3 Jehovah 'is' slow to anger, and great in power, And Jehovah doth not entirely acquit, In a hurricane and in a tempest 'is' His way, And a cloud 'is' the dust of His feet. 4 He is pushing against a sea, and drieth it up, Yea, all the floods He hath made dry, Languishing 'are' Bashan and Carmel, Yea, the flower of Lebanon 'is' languishing. 5 Mountains have shaken because of Him, And the hills have been melted; And lifted up 'is' the earth at His presence, And the world and all dwelling in it. 6 Before His indignation who doth stand? And who riseth up in the heat of His anger? His fury hath been poured out like fire, And the rocks have been broken by Him.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Nahum 1:3-6
Commentary on Nahum 1:1-8
(Read Nahum 1:1-8)
About a hundred years before, at Jonah's preaching, the Ninevites repented, and were spared, yet, soon after, they became worse than ever. Nineveh knows not that God who contends with her, but is told what a God he is. It is good for all to mix faith with what is here said concerning Him, which speaks great terror to the wicked, and comfort to believers. Let each take his portion from it: let sinners read it and tremble; and let saints read it and triumph. The anger of the Lord is contrasted with his goodness to his people. Perhaps they are obscure and little regarded in the world, but the Lord knows them. The Scripture character of Jehovah agrees not with the views of proud reasoners. The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ is slow to wrath and ready to forgive, but he will by no means acquit the wicked; and there is tribulation and anguish for every soul that doeth evil: but who duly regards the power of his wrath?