Who can stand before his indignation? and who can abide in the fierceness of his anger? his fury is poured out like fire, and the rocks are thrown down by him.
Ver. 6. Who can stand before his indignation?] A glass bottle may as well stand before a cannon shot. There is no standing before a lion, much less before a devouring fire, least of all before an angry God. When our Saviour did but put forth a beam of his Deity, and said, "I am he," the stout soldiers fell to the ground, John 18:6, and there they had lain if he had not licensed them to rise again. Quid autem iudicaturus faciet, qui iudicandus hoc fecit? (Augustin.) The wicked shall not stand in judgment, saith David, Psalms 1:5 .
Who can abide in the fierceness of his anger?] Heb. in the inflammation of his nostrils, Collectumque premens volvit sub naribus ignem. Thus the prophet describeth God's terrible executions of justice on the Church's enemies, pulcherrimis metaphoris, hypotyposi evidentissima, et distributionis artificio insignissimo, by most elegant metaphors, evident demonstrations, and artificial distributions (Crocius in loc.).
His fury is poured out like fire] A metaphor either from metals melted or from showers of rain, such as God poured down upon Sodom (whereunto probably the prophet here alludeth, as Nahum 1:8, to Noah's flood), flaming showers, Jeremiah 7:20; Jeremiah 44:6 .
And the rocks are thrown down by him] That is, by his fierce wrath, when it is at the full height; as the fire which at first burns a little within, upon a few boards and rafters, but when it prevaileth, bursteth out in a most terrible flame, as thunder; which we hear at first, a little roaring noise afar off, but stay awhile, and it is a dreadful crack, cleaving the very rocks. See Jeremiah 4:28; Jer 4:24 Matthew 27:51 .