Meaningful to God

Meaningful to God

Psalm 116:15, Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints.

 

My intent is never to be insensitive or indelicate, but to carefully offer a truth that is helpful and life-shaping to believers in Christ.

Psalm 116:15 says, “Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints.”

God regards our lives and deaths, His faithful “saints,” as highly valuable, deeply priceless, and closely administrated by Him. Originally the Hebrew word “precious” means “valuable,” “costly,” “prized,” “heavy,” “splendid,” or “weighty”. This indicates that our lives and our homecoming hold enormous significance to the Lord. 

It is true of all saints—their death is precious to our God because it means they are with Him in glory. But it was never more true than in the case of the Lord Jesus. His death was precious to His Father because it provided a righteous basis upon which He could justify ungodly sinners.^[1]

The psalmist, knowing that the Lord cares intensely about the death of His saints, acknowledged that he was a servant (vv. 15–16) of the Lord and would praise Him publicly (vv. 17–19). The death of a saint is not something the Lord considers as cheap; He does not let His people die for no reason.^[2]

All of this brings profound comfort, though it is often misunderstood.

What Do We Need to Know?

• Again, God sees “saints” death as “precious” categorizing them as “high worth,” or a “highly valued treasure.” God does not regard the passing of His servants lightly.
• “His saints” point to those who are in a faithful, covenant relationship with Him (His devoted followers).  “The death of God’s children is precious in His sight.”^[3]
• This is NOT a matter of God delighting in our suffering and pain. God does not rejoice or takes pleasure in the ache of death. Instead, it means that because of our deep value to Him, God oversees our journey and ensures that our crossing over into His presence is highly significant and carefully guarded.
• This truth is designed to be a source of comfort in times of grief. This promise, frequently used during Christian memorial services and funerals, offer support assuring loved ones that the deceased are intensely cared for by their Creator God. 
• God’s presence in pain, hurt, suffering, and death is wisely stressed. God emphasizes how He remains intimately involved in the lives and deaths of His faithful ‘servants,’ promising ultimate peace and an end to our suffering and toil.

Though no man lays it to heart when the righteous perish, God will make it to appear that he lays it to heart. This should make us willing to die, to die for Christ, if we are called to it, that our death shall be registered in heaven; and let that be precious to us which is so to God.^[4]

Again, the passing of God's faithful followers (saints) is not a light or insignificant matter to Him. Instead, it is deeply valued, carefully watched over, and “precious” because it marks the moment we enter His direct presence. 

David Rehearsed this Truth for Our Enrichment!

Considering the entire psalm of thanksgiving, David very recently escaped a life-threatening predicament (recorded verses 3–8). His contemporaries often thought that if a person nearly died, God simply didn't care…he was indifferent and uninvolved.

So, by stating the death of His saints is “precious,” David was affirming that God is entirely sovereign over our years. The Lord is profoundly involved in our life, and He will not allow us to face death prematurely or without His watchful care. David saw fit to punctuate this truth for our benefit!

We are Helped by Embracing the Magnitude of this Encouragement.

From a God-fearing perspective, David offers great assurance to believers. This truth reminds us that:

1.     Death is not a random occurrence. God controls the exact timing and circumstances of a believer’s passing.

2.    Transition into God’s presence is significant. Because believers are precious to Him, our departure from this earthly life marks a wonderful passage directly into the presence of our Creator God. Beloved, this is huge…. It’s a big deal!

Through his experience the psalmist learned that the death of one of his “saints” (godly ones) is precious in the sight of Yahweh, i.e., their death is not a matter of indifference to him.^[5]

Beloved, choosing God’s perspective here is a bit challenging, but not insensitive to our grief, suffering, or pain. It forces us to appreciate another way of looking at death and especially the death of faithful believers. It clearly expands our view, strengthens our evangelistic efforts, and comforts us when a committed child of God graduates to glory to be with the Lord. We can truly mean it when we whisper to our deceased loved one, “I’ll see you again.”

So, Why Are We Reluctant to Accept this Truth?

Perhaps the following ideas have clouded our appreciation of this concept:

1.     Selfishness is likely one reason…we want people to live and stay here with us. We simply don’t want to let them go because we cherish them…. We can’t seem to live without them.

2.    An incomplete view of eternity or a misunderstanding of our finality. We simply are frightened by our partial ignorance of our future. We don’t trust what we don’t know.

3.    Healing is regarded as evidence of God’s blessings and goodness. We fail to appreciate all God reveals about Himself favoring the more comfortable ideas.

4.    Another perspective threatens, undermines, or even reveals our own insecurities regarding the future and our associated assumptions. Life really does not fit into the nice, neat box we try to force it into for our own delusion. Once again, we must trust the Lord with our lives and even the apparent ciaos.

5.    Their departure forces our acceptance and leaves us feeling less in control than we are contented with. The truth is we were never really in control anyway…God is!

6.    Our loved ones’ leaving reinforces the need to change, grow, and get out of our comfort zone. God is super motivated to sanctify us always. 

7.    Death reminds us to reach our loved one before it is too late for them or us. We must become evangelistically motivated and charged sharing the hope of Christ with others!

The death of His saints is no trifling matter with God; He does not lightly suffer it to come about; He does not suffer His own to be torn away from Him by death.^[6]

Perhaps these are a few of the reasons hindering our own acceptance and celebration of a life lived for God’s glory. Beloved, you are meaningful to God! Yes, we are correctly humbled by this reality, but life takes on real purpose and meaning when we embrace this idea. Remember He offers this truth to aid your commitment to Him and to give structure…shape to your life in Christ.

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^[1] William MacDonald, Believer’s Bible Commentary: Old and New Testaments, ed. Arthur Farstad (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1995), 732.

^[2] Allen P. Ross, “Psalms,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, ed. J. F. Walvoord and R. B. Zuck, vol. 1 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985), 877.

^[3] J. Vernon McGee, Thru the Bible Commentary, electronic ed., vol. 2 (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1997), 842.

^[4] Matthew Henry, Matthew Henry’s Commentary on the Whole Bible: Complete and Unabridged in One Volume (Peabody: Hendrickson, 1994), 911.

^[5] James E. Smith, The Wisdom Literature and Psalms, Old Testament Survey Series (Joplin, MO: College Press Pub. Co., 1996), 407.

^[6] Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch, Commentary on the Old Testament, vol. 5 (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1996), 716.