The Word of God says:
Psalms 116:15-19 (NASB77) 15 Precious in the sight of the LORD Is the death of His godly ones.16 O LORD, surely I am Thy servant, I am Thy servant, the son of Thy handmaid, Thou hast loosed my bonds.17 To Thee I shall offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving, And call upon the name of the LORD.18 I shall pay my vows to the LORD, Oh may it be in the presence of all His people,19 In the courts of the LORD ‘s house, In the midst of you, O Jerusalem. Praise the LORD!
My reflections on the Word of God:
It is comforting to know that the Sovereign God, the God of creation, loves and cares about His servant. God loves us so much that He came to the earth to live among us. That is the true meaning of Christmas.
John 1:1 (NASB77) 1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. John 1:14 (NASB77) 14 And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.
God the Father loved His son, and His son was precious to Him. In sending His Son to die for us God demonstrated how precious we are to Him.
Romans 5:8 (NASB77) 8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. 1 Peter 2:4-5 (NASB77) 4 And coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected by men, but choice and precious in the sight of God,5 you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
The Psalmist who had been near death realized how precious God’s servants are to Him. In God’s eyes His servants are so precious that He has made the death of His servants an appointment rather than an accident.
Psalms 31:15 (NASB77) 15 My times are in Thy hand; Deliver me from the hand of my enemies, and from those who persecute me. Psalms 139:16 (NASB77) 16 Thine eyes have seen my unformed substance; And in Thy book they were all written, The days that were ordained for me, When as yet there was not one of them.
My prayer in response to the Word of God:
Father God, my dear Father, my heart is filled with gratitude for the love and concern that You have for Your dear children. Father, I thank You for emptying heaven of Your most precious possession and sending Jesus into the world to bear the sins of the whole world. Father God, I thank You that Your love extends from our birth to our death, and that the death day of our death is a divine appointment, and not an accident.
Father God, it is no wonder that the Psalmist who had tasted the goodness and lovingkindness of the Lord vowed to give praise to You, and I delight to join him in singing praises to the God who loved me enough to send Jesus into the world to die for my sins, and not only for me, but for the sins of the whole world.
Psalms 116:17 (NASB77) 17 To Thee I shall offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving, And call upon the name of the LORD. Psalms 103:1 (NASB77) 1 Bless the LORD, O my soul; And all that is within me, bless His holy name.
Praise Him! Praise Him (Click on link below for lyrics and midi):
http://www.digitalhymnal.org/dhymn.cfm?hymnNumber=249
