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Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.comKeil and Delitzsch Commentary - Proverbs 20:28 - 20:28
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28 Love and truth guard the king;
And he supports his throne by love.
We have not in the German [nor in the Eng.] language a couple of words that completely cover חֶסֶד וֶאֱמֶת; when they are used of God, we translate them by grace and truth [Gnade u. Wahrheit], Psa 40:12 (יִצְּרוּנִי); when of men, by love and truth [Liebe u. Treue], Pro 16:6; and when of the two-sided divine forces, by kindness and truth, Pro 3:3. Love and truth are the two good spirits that guard the king. If it is elsewhere said that the king's throne is supported “with judgment and with justice,” Isa 9:6 [7]; here, on the other side, we see that the exercise of government must have love as its centre; he has not only to act on the line of right, שׁוּרַת הַדִּין; but, as the later proverb says, in such a way, that within this circle his conduct is determined by the central motive of love. In this sense we give the king not only the title of Grossmächtigster [most high and mighty], but also that of “Allergnädigster” most gracious, for the king can and ought to exercise grace before other men; the virtue of condescension establishes his throne more than the might of greatness.