16 And when morning came on the third day, there were thunders and flames and a thick cloud on the mountain, and a horn sounding very loud; and all the people in the tents were shaking with fear.
And the vision was so overpowering that even Moses said, I am shaking and full of fear.
You have not come to a mountain which may be touched, and is burning with fire, and to a black cloud, and a dark smoke, and a violent wind, And to the sound of a horn, and the voice of words, the hearers of which made request that not a word more might be said to them:
And the house of God which is in heaven was open; and the ark of his agreement was seen in his house, and there were flames and voices and thunders and an earth-shock and a rain of ice.
And the angel took the vessel; and he made it full of the fire of the altar, and sent it down on the earth: and there came thunders and voices and flames and a shaking of the earth.
The voice of your thunder went rolling on; the world was flaming with the light of the storm; the earth was shaking.
He made the dark his secret place; his tent round him was the dark waters and thick clouds of the skies. Before his shining light his dark clouds went past, raining ice and fire. The Lord made thunder in the heavens, and the voice of the Highest was sounding out: a rain of ice and fire. He sent out his arrows, driving them in all directions; by his flames of fire they were troubled.
And the Lord said to Moses, See, I will come to you in a thick cloud, so that what I say to you may come to the ears of the people and they may have belief in you for ever. And Moses gave the Lord word of what the people had said.
I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and a great voice at my back, as of a horn, came to my ears,
Have you no fear of me? says the Lord; will you not be shaking with fear before me, who have put the sand as a limit for the sea, by an eternal order, so that it may not go past it? and though it is ever in motion, it is not able to have its way; though the sound of its waves is loud, they are not able to go past it.
His bright flames give light to the world; the earth saw it with fear.
The voice of the Lord is on the waters: the God of glory is thundering, the Lord is on the great waters. The voice of the Lord is full of power; the voice of the Lord has a noble sound. By the voice of the Lord are the cedar-trees broken, even the cedars of Lebanon are broken by the Lord. He makes them go jumping about like a young ox; Lebanon and Sirion like a young mountain ox. At the voice of the Lord flames of fire are seen. At the voice of the Lord there is a shaking in the waste land, even a shaking in the waste land of Kadesh. At the voice of the Lord the roes give birth, the leaves are taken from the trees: in his Temple everything says, Glory. The Lord had his seat as king when the waters came on the earth; the Lord is seated as king for ever. The Lord will give strength to his people; the Lord will give his people the blessing of peace.
By whom has the way been cut for the flowing of the rain, and the flaming of the thunder;
At this my heart is shaking; it is moved out of its place. Give ear to the rolling noise of his voice; to the hollow sound which goes out of his mouth. He sends it out through all the heaven, and his thunder-flame to the ends of the earth. After it a voice is sounding, thundering out the word of his power; he does not keep back his thunder-flames; from his mouth his voice is sounding. He does wonders, more than may be searched out; great things of which we have no knowledge;
So that the priests were not able to keep their places to do their work because of the cloud; for the house of God was full of the glory of the Lord.
Is it not now the time of the grain cutting? My cry will go up to the Lord and he will send thunder and rain: so that you may see and be conscious of your great sin which you have done in the eyes of the Lord in desiring a king for yourselves. So Samuel made prayer to the Lord; and the Lord sent thunder and rain that day: and all the people were in fear of the Lord and of Samuel.
Make prayer to the Lord; for there has been enough of these thunderings of God and this ice-storm; and I will let you go and will keep you no longer. And Moses said, When I am gone outside the town, my hands will be stretched out to the Lord; the thunders and the ice-storm will come to an end, so that you may see that the earth is the Lord's.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Exodus 19
Commentary on Exodus 19 Matthew Henry Commentary
Chapter 19
This chapter introduces the solemnity of the giving of the law upon mount Sinai, which was one of the most striking appearances of the divine glory that ever was in this lower world. We have here,
Exd 19:1-8
Here is,
Exd 19:9-15
Here,
Exd 19:16-25
Now, at length, comes that memorable day, that terrible day of the Lord, that day of judgment, in which Israel heard the voice of the Lord God speaking to them out of the midst of the fire, and lived, Deu. 4:33. Never was there such a sermon preached, before nor since, as this which was here preached to the church in the wilderness. For,