On the death of HM the Queen Elizabeth II.
Blessed be the name of God for ever and ever: for wisdom and might are his: And he changeth the times and the seasons: he removeth kings, and setteth up kings: he giveth wisdom unto the wise, and knowledge to them that know understanding: He revealeth the deep and secret things: he knoweth what is in the darkness, and the light dwelleth with him.
Daniel 2:20-22
O Lord Jesus Christ, who by thy death hast destroyed death, and by thy rising to life again hast restored us to everlasting life: Grant unto us thy servants so to follow in faith where thou hast led the way, that we may at length fall asleep peacefully in thee, and awake after thy likeness; through thy mercy, who livest with the Father, and the Holy Ghost, one God, world without end. Amen.
It is with sadness that we contemplate the death of the only monarch most of us in this nation have ever known. The death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II will not only be an occasion for mourning, but also a moment when there will be change in the character of this nation. For so many years she committed herself to the task that God gave her, seeing it as her solemn duty before God to serve the people of this nation. On her coronation day she knew and declared that it was “by God’s grace and mercy” that she would reign over us. And though I am aware that there will be those who protest that she did not do this, or failed to do that, I believe that she never forgot Him, her heavenly King, throughout her life.
In 2011 she publicly stated, “God sent into the world a unique person – neither a philosopher nor a general, important though they are, but a Saviour, with the power to forgive.” We trust indeed that Jesus Christ is her Saviour, and that He in whom eternal hope is alone to be found, now gives her peace. As we read in the Book of Common Prayer, for those who repent and believe in Him there will be a “sure and certain hope of the Resurrection to eternal life through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
She was not unaware of the blessings of God upon her. And she valued the prayers of her subjects, and valued the steadfast nature of God. Saying, “I have been – and remain – very grateful to you for your prayers and to God for his steadfast love. I have indeed seen his faithfulness.” We pray that her words and public pronouncements of faith in Christ would be ones which affect not only people across this nation and the Commonwealth, but would also be made active in the heart of her son, His Majesty, King Charles III. May the Holy Spirit grant him the wisdom to render “to God the things that are God’s” (Mark 12:17).
And so, as the changing of the times and the seasons is seen so clearly in such moments, let us thank God for what has been, and pray to God for what lies ahead.
O God, who providest for thy people by thy power, and rulest over them in love: Vouchsafe so to bless thy servant our King, that under him this nation might be wisely governed, and thy Church may serve thee in all godly quietness; and grant that he being devoted to thee with his whole heart, and persevering in good works to the end, may, by thy guidance, come to thine everlasting kingdom; through Jesus Christ thy Son our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end. Amen.