WHAT IS PRECIOUS
Alan D Munro
Psalm 116: 15
1 Peter 2: 4-7
It will be very obvious from these two scriptures that I would like to speak about what is precious. Our brother preaching here a week past Lord’s day read this psalm. Our sister had been taken the day before, and this laid hold of my spirit, “Precious in the sight of Jehovah is the death of his saints”. The Lord Jesus is interested in everyone. He is interested in all humanity, believers or unbelievers, but He has a special interest in those who put their trust in Him and avail themselves of His precious finished work. Our dear sister knew the value of that work accomplished two thousand years ago, that precious shed blood. Early in her life she came to know Him as her Saviour and now that He has put her to sleep, this verse comes with great comfort to us all, but especially to the family and those who cared for our sister when she was in the home. We are so thankful for these things, these are a divine provision. The Christian dispensation is a dispensation of care and love and respect, and our dear sister had showed these things in her long life. Sadly, at the end of it, weakness came in and frailty of mind and body; the Lord is aware of all these things and He ministered to her in His own special way.
I thought that these are scriptures to lay hold of, because what has happened and what is happening today is being taken account of in heaven. As our brother has said, we are looking on to the time of the rapture, when all those who have fallen asleep in Jesus will be raised. It will be a great day of triumph, but the present time is one when we need to be definite; we need to continue. I thought of this simple scripture in Peter. Peter was one of the apostles; he was a man who companied with Jesus here; he knew Him well. Peter said, “being with him on the holy mountain”, 2 Pet 1: 18. He also said, “to them that have received like precious faith”, 2 Pet 1: 1. The faith that Peter had was the same faith that our sister had, and it is the same faith that I trust all of us in this room have; it is available to us all. The precious shed blood of Jesus is available for the guilty sinner, but more than that, it is available to give us access to the presence of God and to give us assurance, to give us conviction and to give us certainty. We had an impression as to that yesterday, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, and to-day, and to the ages to come”, Heb 13: 8. When I turned the calendar over this morning there was the reference to “the shadow of a great rock in a thirsty land”, Isa 32: 2. Our sister knew that, I know it, and there is no reason why everyone here should not know it. The work has been done by Jesus, His precious blood has been shed, divine rights have been upheld. God’s righteousness, His holiness, His forgiveness are all available because of the precious work of Jesus.
That is why I read in Peter: “To whom coming, a living stone”. Jesus is the living Stone. He is the living Stone, but as we avail ourselves of His redemptive work, we come in as living stones. We are attracted to Him. The great principle of magnetism works in the hearts of believers who have come to know and love our Lord Jesus Christ. We are drawn to Him and we are not only drawn but we are held, and the closer we are to Him the more we appreciate His preciousness and the value of what He has done. As you read through this section, it is marvellous how many times what is precious comes in; “a corner stone, elect, precious”. Jesus was rejected in this world, He was crucified and cast out, but His disposition never changed. His attitude towards humanity is still the same: it is one of forgiveness, it is one of love, it is one of care and it is one of kindness. Our dear sister proved that in her life and there is no reason why every one of us should not prove it. Then, “To you therefore who believe is the preciousness”.
I leave these simple impressions, and I trust they are clear and comforting. May the Lord bless the word.
Grangemouth
12th February 2018
(At the meeting for the burial of Miss L Ashton)