God Save the Queen

Submitted by Alan Marsden on Sun, 17/04/2016 - 20:31

Today at chapel, we prayed for Her Majesty the Queen whose ninetieth birthday is this week. Scripture invites us pray for those in authority. Our Queen is a constitutional monarch. This means our Head of State is not also head of government, like the American President. The Prime Minister has the power, but the monarch is a figure head. It took two civil wars to achieve this; I'm sure Oliver and his puritans would be satisfied.  

So apart from obeying scripture, why pray for a Queen who has little power? Well, she is a fine example of public service and duty. She is not ashamed of her Christian Faith in an increasingly secular nation. To quote the title of a recent Bible Society publication, she is the servant queen who serves the King. May God save the Queen, and give her many more years.
 
The photo I took on Wednesday at Lancaster Priory. It is a picture of the pulpit, atop which is a Bible mounted by a crown. It symbolises the English reformation which established the Anglican Church under a Protestant monarch. It sounds good, but didn't always work out. It is, however, a fitting testament to Elizabeth II, by the grace of God, Queen of England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and sixteen Commonwealth realms and territories.