(27) The fear of the Lord prolongeth days.—The special Old Testament blessing for obedience (comp. Proverbs 9:11), often fulfilled now, too, in the case of those who live on to old age, in the quiet fulfilment of duty; while others are shortening their lives by excessive anxieties, or the pursuit of pleasure.

Proverbs 10:27-28. The fear of the Lord prolongeth days — For it gives those who are influenced by it a title to the promise of long life, as well as to other promises; it gladdens their hearts, which does good like a medicine, Proverbs 17:22; and it preserves them from those wicked practices which tend to the shortening of a man’s days. The hope of the righteous shall be gladness — Though at present it be mixed with doubts, and fears, and disappointments, yet at last it shall be accomplished and turned into enjoyment; but the expectation of the wicked, &c. — Shall be utterly frustrated, and so shall end in sorrow.

10:22. That wealth which is truly desirable, has no vexation of spirit in the enjoyment; no grief for the loss; no guilt by the abuse of it. What comes from the love of God, has the grace of God for its companion. 23. Only foolish and wicked men divert themselves with doing harm to others, or tempting to sin. 24. The largest desire of eternal blessings the righteous can form, will be granted. 25. The course of prosperous sinners is like a whirlwind, which soon spends itself, and is gone. 26. As vinegar sets the teeth on edge, and as the smoke causes the eyes to smart, so the sluggard vexes his employer. 27,28. What man is he that loves life? Let him fear God, and that will secure to him life enough in this world, and eternal life in the other.The teeth set on edge by the sour wine used by peasants Ruth 2:14; Psalm 69:21, the eye irritated by wood-smoke, these shadow the annoyance of having a messenger who will loiter on the way. 27. (Compare Pr 9:11; Ps 55:23). Prolongeth days; partly because it gives them a title to the promise of long life, as well as to other promises; partly because it gladdeth the heart, which doth good like a medicine, Proverbs 17:22, and preserves a man from those wicked practices which tend to the shortening of the days.

The fear of the Lord prolongeth days,.... Not beyond the time fixed in the unalterable purposes and decrees of God, Job 14:5; but longer than some others, or than those that fear the Lord expect to live; or longer than, according to the course of nature, and the weakness of their constitutions, it could be thought they should live. Long life is promised to them that fear the Lord; godliness has the promise of this life and of that to come; the fear of the Lord is the means of preserving persons from those things which are pernicious to the health of men, and so of prolonging their days; as well as it has length of days, for ever and ever, even eternal life, annexed to it; see Psalm 34:11;

but the years of the wicked shall be shortened; through diseases, which their sins bring upon them, which cut them off before they have lived out half their days; or by means of which, their sins, they come into the hand of the civil magistrate, and die before their time; or are taken off in their full strength by the immediate judgment of God, as were Ananias and Sapphira; and so they die in the midst of their days; and before the time, which, according to the course of nature, and the common period of life, in all human probability they might have arrived unto, Psalm 55:23.

The fear of the LORD prolongeth days: but the years of the wicked {m} shall be shortened.

(m) The time of their prosperity will be short because of their great fall, though they seem to live long.