He added no more - i. e., He spoke no more with the great voice directly to the people, but addressed all other communications to them through Moses. This unique and sublime phenomenon, followed up by the inscription of the Ten Words on the two tables by the finger of God, marks not only the holiness of God's Law in general, but the special eminence and permanent obligation of the Ten Words themselves as compared with the rest of the Mosaic enactments. The giving of the two tables did not take place until Moses had been on the Mount 40 days and 40 nights, as appears from the fuller account of Deuteronomy 9:9-12.

These words the Lord spake unto all your assembly in the mount,.... The above ten words or commands, which were spoken so audibly and loudly by the Lord himself on Mount Sinai, that the whole congregation of the people of Israel heard them:

out of the midst of the fire, of the cloud, and of the thick darkness; in which the Lord was; see Deuteronomy 4:11,

with a great voice, and he added no more; ceased speaking; after he had delivered the ten commands, he said no more at that time. The Targum of Jonathan is,"with a great voice which ceased not.''It ceased not until all were delivered, and then it did; it was a continued voice, yet clear and distinct:

and he wrote them iwo tables of stone; marble stone, as the Targum of Jonathan; which is much more likely than what the paraphrase has on Deuteronomy 4:13, this is an emblem of the duration of the law:

and delivered them unto me; to Moses, and by him to be delivered to the people, who though they had heard them would be apt to forget them; and therefore they were written, that they might read them, and meditate on them, and be careful to keep them.

These words the LORD spoke to all your assembly on the mount from the midst of the fire, of the cloud, and of the thick darkness, with a great voice: and he {i} added no more. And he wrote them in two tables of stone, and delivered them to me.

(i) Teaching us by his example to be content with his word, and add nothing to it.

5:22 Out of the midst of the fire, of the cloud, and of the thick darkness - That was a dispensation of terror, designed to make the gospel of grace the more welcome, and to be a specimen of the terrors of the judgment - day. He added no more - He ceased for that time to speak immediately, and with that loud voice unto the people; for the rest were delivered to Moses, and by him communicated unto them. This he did to shew the preeminence of that law above the rest, and its everlasting obligation.

22. he added no more-(Ex 20:1). The pre-eminence of these ten commandments was shown in God's announcing them directly: other laws and institutions were communicated to the people through the instrumentality of Moses.

5:6-22 There is some variation here from Ex 20 as between the Lord's prayer in Mt 6 and Lu 11. It is more necessary that we tie ourselves to the things, than to the words unalterably. The original reason for hallowing the sabbath, taken from God's resting from the work of creation on the seventh day, is not here mentioned. Though this ever remains in force, it is not the only reason. Here it is taken from Israel's deliverance out of Egypt; for that was typical of our redemption by Jesus Christ, in remembrance of which the Christian sabbath was to be observed. In the resurrection of Christ we were brought into the glorious liberty of the children of God, with a mighty hand, and an outstretched arm. How sweet is it to a soul truly distressed under the terrors of a broken law, to hear the mild and soul-reviving language of the gospel!