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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 God's 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 God's 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.)

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KJV: Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints.

WEB: Precious in the sight of Yahweh is the death of his saints.