He delighteth not in the strength of the horse: he taketh not pleasure in the legs of a man.
Ver. 10. He delighteth not in the strength of the horse] Plutarch in Numa saith the same, Yεος ουκ εστι φιλιππος, God careth not for horses, or any such helps as wherein carnal people confide, as if they had no need of God. Origen observeth that in the conquest of Canaan, the enemies had horses and chariots, but Israel had none. And it is expressly cautioned that the king of Israel "shall not multiply horses to himself, nor cause the people to return to Egypt, to the end that he should multiply horses," Deuteronomy 17:16, lest they should occasion him or his people to trade with that idolatrous people, 1 Kings 10:26; 1 Kings 10:28, or to trust in the number and strength of that warlike creature, a horse, Proverbs 21:31 .
He taketh not pleasure in the legs of a man] How swift soever, as Achilles, ποδας ωκυς, or Asahel, as light of foot as a wild roe, 2 Samuel 2:18. None sooner perish in the waters, nor oftener, than those that are most skilled in swimming and diving, because they do too much trust to their skill; so it is here; for there is no outrunning of Divine vengeance. Nemo scelus gerit in pectore qui non idem Nemesin in tergo; your sin will find you out. Here "the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong," Ecclesiastes 9:11 .