Proverbs 10:27 - Meaning and Application

Observe, first, that religion lengthens a person’s life and gives hope its true reward. “Who is the man who loves life?” Let him fear God. That will protect him from many things that could harm his life, and it will give him life enough in this world and eternal life in the next. The fear of the Lord adds days beyond what people expect, and it adds them forever, stretching them into the days of eternity.

“Who is the man who wants to see good days?” Let him live in the fear of God. Then his days will not only be many, but also happy. They will be very happy as well as very long, because the hope of the righteous ends in joy. They will receive what they hoped for, and it will fill them with deep satisfaction. Their happiness is set on what is future and unseen (Romans 8:24, 25), not on what they already hold in their hands. Soon, their hope will turn into full enjoyment, and that enjoyment will become their lasting joy. “Enter into the joy of your Lord.”

Second, wickedness shortens a person’s life and destroys hope. The years of the wicked, spent in the pleasures of sin and the hard work of worldly living, will be cut short. It is like cutting down trees that only crowd the ground. And whatever comfort or happiness a wicked person promises himself, in this world or the next, he will be disappointed. The expectation of the wicked will die with him, and his hope will turn into endless despair.