It is with profound sorrow that we learn of the death of Her Majesty the Queen.
We join the King and the Royal family in mourning a universally loved Sovereign.
It is rare for a monarch to evoke such deep and heartfelt admiration, affection, loyalty and love in her subjects across all ages, cultures and nations. The United Kingdom, the Commonwealth and the world have truly lost a woman of unsurpassed humility, devotion to service, resilience and humanity.
During her coronation on 2 June 1953 in Westminster Abbey, Queen Elizabeth II made the oath that she would to the utmost of her power “maintain the Laws of God and the true profession of the Gospel”. She later knelt before the Lord's Table at Westminster and, with her right hand on a Bible, said: “The things which I have here before promised, I will perform and keep. So help me God.” She had tenaciously kept her oath, enabled by her trust in God and her profound sense of the love of God for her.
Her faith in Christ was foundational to her ability to carry out her heavy duty as sovereign, day after day, year after year, and through the vicissitudes of life and nationhood. We are indebted to her beyond measure.
Her devoted and sacrificial service to the nation and to the Commonwealth over 70 years is a testament to her faith in her Saviour and Lord Jesus Christ, who laid down his life for us. Through her many personal sorrows over the decades she has “fought the good fight, finished the race, and has kept the faith”. Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II will now exchange her earthly crown for the “crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to her on that day”.
We join Christians across the nation and the Commonwealth in praying for The King and the Royal Family that in their sorrow, they can still find the peace and inner joy that the late Sovereign found in our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. May God draw near to them and comfort them in this difficult season of sorrow.
Gafcon GB & Europe Trustees