Precious in the sight of Jehovah is the death of his saints.
Psalm 116 is the song of a man God pulled back from the edge of the grave. In the middle of his thanksgiving he turns from his own rescue to say something about God: the death of His godly ones costs Him something. Commentators ask two questions here. What makes a death "precious" to the Lord? And does this verse promise rescue from death, or comfort in it?
The Setting: A Life Given Back
The verse sits inside a story of answered prayer. One writer traces the psalm from distress to rest:
Psalm 116 celebrates this deliverance when they were at the very point of death. The Lord had heard them, and they would walk before the Lord in the land of the living. It is a continual retelling of the Lord's gracious mercy: they were brought low and He helped them. It drew out their love to Him. Such was the Lord's character. He preserves the simple. The soul that had been tried so hard could return to its rest. The death of His saints was precious in His sight.
Who "His Saints" Are
The word behind "saints" does not point to a title. It points to the heart:
It is not "holy ones" here, but those whose heart toward Himself the Lord recognises and acknowledges.
Another commentator, writing to a grieving family, shows how far that word reaches:
The word "saints" in this verse is a beautiful word. It means more than those who are set apart for God, though it includes all such. It means those marked by piety, grace and goodness… What made her what she was as wife, mother, sister and friend? Was it not first of all and most of all the grace of the Lord within her?
Precious: Not Lightly Given Up
If something is precious, it is not spent carelessly. Here that has a practical edge: nothing reaches God's people without His permission:
The hairs of their head were all numbered. Satan could do nothing that was not permitted… for "Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints"; He did not lightly permit it.
Why Such a Death Has Value
The worth is not manufactured by the dying believer. One writer roots it in another death entirely:
It may seem strange that verse 15 comes here… but it reminds us of the most precious of all deaths, that of the Lord Jesus. That death should move every heart to adore Him. The death of every one of His saints is precious because of the value of His death… The death of His saints is worth more to God than all their so-called good works.
Rescue From Death, or Comfort in It?
Commentators differ over what the verse promises. Some read it with the psalm's own setting — the words of a man kept alive:
He learns this by being kept alive on the earth. As the context shows, this verse speaks of saints kept alive, not of saints who die… So here he looks to be kept from death.
Others take the words to cover those who do die, including those killed for their faith:
The death of His saints is precious in the Lord's sight. This is true of them all. He is always glorified in those who can make a sober claim to endless life and blessedness in the hour when nature breaks down. They can do so because their trust is in the living God. He is not ashamed of such people. But He is glorified even more in those who are given, for Christ's sake, to suffer for His name to the point of death.
What It Means for Believers Now
The verse is not only about the last hour. The same writer draws out a present, moral meaning:
Do not overlook the moral meaning of this verse. To carry about in a body still alive the dying of the Lord; to die a daily death; to be willing to hate one's present life in order to know the power of the resurrection better — such things are pleasing in the Father's sight.
And where God does not step in to prevent death, the promise still holds:
God does not always step in to save His saints from death. We know this well when we walk through a scene of death. But how comforting it is to realise that "Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints." In the light of Christianity we know that for the believer death is only "to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better." To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord.
Summary
- Precious — because of His death. A believer's death is precious because of the worth of Christ's death, not because of the believer's record.
- Precious — so not lightly permitted. Nothing touches God's people without His permission. He does not spend what He counts precious.
- Precious — to His godly ones. "Saints" means those whose heart toward God He Himself recognises. The mark is grace and goodness, not a title.
- Precious — while alive, too. Commentators differ. Does the verse promise rescue from death, or honour those who die? Either way, dying daily with Christ pleases the Father.
- Precious — therefore comforting. When God does not prevent death, He still values it. For the believer, death is departing to be with Christ — far better.