The Queen
Notes
Transcript
Psalm 116
Psalm 116
Well it’s an honour to be sharing from God’s word with you this morning.
As we remember Her Royal Highness Queen Elizabeth II I’d like to read a psalm which may have been written by King David the King of Israel.
If you have a Bible, please turn to Psalm 116, it’s also on the screens.
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As I read this psalm, I would like you to imagine Queen Elizabeth praying this psalm to God. Allow the threads of this psalm to tug at you, to move you, as you hear a monarch reaching out to the God of creation in thanksgiving and in their time of need.
1 I love the Lord, for he heard my voice; he heard my cry for mercy.
2 Because he turned his ear to me, I will call on him as long as I live.
3 The cords of death entangled me, the anguish of the grave came over me; I was overcome by distress and sorrow.
4 Then I called on the name of the Lord: ‘Lord, save me!’
5 The Lord is gracious and righteous; our God is full of compassion.
6 The Lord protects the unwary; when I was brought low, he saved me.
7 Return to your rest, my soul, for the Lord has been good to you.
8 For you, Lord, have delivered me from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling,
9 that I may walk before the Lord in the land of the living.
10 I trusted in the Lord when I said, ‘I am greatly afflicted’;
11 in my alarm I said, ‘Everyone is a liar.’
12 What shall I return to the Lord for all his goodness to me?
13 I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord.
14 I will fulfil my vows to the Lord in the presence of all his people.
15 Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his faithful servants.
16 Truly I am your servant, Lord; I serve you just as my mother did; you have freed me from my chains.
17 I will sacrifice a thank-offering to you and call on the name of the Lord.
18 I will fulfil my vows to the Lord in the presence of all his people,
19 in the courts of the house of the Lord— in your midst, Jerusalem. Praise the Lord.
What a psalm, and what a woman. This psalm was both the psalm read in evening prayer on the night Queen Elizabeth died, and it was the psalm I chose to place on one of our prayer stations because I felt it embodied the Queen’s faith.
Throughout this psalm are a number of themes
Lord is mentioned 18 times - the Lord is greater than all human rulers
Call is mentioned 4 times - even the monarch calls out to God
And you can see some of the other higher rated words in this psalm in this piece of word art
One thread which is very fitting to Queen Elizabeth is the theme in words such as serve, service and servant.
Serving others ahead of their self.
This was one of the main psalms prayed at the Last Supper, words Jesus used on the night he washed the disciples feet, told them about his coming death, broke bread and shared wine and invited them to do this in remembrance of Him.
This psalm embodies the life of Jesus. And because she was a servant Queen who modelled her life after Jesus, this feels a fitting psalm to explore in the long shadow of the Queen’s death.
Elizabeth Windsor served us her country and citizens for 70 years and served alongside 15 prime ministers.
She Served her country, the commonwealth and facilitated spaces of meeting for many leaders around the world.
Above all she served her Lord, Jesus Christ, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. This God who demonstrated love in His own life, and service, even when ruling from the greatest throne of all.
We see in v13 - I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord
The writer of the psalm knew that their only salvation, was found in the Lord. Queen Elizabeth was sure that she would only find salvation in Jesus Christ.
And the Queen was always ready to share about her faith in Jesus
Christmas 2002 - “the only way to live is to put my trust in God”
2011 - “I have been, and remain faithful to God for his steadfast love”
This isn’t a rational intellectual faith in God, it was a personal devotional inward faith of our Queen
2014 “for me the life of Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace who’s life we celebrate, is an inspiration and the anchor of my life.”
I don’t know if you’ve watched the crown on Netflix at all. Many of you will remember even more of the Queen’s life than I do. Even allowing for poetic license, for rearranging the Queen’s life somewhat to tell a good story, as I’ve watched the Crown, I was struck by how many really difficult and tormenting moments the Queen has lived and led through.
And for her to say anchor was found in Jesus Christ, is inspirational. She didn’t just read the Bible and enjoy it’s poetry and the stories she found there. She believed it and she lived it out.
We’re currently facing yet another extremely difficult moment in the life of the country, and I wonder
What or who is the anchor of your life?
Let’s have a moment to remind ourselves of the Queen’s story
roll video
We remember her and are inspired by her faith, how she held Jesus close to her heart
The Queen was public about her faith, and she was confident that Jesus Christ saves
She understood that forgiveness is at the heart of our faith. Our saviour who brings the greatest forgiveness to all of us. The only one who can forgive us all of our sins, leading us to eternal life with Him if we come to Him and trust Him in our lives, to be our guide and anchor.
We have been singing a prayer for many years. God save our Gracious Queen, and He did.
She took her title seriously of “Defender of the faith”. That ancient title first given to Henry VII to uphold the Christian faith in her role as the head of the Church of England.
At the opening of the Church of England’s governing body, the General Synod in Nov 2021 she said
“Christ’s teaching and the gospel remain unchanged. Among the many duties of the Church, one stands out as supreme, to bring the people of this country to the knowledge and love of God”
These were her parting words, through her son Prince Edward who read out her message as she was unwell,
that the teaching and gospel of Jesus Christ,
which is the good news that whatever we’ve done, whoever we are, if we turn to know and love Jesus, we will receive forgiveness of all our sin, that we can live with the God who loves us from the moment we receive Him in this life and the next.
The good news that Jesus died on the cross to rid all who believe in Him, of their sin. And that even death itself is not the end, because Jesus led the way when he rose from the dead himself.
The teaching and gospel of Jesus Christ, of His love for the whole world, does not change. Nor does His instruction.
And she reminded the Bishops, the Archbishops, and the elected leaders of the Church of England, that our role as Christians is to share this message of love,
this message of joy, hope, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness and self-control.
I’ve just listed the fruit of the Holy Spirit. These beautiful approaches to life which are lived out, and become more established in every believer in Jesus Christ. And we saw each of these demonstrated in the life of Queen Elizabeth II.
Let’s turn now to Revelation 21 which Ian read earlier.
It’s a wonderful image of the recreated heaven and earth. It’s not the image of the state of being which we are held in immediately after death, but of the recreated heaven and earth after this age, when Jesus comes back to bring the fulfilment of all heaven and earth. When none of the hatred, anger, exploiting of this world exists anymore.
It is the future hope of every Christian. Not a floating reality with harps and wings, but an embodied existence, where work is always good and exciting, where service to each other is the norm. Where no-one wants or needs anything, because everything is provided for. It’s the world as it should be, it’s the world where God lives among us in a visible way.
3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Look! God’s dwelling-place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.
This Christian hope is what HRH sought every time she prayed the Lord’s prayer, “Your Kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as in heaven”
We won’t see a perfect world until Jesus returns, but God himself has walked among us in Jesus, and He has sent His Holy Spirit, again His full presence, to live with us in this broken world. To call us to serve others. To see this world in part restored. Where the hungry are fed, the naked are clothed, those without family or friends are given a community. This vision of heavenly life is meant to be through us, His people, His Church on earth. It’s why we have our furniture and clothing project just behind church called T.A.N.G.O, Together As Neighbours Giving Out. It’s why we offer a weekly cafe for belonging and friendship. A Food pantry to tackle food waste and provide food at low cost. It’s why we have Golden Oldies lunch club, New Creations craft group, the Ladies meeting, the various Connect groups. It’s why we’re passionate about creating community in Haydock.
Because we, like Queen Elizabeth, see the brokenness of our world, and we are not content to leave it that way.
So to land,
I have two questions for you this morning.
Firstly, have you drunk from the cup of salvation which we heard about from the psalm? Have you asked Jesus into your life, to guide you and to lead you?
Secondly, how are you serving this community and others?
I’m going to pray a brief prayer, and if you haven’t drunk from the cup of salvation, or you want to recommit yourself to Jesus, then please join me in this prayer, whether out loud or in your heart.
Jesus, thank you for your love. Thank you for your kindness to me. I know I need you. I want you to be my guide. I am sorry for the wrong things I have thought, and said and done. I turn away from my sin, and I invite to be the Lord of my life and to be my friend. Amen
As we respond, let’s listen to this new setting to an old hymn, as we invite the Holy Spirit of God to rest upon us and to do His work in us.
roll ‘Tears and Celebration’