More than one person made the reference, ‘out of the mouths of infants and nursing babies you have prepared praise,’ to me after seeing Paul sing yesterday. Usually people are referencing Matthew 21:14-16, where Jesus himself uttered those words:
And the blind and the lame came to him in the temple, and he healed them. But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children crying out in the temple, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” they were indignant, and they said to him, “Do you hear what these 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’?”
Jesus is referencing Psalm 8:2
Out of the mouth of babies and infants, you have established strength because of your foes, to still the enemy and the avenger.
To still the enemy and the avenger?
I needed some help with that, so I turned to Matthew Henry’s Commentary and found this very helpful statement on that verse:
Sometimes the power of God brings to pass great things in his church by very weak and unlikely instruments, and confounds the noble, wise, and mighty, by the base, and weak, and foolish things of the world, that no flesh may glory in his presence, but the excellency of the power may the more evidently appear to be of God, and not of man, 1 Corinthians 1:27,28.
Yes! But why the reference to enemies? Matthew Henry continues:
This he does because of his enemies, because they are insolent and haughty, that he may still them, may put them to silence, and put them to shame, and so be justly avenged on the avengers; see Acts 4:14,6:10. The devil is the great enemy and avenger, and by the preaching of the gospel he was in a great measure stilled, his oracles were silenced, the advocates of his cause were confounded, and unclean spirits themselves were not suffered to speak.
In singing this let us give God the glory of his great name, and of the great things he has done by the power of his gospel, in the chariot of which the exalted Redeemer rides forth conquering and to conquer, and ought to be attended, not only with our praises, but with our best wishes. Praise is perfected (that is, God is in the highest degree glorified) when strength is ordained out of the mouth of babes and sucklings.
My boy is not a baby or an infant – he’s almost 15 years old. But he has been graced with both innocence and confidence. When he sings, he sings without fear or any thought to what other people may think. He sings at school and he sings on the bus and he sings in stores and he sings at home. He proclaims, frequently, who God is.
Can you imagine what that does to the evil one when my boy, and all the other girls and boys like Paul, sing? How many unclean spirits have our children with significant cognitive disabilities silenced by their innocent praises? How often have we been spiritually protected through those in our care? How frequently has God smiled at the God-centeredness of those the world considers expendable?
The Works of God 
[…] established strength because of your foes, to still the enemy and the avenger.I hope you’ll read all Paul’s father had to say about the power his son has from God.Leave a Comment (0) /**/C’mon. It’s just […]
What a blessing, #1 to hear Paul sing and then to read the remarks by his dad. Noel, thanks for prompting these responses. May God use this story to spread a passion for His glory throughout all the world.
Char
Paul’s father’s words were a blessing. The beautiful praise Paul sings I think is what our hearts long to sing, and I am so thankful that a Paul encorages us all to such free praise and love.
sounds like my son – beautiful
That was absolutely beautiful and inspiring. From God’s heart to mine and yours. Causes me to praise Jesus!!! Now the words are in my heart.