“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.”
My Notes
What Does Psalms 8:2 Mean?
"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." God has established strength from the most unlikely source: the mouths of infants and nursing babies. The strength that silences enemies doesn't come from warriors or armies. It comes from babies. The contrast between the source (babes) and the effect (stilling enemies) is the psalm's central wonder.
The word "ordained" (yissadta — founded, established, laid a foundation) means God BUILT something with infant praise: He used it as building material. The strength isn't metaphorical. It's foundational — God laid a foundation of power using the praise of babies. The weakest voices construct the strongest defense.
Jesus quotes this verse in Matthew 21:16 when children praise Him in the Temple and the chief priests object: 'Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings thou hast perfected praise.' Jesus applies the psalm to Himself, identifying the children's praise as the ordained strength that silences His enemies.
Reflection Questions
- 1.What unlikely, seemingly weak source is God using to accomplish what your strength couldn't?
- 2.How does strength being 'ordained' from babies' mouths reveal God's pattern of using weakness?
- 3.What does Jesus quoting this verse in the Temple teach about who recognizes Him and who doesn't?
- 4.Where are you looking for warrior-strength when God has ordained baby-strength?
Devotional
Out of the mouths of babies, God built a fortress. The praise of infants — the babbling, the nursing, the inarticulate sounds of the smallest humans — is the material God uses to silence His enemies. The avenger is stilled not by an army but by a baby's mouth.
The 'ordained strength' means God deliberately chose this source: He didn't accidentally discover that infant praise has power. He FOUNDED it — laid it as a cornerstone. The strength was designed to come from the weakest possible source so that the power would be unmistakably God's. When babies silence avengers, no one credits the military.
Jesus claimed this verse in the Temple: children shouted 'Hosanna to the Son of David' and the religious leaders objected. Jesus responded: 'Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings thou hast perfected praise.' The children's acclamation — rejected by the experts — was the ordained strength that silenced the enemy. The religious authorities who should have recognized Jesus were stilled by children who simply praised Him.
The pattern is God's signature: strength from weakness. Power from helplessness. The foundation of divine victory laid in the mouths of those who can barely speak. God doesn't use the strong to defeat the enemy. He uses the weak — so that the victory is clearly His, not theirs.
What 'babe's mouth' — what unlikely, weak, seemingly insignificant source — is God using to accomplish what your strength couldn't?
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
Out of the mouths of babes and sucklings,.... Not literally such, though the Jewish writers (e) generally so understand…
Out of the mouth - This passage is quoted by the Saviour in Mat 21:16, to vindicate the conduct of the children in the…
The psalmist here sets himself to give to God the glory due to his name. Dr. Hammond grounds a conjecture upon the title…
Cross References
Related passages throughout Scripture