Do you sometimes feel that you have no one to talk to? Do you ever find yourself wearing a smile to mask inward pain—craving to talk, but finding no one there to listen? If so, you are not alone. In an age abounding with technological connections, an alarming number of people don’t have anyone they can really talk to. In early 2019, the New York Post reported on a study revealing just that: “One in four people don’t feel they have someone to confide in, according to new research.

In the year 1666, the Great Fire of London destroyed more than 13,000 properties covering an area of 436 acres. The narrow pathways and streets that snaked through the city made it easy for the fire to spread quickly among buildings that were made mostly of wood. Immediately after the flames died down, King Charles II started reviewing architectural plans that would have completely redesigned the city. He issued a Royal Proclamation on the 13th of September:

It was declared in headlines around the globe, but what does it even mean? And what impact could this achievement have in our lives today, and in the years to come?

“God save the Queen” is an instantly recognisable phrase of patriotic sentiment in the British Commonwealth. It expresses hope for the monarch’s long reign and respect for her preeminent place in national life; indeed, it is found on all formal proclamations coming from the Crown. It also looks to God to come to the country’s aid in time of need. In the mid-eighteenth century, during the reign of George II and the troubling period of the Jacobite rebellion, the anthem “God Save the King” was first sung, later becoming the national anthem of the UK.

The Bible shows the difference between unjustified judgment and true discernment.