Psalm 116:15

Psalm 116:15 (NASB)

Precious in the sight of the Lord Is the death of His godly ones.

We’re Probably More Used to the Way the NKJV and ESV Translate it

Psalm 116:15 (ESV)

Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints.

I’ve Used This Verse Numerous Times at Funerals

I’ve Heard Others Use it Many Times as Well

It Has a Beautiful Poetic Sound to it

It Seems to Be Saying That Death Isn’t So Bad

Maybe Death Seems Like a Bad Thing to Us Right Now…

But to God, When One of His People Die, it is Precious

When We Read it, We May Imagine God Waiting With His Arms Open Wide as His Child Comes Home to Him

That Sounds Good Doesn’t it?

But Does it Really?

When a 90 Year Old Faithful Christian Gently Passes Away in Their Sleep…

It’s Easy to Say at the Funeral, “Precious in the Sight of the Lord is the Death of His Saints.”

But What About the 30 Year Old Mother of 3…

Who Dies in a Car Accident On Her Way to Pick Up Her Children From School?

That Doesn’t Leave the Same Taste in Our Mouth Does it

It’s Harder to Imagine God Finding Something So Devastating and Horrific as “Precious”

Could We Really Look at the Broken Husband and 3 Utterly Destroyed Children and Say…

“God Finds the Death of Your Wife and Mommy Precious…”

“And a Good Thing.”

Is This Text Really Telling Us That the Death of Christians is Not a Bad Thing…

But a Good Thing?

Let’s Read the Entire Psalm and Try to Find it’s Overal Meaning

Psalm 116 (NASB)

I love the Lord, because He hears My voice and my supplications. Because He has inclined His ear to me, Therefore I shall call upon Him as long as I live.

The cords of death encompassed me And the terrors of Sheol came upon me; I found distress and sorrow. Then I called upon the name of the Lord: “O Lord, I beseech You, save my life!”

The Psalmist Had Pleaded With God to Save Him From Death

Gracious is the Lord, and righteous; Yes, our God is compassionate. The Lord preserves the simple; I was brought low, and He saved me.

God Saved Him From Death Because He is Gracious, Righteous, and Compassionate

Return to your rest, O my soul, For the Lord has dealt bountifully with you. For You have rescued my soul from death, My eyes from tears, My feet from stumbling.

The Psalmist Can Rest Peacefully Because God Has Saved Him From Death

I shall walk before the Lord In the land of the living. I believed when I said, “I am greatly afflicted.”

He Will Walk in Loving Obedience to God in the Land of the Living Since God Saved Him From Death

I said in my alarm, “All men are liars.” What shall I render to the Lord For all His benefits toward me?

He Wonders How He Can Repay God For Saving Him From Death

I shall lift up the cup of salvation And call upon the name of the Lord. I shall pay my vows to the Lord, Oh may it be in the presence of all His people.

He Will Will Repay God With Worship and Praise in the Presence of All His People

Precious in the sight of the Lord Is the death of His godly ones.

O Lord, surely I am Your servant, I am Your servant, the son of Your handmaid, You have loosed my bonds. To You I shall offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving, And call upon the name of the Lord.

I shall pay my vows to the Lord, Oh may it be in the presence of all His people, In the courts of the Lord’s house, In the midst of you, O Jerusalem. Praise the Lord!

What is the Psalm About?

The Psalmist is Talking About a Time When He Almost Died…

But God Saved Him

The Rest of the Psalm is Him Praising God For Saving Him From Death

So, Taking the Overal Meaning into Consideration…

Does it Really Make Sense For the Psalmist to Be Saying…

“God Finds the Death of His People as a Precious/Good Thing.”

That Makes Absolutely No Sense in Light of the Context

Why Would the Psalmist Beg God to Save Him From Something That is a Good Thing?

We Will Only Understand What the Psalmist is Saying…

After We Understand What the Word “Precious” Means

“Precious” = Expensive, Rare, Costly

It Has Nothing to Do With Something Being Loved or Adored

When Something is “Precious”…

It is Not to Be Taken Lightly

That’s What the Psalmist is Saying

God Sees His People as Valuable…

And He Does Not Take the Death of His Children Lightly

This is Why He Saved the Psalmist From Death

Because the Death of His Saints is Costly

God Doesn’t Consider the Death of His People as “Precious” in the Way We Typically Use “Precious”

He Takes the Death of His People Seriously

He Takes it So Seriously That He Sent His Son to Earth to Defeat Death

As Christians, it is Our Hope (Confident Expectation) That God Will Save Us All From Death

Because of Jesus’ Death, Burial, and Resurrection…

Those of Us Who Have Placed Our Faith in Him…

Expect to Die, Be Buried, and Resurrect to Eternal Life

1 Corinthians 15:20–23 (NASB)

But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep. For since by a man came death, by a man also came the resurrection of the dead.

For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, after that those who are Christ’s at His coming,

We Can Confidently Say With the Psalmist:

Psalm 116:9 (NASB)

I shall walk before the Lord In the land of the living.

Jesus May Not Save Us From Dying…

But He Will Save Us From Staying Dead

Because We Will Be Resurrected, Never to Die Again

It’s Obvious That the Psalmist Was Afraid of Death

But We Don’t Have to Be

Because Death is Destined For Death

1 Corinthians 15:24–26 (NASB)

then comes the end, when He hands over the kingdom to the God and Father, when He has abolished all rule and all authority and power.

For He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet. The last enemy that will be abolished is death.

Death is Not Precious to God

Death is an Enemy That is Destined For His Wrath and Destruction

Is it Wrong to Use This Verse to Comfort Those Grieving the Loss of a Child of God?

Absolutely Not!

It’s a Wonderful Verse of Comfort

But Not For the Reasons We Typically Use it

It Comforts Us By Telling Us…

God Cares About the Death of Our Loved Ones.

He Loves Them More Than We Do

And He Hates Their Death More Than We Do

And He is Doing Something About it

Psalm 116:15 Twisted

God Adores and Loves When His Children Die and Come Home to Be With Him

Psalm 116:15 UnTwisted

God Does Not Take Lightly the Death of His Children

Psalm 116:15 (NET)

The Lord values the lives of his faithful followers.

Psalm 116:15 (NLT)

The Lord cares deeply when his loved ones die.

Death is an Enemy of God and His People

And When the King Returns, Death Will Be Defeated at Last

And the God Who Saves Will Resurrect His People to Never Die Again

Why Would God Do All of This For Us?

Psalm 116:5 (NASB)

Gracious is the Lord, and righteous; Yes, our God is compassionate.