Psalms 118:23 Commentary: Study: Marveling at God's Work in the Cornerstone

Psalm 118 belongs to the Hallel (Psalms 113, 118), sung at Jewish festivals, especially Passover and Tabernacles. The setting is a liturgical procession approaching the temple gates (v.19). These “gates of righteousness” lead to the courts where the righteous enter (v.20). The stone imagery draws on building practices: the cornerstone aligned the walls and bore the building's weight. A rejected stone was considered worthless in ancient construction.

Keil & Delitzsch connect this to Zerubbabel's temple rebuilding: the first stone was laid amid weeping (Ezra 3:12), but God made it the crowning stone despite enormous obstacles. Others see the stone as David, rejected by Saul and his court, later made king. The verse functions as a congregational response, the people confess that the reversal is from God. The Hebrew word “marvelous” (pala) occurs in Jeremiah 32:17: “There is nothing too hard for you.” Here it underscores that only God could accomplish what human builders dismissed as impossible. The processional, antiphonal structure suggests a moment of collective awe as the gates open for the righteous to enter.

The Masoretic Text for Psalm 118:23 is stable and clearly legible. The Septuagint translates closely: “From the Lord this has come to pass, and it is marvelous in our eyes.” The supplied commentators from the Protestant and Reformed traditions note no significant textual variants. The Douay-Rheims English version appears to reflect a different verse, but the underlying Hebrew and Greek manuscripts agree on the wording of this verse.

Within the New Testament, the context of this verse (stone rejected, then cornerstone) is quoted in Acts 4:11, 1 Peter 2:7, and Matthew 21:42. Early Christians applied it to Christ’s rejection by Jewish leaders and his exaltation in resurrection. The verse is part of the Hallel sung at Passover; Jesus likely sang it with his disciples on the night of his arrest (Matthew 26:30). In later hymnody, Charles Wesley’s “The Stone Which the Builders Rejected” captures its theme. Throughout church history, believers facing opposition have turned to this verse to affirm that God’s work is often hidden until he brings it to completion.

Three-point outline

1. The Source: “From Yahweh ”, the word order emphasizes that the reversal is entirely God's initiative, not human effort.
2. The Quality: “It is marvelous”, the Hebrew niphlat means something beyond explanation, calling for wonder rather than analysis.
3. The Witness: “In our eyes”, the congregation becomes a community of testimony, declaring what they have seen God do.

Five-point outline

1. The stone rejected by the builders (v.22), the surprising candidate for honor.
2. The source of the reversal, “from Yahweh.”
3. The character of the action, marvelous, supernatural.
4. The corporate response, “in our eyes” suggests shared observation and praise.
5. The immediate consequence, “This is the day that Yahweh has made” (v.24), leading to rejoicing.

Illustration hooks

• A sports team written off by analysts that wins the championship. Everyone says, “No one saw that coming.” The psalmist says God saw it and did it.
• A piece of scrap stone, too odd for the builders, later becomes the keystone in an arch. The builder can only shake his head at the architect’s plan.
• A student rejected from every college, who later starts a nonprofit that changes a community. The turnaround is so unlikely that people credit luck; the psalmist credits God.

Questions your congregation is asking

• Why does God’s work often look like failure before it looks like victory?
• How do I tell the difference between something I built and something God built?
• What would it take for me to be genuinely amazed by God again?

This verse sits at the climax of a processional psalm. The congregation has heard about a stone rejected by builders that became the cornerstone. Now they respond: this is entirely God’s doing, and it leaves them in awe. Use these questions to help your group see the wonder of God’s reversals.

Discussion questions

1. Read verse 22 and then verse 23 aloud. What connection do you see between them? What is “this” that is from the Lord?
2. The Hebrew puts “From Yahweh” first. Why might the psalmist emphasize the source so strongly?
3. The word “marvelous” (niphlat) means something difficult, extraordinary, beyond human power. What makes a situation or event truly “marvelous” in this sense?
4. Acts 4:11 shows Peter applying the stone image to Jesus’ rejection and exaltation. How does that New Testament reading shape your understanding of the psalm?
5. Have you ever experienced a situation where your efforts or others’ rejections were overturned by God in an obvious way? How did that feel?
6. What does it mean to be a person who sees God’s hand in everyday reversals? How can we cultivate that awareness as a group?
7. Verse 24 follows: “This is the day that Yahweh has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.” How does awe at God’s action lead naturally to rejoicing?