Proverbs 10:24

The fear of the wicked, it shall come upon him,.... What he dreads in his own mind will be his unhappy case, sooner or later it comes upon him; his fear of distresses, calamities, and judgments in

The fear of the wicked, it shall come upon him: but the desire of the righteous shall be granted.

The fear; the evils which he feareth, or hath cause to fear, as fear is oft taken. Shall be granted; God will not only prevent the mischiefs which they fear, but grant them the good things which they desire.

Proverbs 10:24 The fear of the wicked, it shall come upon him: but the desire of the righteous shall be granted.Ver. 24. The fear of the wicked shall come upon him.] "A sound of fear is in his ears: in prosperity the destroyer shall come upon him." Pessimus in dubiis Augur Timor. Thus it befell Cain, Saul, Belshazzar, Pilate (who, for fear of Caesar, delivered up Christ to be crucified, and was afterwards by the same Caesar kicked off the bench - yea, off the stage of the world), those wicked Jews that feared that the Romans would come and take away both their place and nation, which accordingly befell them some forty years after, at which time some of them also killed themselves, lest they should be taken by the enemy. The like may be said of our Richard III, and Henry IV of France, after his revolt to Popery. He, being persuaded by the Duke of Sully not to re-admit the Jesuits, which had been banished by the parliament of Paris, answered suddenly, Give me, then, security for my life, and afterwards admitted them into his bosom, making Father Cotton his confessor, and using them ever with marvellous respect, yet was stabbed to the heart by Ravilliac, through their instigation. Excellent is that of Solomon, "The fear of man bringeth a snare: but whoso putteth his trust in the Lord" - as Hezekiah did, and our King Edward VI, and that peerless Queen Elizabeth - "shall be safe." But the desire of the righteous shall be granted.] Provided that these be the lawful desires of honest hearts. If such ask and miss, it is "because they ask amiss"; either they fail in the matter, as Moses in his desire to enter into the promised land, or in the manner, as the Church in the Canticles, Son 5:3. Virtutem exoptant, intabescuntque relicta - they would, and they would not. There is a kind of wambling willingness, and velleity, but it boils not up to the full height of resolution for God, and utmost endeavour after the thing desired. Now affection without endeavour is like Rachel - beautiful but barren. Or, lastly, they fail in the end, either of intention, or of duration. They draw not near with that "true heart" that is content either to wait or to want the thing desired, being heartily willing that God should be glorified, though themselves be not gratified. Let them but bring this "true heart," and they may have any thing. Statius in Theibad. Hic rogo, non furor est, ne moriare, mori! Camden’ s Elisab., pref.

(24) The fear of the wicked—i.e., that of which he is afraid. (Comp. Isaiah 66:4; Hebrews 10:27.) The desire of the righteous shall be granted.—For they submit their will to the will of God, and pray for what He sees best for them, which accordingly He grants; moreover, the Holy Spirit also aids them, making intercession for them “according to the will of God” (Romans 8:27).

Verse 24. The fear of the wicked] The wicked is full of fears and alarms; and all that he has dreaded and more than he has dreaded, shall come upon him. The righteous is always desiring more of the salvation of God, and God will exceed even his utmost desires.

The fear - i. e., The thing feared (compare the marginal reference). Shall be granted - Or, He (Yahweh) giveth the desire of the righteous.

24. The fear of the wicked — That is, that which is feared. Shall come upon him — Usually in the present life, certainly in the life to come. There is no avoiding punishment but by avoiding sin.