Psalm 118:17 I shall not die, but live, and declare the works of the LORD. I. MANY ARE THE WORKS OF THE LORD. 1. Creation. 2. Providence. 3. Redemption. 4. Regeneration. Do not be ashamed to declare that work of the Lord; and do it mainly by exhibiting the fruit of it in your life, but also by clearly narrating your own experience whenever you have a fitting opportunity. II. THESE WORKS OF THE LORD OUGHT TO BE DECLARED. 1. For God's glory. 2. For the comfort of His people. 3. To guide the anxious. 4. As a warning to the self-righteous. 5. To gladden the Church of God. III. WHO OUGHT TO DECLARE THE WORKS OF THE LORD? We who have experienced the working of God's grace should bear our own personal testimony concerning what He hath done for our soul. Personal witness-bearing is always effective. And if God does not get witnesses among those who have had their sins forgiven, whence are His witnesses to come? IV. Now I want, with all my heart, to stir up your hearts and my own also to THE DUTY OF DECLARING GOD'S WORKS. 1. I pray you to declare His works, and to be encouraged to do so because, first, it is a very simple duty. This work of glorifying the grace of God is a mosaic; I can put in my little pieces of stone or marble to form the pattern so far, but there is another part of that mosaic which nobody but yourselves can manufacture. It can be made out of the odds and ends of your spiritual experience, as you think them to be; but, insignificant and unimportant as they seem to be, they help to complete the whole design. 2. Then notice what a very manifest duty it is that you should tell out what God has done for you. Does this need any proof? Do you think that the Lord saved you that you might just be happy, keeping your joy within your own heart, ever feeding and fattening it? 3. Notice also that this is a very profitable duty. I hardly know of anything that is more useful to a Christian than to tell out what the Lord has done for him. You will never know the truth in all its fulness till with all your heart, and mind, and soul, and strength, you have attempted to inculcate it in the hearts of others. 4. Moreover, it is a very pleasant duty to those who practise it. 5. This ought also to be a constant duty with all who love the Lord. When we have once told the story, we ought to feel bound to tell it again and again. "But I cannot," says one. What can you not do? If you were to be cured of a dreadful disease, I am sure you would be able to tell somebody who the doctor was. And if, to-night, a thief were to break into your house, and a policeman came and seized him, I am sure you would tell somebody tomorrow about what had occurred. Do you ask, "Whom shall I tell?" Well, good man, tell your wife, if you have never yet spoken to her about these things. Christian woman, do you inquire, "Whom shall I tell?" Why, tell your husband, and your children! You cannot have a better congregation than your own family. Are you in a factory? Tell your work-mates about Jesus Christ. ( C. H. Spurgeon.) Parallel Verses KJV: I shall not die, but live, and declare the works of the LORD. |
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