Reflecting on the Psalms and modern war and genocide
Reflections
“The current wars, with their increasing focus on targeting civilians, sometimes with genocidal intent, are leading whole societies into the space where collectively they will be subject to moral injury,” says The Very Rev’d Dr Peter Catt
Please be advised that some readers may find this content distressing — this reflection mentions war and genocide, including the killing of children.
Happy shall he be who dashes your little ones against the stones.
Psalm 137.8
Psalm 137 was written to reflect the devasting effects of being in exile. It is the psalm made famous by the German reggae, funk and disco music group, Boney M through their cover version of Rivers of Babylon a Rastafari song back in my youth. That song does not include verse 8, which I quoted at the beginning of this reflection piece.
As we offer the daily services of Morning and Evening Prayer we cycle through the entire psalter, all 150 psalms, every two months. Psalm 137 is one that appears as part of morning prayer during that cycle. Thursday of last week was the day on which it last appeared.
The compilers of our lectionary, the set of readings we use at service like Morning and Evening Prayer, were sensitive to the possible effects of using verses such as verse 8 of Psalm 137 in public worship. As result they have indicated that use of such verses is optional, in other words they can be omitted. We often follow this advice.
On Thursday however there were just two of us in the chapel so we decided to include the optional verses of the psalm, initially as a reminder that the Bible contains violent, even genocidal texts; a fact that should make Christians more circumspect when venturing to criticise others for the violent parts of texts such as the Quran.
Verse 8 are the last words of Psalm 137.
Happy shall he be who dashes your little ones against the stones.
Our usual practice is to observe a reflective pause at the end of each Psalm. On Thursday the pause was much, much longer than usual.
Happy shall he be who dashes your little ones against the stones
My mind filled with disturbing images of children in the world’s war zones:
Images of children being shot while seeking food;
Images of children being bombed in hospitals;
Images of starving children;
Images of orphans seeking safety;
Images of children maimed for life.
And then I began to think of those who perpetrate such as acts of unspeakable cruelty:
The soldier who looking through a gunsight decides that the child seeking food is a legitimate target;
The pilot who knowingly bombs a hospital containing children;
The checkpoint controller who denies aid trucks access;
The citizens who lie on roads to stop aid convoys;
The tank commander who targets a food truck;
The Generals who issue the orders;
The politicians who orchestrate the campaign.
The writer of Psalm 137 concluded with the words, “Happy shall he be who dashes your little ones against the stones”, after describing the dehumanising and soul-destroying effects on the people of Jerusalem of being taken into exile. Out of that dehumanised state they come to the conclusion that killing the Babylonian children would be an acceptable response. They in turn dehumanise their enemies. Everyone is diminished.
Those who work with military personnel who have been deployed in war zones and other places of horror and trauma are becoming increasingly aware of the effects of moral injury on the mental health and wellbeing of those who have served. Moral injury occurs when one, often during a time of duress, contravenes some deeply held ethical principle. For most people killing another person, particularly an innocent person, and more so a child, is a source of moral injury.
The current wars, with their increasing focus on targeting civilians, sometimes with genocidal intent, are leading whole societies into the space where collectively they will be subject to moral injury.
Once the heat of battle has subsided and the process of reflection on what has been done begins to take place, many involved will discover that what they thought to be the source of happiness, dashing children to death, will become a perpetual haunting memory.
Lord, have mercy.
First published in the “Cathedral Precinct eNews” on Monday, 30 June 2025.
Editor’s note 3 July 2025: Reflection updated to include a content warning for readers.
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