Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Psalms 116:15
Precious in the sight of the LORD [is] the death of his saints.
15. Precious &c.] Their death is not a matter of indifference to Him. Cp. Psa 72:14. Babylas bishop of Antioch, who was martyred in the Decian persecution, met his death singing these words.
his saints ] His beloved, or his godly ones. See Appendix, Note I.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
15 19. Jehovah’s care for His beloved ones has been illustrated in the Psalmist’s experience, and for these mercies he will give public thanks in the Temple.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints – Of his people; his friends. Luther renders this, The death of his saints is held to be of value – (ist werth gehalten) – before the Lord. The word rendered precious – yaqar – means costly, as precious stones, 1Ki 10:2, 1Ki 10:10-11; dear, beloved, as relatives and friends, Psa 45:9; honored, respected, Ecc 10:1; splendid, beautiful, Job 31:26; rare, 1Sa 3:1. The idea here is, that the death of saints is an object of value; that God regards it as of importance; that it is connected with his great plans, and that there are great purposes to be accomplished by it. The idea here seems to be that the death of a good man is in itself of so much importance, and so connected with the glory of God and the accomplishment of his purposes, that he will not cause it to take place except in circumstances, at times, and in a manner, which will best secure those ends. The particular thought in the mind of the psalmist seems to have been that as he had been preserved when he was apparently so near to death, it must have been because God saw that the death of one of his friends was a matter of so much importance that it should occur only when the most good could be effected by it, and when the ends of life had been accomplished; that God would not decide on this hastily, or without the best reasons; and that, therefore, he had interposed to lengthen out his life still longer. Still, there is a general truth implied here, to wit, that the act of removing a good man from the world is, so to speak, an act of deep deliberation on the part of God; that good, and sometimes great, ends are to be accomplished by it; and that, therefore, God regards it with special interest. It is of value or importance in such respects as the following:
(1) as it is the removal of another of the redeemed to glory – the addition of one more to the happy hosts above;
(2) as it is a new triumph of the work of redemption – showing the power and the value of that work;
(3) as it often furnishes a more direct proof of the reality of religion than any abstract argument could do.
How much has the cause of religion been promoted by the patient deaths of Ignatius, and Polycarp, and Latimer, and Ridley, and Huss, and Jerome of Prague, and the hosts of the martyrs! What does not the world owe, and the cause of religion owe, to such scenes as occurred on the death-beds of Baxter, and Thomas Scott, and Halyburton, and Payson! What an argument for the truth of religion – what an illustration of its sustaining power – what a source of comfort to us who are soon to die – to reflect that religion does not leave the believer when he most needs its support and consolations; that it can sustain us in the severest trial of our condition here; that it can illuminate what seems to us of all places most dark, cheerless, dismal, repulsive – the valley of the shadow of death!
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Psa 116:15
Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints.
Precious death
As we see death, it means decay, removal, absence–things which we do not prize. But as God sees death, He beholds something really precious to Him and, we may justly infer, precious to us, for whatever is against us cannot be precious to our Father. We are looking at the wrong side of the tapestry, where all is tangle and confusion. God sees the right side, where the design is intelligent and the colours harmonious. We are without the veil, and see but the dim light through the curtain; within is the Shechinah glory. We stand in the dark, believing and hoping; God is in the light, seeing and knowing.
I. To God death means the opportunity to supply every need of His child. Health means conscious strength. While we are well, we may feel that we are equal to taking care of ourselves. Dying means absolute helplessness. Such is Gods opportunity. When physicians give up the case, He takes it up. After human help has failed, the Lord delights to be to us all that we need.
II. To God death means the most intimate communion. He rejoices to have all to Himself those whom He loves. He said of Israel, I will allure her and bring her into the wilderness, and speak comfortably unto her. No one else can help us die. Through the valley we must go alone–yet not alone, for Jesus accompanies.
III. To God death means rest. Jesus said, Come unto Me, etc. It was His delight to quiet the heart and give rest to the weary mind. The voice from heaven said, Blessed are the dead, etc. There remaineth a rest, etc. To us death looks like a rest of the body–the lifeless form no longer suffers; it sleeps until the waking on the resurrection morning. God sees the rest of soul, and the event which introduces His children into this restful state is precious to Him.
IV. To God death means larger life. Christ came to give life, and to give it more abundantly. Whatever imparts and increases the life of Gods people is of great value. While to us death seems to be the cessation of life, to God it is an increase of life. The last words of Drummond Burns were, I have been dying for years, now I shall begin to live. It is passing from the land of the dying into the land of the living.
V. To God death means joy. All through the Bible we are exhorted to Rejoice, rejoice evermore! The joy of His children is precious to God. Dying, Rutherford exclaimed, I feed on manna; oh, for arms to embrace Him! President Wingate, of Wake Forest College, whispered to his wife with his last breath, I thought it would be sweet, but I did not think it would be so sweet as this. It is passing from shadow into sunshine; from the discords of earth into the music of the celestial harps; from contraction into everlasting expansion.
VI. To God death means ministry to the living. Through death Jesus entered the family of the Jewish ruler, and the death of our friends often leads us to invite the Man of Sorrows to our homes. The departure of loved ones opens a window of heaven, and gives us a glimpse into the beyond; and in leaving us, they, in a very true sense, come to us. We appreciate them as we never did before; we see their virtues and forget their faults; they are to us transfigured, while everything about them shines with a peculiar glory. (A. C. Dixon, D.D.)
Precious deaths
I. The statement here made implies a view of death of a peculiar kind. Death in itself is terrible. But to the saint death is by no means such a thing as happens unto the unregenerate. The change lies mainly in the fact that it is no more the infliction of a penalty for sin upon the believer. To him it is a privilege to die. The Head has traversed the valley of death-shade, and let the members rejoice to follow. We know that to die is not to renounce existence; we understand that death is but a passage into a higher and a nobler existence. The soul emancipated from all sinfulness passes the Jordan, and is presented without fault before the throne of God.
II. The statement here made is of a most unlimited kind.
1. There is no limit here as to whom. Provided that the dying one be a saint, his death is precious. He may be the greatest in the Church, he may be the least: he may be the boldest confessor, he may be the most timid trembler; but if a saint, his death is precious in Gods sight.
2. There is no limit as to when. What, shall the hero fall when the battle wants him most? Shall the reaper be sent home and made to lay down his sickle just when the harvest is heaviest, and the day requires every worker? To us it seemeth strange, but to God it is precious. Oh, could we lift the veil, could we understand what now we see not, we should perceive that it was better for the saints to die when they died, than it would have been for them to have lived longer lives.
3. There is no limitation as to where. Up in the lonely garret where there are none of the appliances of comfort, but all the marks of the deepest penury, up there where the dying work-girl or the crossing-sweeper dies–there is a sight most precious unto God; or yonder, in the long corridor of the hospital, where many are too engrossed in their own griefs to be able to shed a tear of sympathy, there passes away a triumphant spirit, and precious is that death in Gods sight. Alone, utterly alone in the dead of night, surprised, unable to call in a helper, saintly life often has passed away; but in that form also precious is the death in Gods sight.
4. There is no limit as to how. Their deaths may happen suddenly; they may be alive, and active, and in a moment fall down dead, but their death is precious.
III. The statement of the text may be fully sustained and accounted for. Precious in the eight of the Lord is the death of His saints, is a most sober and truthful declaration.
1. Because their persons were, and always will be, precious unto God. His saints! These are they whose names are borne on Jesus breast, and engraven upon the palms of His hands; these are His bride, His spouse; therefore everything that concerns them must be precious.
2. Because precious graces are in death very frequently tested, and as frequently revealed and perfected. You cannot tell what is in a man to the fulness of him till he is tried to the full, and therefore the last trial, inasmuch as it strippeth off earth-born imperfections and develops in us that which is of God, and brings to the front the real and the true, and throws to the back the superficial and the pretentious, is precious in Gods sight.
3. Because precious attributes are in dying moments gloriously illustrated. I refer now to the Divine attributes. In life and in death we prove the attribute of Gods righteousness, we find that He does not lie, but is faithful to His word. We learn the attribute of mercy, He is gentle and pitiful to us in the time of our weakness. We prove the attribute of His immutability, we find Him the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever.
4. Because it is a precious sheep folded, a precious sheaf harvested, a precious vessel which had been long at sea brought into harbour, a precious child which had been long at school to finish his training brought home to dwell in the Fathers house for ever. God the Father sees the fruit of His eternal love at last ingathered: Jesus sees the purchase of His passion at last secured: the Holy Spirit sees the object of His continual workmanship at last perfected. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
The preciousness in Gods sight of the death of saints
I. As the supreme crisis of human experience. This life is a life of changes, of pains, of destructions. But all are dwarfed by that change, that pain, that destruction.
1. Physically.
2. Socially.
3. Spiritually.
II. As affixing the seal to human character.
III. As the entrance into new fellowship with God (Ecc 12:7; 2Co 5:8; Php 1:2-3). To the wicked, such nearness of the soul to God, with all disguises stripped away, must be an embrace of fire; but to those that are the saved of the Lord, an ineffable blessedness. The children are at school now, and the time is often a time of weary waiting; but there shall be the homecoming then!
IV. As the beginning of a boundless life. The intermediate waiting, be it what it may, shall be but as a watch in the night. And then? Then a perfect manhood, a perfect world, a perfect progress for ever! The long waiting is all for this crowning joy; the many hindrances and oppositions are but a discipline to prepare for this consummate blessedness; the great salvation finds its full completion in the all-perfect life whose beauty dawns immortal at last. (T. F. Lockyer, B.A.)
The preciousness of the saints in life and in death
I. The Lord has His saints–His holy ones. This imports–
1. Appropriation. They are His saints–saints through Him and in Him, saints of His making and modelling and establishing.
2. Devotedness. They are holy unto the Lord, sanctified or set apart to His service, self-surrendered to the adorable Redeemer.
3. Resemblance. Such characters are emphatically Godlike, holy and pure; children of their Father which is in heaven; certifying to all around their filial relationship to Him, by their manifest participation of His nature, by their reflection of His image and likeness.
4. Endearment.
II. They enjoy no immunity from bodily death. Waiving whatever is occasional, arising out of circumstances peculiar to individuals, it is easy to see that, though this is so painful for the time being to Gods dear children, it is well adapted to promote such important ends as these;–the trial and improvement of their present grace,–the consequent heightening of their happiness in the future state ,–the arresting of the sinners attention,–the encouragement of many feeble and wavering believers through their dying testimony,–the illustration, in a stronger light, of the awful evil of sin,–the demonstration, too, of the spiritual and superior nature of Christian joy, and its absolute independency on artificial circumstances, and its true character, the joy of the Holy Ghost,–and the complete, eventual display, in the sight of heaven, and earth, and hell, of the conquest of Christ, and of His religion, over suffering, and death, and hell.
III. Yet, even in death they are the continued objects of Gods complacent regard.
1. He watches over, and sets a high value upon the holy and useful lives of His people, and will not lightly allow those lives to be abbreviated or destroyed.
2. He exercises control over the circumstances of their death.
3. When they are dying, He looks upon them and is merciful unto them.
4. He attaches great importance to their deathbed itself. The close of a Christians career on earth, his defiance, in the strength of his Saviour, of his direst enemy, the good confession which he acknowledges when he is enabled to witness before those around his dying bed, all these are precious and important in the sight of the Lord, and ought to be so in our view, and redound, not only to his own advantage, but to the benefit of survivors, to the praise and glory of His grace.
5. He evinces his estimation of their character, and of their circumstances, by providing for their recovery from the grave, and their enjoyment of a glorious immortality. (W. M. Bunting.)
The preciousness of the death of believers
I. The death of the saints is a great and momentous event in the sight of God.
II. It affords supreme gratification to His paternal love. O believers, it is precious to the Father to see your trials close, to see you entering on the glories of the spotless bride of Christ, to see all tears wiped from your eyes and your voices tuned to the song of Moses and the Lamb, to see you lay aside the cross and take up the crown.
III. It exerts a powerful influence on the salvation of others. Can you forget the prayers breathed out for you amid uttered longings to depart and be with Christ?
IV. The place it occupies in the salvation of the saint himself. The time of death is a most precious time for God to work. It is the time when all pride is laid in the dust, and the soul, emptied of itself, is ready to be filled with the fulness of Christ. It is a time when lusts and passions have lost their power, and the poor sinner is ready to acquiesce in salvation by free grace. It is the time of mans extremity which is Gods opportunity; a time when all human help fails, and Jehovah comes in mercy to aid.
V. The saints death is so precious to the Lord that He takes care to order all things respecting it for the saints good and for His own glory. (J. Walken, D. D.)
The death of good men dear to God
I. Whence it is that the death of the saints is dear to God.
1. Because then they are delivered from all their sufferings.
2. Because an end is then put to all their labours.
3. That He may approve their conduct, and confer upon them a glorious recompense.
4. Because they are then made capable of serving Him better than in this present world.
II. The practical influence which the consideration of the death of the saints being dear to God should have upon us.
1. It should make us ambitious to attain their character.
2. It teaches us that none are exempted from mortality. All the ingenuity of the sons of men hath not been able to discover an antidote against mortality, and the saints must submit to it as well as others. What, then, remains for us to do? Surely to live the life of the righteous, that we may have our last end like his,
3. The death of the saints should fill us with the deepest regret. I may call them the pillars of the earth, which preserve it from destruction. When these are removed, there is reason to apprehend approaching desolation. (D. Johnston, D.D.)
Death of saints
I. Consider why God claims saints as His own.
1. He has set them apart for Himself, in His original purpose of redemption.
2. He has enstamped His moral image upon them.
3. They have freely and sincerely given themselves away to Him.
II. Show that God takes peculiar care of the death of His Saints.
1. He always takes care when His saints shall die.
2. He takes care that they shall die, not only at the best time, but under the best circumstances.
3. God takes care of His saints, when their pure and immortal spirits leave their clayey tabernacle, and take their course to the world of light. He knows that death is a great and solemn change, and He will not forsake them while passing through it.
III. Improvement.
1. If God treats His saints in such a manner as has been said, then we may learn the extent of His sovereignty towards all mankind.
2. In the view of this subject, we may see that real saints have a permanent source of comfort, to which all who disbelieve and reject the Gospel are entire strangers.
3. Since God claims all real Christians as His own, and always takes a gracious care of them, they ought to make their calling and election sure to themselves. They are absolutely secure in His view, and they ought to be absolutely secure in their own view.
4. If the death of saints be precious in the sight of the Lord, then it ought to be precious and desirable in their own sight. They ought to live in hope, and not in fear of death.
5. Since God claims saints as His own, and takes peculiar care of them both living and dying, it infinitely concerns sinners to become saints, and live a holy and devout life.
6. If God takes peculiar care of saints in life, and often gives them a peaceful death, then their death ought to be peculiarly regarded as very precious and instructive.
7. If God claims all real saints as His own, and takes peculiar care of their death, which is precious in His sight, then pious mourners have ground of support and consolation under the bereavement of their pious relatives and friends. (N. Emmons, D.D.)
The importance which God attaches to the death of His saints
I. He will not permit it to take place at the will of His enemies, or whenever they in their malice may seek to compass it. He who turned the hearts of Josephs brethren rather to sell him into slavery than to slay him and conceal his blood; He who preserved the three Hebrew children in the midst of the fiery furnace, and brought Daniel unhurt out of the lions den; He who sent His angel and delivered Peter out of the hand of Herod, and from all the expectation of the people of the Jews; He who, when His servant Paul was pressed out of measure, above strength, insomuch that he despaired even of life, but had the sentence of death in himself, delivered him from so great a death as that which he feared, has still the hearts of all men in His hands, and all events at His disposal. He knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptation, and to reserve the unjust to the day of judgment to be punished.
II. He will not permit the death of His saints to take place but for purposes worthy of being gained even by such a price.
1. The impression it may make on others who remain for a time behind those who are taken away.
2. The acceptable homage which God may purpose to derive to Himself from the death of His saints.
3. The purpose of their death to the saints themselves, which is to usher them into a blessed immortality. (J. Henderson, D.D.)
The death of His saints precious to God
I. Precious, therefore, in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints, because it brings them nearer to God. How strange, indeed how absurd, this life would be if death ended all! Think of a man like Gladstone, who lived under a high sense of duty, whose life was one of prayer, who sang Praise to the Holiest in the height amid the sufferings of his last days;–just imagine all this ending in nothingness! Why, it reminds one of the famous Amblongus pie of the nonsense book. It was a pie of most elaborate construction. Particular directions were given as to the making of it, what was to be put in, and in what quantities. It was to be very carefully compounded, and most scientifically baked, and then the final instructions were to open the window and pitch it out as fast as possible. Just as laughable, so to speak, is the idea of a man, trained to high thought and holy feeling and submissive will, being, at the last, simply cast as rubbish to the void. But Christ hath brought life and immortality to light.
II. Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints, because it ends their struggle. There is no surer thing about life here than that it is a struggle. The road is uphill all the way, and you must wrestle on towards heaven. But it is just this struggling that makes us, and gives us a character worth taking into the next world. It is told of the mother of Mr. Balfour that, on one occasion, when her sons were going to play in a football match, some friend advised her to keep them from going because of the danger. Would you have me spoil a character? was the mothers reply. She herself was anxious about them, and didnt like their playing; but to keep them back from joining their comrades merely because of any risk, she felt, would do more harm than good. All the same, you may be sure, it would be a relief to her to see them safe home again after it was all over. And so God does not separate us from the need for struggle here, and the risks attending it. We have to face them all. He wants us to gain and acquire character through a well-fought fight. But will not He too be pleased,–relieved, might we say?–when all the struggle is safely over, and death brings His children home?
III. Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints, because it ends their ignorance. It is said, and with a good deal of truth, that most people who do any good in the world die without knowing it. That is very hard. Surely such, above all, deserve to know at least the good they have done. But often not till they are gone is the value of their work realized. They may have thought they were failures, they may have longed to be taken away as useless; and yet, when they are gone, others rise up and call them blessed. Ah! we say, if they had only known, if they had only had the satisfaction of knowing that while they were with us! But do you not think they know now? We may be sure that death ends their ignorance as to that, and as to many of the things that men here have for ages desired to look into. (J. S. Maver, M. A.)
The death of the righteous precious in the sight of God
You might have thought that it would have been their life which was declared precious; for what are they but the army of the Lord? Are they not those who maintain His cause against a wicked and rebellious generation? And when withdrawn from earth, are they not comparatively withdrawn from all opportunity of witnessing for the truth, and upholding Christs kingdom against the powers of darkness? Oh, it does but show more clearly how much of danger surrounds the saints during their sojourning below, that their death should be counted so valuable, notwithstanding that it interrupts their usefulness, removes them from the scene where alone they can wage the war with the enemies of God. Was the death of Paul precious, though his death was as when a standard-bearer fell, and there have arisen none since to take up his mantle as a champion of Christ? Then does not the very preciousness of his death give additional meaning and emphasis to his own words–I keep Under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway? The death is precious because the life is perilous; and God rejoices over His saints when He has gathered them into the separate state, because then they can be no more tempted to the forsaking His law, no more exposed to the assaults of the evil one, no more challenged to a battle in which if victory be glorious there is all the risk of a shameful defeat. And though it may seem to you that the usefulness of life must after all detract from the preciousness of death, so that you can hardly see how that is to be thought of great worth which transplants the believer from activity to quietude, from the maintenance of Gods cause to the deep recesses of the separate state, yet reflect for a moment on the power of a saints death, and you may believe that, even as a weapon against the unrighteous, death must be precious. It was in dying that Christ conquered. What was so precious as His death, forasmuch as through death He destroyed him that had the power of death, that is, the devil? It is in dying that saints often achieve their greatest victory, or do most for the cause of God or the truth. There is a power in their memory which makes them survive dissolution. The death of the righteous is often effectual in convincing those who were not moved by their life. The piety which can smile at the grim tyrant, more persuades men of its truth, and more urges to imitation, than piety under lesser trial and demonstration, as it was not in the pulpit, nor in the study, but at the stake, that martyrs lighted the candle which yet sheds over nations so rich an illumination. Let us not, then, speak of death as necessarily the termination of usefulness. It may often be only that which carries usefulness to its height, and gives it perpetuity, Having put off their armour, they may still be in the fight, their example remaining to incite others to constancy, their memory descending to lead on successors in the championship of truth. Housed, then, by death, so that everlasting blessedness is made theirs beyond every possible contingency; removed from a scene where every hour in danger of dishonouring and denying God, to one where they are certain to love Him and adore Him without the slightest interruption, the dissolution moreover of this framework of flesh being often but a process through which righteousness takes a higher stand in the witnessing for the Gospel, and in the advancement of the kingdom of Christ–oh, tell me not that death can be other than valuable in the eyes of the Almighty; valuable as securing those whom He loves and promoting that which He designs. (H. Melvill, B.D.)
The death of Gods saints
The word here rendered saints means those that are saved by grace, to use the New Testament language, and are now endeavouring to live soberly, righteously, and godly in the world, because they are taught or trained so to do by the grace of God which has brought them salvation. Now, all through their lives God watches over these, His saints. Precious are their lives in His sight. He hears their supplications, and when they are brought low He helps them; He makes all things work together for their good; precious to Him are their prayers and their praises. Their very tears and cries and the sobs of their hearts are known to Him. Precious is their daily service, whether rendered in silence and obscurity or under the stimulus of publicity and the responsibility of a high position. Precious to the Lord is their walk before Him. In their going out and their coming in, their rising up and lying down, the Lord knoweth them that are His, and the Lord careth for them. He will not let them die at any such time or in any such way as may do them hurt. They may die early or late (God appoints the time)–early with much promise unfulfilled or just in the midst of a very useful life; or in old age, after years of helplessness. No one can tell you why. But God knows, and the death of His saints, at what time and in what manner soever it occurs, is always watched over by His unsleeping eye, engaging the tender pity and lovingkindness of Him who is Lord both of the Lead and of the living, for these have fought a fight of faith, and their Master calls them to peace. Peace, at last: no enemies any more; no enemies within; no enemies without; no more wounds from false tongues or blows from hands unjust; no more conflict in the heart; no more temptation of the world, or of the flesh, or of the devil. They have finished their work, and their Master calls them to rest. Their bodies rest in the tomb, but their spirits rest in the light of God. Oh, happy release to those that have laboured and not fainted! Absent from the body, they are present with the Lord, and it is far better. (D. Fraser, D.D.)
Death culminates Gods designs for saints
The death of His saints is the climax and culmination of all Gods works on their behalf; therefore does He rejoice in it. As fathers welcome home their boys and girls when holiday-time arrives–as the shepherd looks with joy upon the sheep gathered in the fold, and welcomes the late-comer with special gladness–as they who stand upon the pier look on with pleasure when the sails are furled and the anchor dropped and the voyage over–as the husbandman gazes with delight upon the sheaves ingathered, and hears with delight the cries of harvest home,–so does our Father stand with rapture at His gate to welcome home the children for their eternal holiday; so does our Shepherd gather to His side in heaven the sheep for whom He bled; so do the heavenly watchers on the quays in glory look with glistening eyes upon those who have an abundant entrance into the kingdom of His dear Son, like ships that have sailed from far, and weathered many a storm, arriving safely in the harbour with their precious freight; so does the Lord God, the Husbandman of our souls, look on with great delight when shocks of corn that are fully ripe fall beneath the sickle and are gathered into His garner. Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints, for it is the fulfilment of all Gods designs of life; and, when the topstones are brought on with shouting, they shall pass from sonnets of His grace to singing of His glory, which He has made to be theirs as well. (T. Spurgeon.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 15. Precious in the sight of the Lord] Many have understood this verse as meaning, “the saints are too precious in the Lord’s sight, lightly to give them over to death:” and this, Calmet contends, is the true sense of the text. Though they have many enemies, their lives are precious in his sight, and their foes shall not prevail against them.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
He sets a high price upon it; he will not readily grant it to those that greedily seek it; and if any son of violence procure it, he will make him, pay very dearly for it; and when the saints suffer it for Gods sake, as they frequently do, it is a most acceptable sacrifice to God, and highly esteemed by him. Thus the blood of Gods people is said to be precious in his sight, Psa 72:14. And, in the same sense, the life of a man is said to be precious in his eyes who spareth and preserveth it, as 1Sa 26:21; 2Ki 1:13. Gods people are precious in his eyes, both living and dying; for whether they live, they live unto the Lord; or whether they die, they die unto the Lord, Rom 14:8.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
15, 16. By the plea of being ahomeborn servant, he intimates his claim on God’s covenant love toHis people.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Precious in the sight of the Lord [is] the death of his saints. The Lord has his saints or sanctified ones, who are sanctified or set apart by God the Father from all eternity; who are sanctified in Christ, their head and representative; who are sanctified by his blood, shed for the expiation of their sins; who are sanctified by his Spirit and grace, are called with an holy calling, and have principles of holiness wrought in them, and live holy lives and conversations. The word o used also signifies one that has received kindness and favour, and shows it: saints are such, who have received spiritual blessings from the Lord; to whom he has been kind and bountiful; and these are merciful and beneficent to others. Now these die as well as others, though holy and righteous, and though Christ has died for them; he has indeed delivered them from death as a punishment, he has abolished it in this sense; and has freed them from the curse and sting of it, but not from that itself; because it is for their good, and it is precious in the sight of the Lord. Saints are precious to him, living and dying; there is something in their death, or that attends it, that is delightful to him, and of high esteem with him; as when they are in the full exercise of grace at such a season; when they die in faith, and have hope in their death; and their love is drawn out unto him, and they long to be with him: besides, they die in the Lord, and sleep in Jesus, in union with him; with whom he is well pleased, and all in him; and they die unto him, according to his will, and are resigned unto it; and so glorify him in death, as well as in life. It is the time of their ingathering to him; at death he comes into his garden, and gathers his flowers, and smells a sweet savour in them; their very dust is precious to him, which he takes care of and raises up at the last day. The commonly received sense of the words is, that the saints are so dear to the Lord, their lives are so much set by with him, and their blood so precious to him, that he will not easily suffer their lives to be taken away, or their blood to be spilled; and whenever it is, he will, sooner or later, severely revenge it; see 1Sa 26:21. And to this sense is the Targum,
“precious before the Lord is death sent to (or inflicted on) his saints;”
that is, by men. The words will bear to be rendered, “precious in the sight of the Lord is that death”, or “death itself, for his saints”; that very remarkable and observable death, even the death of his Son, which was not only for the good of his saints, for their redemption, salvation, justification, pardon, and eternal life; but in their room and stead; and which was very acceptable unto God, of high esteem with him, of a sweet smelling savour to him: not that he took pleasure in it, simply considered; for he that hath no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, even of a sinner, could have none in the death of his Son; but as hereby his justice was satisfied, his law fulfilled, the salvation of his people procured, and his covenant, counsels, purposes, and decrees, accomplished. has a double in it; one at the beginning, and the other at the end of the word; which is very emphatic, and so may point at something very remarkable; and what more so than the death of Christ? and is sometimes used for substitution, and signifies “for”, “instead”, or “in the room of”, another; see Ex 4:16.
o “quos ipse benignitate prosequitur”, Junius Tremellius so Musculus.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
From what he has experienced the poet infers that the saints of Jahve are under His most especial providence. Instead of the poet, who is fond of such embellishments, chooses the pathetic form , and consequently, instead of the genitival construct state ( ), the construction with the Lamed of “belonging to.” It ought properly to be “soul” or “blood,” as in the primary passage Psa 72:14. But the observation of Grotius: quae pretiosa sunt, non facile largimur , applies also to the expression “death.” 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.
(Note: The Apostolic Constitutions (vi. 30) commend the singing of these and other words of the Psalms at the funerals of those who have departed in the faith (cf. Augusti, Denkwrdigkeiten, ix. 563). In the reign of the Emperor Decius, Babylas Bishop of Antioch, full of blessed hope, met death singing these words.)
After this the poet goes on beseechingly: annah Adonaj . The prayer itself is not contained in – for he is already rescued, and the perfect as a precative is limited to such utterances spoken in the tone of an exclamation as we find in Job 21:16 – but remains unexpressed; it lies wrapped up as it were in this heartfelt annah : Oh remain still so gracious to me as Thou hast already proved Thyself to me. The poet rejoices in and is proud of the fact that he may call himself the servant of God. With he is mindful of his pious mother (cf. Psa 86:16). The Hebrew does not form a feminine, ; Arab. amata signifies a maid, who is not, as such, also Arab. abdat , a slave. The dative of the object, (from for the more usual ), is used with instead of the accusative after the Aramaic manner, but it does also occur in the older Hebrew (e.g., Job 19:3; Isa 53:11). The purpose of publicly giving thanks to the Gracious One is now more full-toned here at the close. Since such emphasis is laid on the Temple and the congregation, what is meant is literal thank-offerings in payment of vows. In (as in Psa 135:9) we have in the suffix the ancient and Aramaic i (cf. Psa 116:7) for the third time. With the poet clings to Jahve, with to the congregation, and with to the holy city. The one thought that fills his whole soul, and in which the song which breathes forth his soul dies away, is Hallelujah.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
15. Precious in the eyes of Jehovah is the death of his meek ones. He goes on now to the general doctrine of God’s providential care for the godly, in that he renders them assistance in time of need; their lives being precious in his sight. With this shield he desires to defend himself from the terrors of death, which often pressed upon him, by which he imagined he would instantly be swallowed up. When we are in danger and God apparently overlooks us, we then consider ourselves to be contemned as poor slaves, and that our life is regarded as a thing of nought. And we are aware that when the wicked perceive that we have no protection, they wax the more bold against us, as if God took no notice either of our life or death. In opposition to their erroneous doctrine, David introduces this sentiment, that God does not hold his servants in so little estimation as to expose them to death casually. (384) We may indeed for a time be subjected to all the vicissitudes of fortune and of the world; we will nevertheless always have this consolation, that God will, eventually, openly manifest how dear our souls are to him. In these times, when innocent blood is shed, and the wicked contemners of God furiously exalt themselves, as if exulting over a vanquished God, let us hold fast by this doctrine, that the death of the faithful, which is so worthless, nay, even ignominious in the sight of men, is so valuable in God’s sight, that, even after their death, he stretches out his hand towards them, and by dreadful examples demonstrates how he holds in abhorrence the cruelty of those who unjustly persecute the good and simple. If he put their tears in a bottle, how will he permit their blood to perish? Psa 56:8 At his own time he will accomplish the prediction of Isaiah, “that the earth shall disclose her blood,” Isa 26:21. To leave room for the grace of God, let us put on the spirit of meekness, even as the prophet, in designating the faithful meek ones, calls upon them to submit their necks quietly to bear the burden of the cross, that in their patience they may possess their souls, Luk 21:19
(384) “For their death to be precious is, in effect, no more than that it is, so considered, rated at so high a price by God, as that he will not easily grant it to any one that most desires it of him. Absalom here hostilely pursued David and desired his death, he would have been highly gratified with it, taking it for the greatest boon that could have befallen him: but God would not thus gratify him; nor will he grant this desire easily to the enemies of godly men, especially of those that commit themselves to his keeping, as David here did.” — Hammond.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(15) Precious . . .This is only another form of the statement in Psa. 72:14. But again we have to ask why the thought of death should intrude upon the psalmist at this moment. (See Note, Psa. 115:17.) The answer is that, as in Psa. 116:8, a recent deliverance from death is spoken of. It is natural to take this psalm as a thanksgiving song for the safety, perhaps victory, of the survivors in some battle, but then the grateful community naturally and dutifully remember the dead.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
15. Precious the death of his saints The word yahkar, applied to things, denotes that which is of rare value, costly, “precious;” applied to persons, it means special honour, excellence, reputation. The “death of” God’s “saints” is distinguished from death as the common lot of man, in the eyes of God, by rare excellence and honour, not physically, but morally, considered. If there is any meaning in language, here is proof of a future life, and of future rewards and punishments.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Psa 116:15. Precious in the sight of the Lord The word precious is not here so to be understood as to signify that which is spoken of to be desireable to or in the sight of the Lord; for it is the life, and not the death of his servants, which is precious in that sense to God, the great preserver of their lives. But for their death to be precious, is, in effect, no more than that it is so considered, and rated at so high a price by God, that he will not easily grant it to the will of their enemies. Loosed my bonds, in the next verse, means, Rescued me from the power of death.
REFLECTIONS.1st, We have here,
1. The Psalmist’s warm profession of his love to God for the mercies he had tasted, and of his determined dependance upon him. I love the Lord, because, &c. or, as the words stand in the original, I love, because the Lord hath heard my voice, and my supplications; his gracious condescensions in opening his ear to his requests, and speedily answering his desires, affected his soul with deepest gratitude, and engaged him to make the warmest returns of affection, and to persevere in waiting still upon Jehovah; therefore will I call upon him as long as I live. Note; (1.) Every answer to our prayers is a fresh obligation and encouragement to pray without ceasing. (2.) That soul is happy which can with David truly say, I love the Lord. (3.) In prayer or praise should our very parting breath expire, and then we shall go where all will be praise.
2. He mentions the deep distress from which God had delivered him. The sorrows of death compassed me, such as dying men feel in their agony; the pains of hell, such as arise in the conscience from the sting of guilt, or of the grave, which brought me to its very gates, gat hold upon me, and seized me as their prey: I found trouble and sorrow; trouble which none but God could assuage, and sorrow which he alone could remove. Note; Death is terrible indeed, when accompanied with the fears and pains of hell: blessed be God for Jesus Christ, who hath given us the victory over both.
3. His recourse was to God, Then in the midst of the sorrows I had in my heart, called I upon the name of the Lord, the Saviour of the miserable and desperate; and with importunity pleaded, O Lord, I beseech thee, deliver my soul, which must infallibly perish, unless thy power and grace rescue me from destruction. Whenever the sinner thus flies for refuge to the divine mercy in Christ, he will not be cast away, as,
4. David by blessed experience found. Gracious is the Lord, I have proved him so to my unspeakable comfort, pardoning my guilt, and delivering my helpless soul; and righteous, faithful to his promises, and just in all the dispensations of his providence and grace: yea, our God is merciful, infinite in compassions, as all his people must acknowledge. The Lord preserveth the simple; those, who without allowed guile, place on him their dependence: I was brought low, to the very brink of ruin; yet he magnified his grace the more in my deliverance, and he helped me: in consequence of which my soul was delivered from death, from temporal, from eternal death, mine eyes from tears, and my feet from falling into sin, and the pit of death and hell. And cannot every believer witness this by his own blessed experience? but for these compassions of our God, our bodies, long since consigned to the grave, had seen corruption, and our souls had dropped into hell, where there is weeping, and wailing, and gnashing of teeth. Well may we say, Our God is merciful.
5. He addresses his soul, and bids it now rest in peace, under the guardian care of this gracious God. Return unto thy rest, O my soul; whatever hath troubled thy repose, whether affliction, persecution, temptation, or corruption, since all thy burdens are now cast on the Lord, confidently expect, and quietly wait, to see the salvation of God; for the Lord hath dealt bountifully with thee in all his past dispensations, and therefore deserved to be trusted for all that is to come. Learn, my soul, thus to reason, and trust still in God!
6. He resolves to devote to God’s service the life preserved by his mercy. I will walk before the Lord in the land of the living, seeking to glorify Jehovah upon earth, by letting his light shine before men, and telling of his salvation from day to day; in it is expressive of his faith, as looking to that better world where life eternal reigns, and in which he trusted to stand among the glorified throng, and join their everlasting songs of praise.
2nd, We see that,
1. He declares his unshaken confidence in God. I believed the promises of his grace, of protection here, and glory hereafter, to every faithful soul: therefore have I spoken, to God in prayer, assured of being heard; and to men with boldness, knowing the truth of what he declared. Note; Faith inspires the heart with freedom of speech; and no danger can discourage the genuine minister of Christ from proclaiming the gospel truths, nor the pious Christian from the profession of them. See 2Co 4:13.
2. He owns the discouragements that he was under. I was greatly afflicted; persecuted by Saul, reviled, and reduced to the greatest distress: and this is in a measure the lot of very many of the righteous. I said in my haste, rashly, through the provocation I had received, or in my flight, when pursued by Saul or Absalom, All men are liars, as having barely forsaken and betrayed him. Note; (1.) In sore provocations, and deep afflictions, the faith of God’s strongest saints has been sometimes shaken, and some of them have spoken unadvisedly with their lips; but this demands repentance and a fresh application of the atoning blood. (2.) There is a great difference between a surprise of temptation, and wilful and premeditated sin.
3. Overwhelmed with the sense of the goodness of God, he seems at a loss how to express the infinite gratitude that he owes; and resolves with his lips and in his life for ever to proclaim and exalt the great and glorious name of Jehovah. I will take the cup of salvation; the drink-offerings which should attend his sacrifice of thanksgiving; and call upon the name of the Lord, praying to him, and praising him for all his mercies; in public, in the presence of all the people, and in the courts of the Lord’s house, paying the vows he had made in trouble, glorying in the profession of his deep obligations to the God of his mercies, and encouraging others to the like open professions of devotion to Jehovah; nor should his lips only be employed in thanksgiving, his life should be for ever devoted to his service. O Lord, truly I am thy servant, in all fidelity and zeal; he repeats it to shew the heartiness of his surrender, I am thy servant, and the son of thine handmaid, born of pious parents, and from early youth brought up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord: thou hast loosed my bonds; the bonds of sin, corruption, affliction, had bound him; but now, set free, he became the servant of God, whose service is the most perfect freedom. Note; (1.) The sacrifice of thanksgiving is the tribute that we are ever bound to pay. (2.) To be the servant of God is the most honourable of all titles; so thought Israel’s king. (3.) When grace hath loosed the bands of sin, the powerful pleasing cords of love most pleasingly and divinely bind our hearts to God.
4. He can look forward without fear, or meet death with satisfaction. Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints; he will not suffer the wicked to destroy his faithful servants, but preserves them when there seems to be but a step between them and death; and when the hour arrives of their dissolution, their last moments shall tell how dear they are to him, who fall asleep in Jesus; yea, even in their graves they shall be remembered by him, and brought forth with glory at a resurrection-day.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
DISCOURSE: 692
THE DEATH OF SAINTS PRECIOUS
Psa 116:15. Previous in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints.
THE meaning of these words will be best marked from the occasion on which we suppose them to have been uttered. The psalm appears to have been written after Absaloms rebellion. Most imminent were the dangers from which David had been delivered. For this mercy he renders thanks: and acknowledges, to the praise of his heavenly Protector, that, whilst his own son had sought his life, and instigated multitudes to seek his destruction, God had interposed for his deliverance, and had inflicted merited judgments on his enemies. So precious had God accounted his death, that he would make those to pay dearly who had laboured to effect it: or, as it is said in another psalm, God had redeemed his soul from deceit and violence, and precious had his blood been in his sight [Note: Psa 72:14.].
From the words which I have read, I shall take occasion to shew,
I.
In what light God regards the death of the saints
We are not to understand that the death of his saints is pleasing to God, but rather, that he places a high value on them, and that he will suffer none to accomplish their death with impunity. So precious is their death, that,
1.
He watches over them to prevent it
[Incessant is his care over his Church; as he has said, I the Lord do keep it: I will water it every moment: lest any hurt it, I will keep it night and day [Note: Isa 27:4.]. He assures us that no weapon that is formed against his people shall prosper [Note: Isa 54:17.]. So that, as has been often said, Gods servants are immortal, till their work is done. Not that they are at liberty to tempt the Lord by rushing needlessly into danger: but, if called by God to perform any duty, they have nothing to fear. Davids deliverances were numberless, as were those also of the Apostle Paul. Our Lord himself, too, was encompassed for years by those who sought his life: but none could prevail against him, till his hour was come. Weak as his people are, even as lambs in the midst of wolves, none can effect their ruin, none can ever pluck them out of his hands. There is an appointed time for every one of them; and, as they must wait, so must their enemies also wait, till that time is come.]
2.
He will come forth to avenge it
[God does suffer his people to be assaulted, and to be put to death: but he will call their enemies to a severe account for all that they do against the meanest of his saints. It is said, He that toucheth you, toucheth the apple of his eye [Note: Zec 2:8.]. We well know the force of this figure, if but a mote get into our eye: and we may therefore understand from thence how God feels when any of his people are assaulted. He has told us, that it were better for any man that a millstone were hanged round his neck, and that he were cast into the depths of the sea, than that he should offend one of Gods little ones. We see, in the history of David, how Ahithophel suffered for his treachery, and Absalom for his rebellion: and sooner or later shall every man who, either in a way of direct asaault or of silent contempt, offends the people of the Lord, surely give account thereof in the day of judgment [Note: 1Pe 4:4-5.].]
3.
He will never suffer it, till he has accomplished his good work within them
[To every one of his people has God assigned his proper work: to some, as to the dying thief, little more is given than an opportunity of confessing Christ: to others, as to Paul and John, are long and arduous labours allotted: but the times of all are in Gods hands; and he will enable every one of them to say, Father, I have glorified thee on earth; I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do [Note: Joh 17:4.]. To his blood-thirsty enemies our Saviour said, I must walk to-day and to-morrow; and the third day I shall be perfected: and even to the most potent amongst them we may say, Thou couldst have no power at all against me, except it were given thee from above. Men may think they have accomplished their purposes; as when Peter was kept in prison till the very night preceding his intended execution; or as when Paul had been stoned, and left for dead. But there is no counsel or might against the Lord. He will make the wrath of man to praise him; and the remainder of it, which would counteract his purposes, he will restrain.]
Such being Gods estimate of his peoples death, we may see,
II.
In what light we also should regard it
However we may congratulate souls on their removal to a better world, we cannot but regard their death,
1.
As an event to be deplored
[The world little think how much they are indebted to the saints. It is for their sakes that the world itself is kept in existence. If their number were complete, and their graces arrived at the measure ordained for them, we have reason to think that an end would be put to the present state of things, as we know there will be at the day of judgment. The usefulness of some who are in very conspicuous stations is seen and acknowledged: but it is not easy to conceive how much good may be done by the meanest saint, through the prayers which he offers up from time to time. The prayer of Moses repeatedly saved the whole Jewish nation, when for their iniquities God had determined to sweep them all away. And Abraham prevailed, to the full extent of his petitions, in behalf of Sodom and all the cities of the plain. And who can tell what blessings the prayers of Gods people have brought on our guilty land, or what blessings may be obtained through the most humble individual amongst them? As a public loss, therefore, I think the removal of any saint may be deplored. As it respects him personally, we may indeed, from a variety of circumstances, be led to rejoice in it; because he rests from his labours, and may therefore be accounted blessed: but as far as the work of God on earth and the benefit of mankind are concerned, his death may be regarded as a ground of general regret.]
2.
As a dispensation to be carefully improved
[In the death of a saint, God himself calls upon us to inquire, whether we, if we had been taken, should have been found ready. He bids us to work whilst it is day, since the night is coming when no man can work. He leads us to consider the blessedness of dying in the Lord; and bids us to be followers of those who, through faith and patience, now inherit the promises [Note: Here the particular experience of a departed saint may be stated as instructive, and his dying advice be specified.] ]
Address
1.
Those who make light of death
[It is surprising how little effect the death of any saint produces on the minds of survivors; and how speedily any impression wears away. The conversation of mourners assembled to attend a funeral gives us a melancholy picture of the human mind, and of the extreme indifference with which the concerns of eternity are regarded by us. But, Brethren, will death appear so light a matter when we shall have entered into the eternal world? or is there one of us who will not wish that he had laboured far move to prepare for his great account? I pray you, trifle not with your souls; but know assuredly, that one soul is of more value than the whole world.]
2.
Those who estimate death according to its real importance
[You well know the true value of life. Its great use is, to prepare for death. Let every hour be pressed into the service of your God, Let every thing be valued according to its bearing on eternity. Above all, let the Saviour be dear to you. It is He who has taken away the sting of death, and authorised you to number it amongst your richest treasures. Through his atoning blood you may look forward to death and judgment with far other eyes than they can be viewed by the ungodly world. You may regard death as the commencement of life, and the very gate of heaven. Only take care, therefore, that in your experience it be Christ to live, and then you shall assuredly and that it will be gain to die.]
Fuente: Charles Simeon’s Horae Homileticae (Old and New Testaments)
This verse comes as in a parenthesis. It may serve to comfort the faithful in the recollection. And as the death of the faithful is precious, so their lives are. Mat 10:29-30 . Reader! if such be the preciousness of the death of saints, what must have been, and is, and ever will be, the inestimable valuable price of His death, whose death is the life of the world? Lamb of God! with what a price hast thou redeemed thy people! 1Pe 1:18-19 .
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Psa 116:15 Precious in the sight of the LORD [is] the death of his saints.
Ver. 15. Precious in the sight of the Lord ] Rara, chara, God doth not often suffer his saints to be slain, Psa 37:32-33 ; or, if he do, he will make inquisition for every drop of that precious blood, Psa 9:12 . See Psa 72:14 . See Trapp on “ Psa 72:14 “ This David delivereth here as a truth that he had experimented.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Precious. See note on 1Sa 3:1.
saints = separated ones.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Psa 116:15
Psa 116:15
PRECIOUS IN THE SIGHT OF THE LORD IS THE DEATH OF HIS SAINTS
“Precious in the sight of Jehovah
Is the death of his saints.”
Where is the minister of the gospel who has never used this passage as comfort for the bereaved at a funeral service? “The word `precious’ here means `costly,’ as in Psa 72:14; 1 Kings 5:17; and 7:9-11, where the same Hebrew word is used. “The sense is that Yahweh will not easily suffer his saints to perish; the cost of their death is too great. In other words, the godly need Yahweh’s help; and He needs their service.
Delitzsch tells us that one of the oldest documents of Christendom, “The `Apostolic Constitutions’ recommends the singing of these words at the funerals of those who have departed in the faith, and that `The Bishop of Antioch, full of blessed hope, met death singing these words, `during the reign of the Emperor Decius.’
E.M. Zerr:
Psa 116:15. The word for precious is defined in the lexicon as “valuable,” and it also is used in the sense of being weighty and important. The death of a righteous man would seem to be a matter to be deplored, not thought of as something valuable. The thought is derived from what such a death indicates. It is somewhat like the passage in Act 5:41 where the rejoicing was over their being “worthy” to suffer for Christ. On that principle the Psalmist regarded it as meaning so much for a man to die because of his devotion to a righteous life.
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
Precious: Psa 37:32, Psa 37:33, Psa 72:14, 1Sa 25:29, Job 5:26, Luk 16:22, Rev 1:18, Rev 14:3
Reciprocal: Num 23:10 – the death 1Sa 18:30 – set by 1Sa 26:21 – my soul 2Ki 1:14 – let my life 2Ki 20:6 – I will add Psa 16:3 – the saints Psa 31:15 – My times Isa 38:5 – I will Act 12:17 – declared Eph 3:18 – with
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Psa 116:15. Precious, &c., is the death of his saints He sets a high price upon it: he will not easily grant it to the will of their enemies. If any son of violence procure it, he will make him pay very dearly for it. And when the saints suffer it for Gods sake, as they frequently do, it is a most acceptable sacrifice to him, and highly esteemed by him. Thus the blood of Gods people is said to be precious in his sight, Psa 72:14. And in the same sense the life of a man is said to be precious in the eyes of him who spares and preserves it, 1Sa 26:21; 2Ki 1:13. Gods people are precious in his eyes both living and dying, for, whether they live, they live unto the Lord, or whether they die, they die unto the Lord, Rom 14:8.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
116:15 Precious in the sight of the LORD [is] the {i} death of his saints.
(i) I perceive that God has a care over his, so that he both disposes their death, and takes an account.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
The death of the godly is significant to God; it is costly to Him (cf. Mat 10:29-31; Joh 10:28-29). [Note: Ibid., pp. 410-11.] He does not treat their dying as trivial. Consequently, the fact that He delivered the psalmist from dying meant that He had good reason for doing so. It is interesting that Psa 116:15, which has brought so much comfort to believers who have lost loved ones through the centuries, rests in a context of deliverance. Again the writer promised to praise God publicly with the proper offering (Psa 116:18, cf. Psa 116:14). The psalm ends with an exhortation for all the living to praise the Lord.
How comforting Psa 116:15-16 would have been to the Lord Jesus as He celebrated His last Passover meal on earth. He would have thought of His own mother when he sang "the son of Thy handmaid" in Psa 116:16. In Psa 116:17-19, Jesus vowed to praise God after He fulfilled God’s will by dying and after God had raised Him up. [Note: See Allen, Lord of . . ., pp. 89-95.]
Death is an enemy. Therefore, when God extends our lives, He is saving us from an enemy. The continuation of life is something we should never take for granted. God could take the life of any person at any time-and be perfectly righteous-since we are all sinners and deserve to die. However, He graciously extends life, and for this His people should give Him thanks publicly.