Royal address reveals what the nation has lost in 75 years.

As the nation pauses this week to mark 75 years since the Normandy landings, remembering the enormous sacrifice and great courage of so many thousands in order to secure the freedom of so many more, it is fitting to revisit the address made to the nation on 6 June 1944 by Britain’s monarch, King George VI.

His speech, from which both the Queen and Prince William quoted during their addresses this week, did not shy from acknowledging the help and providence of God, and the importance of humble, nation-wide prayer. It illuminates something of the faith that suffused Britain at that time, and reveals something of what we have lost in the years since.

King George VI’s address to the nation

6 June, 1944

“Four years ago, our Nation and Empire stood alone against an overwhelming enemy, with our backs to the wall. Tested as never before in our history, in God's providence we survived that test; the spirit of the people, resolute, dedicated, burned like a bright flame, lit surely from those unseen fires which nothing can quench.

Now once more a supreme test has to be faced. This time, the challenge is not to fight to survive but to fight to win the final victory for the good cause. Once again what is demanded from us all is something more than courage and endurance; we need a revival of spirit, a new unconquerable resolve. After nearly five years of toil and suffering, we must renew that crusading impulse on which we entered the war and met its darkest hour. We and our Allies are sure that our fight is against evil and for a world in which goodness and honour may be the foundation of the life of men in every land.

That we may be worthily matched with this new summons of destiny, I desire solemnly to call my people to prayer and dedication. We are not unmindful of our own shortcomings, past and present. We shall ask not that God may do our will, but that we may be enabled to do the will of God: and we dare to believe that God has used our Nation and Empire as an instrument for fulfilling his high purpose.

I hope that throughout the present crisis of the liberation of Europe there may be offered up earnest, continuous and widespread prayer. We who remain in this land can most effectively enter into the sufferings of subjugated Europe by prayer, whereby we can fortify the determination of our sailors, soldiers and airmen who go forth to set the captives free.

The Queen joins with me in sending you this message. She well understands the anxieties and cares of our womenfolk at this time and she knows that many of them will find, as she does herself, fresh strength and comfort in such waiting upon God. She feels that many women will be glad in this way to keep vigil with their menfolk as they man the ships, storm the beaches and fill the skies.

At this historic moment surely not one of us is too busy, too young or too old to play a part in a nationwide, perchance a worldwide, vigil of prayer as the great crusade sets forth. If from every place of worship, from home and factory, from men and women of all ages and many races and occupations, our intercessions rise, then, please God, both now and in a future not remote, the predictions of an ancient Psalm may be fulfilled: "The Lord will give strength unto his people: the Lord will give his people the blessing of peace."”

Royal wedding cleric challenges two billion people on faith

Many of us had just about given up the fight. We had unfurled the white flag of surrender to godlessness and immorality. We’d reluctantly come to accept that the Western world recognises neither God nor the Bible.

Then a black American bishop shook the airwaves with a thundering sermon on the burning love of God supremely manifested in the sacrificial love of his Son. This was a love so strong that it changed the world – and is still able to do so.

Comparing that love to the harnessing of fire that powers the modern world, Bishop Curry passionately challenged two billion viewers to see what the Christian Gospel can do to change our broken society into communities that love one another and work for each other’s benefit.

Love Stronger than Death

Taking his text from the Song of Solomon, he showed how romantic love between a man and a woman is God’s idea, but that it is not something sentimental – it is as fierce as fire and stronger than death, and was ultimately demonstrated on the cross of Calvary, where Jesus died for our sins.

True love involves pain and sacrifice. It’s “’til death us do part”. God himself is an incurable romantic – from the beginning to the end of his book, the Bible, we see that he pursues us as the ultimate Bridegroom seeking the perfect Bride.

Yes, there was great anticipation for this Royal Wedding; the courtship of Harry and Meghan had all the ingredients of a fairy-tale with the handsome young prince falling for the beautiful Hollywood actress. But they were both from broken homes, and Meghan was divorced. It seemed a bleak scenario reflecting much that has already gone wrong in our society.

Many of us had just about given up the fight, accepting that the Western world recognises neither God nor the Bible.

And yet no-one saw it coming – certainly not the liberal elite who have persuaded themselves that God is dead, but not even evangelical Christians, including myself, were prepared for this. Broadcasters and their interviewees couldn’t stop talking about it afterwards – not the dress, but the ad-dress – as expressions like “electrifying” and “blown away” were bandied about.

Apparently there were some 40,000 Tweets per minute on the subject, most of which reflected an undeniable joy which made me realise afresh that people really do want the Gospel after all. It really is good news for a world gone mad with political correctness. People genuinely warmed to a heart-stopping explanation of what Jesus came to do.

False Motives or True

Don’t get me wrong. I’m fully aware of what the bishop didn’t say, and what he is alleged to believe, for example, about same-sex issues. Some might even question his motive but, like the Apostle Paul, we should be thankful that the Gospel was preached and made millions sit up and take notice – even in faraway Argentina, I’m told.

“The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached” (Phil 1:18).

In my opinion, Bishop Curry is way off track with his unbiblical views on LGBT rights (which he did not address at the St George’s Chapel ceremony) along with his reported statement that Trump voters “cannot credibly call themselves Christians if they support policies such as tax cuts for the wealthy”.¹ But he undoubtedly has the gift of summing up the Gospel in less than 14 minutes!

The Prophet Isaiah foresaw this kind of surprise (at how the Gospel would become known, for example) when he wrote: “’For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,’ declares the Lord” (Isa 55:8). In this context he explains that just as the rain and snow causes the earth to bear fruit, so his word will not return to him empty, but will accomplish the purpose for which he sent it.

People genuinely warmed to a heart-stopping explanation of what Jesus came to do.

The same passage urges us to “seek the Lord while he may be found, call on him while he is near.” When you know that what you are hearing is the truth, don’t let the moment pass. Call out to your Creator, who knows you intimately and who loves you with an everlasting love.

“Let the wicked forsake their ways and the unrighteous their thoughts. Let them turn to the Lord, and he will have mercy on them, and to our God, for he will freely pardon” (Isa 55:6f). If you do this, your world will never be the same. For “you will go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands” (Isa 55:12).

Changing the World

Is the Gospel making a comeback? You bet it is. Speaking of the end times and the signs that would immediately precede his coming again, our Lord Jesus told his disciples: “This gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come” (Matt 24:14). And as St Peter, on the Day of Pentecost, reminded his hearers of the words of the Prophet Joel, “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” (Joel 2:32; Acts 2:21).

Too many have been switched off by soothing ten-minute homilies that neither challenge nor inspire.

It was predictable that the Windsor Castle chapel message would be hijacked by the diversity, equality and inclusivity brigade – he did, after all, touch on areas that suited them like black civil rights, in itself perfectly in order as Meghan is descended from slaves. But then, as I have already suggested, the Gospel has always been misused.

However, the essence of the Bishop’s address was the love of God that brought peace and harmony even to slaves in their desperate predicament – that the Gospel is what mends a broken society. After all, it was the Gospel that emboldened William Wilberforce to campaign against slavery. Campaigns in themselves will not change the world; that will take men and women who have fallen in love with the man who changed the world, our Lord Jesus Christ.

You might also be interested in our editorial this week, on the same topic.

References

1 Daily Mail, 21 May 2018.