Come, my children, listen to me;
    I will teach you the fear of the Lord.
12 Whoever of you loves life
    and desires to see many good days,
13 keep your tongue from evil
    and your lips from telling lies.
14 Turn from evil and do good;
    seek peace and pursue it. NIVUK

Let’s consider the character of this teacher. We know that he is a humble man, seeking to glorify God; one who recognises his intense need of the Lord. This is instructive for the church. These are the sort of teachers we need.

Furthermore, we cannot look at this passage and think it just belongs in the Old Testament, for the apostle Peter quotes it in an extended section in 1 Peter 3:8ff, where he is dealing with the subject of living under persecution.

For David (and for Peter) ‘the good life’ entails:

a.) Our speech (13);

b.) Our lives (14a): i.e. living in repentance;

c.) Our posture/approach (14b): peaceful peacemakers (”If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone” Rom. 12:18). ‘Those who live this way can count on the Lord to punish those who do evil (verse 16).’ Tom Hale

“We are called to reflect the Lord’s beauty through our lives as much as through our words, and God will use this in His own perfect time.” Dr. Helen Roseveare

It was Helen Roseveare who also defined a missionary as someone called to live the Christian life in another land – and, she said, the emphasis is on the living.