Out of the Mouth of Babes.....the Wayfarer 3/28/16

Out of the Mouth of Babes
  3/28/16

 

"O LORD, How excellent is thy name in all the earth! Who hast set thy glory above the heavens.

Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou ordained strength because of thine enemies, that thou mightiest still the enemy, and the avenger."

(Psalm 8:1 & 2)

The mouths of babes, a font of truth and wisdom incomparable in a world continually beset by the deceit and lies of adults running that world, is continually ignored in favor of the supposed gain to be had by that very innocence necessary for the gain to be had by a soul in need.

It is through the speech and actions of the youngest that what is taught, what has been taught and believed to be true may be measured.

Monkey see: Monkey do!

Babies, and, most particularly the smallest of them are dependent upon the nourishment, both physical and spiritual given by their parents. 

Without the physical nourishment, the body fails and languishes to the point of death.

 Without the spiritual nourishment the soul also starves, allowing poisonous material to be willingly and innocently consumed until the soul itself languishes and dies within.

All of our societies are a reflection of the sustenance given our young, a compilation of the years spent in the home, and what is taught there, the years spent in the "institutions of learning", and what is allowed to be taught by them as acceptable behavior within those societies.

When morality and truth are abandoned in both home and those institutions, what is left is the result of that abandonment, breeding contempt for both morality and truth.

David, the Psalmist, for this particular Psalm, contemplated mankind's place within the universe, exactly where in the pecking order we lie, and are intended to lie.

"When I consider thy heavens, the work of  thy  fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained;

What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?

For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, ad hat crowned him with glory and honor."

(Psalm 8: 3-5)

What, indeed, is this creature that it inhabits a peculiar and special place within that universe created by God, meant to be in subjection to Him, yet given so much ability and choice?

Although created lower than the angels themselves, we are a special purview of that God, to be protected, and favored, even by those very angels,  given a means of becoming like them in the perfection provided on the day of that creation.

Like those angels, free will was and is a part of what was created within us!

Like those angels, conscious choice is instilled within the souls given the physical bodies of this creature called man, choice to obey or rebel against that creator.

It was that free will that allowed Lucifer to rebel, thinking to surpass and supplant God, taking with him a full third of all the angels created, in an attempt to rule that universe in place of his own Creator.

Because of  his failure to succeed in that attempt, both he and those angels following him were cast from heaven and forever banned from the peace and contentment intended for them, destined instead for an eternal punishment to be given after having been allowed their time to influence the destinies of mankind as well.

It is that destiny, well known to that old liar, that fomented an utter hatred of mankind, and any possibility of men enjoying the peace and contentment in the presence of God through eternity, that keeps him ever on the prowl for souls to deceive into the same punishment that he knows is to come.

It is that rebellion that continues to plague a world that listens too well to the whispers and mockings of that pitiful excuse for a creature bent only on destruction of what has been created by God.

"Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet:

All sheep and oxen, yea, and all the beasts of the field;

The fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea, and whatsoever passeth through the paths of the seas.

O LORD, our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth!(Psalm 8:6-9)

Take note that David, shepherd boy elevated to king of God's chosen people, still recognized that his own place, his own name, was far lower than that of his creator.

Man was given dominion over the physical things of this mud-ball, and has without doubt, exercised, and continues to exercise that dominion.

In the folly of belief that somehow, that dominion exceeds the power of the Creator of that dominion, mankind continues to listen to the deceptions of the enemy of God and all created by Him.

Recognition of place is abandoned in pursuit of further glory, further power never intended to be held, nor ever given.

The excellence of God is demeaned and denied while man touts the excellency of his dominion without regard to where that dominion originates.

Forgotten is the fact that that Originator, and, His intent, remain in effect despite that perceived power held by man, elevated beyond actuality by one attempting the destruction of both that dominion, and, all the intended reward that was given with it.

When praise and obedience to that Originator are withheld, they are placed in the hands of the one bent on that destruction.

All covenants given to God's people have been violated.

 Recognition of God is replaced by recognition only  the power, ability, teachings, and laws given by man, instead of that intended by God, as conscious choice is made of sustenance accepted by creatures that are mere babes, sucklings, yet to be nourished, or languish and starve with decisions that they themselves have made.

A final covenant has been established, that if honored, will place mankind, once more, as individuals, back into the intended place within the plan of that Originator, and Creator.

It was given through the sacrifice of Christ Jesus, His love, His teachings, His commitment to this creature created so lowly, yet so honored by its Creator.

That covenant will remain in effect, until the end of the earth itself, and beyond into the realm of the unperceivable void of eternity, despite any dominion held by men.

Free will and choice remain, yet, and still, to heed His message of redemption through repentance, choosing to honor the intent of that dominion, or to heed the lies of the deceiver bent on destruction of that dominion, wishing to claim it for himself, through the deceptions given, and those taught by his students ,willing, if unknowing advocates. 

"Repent: for the Kingdom of heaven is at hand!" 

As Christ entered Jerusalem triumphantly in the full knowledge of the impending trial and crucifixion awaiting Him, there were a few who continued, as did David to understand their place in the universe, and the limits placed on man, yet never placed on God.

"And the multitudes that went before, and that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna to the son of David: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest.

And when he was come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, Who is this?

And the multitude said, This is Jesus, the prophet of Nazareth of Galilee.

And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bough in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves,

And said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves.

And the blind and the lame came to him in the temple, and he healed them.

And when the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things he did, and the children crying in the temple, and saying, Hosanna to the son of David; they were sore displeased,

And said unto him, Hearest thou what these say? And Jesus saith unto them, Yea; have ye never read, Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings thou hast perfected praise?

(Matthew 21:9-16)

Despite the obvious miracles performed, these scribe and priests refused to acknowledge the power and dominion of God.

 They were displeased that Jesus could do the things He did, that they could not, and most particularly displeased by the recognition of who He was by those recognizing Him.

Jesus' quote from the Psalm previously addressed reminded them of their real place in the universe, and the limitations of their given dominion, as opposed to their aspirations to have more than given them.

"But Jesus called them unto him, and said, Suffer little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God.

Verily, I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child shall in no wise enter therein."

(Luke 18:16 &17)

In the words written for a noted actor, and often quoted philosopher at large, "A man should know his limitations."

I remain aware of my own, and recognize that place occupied within God's universe, recognizing not only  my limitations, but those of mankind and the deceiver attempting continually to exceed his own, while convincing men of greater dominion than that which is held.

There  is still only one Truth, one Way that provides for Life that is promised. 

 That lies only within the purview of God, not man.

I recognize the fact that a child, even one as old as I am, can only be nourished properly, and kept safe only by the immeasurable wisdom of God, who has no limitations. 

I willingly rely on the strictures and limits given, in full expectation of what is yet to come.
I rely on the promise of the Grace given by God through faith in Christ Jesus, faith in His ability to keep that promise, faith in the mercy that promises eternal life only in return for that faith that allows redemption through repentance as preached by Him.


O LORD, our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth!

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.

Amen.

2 Timothy 1:12 King James Version (KJV)

¹² For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.

And again, Amen

the Wayfarer