John Calvin Commentary Nahum 1:6

"Who can stand before his indignation? and who can abide in the fierceness of his anger? his wrath is poured out like fire, and the rocks are broken asunder by him." — Nahum 1:6 (ASV)

The Prophet shows here why, in the part discussed in the last lecture, he gave such an awe-inspiring description of God; it was so that people might know that when they come before His tribunal, no one will be able to stand unless supported by His favor. We have spoken sufficiently about the Prophet’s main object, and it is not necessary to repeat here what has already been stated.

It is enough to keep this in mind—that as the enemies of the Church relied on their own power and daringly and excessively raged against it, the judgment of God is presented before them here, so that they might understand that an account was to be rendered to Him whose presence they were not able to endure.

But the question has more force than if the Prophet had simply stated that the whole world could not stand before God, for he speaks as one issuing a solemn charge. After showing how terrible God is, he exclaims, Who shall stand before his indignation? and who shall be able to bear his wrath? For his indignation, he says, is poured out like fire.

The Hebrew interpreters have toiled in vain here: since the verb נתך (nutae,) means "to pour out," it seems to them an inconsistent expression that the wrath of God should be poured out like fire, for this would be more suitably said of molten metal than of fire. But "to be poured out" here means nothing other than to be scattered far and wide.

Poured out then is thy wrath like fire; that is, it advances every moment, like a fire that seizes a whole forest. And when it grows strong, we know how great its violence is, and how suddenly it spreads here and there. But if a different meaning is preferred, I do not strongly object to it: "His wrath, which is like fire, is poured out."

Some think that the Prophet alludes to lightning, which, as it were, melts through the air, at least as it appears to us.

But since the Prophet's meaning is sufficiently evident, there is no need to inquire anxiously how fire is poured out. For I have already mentioned that the Prophet means nothing other than that the wrath of God spreads, so that it immediately takes hold not only of one city but also of the widest regions and of the whole world. It is therefore like fire, for it passes here and there, and does so suddenly.

He then says that rocks are also broken or dissolved before him. We must be aware of how great our brittleness is. Since there is no hardness that does not melt before God, how can human beings, who flow away by themselves like water, be so daring as to set themselves up against Him? Thus we see that the madness of human beings is rebuked here, who, trusting in their own strength, dare to contend even with God because they forget their own frailty. This is the overall meaning.