Queen Elizabeth II is 90!

Queen Elizabeth II has celebrated her 90th birthday and there have been many television programmes, articles and photographs of her long life and reign.

The Queen is much loved, not only in Britain, but in the 53 countries that belong to the Commonwealth. She is the Queen of 16 of those nations. One of the outstanding features of Queen Elizabeth’s reign has been her total commitment to fulfilling the oaths she made at her Coronation in 1952. Throughout her reign she has maintained a busy schedule of commitments and travelled extensively. One of her oaths was, “Will you to your power cause Law and Justice, in Mercy, to be executed in all your judgements?” Her clear moral convictions, gracious character and evident love for her people have characterised her reign. The Queen has also spoken of her personal faith in Jesus Christ. In her Christmas Day message in 2000 she said, “To many of us, our beliefs are of fundamental importance. For me, the teachings of Christ, and my own personal accountability before God, provide a framework in which I try to lead my life. I, like so many of you, have drawn great comfort in difficult times from Christ’s words and example.” It is very unusual today to hear great leaders acknowledging that they, like us all, are personally accountable to God. We all need consciously to live under the gracious rule of a divine monarch. In the Bible Jesus is called “the King of kings and the Lord of lords.” A children’s catechism asks, “How is Christ a king?” The answer is, “He rules over us and defends us.” The next question is, “Why do you need Christ as a king?” The answer is, “Because I am weak and helpless.”

Living under the kingship of Jesus is a great blessing. Obeying his teaching brings true happiness. His divine power also defends and protects us. We are weak and helpless and there are many dangers, both physical and spiritual. A translation of a Welsh hymn says, “Lead, Lord Jesus, my frail spirit to that Rock so strong and high, standing sure midst surging tempest, safe when pounding waves are nigh. In the Rock of Ages hiding, come there flood or fiery blaze, when the whole creation crumbles, Rock of Ages, Thee I’ll praise.”

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