Psalms 116:15

116:15 The Lord values

the lives of his faithful followers. ¹ 

Psalms 36:7

36:7 How precious ²  is your loyal love, O God!

The human race finds shelter under your wings. ³ 

[116:15]  ¹ tn Heb “precious in the eyes of the Lord [is] the death of his godly ones.” The point is not that God delights in or finds satisfaction in the death of his followers! The psalmist, who has been delivered from death, affirms that the life-threatening experiences of God’s followers get God’s attention, just as a precious or rare object would attract someone’s eye. See Ps 72:14 for a similar expression of this belief.

[36:7]  ² tn Or “valuable.”

[36:7]  ³ tn Heb “and the sons of man in the shadow of your wings find shelter.” The preservation of physical life is in view, as the next verse makes clear.