Today Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth 2nd will be buried amid the pageantry, the pomp and ceremony that is befitting of royalty. The particulars of the proceedings, rehearsed and drilled for many decades, will potentially be witnessed by billions of people from across the Commonwealth and other nations. It will be remembered as one of the key events of this twenty-first century. The Scripture teaches us to both fear God and honour the King or in this case, the Queen. This respect is Scriptural and Christian; the Queen will be honoured.

Her Majesty, however, spoke regularly about the Saviour and we know that all Kings and Queens must submit their crowns to Him. She witnessed to the servant King, who became a child that He might be the anchor of of our faith, our light in days of darkness, the Saviour of the world. Her Christmas addresses will be quoted by preachers and evangelists for centuries to come, because in a most secular age she spoke to millions of the exclusive hope, found in Christ alone.

Therefore, I wonder amid the grandiose words, the eloquent pageantry, the remarkable and historic proceedings how much will be made of her Saviour. She certainly would have wanted the focus to be on Christ , because for her ninetieth birthday she endorsed a little book of testimony called ‘The Servant Queen and the King she Serves”.

He was the servant King, who humbled Himself, who laid down His life for us. The power of His person stems from His love and the greatness of His sacrifice. He becomes all the more glorious as we reflect upon the contrast between His death and that of our temporal monarch.

An estimated one million people will be in central London hoping to catch a glimpse of the procession. Presidents and Prime Ministers, Kings and Queens, Princes and Princesses from across the world will descend on London. The military will be drilled, the mass bands will play, the gun carriage will be drawn through the streets, millions will be awe struck. But when Christ bowed His head in death, there was no royal palace – His death bed was a cross. There was no ceremony – a few friends took His precious body from the cross. He had no grave or tomb of His own such was His poverty; another man gave him a tomb. He was mourned only by a few, even his disciples forsook Him at the end. The soldiers did not attend His funeral because they executed Him like a common criminal. The multitudes celebrated his passing. He did not live into old age, laying down His life as a young man, only thirty-three.

Yet He did ever so much that should have been celebrated. His words and miracles brought hope to many. Even in death, ignominious as it was, there was light in the darkness because after dying He arose, conquering death for us. He rose as the Redeemer, the Saviour whose royal standard was not an ornate flag, but the blood of His cross.

He is the neglected hero of world history yet He is the secret behind Her Majesty’s success. He might be the overlooked hero, yet ultimately the true power of His legacy is the power of the Gospel. Long after our Queen is talked about by those who remember her, after she becomes just another ruler of this United Kingdom, a historical figure – Churches will continue to meet, the Gospel will continue to be proclaimed, Christ will be talked about – because He simply can’t be ignored. He will always be present.

Over these past days millions have been caught up with the life and death of earthly royalty. There have been tears and tributes; thousands have gone to the most extraordinary lengths in paying their respects. But if we as a nation were as engrossed in the heavenly King our society would be more loving, more caring, more righteous, more just – it would be the kind of society that our late Queen strove to inspire.

I pray that today and always He will be honoured more fervently, served more intensely, loved more passionately.

Our glorious servant King.