Dr. Roger W. Thomas, Preaching Minister
First Christian Church, Vandalia, MO
Precious Is the Death
Psalm 116:15
Introduction: This verse is at once both beautiful and startling. It provides a measure of comfort and assurance. “Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints.” That’s good to hear at times like this.
But there is something unsettling about it at the same time. “Precious … is the death….” The word means valuable or costly. The ancients would have used the term like we do to describe a precious gem or a fine work of art. We understand the costly part. The passing of a loved one comes at a heavy price. I am not talking about dollars and cents. I am talking about the toll of tears and grief and heartache. You have all paid a heavy price in terms of long days and sleepless nights. The heaviness you feel reflects that sense of loss.
That’s ok. It is right and proper to feel that way. Sometimes folk want to talk like there is something wrong with our faith if we express the pain and loss that we experience at the passing of a loved one. They talk like real faith doesn’t shed tears or feel grief. Nonsense! The Bible tells us that Jesus wept at the grave his friend Lazarus. Surely, no one could question the depth of Jesus’ faith or his understanding of heaven’s purposes. He wept. So do we.
Even so, this verse is still there. “Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints.” This raises a big question. How so? What can be precious about death and dying, about the parting of a loved one? Where’s the value? Where’s the good? Those questions are real. I have asked those questions. You have a right to ask them today.
Before I attempt to answer those questions, I must point out one very important thing. This verse is not universal. It does not claim to apply to every death or every person. That is very clear. Note what it says, “Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints.” The death of his saints! Jesus made it very clear that not everyone should look forward to death. “I tell you the truth, whoever has my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life. I tell you the truth, a time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live” (John 5:24-25). The Psalm speaks only of the death of the saints. Saints refers not to angels or perfect people or the rare heroes of the church. A saint is one who belongs to God through faith in Jesus Christ. Those are the ones whose death is precious.
So how do we explain this verse? Where does the value, the preciousness, lie? I think I can explain that from a number of different levels.
First, this death was precious to the departed. Anyone who had spent time with Bob over the last years knows that he didn’t want to tarry. When his sweetheart left him for heaven almost twelve months ago, he wanted to go too. This has been a long twelve months for Bob in lots of ways, mostly because he so missed Blanche. I know he would not hesitate to tell you that this is a good thing. It is a precious thing!
Another elderly believer expressed it well. “As a boy, I thought of heaven as a city with domes, spires, and beautiful streets, inhabited by angels. By and by my little brother died, and I thought of heaven much as before, but with one inhabitant that I knew. Then another died, and then some of my acquaintances, so in time I began to think of heaven as containing several people that I knew. Afterward another went, and yet another. By that time I had so many acquaintances and loved ones in heaven that I no more thought of it as a city merely with streets of gold but as a place full of inhabitants. Now there are so many loved ones there I sometimes think I know more people in heaven than I do on earth.”
Bob’s death means a glorious reunion. That makes it precious in his sight. I am confident of that. It also means rest. Bob like many of his generation went through a lot in his lifetime. He lived through the Great Depression, the War, and all the ups and downs of life in small town Missouri. He worked long hard hours on the job. He worked hard for his family. He worked hard for his church and his Lord. He deserves a rest. The Bible promises that when it says, “Blessed are those who die in the Lord for they rest from their labors” (Rev 14:11).
This day also means rest from the struggles of sickness and infirmity. The last year has been a constant battle for Bob. There were lots of trips to the hospital and an eventual move to the nursing home. He lost a leg. He endured a lot of pain and adversity. It wasn’t easy. He endured it all with a remarkable fortitude and even cheerfulness. I am sure he had his moments. I know he did. The girls know he did. But most of the time he had a smile that surprised many that knew him. But let’s be clear, smile or not, the last year has been a struggle. Now it is over. That’s good.
Charles Spurgeon the great English Victorian preacher wrote of the death of Richard Baxter, the great Puritan preacher. Baxter lay dying. Some friends came to see him. They asked him what we all asked at times like that, “How are you doing?” Baxter was weak and obviously near death. But with great effort he answered. “I am almost well,.” He said. Spurgeon explains, “Death cures; it is the best medicine, for they who die are not only almost well, but healed forever. You will see, then, that the statement of our text implies that the aspect of death is altogether altered from that appearance in which men commonly behold it. Death to the saints is not a penalty, it is not destruction, it is not even a loss.” Today Bob is well. His sickness is over once and for all!
Precious is the death of his saints. We have difficulty understanding that. But Bob doesn’t. While playing in his grandmother backyard, a small child happened upon some beautiful little blue eggs in a bird’s nest. It was as if he had discovered a great treasure all his own. He knew enough not touch them. When it came time to leave, his Grandmother promised to keep an eye on his precious treasure until he returned. Several weeks past before the lad came again. He immediately ran to the backyard to check on his eggs. Immediately he ran back to the house with tears streaming down his face. "Grandma," he cried, "Someone has destroyed my beautiful eggs. Nothing is left but a few pieces of broken shell. My treasure is gone!"
Grandma comforted the lad and explained, "Child, there is no destruction. There were little birds within those eggs. They have flown away. They are singing now among the branches of the trees. The eggs are not wasted, child. Your treasure is even greater now. It really is!"
For those of us in this room, it may look like our loved one is gone. Nothing remains but a broken shell. None the less, something good has happened. Precious is the death of his saints.
For our loved one this is a good day. From his perspective this is a reunion, a rest, and a reward that fulfills what life was meant to be. But as important as that is, this is not really what this text is all about. We have not yet talked about the most important part of the verse. “Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints.” This verse speaks from the perspective of heaven—in the sight of the Lord. How so?
In his context, this Psalm is really about life not death. It speaks of the protection the Lord provides in times of trouble and danger. It is a reminder about how much God values us in life and death, especially life. Listen to how the Psalm 116 begins. “I love the LORD, for he heard my voice; he heard my cry for mercy. Because he turned his ear to me, I will call on him as long as I live. The cords of death entangled me, the anguish of the grave came upon me; I was overcome by trouble and sorrow. Then I called on the name of the LORD: “O LORD, save me!” The LORD is gracious and righteous; our God is full of compassion.”
Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints because God doesn’t take our life or death lightly. We matter to him. Humans are the crown of his creation, more valuable than the greatest treasure. He fashioned us from the dust of the earth, but he made us in his own image. We bear his likeness. We are precious to our God in life and in death.
But there is something more. Our God values us so much that he sent Jesus Christ to be our savior by paying the price for our sins on the cross. Regardless of who we are, where we live, what we have, or what we’ve done—he offers us the free gift of forgiveness and life everlasting though faith in Jesus Christ. Bob believed that. He claimed that promise for his own years ago. Through all the ups and downs of life, through all the struggles and battles of this last year, he continued to cling to the hope that he mattered to God. In ways that Bob only fully understands now, his life and death was precious in the sight of the Lord. So is yours!
Conclusion: The death of a loved one is a hard thing for anyone. We mourn because we love and care. That is as it should be. Caring like that is a part of the way God made us. But this day, on this occasion, on the death of this saint may our tears be tinted with the shimmer of hope. In God’s sight, surely in Bob’s sight, and maybe in the far corner of our sight where we can just barely see it, stands this bold assurance. “Precious is the death of his saints.”
***Dr. Roger W. Thomas is the preaching minister at First Christian Church, 205 W. Park St., Vandalia, MO 63382 and an adjunct professor of Bible and Preaching at Central Christian College of the Bible, 911 E. Urbandale, Moberly, MO. He is a graduate of Lincoln Christian College (BA) and Lincoln Christian Seminary (MA, MDiv), and Northern Baptist Theological Seminary (DMin).
