History Speaks: King Alfred

O God, our Maker, throned on high

The earth is Thine, and Thine the sky

Th' adoring sun obeys Thy will,

And countless stars Thy laws fulfill

The length'ning light of summer day

Nature proclaims Thy sovereign skill

Man, and man only, spurns Thy will

The wicked sit on earth's high seat

And tread holy 'neath their feet

Good goes so crookedly astray

Bright deeds lie hidden oft away

Great God! Who seest from above

Regard us with Thy pitying love

Perplexed by doubts with toil and strife

We ask more light- we long for life 

This is a lovely hymn I came across in my history curriculum this year. It stuck out to me mainly because the author was a king, not a monk or a martyr.

Often I am so disappointed when I read about real life kings. As a little girl my ideas about Medieval times were that they full of beautiful princesses being rescued by handsome knights, and there were good and mighty kings who fought to defend their people.

Reality check, a lot of kings were real creeps. It saddens me to think of all of the suffering that was caused just by one single, greedy individual.

Because of this I always spark up with I read about kings who were actually worthy of their title. Biblical kings like King David, Hezekiah, and Asa are among some of my favorite OT characters. In later times I love reading about Charlemagne, King Alfred, King Richard the Lionhearted, and Robert the Bruce.

King Alfred was a man ahead of his time. He lived on the island of Brittania after the fall of the Roman Empire had left most of the known world reeling. He was faced with many challenges as the king of the Saxon people; illiteracy, spiritual darkness, disunity, and the dreadful invasions of the fierce-some Danes.

But Alfred was up to the challenge. He was an eager learner, a loving husband and father, a gracious king, compassionate foe, and a steadfast follower of King Jesus. And much of this he accomplished before the age of 30.

Alfred was a beacon of light in a time of great fear and darkness. He established schools and churches to encourage learning. He repelled the invading Danes and eventually signed a peace treaty after the conversion of the Danish leader.

He stood up for what was right, he protected the innocent, and reached out to the uneducated and poor. He was an excellent example to all of his people. Even hundreds of years later the English people revere Alfred greatly.

Alfred was a normal human being who was placed by God in a position of power and influence. And unlike so many others who used that power merely for their own gain, Alfred allowed God to work through him and use him to form and lead a nation. What an incredible legacy this man left, thank God for King Alfred!