who has an unlimited control over all the inlets to our sentient spirits should see fit, when the occasion warrants, to make the senses an avenue to the mind, and to seize the conscience or overawe the heart by speaking to the eyes or the ears, or to both at once. Such was his good pleasure on the delivery of the law from Sinai; and it is a consideration full of solemn import, that if God was truly awful in the harmless unconsuming fire at the bush of Horeb, and in the guiding and protecting pillar of cloud; if he was dreadful at Sinai, coming in fierce and threatening flames to promulgate his law; what must he be 'coming in flaming fire to take vengeance on them that know not God, and obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ!" If the sound of that trumpet which proclaimed the approach of God to Israel was almost sufficient to kill the living with fear; what must be the trumpet which shall awake the dead? Whatever majesty and solemnity distinguished the giving of the Law, the whole earth shall eventually behold it exceeded in the consummation of the gospel.- -T In the morning. Heb. pan bihyoth habboker, in the being made to be of the morning; implying something peculiar and extraordinary in the atmospherical phenomena that ushered in that memorable morn. The usual phrase for in the morning' is babboker, and if nothing more than that simple idea was meant, it is not easy to account for the present unusual phraseology. And there were voices and lightnings, &c. Heb. va-yehi koloth. Thunders are undoubtedly meant, a sense frequently conveyed by the Heb. word ' voice,' in proof of which see Note on Gen. 3.8. The gloomy mass of cloud was unquestionably the seat of the thunders and lightnings which pealed and flashed from its bosom. And as the pillar of cloud was regarded as the throne of God, we see the pertinency of the allusion to this narrative in the mystic kol shophar, the voice or sound of a trumpet. There is no clear authority in the original for the use of the moi definite expression 'the trumpet,' as it in allusion to some trumpet previously mentioned. At the same time we are not prepared to affirm, although the yobel and the shophar wei undoubtedly different, that they may not both refer to the same supernatural sounds heard on this occasion. Th use of the term in either case may per haps simply be to intimate that a sound was miraculously produced bearing a strong resemblance to that of a trumpet, though immeasurably louder. Perhaps the clangor of an unearthly trumpet was mingled in the din of the elements to deepen the conviction that the whole scene was preternatural. Thunder and lightning, and earthquake, and dark clouds were phenomena with which they were in some degree acquainted, and had there been nothing more, it might possibly have been thought, either then or in after ages, that the spectacle witnessed was merely an extraordinary tempest, the effect solely of natural causes, though acting with`unwonted violence. But when a sound was heard shrill and piercing like the notes of a trumpet, but rising above the hoarse peals, the roaring and the crash of the thunder, such as was never heard before in any commotion of the elements, and such as never could issue from an instrument made by human hands or blown by human breath, no wonder that the impression upon the people was terrific beyond all conception. No wonder that the terms 'voice of the archangel and trump of God' should have arisen from this incident of the dread phenomena which struck the senses of assembled Israel at the base of the holy mount. It is undoubtedly from the circumstance 17 And f Moses brought forth the | as the smoke of a furnace, and k the people out of the camp to meet with whole mount quaked greatly. God; and they stood at the nether 19 And I when the voice of the part of the mount. trumpet sounded long, and waxed louder and louder, m Moses spake, and God answered him by a voice. 20 And the LORD came down upon mount Sinai, on the top of the mount: and the LORD called Moses 18 And g mount Sinai was altogether on a smoke, because the LORD descended upon it hin fire: i and the smoke thereof ascended f Deut. 4. 10. 8 Deut. 4. 11. & 33. 2. Judg. 5.5. Ps. 68. 7, 8. Isai. 6. 4. Hab. 3. 3. h ch. 3. 2. & 24. 17. 2 Chron. 7. 1, 2, 3. i Gen. 15. 17. Ps. 144. 5. Rev. 15. 8. here mentioned that the Scriptures teach us to associate idea of the sound of a great trumpet with the awful occurrences of the day of judgment, of which the giving of the law from Sinai was intended to be a faint type and shadow. 17. To meet with God. Heb. likrath ha-Elohim, to meet the Elohim; i. e. the Deity, in his visible apparition. Chal. 'To meet the Word of the Lord.'- -T Stood at the nether part of the mount. Without the limits fixed by Moses. k Ps. 68. 8. & 77. 18. & 14. 7. Jer. 4. 24. Hebr. 12. 26. 1 ver. 13. m Hebr. 12. 21. n Neh. 9. 13. Ps. 81. 7. its clang.- -T Moses spake and God answered him by a voice. What Moses said on this occasion, we are not informed; at least not in this connexion. The Apostle tells us, Heb. 12. 21, that in the midst of the terrors of the scene, he said, 'I exceedingly fear and quake;' and it is not improbable that it was precisely at this stage of the transaction that these words were uttered. As to the answer which God is said to have given him, a correct view of that depends upon the construction of the next verse. 20, 21. The Lord came down upon Mount Sinai. As it had been already said, v. 18, that the Lord descended upon the Mount in fire, we have little hesitation in adopting the suggestion of Calvin that all the verbs here should be 'had rendered in the pluperfect tense, come down,' 'had called,' 'had gone up,' and the whole verse considered as parenthetical, The scope of it seems to be, to inform us how it happened that Moses was in a situation to hold this intercourse with Jehovah; for it does not appear that in any stage of the proceedings did God communicate with Moses while he remained among the people below. He was invariably called up to the summit, or near the summit of the mountain. But as nothing had heretofore been said of Moses since he was represented as bringing the people out of the camp to their appointed station, and he is yet here set before us as holding commu nion with God, it was obviously proper to interpose the notice of his having 18. And Mount Sinai was altogether on a smoke, &c. The appearances thus far seem to have been exclusively those described in v. 16, in which we have no mention of smoke or fire. But as the solemnities proceeded, the terrors of the scene became deeper. Nature seemed to have become more conscious of the approaching God, and discovered greater commotion. Dark and pitchy volumes of smoke, intermingled with lurid flames of fire, rolled up the sides and above the summit of the mount, as if issuing from an immense furnace, and just at this time the foundations of the perpetual hills began to be moved by the throes of an earthquake, which shook the solid rocky mass to its centre. 19. When the voice of the trumpet sounded long, and waxed louder and louder. Heb. holek ve-hazek meod, going and strengthen ing exceedingly. It is a phrase entire ly different from that v. 13, and implies a growing intensity in the loudness of up to the top of the mount; and Moses went up. 21 And the LORD said unto Moses, Go down, charge the people, lest they break through unto the LORD o to gaze, and many of them perish. 22 And let the priests also which come near to the LORD, P sanctify • See ch. 3. 5. 1 Sam. 6. 19. P Lev. 10. 3. before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, &c.' Thus the charge here appointed to be given was a solemn testimony of God, through Moses, of the consequences of disobedience.¶ Lest they break through unto the Lord. That is, to the Shekinah, the visible manifestation of the Lord. The phraseology throughout the narrative is wonderfully in keeping with this idea.—¶ And many of them perish. Heb. 7 3D) been previously called up to the top of the mount. This is done in the twentieth verse. If this remark be well founded, it is perhaps to be inferred that God answered Moses' exclamation by giving him the order mentioned, v. 21, viz. to go down and restrain the people from breaking through the prescribed limits. Otherwise we must suppose that as Moses' words to God are not expressly recorded, so God's words to him are for wise reasons withheld. But however this may be, the charge which he was required to convey to the people leads us to suppose, that when they saw Moses passing unharmed into the midst of the fire, the smoke, and the lightning, their curiosity was excited to the highest pitch to learn the nature of elements at once so fearful to look upon, and yet apparently so innocent in their effect, and, accordingly, that many of them 22. Let the priests also which come were upon the point of breaking through near to the Lord sanctify themselves. naphal mimmenu rab, many of them fall. Gr. Teawolv es avτwv mλnt«s, a multitude of them fall; i. e. be destroyed by being put to death in obedience to the command, v. 12, 13. We cannot fail to learn from this, that a prying curiosity in relation to matters which God does not see fit to reveal to his creatures is not only highly presumptuous, but fraught with danger. -hakko הכהנים הנגשים אל יהוה .the boundaries to gaze more closely at | Heb ησαι, the spectacle. This is confirmed by the hanim hanniggashim el Yehovah, the Gr. μη ποτε εγγισωσι προς τὸν Θεὸν κατανοlest by any means they draw nigh unto God to consider; i. e. to contemnplate, to ponder, to study, implying the indulgence of a prying curiosity. The word is used in this sense in Stephen's speech, Acts, 7.31, in reference to Moses at the burning bush.-T Charge the people. Heb. haëd, testify unto. Gr. dıaμaprvçaı, bear witness to; the same word employed by Paul, 1 Tim. 5. 27, 'I charge thee (diapaorvoopai) before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, and the elect angels, &c.' So also 2 Tim. 2. 14, 'Of these things put them in remembrance, charging them (diapapropovuɛvos) before the Lord that they strive not, &c. Again, 2 Tim. 4. 1, 'I charge thee (diapapropoμai) therefore, priests coming near to the Lord; i. e. whose duty, whose function, is, on ordinary occasions, to come near to the Lord. Chal. 'Which come near to minister before the Lord.' But as the Aaronical priesthood was not yet established it becomes a question who are meant by the term. We learn from Ex. 13. 2, that the first-born of every family were in a special manner to be dedicated and sanctified to God, and it is clear, from the whole tenor of the patriarchal history, that the honor of the priesthood was considered as involved in the rights of primogeniture. As this was the case, and the tribe of Levi was afterwards substituted instead of the first-born, we cannot well doubt that the eldest sons throughout the tribes q themselves, lest the LORD a break forth upon them. 23 And Moses said unto the LORD, The people cannot come up to q 2 Sam. 6. 7, 8. mount Sinai: for thou chargedst us, saying, Set bounds about the mount, and sanctify it. r ver. 12. Josh. 3. 4. with that applied in the preceding verse to the breaking through of the people in respect to the prescribed limits. That is a very emphatic word yehersu, having the import of subverting, razing, destroying, as of houses, walls, fortifications, &c, and therefore very well applied to the rushing and pressure of a crowd who break down, trample under foot, and obliterate, any kind of fence or barrier set up to check their equally significant as spoken of God, and conveys the idea of a sudden, fearful, and destructive bursting forth of his judgments against opposers. Thus, 2 Sam. 5. 20, 'And David came to Baalperazim, and David smote them there, and said, The Lord hath broken forth (7 were at this time considered as invested with so much of the priestly character as to be properly employed on all occasions when any peculiarly sacred ministrations were to be performed. We may therefore suppose that this class of the people are intended by the appellation 'priests,' and that they are the same as we afterwards, Ex. 24. 5, find denominated 'young men of the sons of Israel,' many of whom were, in all probability, at the same time heads, chiefs, and el-progress. But the root 7 paratz is ders of the people, and so still more properly to be viewed as having the superintendence of the sacred services. These were charged in a peculiar and emphatic manner to sanctify themselves' on this occasion, i. e. by abstaining from presumptuous intrusion; for the nearer persons are brought to God by their office, the more dangerous and deadly are their transgressions. They had no doubt shared with the rest of the people in that previous personal sanctification which had been enjoined, v. 10, so that that cannot here be alluded to. The meaning is rather, that considering the force of their example, the obedience which they were to evince was to be so strict, so punctilious, so conscientious, that it would be considered as amounting to a 'sanctification' of themselves in the sight of God. Comp. Lev. 10. 3, 'Then Moses said unto Aaron, This is it that the Lord spake, saying, I will be sanctified in them that come nigh me, and before all the people I will be glorified.' The implication is, that while in the obedience of common persons God is honored, in that of his priests he is sanctified. - Lest the Lord break forth upon them. Heb. 7 yiphrotz, break violently forth. The word is not the same paratz) upon mine enemies before me, as the breach of waters. Therefore he called the name of that place Baal-perazim ( baal perat zim, i. e. plain of breaches).' So also, 2 Sam. 6. 8, 'And David was displeased, because the Lord had made a breach upon Uzzah: and he called the name of the place Perez-uzzah (7 peretz Uzzah, breach of Uzzah) to this day.' We are no doubt prone to be covetous of license beyond what God has seen fit to allow us, but we may as sure ourselves that he always has conceded and always will concede as much as will be for our good, and with such precepts and such examples as we have here cited, we cannot but see that it is at our utmost peril that we presume to go beyond the salutary limits, both of knowledge and action, which he has imposed. 23. The people cannot come up. Not that there was any physical impossibility in the way, but Moses seems to 24 And the LORD said unto him, Away, get thee down, and thou shalt come up, thou, and Aaron with thee: but let not the priests and the people break through, to come up unto the LORD lest he break forth upon them. 25 So Moses went down unto the people, and spake unto them. have thought that by reason of the un-ple in the discharge of their official duutterable terror and glory of the scene, it was morally impossible that the people should any of them be so presumptuous as to transgress an order which he had once so expressly delivered to them, and which he had guarded by setting bounds according to divine direction. Thus it is that in the consciousness of a due deference to the will of God in themselves, the good and the charitable are sometimes prone to entertain a more favorable opinion of human nature than the truth will warrant. God often sees a necessity of uttering cautions and repeating commands of which his right-minded servants are but little aware. 24. Thou and Aaron with thee. God does not see fit to make any direct verbal reply to Moses' remark, nor does he intimate that he had been guilty of remissness in any part of his duty, but he repeats the order that he should go down, not only to renew his warning to the priests and people, but also to take Aaron and bring him up with him to the top of the mount. As he was about to invest him with the honors of the high priesthood, it was fitting that he should put upon him such tokens of distinction as would inspire the people with a profound respect for his dignity and authority.¶ Let not the priests and the people break through to come up. Gr. μη βιαζεσθωσαν αναβηναι προς τον Θεον, let them not violently press to come up to God. As if the danger were that in their anxiety to gaze they should even attempt to advance up the sides of the mountain, from which all but Moses were strictly interdicted. As the priests were ordinarily permitted to approach nearer to God than the rest of the peo But ties, they might perhaps be at a loss to CHAPTER XX. THE LAW. The sacred historian, having fully detailed in the preceding chapter all the various preliminaries to the delivery of the Law, comes now to the account of the solemn transaction itself—the most remarkable event, perhaps, taken in all its bearings, that occurred in the history of the chosen people prior to the incarnation of Christ, and one of the most remarkable that ever did or will distinguish the annals of the world itself. The occasion was indeed one which had a primary reference to the nation of Israel, to whom,' says the apostle, 'pertaineth the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, |