EXPOSTTTl)N. Vers. 18-21.-WrrHDRAWAL OF THE PRO- dot.h talk with man, and he liveth. Now, PI E, AKD 1''EARER APPROACH OF MOSES TO therefore, why should we die? for this great G<lo. The effcc.t produced upon the people fire will consume us : if we he&r the voice of the Lord our God any more, then we shall die. by the 11ccumulatM t.errors of Sin&i-" the For who is there of ell flesh, that bath beerd 1 hundering,- RDd the lightnings, the noise of the voice of the living God, speaking out of 1he trumpet, RDd the mountain smoking"- the midst of the fire, RB we have, RDd lived? the cloud. RDd the voice out of the cloud-was Go then near, and hear all that the Lord our an awful and terrible fe&r. They could not God shall se.y; and speak thou unto us all that bear the manifestation of the ne&r presence of the Lord our God shall ~eak unto thee ; aud we will be&r it, and do it (Deut. v. 24-27). God ; and therefore " they removed and stood The speech is here abbreviated greatly; but af&r off." It seemed to them u if, on hearing its essential ~oints a.re preserved - " Speak the voice of God, speaking out of the thick thou with us '-be thou our intermediary- darkness. they must die (ver. 19). Moses, " Let not God speak with us, lest we die." upon their expressing these feelings, comforted Ver. 20.-And lllosea said nnto the people. Not immediately-Moses first held colloquy them with an BBRnrance th&t God had shown with God. God declered that the people bad his terrors, not for their injury, but to pnt his "spoken well" (Deut. v. 28); and authorised fear in their hearui (ver. 20), and a.lJ.owed Moses to a.lJ.ow of their withdrawal (ib. 30). them to retire to & distance from the monnt, Fear not. Here Exodus is more full in its while he himself "drew ne&r nnto the thick details than Deuteronomy. Moses, finding the people in a state of extreme alerm, pacified darkness where God wu" (ver. 21). them-assured them that there was no cause Ver. 18.-The people uw thethnnderings. for immediate fear-God had not now come The use of &specific verb for a generic one, in vengeance-the object of the terrors of with tenus to a.II of which it is not, strictly Sinai w~ !'J "prove " them-i.e., to test them, speaking, &pplicable, is common to many whether they were inclined to submit them- l\Titers, o.nd is known to gre.mm&rians as selves to God, or not--and to impress upon zeugma. " Saw" here mee.nl' "perceived, their minds permanently an awful fear of God, witnessed." The mountain a:moking. Com- that they might be kept back from sin by pare eh. xix. 18. In Deut. v. 23 it is said dread of his almighty power. The motive of that " the mountain did burn with lire." fe&r is. no doubt, a low one; but where we When the people uw it, they removed. It can appeal to nothing else, we must appeal to appears, from Deut. v. 23, that, before retiring, it. Israel was still a child, only fit for childish the people sent a deputation of heads of tribes discipline; and had to be directed by the harsh and elders up to Moses in the mount, to con- voice of fear, until it had learnt to be guided vey to him their wishes, and suggest that h,e by the tender accents of love. should be their intermediary with God. Moses Ver. 21.-The people stood afar o:tr. They la.id their wishes before God, and was directed retired from the base of Sinai to their tents, to give them his sanction, whereupon they where they "stood," probably in their tent withdrew t.o their tents (ib. 30). doors. And llloses drew near UILto the thiok Ver. 19.-And they aid UILto Ko188. Their darkneBB, As the people drew back, Moses whole speech, &S delivered in Deuteronomy, drew ne&r. The display which drove them was u follows :-" Behold, the Lord our God off, attracted him. He did not even fear the bath shewed us his glory and his greatness, "thick darkness "-a thing from which human and we have beard his voice out of the midst nature commonly shrinks. Where God was, of the fire: we have 1181111 this de.y, that God he would he.
HOMILETICS. Vers. 18-21.-The Divine presence at = attractive and repellent. was upon the earth. so winning was his graciousness that crowds flocked to him, and When Christ.
oue man at least exclaimed, "Lord, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest." But at the same time so terrible was the manifestation of his power, that there were those wl,o "Lesought him that he would depart out of their coasts." God is love, and God is JJ(,wer, and wherever he is, he exhibits both qualities; but there are some who srci ruainly the love, and there are others who see only the power. Hence the Divine prese[Jce at once attracts and repels, charms men and affrights them. 'l'he Israelites ,11vi!c<l tu draw llear tu Gud, and bold with him direct co=unication, after brief trial, Cll, XX 22 20.) TIIE IlOOK OF EXODUS.