Proverbs 20:28

Mercy and truth preserve the king: and his throne is upholden by mercy.

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(28) Mercy and truth preserve the king.—See above on Proverbs 3:3. The love and faithfulness he shows to his subjects draw out the same qualities in them, and these are the safeguard of his throne. So (Psalm 130:4) the mercy shown by God inspires man with a reverent fear of Him, while harshness might have made him a slave, or driven him through despair into rebellion. (Comp. Jeremiah 33:9.)

Benson Commentary

Proverbs 20:28. Mercy — Clemency to offenders, and bounty to worthy indigent persons; and truth — Faithfulness in keeping his word and promises inviolably; preserve the king — Because they engage God to guard him, and gain him the reverence and affections of his people, which is, under God, a king’s greatest safety and happiness. And his throne is upheld by mercy — Which is again mentioned, to show that although to exercise mercy be an act of grace, and therefore, in some sort, free, yet princes are obliged to it both by their duty and by their interest, because it is a singular means of their preservation.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

20:23. A bargain made by fraud will prove a losing bargain in the end. 24. How can we form plans, and conduct business, independently of the Lord? 25. The evasions men often use with their own consciences show how false and deceitful man is. 26. Justice should crush the wicked, and separate them from the virtuous. 27. The rational soul and conscience are as a lamp within us, which should be used in examining our dispositions and motives with the revealed will of God. 28. Mercy and truth are the glories of God's throne. 29. Both young and old have their advantages; and let neither despise or envy the other.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

The spirit of man - The "breath" of Genesis 2:7, the higher life, above that which he has in common with lower animals, coming to him direct from God. Such a life, with all its powers of insight, consciousness, reflection, is as a lamp which God has lighted, throwing its rays into the darkest recesses of the heart. A still higher truth is proclaimed in the Prologue of John's Gospel. The candle, or lamp of Yahweh, derives its light from "the Light that lighteth every man," even the Eternal Word.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

28. (Compare Pr 3:3; 16:6, 12).

Matthew Poole's Commentary

Mercy; clemency to offenders, and bounty to worthy and to indigent persons; and truth; faithfulness in keeping his word and promises inviolably; preserve the king, because they engage God to guard him, and gain him the reverence and affections of his people, which is a king’s greatest safety and happiness.

Mercy is again mentioned, to show that although it be an act of grace, and therefore in some sort free, yet princes are obliged to it, both by their duty and by their interest, because it is a singular means of their preservation.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

Mercy and truth preserve the king,.... Which are two good qualifications in a prince; not ruling his subjects with rigour and cruelty, but with tenderness and clemency; easing them as much as he can of burdens and pressures; showing compassion to the distressed, and pardoning delinquents when the case will admit of it; as also being faithful to his word, promises, and engagements; inviolably adhering to the laws and constitution of the nation, and steady in his administrations of justice; these preserve him in the affections of his people, and make him safe and secure on his throne; and because of these the Lord preserves him from his enemies. It maybe rendered, "grace and truth" (l); and applied to Christ, who is full of both, and which are said to preserve him, Psalm 40:11;

and his throne is upholden by mercy; this explains what is meant by the preservation of him, and what is the security of his throne and kingdom, which is clemency and goodness to his subjects.

(l) "gratis et veritas", Cocceius.

Geneva Study Bible

Mercy and truth preserve the king: and his throne is upholden by mercy.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 28. - Mercy and truth preserve the king. (For "mercy and truth," see note on Proverbs 3:3.) The love and faithfulness which the king displays in dealing with his subjects elicits the like virtues in them, and these are the safeguard of his throne. His throne is upholden by mercy; or, love. So the king is well called the father of his people, and in modern times the epithet "gracious" is applied to the sovereign as being the fountain of mercy and condescension. Sallust, 'Jugurtha,' 10, "Non exercitus neque thesauri praesidia regni sunt, verum amici, quos neque armis cogere neque auro parare queas; officio et fide pariuntur." Septuagint, "Mercy (ἐλεημοσύνη) and truth are a guard to a king, and will surround his throne with righteousness." "The subject's love," says our English maxim, "is the king's lifeguard." Proverbs 20:28

Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament

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 חסד ואמת; when they are used of God, we translate them by grace and truth [Gnade u. Wahrheit], Psalm 40:12 (יצּרוּני); when of men, by love and truth [Liebe u. Treue], Proverbs 16:6; and when of the two-sided divine forces, by kindness and truth, Proverbs 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," Isaiah 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, שׁוּרת הדּין; 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 Grossmchtigster [most high and mighty], but also that of "Allergndigster" 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.