Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou ordained strength because of thine enemies, that thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger.
Psalm 8:2 gives a remarkable display of God’s glory through weak mouths. The psalm has opened with worship: “O LORD our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth! who hast set thy glory above the heavens” (v.1). Before David speaks of man, dominion, sheep, oxen, beasts, fowl, or fish, he exalts Jesus our Lord. Verse 2 then shows one way God magnifies His excellent name: He ordains strength out of the mouth of babes and sucklings.
“Out of the mouth.” This phrase is central. God does not here ordain strength out of armies, thrones, schools, councils, swords, wealth, or human greatness. He ordains strength out of the mouth. The weapon is speech. The instrument is praise. The means is words rightly used. This agrees with the frequent theme of Scripture: lips and tongue may be used for lying, flattery, poison, mischief, and deceit; but they may also be used for praise, confession, prayer, truth, and declaring the judgments of God (Psalm 119:13; 119:171; 140:3,9). In Psalm 8:2 the mouth is sanctified for one of its highest uses: publishing the praise of the Lord.
“Of babes and sucklings.” God chooses the weak things. Babes have no earthly strength. Sucklings are dependent, helpless, and unimpressive to proud men. Their mouths are not expected to silence enemies. They have no political authority, military skill, learned reputation, or worldly weight. Yet God delights to use what men despise, that the glory may be His. “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” (1 Corinthians 1:27). Psalm 8:2 teaches this doctrine long before Paul wrote it.
The Lord Jesus Christ Himself applied this verse to children praising Him in the temple. When the chief priests and scribes saw His wonderful works and heard the children crying in the temple, “Hosanna to the Son of David,” they were sore displeased (Matthew 21:15). Jesus answered them, “Yea; have ye never read, Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings thou hast perfected praise?” (Matthew 21:16). Christ did not treat their praise as disorder. He received it as the very fulfillment of Psalm 8:2.
This makes the verse plainly Messianic. The “babes and sucklings” in Matthew 21 praised Jesus as the Son of David. The rulers objected. The Lord answered by quoting Psalm 8:2. Therefore the praise ordained in the psalm is praise rendered to Christ. The excellent name in all the earth, the glory above the heavens, the dominion under the feet of the Son of man, and the praise from babes all meet in Him. Psalm 8 cannot be read rightly while Christ is pushed to the edge.
“Hast thou ordained.” This praise is not an accident of childhood excitement. God ordained it. He appointed, established, and arranged it. The children in the temple were not a nuisance to be silenced, but witnesses appointed by God. The rulers did not understand what they were hearing, but Jesus did. Their young mouths were fulfilling the written word. This should greatly enlarge our view of praise. True praise is not man’s invention rising upward by natural ability; it is God’s appointed fruit from mouths He has prepared.
The word “ordained” also gives strength to the doctrine of God’s use of means. God could have silenced His enemies by immediate thunder from heaven. He could have used angels, fire, earthquake, or visible terror. Instead, He ordained mouths. More wonderfully, He ordained the mouths of babes and sucklings. God often conquers pride by weakness, and He often overthrows opposition by testimony that proud men cannot bear.
“Strength.” David says God ordained strength. Jesus says God perfected praise (Matthew 21:16). These are not enemies. The praise God ordains is strength. Praise is not weakness when God appoints it. It is not empty sound when it is according to truth. The praises of Christ from children in the temple were stronger than the indignation of priests and scribes. Their mouths confessed what the rulers refused. Their praise stood with Scripture against unbelieving religion.
This should change how believers think about holy words. Prayer is strength when God appoints it. Praise is strength when God receives it. Confession is strength when it declares Christ. Scripture spoken in faith is strength when enemies rage against truth. The mouth of the righteous may seem small before the world, but God can make it mighty by His ordination. “Let the high praises of God be in their mouth, and a twoedged sword in their hand” (Psalm 149:6).
“Because of thine enemies.” God has enemies. This is plain language. The psalm is not sentimental about the world. There are enemies of God, enemies of truth, enemies of Christ, enemies of worship, and enemies of His people. In Matthew 21, the enemies were not open heathen outside the temple, but religious rulers inside Israel who were sore displeased at children praising the Son of David (Matthew 21:15). Some of the most dangerous enemies of Christ have religious titles, religious learning, and religious indignation against true praise; the pope and the Roman Catholic Church are a standing example, claiming Christian authority while resisting the pure worship, finished priesthood, and exclusive glory of the Son of David.
The enemies’ objection also reveals their hatred of Christ’s glory. They could see wonderful works, hear children praising the Son of David, and still be displeased. The babes understood more than the scholars. The weak confessed what the rulers resisted. This is God’s wisdom. He hid these things from the wise and prudent and revealed them unto babes (Matthew 11:25). The issue was not lack of evidence, but enmity against the Lord.
“That thou mightest still.” God ordains praise to still enemies. To still is to silence, stop, restrain, and make quiet. The mouths of babes answer the mouths of enemies. Wicked lips produce mischief; ordained lips produce praise. Poisonous tongues stir war; praising tongues glorify Christ. God can silence the proud by causing the weak to speak rightly. He can stop the enemy not only by judgment, but by praise that exposes unbelief and leaves the adversary without excuse.
This is exactly what happened in the temple. The priests and scribes complained, “Hearest thou what these say?” (Matthew 21:16). They wanted the praise stopped. Jesus instead stopped their objection by Scripture. The children’s mouths were right; the rulers’ complaint was wrong. The enemies tried to silence praise, but the word of God silenced the enemies. Psalm 8:2 was fulfilled before their eyes.
“The enemy and the avenger.” The enemy opposes; the avenger pursues recompence and retaliation. David’s language is broad enough to include all adversaries who rise against God’s glory, but in the full light of Christ it especially fits those who oppose His praise and kingdom. Satan is the great enemy behind all rebellion, and wicked men become his instruments when they resist Christ. Yet God does not need impressive instruments to answer them. He can use babes.
This verse also warns against despising weak witnesses. The world esteems polished speech, rank, degrees, numbers, influence, and force. God can put stronger praise in the mouth of a child than in the mouth of a scholar. He can use simple confession to shame learned unbelief. He can make a young believer’s praise more acceptable than the complaints of religious experts. The value of speech is not measured by age, status, or eloquence, but by whether God has ordained it according to truth.
There is a lesson here for parents and churches. Children should be taught to use their mouths for God. They should not be trained first in vanity, entertainment, complaint, and foolish talk, then later expected to praise well. They should hear the mighty works of God, learn the name of Christ, speak His truth, sing His praise, and confess His dominion. God is able to ordain strength out of young mouths. Therefore, adults must not despise children’s praise, nor leave their mouths to the world.
There is also a lesson for ministers. True strength in the assembly is not found in performance, display, human applause, or fleshly excitement. It is found when mouths are governed by God: preaching His word, praying according to truth, singing with understanding, confessing Christ, and praising Jehovah our Lord. God’s ordained strength is not noise without truth, but praise perfected by His appointment.
This verse rebukes proud silence as well as wicked speech. Some are ashamed to praise Christ openly. Others fear enemies, critics, or rulers. But babes praised Him in the temple while chief priests and scribes were displeased. If God ordained strength from their mouths, then saints should not keep silent through cowardice. “Let the redeemed of the LORD say so” (Psalm 107:2). Christ is worthy of confessed praise before men.
Jesus Christ stands at the center of the verse. He is Jehovah our Lord whose name is excellent in all the earth (v.1). He is the Son of David praised by children (Matthew 21:15-16). He is the Son of man crowned with glory and honour, under whose feet all things are placed (Hebrews 2:8-9). He is the One whom enemies resist and whom God vindicates by ordained praise from the weak. The mouths of babes in the temple were not praising an ordinary teacher; they were praising the promised King.
Psalm 8:2 therefore teaches the divine appointment of holy speech. God ordains strength out of mouths, and He is pleased to use even the mouths of babes and sucklings. Let the wicked sharpen their tongues like serpents; let the righteous open their mouths in praise. Let enemies rage; God can still them by the words of the weak. Let every saint learn the holy use of the lips: to praise Christ, confess His name, declare His truth, and trust God to make such praise strength against the enemy and the avenger.
Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou ordained strength because of thine enemies, that thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger.
Psalm 8:2 gives a remarkable display of God’s glory through weak mouths. The psalm has opened with worship: “O LORD our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth! who hast set thy glory above the heavens” (v.1). Before David speaks of man, dominion, sheep, oxen, beasts, fowl, or fish, he exalts Jesus our Lord. Verse 2 then shows one way God magnifies His excellent name: He ordains strength out of the mouth of babes and sucklings.
“Out of the mouth.” This phrase is central. God does not here ordain strength out of armies, thrones, schools, councils, swords, wealth, or human greatness. He ordains strength out of the mouth. The weapon is speech. The instrument is praise. The means is words rightly used. This agrees with the frequent theme of Scripture: lips and tongue may be used for lying, flattery, poison, mischief, and deceit; but they may also be used for praise, confession, prayer, truth, and declaring the judgments of God (Psalm 119:13; 119:171; 140:3,9). In Psalm 8:2 the mouth is sanctified for one of its highest uses: publishing the praise of the Lord.
“Of babes and sucklings.” God chooses the weak things. Babes have no earthly strength. Sucklings are dependent, helpless, and unimpressive to proud men. Their mouths are not expected to silence enemies. They have no political authority, military skill, learned reputation, or worldly weight. Yet God delights to use what men despise, that the glory may be His. “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” (1 Corinthians 1:27). Psalm 8:2 teaches this doctrine long before Paul wrote it.
The Lord Jesus Christ Himself applied this verse to children praising Him in the temple. When the chief priests and scribes saw His wonderful works and heard the children crying in the temple, “Hosanna to the Son of David,” they were sore displeased (Matthew 21:15). Jesus answered them, “Yea; have ye never read, Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings thou hast perfected praise?” (Matthew 21:16). Christ did not treat their praise as disorder. He received it as the very fulfillment of Psalm 8:2.
This makes the verse plainly Messianic. The “babes and sucklings” in Matthew 21 praised Jesus as the Son of David. The rulers objected. The Lord answered by quoting Psalm 8:2. Therefore the praise ordained in the psalm is praise rendered to Christ. The excellent name in all the earth, the glory above the heavens, the dominion under the feet of the Son of man, and the praise from babes all meet in Him. Psalm 8 cannot be read rightly while Christ is pushed to the edge.
“Hast thou ordained.” This praise is not an accident of childhood excitement. God ordained it. He appointed, established, and arranged it. The children in the temple were not a nuisance to be silenced, but witnesses appointed by God. The rulers did not understand what they were hearing, but Jesus did. Their young mouths were fulfilling the written word. This should greatly enlarge our view of praise. True praise is not man’s invention rising upward by natural ability; it is God’s appointed fruit from mouths He has prepared.
The word “ordained” also gives strength to the doctrine of God’s use of means. God could have silenced His enemies by immediate thunder from heaven. He could have used angels, fire, earthquake, or visible terror. Instead, He ordained mouths. More wonderfully, He ordained the mouths of babes and sucklings. God often conquers pride by weakness, and He often overthrows opposition by testimony that proud men cannot bear.
“Strength.” David says God ordained strength. Jesus says God perfected praise (Matthew 21:16). These are not enemies. The praise God ordains is strength. Praise is not weakness when God appoints it. It is not empty sound when it is according to truth. The praises of Christ from children in the temple were stronger than the indignation of priests and scribes. Their mouths confessed what the rulers refused. Their praise stood with Scripture against unbelieving religion.
This should change how believers think about holy words. Prayer is strength when God appoints it. Praise is strength when God receives it. Confession is strength when it declares Christ. Scripture spoken in faith is strength when enemies rage against truth. The mouth of the righteous may seem small before the world, but God can make it mighty by His ordination. “Let the high praises of God be in their mouth, and a twoedged sword in their hand” (Psalm 149:6).
“Because of thine enemies.” God has enemies. This is plain language. The psalm is not sentimental about the world. There are enemies of God, enemies of truth, enemies of Christ, enemies of worship, and enemies of His people. In Matthew 21, the enemies were not open heathen outside the temple, but religious rulers inside Israel who were sore displeased at children praising the Son of David (Matthew 21:15). Some of the most dangerous enemies of Christ have religious titles, religious learning, and religious indignation against true praise; the pope and the Roman Catholic Church are a standing example, claiming Christian authority while resisting the pure worship, finished priesthood, and exclusive glory of the Son of David.
The enemies’ objection also reveals their hatred of Christ’s glory. They could see wonderful works, hear children praising the Son of David, and still be displeased. The babes understood more than the scholars. The weak confessed what the rulers resisted. This is God’s wisdom. He hid these things from the wise and prudent and revealed them unto babes (Matthew 11:25). The issue was not lack of evidence, but enmity against the Lord.
“That thou mightest still.” God ordains praise to still enemies. To still is to silence, stop, restrain, and make quiet. The mouths of babes answer the mouths of enemies. Wicked lips produce mischief; ordained lips produce praise. Poisonous tongues stir war; praising tongues glorify Christ. God can silence the proud by causing the weak to speak rightly. He can stop the enemy not only by judgment, but by praise that exposes unbelief and leaves the adversary without excuse.
This is exactly what happened in the temple. The priests and scribes complained, “Hearest thou what these say?” (Matthew 21:16). They wanted the praise stopped. Jesus instead stopped their objection by Scripture. The children’s mouths were right; the rulers’ complaint was wrong. The enemies tried to silence praise, but the word of God silenced the enemies. Psalm 8:2 was fulfilled before their eyes.
“The enemy and the avenger.” The enemy opposes; the avenger pursues recompence and retaliation. David’s language is broad enough to include all adversaries who rise against God’s glory, but in the full light of Christ it especially fits those who oppose His praise and kingdom. Satan is the great enemy behind all rebellion, and wicked men become his instruments when they resist Christ. Yet God does not need impressive instruments to answer them. He can use babes.
This verse also warns against despising weak witnesses. The world esteems polished speech, rank, degrees, numbers, influence, and force. God can put stronger praise in the mouth of a child than in the mouth of a scholar. He can use simple confession to shame learned unbelief. He can make a young believer’s praise more acceptable than the complaints of religious experts. The value of speech is not measured by age, status, or eloquence, but by whether God has ordained it according to truth.
There is a lesson here for parents and churches. Children should be taught to use their mouths for God. They should not be trained first in vanity, entertainment, complaint, and foolish talk, then later expected to praise well. They should hear the mighty works of God, learn the name of Christ, speak His truth, sing His praise, and confess His dominion. God is able to ordain strength out of young mouths. Therefore, adults must not despise children’s praise, nor leave their mouths to the world.
There is also a lesson for ministers. True strength in the assembly is not found in performance, display, human applause, or fleshly excitement. It is found when mouths are governed by God: preaching His word, praying according to truth, singing with understanding, confessing Christ, and praising Jehovah our Lord. God’s ordained strength is not noise without truth, but praise perfected by His appointment.
This verse rebukes proud silence as well as wicked speech. Some are ashamed to praise Christ openly. Others fear enemies, critics, or rulers. But babes praised Him in the temple while chief priests and scribes were displeased. If God ordained strength from their mouths, then saints should not keep silent through cowardice. “Let the redeemed of the LORD say so” (Psalm 107:2). Christ is worthy of confessed praise before men.
Jesus Christ stands at the center of the verse. He is Jehovah our Lord whose name is excellent in all the earth (v.1). He is the Son of David praised by children (Matthew 21:15-16). He is the Son of man crowned with glory and honour, under whose feet all things are placed (Hebrews 2:8-9). He is the One whom enemies resist and whom God vindicates by ordained praise from the weak. The mouths of babes in the temple were not praising an ordinary teacher; they were praising the promised King.
Psalm 8:2 therefore teaches the divine appointment of holy speech. God ordains strength out of mouths, and He is pleased to use even the mouths of babes and sucklings. Let the wicked sharpen their tongues like serpents; let the righteous open their mouths in praise. Let enemies rage; God can still them by the words of the weak. Let every saint learn the holy use of the lips: to praise Christ, confess His name, declare His truth, and trust God to make such praise strength against the enemy and the avenger.