No Christian who has listened to Her Majesty's Christmas Broadcast in recent years could have missed the fervent faith that the Queen has – a faith that we shall probably miss very much in her successors. It is a real joy that she gives such a consistent example in the way she behaves and talks. It reminds us very much of the words of the Psalm set for this day – Psalm 121
I lift up my eyes to the hills— where does my help come from?
My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth.
He will not let your foot slip— he who watches over you will not slumber;
indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.
The LORD watches over you— the LORD is your shade at your right hand;
the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night.
The LORD will keep you from all harm— he will watch over your life;
This psalm is often misunderstood as saying that the psalmist is looking to the hills for help from God, but in fact it is the opposite that is being said. The idol worshippers of his time looked to their idol shrines on the high hills for help; the psalmist mocks them by looking at the hills and pointing out that real help comes from the Lord who actually made those very hills. And unlike the idols, the Lord watches over you always.
Given the things that people today put their trust in this is a signal truth. Think of the trust in money (lottery ticket buying actually goes up in recession), or sex (men have perhaps never been as promiscuous as today, unconsciously wanting to protect their seed) or power (how much lying and cheating seems to go on in this area).
The Queen clearly knows where her help comes from and we do well to follow her example. We wish her health and happiness in the years to come and celebrate with her the wonderful achievement of her Diamond Jubilee. Maybe this year will really herald a time of liberty to those idol captives.
Alan Cartwright
No comments:
Post a Comment