As Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland I’m delighted to be at St Paul’s Cathedral to celebrate the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Tuesday 5 June.

In 1953 the then Moderator presented the Queen with the Bible saying, “We present you with this Book the most valuable thing that this world affords.Here is Wisdom; This is the royal Law; These are the lively Oracles of God.” Sixty years later the Bible continues to be a source of wisdom to Queen Elizabeth II.

The very idea of “Jubilee” has its origins in the Old Testament. In the seventh year all debts were to be paid back or cancelled, so that no one was overburdened with debt.

So Jubilee was all about putting relationships right, personal, financial and communal. Surely, this ancient wisdom is a timely reminder to all of us.

As Moderator during this Diamond Jubilee Year, I invite the nation to look beyond the pomp and the circumstance of the moment and engage with the idea of Biblical Jubilee. Let us begin the renewing and transforming of our communities by seeking justice for the poor.

I invite our politicians, financial institutions and individuals of good will to explore how we can release the burdens of debt under which so many hard-working people are weighed down.

There could be no greater tribute to Her Majesty the Queen in her Diamond Jubilee Year if we could  become “a nation that loves mercy, does justice and walks humbly with her God.”