A Twisted Crown of Thorns ®

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Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II of England recently celebrated her 60th anniversary of her accession to the throne and thereby her Diamond Jubilee and what a celebration it was! The climax of the celebrations was when she went to St. Paul’s Cathedral for the Thanks Giving service. Crowds lined the streets of central London, many singing “God Save The Queen” as The Queen arrived at St Paul’s Cathedral. Elizabeth ascended the thrones of these countries upon the death of her father, King George VI.

Today as I visited central London (entirely for a different purpose), I was acutely reminded of

the day of the queen’s coronation. Something during that ceremony was pronounced but I really do not know to what extent it still bears any significance. The Coronation ceremony of Elizabeth II followed a similar pattern to the coronations of the kings and queens before her, being held in Westminster Abbey, and involving the peerage and clergy. That morning after taking the Coronation oath, the Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, James Pitt-Watson, took the Bible and presented it to the Queen again, saying:

“…to keep your Majesty ever mindful of the law and the Gospel of God… we present you with this Book”

Oh, how I wonder if there can ever be a greater and invaluable gift that any one can offer any royal persons or pauper than the Bible. The Bible contains God’s mind! The greatest Sovereign of all!

I wonder some times. Do our kings and queens and prime ministers still value the word of God any more? Or has it become an after thought of a gone by era? Needless to say, I pray earnestly for the Royal family and the ruling government too (despite the escalating taxes) that God will give them wisdom in running the affairs of the land. That God may be merciful on the nation and grant peace and freedom to worship Him and spread the Gospel… but more than ever too that the Royal families and rulers will come to understand the implications of God’s law and the Gospel of God.

A.W Pink rightly says:

God is sovereign in the delegation of His power to others. Why did God endow Methuselah with a vitality which enabled him to outlive all his contemporaries? Why did God impart to Samson a physical strength which no other human has ever possessed? Again; it is written, “But thou shalt remember the Lord thy God: for it is He that giveth thee power to get wealth” (Deut. 8:18), but God does not bestow this power on all alike. Why not? Why has He given such power to men like Morgan, Carnegie, Rockefeller? The answer to all of these questions, is, Because God is Sovereign, and being Sovereign He does as He pleases.

Can God save kings and queens too? Oh yes! And therein lies the fervour of our prayer this 60th Jubilee. God please, Save the Queen too.

Amen!

Related articles

• The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Thanksgiving Service: Live – Telegraph.co.uk (telegraph.co.uk)
• Queen calls Royal Jubilee a ‘humbling experience’ (ctv.ca)
• Queen thanks nation in Jubilee address (scotsman.com)