Psalm 8.2: Out of the mouth of babies and infants
2 From the lips of children and infants
you have ordained praise
because of your enemies,
to silence the foe and the avenger.
The glory of God is witnessed to by the whole of creation, earth and heaven. David continues, “Out of the mouth of babes and infants / You have ordained strength.” Children as well as adults praise Yahweh because of His greatness. Through their worship of Him God has ordained His “strength” or “stronghold,” “Because of Your enemies, / That You may silence the enemy and the avenger,” David adds. That newborn babes are praising God even in their weakness and foolishness stops the enemy. In like manner, Paul tells the Corinthians that the preaching of Christ crucified is foolishness: “But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty … that no flesh should glory in His presence” (1 Cor. 1:27–29). When God’s people, weak and strong alike, begin to praise His name, the realm of Satan and his demons is rolled back.
Thus also that bulwark which Yahweh erects by means of the praise of children would be such a hidden prelude to the final defeat of the enemies—of course, a prelude that has long sounded forth and produced its effects.
It still remains true that the statement of v. 2* is unique in the OT. Perhaps we may assume that wisdom reflection was involved here and wanted to show that and how the power of the enemies is broken by the voice of weak children. In Matt. 21:16* the verse is quoted and applied to the praise of the children.
You have ordained praise. Scholars have offered a variety of opinions regarding what Yahweh fashions from the mouths of these “toddlers and nursing infants.” The NIV’s translation of the Hebrew ʿoz as “praise” runs counter to the normal interpretation of this word as “power” or “strength.” Although the LXX does render this word as “utterance of praise” (ainon), this meaning of ʿoz is always associated with verbs of giving, which is not the case here. Taking it as praise probably derives from an understanding that humans cannot give “glory and strength” to Yahweh; therefore, this idiom must mean to give praise instead. However, the psalmist’s point is that God builds strong defenses out of human vulnerability and weakness rather than their praise. The recognition of one’s own weakness is the starting point for recognizing dependence on the strength of God. This connects more directly with the central reflection on the unexpected elevation of humans by God that stands at the heart of this psalm.