And a voice came out of the throne, saying, Praise our God, all ye his servants, and ye that fear him, both small and great.
5. Praise our God &c.] Compare the opening of Psalms 134, 135.
both small and great ] Psa 115:13. “Both” should perhaps be omitted.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
And a voice came out of the throne – A voice seemed to come from the very midst of the throne. It is not said by whom this voice was uttered. It cannot be supposed, however, that it was uttered by God himself, for the command which it gave was this: Praise our God, etc. For the same reason it seems hardly probable that it was the voice of the Messiah, unless it be supposed that he here identifies himself with the redeemed church, and speaks of God as his God and hers. It would seem rather that it was a responsive voice that came from those nearest the throne, calling on all to unite in praising God in view of what was done. The meaning then will be, that all heaven was interested in the triumph of the church, and that one portion of the dwellers there called on the others to unite in offering thanksgiving.
Praise our God – The God that we worship.
All ye his servants – All in heaven and earth; all have occasion for thankfulness.
And ye that fear him – That reverence and obey him. The fear of the Lord is a common expression in the Scriptures to denote true piety.
Both small and great – All of every class and condition – poor and rich – young and old; those of humble and those of exalted rank. Compare Psa 148:7-13.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 5. Praise our God, &c.] Let all, whether redeemed from among Jews or Gentiles, give glory to God.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
And a voice came out of the throne, from Christ, declaring it the will of God, that all holy ones should praise him upon this account.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
5. out ofGreek, “outfrom the throne” in A, B, C.
Praise our GodComparethe solemn act of praise performed by the Levites, 1Ch 16:36;1Ch 23:5, especially when thehouse of God was filled with the divine glory (2Ch5:13).
bothomitted in A, B,C, Vulgate, Coptic, and Syriac. Translate as Greek,“the small and the great.”
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And a voice came out of the throne,…. Not from God the Father, that sat upon it, for the phrase,
praise our God, could not be said by him with propriety and pertinence; but rather from Christ, the Lamb, in the midst of the throne, who as Mediator could say of him to his people, my God and your God, and my Father and your Father, Joh 20:17 though it seems best to understand it of the voice of one of the angels about the throne, since one of these is afterwards spoken of, whom John would have worshipped, but was forbid, Re 19:9 and which may design either one of the ministering spirits, or a preacher of the Gospel, and a set of such, calling upon the saints to the discharge of their duty, or to return to it on this occasion:
saying, praise our God, all ye his servants; meaning not the ministers of the Gospel only, who serve in the Gospel of Christ, by preaching and defending it, and in the administration of Gospel ordinances to the comfort of the saints, but all the people of God; for though they are sons, and no more servants to sin and Satan, and the world, yet they are servants of God and of righteousness, and serve him willingly and cheerfully in a way of duty, and without slavish fear, and with a godly one, and from principles of love and gratitude, and without mercenary views and selfish ends; and these are called upon, as a part of their service, to say hallelujah, or to sing the praises of God for his judgments on antichrist; see
Ps 134:1.
and ye that fear him, both small and great; who fear the Lord, not with a servile, but filial fear, with the new covenant grace of fear, which springs from, and is increased by, the goodness and grace of God; whether greater or lesser believers, fathers, young men, or children; whether Jews or Gentiles, or of whatsoever nation, kindred, or people; see Ps 115:13.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
| The Triumph of the Saints. | A. D. 95. |
5 And a voice came out of the throne, saying, Praise our God, all ye his servants, and ye that fear him, both small and great. 6 And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth. 7 Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. 8 And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints. 9 And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God. 10 And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See thou do it not: I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.
The triumphant song being ended, and epithalamium, or marriage-song, begins, v. 6. Here observe,
I. The concert of heavenly music. The chorus was large and loud, as the voice of many waters and of mighty thunderings. God is fearful in praises. There is no discord in heaven; the morning stars sing together; no jarring string, nor key untuned, but pure and perfect melody.
II. The occasion of this song; and that is the reign and dominion of that omnipotent God who has redeemed his church by his own blood, and is now in a more public manner betrothing her to himself: The marriage of the Lamb has come, v. 7. Some think this refers to the conversion of the Jews, which they suppose will succeed the fall of Babylon; others, to the general resurrection: the former seems more probable. Now, 1. You have here a description of the bride, how she appeared; not in the gay and gaudy dress of the mother of harlots, but in fine linen, clean and white, which is the righteousness of saints; in the robes of Christ’s righteousness, both imputed for justification and imparted for sanctification–the stola, the white robe of absolution, adoption, and enfranchisement, and the white robe of purity and universal holiness. She had washed her robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb; and these her nuptial ornaments she did not purchase by any price of her own, but received them as the gift and grant of her blessed Lord. 2. The marriage-feast, which, though not particularly described (as Matt. xxii. 4), yet is declared to be such as would make all those happy who were called to it, so called as to accept the invitation, a feast made up of the promises of the gospel, the true sayings of God, v. 9. These promises, opened, applied, sealed, and earnested by the Spirit of God, in holy eucharistical ordinances, are the marriage-feast; and the whole collective body of all those who partake of this feast is the bride, the Lamb’s wife; they eat into one body, and drink into one Spirit, and are not mere spectators or guests, but coalesce into the espoused party, the mystical body of Christ. 3. The transport of joy which the apostle felt in himself at this vision. He fell down at the feet of the angel, to worship him, supposing him to be more than a creature, or having his thoughts at the present overpowered by the vehemency of his affections. Here observe, (1.) What honour he offered to the angel: He fell at his feet, to worship him; this prostration was a part of external worship, it was a posture of proper adoration. (2.) How the angel refused it, and this was with some resentment: “See thou do it not; have a care what thou doest, thou art doing a wrong thing.” (3.) He gave a very good reason for his refusal: “I am thy fellow-servant, and of thy brethren which have the testimony of Jesus–I am a creature, thine equal in office, though not in nature; I, as an angel and messenger of God, have the testimony of Jesus, a charge to be a witness for him and to testify concerning him, and thou, as an apostle, having the Spirit of prophecy, hast the same testimony to give in; and therefore we are in this brethren and fellow-servants.” (4.) He directs him to the true and only object of religious worship; namely, God: “Worship God, and him alone.” This fully condemns both the practice of the papists in worshipping the elements of bread and wine, and saints, and angels, and the practice of those Socinians and Arians who do not believe that Christ is truly and by nature God, and yet pay him religious worship; and this shows what wretched fig-leaves all their evasions and excuses are which they offer in their own vindication: they stand hereby convicted of idolatry by a messenger from heaven.
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary
A voice from the throne ( ). Not the voice of God, nor of the Lamb, nor (16:17), but from an angel of the Presence. This angel summons all the servants of God to join in the antiphonal praise to God.
Give praise to our God ( ). Present active imperative of , old verb, with the accusative elsewhere in N.T., but here with the dative as occasionally in the LXX (1Ch 16:36, etc.).
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
All ye His servants – small and great. Compare Psa 114:13; Psa 134:1.
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
1) “And a voice came out of the throne,” (kai phone apo tou thronou ekselthen) “And a voice came out from the central throne area; This seems to be the voice of unison from the four and twenty elders, the four living creatures, and the redeemed of the ages as one, calling in unison, one to another for praise to their God.
2) “Saying praise our God,” (legousa aineite to theo hemon) “Saying, praise (all of you) praise ye our God; This is in the spirit of David’s cry “Let the redeemed of the Lord say so,” Psa 107:2 – as Israel from Egypt, the church from the dark ages, the prodigal from the hog pen, etc.
3) “All ye his servants,” (pantes hoi douloi autou) “All the servants of him,” all of you who are (exist, have your being as) his servants;” This exhortation, whether spoken by the redeemed one to another, or by the angels of glory, evokes or calls for the praise of triumph.
4) “And ye that fear him,” (hoi phoboumenoi auton) “Those who fear or reverence him,” Rev 11:16-18; Mal 3:16-18; Mal 4:2; Ecc 12:13; 1Pe 2:17. As Creator Redeemer, and preserver of all in glory, each servant was exhorted to praise God for the hour of full resurrection and the coming marriage of the Lamb, 2Co 11:2.
5) “Both small and great,” (hoi mikroi kai hoi megaloi) “The small ones and the great ones,” In unison, in harmony, in symphony of sound, praise him! Let all the redeemed in his presence lift adorations of thanksgiving and gratitude to him. No servant is too small or lowly to sing His praises. No service is too small, faithfully, rendered, to receive His reward, Mat 10:42; Mar 9:41.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
(5-7) And a voice came.From the direction of the throne there came a voice bidding all Gods servants rejoice. We are not told whose voice it is. Some have assumed that it is Christs: it is better to leave it indefinite. In response to the bidding, the voice of praise is heard (like the voice spoken of in Rev. 14:2), as it were, the voice of a great multitude; and, as it were, the voice of many waters; and, as it were, the voice of mighty thunders. All natures tones seem mingled in this voice of praise: it is human, it is majestic as the sea, and glorious as the thunder.
The Anthem.
Alleluia!
For the Lord reigned,
The God, the Almighty.
Let us rejoice and exult,
And we will give the glory to Him,
Because the marriage of the Lamb is come,
And His wife hath made herself ready.
In this anthem the word for reigneth is not in the present tense, as in the English version; but, though it is translated here reigned, we must not understand it of the past only: it expresses the exultation of the servants of God that the Kingship of their God is manifested, and vindicated against those who denied, or hated His rule. His reign never ceased; and He has showed that His was a real sovereignty. Their joy rises also from the prospect of the nearer union between the Lamb and His Bride. This close union is more fully spoken of later: here the glorious close is for a moment anticipated: the morning glow announces the coming day: it is near even at the doors. The image of the marriage is familiar. It entered into our Lords parable (Mat. 22:2-10; Mat. 25:1-10): we catch it in the Psalms and in the Epistles (Psalms 45, and Eph. 5:23; Eph. 5:30; 2Co. 11:2.)
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
5. Voice came out of the throne Commentators differ as to whose was this voice, the throne. Stuart thinks it was the Messiah; and for the words our God, as from him, Stuart quotes as precedents Joh 20:17; Heb 2:11, and Rev 18:4. Against this view Alford protests. We venture to ask, Why was it not the voice of the throne itself? In Rev 7:13, we have, “A voice from the four horns of the altar;” and in Rev 16:7 there is a voice from the altar, which Alford rightly interprets as the altar itself becoming vocal. This would add plausibility to Wordsworth’s attributing the words in Rev 11:1, to the “reed,” which the literal wording of the Greek requires.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘And a voice came out from the throne, saying, “Give praise to God, all you his servants (Psa 113:1; Psa 134:1), you who fear him, the small and the great (Psa 115:13)”. And I heard as it were the voice of a vast crowd, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunders, saying, “Halleluyah, for the Lord our God, the Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and be abundantly glad, and let us give the glory to him, for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife has made herself ready.’
The voice from the throne is the voice of one of the living creatures ever mindful of the need for all to recognise the holiness of God, and to give praise to Him. And his cry is to ‘all you His servants’. By comparison with Rev 19:2 where ‘the blood of His servants’ is mentioned, this means the redeemed people of God. This is confirmed by the descriptions used which have previously referred to the people of God (Rev 7:9; Rev 14:2).
On the other hand ‘the Bride’ is mentioned in the third person, which might be seen as suggesting that the words are those of heavenly beings, for they are our ‘fellow-servants’ (Rev 19:10; Rev 22:9). But it is not uncommon in such chants and responses for people to speak of themselves in the third person. Thus ‘the Bride has made herself ready’ can be seen as such a response, the people of God confirming that they are now ready, having prepared themselves for the moment they have awaited through the ages.
Alternately the idea may be that the whole of Heaven responds in a thunderous voice, with the people of God joining in, as they consider what all history has waited for, the marriage of the Lamb and His bride, celebrating the finalising of the Reign of God. The Kingly Rule of God had reached its fruition. The picture is vivid as it depicts the excitement about the wedding and the desire to see the beautiful bride.
‘The Bride has made herself ready’. It has taken many long centuries but at last the bride is presented to Christ, holy and without blemish (Eph 5:27). The picture of Christ as the bridegroom is regular in the Gospels (Mat 9:15; Mat 25:1; Mat 25:5-6; Mat 25:10; Mar 2:19-20; Luk 5:34-35; Joh 3:29). For the church as the bride see 2Co 11:2; Eph 5:27. For the true Israel as God’s bride see Hos 2:19-20; Isa 54:1-8; and Eze 16:8-14 where God Himself prepares the bride. Then all focus was on the bridegroom but now focus can be turned on the bride for she has been fully prepared for this day. The bride is, of course, righteous Israel, comprising the totality of God’s resurrected people of the Old and New Testaments. (See on Rev 7:4-8).
But it is noteworthy here that emphasis is placed on the bride having made herself ready. God is at work in us to will and to do of His own good pleasure, but we in our turn are to work out our salvation in fear and trembling (Php 2:12-13). So in contrast with the scarlet woman the bride is revealed by the path she chose, revealed by her righteous behaviour. She had responded to the call of the Bridegroom, and that had resulted in a life transformed which had set her apart from the people who dwell on earth. Those who have not prepared themselves are not the bride.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
The voice out of the throne:
v. 5. And a voice came out of the throne, saying, Praise our God, all ye His servants, and ye that fear Him, both small and great.
v. 6. And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude and as the voice of many waters and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia; for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth.
v. 7. Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honor to Him; for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and His wife hath made herself ready.
v. 8. And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white; for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.
v. 9. And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage-supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God.
v. 10. And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See thou do it not; I am thy fellow-servant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus; worship God; for the testimony of Jesus is the Spirit of Prophecy. The chorus of praise at the destruction of the great harlot is given in the form of antiphonal singing: And a voice came out of the throne, saying, Extol our God, all His servants, those that fear Him, both small and great. That was the one strophe addressed to the servants of the Lord, to those that are not merely members in His community, but whose special devotion to His interests, to His service and worship, has given them the closest fellowship with Him. That is their glorious privilege throughout eternity, to praise and extol the Lord of their salvation. Therefore they, in an antiphonal chant, respond to the urgent invitation: And I heard what resembled the voice of a great multitude and the rushing of many waters and the muttering of mighty thunders, saying, Hallelujah, for the Lord God, the Almighty, is King. Like the shouting of uncounted masses of people, like the irresistible rushing of mighty streams, like the grumblings and mutterings of a strong thunder, the song of the elect breaks forth at the Lord’s word, giving all praise to Him, the Lord, the almighty God, the King of the ages. The omnipotent God has conquered the portals of all His enemies, and revealed Himself as King over all.
To this fact there is added another cause for rejoicing: Let us he glad and exult, and give glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready; and to her was given to be clothed in shining white fine linen (for the fine linen was the righteous deeds of the saints). What had been foretold by the prophets and spoken of time and again by Christ and the apostles is here represented as being consummated in heaven. The bride of Christ, the holy Christian Church, the communion of saints, the whole number of those that have come to faith and remained faithful to the Lord unto the end, is celebrating her marriage with the Lamb, with the Savior, with Christ. That, indeed, is a reason for the greatest rejoicing, for the highest exultation, to know that all the hopes of the centuries have now been realized, that all the believers are now united with their Savior throughout eternity. The bride, moreover, is clothed in the most gorgeous wedding-garment, all pure white and shining with brilliancy. It is a pure, precious dress of honor, the dress of salvation. For whereas without Christ all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags, in Him, through faith, even our smallest works, all the acts of our every-day life, are acceptable to the heavenly Father. Thus we shall be ornamented in heaven with the garment which the heavenly Bridegroom has merited through His perfect obedience to the commandment of God, through the shedding of His blood, through His death and resurrection.
The importance of this incident is heightened through an additional factor which is here recorded: And he says to me, Write, Blessed are they that are called to the marriage-feast of the Lamb. And he says to me, These are true words of God. So the Bride, the perfected saints, the believers that have been faithful to the end, are also invited to the marriage-feast of the Lamb, the union which He had planned before the beginning of the world. Truly, those people are blessed with a happiness which transcends all human conception, and there cannot be the slightest doubt as to their being heirs of all these joys, because He who is the Faithful, the True One, has given the promise, and He makes no mistake. The scene which John had witnessed so overwhelmed him that he relates: And I fell before his feet to worship him. He was ready to give divine honor to this messenger from heaven that unfolded the final triumph to him in such a singular manner, But the angel interposed: And he says to me, Not that: thy fellow-servant I am and one of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus; worship God (for the testimony of Jesus is the Spirit of Prophecy). The testimony of Jesus, to which the angel referred, is that Spirit of Prophecy by whose power all the prophets and apostles, including John himself, had testified of Jesus and of His kingdom. Although the angels are heavenly spirits, powerful and blessed, yet they are but servants and witnesses of Christ, and should therefore not be given divine honor; for that belongs to God alone.
Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann
Rev 19:5 . . “Out of the throne.” It does not follow that the voice is that of Christ who sits upon the throne. [4033] Beng. writes that it belongs to the four beasts; Zll. and De Wette, to one of them. It may be referred also to the elders, because of the form of the summons ( . . ). [4034]
. The dat. with , which is regarded as though it were , [4035] occurs also in the LXX. [4036] Comparison with the Hebrew text shows not only that the expression says precisely the same as the retained in the Hebrew form, [4037] but also that the construction of with the dat. has occurred where the was combined with . In Jer 20:13 , a clause so construed at any rate precedes.
. Cf. Psa 135:1 .
, . . . Cf. Psa 115:13 .
[4033] Against Ewald, Hengstenb.
[4034] Cf. also Rev 5:9 .
[4035] Luk 18:43 .
[4036] 1Ch 16:36 ; 1Ch 23:5 ; 2Ch 20:19 ; Jer 20:13 .
[4037] Cf. Hesych., who very accurately explains .: , [“Praise to him that is God, praise ye the Lord”].
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
5 And a voice came out of the throne, saying, Praise our God, all ye his servants, and ye that fear him, both small and great.
Ver. 5. And a voice came out ] This is the Lamb’s voice, his all quickening voice, which shall rouse and raise the dead and dedolent Jews; powerfully pulling the veil from their hard hearts, which yet were somewhat moved and mollified by the former Alleluiahs, so that now all the servants of God, small and great, Jew and Gentile, shall praise him with one consent.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Rev 19:5 . The O.T. expression servants of God implied ( R. S. 69 f.) not simply membership in a community of which God is king, but special devotion to his service and worship. It was not associated with any idea of “slavery to a divine despot,” but was originally confined in the main to royal and priestly families ( cf. Rev 1:5 ) which had a special interest in primitive religion and which were near to the god of the tribe or nation. Hence, in the broader and later sense of the term, the “servants of God” are all those who live in pious fear of him, i.e. , yielding him honour and obedience. John, pre-occupied with judgment, views the faith of the Lord as equivalent practically to his fear; unlike most early Christian writers, who (1Pe 1:17-18 , etc.) carefully bring forward the complementary element of love. Lowly confidence rather than warm intimacy is this prophet’s ideal of the Christian life towards God. See Did. 3, 4.; Barn. Rev 4:11 ; Herm. Mand. x. 1, xii. 4, 6.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Rev 19:5-6 a
5b”Give praise to our God, all you His bond-servants, you who fear Him, the small and the great.” 6Then I heard something like the voice of a great multitude and like the sound of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, saying,
“Give praise to our God” This is an allusion to Psa 115:13; Psa 134:1; Psa 135:1. The term is a present active imperative, but it is a different term than “Hallelujah,” which is found in Rev 19:1; Rev 19:3-4; Rev 19:6. It is theologically unusual that an angel would use the words, “Our God,” but Rev 19:10 shows that angels identify themselves not only with the saints in service, but also with the saints in their testimony concerning Jesus.
“all you His bond-servants, you who fear Him, the small and the great” This is an allusion to Psa 115:13 (used earlier in Rev 11:18).
Rev 19:6 These descriptive phrases were used
1. of God in Eze 43:2
2. of a powerful angel in Dan 10:6
3. of Christ in Rev 1:15
4. of the redeemed community in Rev 14:2
5. in context this seems to be an angelic choir
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
out of = from. Greek. ek, but the texts read apo. App-104.
servants. App-190. See Psa 134:1.
and, both. Omit.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Rev 19:5. [208] ) The LXX., , 1Ch 16:36; , ch. 1Ch 23:5; also 2Ch 5:13; 2Ch 20:19, Hebr. . That solemn act of praise which was accustomed to be offered to the Lord by the Levites is described in these places. Add the passage of Ezr 3:11, respecting all the people, in the same phrase in Hebrew and Greek. How much greater solemnity is there in the Apocalypse! All His servants, and they that fear Him, small and great, are stirred up to a solemn proclaiming of His praise. They perform this in Rev 19:6. [Comp. Psa 115:13.]
[208] 2. , true) The words which, ch. Rev 6:10, are related in the form of prayer, the same are now expressly repeated, and transposed into a doxology.-V. g.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
a voice: Rev 7:15, Rev 11:19, Rev 16:17
Praise: Psa 103:20-22, Psa 134:1, Psa 135:1, Psa 135:19, Psa 135:20, Psa 148:11-13, Psa 150:6
both: Rev 11:18, Rev 20:12
Reciprocal: Gen 22:12 – now Deu 4:10 – fear me 1Ki 8:40 – fear thee 2Ki 4:1 – thy servant did fear 1Ch 12:40 – there was joy Psa 30:4 – Sing Psa 31:23 – saints Psa 34:3 – let us Psa 48:1 – greatly Psa 63:5 – with joyful Psa 66:8 – make Psa 86:12 – praise Psa 113:1 – O Psa 115:11 – General Psa 115:13 – both small Psa 118:4 – General Psa 145:10 – and thy saints Ecc 12:13 – Fear Isa 29:23 – fear the God Dan 3:26 – ye servants Luk 1:50 – General Luk 17:16 – fell Rom 3:18 – General Rev 13:16 – both Rev 14:7 – Fear
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
THE HOUSE OF PRAISE
And a voice came out of the throne, saying, Praise our God, all ye His servants, and ye that fear Him, both small and great. And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth.
Rev 19:5-6
How easy it is to say the words. How easily are they tossed from the lips of many who are called by the name of Jesus Christ. How easy it is to sing Alleluia! how difficult really to praise God; how difficult to realise what we owe to God.
Yet God has given us manifold helps.
I. From the beginning holy men and holy women have set apart places for God.They have separated them from all common uses. And you will trywill you notto remember that the church is Gods house? I dare say you have seen a little child that could not speak go and gather a simple flower, and then put it into its mothers hands and bury its face in her lap and kiss her. Well, that little flower is what the Church is to us. We feel sometimes we cannot praise God; we have not the power to worship Him. We are looking forward to the day when with the holy ones we shall praise Him for ever and ever. But now we cannot; so we bring this place to God; we put it into His hands and say, This is the best that we can give. Alleluia! Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost. We offer and present it unto Thee, O God most holy, O God most mighty. Alleluia! And everything we do for our good and gracious God always brings a blessing.
II. A church helps us by raising us up above this life.You know this world is very beautiful, but it has its dark side. There are times of depression for all of us, and therefore it is well that there should be in every parish a beautiful building that stands up as it were between God and man, that every one may be able to come here quietly, and if no service is going on may look at this building and see that this is the sign between God and him. Alleluia! it says, the Lord God omnipotent reigneth.
III. Another help of a church is this.How very easy it is to get wrapped up in the things of this world. The church lifts the mind and heart heavenwards, and in grateful worship we join our voices with those of the angelic throng and say, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth.
Bishop G. H. Wilkinson.
Fuente: Church Pulpit Commentary
Rev 19:5. The voice thus far in these verses seems to have come from the people in general who respect the Lord. Now the voice comes out of the throne as if to acknowledge the congratulations just offered to God, and endorsing the idea that all servants of whatever degree or rank should praise Him.
Rev 19:6. So many people of the civilized world had suffered under the oppression of Rome through the Dark Ages, that it explains why the voice of a great multitude was heard praising God. Voice of many waters is the same except it is in symbolic form, waters in figurative language being used to represent human voices in action. Omnipotent means almighty; God can do anything that is right. The difficulty of conquering the giant influence of the beast in Rome was regarded so great, that it brought to their attention the might of God and called forth these words of praise, and caused the declaration that He reigneth.
Comments by Foy E. Wallace
Verses 5-6.
The voice from the throne, in verses five and six, proclaimed in mighty volume that the Lord God omnipotent (Almighty) reigneth; which was manifested in the destructions of the Harlot woman, and the defeat of the persecuting agencies of the Roman beast. The universal aspect of this joyful victory was expressed in the refrain: Praise our God, all ye his servants, and ye that fear him, both small and great–all classes of men who were servants of God were bidden to rejoice. The greatness of the heavenly multitude joined in chorus as one voice, verse six, was not only a scene of awe and veneration, but was impressive of the magnitude of the significance attached to the end of Jerusalem and the Jewish state, and the removal of Judaism as the greatest obstacle to the expansion of Christianity from the path of the church. With the Harlot City, and the system of Judaism which she represented destroyed; there remained only the execution of judgment against political minions who had shared in her spiritual fornication s and abominations.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Rev 19:5. A voice is next heard from the throne calling upon all Gods people to give praise to Him. The voice is immediately answered.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
The speaker is not identified, but his voice comes out of the throne and commands all God’s servants, which would include righteous men and angels, to praise God. Coffman says the words “small and great” are used to clearly set forth that it is a command for all of God’s servants.
Fuente: Gary Hampton Commentary on Selected Books
19:5 {4} And a voice came out of the {5} throne, saying, Praise our God, all ye his servants, and ye that fear him, both small and great.
(4) The second place of praise, as I said see Geneva “Rev 19:1” which first is commanded by God in this verse: and then is in most ample manner pronounced by the creatures, both because they see that kingdom of Christ to come, which they desire, Rev 19:6 and also because they see the Church is called forth to be brought home to the house of her husband by holy marriage, to the fellowship of his kingdom, Rev 19:7-8 . Therefore John is commanded to write in a book the acclamation together with a divine testimony, Rev 19:9 .
(5) Out of the temple from God as in Rev 11:19 .
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
The authoritative voice from the throne probably belonged to an angel (Rev 19:10). It called for added continuous praise from all God’s servants (cf. Psa 113:1; Psa 115:13). Allusions to the Hallel psalms in this pericope connect the vindication that the psalmists cried out for so often with what was now imminent (cf. Psa 113:1; Psa 135:1; Psa 135:20). The bond-servants to whom the voice appealed for praise probably include all the servants of God in heaven, angelic and human, including the saints and prophets (cf. Rev 18:14; Rev 18:20; Rev 19:2). The angel called for the fear of God since judgment is in view. The call extends to creatures of all classes (cf. Psa 115:13).