Things Precious to God5 min read

What is precious? That which is valuable. That which came about with price. That which the Lord finds pleasure in. Seldom do we find ourselves appreciating a thought simply because it is precious to God; we often appreciate such lofty entities such as the Word of God because of what we receive from it. But when have we seriously considered the attitude of the Father to His Son? our salvation? the assembly? In this article, certainly with the Lord’s help, we will endeavor to warm our hearts to God’s thoughts towards various themes in the pages of Scripture. May we revere them, and may they be precious to us also.

A Precious Person: His Son

One could only imagine the glorious display at the Lord’s baptism – a display of the Father’s pleasure in His Son. He was rightly called “Beloved Son.” As Isaiah wrote in chapter 42, Christ is Jehovah’s servant – His Elect, His Beloved, His Delight. Isaiah could further record “I am Jehovah: that is my name: and My glory will I not give unto another,” yet Christ did share in this glory (Jn. 17). Christ is not only the Beloved, therefore, but God Himself. Truly, He is the “PRECIOUS Corner” laid as a foundation (Is. 28:16; Eph. 2:19-21a). Can we heartily say “I am my Beloved’s, and my Beloved is mine.”? Can we joyfully resound the words of Peter: “He is chosen of God and PRECIOUS.”?

But not only His Person, but His work is precious. Truly that work must have been precious to the Father for Him to be willing to forsake His own beloved Son for three long, dark, dreadful hours as on that cross alone and forsaken our precious Saviour bore the full wrath of God poured out on His own soul. Because it was such a costly death, and because the Person is precious, we can again resound the words of Peter: that we were redeemed “with the PRECIOUS blood of Christ.” Is that precious blood from His precious body something precious to us today? Do we glory in the significance of the symbols in the supper of the Saviour? May it be so. His work is precious!

A Precious People: His Children

And if His work is precious, truly we who are monuments of that grace are precious also. Psalm 49:8 describes the redemption of a soul as being precious. But it not only brings pleasure to the heart of God, but it brings glory to Him. We know this by His own words in John 17:10 – “I am glorified in them.” He wasn’t in that context concerned with being glorified in their works just yet, but He was glorified simply by the fact that they were redeemed children of God. And so, while we would by no means desire to excuse sin, let us remember that even when we do falter, our Father and our Saviour still find pleasure in us simply by the fact that we are His: we are identified with the Beloved. Therefore, we are precious to Him also.

Furthermore, briefly we see in Psalm 116:15 that the death of His saints is precious, honored by God. And this only further establishes the truth of our previous verses. Redemption means that we are precious and honored, even unto death – and how much more when it is death for His sake!

Therefore, even in these brief meditations, let us rejoice that we are the people of God; for when we are His, in His sight we are precious. Are His thoughts toward us not more than the sand of the sea? And so, may we too learn to hold our fellow saints dear to our hearts. His people are precious!

A Precious Place: His Assembly

If, then, His people are precious individually, they are precious collectively – collective, that is, in the assembly. We were reminded before that Christ is the precious Cornerstone of the Church (universally), and He is also the foundation of every local church (1 Cor. 3). In reality, each assembly can be defined as a precious people upon a precious foundation bearing precious fruit (Jam. 5:17) for a precious God. And we have the privilege of being part of that! Truly we can resound the words of the Hebrew writer “having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter the holiest by the blood of Jesus… let us draw near with a true heart… let us hold fast the profession… let us consider one another to provoke unto love and good works: not forsaking the assembling of yourselves together… but exhorting… and so much more as ye see the day approaching.” The assembly of God is cherished by Him; let it so be by us!

The Precious Pages of His Word

And finally, His Word is precious. 2 Peter 1:4 describes the promises of God as “precious.” Proverbs 3:13-15 describes wisdom as “precious.” Psalm 139:17 describes His thoughts as “precious.” And truly they are of great value, because they reflect the Son and reveal His Person. The Word of God is a Revelation of the Word which is God – Jesus Christ. Therefore, because the Son is precious to the Father, the Scripture is precious also. How highly do we hold it? It is being replaced with devotionals, commentaries, and study guides? While these are not harmful (in most cases) and are great tools to use, let them never serve as a substitute for Godly meditation in our own “closets.” The Word is Truth (Jn. 17:17), and it is the means by which one is sanctified. It is our source of instruction. It is the Sword of the Spirit’s working. Truly, His Word is precious!

We have considered only in brief four major themes in Scripture for which we must take heed. In all of these precious elements in the believer’s life, we are to be marked by prayer: prayer of thanksgiving for the Son, prayer of intercession for the saints and sinners, prayer for preservation of God’s assembly, prayer that we might understand Scripture’s truth. It is only through prayer that these meditations we have considered will grow more precious to us. So now, in conclusion, we have been presented with things precious to God: what will our attitude be to things that matter?