Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Please explain Psalm 8:2

Question from Christina:
Hey Brother Bob! The preacher at my parent's church referenced Psalm 8:2 in his sermon. I was wondering about your interpretation of this Scripture. I have read it in several different translations, but I would love to hear your opinion of what it actually means.

Answer from Pastor Bob:
Christina, I read the verse, and there are different translations of it, because the Greek translation is quoted in Matthew 21:16 when Jesus refers to this verse. It seems the best translation is something like what the English Standard Version says: "Out of the mouth of babies and infants, you have established strength because of your foes, to still the enemy and the avenger."
The context is a psalm of praise, so the Greek translation, which is quoted in Matthew, interprets "strength" as "praise," the idea being that the words that come out of the babies and infants are strong words of song, or praise songs.
Jesus referenced this passage because children were singing His praises in the temple.
So when you take the context of the praise psalm "How majestic is your name in all the earth" (v. 1), along with how Jesus referenced the verse as praise, it seems that He is saying that God can show his might and strength by using the weakest and smallest of His people, infants and babies, and defeat the strongest earthly foe imaginable. God can do this through the simple words of praise of His people, no matter how weak they are.