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Babes and sucklings; either,
1. Properly such; for there is much of God’s glory seen in infants, in their conception and strange progress from small and contemptible beginnings, in their preservation and nourishment in the dark cell of the womb, in their bringing forth and bringing up, in providing breasts and milk for them, and keeping them from innumerable dangers, from which they are utterly unable to keep themselves. But this, though it sets forth God’s praise, yet how it stills the enemy and avenger seems not clear. Or rather,
2. Metaphorically so called, babes not so much in age and years, as in disposition and condition; weak, and foolish, and contemptible, and harmless persons, who are very frequently called babes or children, as 2Ch_13:7 Pro_1:4 Ecc_10:6 Isa_3:4 Mat_18:3 Eph_4:14, &c. For such are very unfit to grapple with an enemy; and therefore when such persons conquer the most powerful and malicious enemies, it must needs exceedingly confound and silence them, and mightily advance the glory of God; as indeed it did, when such mean and obscure persons as the apostles, and ministers, and disciples of Christ were, did maintain and propagate the gospel in spite of all the wit, and power, and rage of their enemies. See 1Co_1:25,27-29. And of such babes as these Christ himself expounds this place, Mat_21:16; of which more, God willing, upon that place.
Hast thou ordained strength; or, thou hast founded (or confirmed, or established, or firmly settled, or fitted, or perfected, as it is rendered by the LXX. and vulgar Latin here, and by St. Matthew, Mat_21:16, i.e. perfectly or firmly settled) strength; by which he seems to understand either,
1. The celebration or praise of his strength or power, by comparing this with Mat_21:16; where it is rendered praise. So it is only a metonymy of the adjunct, which is most frequent in Scripture and all authors. And so the word strength seems to be taken Psa_29:1 96:7. Or,
2. A strong and mighty kingdom; the abstract being put for the concrete, than which nothing is more frequent; even the kingdom of Christ, or his gospel, which is oft called the arm or power of God, as Psa_110:2 Isa_53:1 1Co_1:18,24. And this kingdom being an everlasting, and invincible, and all conquering kingdom, Dan_2:44, it is no wonder it is here called strength. And this gospel or kingdom is here said to be founded or established, not by the hands or valiant actions of men of might, as other kingdoms are; but merely by the mouths of babes, &c., i.e. by the words and discourses of Christ’s apostles and disciples; which is justly observed and celebrated here as a wonderful work of God.
That thou mightest still, i.e. silence, and confound, and conquer, either by convincing and converting them, or by destroying them.
The enemy; the enemies of God and of his people, the devil, the head of them, whose kingdom and power is abolished by this means, and all men who fight under his banner against God and Christ and his members. The avenger; which title most truly and fitly agrees, first to the devil, who being sentenced by God to eternal flames, and conquered and tormented by Christ, maketh it his great business to revenge himself, which because he cannot do upon God and Christ, he endeavours to do it upon their servants and children; and next to all these men who are his vassals and espouse his quarrel; who also are provoked, and conceive, though falsely, that they are injured by the gospel, and by the preachers, professors, and practisers of it, and therefore seek to revenge themselves of them; whereof we have an eminent instance, Rev_11:10. Compare Heb_11:37.