God Bless Australia

The Psalmist said, “Blessed [is] the nation whose God [is] the LORD... " 

Do these words of the Psalmist still hold true for nations such as Australia in our day? As we celebrate Anzac Day, it would be good to stop for a moment and take stock of the blessings of freedom and to remember the sacrifices of those who purchased these with their blood. We who have attended the dawn services and marched in the parades with our fellow returned service men, have watched the faltering steps of those honoured men who have served the country in many conflicts. We have seen the tears fall freely upon the cheeks of stooped and greying men, as they have wept openly for their fallen comrades in arms. We have heard again and again the poignant words, “Lest we forget,” issue as heart-rending prayers from the lips of those who hold the memory of the fallen so dear. We have stood trembling in the half-light and heard the mournful notes of the last post; played in remembrance of those who lie in graves on such faraway fields as Gallipoli and the Owen Stanley ranges. Such observances should move us to once again thank God for those who have gone before us. As we count the blessings of freedom they have bequeathed us, we should surely say and pray, “God Bless Australia.”

God has richly blessed Australia. There are no concentration camps in Australia. People are not executed for seeking to flee our land.There are no dreaded knocks in the middle of the night. There are no mass graves filled with the bodies or those who have been killed by despotic dictators and godless regimes. Every person in our nation has a free voice and a free vote.

In governmental matters, the voice of the people can reflect the way and will of God. We have freedom of religion and speech. I can still say just about anything I wish from the pulpit. There is yet no law that can muzzle me. I can tell you the truth about anything from our Premier to the Prime Minister.

Mark Twain once said, “…a Christian’s first duty is to God. It then follows, as a matter of course, that it is his duty to carry his Christian code of morals to the polls and vote them. … If the Christians .... could be persuaded to vote God and a clean ticket, it would bring about a moral revolution that would be incalculably beneficent. It would save the country — a country whose Christians have betrayed it and are destroying it...Christianity...is on trial now. And nothing important is on trial except Christianity.” He said this a century and one-half ago. How much greater are the weight of his words today!

Henry Blackaby wrote in Fresh Encounter: “Christians should not be surprised by the spiritual darkness around us. That is all it can be. Darkness is dark. The greater problem is not with the darkness. The problem is with the light. When light shines, it dispels darkness. We face a growing spiritual  darkness in our land because the light is not shining brightly.”

On this Anzac Day, let us praise God for His past blessings upon our nation and pray He will continue to bless us. But at the same time let us remember that if we are to expect His continuing blessings upon our nation, we must recognise our need for Him in our national life today. We must be willing to meet His conditions for such continuing national blessings. Conditions that are made crystal clear in His word: “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.” (II Chronicles 7:14)