A Tribute to Queen Elizabeth II

As a songwriter, my thoughts and feelings often come to me in song, and I get little snippets given to me when I’m thinking about profound things.

This happened on Thursday night. When I heard the tragic news of the death of Queen Elizabeth II, I immediately read the news. Linked to that was an obituary (which must have been written beforehand as it was fairly extensive and published minutes after the announcement on the BBC).

An obituary.

What struck me about the obituary was the complete lack of mention of the Queen’s faith. Something Her Majesty might not have appreciated. Yet, as tributes began pouring in from people who knew her personally, most of them mentioned her faith.

As I pondered that obituary, a verse flew into my mind and wouldn’t leave:

The obituary doesn’t mention her faith
But she served her God, and she overcame
And I know she’s with her Jesus now.

Not knowing what to do with this, I prayed: ‘Lord, I want to pay tribute to our Queen, but I don’t want to capitalize on her death. Your will be done; if you want me to record this, then give me the words.’

In the following 5 minutes, I wrote the song recorded below. I can only assume God wanted me to!

A confessed faith.

The Queen herself always mentioned The Lord Jesus, didn’t she? The song also includes the lyrics:

As we ate Christmas food ‘round the monopoly board, she never failed to mention her Lord.

Ok, she was the official head of the Church of England, but there have been plenty of Monarchs who’ve claimed to follow God and then acted as if the opposite were true. Not this Queen. You could tell that it wasn’t just that—her faith was real. Here’s an example of one Christmas speech, from 2014:

“For me, the life of Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace, whose birth we celebrate today, is an inspiration and an anchor in my life. A role model of reconciliation and forgiveness, he stretched out his hands in love, acceptance and healing. “
Queen Elizabeth II, Christmas Speech, December 25th 2014

An example followed.

I’m sure you would agree that what marked the Queen’s reign was steadfastness and faithfulness, commitment to reconciliation and forgiveness, integrity and devotion to her people. In short, whatever your opinions on the Monarchy as an institution, our Queen loved and modelled her Saviour, Jesus.

Because I know that she trusted in Jesus, I know that the Queen is with her Jesus now. She is smiling in his presence. I wonder today if you have the same assurance about yourself? Are you trusting in the Lord Jesus? This doesn’t mean modelling what he was like – I’m sure we all try to do this – it means allowing him to be your anchor, as the Queen put it. Allowing Jesus to be the source of all your hope. Trusting in him for your salvation and your eternity.

For now, I’m going to leave you with my tribute to a Queen, the like of which we have never, and will never, see again.

She’s With Her Jesus Now

A Tribute to Queen Elizabeth II

April 21st in 1926,
A baby was born, a precious gift.
Nobody imagined what she would become:
The first-born daughter of a second son.

What no one thought could happen, suddenly did—
An abdication, a George VI,
Another world war full of suffering
But Elizabeth spoke light into the dim.

The obituary doesn’t mention her faith
But she served her God, and she overcame
And I know she’s with her Jesus now.

The war ended and she married her prince,
A little while after more suffering
As her father died and she took the throne,
Making vows to her God, knowing she was not alone.

The obituary doesn’t mention her faith
But she served her God, and she overcame
And I know she’s with her Jesus now.

She demonstrated what it meant to forgive
When she shook the hand of McGuinness.
Her Jesus was there giving her the strength, and she smiled—
And I know she’s smiling now.

She spoke up for those who were oppressed,
With dignity, she faced the messiness.
As we ate Christmas food ’round the monopoly board
She never failed to mention her Lord.
And I know: She’s with that Jesus now.

God saved our gracious Queen.
She lived long, our noble Queen.
God saved the Queen.
And she’s with—
She’s with her Jesus now.