Mensa Otabil - Out of the Mouth of Babes (10/06/2025)
This week, we are looking at the eighth Psalm, Psalm 8. Psalm 8 is the first Psalm that breaks with a note of celebration. The previous Psalms have been full of sorrow, lamentations, and prayers of anguish, but in Psalm 8, we hear sounds of joy and victory from David. As I noted earlier, it has been strongly suggested that this Psalm was written after David defeated Goliath, and if that is so, then the Psalm has a very special meaning for how we also view God after we have seen Him do great things for us.
So, we look at verse 2 of Psalm 8: «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.» Putting this into context, as to when the Psalm was written, David now sees himself as a baby or a nursing infant. Babies are not mature enough to speak; they are not mature enough to take care of themselves, and they have to be fed. They are weak and unable to walk by themselves, much less fight and accomplish warrior feats. David contrasts the babes and infants with an enemy and the avenger. An avenger is someone who goes out to do damage. Here are babies fighting an avenger, and he says two important things that I want you to pay attention to as you look at verse 2 of Psalm 8.
He says that God ordained strength out of babies. God is so strong and powerful that He can use powerless people to demonstrate His strength. God does not need powerful people to show how powerful He is; He can take the weak things to confound those that are strong. From babies, He is able to deal with avengers. He uses those who are surrendered to Him, the weak things surrendered to Him, to showcase His power. He’s so perfect in Himself that He doesn’t need anything to help Him be any better than He is.
God, out of the mouth of babes, has ordained strength. If you think you are a baby, if you think you are inadequate and don’t have what it takes, God can still use you to do great things for His glory because out of the mouth of babes, He ordains strength. The second thing that David says is that God silences the enemy and the avenger. God silences those who speak boastfully.
If you know the battle between Goliath and David, Goliath presents himself before Israel for 40 days. He speaks bombastically and boastfully, defying God and the armies of Israel. This guy is full of himself; of course, he’s a huge man and well-armed. He spoke so arrogantly to defy God. Then, at the height of all this hubris, God raises a shepherd boy who comes in the name of the Lord. This shepherd boy shuts the mouth of the boastful giant, and that’s what David is talking аbout: that God uses babes to shut the mouths of giants-people who speak loudly and think they are all that. God picks a nobody to silence them. That’s the God we worship, that’s the God who created us, and that is the God we love because He is able to take babes and silence the avengers.
So, I don’t know what you’re dealing with. Maybe you, like David, see yourself as a babe or a nursing infant. You feel inadequate, and you look at all the things you have to do, and it seems that others have it all figured out. But if you trust in Jehovah, if you trust in this Creator God, then He can take you as you are and silence the mouth of the avenger. May the Lord silence every avenger that has risen against you.
Let’s pray. Say with me, «Heavenly Father, You do mighty things through feeble vessels. Take my life and use it for Your glory. In Jesus' name, Amen.» I’ll catch you again tomorrow. I’m Pastor Mensa Otabil. Shalom, peace, and life to you.