1:4 He rebukes. These words vividly portray the power of God in subjecting the forces of nature, as during creation or at the crossing of the Red Sea (Ex. 14).

sea . . . rivers. Used here as poetic parallels (Is. 50:2; Ps. 74:12–15). The abundant vegetation of the fertile “Bashan,” “Carmel,” and “Lebanon” withers when the hot desert wind, sent by the Lord, blows over it.