The Warrior’s Psalm
Bob Boardman was a member of the U.S. First Marine Division fighting in the Pacific during World War II.
Serving as part of a tank crew on the Pacific island of Peleliu, he found dread a constant companion.
“It was a fearful place,” he says. “The island was a big coral rock, and the Japanese were hidden away in five hundred coral caves, both natural and man-made. We had to rout out the enemy cave by cave.”
When he had a spare moment, Boardman consoled himself by reading the small Bible he had been given. As he made his way through the Psalms, he found solace in one particular passage that spoke to his fears.
It was Psalm 18, and an introductory note indicated the conditions under which it was written: “David sang to the LORD the words of this song when the LORD delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul.”
Boardman called David’s words his constant refuge on Peleliu. Daily he faced the challenge of placing his ultimate faith in God, his Rock, rather than being intimidated by the rock caves in which danger dwelt.
He still refers to the passage as “the warrior’s psalm” and turns to it often, both when he is speaking to the public and when he seeks reassurance of God’s presence in his life.
The opening lines of the psalm reveal that David was familiar with the fears that beset soldiers. But mixed with his fears were notes of hope and confidence in God, his Redeemer:
Centuries before modern warfare turned Asia and Europe into killing grounds, David’s psalm conveyed the horrors of war: “The earth trembled and quaked, / and the foundations of the mountains shook” (v. 7).
It’s been said that war is hell, but Boardman’s experience during World War II demonstrated to him that even in the chaos and carnage of warfare, those who trust God can experience a foretaste of heaven: “He reached down from on high and took hold of me; he drew me out of deep waters. He rescued me from my powerful enemy” (vv. 16-17).
For Bob Boardman and many others who’ve seen the cruel face of war, the assurance of God’s presence has been a powerful spiritual lifeline.
Father, in the midst of life’s turmoil and strife, help me place my trust in you.