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Psalms 8:2-8

King James Version (KJV)

“In our prayers we talk to God, in our Bible study God talks to us, and we had better let God do most of the talking.”
— D.L. Moody

Scripture focus

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. 3. When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; 4. What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him? 5. For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour. 6. Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all [things] under his feet: 7. All sheep and oxen, yea, and the beasts of the field; 8. The fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea, [and whatsoever] passeth through the paths of the seas.

Psalms 8:2-8 — KJV

Commentary

Commentary on Psalms 8:2

Theological / Devotional

Babes. From the Heb. ‘olel, “child,” referring here to a boy or child, or one like a child.

Sucklings. From the Heb. yoneq, “suckling child,” or, “one like an unweaned babe.”

Ordained strength. God has used as instruments of His power those who are otherwise as feeble as little children and babies. Through them He has shown His power in stilling “the enemy and the avenger.”

Still. Heb. shabath, “to rest,” from which our word “sabbath” is derived. The form used here means “to cause to rest,” “to desist.” The enemy is caused to desist from his plans.

Jesus quoted this passage (Matt. 21:16) to vindicate the hosannas of the children in the Temple against the objections of the scribes and Pharisees. Some interpreters see in this verse the key to the whole psalm. In their opinion, the sense is that puny little man is the babe of creation, yet God has given him strength to rule the world of which he is such an insignificant part, and thus conferred upon him dignity and honor far beyond that of the rest of the creation which He governs.

By SdaBc