Charles Spurgeon Commentary Hosea 14:3

"Assyria 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." — Hosea 14:3 (ASV)

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.

If you expect the Lord to smile upon you, you must have done away with all your idols. You must put away all your false confidences, and those other sinful things in which you have found even a little joy, and you must come back to your Father, throwing away those rivals which have been set up in your heart, and asking him to give you grace to live from now on for him alone.

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.

If you come to God to be saved, you must bring no other saviour with you. What an encouragement is given to us to come to God! He calls himself the Father of the fatherless. O you, whose soul is orphaned, you who are left disconsolate in a world of grief, come you to him in whom the fatherless find mercy, for so you shall find mercy!

Asshur shall not save us;

Backslider, have you been putting your trust anywhere but in God, hoping to find comfort in the world and in sin? Then make this confession: Asshur shall not save us;

We will not ride upon horses:

These were the confidence of the Egyptians, and the Israelites vainly tried to imitate their powerful and rich neighbours, so we will not put our confidence in the strength of cavalry.

Neither will we say any more to the work of our hands, You are our gods:

Happy is that man who turns aside from every idol, and trusts in God alone. It is a mark of very grievous backsliding when we begin to make our business, our families, our pleasures, and our bodily health the objects of such tender consideration that we virtually say to them, "You are our gods."

Asshur shall not save us;

When a man trusts in his God, he gets away from all other trust.

Confidence in God is the death of all other confidences: Asshur shall not save

We will not ride upon horses:

Which, somehow or other, were always the Israelites' fear and trust. They always looked upon horsemen as the most powerful friends or foes in the day of battle; but now they feel that all creatures shall be given up, and they will cling to God alone: 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.

What a sweet reason this is for confidence in God, namely, that he cares for those who have nobody else to care for them—that he becomes the Helper of those who have no other helper, and the Guardian of those who are left friendless in the world! O my soul, are you not just such a one—friendless, helpless, hopeless, orphaned? Fly, then, to that God in whom the fatherless finds mercy, and you, too, shall find mercy. Now let us listen to the voice of God:—

Asshur shall not save us; –

They had been accustomed to rely either upon Assyria or upon Egypt; and one of the first signs of their real repentance was that they had given up their false dependencies. So, sinner, you must give up your self-righteousness, your ceremonialism, anything and everything in which you have trusted in place of trusting in the Lord: Ashur shall not save us; –

We will not ride upon horses:

In the day of battle, they had trusted in their cavalry; but now, in the time of their repentance, they cry, "We will not ride upon horses."

Neither will we say any more to the work of our hands, You are our gods: for in you the fatherless finds mercy.

What a beautiful ending there is to this verse! If any of you are full of sin and full of needs, and have become like orphans who have lost everything and are utterly destitute—if you have none to provide for you and none to care for you—come to the God of the fatherless, and put your trust in him: For in you the fatherless finds mercy. Then follows this gracious promise:—