16 So it came about on the third day , when it was morning , that there were thunder and lightning flashes and a thick cloud upon the mountain and a very loud trumpet sound , so that all the people who were in the camp trembled . 17 And Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God , and they stood at the foot of the mountain . 18 Now Mount Sinai was all in smoke because e e the Lord descended upon it in fire ; and its smoke ascended like the smoke of a furnace , and the whole mountain quaked violently . 19 When the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder , Moses spoke and God answered him with thunder . 20 The Lord came down on Mount Sinai , to the top of the mountain ; and the Lord called Moses to the top of the mountain , and Moses went up. 21 Then the Lord spoke to Moses , "Go down , warn the people , so that they do not break through to the Lord to gaze , and many of them perish . 22 "Also let the priests who come near to the Lord consecrate themselves, or else the Lord will break out against them." 23 Moses said to the Lord , "The people cannot e come up to Mount Sinai , for You warned us, saying , ' Set bounds about the mountain and consecrate it.' " 24 Then the Lord said to him, "Go e down and come up again, you and Aaron with you; but do not let the priests and the people break through to come up to the Lord , or He will break forth upon them." 25 So Moses went down to the people and told them.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Exodus 19:16-25
Commentary on Exodus 19:16-25
(Read Exodus 19:16-25)
Never was there such a sermon preached, before or since, as this which was preached to the church in the wilderness. It might be supposed that the terrors would have checked presumption and curiosity in the people; but the hard heart of an unawakened sinner can trifle with the most terrible threatenings and judgments. In drawing near to God, we must never forget his holiness and greatness, nor our own meanness and pollution. We cannot stand in judgment before him according to his righteous law. The convinced transgressor asks, What must I do to be saved? and he hears the voice, Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved. The Holy Ghost, who made the law to convince of sin, now takes of the things of Christ, and shows them to us. In the gospel we read, Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us. We have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins. Through him we are justified from all things, from which we could not be justified by the law of Moses. But the Divine law is binding as a rule of life. The Son of God came down from heaven, and suffered poverty, shame, agony, and death, not only to redeem us from its curse, but to bind us more closely to keep its commands.