God Is not in All Their Thoughts
The Westminster Confession of Faith says of God’s eternal decree: “God from all eternity, did, by the most wise and holy counsel of His own will, freely, and unchangeably ordain whatever comes to pass” (3:1). Throughout the Covid 19 pandemic, however, there has been no recognition or acknowledgement by the Westminster Government or the devolved parliaments in the United Kingdom of the Being of God, His power or sovereignty, or that this virus is a judgement upon us. We hear no word of repentance for national sins or of calling upon the Lord for help in time of need.
Asa, King of Judah, was told by the prophet Azariah in a time of war: “The Lord is with you, while ye be with Him; and if ye seek Him, He will be found of you; but if ye forsake Him, He will forsake you” (2 Chr 15:2). Those in government are answerable to God for their actions and for their
forsaking of Him. “For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God” (Rom 13:1). In the face of a pandemic unprecedented in the past century, the rulers of the world have been looking to the wisdom of men and ignoring the advice of Scripture, which says, “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him” (Jas 1:5). Instead they rely on a multitude of advisers, on very able scientists and virologists, for guidance. These people have, of course, worked assiduously and vaccines have been now produced which may, in the kindness of God, yet stem the virus. But there is still no acknowledgement of the Almighty.
In April, Her Majesty the Queen addressed the nation but, unlike her father in World War II, she made no mention of the Most High or the need to call upon Him in prayer, individually or nationally. The Prime Minister, after his recovery from the virus in April, said that if the public stayed at home and showed a spirit of optimism and unity, he had “absolutely no doubt we will beat it, and the UK will emerge stronger than ever before”. The First Minister of Scotland, when announcing further restrictions to the Scottish parliament in November, said, “I do hold to the belief that love and solidarity – albeit with a lot of help from science – will get us through this”. An exception among the world leaders was the Prime Minister of Australia, Scott Morrison, who committed his country to God, at a time of “great need and suffering”.
Contrast the current humanistic approach by the UK governments with the words of Abraham Lincoln in 1863, when he proclaimed a day of national prayer and humiliation in the midst of the American Civil War: “And whereas it is the duty of nations as well as of men, to own their dependence upon the overruling power of God, to confess their sins and transgressions, in humble sorrow, yet with assured hope that genuine repentance will lead to mercy and pardon; and to recognise the sublime truth, announced in the Holy Scriptures and proven by all history, that those nations only are blessed whose God is the Lord. . . . it behoves us then to humble ourselves before the offended Power, to confess our national sins, and to pray for clemency and forgiveness.”
May that be our own prayer, and the prayer of those who, in the providence of God, rule over us. FRD
Judicial Review of Tavistock GIDS
Keira Bell is a young woman who nine years ago developed “gender dysphoria” (unhappiness with being, in her case, female), and started receiving “treatment”. At 16 she was given puberty blockers; at 17 she was given male hormones; and at 20 she had a double mastectomy. She now regrets all this,
and has been taking steps to prevent others from being pushed down the same route. She was granted a judicial review against the Tavistock and Portman NHS Trust “Gender Identity Development Service” (GIDS), and the recent decision of the Court was that the GIDS should stop giving puberty blockers to children under 16. The Court drew attention to the facts that puberty blockers are experimental, are not fully reversible, and are the first step of a pathway from which few escape.
Furthermore GIDS offered no alternative treatment, and had been grossly irresponsible in monitoring the outcome and effects of their experiment. The Court was “surprised” at how little data they had collected. By contrast, the Care Quality Commission had judged the Tavistock service “good”, an indication of how little confidence can be placed in that body.
The reality is that Tavistock GIDS has been taken over by transgender activists who are – to use the sort of language they employ against others – “dangerous extremists”. They specialise in entrapping and mutilating young people, and they divert attention from their evil activities by accusing all and sundry of “transphobia”, “hate crimes” and “disregard for human rights”. This is a standard trick of Satan’s, but so inexperienced in spiritual warfare are Britain’s rulers that they are entirely taken in by it. We should be thankful that the Court was not deceived. Indeed, when the homosexual / transgender organisations Stonewall and Mermaids tried to blind the Court with evidence of “transphobic bullying”, the Court refused to receive their submissions on the grounds of their irrelevance. These organisations are used to getting their own way by screaming, and are not accustomed to a level playing-field where they have to argue their case in a rational way.
Alas, apostate Britain has been tasting the judgement pronounced against Jerusalem, in that painfully literal way that God not infrequently uses. We have been given up to killing our unborn children and mutilating our young people. “Thou shalt be filled with drunkenness and sorrow, with the cup of astonishment and desolation, with the cup of thy sister Samaria. Thou shalt even drink it and suck it out, and thou shalt break the sherds thereof, and pluck off thine own breasts: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord God. Therefore thus saith the Lord God; Because thou hast forgotten Me, and cast Me behind thy back, therefore bear thou also thy lewdness and thy whoredoms” (Ezek 23:33-35). DWBS
The love of Christ in bestowing His grace and righteousness is a powerful constraining motive to hearty and entire obedience to the known will of God.
If God says a thing, we know it is true; if God does a thing, we know it is right. Wisdom would dictate that modesty should stop just there. W S Plumer