The whole nation breathed a sigh of relief five weeks ago when the old Parliament was closed down. That rowdy, tempestuous, argumentative House of Commons that could not agree on anything was committed to the history books. The stain on the nation of the shameful scenes in Parliament that were broadcast to the world have now been erased. Today we start with a clean sheet! It is almost as though the nation has stepped out of a hot soapy bath that has washed away the grime of a long hard day.

It is undoubtedly an historic day in British politics, with large numbers of traditional Labour voters switching sides and actually voting Conservative. Why would former mining and industrial communities make such a drastic change? The answer surely has to be Brexit – the desire to determine our own national affairs independent of the rule of Brussels.

It was the failure to recognise the mood of the nation that brought disaster upon the Lib Dems, whose leader lost her seat as a result of basing their whole campaign upon defying the result of the 2016 Referendum. Similarly, it was not just the unpopularity of Jeremy Corbyn that lost Labour the support of many traditional voters, but uncertainty over Brexit.

Boris Johnson was right in his first speech as Prime Minister of the new Government to recognise that those votes have only been lent, not given for all time. He is right to acknowledge that there has to be a fundamental change in Conservative Party policy from favouring the rich and powerful, to recognising the just needs of the underprivileged and marginalised. The biblical prophets all campaigned on such issues. They inveighed against politicians who oppressed the poor and denied them justice – “Let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-ending stream!” (Amos 5:24).

The 2019 General Election will undoubtedly go down in history as an epoch-changing decision of the British people; but should Christians be rejoicing? The purpose of these editorials is not to engage in political analysis: the secular media is full of that. Our objective is to ask: is there any word from the Lord? In what way can we see the hand of God guiding the affairs of the nations through what is happening today?

The 2019 General Election will undoubtedly go down in history as an epoch-changing decision of the British people; but should Christians be rejoicing?

Testing Days Ahead

Edward Heath, who took the UK into the EEC in 1973. See Photo Credits.Margaret Thatcher was the first prominent politician to raise the issue of a referendum on Britain’s membership of the European Union. In the magazine Prophecy Today back in the 1980s, there were many things that we opposed in Margaret Thatcher’s policies, but her attitude to the EU we applauded, because we could see the drift away from biblical values and the loss of sovereignty that would follow closer union with that organisation. We took the view in those days that it was never right for Britain to join the EEC because the true intentions of its leaders were disguised and untrustworthy.

We have paid a heavy price for our involvement in the European Union, not simply in the loss of livelihood for our fishermen and other practical political issues, but also in the heavy influence of secular humanist, ultra-left-wing values on our legislation – most notably in David Cameron’s desire to please the EU by forcing same-sex marriage onto the nation, against the wishes of more than 100 Conservative MPs.

It will not be easy to undo the effects of 40 years under the direction of the EU and there will no doubt be testing days ahead, but we believe that the 2016 decision to leave the EU shows evidence of God’s sovereign, guiding hand – as does this week’s electoral reinforcement of that decision.

This does not mean that we may immediately expect an era of blessing: neither does it mean that we will certainly have a godly Government led by a godly Prime Minister! But it is amazing, in history, how God has used some unlikely characters to achieve his purposes, such as using Cyrus the Persian to release the people of Israel from the clutches of Babylon.

In Boris Johnson we have a Prime Minister with considerable charisma and ability to take bold decisions – for good or ill. I discussed his personal faith with him when he became Mayor of London and I have not ceased to pray that he will have a personal experience of the presence and power of God in his life. He needs the prayers of all Bible-believing Christians for the task the nation has now committed to him.

It is amazing, in history, how God has used some unlikely characters to achieve his purposes.

Not for Our Sake

In seeking the word of the Lord for today, I am drawn to the time when Ezekiel, the prophet of the Babylonian exile, received the promise that God was going to release the people from slavery in Babylon and take them back to rebuild the shattered ruins of the city of Jerusalem, in preparation for the Messianic Age. He had the vision of the valley of dry bones, with its message of new life and the promise: “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you” (Ezek 36:26). But this was accompanied with the cautionary word, “It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I’m going to do these things, but for the sake of my holy name which you have profaned among the nations” (Ezek 36:24).

As God said to the people of Israel on more than one occasion, “Understand, then, that it is not because of your righteousness that the Lord your God is giving you this good land to possess, for you are a stiffnecked people” (Deut 9:6). He emphasised this same principle when he told Moses, “The Lord did not set his affection on you and choose you because you were more numerous than other peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples. But it was because the Lord loved you and kept the oath he swore to your forefathers, that he brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the land of slavery” (Deut 7:7-8).

There is a basic biblical principle here that applies to the British situation today, even though we do not have the same covenant relationship with God as Israel. It is that in his love and mercy, God does not always give us the judgment we richly deserve because of our wicked ways (or not straight away, at least). Instead, in judgment he exercises mercy and gives us another opportunity to do what is right.

It is this principle of loving mercy that can surely be seen in the hand of God guiding the British people to the historic decision of the 2019 General Election.

If God is truly giving us another opportunity for establishing righteousness in the nation, Christians should not only be rejoicing, but earnestly seeking how the faithful remnant in Britain can decisively influence the future of the nation by fulfilling the Great Commission: preaching the good news of the gospel and declaring the unchanging word of God in this generation.