Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Psalms 118:23
This is the LORD’s doing; it [is] marvelous in our eyes.
23. This &c.] Lit. From Jehovah has this come to pass. The order of the words emphasises From Jehovah. Cp. Neh 6:16, “They perceived that it was from our God that this work was wrought.”
marvellous ] Nothing less than a miracle, visibly attesting the providential care of Jehovah for His people. See note on Psa 71:17. The same word is used in Jer 32:17; Jer 32:27 with reference to the promised restoration of Israel from captivity. “There is nothing too hard (lit. wonderful) for thee.”
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
This is the Lords doing – Margin, as in Hebrew, This is from the Lord. That is, It is to be traced to the Lord alone. It is not the result of human wisdom or power. The deliverance from danger – the raising up from the low condition – the change by which he who was rejected was restored to his rightful place – all this was to be traced to God alone. So it was in the case of the psalmist; so it was in the case of the Redeemer. None but God could have made him who was rejected, despised, crucified, and laid in the grave, the Saviour of a world. The place which the once rejected Redeemer now bears in the church – the honors bestowed on him as the head of the church – the triumph of his gospel in the world – all prove that it is the work of God.
It is marvelous in our eyes – It is suited to excite wonder. It is not one of those things which are to be ranked with the common and well-known events that are easily explained, and that excite no wonder; it is one of those things which cannot be explained by any known law; which belong to the supernatural; which bear the marks of a direct divine interposition; which are suited to excite the admiration of mankind. Thus it was in the case of the psalmist; thus, pre-eminently, it was in the case of the Redeemer. No operation of natural laws will constitute a sufficient explanation of the latter. It is a matter for wonder, for rejoicing, and for praise, that one, despised, rejected, crucified, has been raised from the grave; that his religion has spread so far over the world; that it influences mankind as it does; and that he himself is exalted to a rank far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come. Eph 1:21.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Psa 118:23
This is the Lords doing; it is marvellous in our eyes.
The Lords doing
The following appear to me to be evident marks, or strong indications of an immediate work of Divine Providence.
1. When great and notable events are brought about by causes apparently inadequate to produce them,–by means that, to all human reason and appearance, are unable to attain their end.
2. When nature herself seems to arm in defence of, or in opposition to, any cause, by operating for, or against the same, in an extraordinary and unusual manner (Jos 10:13; Jdg 5:20; 1Sa 7:10).
3. When the hidden works of darkness are brought to light in some sudden, surprising, and unexpected manner, as if by accident (2Ki 5:20-27; Act 5:1-12; Mat 2:1-17; Est 6:7; Act 9:23-25; Act 23:12-25).
4. When some great and notable mischief is not only discovered and prevented, but likewise when it is returned upon the heads of its first contrivers. Pharaoh, Haman.
5. When great, good, and noble ends are brought about by wicked men quite contrary to their malevolent intentions (Exo 1:15; Exo 2:1-10).
6. When events are well timed and highly seasonable. Learn–
1. That with God nothing is impossible.
2. Wherein the spirit and power of thankfulness doth chiefly consist: it consists in the life of those who are truly thankful. (D. McIndoe.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 23. See Clarke on Ps 118:22.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
This; this strange event; the feminine gender being put for the neuter, as it is in other places of Scripture.
The Lords doing; peculiarly an effect of his omnipotent wisdom; done not only without the help of man, but against all the artifices and forces of men.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
This is the Lord’s doing,…. This stone is from the Lord,
Ge 49:24; it is of his choosing, appointing, and laying: the rejection of it by the builders is through his permission and will; they did no other things than what his hand and counsel determined should be done, Ac 2:23; and the exaltation of it, or the making it the head of the corner, was of him; he highly exalted him at his right hand, above every name, creature, and thing;
it [is] marvellous in our eyes; the stone itself is wonderful to look at, for its beauty, strength, and usefulness; the wisdom, love, care, and power of God, in laying it, are astonishing; the distinguishing grace of God in selecting some stones out of the common quarry, making them lively stones, and building them on this foundation stone, is exceeding marvellous: and so are both the rejection and exaltation of it; that so precious a stone should be refused, and, when treated with so much neglect and contempt, should be exalted. The Targum is,
“from the Lord was this, said the builders; this is marvellous in our sight, said the sons of Jesse.”
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
This, says he, is the doing of Jehovah “Go and quarrel with God, all ye that strenuously endeavor to eject me from my throne, to which I have not been elevated accidentally, or by human policy, but by the manifest power of God.” This he confirms by all being constrained to wonder at what had occurred as a thing incredible. Now, when God doeth marvellously, and in a manner that surpasses our comprehension, his power cannot fail to be so much the more apparent unto us. Should any prefer to interpret it thus:-Although this work may fill men with astonishment, yet that is no reason for rejecting it; he may do so. To me, however, it certainly appears more probable that David employs the term wonderful, that the haughtiness of man may submit to God, and that none may presume to breathe a whisper against him. The fitness of these things being applied to Christ will be more properly discussed when I come to consider the twenty-fifth verse.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(23) The Lords doing.This change of destiny, which made Israel of sudden political importance, is to be ascribed to none but Jehovah Himself.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
23. This is the Lord’s doing The restoration of the Jews to their nationality was so marked as a divine interposition, that the heathen said, “Jehovah hath done great things for them.” See Psa 126:1-2. But the language is Messianic. Christ, the Stone which the builders disallowed, was exalted to be the “headstone of the corner” by the resurrection from the dead and the public investiture of the mediatorial government.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Psa 118:23 This is the LORD’S doing; it [is] marvellous in our eyes.
Ver. 23. This is the Lord’s doing] That David should ever come to the kingdom, that Christ should so be raised from the lowest ebb of humiliation to the highest tide of exaltation, this is a wonder of wonders, a matchless miracle.
And it is marvellous in our eyes
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
This is the LORD’S doing. Messiah’s exaltation is thus like the humiliation (Psa 109:27).
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
the Lord’s doing: Heb. from the Lord, Act 2:32-36, Act 3:14, Act 3:15, Act 5:31, Act 5:32, Eph 1:19-22
it is: Job 5:9, Act 4:13, Act 13:41
Reciprocal: Gen 24:50 – The thing Jdg 11:5 – to fetch Psa 31:21 – marvellous Mat 21:42 – The stone Mar 12:10 – The stone Joh 21:7 – It is Act 2:33 – by Act 4:11 – the stone Act 7:35 – the same 1Pe 2:4 – disallowed 1Pe 2:7 – the stone Rev 15:3 – Great
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Psa 118:23. This is the Lords doing This strange event is the work of God, a peculiar effect of his omnipotent wisdom, performed not only without the help, but against all the artifices and forces of man. This and the preceding verse are thus read by Dr. Waterland: The stone, &c., is made the head of the corner; by the Lord is it so made, and it is marvellous, &c. Mudge renders the latter verse, this is from the Lord; it was impossible in our eyes. It was the Lords doing, they said; in their eyes it was a thing beyond all possibility of belief: which is the force of the original. The exaltation of David from a sheepfold to a throne was wonderful, especially considering the opposition made against it by the princes and rulers of Judah and Israel: but much more astonishing was the exaltation of Christ. For what can be more truly marvellous, than that a person, put to death as a malefactor, and laid in the grave, should from thence arise immortal, and become the head of an immortal society; should ascend into heaven, being vested with unlimited power, and crowned with ineffable glory; and should prepare a way for the sons of Adam to follow him into those mansions of eternal bliss?