Thanksgiving for Deliverance from Death

“I love the Lord because He has heard my voice and my supplications: Because He has inclined His ear to me; Therefore I will call upon Him as long as I live…For you have delivered my soul from death, My eyes from tears, And my feet from falling. I will walk before the Lord In the land of the living…Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints…I will offer unto you the sacrifice of thanksgiving, And will call upon the name of the Lord.” (Psalm 116:1-2,8-9, 15. NKJV). [Read Psalm 116] <>In the progression through the thanksgiving psalms, we come this day before Thanksgiving to Psalm 116, the theme of which is thanksgiving for deliverance from death. The psalmist was well acquainted with death. He wrote: “The pains of death encompassed me, And the pangs of Sheol laid hold of me: I found trouble and sorrow. Then I called upon the name of the Lord: ‘O Lord, I implore You, deliver my soul!’ (Psalm 116:3-4, NKJV). A beloved gospel song implores: “Take your burdens to the Lord and leave them there.” And this means any burden, even the burden of impending death. The psalmist took his fear and dread of death to the Lord in prayer. And he exclaims: “You have delivered my soul from death!” (v. 8) He gained the right perspective on death: “Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints.” (v. 15).

Death comes to all of us. But there is a way to be victorious, even in death. “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For Thou art with me; Thy rod and Thy staff, they comfort me.” (Psalm 23:4. KJV). For the Christian, who trusts the Lord with both life and death, he has a companion through the passageway from finite life to everlasting life. We may suffer before death. We may keep long and painful vigil at the bedside of loved ones as they face death. “O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? But thanks be to God who giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (I Corinthians 15:55, 57. KJV). Because God made a way, even through the valley of the shadow of death, we need not fear death’s pain. We know sorrow from it, because of temporary separation.

I live close to death and dying. Thoughts of death bring pain and sorrow. But just as birth is the passage into finite life, so death is the passage into eternal life. And there is victory, even in death. We must hold onto that glorious truth and deepen our faith. Let us thank God for deliverance through dying, through death and through transition to life everlasting! Yes! “Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints.” Even death is cause for thanksgiving when viewed in the perspective of God’s encompassing love.

c Ethelene Dyer Jones; Wednesday, November 24, 2010