Asshur shall not save us; we will not ride upon horses: neither will we say any more to the work of our hands, Ye are our gods: for in thee the fatherless findeth mercy.
Asshur shall not save us; we will not ride upon horses; neither will we say anymore to the work of our hands, Ye are our gods. Three besetting sins of Israel are here renounced: trust in Assyria, application to Egypt for its cavalry (forbidden, Deuteronomy 17:16. Compare Hosea 7:11, "They call to Egypt, they go to Assyria;" Hosea 11:5; Hosea 12:1; 2 Kings 17:4; Psalms 33:17, "An horse is a vain thing for safety." Compare Psalms 33:17; Proverbs 21:31; Isaiah 30:2; Isaiah 30:16; Isaiah 31:1), and idolatry.
For in thee the fatherless findeth mercy - descriptive of the destitute state of Israel when severed from God, their true Father. We shall henceforth trust in none but Thee, the only Father of the fatherless and Helper of the destitute (Psalms 10:14; Psalms 68:5). Our nation has experienced thee such in our helpless state in Egypt, and now, in a like state again, our only hope is in Thy goodness.