The author of Samuel uses two of David’s psalms to summarize the most significant core belief in David’s life—God is always worthy to be fully trusted, obeyed, and praised!

You might find it odd that in our relationship with God, we can trust, obey, and praise Him even if we don’t believe He’s worthy of it.  We can likely all recall situations in our lives where we trusted God with a circumstance, not because we believed He was truly worthy of being trusted, but because we had run out of ways to control the situation, leaving us with no other option.  The same is true when it comes to living in obedience to God.  We likely all have testimonies of times that our submission to our own desires created such a mess that we had no rational choice but to start living in submission to Him.  Finally, when it comes to praising God, we have all experienced times in our lives where we gave lip service to praise.  I call it forced faith in that it’s not that we truly believe God is worthy of it; we just don’t know what else to do.

In our study of 2 Samuel we have seen David’s relationship with the Lord end up in these situations as well, but as we did we knew David wasn’t going to stay there; we knew we were eventually going to see David repent because we had seen a clear core belief that God was indeed worthy to be trusted, obeyed and praised.  As we read the stories of David’s spiritual failures in first and second Samuel, we knew that couldn’t be how things were going to continue.  Therefore, to no surprise, as terrible as his affair was with Bathsheba, David eventually repented, not to save his throne or his reputation in Israel, but rather because at the core of his being, he believed God is WORTHY to be trusted, obeyed, and praised!  Likewise, after a period of David's passive leadership of his family and the nation that coincided with him doing nothing more than “checking boxes” in his relationship with God, David found himself the victim of a coup led by one of his own sons. However, instead of driving David away from God, David repented and returned to his core belief that God is always worthy of being fully trusted, obeyed, and praised.

The first psalm that the narrator of Samuel chose to highlight this core belief in David’s life is in 2 Samuel 22, but it’s also found in Psalms 18.  So, let’s walk through this psalm and lock in on how it testifies to the worthiness of God to be trusted, obeyed, and praised!

 There are three parts to the Psalm of David in 2 Samuel 22 that highlight David’s core belief that God is always worthy to be fully trusted, obeyed, and praised.

 The first part of the Psalm is the introduction.

The introduction refers to two specific occasions when God clearly demonstrated His faithfulness. 

1 And David spoke to the LORD the words of this song on the day when the LORD delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul.

It appears that David sang this song on two different occasions when God was clearly the one who rescued him.The psalm doesn’t specify the exact incident it refers to when it states that David spoke these words to the Lord following a time when God delivered him “from the hand of all his enemies.”   One could argue that God delivered David from the “hand of all his enemies” on a few occasions, but because the psalm seems to be referring to a specific occasion without specifying which one, I’m inclined to believe it refers to Absalom’s rebellion.

The other instance concerns God’s rescue of David from Saul’s hand.That occurred on a variety of occasions as well, but I can’t help but think that this psalm refers to the last one.  In 1 Samuel 27, after faithfully sparing King Saul’s life, David lost hope that Saul would ever stop trying to kill him, and he faithlessly ran to the Philistines for refuge.  Nonetheless, God still blessed David and even sovereignly intervened so that David didn’t have to go into battle with the Philistines against Saul and the army of Israel, most notably in the battle of 1 Samuel 31, when the Philistines killed Saul and consequently ended Saul’s threat to David’s life.

Therefore, we aren’t intended to focus on the specifics of the occasions when David sang this song to the Lord, but rather to know that it was when God, and God alone, had clearly been the one who rescued David, despite his level of faith in the Lord.

“The introductory identification also specifies an occasion for the composition—a motivation: “on the day when Yahweh delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul.” Since there was no one day on which this happened, the expression בְּיוֹם֩ (beyom) means that David composed it toward the end of his life in remembrance of Yahweh’s constant support against all his foes, beginning with Saul and continuing through the Aramaeans, Moabites, Ammonites, Philistines, and the internal threats to his rule from Absalom and Sheba. These specific threats to David’s rule would be particularly evident in the setting at the close of 2 Samuel, but within the psalter it would have taken on a more general reference. Some interpreters date the psalm earlier than I would, assuming that he composed it when his power was at its height (2 Sam 8:14b) and before his sin against Bathsheba and Uriah had left its mark on him, which they assume would not allow him to speak of his blamelessness (vv. 21–24). Such a wooden-literal interpretation is out of place in a song of this type, which is free to use terms in a less restrictive sense and has room for hyperbole.”¹Hoffner, H. A., Jr. (2015). 1 & 2 Samuel (Vol. 2, pp. 821–822). Lexham Press.

The second part of the Psalm of David in 2 Samuel 22, which highlights David’s core belief that God is always worthy to be fully trusted, obeyed, and praised, is the body of the psalm.

The body describes the awesomeness of God. 

2 He said, "The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer,

“The LORD” – Yahweh is translated as “LORD.” It is the personal name of God, and being God has a name, God is knowable! God is not an unknowable, impersonal force or a philosophical concept.  As such, David is telling us what He has learned about as he has lived in a relationship with Him.  David says that God,

“is my rock” - what you stand on or build on so that you have a stable and firm foundation that doesn’t move. Jesus told us not to build our lives on sand, but rather to build them on a rock, and He and His Words are that rock (Matthew 7:24-27).

“and my fortress” - what you hide in to be protected.

“and my deliverer” - a rescuer who comes and gets us when we are in trouble!

David then expands on the awesomeness of God by taking us deeper into what He means by these descriptions of God.

3 my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold and my refuge, my savior; you save me from violence.

“My God” – Elohim is translated as “God.” This name of God refers to Him as the all-powerful creator, sustainer, and sovereign ruler of the universe.

“It also ties in with Hannah’s song at the very beginning of 1-2 Samuel: אֵין צוּר כֵּאלֹהֵינוּ (ein tsur keloheinu) (“there is no Rock like our God,” 1 Sam 2:2).”²Hoffner, H. A., Jr. (2015). 1 & 2 Samuel (Vol. 2, p. 824). Lexham Press.

“Horns, used by animals for defense and attack, symbolized strength."³Merrill, E. H. (1985). 1 Samuel. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 1, p. 434). Victor Books.

4 I call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised, and I am saved from my enemies. 5 "For the waves of death encompassed me, the torrents of destruction assailed me; 6 the cords of Sheol entangled me; the snares of death confronted me. 7 "In my distress I called upon the LORD; to my God I called. From his temple he heard my voice, and my cry came to his ears.

David is telling us that he presently calls on the Lord, who is worthy to be praised, because when he called upon the Lord in the past, God was faithful to do exactly what He promised He would do.

“Jesus cries to the Lord from the state of death. We recall Jesus’ own words about the parallel between himself and Jonah in the belly of the great fish (Matthew 12:39-40). The one great ‘sign’ given to all the sign-seekers in the New Testament era will be ‘the sign of Jonah’—which is that as he was three days in the fish, so Jesus will be three days in the grave, and then—resurrection! But prior to his deliverance Jonah prayed (Jonah 2:1–9). He cried as one who was dead but who was submissive to the Lord in his death. And so it was with Jesus, only with infinitely greater profundity. Jesus cries from beneath the fatal mountain of human corruption, guilt and condemnation. He cries from a hell of just judgement towards the heavenly temple of his Father. And God hears the beloved Son in whom he is well pleased! Why? Because that prayer is in perfect harmony with his will and because his love for the Son can never be deflected even by the ocean of human sin for which he briefly forsakes him, as he bears it in his body on the cross. The cry of dereliction—‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’ (Matthew 27:46)—is a mighty but fleeting echo of a breach soon healed in all the glory of the resurrection, ascension and exaltation of the risen Christ as King of kings and Lord of lords!”⁴Keddie, G. J. (1990). Triumph of the King: The Message of 2 Samuel (p. 209). Evangelical Press.

David then uses metaphorical language to point to the true power of Yahweh, namely, the true nature of Yahweh as the one and only Elohim, the one and only all-powerful sovereign God of the universe.David writes,

8 "Then the earth reeled and rocked; the foundations of the heavens trembled and quaked, because he was angry.  9 Smoke went up from his nostrils, and devouring fire from his mouth; glowing coals flamed forth from him.  10 He bowed the heavens and came down; thick darkness was under his feet.  11 He rode on a cherub and flew; he was seen on the wings of the wind.  12 He made darkness around him his canopy, thick clouds, a gathering of water.  13 Out of the brightness before him coals of fire flamed forth.  14 The LORD thundered from heaven, and the Most High uttered his voice.  15 And he sent out arrows and scattered them; lightning, and routed them.  16 Then the channels of the sea were seen; the foundations of the world were laid bare, at the rebuke of the LORD, at the blast of the breath of his nostrils.

 Note: “The way you read these phenomena will, of course, depend on the nature of your relationship with the Lord. There is an analogy here with the preaching of the gospel, which Paul says is an aroma of Christ—to those perishing in unbelief  ‘the smell of death’ and to those who are being saved ‘the fragrance of life’ (2 Corinthians 2:15–16). …  Man stands at centre stage surrounded by a creation which testifies of God—of the terror he is and will be to his enemies, and the consolation and encouragement he is and will always be to his believing people. The earth belongs to the Lord and all that is in it (Psalm 24:1).”⁵Keddie, G. J. (1990). Triumph of the King: The Message of 2 Samuel (pp. 213–214). Evangelical Press

 The next part of the passage should not be confused as a statement concerning salvation, but rather a statement in the context of the Covenant David was living under as the King of Israel, and as a Jew, the Mosaic Law.As such, David speaks to the faithfulness of God in upholding the Covenant He established with Israel through Moses, namely, the Mosaic Law, which promises blessings to Israel if they obey it.  David has been on the receiving end of the discipline promised in the Law for rebellion and the blessings in it promised for obedience, but in both God has been faithful to do with David and Israel what God told Moses He would do with them and that includes the faithful mercy of God to fully restore us into a right relationship with Him when we repent.

 17 "He sent from on high, he took me; he drew me out of many waters. 18 He rescued me from my strong enemy, from those who hated me, for they were too mighty for me.  19 They confronted me on the day of my calamity, but the LORD was my support. 20 He brought me out into a broad place; he rescued me, because he delighted in me. 21 "The LORD dealt with me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands, he rewarded me.  22 For I have kept the ways of the LORD and have not wickedly departed from my God.  23 For all his rules were before me, and from his statutes I did not turn aside.  24 I was blameless before him, and I kept myself from guilt.  25 And the LORD has rewarded me according to my righteousness, according to my cleanness in his sight. 26 "With the merciful you show yourself merciful; with the blameless man you show yourself blameless; 27 with the purified you deal purely, and with the crooked you make yourself seem tortuous.  28 You save a humble people, but your eyes are on the haughty to bring them down. 

Clearly, these words of David find their ultimate fulfillment in Christ.Christ alone is the only blameless one, and in Christ alone do we truly stand as righteous before God (Romans 3:19-26, 1 Corinthians 1:26-31).

David then points out how God personally interacts with him and empowers him, which is how Elohim truly is Yahweh, the God who lives in relationship with His children, loving them and pouring out His favor on them!

 29 For you are my lamp, O LORD, and my God lightens my darkness. 30 For by you I can run against a troop, and by my God I can leap over a wall.  31 This God--his way is perfect; the word of the LORD proves true; he is a shield for all those who take refuge in him. 32 "For who is God, but the LORD? And who is a rock, except our God? 

 Note:  Expanding on verse 31, “This El [Deity/God in general sense]--his way is perfect; the word of the LORD proves true; he is a shield for all those who take refuge in him. 32 "For who is God [El], but the LORD [Yahweh]? And who is a rock, except our God [The Almighty and All-powerful God – Elohim]? 

33 This God is my strong refuge and has made my way blameless. 34 He made my feet like the feet of a deer and set me secure on the heights. 35 He trains my hands for war, so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.  36 You have given me the shield of your salvation, and your gentleness made me great. 37 You gave a wide place for my steps under me, and my feet did not slip; 38 I pursued my enemies and destroyed them, and did not turn back until they were consumed.  39 I consumed them; I thrust them through, so that they did not rise; they fell under my feet. 40 For you equipped me with strength for the battle; you made those who rise against me sink under me. 41 You made my enemies turn their backs to me, those who hated me, and I destroyed them.  42 They looked, but there was none to save; they cried to the LORD, but he did not answer them. 43 I beat them fine as the dust of the earth; I crushed them and stamped them down like the mire of the streets. 44 "You delivered me from strife with my people; you kept me as the head of the nations; people whom I had not known served me. 45 Foreigners came cringing to me; as soon as they heard of me, they obeyed me.  46 Foreigners lost heart and came trembling out of their fortresses. 47 "The LORD lives, and blessed be my rock, and exalted be my God, the rock of my salvation, 48 the God who gave me vengeance and brought down peoples under me, 49 who brought me out from my enemies; you exalted me above those who rose against me; you delivered me from men of violence.

 The third part of the psalm of David in 2 Samuel 22 is the conclusion.

 The conclusion makes it clear that David believed God had abundantly proven His worthiness to be trusted, obeyed, and praised!

 50 "For this I will praise you, O LORD, among the nations, and sing praises to your name.  51 Great salvation he brings to his king, and shows steadfast love to his anointed, to David and his offspring forever." 

Now again, this is ultimately fulfilled in Christ.David’s throne nor his kingdom were meant to last forever, but rather the throne of the one it pointed to—Christ’s!  The offspring is Christ, and as such, all who are in Christ are in that promise.

 Gordon Keddie wrote something very important for us to understand about these two verses in his commentary on 2 Samuel.He wrote,

 “The focus of this extension of the kingdom of God … is not ‘David as an individual, but David and his seed for ever,—that is to say, the royal family of David which culminated in Christ’. Only in terms of the kingship of Jesus Christ can we conceive of an everlasting and all-conquering kingdom (Psalm 72:8–11). He is the one to whom all men must answer, because ‘all authority’ has been given to him in heaven and on earth (Matthew 28:18). God says to men and nations, ‘Kiss the Son, lest he be angry and you be destroyed in your way, for his wrath can flare up in a moment. Blessed are all who take refuge in him’ (Psalm 2:12). ‘How pitiable,’ writes John Brown of Edinburgh, ‘the situation of men without God, without Christ, in the world. In the day of deep distress God only can help them, but they know not God; Christ only can intercede for them, but they know not Christ. They may cry on God, but if not in faith, in penitence, in dependence on Christ, they cry in vain. It is only in Christ. He is the answerer of prayer. We must come to Christ, that we may be brought to God.’”⁶Keddie, G. J. (1990). Triumph of the King: The Message of 2 Samuel (pp. 224–225). Evangelical Press.

All of God’s promises to Israel and David find their ultimate meaning in Christ and what He alone provides those who are in Him, and only to those who are in Him!!Those promises not only include salvation and eternal life to all who are in Christ but also eternal damnation to all who are not!

The second psalm of David that the author of Samuel used to summarize the most significant core belief in David’s life is in 2 Samuel 23:1-7.

There are two parts to the Psalm of David in 2 Samuel 23:1-7 that highlight David’s core belief that God is always worthy to be fully trusted, obeyed, and praised.

 The first part of the psalm sheds light on its significance.

This psalm carries the weight of being David’s last official statement to Israel, and it comes directly from God. 

 1 Now these are the last words of David: The oracle of David, the son of Jesse, the oracle of the man who was raised on high, the anointed of the God of Jacob, the sweet psalmist of Israel: 2 "The Spirit of the LORD speaks by me; his word is on my tongue.

“In the first stanza (v. 1) he identified himself as son of Jesse … the man exalted by the Most High, the man anointed by the God of Jacob, and Israel’s singer of songs. There is a noticeable progress from the humble son of a Bethlehemite commoner to the poetically gifted king of Israel, a development which David attributed to his having been chosen and anointed by the Lord.”⁷Merrill, E. H. (1985). 2 Samuel. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 1, p. 479). Victor Books

The last thing you tell somebody is typically the thing you want to make sure they don’t forget.As a football coach, I made sure the last thing I said to a player before a game started was the one thing I wanted on their mind the entire game.  Sometimes it might be a crucial key that can’t be forgotten.  For instance, when you play a triple option football team, the people assigned to tackle the fullback have to tackle the fullback every single play, or you will lose the football game; it’s that simple.  It could also be something I know a player has had a hard time remembering to execute (i.e., the key read the QB needs on a particular pass concept that he keeps forgetting to locate).  It could just be a word of encouragement that I know a player needs.  The point is that if you give them a big, long list of things right before the game starts, they won’t remember anything, so you have to narrow it down to one, two, and at most three practical things they need to have in the front of their mind for the entire contest.

With that in mind, David wants to make sure his family and the entire nation understand the most critical element for their success.When Israel decided to have a King, that meant the King was now their representative before the Lord.  So goes the King, so goes the nation.  Therefore, the spiritual condition of the King didn’t just affect his life, but his family and the entire country!  So what David is getting ready to say to them is being told with the weight of this being the thing David wanted to make sure everybody remembered when he was dead and gone.

In addition, this is called an oracle, meaning these are words that are to be taken as coming straight from the Lord!Last words or not, if they come from God, then they carry the highest importance and authority possible.  The psalm eliminates any question of what is meant and emphasized by the word “oracle” with the statement, “The Spirit of the LORD speaks by me; his word is on my tongue.” 

“This appears to be a prepared public testimony for the entire nation, issued in prospect of the king’s passing. In contrast, the ‘last words’ of 1 Kings 2 are personal words for his son. Since they do seem to be set in the context of the king’s imminent death, it may be argued that they are chronologically his last utterance in this life. Even so, it is not impossible that the order is reversed: that since David’s charge to Solomon to put Shimei to death cannot be proved to be given immediately before his death, 23:1–7 may well have been his literal last words—written earlier perhaps but now recalled with life’s last breath and inserted earlier in the account by the inspired historian in order to make the connection with 22:1–51/Psalm 18 all the clearer. In any event, the chronology is of little concern to the historian for the account as a whole is a kind of recessional—a solemn accompaniment to David’s withdrawal from the stage of history—which at the same time restates, as already noted, the continuing promise of God’s everlasting covenant with his people, even in the passing of their shepherd-king. … Preparation for death ought never to be seen as a morbid exercise. ‘When we find death approaching,’ says Matthew Henry, ‘we should endeavour both to honour God and edify those about us with our last words. Let those that have had long experience of God’s goodness and the pleasantness of wisdom … leave a record of that experience and bear their testimony to the truth of the promise.’ The virtual disappearance from Christian literature of death-bed accounts and recorded last words is a sad and significant loss. This is probably a reflection not only of the prevailing squeamishness about death, even among Christians, but also of the fact that, except for those who die suddenly and unexpectedly, we tend to end our days under sedation—and, worse, alone—in a hospital or nursing home. We may thank the Lord for pain-killing drugs, but this must not lead us also to anaesthetize our meditation about, and preparation for, eternity. It is in the face of death that a living faith in Jesus Christ shines most brightly in the depths of the Christian’s being.”⁸Keddie, G. J. (1990). Triumph of the King: The Message of 2 Samuel (pp. 229–231). Evangelical Press. 

The second part of the psalm makes it really clear to David’s sons and the nation how a king should rule.  This is the thing, David, and even God Himself wanted to make sure everybody remembered after David was dead and gone.

 A king who rules from a heart that genuinely trusts, obeys, and praises the Lord beautifully blesses a nation, but one who doesn’t is at best worthless and at worst, dangerous.

David begins by pointing out the blessings of a nation ruled by a King who is in a right relationship with God.

3 The God of Israel has spoken; the Rock of Israel has said to me: When one rules justly over men, ruling in the fear of God, 4 he dawns on them like the morning light, like the sun shining forth on a cloudless morning, like rain that makes grass to sprout from the earth. 5 "For does not my house stand so with God? 

A King who rules out of a righteous and healthy relationship with God will bless the nation the same way the morning light blesses the earth to bring it out of darkness on a cloudless morning; the same way the rain blesses the earth to make grass germinate and grow.

Verse five takes us back to that reality of the promise of the Law.Although never perfectly, David was, in general, a man who lived in submission to God, and as such, when he rebelled, he eventually repented and turned back to God.  As a result, at the end of his life, David can say with confidence that he and his house are standing with God, and Israel has been blessed because of it.

Furthermore, David points us to something that will extend far beyond his lifetime; something that God Himself has guaranteed, and it’s ultimately why he has been such a good King.The second half of verse 5 states,

 For he has made with me an everlasting covenant, ordered in all things and secure. For will he not cause to prosper all my help and my desire? 

David rightly believes the eternal promise God made to him is secure, but what David doesn’t fully understand is that it’s not an earthly Kingdom with earthly blessings that this promise was about.If that were the case, God would not have kept His promise.  Eventually, a descendant of David will no longer be ruling Israel.  However, the promise God made to David about an everlasting Kingdom wasn’t about a throne in Jerusalem over a nation in the Middle East, but rather a King who would be a descendant of David, unlike any other King that ever lived, ruling a Kingdom unlike anything in this world!  The King of that Kingdom was going to be fully man and fully God—Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God!

So, as beautiful as the picture David left Israel with of the effects of a righteous King on the people he rules, nobody could understand the fullness of what he was saying until the truly righteous King came, died for us, and then rose from the grave. There is no King like Jesus, and as such, those who have repented and believed in Him and thus are in His Kingdom are blessed by His leadership in an eternally greater way into a promise bigger and better than anything Israel ever even imagined!  Look at what God showed John about the Kingdom of Christ!

22 And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. 23 And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb. 24 By its light will the nations walk, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it, 25 and its gates will never be shut by day--and there will be no night there. 26 They will bring into it the glory and the honor of the nations. 27 But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb's book of life. (Revelation 21:22-27)

 Now, on the other hand, a king who doesn’t rule from justice and the fear of the Lord is totally worthless, and at worst, so dangerous that no kingdom should ever allow a person like that on the throne!David says,

6 But worthless men are all like thorns that are thrown away, for they cannot be taken with the hand; 7 but the man who touches them arms himself with iron and the shaft of a spear, and they are utterly consumed with fire." 

In other words, the only thing you can do with a worthless man (a person who does not lead with justice or in the fear of the Lord) is to throw him away! They are so worthless and so dangerous to have around that you can’t even touch them without being wounded, and thus the imagery of a man needing to throw the thorny vine or weed into the fire with iron tools or the shaft of a spear!

“Just as thorns are handled with the appropriate implements—‘a tool of iron or the shaft of a spear’—and will ultimately be burned in the fire, so the wicked who reject the Lord will be subjected to the sword of divine justice and be cast into the fire of a lost eternity.”⁹Keddie, G. J. (1990). Triumph of the King: The Message of 2 Samuel (p. 235). Evangelical Press.

Later, Jesus said that those who don’t produce the fruit of God’s life are like fruitless branches and weeds, whose only use is to be tossed aside and burned!Listen to what Jesus said,

19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. (Matthew 7:19)

40 Just as the weeds are gathered and burned with fire, so will it be at the close of the age. 41 The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all law-breakers, 42 and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. (Matthew 13:40-42)

Challenge

How is your life impacting those around you?  Are you a light in the morning and a rain that brings forth green grass?  The New Covenant promises that if you live in an abiding relationship with Him, you will be a life giver to others!

13  "You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people's feet. 14 "You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. (Matthew 5:13-16)

14 But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere. (2 Corinthians 2:14)

A life lived genuinely trusting, obeying, and praising God is a life that will necessarily bring the light of God into this dark world, and that most obviously includes those around you.  A life lived genuinely trusting, obeying, and praising God is a life that will necessarily bring the beautiful aroma of Christ's life into the experience of those around you.  People may reject the testimony of Christ in their life or repent and believe in Him, but either way, all who are truly exposed to a person who is abiding in Jesus will know they have been exposed to something God is doing in and through you.

On the other hand, a life that is not lived genuinely, trusting, obeying, and praising God, no matter how religious that life may be, can never bring His life to anybody because they aren’t living in it and may not even have it.  You can’t give away something you don’t have enough of to give away, and you certainly can’t give away something you don’t even have.  So, are you a Christian who’s living in rebellion like David did on occasion, and as such creating chaos in the lives of people around you instead of life?  Or, are you a person who has never given your life to Christ and wants to find that kind of purpose in your life, but you’ve yet to repent and surrender your life to Jesus so you can?