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Matthew Henry

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Exodus 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, Deut. 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, I. The preacher was God himself (Exod. 19:18): The Lord descended in fire, and (Exod. 19:20), The Lord came down upon mount Sinai. The shechinah, or glory of... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Exodus 19:19

And when the voice of the trumpet sounded long ,.... Not in one continued tone, as before, Exodus 19:13 , where a different word is used, and when it decreased, and was about to cease, which was to summon the people to attend; but now they were come to the foot of the mount, and this sounding was a preparation to the giving of the law unto them, and was not one continued even tone: but waxed louder and louder; or, "going, and exceeding strong"; or, "strengthening itself exceedingly" F24 ... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Exodus 19:20

And the Lord came down on Mount Sinai ,.... In the above visible tokens of his presence and power; otherwise he is the incomprehensible Jehovah, that immense and omnipotent Being, who fills heaven and earth, and cannot be contained and circumscribed in either: on the top of the mount ; where the fire he descended in rested, and where the smoke and thick cloud were, as a token of his presence: and the Lord called Moses up to the top of the mount ; who either was at the bottom of it... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Exodus 19:21

And the Lord said unto Moses, go down ,.... As soon as he was got to the top of the mount he was bid to go down again to the bottom, with a message to the people: charge the people, lest they break through unto the Lord to gaze ; to see if they could observe any similitude or likeness of God, that they might have an idea of it in their minds, or make an image like unto it; to prevent which, the Lord, knowing the vanity and curiosity of their minds, ordered Moses to give them a strict... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Exodus 19:22

And let the priests also, which come near unto the Lord ,.... Either the firstborn, as the Jews generally interpret it, so Jarchi and Aben Ezra; who were sanctified to the Lord, and in whose stead afterwards the Levites were taken; or the sons of Aaron, who should be, and were potentially, though not actually priests, as Ben Gersom expresses it, from an ancient book of theirs called Mechilta; or rather some principal persons, as heads of families and the like, who, before the priesthood was... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Exodus 19:20

The Lord came down - This was undoubtedly done in a visible manner, that the people might witness the awful appearance. We may suppose that every thing was arranged thus: the glory of the Lord occupied the top of the mountain, and near to this Moses was permitted to approach. Aaron and the seventy elders were permitted to advance some way up the mountain, while the people were only permitted to come up to its base. Moses, as the lawgiver, was to receive the statutes and judgments from God's... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Exodus 19:22

Let the priests also - sanctify themselves - That there were priests among the Hebrews before the consecration of Aaron and his sons, cannot be doubted; though their functions might be in a considerable measure suspended while under persecution in Egypt, yet the persons existed whose right and duty it was to offer sacrifices to God. Moses requested liberty from Pharaoh to go into the wilderness to sacrifice; and had there not been among the people both sacrifices and priests, the request... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Exodus 19:21

Verse 21 21.And the Lord said unto Moses. By God’s command the same prohibition is repeated, that the people should not pass over the bounds, because, without doubt, it was not enough to have forbidden them once, as we may gather from the reply of Moses; for he thought that since they were all admonished, there was no necessity for a new prohibition. But God insists with greater vehemence, and again with threatenings, orders them to be charged that they take diligent heed to themselves. He... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Exodus 19:7-25

The revelation of Jehovah. I. WHAT IS DEMANDED ERE THE REVELATION CAN BE IMPARTED . 1 . The will must be surrendered to God, "All that the Lord hath spoken we will do" ( Exodus 19:8 ). 2 . The filthiness of the past must be put away; "Sanctify them" ( Exodus 19:10 ). There must be loathing of, and separation from, sin. 3 . There must be a sense of the distance sin has put between the soul and God; "Take heed to yourselves that ye go not up into the... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Exodus 19:9-25

The manifestation of God's glory at Sinai. I. THE PURPOSE OF THIS MANIFESTATION . God made this purpose known beforehand; and it was that the people who saw and heard these dreadful phenomena might believe Moses for ever, might permanently acknowledge his authority as a messenger and representative of God. When Moses was at Sinai before and then entrusted with a Divine message to Israel, he urged it as one of his difficulties that Israel would not believe him. "They will say,... read more

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