Exodus 19:18
16 On the third day in the morning there was thunder and lightning and a dense cloud on the mountain, and the sound of a very loud horn; all the people who were in the camp trembled. 17 Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God, and they took their place at the foot of the mountain. 18 Now Mount Sinai was completely covered with smoke because the Lord had descended on it in fire, and its smoke went up like the smoke of a great furnace, and the whole mountain shook violently. 19 When the sound of the horn grew louder and louder, Moses was speaking and God was answering him with a voice. 20 The Lord came down on Mount Sinai, on the top of the mountain, and the Lord summoned Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up.
Psalm 50:3
1 A psalm by Asaph. El, God, the Lord has spoken, and summoned the earth to come from the east and west. 2 From Zion, the most beautiful of all places, God has come in splendor. 3 “May our God come and not be silent.” Consuming fire goes ahead of him, and all around him a storm rages. 4 He summons the heavens above, as well as the earth, so that he might judge his people. 5 He says: “Assemble my covenant people before me, those who ratified a covenant with me by sacrifice.”
Notes and References
"... The initial verse invites the whole earth to rejoice at the LORD’s coming and reign. The many coastlands (distant shores, verse 1) represent a worldwide thrust (verses 4-7, 9). Immediately the psalm presents a verbal portrait of the Lord of all the earth in the form of a theophany, to take singers and hearers imaginatively into the royal presence (verses 2-5) [Theophany]. The poetic description of God’s intervention to deliver his people draws on images and literature from Israel’s past. God appeared as mysterious, one veiled and hidden in clouds and thick darkness (verse 2; Exodus 13:21-22; Deuteronomy 4:11; Isaiah 6:1-4). In Old Testament theophanies fire appears to consume or refine (Exodus 3:2; 19:18; Psalm 50:3). Thunderstorms, lightning, and earthquakes show that God is drawing near (Judges 5:4-5; Psalm 18:7-15; 29:1-11; 68:7-9, 33; Habakkuk 3:6-16). Erupting volcanoes, when mountains melt like wax (verse 5), describe God’s awesome power (Micah 1:3-4; Nahum 1:5) ..."
Waltner, James H. Psalms (p. 473) Herald Press, 2006