In Matthew 21:16, our Lord Jesus quoted from Psalm 8:2 to silence His antagonistic critics, who were inflamed with insanity at hearing the little children chanting: “Hosanna to the Son of David!” (Matthew 21:15).
Even in their simple ignorance, those little children already knew what the ‘learned’ temple officials didn’t know nor cared to find out for themselves. On that day, the little children cried out for help and salvation, (which is actually the literal meaning of the Hebrew word, ‘Hosanna’).
The little children had enough faith to believe that Jesus Christ was the long-awaited messiah, but the learned Chief Priests and Scribes thought quite differently! They didn’t need any deliverer from serfdom at the hands of the Roman authorities. They were quite comfortable and shielded enough – or so it seemed.
But thank God for those little children whose eyes were enlightened to see the situation from God’s own perspective. They also knew that by offering their Perfected Praise to God, He would bring deliverance and salvation to His people, (Psalm 50:23)!
The Living Bible adds much life and light to Psalm 8:2, “You have taught the little children to praise you perfectly. May their example shame and silence your enemies!”
What do little children know that we can learn from? A lot more than we may care to admit!
First, children take things at their face value. They are easily impressionable. They have a simplistic view of life. They have no need to probe too deeply or question such sort of issues that bother the hearts of grown up adults.
Second, children attach value, meaning and intensity to everything they do. Have you seen children at play? I’m sure you have. Did you notice that their entire attention span is totally eaten up with their play?
Adults try to focus on a number of separate things all at once. But it never works that way. It has been said that the experts are those who narrow down their focus in life.
Third, children seem to maintain their touch with heaven for the first three or five years of their earthly life, during which period they enjoy total innocence; and because of this, some of them see things, sense things, feel things, perceive things, and understand things that the grown-up adults no longer possess the ability or faculty to experience nor enjoy.
What can we learn from the foregoing points? Simply this: God wants us to worship Him in the simplicity and innocence of our hearts – hearts totally devoid of adult concerns, anxieties and worries – just like little children, (babes and the suckling ones), in whose mouth God has “…perfected praise…” (Matthew 21:16).
If you died today, are you absolutely certain that you would go to heaven? You can be! TRUST JESUS NOW
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