Psalms in war time
Religion & Liberty Online

Psalms in war time

As part of reflecting on the seventy-fifth anniversary of D-Day, I write about “The D-Day price and the Prince of Peace” over at Acton’s Transatlantic channel.

The Dutch theologian and statesman Abraham Kuyper invoked Psalm 88:15 in his essay on the outbreak of World War I, “Your terrors,” (translated by Harry Van Dyke). The title is taken from this verse, which reads: “From my youth I have suffered and been close to death; I have borne your terrors and am in despair.”

And during my current visit to the Netherlands, I learned yesterday that a prominent Dutch preacher invoked Psalm 68 in the context of the liberation of Europe in World War II.

Psalm 68:1-2 reads:

May God arise, may his enemies be scattered;
may his foes flee before him.
May you blow them away like smoke—
as wax melts before the fire,
may the wicked perish before God.

Jordan J. Ballor

Jordan J. Ballor (Dr. theol., University of Zurich; PhD, Calvin Theological Seminary) is director of research at the Center for Religion, Culture & Democracy at First Liberty Institute.