"Let every thing that has breath praise the Lord. Praise ye the Lord: " so ends the last psalm, and therein is presented to us the result, as far as the earth is concerned, of the coming of the Lord into it. He is the blessed Man of the first psalm who walked not in the counsel of the ungodly, but delighted in the law of the Lord, and meditated in it both day and night. Every breath that He drew was a "hallelujah!" — a praise ye the Lord; every pulse of His devoted heart was for God; in His every word and act the Father was glorified. Every moral excellence shone in unmeasured perfection in Him. Men said, "When shall He die and His name perish?" (Ps. 41:5); but His fruit shall appear in its season, His leaf shall never wither, and whatsoever He does shall prosper. Men thought that His light was quenched for ever when unresistingly He was led to the Cross, but He is coming again, He shall arise — the Sun of Righteousness; and then shall break that morning for which the saints of God have ever sighed, even a morning without clouds; as the tender grass springing out of the earth by clear shining after rain (2 Sam. 23:4).
He will stamp His blessed character upon His kingdom; it will reflect the glory which is effulgent in Him; every groan, and murmur, and cry of anguish will be hushed, the darkness will fly before the shining of His presence, and the whole earth shall be full of the glory of the Lord; and as His every breath was a hallelujah when He was here, so everything that has breath will say "Hallelujah!" then.
The rise and fall of kingdoms; the accumulation of grave questions; the clashing of conflicting interests, which is growing fiercer as the years roll on, and which prove the instability of things in this world, and fill the hearts of men with misgiving, do not disturb the one who with eye of faith sees "Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that He by the grace of God should taste death for everything" (Heb. 2:9. N.Tr.). The Morning Star, bright harbinger of day, shines in the heavens and fills his heart with hope, so that he can cry, Hallelujah! now. THE LORD IS COMING.
… We lift the head
In joyful expectation,
For He will bring salvation.