This year marks the 150 anniversary of the Indian Mutiny/Rising/First War of Independence- take your pick. It was to say the least an horrific affair with terrible atrocities carried out by both sides. One of the striking things about the event was at its height Queen Victoria called for a public day of fast, humiliation and prayer. On that date CH Spurgeon delivered a sermon to 24,000 people at Crystal Palace, that great monument to Victorian progress. There are of course a number of things striking about Spurgeon’s sermon. Notably his views of colonialism which are, as one would expect, very much of his time.
But perhaps the most striking thing is his idea of participating in a day of national repentance. For who could imagine such a thing happening today? Who could imagine 24,000 people gathering to hear a man preach on a call to national repentance as he highlights public vice in all parts of society? Yet only 150 years ago there was that widespread recognition that God does not deal with whole nations calling them to repentance. As Spurgeon declared, ‘there are such things as national judgements, national chastisements, for national sins- great blows form the rod of God which every wise man must acknowledge to be, either a punishment of sin committed, or a monition to warn us to the consequences of sin, leading us by God’s grace to humiliate ourselves, and repent of our sin.’
How often do we think of what God is saying to our nation today as He gives us over to the consequences of sin that is not only tolerated in our midst but celebrated?
There will undoubtedly be much talk about the events of the mutiny in the coming months. We may even go through the charade of offering a politically correct apology on behalf of our nation- for the sins our forefathers committed. But we will not take time to heed the lessons that national catastrophes ought to call us to examine our nation before God and to repent of our sin.
You can read Spurgeon’s sermon at www.spurgeon.org