Live and Declare!!!!
Psalm 118:17 state, "I SHALL NOT DIE, BUT LIVE AND DECLARE THE WORKS OF THE LORD!"
There is life and death in your tongue, which would you prefer to emit? "Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof"(Pro 18:21). Let your imaginations run wild a bit. Envisage, a field/city swallowed up/controlled by death – cold, dark, frightening, stink, diseased, depression, hopelessness, discouragement, end. Read Ezekiel 37:1-14, it speaks about the valley of dry bones. Now imagine the opposite: that same field/city controlled by Life – heat/warmth, light, excitement, energy, hope, joy, happiness, gladness, laughter, encouragement, freshness, lushness, health, clean, beginning. A very shallow picture of what death and life looks like has been painted so let us look briefly and quickly at the verse again.
LIVE: there is a difference between living and surviving for surviving is the art of keeping alive in spite of hardships/difficulties. Whereas, living is life minus worry, minus the “not knowing” from where the next meal/mortgage/rent/medical bill comes; minus the 'just scraping by'. It is God’s will that believers, His children, live abundantly (John 10:10), but there’s a rule/formula that makes this possible: Matthew 6:33 (But seek first the kingdom of heaven and His righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you). Being rich does not guarantee living abundantly. Abundant life is experienced when your soul is fat and is maintained in an abundant state; you will also be able to live and experience the fatness that the soul experiences. Ever wondered why an earthly multi-millionaire is so miserable, wretched, unhappy, greedy, cold and callous? That is because the abundance of money is never a guarantor of abundant life.
Again, life is spiritual! The bible tells you how to live abundantly. 3 John 2 says, "I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health even as thy soul prospereth". In Hebrew, prosper means the same as circumspect, prudent, wise, and never forget that, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom" (Proverbs 9:10). So then, using the method of exegesis you figure out who is wise around here. Backing up a bit: "Are you ready to declare?" What will you declare? Death/Life? Life speaks of Christ: “I am the way, the truth and the life, no man cometh unto the Father but by me (John 14:6).
DECLARE: utter/make known/overt; without looking elsewhere, this psalmist prophesied to himself setting an example for us to do the same. So live and declare the works of the Lord. My friends, as we live committed lives to Christ, He will, in turn cause us to live abundantly, spiritually, and this will be manifested/showcased in our physical life.
Conclusively, the works of the Lord made manifested in our daily lives must be uttered/spoken/make known. The testimonies presented to us each day must never be kept a secret, instead it must be shouted. So, don’t let Satan, the devil, steal your joy! (John 10:10) Go! Tell it!
Let’s Pray
Father in heaven, keep us in sync with your word. Continue to graciously superimpose thy truth over us; give holy boldness to speak as thus saith the Lord; telling others about the works of Jesus our Savior. Let there be no distinctions made between busy, wise, color, creed, tenets, socio- economic backgrounds, experience, but, let us live, and without any reservation, declare your works. Let us live for you and in you in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.