Psalms 8:2
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.
Original Language Analysis
Cross References
Historical Context
In ancient Near Eastern cultures, children held marginal status until reaching maturity. They lacked legal rights, economic value (until old enough to work), and social voice. Military strength, impressive architecture, and elaborate rituals demonstrated a deity's power. Against this backdrop, Psalm 8:2 radically subverts expectations: God's strength manifests through society's weakest members.
The concept of children praising God appears throughout Scripture. Joel 2:16 includes nursing infants in corporate worship. Psalm 148:12-13 calls young men and virgins, old and young, to praise God's name. Jesus welcomed children, blessed them, and held them up as models of kingdom entrance (Matthew 19:13-15). In cultures where children were seen but not heard, Jesus's inclusion of them was revolutionary.
Ancient Israel's enemies—surrounding pagan nations with their military power and impressive pantheons—posed constant threat. Yet God's covenant people, often militarily weak and politically insignificant, testified to His glory through simple faith and obedient worship. Like children whose praise silences enemies, Israel's faithful witness confounded nations who couldn't comprehend Yahweh's power working through seeming weakness.
The early church embodied this principle. Composed largely of slaves, poor, women, and social outcasts, Christians lacked political power or cultural prestige. Yet their courageous faith and joyful worship—even unto martyrdom—silenced accusers and eventually transformed the Roman Empire. What appeared weak proved powerful; what seemed foolish proved wise.
Questions for Reflection
- What does God's choice to establish strength through 'babes and sucklings' reveal about His character and values?
- How does childlike praise—simple, unsophisticated, sincere—differ from adult worship that may become performance or routine?
- In what ways might you be despising 'weak' or 'insignificant' means through which God chooses to work?
- How does Jesus's validation of children's praise (Matthew 21:16) challenge religious elitism or intellectualism in the church?
- What 'enemies' or 'avengers' in your life might God be silencing through unexpected or seemingly weak means?
Analysis & Commentary
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. This verse presents a stunning paradox: God establishes His strength through the weakest, most vulnerable members of society—infants and nursing babies. The Hebrew olalim (עוֹלָלִים) refers to young children, while yoneqim (יֹנְקִים) specifically means nursing infants still dependent on mother's milk.
"Ordained strength" (yissadta oz, יִסַּדְתָּ עֹז) literally means "You have founded strength" or "established might." The verb yasad suggests laying a foundation, establishing firmly. God has chosen to base or found His power on what seems powerless—the praise of children. This divine strategy confounds human wisdom that equates strength with military might, political power, or intellectual sophistication.
"Because of thine enemies" reveals God's purpose: to shame and silence His adversaries through unexpected means. The phrase "still the enemy and the avenger" uses leshabbeth (לְהַשְׁבִּית), meaning to cause to cease, bring to rest, or silence. God's enemies seek to challenge His authority and defame His name, but He silences them not through overwhelming force (though He possesses that) but through the simple, pure praise of children.
Jesus quotes this verse in Matthew 21:16 when religious leaders complain about children praising Him in the temple, crying "Hosanna to the Son of David!" Jesus's response—"Have you never read, 'Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants You have perfected praise'?"—applies the psalm to Himself and validates children's spiritual insight. Often those whom society dismisses as insignificant recognize God's glory more clearly than the sophisticated elite.
Paul develops this theology in 1 Corinthians 1:27-29: "God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are mighty." The cross epitomizes this principle—God's "weakness" (crucified Messiah) proves stronger than human strength, and God's "foolishness" (gospel message) proves wiser than human wisdom.