“Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints.”  —  Psalm 116:15

This verse always puzzled me.  How can the death of His saints be precious in His sight?  I did some studying on it and what I have read about it I now understand.

The paragraph below is from Professor C.G. Finney.

“The death of a godly person is important to God.  God deems the death of His saints precious because their happiness is very dear to Him. When they die, they enter at once into eternal rest. Death is to them the gateway to perfect blessedness.  If God takes the interest in the welfare of his saints that parents do in the welfare of their children, He cannot be otherwise than greatly interested in their death.  God deems their death precious because He can now receive them home from all their wanderings. If an earthly father would rejoice to receive his children home after a long absence, and especially an absence fraught with many dangers and perils,–how much more shall God rejoice to receive his children home–as much more, as He loves his children better than they do theirs?”

We lost a friend of ours 3 days ago.  He was riding his scooter to town and was hit by a truck.  He was a good man, a thoughtful, quiet man with a gentle spirit.  He baked bread in his stone oven outside and sold it at the Farmer’s Market and at our local Co-op.  He kept bees and all kinds of fruit trees.

We have no idea when our last day on earth is and if we are believers, then “Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints.”

This is a prayer quote from Ruth Bell Graham, wife of Billy Graham:  “Lord, death is painful because it separates me from loved ones.  When death invades my life, remind me that you are in heaven, eagerly awaiting the arrival of all who have put their faith in Jesus.”

We should do as someone suggested:  “Live with him as if tomorrow you might meet him face to face.”