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Letters ON DEATH Dear A. N. June 9, 1987 ...I did not know of your husband's death. I try to use such opportunities to be somewhat of a comfort to the saints of God. Your mention of it was the first I had heard. But, what a blessing it is to know he is with the Lord, that he was a saved man, and is a particular treasure added to the Lord's coffers. I suppose the unknown makes death difficult for us seeing we walk this path but once. It certainly has no sting for us, since the sting of death is sin, and Christ removed that for us. But the unknown makes us apprehensive, while our faith makes us anxious. If death makes us sad, I believe the chief reason is that we want to do more for the glory of God, but like the widow who gave her mite, we do what we can; yet, it is such a pittance! ... THE PRECIOUS DEATH OF THE SAINTS Dear B. M. April 18, 1985 In creation, God saw all the works of His hands, and pronounced them "good," but He did not declare any of them to be "precious." But, the Psalmist found something in creation to be precious in God's sight: "Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints" (Psalm 116:15). That which is "precious" is desirable; and, after suffering and seemingly intolerable trouble, God blesses His saints with a mansion there where they will never again be troubled, or suffer. It is a great blessing to be accepted in His sight, but how much greater a blessing is it to be precious in His sight! The death of saints is precious because it is the removal of another to heaven. It pronounces a fresh triumph for the Lord Jesus, and gives added proof of the reality of the grace of God. The truth that is in Christ Jesus is verified, and the sustaining power of our Lord is illustrated. It is a source of comfort to all of us since it is appointed unto men once to die, and after this the judgment (Hebrews 9:27). The death of God's children is precious because God sees not as man sees. He does not judge according to appearance, nor should we weigh their happiness by the weight of their earthly cross. God takes them from the evil to come. Sin and sorrow forever cease for them; and it is in their death that God witnesses the finest work of His Spirit in the souls of His saints. The word "precious" is the word "jakar," and in Isaiah 43:4, it means "honorable." In I Samuel 18:30, the word means "much set by." It is translated "dear" in Jeremiah 31:20; and in Job 31:16, it is translated "splendid, clear, glorious." The death of His saints is honorable, much set by, dear, splendid, and glorious in the sight of God. God watches over, and sets high value upon the holy, and useful lives of His saints. He will not lightly esteem the termination of their earthly pilgrimage. Chance has no place in the death of His saints; nor will the Devil be allowed to hurt their soul. The saints of God may safely rest in this: that their blood is precious in God's eyes. This is not presumption: they may rest securely in this doctrine because the saints are His saints. They are saints of His making, of His modeling, and of His establishing. Their death is precious to Him, because His death is precious to them. Happy are they who die in the Lord (Revelation 14:13), but happier still are they who come to die who have lived in the Lord. ON DYING Dear G. C. December 29, 1992 ...On Tuesday, I visited a retired Master Sergeant, and W.W. II veteran who had amassed between 3-5 million dollars in property. He was noted for helping people. I went to see him at his home. We talked for 2 hours, and I told him it was obvious the Lord had blessed him for his good-heartedness, but that I hoped he was trusting Jesus only with his sins. I left him a copy of our tract, "A Dying Man To Dying Men." On Thursday, he died. The Lord had sent us by with the gospel to give him one last opportunity to examine the claims of Christ. I did not know he was ill. He was respectful of religion, but I fear this man did not know the Lord. OF ETERNITY Dear C. B. July 20, 1987 ...Only the things done for eternity have any lasting value, whether such things are in the form of offerings we give and thereby lay up treasure in heaven, or whether they take the form of prayers, or good works we do for the Lord whom we adore. When our time comes to lay this old body down, only things done for Christ, for the cause of God and truth, will be important to us.
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