Death of the Saints is Precious to God - Psalms 114-116

Psalms 116:15 (ESV)
Precious in the sight of the LORD
is the death of his saints.

What a great truth!!  We could end this journal entry by just repeating this phrase over and over and over.   The key word is “precious.”  It is used 35x in the Old Testament.  To better understand how it is used, note these passages:

It can mean “valuable:”

2 Samuel 12:30 (ESV)
And he took the crown of their king from his head. The weight of it was a talent of gold, and in it was a precious stone, and it was placed on David's head. And he brought out the spoil of the city, a very great amount.

It can mean “rare” (as in special):

1 Samuel 3:1 (ESV)
The LORD Calls Samuel
Now the boy Samuel was ministering to the LORD in the presence of Eli. And the word of the LORD was rare in those days; there was no frequent vision. (Rare: same Hebrew word)

It can mean “weighty:”

(ESV) Dead flies make the perfumer's ointment give off a stench;
so a little folly outweighs wisdom and honor. (Outweighs: Same word as precious).

The point of the verse is to say that when those who love God and have faith in God, through His Son, die, God takes notice.  They are “precious” (valuable, special and weighty) to Him.   We should realize that Satan is the god of death and Christ came to give us life so that we defeat death, through His death:

Hebrews 2:14 (ESV)
Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil,