“How precious also are Thy thoughts unto me, O God! How great is the sum of them!” Psalm 139:17
Will you meditate with me on the eternal value of God’s thoughts? The Spirit of God, writing by the psalmist, describes His thoughts with two descriptive words, saying: “HOW PRECIOUS!” Do we value them like David? Let us consider from the Psalms a few Scriptures indicating how precious they were to him:
OUR LIVES
His evaluation of our lives is revealed in Psalm 72:14, where we read the words of God, saying: “And PRECIOUS shall their blood be in His sight.” Psalm 72 is messianic in character, presenting a description of the coming reign of the Messiah when He shall be King of the earth. As King, He will value the lives of His subjects, for to Him they shall be “precious.” How different are the present thoughts of earthly kings.
OUR SOULS
His evaluation of our souls is seen in Psalm 49:8, which states: “The redemption of their soul is PRECIOUS.” The context of the Psalm indicates that no earthly price could ever redeem us, and that no man could provide a ransom for his brother. The redemption of our soul is beyond all earthly conception in value–but there is One who has been able to provide it through the infinite gift of His beloved Son. Would you like to know how valuable you are in Heaven’s estimation? You can gaze on Calvary and see the redemption price for your soul paid by the Son of God, and declare from your heart: “How precious!”
OUR FELLOWSHIP
His evaluation of our fellowship is described in Psalm 133. Here we find the joy God has in seeing the unity of His people manifested in practical experience. “It is like the PRECIOUS ointment upon the head . . .” How He values the evidence of Christian unity! Do we? Are we getting on happily with our fellow believers in the Lord, as true members of His body? We belong to a fellowship which the Spirit of God has placed us in, uniting us to our risen Head above, and also to every believer on earth. When it is manifested by our dwelling together in love, He Himself declares it is precious.
OUR SERVICE
His evaluation of our service is declared in Psalm 126:6, where we read, “He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing PRECIOUS seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.” There is no doubt that God values all our service for Him. The seed of His Word which we sow is precious. In whatever service done for Him, large or small, we seek to distribute the blessed Word, by word of mouth or by deed. ALL done for Him is precious. Even a “cup of cold water” ministered in His Name, will not lose its reward. Let us then be faithful to Him in using the “seed,” for all we do, even in weeping, to Him is precious!
OUR DEATH
His evaluation of our death is recorded in Psalm 116:15, where the words of David declare, “PRECIOUS in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints.” Oh, what a God! From the beginning to the end, His thoughts toward us and of us can be described as precious! That which is to many the most dreaded occasion of earthly experience–the death of the saints–God declares even that is precious! Oh, let us worship and wonder before Him, saying with David, “How precious also are Thy thoughts unto me, O God! How great is the sum of them!”