O Precious Death!
Psalm 116
“Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of His saints.” (Psalm 116:15)
One of the school exercises used in school is to be given two words and to put them together in a simple sentence. But only God could put the words “precious” and “death” in the same sentence. What is so precious about death? We might say: “Precious in the sight of the LORD is the LIFE of His saints.” Or one might think: “Blessed in the sight of the LORD is the death of His enemies.” This is hard to put together in our head, especially when we are gathered here today to say farewell to a father, a husband, a friend, a fellow church member. We come here today to celebrate the life of our saint. So a statement like this has to make us pause and think: “What is the LORD saying to us?”
This verse occurs in the 116th Psalm, which was one of the seven psalms the Jews would recite on the road to Jerusalem at Passover time. This Psalm was also cited at the Passover meal. They are a collection of Psalms known as the “Hill-El” which is translated “Praise.” The writer of this psalm was deeply troubled about death. He seems as if he were at the gates of death. He was experiencing the pains of dying and was wondering if this was the end. He was concerned about what life was about. Where was the LORD in all of this? Was he alone in his pain?
The psalmist though about these things and came to the right conclusion. He remembered the LORD. He remembered that God had been merciful to Him. Mercy goes beyond what we deserve. That is why it is called mercy. Besides being merciful, He is gracious and righteous. It is important in our suffering to realize that the one we pray to today in our grief is all of these things, The departed we are remembering today struggled with these things and held on to his faith that all would be well. He had ceased from his trials. He has found rest for his soul. But his questions have been left behind for us to ponder. Why God did you take our loved one away? What is life about? Where do we go from here? We need to do as the departed did. We must think upon who our Lord and redeemer. For it is in Him we find the answer to our pain and suffering today.
It seems as though the LORD did indeed have mercy on the psalmist. He lived from his near death experience. He had a little more time to walk in the land of the living. But some day, like all of us who are here at this moment in this land the psalmist died. Likewise, the departed fought a long hard battle with cancer. He saw the jaws of death on several occasions. Though he fought valiantly, he lost his battle to remain in this life. But these experiences also reminded him that even though he knew he was going to lose the battle this time, the Lord whom he loved and who had brought him through many toils and snares would be with him in his final journey from this life in this world into the world to come. The psalmist who had been so greatly afflicted made public testimony of the LORD’s goodness to him. His fellow worshipers knew the pain he had suffered. And while he had life, he publicly praised the LORD. So when the doors of death came, he had confidence that he would be led through the shadow of death to a new land of the living, a place where God personally wipes away every tear.
When we consider that Jesus Himself sung this psalm as He ascended the hill up to Jerusalem at His final Passover as well as at the Last Supper, we see how this psalm applies to the suffering of Jesus. Jesus well knew what awaited Him on that final journey. He could already feel the stripes laid upon His back and the nails in His hands and feet. And thus, we are reminded of the great price that Jesus paid for us. For it is by His blood that our sins are washed away. He had been delivered from death when His own townspeople at Nazareth intended to throw Him off the bluff and then stone Him. But is wasn’t the proper time. He was again delivered by the angry leaders of Israel who picked up stones to kill Him because He claimed equality with the Father. He had been brought through many near-death episodes. Se suffered pain from hunger, thirst, and the arduous journeys. But this was now His time. He knew He would not walk away from this one. He was going to leave in the most horrible of deaths without a single friend to cling to.
So when we look at the death of our beloved, we must not only consider who the LORD is, but also that He has demonstrated His love for us in His Son Jesus Christ. Hebrews tells us that He was tempted to the extreme that any one else has been tempted. This Jesus did not deny the Father and went obediently to the cross. He did not deny Himself by succumbing to the temptation to avoid the cross. And most of all, He did not deny us. He rightly as the Creator and Sustainer of all things had every right to deny His sinful creation. After all, as the psalmist tells us, He is righteous. But the merciful and gracious God did not deny us the chance to walk in the land of the living. The precious Lamb of God without spot or wrinkle became the perfect sacrifice for our sins. O how precious to us is the death of Jesus!. There I said it. I put precious and death in the same sentence.
But the death of Jesus was not the end of his story. The disciples and the women who were devoted to Him thought so. This is understandable. The disciples on the road to Emmaus were downcast. This is expected. Little did they know that it was Jesus walking with them. Jesus was alive! He had risen from the dead even as HE had told them. Jesus had passes from death to the land of the living by the power of God. He ascended to the right hand of the Father! He will return!
This, or course, means that for the departed who believed in Jesus, this tragic death we are now mourning has become the most glorious victory by the grace and mercy of God. We certainly can remember what he meant to us in this life. We do so today. Our tears are a testimony of a life well lived. Imagine someone who has no one to mourn his passing from this life. How sad are the Eleanor Rigby’s of this world who has but the priest at her funeral. There are so many lonely and depressed people in this world who think life is a burden and death is sweet because it is the end of suffering, or so they think. While we are still in this world, let us testify of the mercy and grace of God so that these might have hope greater than this. Perhaps there are some here who need to think about what life is.
On this day when our tears pour out before God, let us remember that Jesus wept with us, even though He already knew he would raise Lazarus from the dead. Death should never have happened. The bitterness of death is because Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden. And in like manner, we have all sinned and have become subject to the curse of death. So it is well we shed tears. Death is not a good thing in itself. It is not precious at all. But God has overthrown the curse of death. So the most cursed of events has become the source of our greatest blessing. Only God could do this just like only God can say: “Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of His saints.”
The departed has left this world on an everlasting life without the pain and suffering he experienced at the end. It is indeed a mysterious and frightening journey. But we all lived in another world once. It seemed perfect to us. All our needs were cared for. We could bounce around in joy. We could hear some distant sounds of excitement and anticipation. Life was good. Then something happened. Water rushed by our head and we were squeezed. We were dying from that world. Cold forceps grabbed our head and we became aware of the bewildering first experience of light. Then we got a spanking. Welcome to this world. How much bigger and less confining that the world of the womb. This is the life the departed experienced. This is the life we now experience. We don’t know what our heavenly home is like. We hear sounds of joy and anticipation on the distance. The Bible describes what heaven is like the best it can in human words. But heaven will be so much greater than these few miserable words I can express this evening. Our beloved has arrived in his new home. It is better than he could ever dream. And this home awaits those who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ! Will you be marching with the saints there in the Kingdom? Will you be in that number? Do you yearn for it? Is this your precious hope that transcends this life and our dying?
So let us ponder these things today as we say good-bye to the one we loved. The tears are our testimony of what he meant to us. But also remember the good times and the joy he brought into our life. This also is a testimony to a life well-lived. So whether we laugh or cry, we testify together how precious this life was to us. It is good that we do this. But consider these things in light where he is now and press onward as he did to the pearly gates.
