Psalm 33:17
An horse is a vain thing for safety: neither shall he deliver any by his great strength.
A horse is a vain thing for safety,.... Though it is prepared for the day of battle, and is a very warlike creature, and of great service in war, yet safety only is of the Lord, Proverbs 21:31; this is put for all kinds of military preparations which men are apt to trust in, but should not, for they are "a lie" {i}, as the horse is here said to be; that is, deceives and disappoints when trusted to; in like manner the olive is said "to lie", Habakkuk 3:17; when hope of fruit from it is disappointed; so "fundus mendax" in Horace {k};
neither shall he deliver any by his great strength; in the time of battle; either by fighting for him, or fleeing with him.
{i} rqv "mendacium", Pagninus, Montanus; "fallax", V. L.
{k} Epod. l. 1. Ode 16. ver. 45. Carmin. l. 3. Ode 1. v. 30. "Spem mentita seges", ib. Epist. l. 1. ep. 7. v. 87.