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It may help to compare Matthew's account to Mark's, in which the typical translation is:

And he rose, and immediately took up the pallet and went out before them all; so that they were all amazed and glorified God, saying, “We never saw anything like this!” (Mk 2:12)

Mark's version is more straightforward and journalistic, reporting what the people said, rather than what they felt. This does not completely resolve the OP's question, because they may indeed have said "Praise God, who gives men such authority." Matthew also may be telling us how he understood the reason for their praising God even though they didn't verbally express it. Or, as the OP suggests, he may be expressing his own opinion about why God deserved praise in this situation. However Matthew does not tell us directly, while the report in Mark sticks to the clear fact of what the people said: "We never saw anything like this."

To round out the survey, Luke 5:26 treats the story similarly to Mark: 'struck with awe, they said “We have seen incredible things today.”' In the account of John 5, the crowd expressed no awe, but "the Jews" react negatively (although some interpreters such as NIV render this as "the Jewish leaders.")

I conclude that Mark and Luke make an objective statement about what the people said. Matthew makes a subjective statement about what he understood from their praising God. I would lean toward this being a report of why he thought the crowd praised God, rather than his own reason for believing that God deserved praise.

Note: In dealing with this question, readers should also consider whether they think Matthew based his account on Mark's or vice versa, and/or whethr either them were aware of Luke's versions. This site has several questions addressing this.

It may help to compare Matthew's account to Mark's, Luke's and John's. A typical translation of Mark's version is:

And he rose, and immediately took up the pallet and went out before them all; so that they were all amazed and glorified God, saying, “We never saw anything like this!” (Mk 2:12)

Luke 5:26 treats the story similarly to Mark saying: 'struck with awe, they said “We have seen incredible things today.”' In the account of John 5, the crowd expresses no awe, but "the Jews" react very negatively (some interpreters such as NIV render this as "the Jewish leaders.")

Mark's and Luke's versions are more straightforward and journalistic than Matthew's, reporting what the people said, rather than what they felt. But this does not completely resolve the OP's question, because the people may indeed have said "Praise God, who gives men such authority." Matthew also may be telling us how he understood the reason for their praising God even though they didn't verbally express it. Or, as the OP suggests, he may be expressing his own opinion about why God deserved praise in this situation. However, Matthew does not tell us directly, while the report in Mark and Luke sticks to the clearer fact of what the people said.

I conclude that Mark and Luke make objective statements about what the people said. Matthew makes a subjective statement about what he understood from their praising God. I would lean toward this being a report of why he thought the crowd praised God, rather than his own reason for believing that God deserved praise.

Note: In dealing with this question, readers should also consider whether they think Matthew based his account on Mark's or vice versa, and/or whether either them were aware of Luke's versions. This site has several questions addressing this.

It may help to compare Matthew's account to Mark's, in which the typical translation is:

And he rose, and immediately took up the pallet and went out before them all; so that they were all amazed and glorified God, saying, “We never saw anything like this!” (Mk 2:12)

Mark's version is more straightforward and journalistic, reporting what the people said, rather than what they felt. This does not completely resolve the OP's question, because they may indeed have said "Praise God, who gives men such authority." Matthew also may be telling us how he understood the reason for their praising God even though they didn't verbally express it. Or, as the OP suggests, he may be expressing his own opinion about why God deserved praise in this situation. However Matthew does not tell us directly, while the report in Mark sticks to the clear fact of what the people said: "We never saw anything like this."

I conclude that Mark makes an objective statement about what the people said. Matthew makes a subjective statement about what he understood from their praising God. I would lean toward this being a report of why he thought the crowd praised God, rather than his own reason for believing that God deserved praise.

Note: In dealing with this question, readers should also consider whether they think Matthew based his account on Mark's or vice versa. This site has several questions addressing this.

It may help to compare Matthew's account to Mark's, in which the typical translation is:

And he rose, and immediately took up the pallet and went out before them all; so that they were all amazed and glorified God, saying, “We never saw anything like this!” (Mk 2:12)

Mark's version is more straightforward and journalistic, reporting what the people said, rather than what they felt. This does not completely resolve the OP's question, because they may indeed have said "Praise God, who gives men such authority." Matthew also may be telling us how he understood the reason for their praising God even though they didn't verbally express it. Or, as the OP suggests, he may be expressing his own opinion about why God deserved praise in this situation. However Matthew does not tell us directly, while the report in Mark sticks to the clear fact of what the people said: "We never saw anything like this."

To round out the survey, Luke 5:26 treats the story similarly to Mark: 'struck with awe, they said “We have seen incredible things today.”' In the account of John 5, the crowd expressed no awe, but "the Jews" react negatively (although some interpreters such as NIV render this as "the Jewish leaders.")

I conclude that Mark and Luke make an objective statement about what the people said. Matthew makes a subjective statement about what he understood from their praising God. I would lean toward this being a report of why he thought the crowd praised God, rather than his own reason for believing that God deserved praise.

Note: In dealing with this question, readers should also consider whether they think Matthew based his account on Mark's or vice versa, and/or whethr either them were aware of Luke's versions. This site has several questions addressing this.

It may help to compare Matthew's account to Mark's, in which the typical translation is:

And he rose, and immediately took up the pallet and went out before them all; so that they were all amazed and glorified God, saying, “We never saw anything like this!” (Mk 2:12)

Mark's version is more straightforward and journalistic, reporting what the people said, rather than what they felt. This does not completely resolve the OP's question, because they may indeed have said "Praise God, who gives men such authority." Matthew also may be telling us how he understood the reason for their praising God even though they didn't verbally express it. Or, as the OP suggests, he may be expressing his own opinion about why God deserved praise in this situation. However Matthew does not tell us directly, while the report in Mark sticks to the clear fact of what the people said: "We never saw anything like this."

I conclude that Mark makes an objective statement about what the people said. Matthew makes a subjective statement about what he understood from their praising God. I would lean toward this being a report of why he thought the crowd praised God, rather than his own reason for believing that God deserved praise.

It may help to compare Matthew's account to Mark's, in which the typical translation is:

And he rose, and immediately took up the pallet and went out before them all; so that they were all amazed and glorified God, saying, “We never saw anything like this!” (Mk 2:12)

Mark's version is more straightforward and journalistic, reporting what the people said, rather than what they felt. This does not completely resolve the OP's question, because they may indeed have said "Praise God, who gives men such authority." Matthew also may be telling us how he understood the reason for their praising God even though they didn't verbally express it. Or, as the OP suggests, he may be expressing his own opinion about why God deserved praise in this situation. However Matthew does not tell us directly, while the report in Mark sticks to the clear fact of what the people said: "We never saw anything like this."

I conclude that Mark makes an objective statement about what the people said. Matthew makes a subjective statement about what he understood from their praising God. I would lean toward this being a report of why he thought the crowd praised God, rather than his own reason for believing that God deserved praise.

Note: In dealing with this question, readers should also consider whether they think Matthew based his account on Mark's or vice versa. This site has several questions addressing this.