Charles Ellicott Commentary Revelation 19:5-7

"And a voice came forth from the throne, saying, Give praise to our God, all ye his servants, ye that fear him, the small and the 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 thunders, saying, Hallelujah: for the Lord our God, the Almighty, reigneth. Let us rejoice and be exceeding glad, and let us give the glory unto him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready." — Revelation 19:5-7 (ASV)

And a voice came.—From the direction of the throne, there came a voice calling all God’s servants to rejoice. We are not told whose voice it is. Some have assumed that it is Christ’s; it is better to leave it indefinite. In response to this call, the voice of praise is heard (like the voice spoken of in Revelation 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 nature’s 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 has come,
And His wife has 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 as referring only to the past: it expresses the exultation of God’s servants 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 shown that His was a real sovereignty. Their joy also rises from the prospect of the closer union between the Lamb and His Bride.

This close union is more fully spoken of later. Here the glorious end is for a moment anticipated: the morning glow announces the coming day, and it is near, even at the doors. The image of the marriage is familiar. It entered into our Lord’s parables (Matthew 22:2–10; Matthew 25:1–10); we also find it in the Psalms and in the Epistles (Psalms 45, and Ephesians 5:23; Ephesians 5:30; 2 Corinthians 11:2).