Exodus 19:16

“And it came to pass on the third day in the morning, etc:] The sixth of the month, according to the Targum of Jonathan, and so Jarchi; on which day, as the Jews generally say f598, the law was given, and which, they also observe, was a sabbath day: yea, they are sometimes so very particular as to fix the hour of the day, and say f599, it was the sixth hour of the day, or twelve o’clock at noon, that Israel received the decalogue, and at the ninth hour, at three o’clock in the afternoon, returned to their stations: there were thunders, and lightnings, and a thick cloud upon the mount; which were to awaken the attention of the people to what they were to hear and receive, and to strike their…”

“on the third day in the morning, that there were thunders and lightnings, &c.--The descent of God was signalized by every object imagination can conceive connected with the ideas of grandeur and of awe. But all was in keeping with the character of the law about to be proclaimed. As the mountain burned with fire, God was exhibited as a consuming fire to the transgressors of His law. The thunder and lightning, more awful amid the deep stillness of the region and reverberating with terrific peals among the mountains, would rouse the universal attention; a thick cloud was an apt emblem of the dark and shadowy dispensation (compare Mat 17:5). the voice of a trumpet--This gave the scene the…”

“Now at length is come that memorable day, 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 or since, as this, which was here preached to the church in the wilderness. For, the preacher was God himself, Exo 19:17, The Lord descended in fire; and Exo 19:18. The Lord came down upon mount Sinai. The Shechinah, or glory of the Lord, appeared in the sight of all the people; he shined forth from mount Paran with ten thousand of his saints, attended with a multitude of the holy angels. Hence the law is said to be given by the disposition of angels, Act 7:53. He spake from mount Sinai, hung…”

“19:16-25 The final phase of preparation involved phenomena that moved the people toward acceptance of the covenant. Some of the experiences were visual: lightning and a cloud (19:16), smoke and fire (19:18). The people also heard thunder, a ram’s horn, and the voice of God (19:16, 19), and the whole mountain shook violently (19:18). In the Bible, such phenomena are often associated with a theophany, which is a visible manifestation of God’s holy presence.”

“thunders: Exo 9:23, Exo 9:28, Exo 9:29, Exo 20:18; Sa1 12:17, Sa1 12:18; Job 37:1-5, Job 38:25; Psa 18:11-14; Psa 29:3-11, Psa 50:3, Psa 77:18, Psa 97:4; Heb 12:18, Heb 12:19; Rev 4:5, Rev 8:5, Rev 11:19 thick: Exo 19:9, Exo 40:34; Ch2 5:14 voice: Rev 1:10, Rev 4:1 all the people: Jer 5:22; Heb 12:21 Exodus 19:17”

“After these preparations, on the morning of the third day (from the issuing of this divine command), Jehovah came down upon the top of Mount Sinai ( Exo 19:20), manifesting His glory in fire as the mighty, jealous God, in the midst of thunders (קלת) and lightnings, so that the mountain burned with fire ( Deu 4:11; Deu 5:20), and the smoke of the burning mountain ascended as the smoke (עשׁן for עשׁן), and the whole mountain trembled ( Exo 19:18), at the same time veiling in a thick cloud the fire of His wrath and jealousy, by which the unholy are consumed. Thunder and lightning bursting forth from the thick cloud, and fire with smoke, were the elementary substrata, which rendered the glory of…”