"Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings, hast thou ordained strength because of thin enemies, that thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger."
Psalm 8:2
Part 2 – verse 2.
Yesterday: The Lord’s Majesty (8:1).
Today: The Lord’s strength (8:2).
From the starry sky, God’s glory shines forth magnificently! Only a blind man could fail to see God’s majesty in His creation. But sadly, many do miss it and try to leave God out of the picture altogether. These are the kinds of people who are “lovers of self” and want to be the masters of their own lives. They believe that materialism is everything, that somehow this entire universe has spontaneously generated. So they think they have no use for God. Spiritually they are dead. How does God handle these kinds of enemies who willfully reject Him? For the Creator, the answer is simple. David said,
“You have made clear your strength even out of the mouths of babies at the breast, because of those who are against you; so that you may put to shame the cruel and violent man” (Psalm 8:2, BBE [1]).
“Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings.”
The Almighty is the all-powerful God who created this universe and can even be praised by the weakest and most frail human beings – their babies. Whether it’s a miracle of human pregnancy, the feeble cry of the babe on its mother’s breast, or the toddler playing with its puppy, God receives the praise from these.
“Those who can praise God in true sincerity (babes and sucklings) are greater even than those who can praise in eloquence. Such praise is ‘perfected praise’”[2] (Morris).
It is easy to see Jesus’ love for children and their love for Him through the Gospels. It is no surprise that little children praised Jesus the Messiah at His triumphal entry into Jerusalem.
“And when the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things that He did, and the children crying in the temple, and saying, Hosanna to the Son of David; they were sore displeased, And said unto Him, Hearest thou what these say? And Jesus saith unto them, Yea; have ye never read, Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings thou hast perfected praise?” (Matthew 21:15-16).
“At that time Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes” (Matthew 11:25).
“According to Jesus, children and their simple faith are the best representatives of God’s kingdom…”[3] (CSB).
“And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. Whosoever, therefore, shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 18:3-4).
“Hast thou ordained strength because of thine enemies.”
God has planned for victory over His enemies because “He ordained strength from the beginning.”
“Ordained”
“ordained—founded, or prepared, and perfected”[4] (JFB).
Interestingly, the Old Testament word for ordained means the same thing as the New Testament word used in Matthew 21:16. Here Jesus quoted Psalm 8:2, “Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings thou hast perfected praise?”
“The idea is that the Lord has ordained that the weakest shall confound the strong (cf. 1 Corinthians 1:27). Mankind, even weak children, and infants represent the strength of God in the earth”[5] (BKC).
“Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called: But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise, and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to naught things that are: That no flesh should glory in his presence” (1 Corinthians 1:25-29).
“Sometimes, the grace of God appears wonderfully in young children. Sometimes the power of God brings to pass great things in His church, by very weak and unlikely instruments, that the excellency of the power might the more evidently appear to be of God, and not of man. This He does, because of His enemies, that He may put them to silence”[6] (Matthew Henry).
“That thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger.”
For God, it only takes the power of the cry of a weak infant to still His enemies.
“still—or, silence men who rail and [raise petty objections[7]] against God”[8] (JFB).
“Enemies and avengers” are no threat to the Almighty!
“avenger —… one desirous of revenge, disposed to be quarrelsome, and so apt to cavil against God’s government”[9] (JFB).
“The transcendent God … sovereign power in His hand, chooses to use the lips of children and infants…. Are we to take this literally—a foe silenced by a child? Or does David use ‘infant’ figuratively of what is tiny, weak, and powerless? There is no way of knowing, but it is plain that he experienced some notable instance of powerlessness over-mastering power”[10] (NBC).
“Even the feeblest of humanity, with their sometimes-inarticulate speech (mouths), function as firm testimonies (a stronghold) of God’s glory and silence the enemy and the avenger”[11] (CSB).
Amen.
Please come back tomorrow as we learn more about God’s glory in the heavens, His “finger work.”
Quote: Jesus said, “My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9b).
[1] BBE is the Bible in Basic English.
[2] Morris’s quote is from his book Sampling the Psalms… p. 26. Institute for Creation Research. ICR, 2716 Madison Avenue, San Diego, California, 92116. September 2, 2021.
[3] Warstler, K. R. (2017). Psalms. In E. A. Blum & T. Wax (Eds.), CSB Study Bible: Notes (p. 823). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[4] JFB, Jamieson, R., Fausset, A. R., & Brown, D. (1997). Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (Vol. 1, p. 349). Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.
[5] Ross, A. P. (1985). Psalms. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 1, p. 797). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books. The emphasis is theirs.
[6] Henry, M., & Scott, T. (1997). Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary (Ps 8:1). Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems.
[7] “Cavil,” to raise petty objections against.
[8] JFB, ibid. The emphasis is theirs.
[9] Ibid. The emphasis is theirs.
[10] Motyer, J. A. (1994). The Psalms. In D. A. Carson, R. T. France, J. A. Motyer, & G. J. Wenham (Eds.), New Bible commentary: 21st-century edition (4th ed., p. 492). Leicester, England; Downers Grove, IL: Inter-Varsity Press. The emphasis is theirs.
[11] Warstler, K. R. (2017), ibid. The emphases are his.