Comfort for Christians
by Arthur W. Pink, 1952
PRECIOUS DEATH
"Precious in the sight of the Lord, is the death of his saints." (Psalm
116:15)
This is one of the many comforting and blessed statements
in Holy Scripture concerning that great event from which the flesh so much
shrinks. If the Lord's people would more frequently make a prayerful and
believing study of what the Word says upon their departure out of this
world, death would lose much, if not all, of its terrors for them. But alas,
instead of doing so—they let their imagination run riot, they give
way to carnal fears, they walk by sight instead of by faith. Looking to the
Holy Spirit for guidance, let us endeavor to dispel, by the light of Divine
revelation, some of the gloom which unbelief casts around even the death of
a Christian.
"Precious in the sight of the Lord, is the death of his
saints." These words intimate that a dying saint is an object of special
notice unto the Lord, for mark the words "in the sight of." It is true that
the eyes of the Lord are ever upon us, for He never slumbers nor sleeps. It
is true that we may say at all times "You God see me." But it appears from
Scripture that there are occasions when He notices and cares for us in a
special manner. "God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in
trouble" (Psalm 46:1). "Do not be afraid, for I have ransomed you. I have
called you by name; you are mine. When you go through deep waters and great
trouble, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you
will not drown! When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not
be burned up; the flames will not consume you. For I am the Lord, your God,
the Holy One of Israel, your Savior." (Isaiah 43:1-3)
"Precious in the sight of the Lord, is the death of his
saints." This brings before us an aspect of death which is rarely considered
by believers. It gives us what may be termed the Godward side of the
subject. Only too often, we contemplate death, like most other things, from
our side. The text tells us that from the viewpoint of Heaven the death of a
saint is neither hideous nor horrible, tragic or terrible—but "precious."
This raises the question, Why is the death of His
people precious in the sight of the Lord? What is there in the
last great crisis which is so dear unto Him? Without attempting an
exhaustive reply, let us suggest one or two possible answers:
1. Their persons are precious to the Lord. They ever
were and always will be dear to Him. His saints! They were the ones on whom
His love was set before the earth was formed or the heavens made. These are
they for whose sakes He left His Home on high and whom He bought with His
precious blood, cheerfully laying down His life for them. These are they
whose names are borne on our great High Priest's bosom and engraved on the
palms of His hands. They are His Father's love-gift to Him, His children,
members of His body; therefore, everything that concerns them is precious in
His sight. The Lord loves His people so intensely that the very hairs of
their heads are numbered: the angels are sent forth to minister unto them;
and because their persons are precious unto the Lord, so also are their
deaths.
2. Because death terminates the saint's sorrows and
sufferings. There is a needs-be for our sufferings, for through much
tribulation we must enter into the kingdom of God (Acts 14:22).
Nevertheless, the Lord does not "afflict willingly" (Lamentations 3:33). God
is neither unmindful of nor indifferent to our trials and troubles.
Concerning His people of old it is written, "In all their affliction—he was
afflicted" (Isaiah 63:9). "Like as a father pities his children, so the Lord
pities those who fear him" (Psalm 103:13). So also are we told that our
great High Priest is "touched with the feeling of our infirmities" (Heb.
4:15). Here, then, may be another reason why the death of a saint is
precious in the sight of the Lord—because it marks the termination of his
sorrows and sufferings.
3. Because death affords the Lord an opportunity to
display His sufficiency. Love is never so happy as when ministering to
the needs of its cherished object, and never is the Christian so needy and
so helpless as in the hour of death. But man's extremity is God's
opportunity. It is then that the Father says to His trembling child, "Fear
not; for I am with you: be not dismayed, for I am your God: I will
strengthen you; yes, I will help you; yes, I will uphold you with the right
hand of my righteousness" (Isaiah 41:10). It is because of this that the
believer may confidently reply, "Yes, though I walk through the valley of
the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for You are with me; Your rod and
Your staff they comfort me." Our very weakness appeals to His strength, our
emergency to His sufficiency. Most blessedly is this principle illustrated
in the well-known words "He shall gather the lambs (the helpless ones) with
his arm, and carry them in his bosom" (Isaiah 40:11). Yes, His strength is
made perfect in our weakness. Therefore is the death of the saints
"precious" in His sight, because it affords the Lord a blessed occasion for
His love, grace and power to minister unto and undertake for His helpless
people.
4. Because at death the saint goes direct to the Lord.
The Lord delights in having His people with Himself. Blessedly was this
evidenced all through His earthly ministry. Wherever He went, the Lord took
His disciples along with Him. Whether it was to the marriage at Cana, to the
holy feasts in Jerusalem, to the house of Jairus when his daughter lay dead,
or to the Mount of Transfiguration, they ever accompanied Him. How blessed
is that word in Mark 3:14, "He ordained twelve, that they should be with
him." And He is "the same yesterday and today and forever." Therefore
has He assured us, "If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again,
and receive you unto Myself, that where I am, there you may be also" (John
14:3). Precious then is the death of the saints in His sight, because absent
from the body we are "present with the Lord" (2 Cor. 5:8).
While we are sorrowing over the removal of a saint—Christ
is rejoicing. His prayer was "Father, I will that they also, whom You have
given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory" (John
17:24), and in the entrance into Heaven of each one of His own people, He
sees an answer to that prayer and is glad. He beholds in each one that is
freed from "this body of death" another portion of the reward for His
travail of soul, and He is satisfied with it. Therefore the death of His
saints is precious to the Lord, for it occasions Him ground for rejoicing.
It is most interesting and instructive to trace out the
fullness of the Hebrew word here translated "precious." it is also rendered
"excellent." "How excellent is Your lovingkindness, Oh God!" (Psalm 36:7).
"A man of understanding is of an excellent spirit" (Proverbs 17:27). However
worthily or unworthily he may live, the death of a saint is excellent in the
sight of the Lord.
The same Hebrew word is also rendered "honorable."
"Kings' daughters were among your honorable women" (Psalm 45:9). So
Ahasuerus asked of Haman, "What shall be done unto the man whom the king
delights to honor?" (Esther 6:6). Yes, the exchange of heaven for earth is
truly honorable, and "This honor have all his saints. Praise the Lord."
This Hebrew word is also rendered "brightness." "If I
beheld the sun when it shined, or the moon walking in brightness" (Job
31:26). Dark and gloomy though death may be unto those whom the Christian
leaves behind, it is brightness "in the sight of the Lord," "at evening time
it shall be light" (Zech. 14:7). Precious, excellent, honorable, brightness
in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints. May the Lord make this
little meditation precious unto His saints.