Perfected Praise: Ordaining Strength Through Childlike Worship

Matthew 21 brings Jesus into Jerusalem with garments in the road, branches in the way, and a multitude crying, “Hosanna to the son of David.” The whole city gets moved because when Jesus shows up, people get moved, even before they have a full revelation of who he is. The crowd calls him “Jesus, the prophet of Nazareth,” but Jesus still comes near, still receives their cry, and still goes straight into the temple.

Jesus goes into the temple and starts turning things over. The temple cleansing is not Jesus losing control, but Jesus setting his house back in order. The money changers and dove sellers had made worship corrupt, but the blind and the lame were not scared away by his holiness. The needy came to him in the temple, and he healed them. The chief priests and scribes saw wonderful things and heard children crying, “Hosanna,” but their hearts got sore displeased.

Jesus answers their complaint with Scripture: “Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings thou hast perfected praise.” Perfected praise is not perfect volume, perfect pitch, perfect rhythm, or the right song hitting the right chord. Perfected praise means completed, ordained, formed, fastened, and assigned for a purpose. Psalm 8 shows that God ordains strength out of praise. God takes childlike praise and builds something strong with it.

Childlike faith is not childish noise. A child comes hurting to a father and says, “Daddy, can you please hold me?” The redeemed soul can cry, “Abba, Father,” because adoption has made sons and daughters out of broken people. Praise without faith becomes a clanging cymbal, but praise with childlike trust gets the attention of the Father. God takes the trembling hand, the tears, the shout, the run, the whisper, and he fashions a throne out of it.

Hosanna means, “Lord, save us.” Jesus did not stop being Savior when a person was baptized, filled with the Holy Ghost, or had lived for him for years. The mature saint never outgrows needing him. Praise keeps crying, “Save me again, hold me again, keep me again.”

Luke 18 shows the same thing in the blind man by the wayside. The crowd tried to shut him up, but he cried louder, “Jesus, thou son of David, have mercy on me.” Jesus stood still, called him close, asked him plainly what he needed, and answered his faith. The people then gave praise to God, meaning they told the story. Testimony is praise. The church gets strong when God’s people tell what the Lord has done, cry Hosanna together, and let God build a stronghold around the house.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. Perfected praise ordains real strength Perfected praise is not about the cleanest sound, the loudest shout, or the most polished worship moment. Jesus points to praise that God completes and appoints for a purpose, and that purpose is strength. A weak soul does not have to wait until feeling strong to praise, because praise is where God starts building strength. [47:08]
• 2. Childlike faith gets Father’s attention Childlike praise comes from a soul that knows where to go when hurting. The picture is not performance, but a child lifting hands to a father with trust already settled in the heart. God receives that cry and makes something holy and strong out of what others may dismiss as noise. [49:59]
• 3. Hosanna is still today’s cry Hosanna means “Lord, save us,” and that cry does not expire after conversion. The saved still need the Savior, and the mature still need mercy, keeping, and rescue. Praise stays alive when gratitude refuses to act like dependence was only for the beginning. [54:59]
• 4. Testimony is a form of praise Praise is not only a song in the room, but the story of what God has done. The blind man received sight, and the people gave praise by telling the miracle. A testimony removes shame from the past and replaces it with glory to the God who brought somebody out. [73:55]
• 5. Praise builds a holy stronghold Praise becomes a dwelling place where God inhabits, strengthens, and surrounds his people. The enemy may still threaten, and problems may still come, but praise puts a wall around the soul. The church becomes mighty when spectators become praisers and the house cries out together.
  
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Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [29:49] - Praise the Lord, Everybody
• [32:38] - Revival Is Here
• [34:11] - The Life-Giving Word
• [35:22] - Jesus Enters the Temple
• [38:16] - Perfected Praise
• [46:42] - Perfected Means Ordained Strength
• [49:11] - Childlike Faith, Not Childish Noise
• [54:59] - Hosanna Means Save
• [60:10] - Strong Seven Out of Seven
• [63:25] - Praise Gives Proper Acknowledgment
• [68:11] - The Blind Man Cries Out
• [73:55] - Testimony Is Praise
• [77:18] - Praise Builds a Stronghold
• [79:31] - Prayer, Praise, and Response

Bible Reading

Matthew 21:1-16
And when they drew near to Jerusalem and came to Bethphage, to the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, “Go into the village in front of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them to me. If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord needs them,’ and he will send them at once.” This took place to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet, saying, “Say to the daughter of Zion, ‘Behold, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.’” The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them. They brought the donkey and the colt and put on them their cloaks, and he sat on them. Most of the crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. And the crowds that went before him and that followed him were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!” And when he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred up, saying, “Who is this?” And the crowds said, “This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth of Galilee.” And Jesus entered the temple and drove out all who sold and bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who sold pigeons. He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you make it a den of robbers.” And the blind and the lame came to him in the temple, and he healed them. But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children crying out in the temple, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” they were indignant, and they said to him, “Do you hear what these are saying?” And Jesus said to them, “Yes; have you never read, ‘Out of the mouth of infants and nursing babies you have prepared praise’?” [00:35:22] [00:38:16] [00:38:38]

Luke 18:35-43
As he drew near to Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging. And hearing a crowd going by, he inquired what this meant. They told him, “Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.” And he cried out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” And those who were in front rebuked him, telling him to be silent. But he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” And Jesus stopped and commanded him to be brought to him. And when he came near, he asked him, “What do you want me to do for you?” He said, “Lord, let me recover my sight.” And Jesus said to him, “Recover your sight; your faith has made you well.” And immediately he recovered his sight and followed him, glorifying God. And all the people, when they saw it, gave praise to God. [01:08:11] [01:13:55]

Psalm 8:2
Out of the mouth of babies and infants, you have established strength because of your foes, to still the enemy and the avenger. [00:38:38] [01:03:25]

Psalm 22:3
Yet you are holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel. [00:52:26]

Observation questions

1. In Matthew 21, what different responses do we see when Jesus enters Jerusalem and then the temple—the crowd, the blind and lame, the children, and the chief priests and scribes? [00:37:44]
2. What words are the people and the children crying out in Matthew 21, and what title do they give to Jesus? [00:43:14]
3. In Luke 18, what does the blind man do when the crowd tries to silence him, and what does Jesus do next? [01:10:34]
4. According to Psalm 8:2 and Jesus’ use of it, what comes out of the mouth of babes and infants, and what does God establish through it? [00:47:37]

Interpretation questions

1. The crowd in Matthew 21 is moved by Jesus even though they do not yet speak of him with full understanding. What does that suggest about how people may begin responding to Jesus before they can explain everything clearly? [00:36:52]
2. Jesus cleanses the temple, yet the blind and the lame still come near to him there. What does that say about the difference between what Jesus confronts and what Jesus welcomes? [00:37:50]
3. Jesus connects children’s cries of “Hosanna” with Psalm 8 and “prepared” or “perfected” praise. How does that shape the meaning of praise beyond music, volume, or outward style? [00:46:42]
4. In Luke 18, Jesus tells the blind man, “your faith has made you well,” even though the man was also crying out loudly. What does that show about the relationship between faith and outward praise? [01:12:35]

Application questions

1. “Hosanna” means “Lord, save us.” Where is that still the honest cry of the heart right now—at home, in the mind, in a relationship, in a private struggle, or in simple daily weariness? [00:54:59]
2. Childlike praise comes to the Father for help instead of trying to impress people. What tends to get in the way of that kind of honest trust—self-consciousness, routine, disappointment, pride, or something else? [00:49:59]
3. Praise can become shallow when the heart is disconnected, even if the room is full of activity. What helps move praise from habit or noise into real faith and real acknowledgment of who God is? [01:03:39]
4. Testimony is a form of praise. What part of the story of God’s goodness needs to be spoken out loud again instead of kept quiet—something forgiven, something healed, something provided, or something still being worked on? [01:13:55]
5. The blind man cried louder when others tried to shut him down. When pressure, embarrassment, or spiritual heaviness tries to silence prayer and praise, what does it usually sound like in real life, and how can a believer answer it? [01:09:27]
6. Praise is not only for a church room; it can be carried into work, the car, the home, and the week. What would it look like to practice that kind of praise in one ordinary part of this coming week? [01:19:31]
7. Praise builds strength in the people of God together. Who in the group, church, or family may need someone to take them by the hand, listen to their need, and cry out to God with them this week? [01:16:02]