Tawa Baptist

God Defend New Zealand

Scripture: Psalm 47, 2nd Kings 18-19, Isaiah 32:16-18, Psalm 10:14-18, Psalm 68:4-6,

Structure:

  • Introduction
  • God’s sovereignty
  • God’s justice
  • God’s compassion
  • Conclusion

Introduction:

Good morning everyone.

Last Sunday I asked a quiz question based on pop culture. Today I have a history question for you. And to make it easier, it’s multi-choice. 

In what year was the song ‘God Defend New Zealand’ first played at an Olympic Games? Was it…

  1.  1896
  2.  1920
  3.  1956, or
  4.  1972

I’ll give you a couple of seconds to choose your answer. [Wait]

The answer is D.) It was first played when the men’s rowing eight won gold at the 1972 Olympics in Germany.

Today we continue our ‘Anthems’ series. In this series we are looking at the lyrics of one hymn or Christian worship song each week to see how that song informs our thinking about God and how it connects with Scripture and the heritage of our faith.

The song we are looking at this morning is called God Defend New Zealand, one of the two official national anthems of our land. The other one being God Save the Queen.  

Now you might be wondering, why has Will chosen the national anthem to preach on? Well, two reasons. Firstly, there hasn’t been any sport on TV lately and some of you may be missing a bit of patriotism. Secondly, and more importantly, God Defend New Zealand is actually a prayer. When we sing our national anthem we are acknowledging God as our sovereign and asking for his help. 

The words for God Defend New Zealand were written by Thomas Bracken in the 1870’s. Bracken was born in Ireland and baptised a Catholic. His mother died when he just 6 years old and his father died when he was 11. Thomas was then sent to Australia at the age of 12. He held a number of jobs there and, in his spare time, wrote poetry. Thomas Bracken arrived in New Zealand in 1867. He was 22 years old by that stage.

Bracken settled in Dunedin and took a job as a journalist with the Otago Guardian. In 1875 he started his own newspaper called the Saturday Advertiser.

Then, on the 1st July 1876 he published the five stanzas of God Defend New Zealand under the title ‘National Hymn’ in his own newspaper. At the same time, he announced a competition to compose music to go with his poem.

Somewhat ironically, the competition was judged by three Germans living in Australia. The winner of the music competition was a New Zealander though; John Joseph Woods from Lawrence, in Otago. J.J. Woods was a school teacher and later became the town clerk of Lawrence.

Alison Crampton has a connection with J.J. Woods. Alison was born and raised in Lawrence. Her mother’s side of the family have been there since the gold rush days. Alison’s mum could remember J. J. Woods coming along to school and conducting the pupils when God Defend New Zealand was to be sung on special occasions.

Okay, time for another multi-choice quiz. When did God Defend New Zealand officially become one of the national anthems of NZ? Was it…

  1. 1876
  2. 1901
  3. 1972, or
  4. 1977

I’ll give you a moment to choose your answer. [Wait]

While God Defend New Zealand was well received by the general population, it didn’t officially become our national anthem until 1977. I know. Crazy aye. It took over a hundred years for Thomas Bracken’s hymn to be formally recognised by the government.

The more astute among you may be thinking, if this was the case then why was God Defend New Zealand played at the Olympic Games medal ceremony in 1972? Good question. Because, technically, they were supposed to play God Save the Queen. Well, no one really knows why they played God Defend New Zealand. It seems to have been a happy mistake. Certainly the men’s rowing eight were pleased to hear it. Many of them were moved to tears.   

God Defend New Zealand is essentially a prayer for God’s protection and peace for our nation. In particular, the song points to three things about God: his sovereignty, his justice and his compassion. First let us consider God’s sovereignty.

God’s sovereignty:

To say that God is sovereign is to say that he is the supreme power, the ultimate authority in this world.

Thomas Bracken’s hymn begins with the words ‘God of nations’ and verse 2 starts with, ‘We of every creed and race’. This is an acknowledgement of God’s sovereignty. God isn’t just God of Israel or New Zealand, he is the God of all nations and cultures. In Psalm 47 we read…

1 Clap your hands, all you nations; shout to God with cries of joy. 2 For the Lord Most High is awesome, the great King over all the earth…
6 Sing praises to God… 7 For God is the King of all the earth; sing to him a psalm of praise. 8 God reigns over the nations; God is seated on his holy throne. 9 The nobles of the nations assemble… for the kingsof the earth belong to God; he is greatly exalted.  

At least ten times throughout the five verses of our national anthem we ask God to defend our country. What’s more, the first verse contains the line: Guard Pacific’s triple star from the shafts of strife and war. It is unclear what Thomas Bracken meant by the phrase, Pacific’s triple star. Some say this refers to the three main islands of NZ; the North Island, the South Island and Stewart Island (not the West Island). Others say it is a reference to the three stars on the flag of Te Kooti (a Māori political and religious leader of the 19th century). Whatever the case, we are asking God to defend our land.

One of the main jobs of a sovereign ruler is to defend their people. It is because God is the supreme power and authority in this world that we can have confidence in his ability to defend and protect our shores.

One story that comes to mind of God’s sovereignty over the nations is in 2nd Kings chapters 18-19, where the city of Jerusalem is surrounded by the might of the Assyrian army. At that time in history Assyria was the dominant world power. Hezekiah was one of the good kings of Judah. Under great pressure from a military powerhouse, Hezekiah prayed to God asking the Lord to defend the city saying, “O Lord, God of Israel…, you alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth. Give ear, O Lord, and hear; open your eyes, O Lord, and see; listen to the words Sennacherib has sent to insult the living God… Now, O Lord our God, deliver us from his hand, so that all kingdoms on earth may know that you alone, O Lord, are God.

Then the Lord sent a message to king Hezekiah through the prophet Isaiah;

Therefore, this is what the Lord says concerning the king of Assyria: “He will not enter this city or shoot an arrow here. He will not come before it with shield or build a siege ramp against it. By the way he came he will return; he will not enter this city declares the Lord. I will defend this city and save it, for my sake and for the sake of David my servant.”     

The next day the king of Assyria withdrew and returned to Nineveh.

I wonder if Thomas Bracken had this story of Hezekiah in mind when we wrote verse 3 of his hymn: “…Lord of battles in Thy might, put our enemies to flight.”

Freedom gets mentioned a bit in our national anthem. ‘God defend our free land’ is repeated in the middle of each of the five verses. And the last verse begins with the line, “May our mountains ever be freedom’s ramparts on the sea.” Freedom is a value that is held dear by most New Zealanders. Freedom is also one of the values of the kingdom of God. Jesus came to set the captives free and in Christ we have freedom from sin and death; freedom to love. (In the bonds of love we meet.)

Freedom aligns closely with God’s sovereignty. Because God is the supreme power and authority in this world he is free to act as he sees best. He is not subject to anyone or anything. However, even though God is free to do what he wants, God chooses to listen to our point of view and limits his freedom. In fact, when God made human beings in his image and gave us free will he was effectively sharing his power and authority with us. God shows us how to exercise power by using his freedom for the well-being of his creation. God’s freedom is always tempered with listening and responsibility.      

What we need to remember is that our freedom is not a freedom to do whatever we want. Our freedom is a freedom to be faithful to God, to preach love and truth and to act with justice and compassion, in service to God’s purpose.    

So that’s the first main theme of the song, God’s sovereignty. Another major theme is God’s justice.

God’s justice:

New Zealanders have a strong sense of justice. We want things to be fair and equitable. One of the country’s longest running TV shows is called Fair Go. Justice is in our blood. Many of our Pakeha forebears came from places in Europe where things were not fair or just. The rich got richer and the poor got poorer. Last January I was reading a biography on the life of Bing & Joyce Lucas, written by Bruce Murray. Interwoven throughout the book are these snippets of history which give context to the Lucas’ story. In chapter 2 of Bruce’s book we read about some of the unjust conditions in England which drove people to come the other side of the world for a fairer deal in the 19th Century.

In 1881, some years after he wrote God Defend New Zealand, Thomas Bracken entered parliament as an MP for Dunedin central. He served for three years. Thomas had a strong sense of justice. (He was after all Irish by birth.) Thomas Bracken was particularly concerned to see justice for Maori, at a time when that was not fashionable. In his first speech in parliament (in 1882) Thomas forcefully criticised the government’s dealings with Maori at Parihaka. He also spoke out against the detention of Te Whiti and Tohu and what he saw as a dishonourable breach of the commitments of the Treaty of Waitangi.

We see Thomas Bracken’s passion for justice in some of the lines of our national anthem. For example, in verse 2 where we sing, ‘From dissension, envy, hate, and corruption guard our state’. Our enemies are not just external. We also need protection from internal threats, like corruption. Corruption is the opposite of justice. We are so blessed in this country not to have to pay bribes to get things done. I don’t mind paying taxes to the government. A good tax system saves us from corruption. If we don’t fund the civil service properly people will be forced to take bribes just to make a living. This happens overseas.

We also see the theme of justice in the third verse of the song: ‘Let our cause be just and right’ and then again in verse four which reads, ‘…may Thy blessings never cease, give us plenty, give us peace’. In the Christian way of thinking, peace corresponds directly to justice. Without justice there can be no real peace.

In Isaiah 32 the prophet speaks about the effect of justice & righteousness. From verse 16 of Isaiah 32 we read: 16 The Lord’s justice will dwell in the desert,his righteousness live in the fertile field. 17 The fruit of that righteousness will be peace;its effect will be quietness and confidence forever. 18 My people will live in peaceful dwelling places,in secure homes, in undisturbed places of rest.

King Solomon prayed for wisdom so that he could rule with justice, then the nation would be at peace.

When I as at primary school, in the late 1970’s, we sang God Defend New Zealand during assembly. But we always sang it in English. I don’t remember ever singing it in Maori. For many years I didn’t even know there was a Maori version of God Defend New Zealand. Probably most of us didn’t realise that until the late 1990’s when the nation started singing the first verse in Maori at test matches.

In actual fact all five verses of God Defend New Zealand were translated from English into Maori in 1878 by Thomas Henry Smith, who was a judge of the native land court. T.H. Smith’s Maori words are not a direct translation of Thomas Bracken’s original English version but the sentiment and themes are the same. In fact, the Maori version helps to shed light on the meaning of the English. They complement each other.

In the fourth verse of the Maori version we read, ‘Waiho i te rongo mau Aotearoa’ which translates as ‘Let peace reign over Aotearoa. A prayer for peace is a prayer for justice.

Then in the fifth verse of the Maori version we read, ‘Tōna pai me toitū
Tika rawa, pono pū; Tōna noho, tāna tū;’, which in English translates, ‘Let its good features endure, let righteousness and honesty prevail’. When righteousness and honesty prevail people live in peace and security, as Isaiah preached.

As well as pointing to the sovereignty and justice of God, our national anthem also points to the compassion of God.

God’s compassion:

God’s compassion is very closely connected to his justice – the two go hand in hand. In fact, we could say God’s justice is compassionate.

For about three and half years, while I was growing up, my mum and my sister and I lived on the DPB. Like I said before, I don’t mind paying my taxes. I am thankful for a compassionate welfare state. It meant I could stay in school and get an education, rather than leaving home at 13 to get a job, like my grandfather did.

As I said at the beginning of this message, Thomas Bracken lost his mother when he was only 6 and his father died when he was 11. So Thomas was an orphan. Yet, despite his loss and despite being sent to the other side of the world, Thomas Bracken became a leading citizen of New Zealand; a poet, a journalist, a business owner, an MP and eventually a husband and father also. How did this happen? By the compassion of God. I’d be willing to bet that God put people in Thomas Bracken’s life who had compassion on him and helped him along the way.

In Psalm 68 we read: Sing to God, sing in praise of his name, extol him who rides on the clouds; rejoice before him—his name is the Lord. 5 A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is [our] God…. 6 God sets the lonely in families, he leads out the prisoners with singing;

And then in Psalm 10 we read: 14 But you, God, see the trouble of the afflicted; you consider their grief and take it in hand. The victims commit themselves to you; you are the helper of the fatherless… 17 You, Lord, hear the desire of the afflicted; you encourage them, and you listen to their cry, 18defending the fatherless and the oppressed, so that mere earthly mortals will never again strike terror.

I could go on but you get the picture, God is compassionate and he takes care of the little guy. As far as countries go New Zealand is one of the little guys. We are not large or strong or powerful. We are small and humble and vulnerable but God is our advocate and our defender. In the upside down kingdom of God, our weakness is a strength in God’s hand. As Paul writes in his letter to the Corinthians [1], God’s power is made perfect in our weakness.  God delights in taking the one no one expects and using them for his purpose.

There is a theme in Thomas Bracken’s song of asking God to use little New Zealand to bless the other nations of the world. In verse 5 for example where we sing, ‘Guide her in the nations’ van, preaching love and truth to man, working out Thy glorious plan’. The Maori translation of that verse helps to shed light on what this means where it says, ‘Let it [Aotearoa] never be ashamed, but rather, let its name be known, thereby becoming a model to emulate.’

This prayer, for our country to become a model to emulate, has been answered in many ways over the years. For example, we were the first country in the world to give women the vote. Almost every other country in world followed suit. We made a stand against nuclear testing in the Pacific. And we banned some types of firearms following the mosque shootings in Christchurch. I notice Canada is now following our example by banning automatic weapons.

Thinking about ways New Zealanders have preached love and truth to the rest of the world, and become a model to emulate, puts me in mind of some pretty remarkable people associated with Tawa Baptist. For example, Bing Lucas who did incredible pioneering work with National Parks and conservation, both in New Zealand and around the world, long before environmental issues became sexy.

Then there is David & Elaine Wilson. David has literally travelled the world preaching the gospel for 50 years. Also, Frank & Marjory Duncan who helped people in China through famines and revolutions. I’m mindful too of people like Steve Dowall who was involved with significant aid and development work in Asia and the Pacific. There are many other New Zealanders from this church as well who have shown practical compassion to the world in various ways.

The theme of God’s compassion is even more obvious in the Maori version of the hymn. Verse 1 in Maori contains the line: Me aroha noa, which is a prayer asking God to cherish us. That word ‘cherish’ is old school. It was once used in marriage vows. It means to treat with affection, to protect and to foster. Cherish is a word closely associated with compassion.

Verse 3 of the Maori version gets to the heart of God’s love and compassion where it says: May all our wrongs, we pray, be forgiven. Our country is a wonderful place to live in but we are not perfect. For example, we haven’t always been fair to Maori. And, in my lifetime, the gap between rich and poor has grown. Then there are our tragic rates of child abuse, suicide and abortion. We stand in need of God’s wisdom and grace.

Conclusion:

Thomas Bracken was well aware of the need for improvement in the New Zealand of his day. On his grave stone is written a quote from one of his poems. It reads…

“Oh God! That men would see a little clearer or judge less harshly where they cannot see. Oh God! That men would draw a little nearer to one another, they’d be nearer Thee and understood.”     

Let’s stand and sing God Defend New Zealand in our bubbles now. I encourage you to take the time to sing all the verses. God Defend New Zealand isn’t just a song we sing at rugby matches. It’s a prayer which acknowledges God’s sovereignty and seeks to integrate his justice and compassion into our nation’s culture.

E Ihowā Atua,
O ngā iwi mātou rā
Āta whakarangona;
Me aroha noa
Kia hua ko te pai;
Kia tau tō atawhai;
Manaakitia mai
Aotearoa

God of Nations at Thy feet,
In the bonds of love we meet,
Hear our voices, we entreat,
God defend our free land.
Guard Pacific’s triple star
From the shafts of strife and war,
Make her praises heard afar,
God defend New Zealand.

Men of every creed and race,
Gather here before Thy face,
Asking Thee to bless this place,
God defend our free land.
From dissension, envy, hate,
And corruption guard our state,
Make our country good and great,
God defend New Zealand.

Peace, not war, shall be our boast,
But, should foes assail our coast,
Make us then a mighty host,
God defend our free land.
Lord of battles in Thy might,
Put our enemies to flight,
Let our cause be just and right,
God defend New Zealand.

Let our love for Thee increase,
May Thy blessings never cease,
Give us plenty, give us peace,
God defend our free land.
From dishonour and from shame,
Guard our country’s spotless name,
Crown her with immortal fame,
God defend New Zealand.

May our mountains ever be
Freedom’s ramparts on the sea,
Make us faithful unto Thee,
God defend our free land.
Guide her in the nations’ van,
Preaching love and truth to man,
Working out Thy glorious plan,
God defend New Zealand.

Questions for discussion or reflection:

Listen to the song ‘God Defend New Zealand’.  What are you in touch with as you listen to this song? (What connections, memories or feelings does the song evoke for you?) 

What is God’s sovereignty? What are the implications of God’s sovereignty for us?

Can you think of times in New Zealand’s history when God has defended our country, whether from external threats or internal threats? Can you think of a time in your own life when God has protected you personally?

Discuss / reflect on the relationship between God’s sovereignty and freedom. How does God exercise his freedom? How should we exercise our freedom?

Discuss / reflect on the relationship between justice and peace. In what ways does a good tax system foster a just and compassionate society? (Think of practical examples.)

In what ways are you aware of God’s compassion in your life? Can you think of people God has put in your life to help you along the way? Give thanks to God for them.

In what ways is New Zealand an example to emulate? In what matters of justice and compassion have we failed? Thank God for the good things and ask his forgiveness where we have fallen short. 

Outtakes

There is a wonderful story of God’s sovereign protection in 2nd Kings chapter 6. The prophet Elisha and his servant were surrounded by an army of Arameans and Elisha’s servant asked, ‘What shall we do?’ Elisha replied, ‘Don’t be afraid. Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.’ And Elisha prayed, ‘O Lord, open his eyes so he may see.’ Then the Lord opened the servant’s eyes and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.  

The horses and chariots of fire were the Lord’s spiritual army, more powerful than any earthly army.

[1] 2nd Corinthians 12:9.