For
the first time since the coronation of the first Elizabeth, the Dean of
Westminster brought the two Armills from the Altar.
These
were bracelets, wide and thick and solid gold, lined in velvet as cushioning
for the Queen’s wrists. The
Armills were a unique addition to the ceremony, for they were the gifts of the
people to their Sovereign. They
were, symbolically, Sincerity and Wisdom.
The Archbishop’s prayer was that they would “betoken the Lord’s protection,
embracing her on every side,” and be to her “pledges of the bond which
unites you with your Peoples,” whose gift they were.
These words were spoken also, that
she would be “strengthened in all her work” and protected against every
enemy, “bodily and ghostly.”
It is of interest to us, and important, that attention was given to Her
Majesty’s spiritual protection, and that Sincerity and Wisdom were given for
her defense. It was a wise
gift! Sincerity and wisdom do
safeguard us, when we keep them close and live by them.
In this moment of the Coronation Ceremony,
her subjects were taking part, like the aunt whose necklace the bride wears to
her wedding. Both Elizabeths wore
this honored gift, the people’s contribution in the presentation of the
Regalia.
We look, sometimes in vain, for
Sincerity and Wisdom in our leaders. Not politically correct sincerity, but the kind that
is what the word implies sin cere . . . without wax. As products of old were so labeled,
that the purchaser would not go home with water vessels fashioned with wax fillers that would
melt and result in leaks, we want to be led by those whose lives and policies
won’t melt in the heat of day. We
want to
be those whose lives and testimony won’t melt in the furnace of life.
One thing is certain . . .
Elizabeth hasn’t melted. In her
designer clothes and fetching hats, her pocketbook over her arm and her smile
even more warm today than it was on that glorious morning, she doesn’t
melt. The Armills are stored
away for another Coronation Day, but she has fastened Sincerity and Wisdom
about her, as must all of us, here in the royal Kingdom of God’s Son.
The Armills
Wikipedia
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