteousness and be satisfied when he awakens in God's likeness or presence. The precise force of "when I awake" is debated; it may describe renewed fellowship with God after sleep, or it may reach toward hope beyond death.

Luke 24:6 announces the central Christian resurrection claim: Jesus is not in the tomb but has risen. The Gospel does not cite Psalm 17:15 as a prediction of that event, so the connection should be presented cautiously. Christians may appropriately see David's longing to awaken and behold God as consonant with the fuller resurrection hope revealed in Christ, but Psalm 17 itself is not as explicit a resurrection prophecy as Psalm 16, which the apostles directly apply to Jesus.