The Majesty And Glory Part II: Out of the Mouths of Babes
Over the next few weeks, we will be studying King David's Psalm 8. It is one of the Psalms that shows, as the title of this short series describes, the "Majesty and Glory" of God. There is a song by the same title, performed by both Sandi Patty and Clay Crosse, with my favorite version being the latter.
Last week, we studied verse 1. We saw how the Chief Musician was in charge of all music, the music was a joyous song probably played on a stringed instrument and that the song was written by the musically talented King David. We also saw how the all caps LORD is the word Yahweh in Hebrew and refers to God as the I AM, the always existing and only God, and that the term Lord (capital L only), Adonay, was referring to Yahweh God as Master. God is excellent, or better translated majestic, and is bigger and more grand than all of creation in more than just name only, and that the stars, planets, nebulae and other stellar wonders are God's fingerprints in the sky. The very skies show the beauty and might of God.
This week, we will tackle verse 2: Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants You have ordained strength, Because of Your enemies, That You may silence the enemy and the avenger. At first blush, it would appear odd that this passage appears right in the middle of a song about the majesty and glory of God, but in fact it is an intregal part of the song as we will see this week.
Kids Say The Darndest Things!
From the mouth of infants and nursing babes You have established strength Because of Your adversaries, To make the enemy and the revengeful cease. (Psalm 8:2, NASB)
I always enjoyed The Linkletter Show with Art Linkletter as a kid. Art Linkletter, one would think is about as American as apple pie, but he was originally from Moosejaw, Saskatchewan, Canada and became an American citizen in the 1940's. My favorite part of the show was when he would interview children and, as he often said, "kids say the darndest things!".
When unpeeling this verse--and I say unpeeling because this particular verse has about as many layers of application as an onion has layers--one finds prophecy and downright practical and pithy application. In other words, stuff we can use regularly and use to build our faith.
First, let's just think about Art Linkletter and his statement "kids say the darndest things". Kids will surprise you with the things that they come up with, but also kids, in their innocence will say what is on their minds. They do not have the years of cynicism, negativity and, basically, the world pounding away on them that we have. Of course, they are not totally innocent in a theological sense, as "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23), but most young children have no problem with telling you what they feel. This often means that parents will be embarrassed--and learn not to gossip around their kids as it will just pop out of that child's mouth without warning!
Little children's minds develop at a exponential rate up until they are about seven years old, from what I understand. What we teach our kids from birth to age seven will have a huge impact upon their lives. They are watching us, they are studying us as we are the major modeling influence in their precious little lives. What you say they will say, what you do they will do--either positive or negative. This is why it's important for little kids to have a steady diet of Bible from a young age; because it will come out of their little mouths.
From a practical standpoint, think about some of your family members that do not know Christ, and you have an incredibly hard time talking to about Jesus. Your child could very well be the catalyst in leading that person to Christ; most kids will ask or say what comes natural to them; they don't have that built in fear of persecution like you or I have from dealing with the world. While some people will chalk it up as us brainwashing our kids, others will indeed listen and God's Word never returns void. It's like the sign I have seen, perhaps you have as well: No matter whom you are, if a little child gives you a play phone you answer it!
The Prophetic Passage
But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful things that He had done, and the children who were shouting in the temple, "Hosanna to the Son of David," they became indignant and said to Him, "Do You hear what these children are saying?" And Jesus said to them, "Yes; have you never read, 'OUT OF THE MOUTH OF INFANTS AND NURSING BABIES YOU HAVE PREPARED PRAISE FOR YOURSELF'?" And He left them and went out of the city to Bethany, and spent the night there. Matthew 21:12-18
We've discussed before that about 25% of the Scriptures are prophetic in nature; such is the case with Psalm 8:2. This is, however a special prophetic passage because it is a Messianic prophetic passage, and it is quoted by Jesus Himself in the Gospel of Matthew.
Jesus had just entered Jerusalem in what is commonly called "The Triumphal Entry", and for the second time cleared the Temple of money changers and sacrifice salesmen. Both the money changers and dove salesmen were gouging the Jews with unfair money exchange rates, and doves that were sold at a price way above market. They were, in essence, Jews stealing from Jews that traveled from out of town that were in Jerusalem for the Passover. They had turned the Temple--a place of prayer--into a den of thieves. The religious elite turned their heads, perhaps even having their palms greased by these people. The headquarters for rendering prayer had become the headquarters for the rip off. Jesus showed indignance at the insolence of these shysters, and at the Pharisees for allowing it to occur in the first place.
Jesus then, after dispensing justice, showed mercy: And the blind and the lame came to Him in the temple, and He healed them. (Matt 21:14, NASU). Blind and lame people were forbidden in the temple, but Jesus welcomed them in and healed them, showing that He is indeed greater than the temple (Matt 12:6). First, an act of cleansing (the temple) then an act of mercy (healing the blind and crippled). For the most part, those that needed healing were the poor and needy, those that would have been neglected by the Pharisees and Scribes, yet Jesus showed love and mercy for those that had nothing.
Then, the children (teenage Jewish boys that had just had their bar mitzvah in town for their first Passover) exclaimed "Hosanna to the Son of David!". Essentially, they were saying Jesus was the long awaited Messiah (Hosanna meaning "oh save us now", with Son of David a title for the Messiah). These boys were cheering on the acts of the Messiah, both justice and mercy. The Pharisees, whose bottom line was affected and their authority questioned lashed out in outrage and fury (definition of indignant) and screamed "Do You hear what these children are saying?" Jesus then quoted Psalm 8:2, from the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Old Testament: 'OUT OF THE MOUTH OF INFANTS AND NURSING BABIES YOU HAVE PREPARED PRAISE FOR YOURSELF'?" (perfected praise, KJV, NKJV). This is another example of children seeing the truth of the matter; contrasts the perceiving hearts of the teens as opposed to the closed, cold hearts of the religious elite.
The Weak Things Of The World
For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble; but 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 strong... 1 Corinthians 1:26-27 (NASB)
I still find it beyond remarkable that Jesus came into this world the way He did. From all powerful to powerless. From holding the very universe in His hand to being held in the arms of His mother. From the throne to a cattle trough. And, what is even more remarkable is that Jesus did this to save me from my sin, both for all eternity and to save me out of my sin--piece by piece--over the span of my life by separating me from a life of sin to a less sinful life.
One of the more familiar themes in the Bible is how God takes the weak, the feeble, the seemingly insignificant and using them to change the world. Most of the disciples (later apostles) had seemingly insignificant roots: fishermen, a tax collector, a religious revolutionary. Although these men were from seemingly obscure roots, all but John died a martyr's death for their Savior. The weak and insignificant became building blocks upon which the church was built, built of course upon the Chief Cornerstone, Jesus. When the weak become the strong, empowered by God through His Holy Spirit, the powerful and mighty don't know how to deal with it.
Yet there are none that are more weak and helpless than babies. Yet their cries are noticed above the shouts of men, aren't they? When a baby cries, everything stops. People notice, and the mother goes into action to take care of whatever the need might be.
In the 1 Corinithians passage above, we see that God uses the foolish things of the world to shame the wise. The Greek term translated as foolish is moros, and "primarily denotes "dull, sluggish" (from a root muh, "to be silly"); hence, "stupid, foolish"; it is used of persons, Matt 5:22, "Thou fool"; here the word means morally worthless, a scoundrel, a more serious reproach than "Raca"; the latter scorns a man's mind and calls him stupid; moros scorns his heart and character (from Vine's Expository Dictionary). Instead of "duh" the word should be "muh"! Believe me, I have been called stupid more times that I can count, and if I am called a fool for my faith then so be it; it means that God is using me, He is working through me. I guess the world would call me a dumb-head for Christ.
Yet, it's folks like you and me--considered foolish or stupid even, or weak, or helpless--to shame the powerful and mighty of the world. How? Because our lives are a testimony, we are a persistent bunch, aren't we? Sure we fail, we fall, we do things we shouldn't do at times. But we often can do things, empowered by the Holy Spirit, that just defy the wisdom of the world and succeed.
The Secret: Child Like Faith
..."Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 18:3 (NASB)
Out of necessity due to the way of the world, we teach our kids not to trust. Don't trust strangers is a wise caution, as are other warnings we give our kids. As life goes on and children become teens then young adults, the realities of the world crush in upon them. There are people that will lie to them, deceive them, steal from them, betray them and more. There is a cynicism that becomes part of a person; a certain degree is required to make it though life. In other words, we learn through the school of hard knocks to be careful upon whom we put our trust. But think about the root source of all of the tough life lessons we have learned: Satan and his world system.
Satan's name means "liar and deceiver". He carries nicknames that apply to those that have given adults calloused trust issues. Satan is the adversary, and he is the revengeful; he wants to kill all mankind because we are made in the very image of God, whom he hates. He wants each and every person on earth to be sent to Hell.
Now think about the trust of a little child. I think of Kay and my nephew Dwight when I think of the trust of a little child. The first time Kay met Dwight, he was just a little beyond a year old; she met him at a football game at West Greene. Kay just has a way with kids, and we were stunned when Dwight looked at Kay and held his arms out to be held. He had never met her before, but trusted her and liked her right away. There were no questions, no lengthy sizing her up mentally or the like, he just trusted her unequivocally.
When a person puts their trust in Jesus Christ like Dwight did with Kay, that person has defeated the adversaries (those that hate us, under the dominion of Satan) and that person had made the enemy and the revengeful cease in their trying to send us to Hell. Yes, we will still be tempted and tried by the evil one. Yes, he will; and just as Satan did with Jesus he will return after our triumphs "after a season". But it's childlike faith in Christ that saves us, and it's childlike faith in Christ that sustains us and makes out lives closer and more vital in Him.
We are made victorious over sin and Satan by having child like faith. The faith that brings us to Jesus Christ, and the child like faith--unwaivering and trusting--to love God no matter what the cost and no matter what the circumstance.
