hope – an expectation in the future. Hope does not reside in the person, hope resides in the object of hope. Hope becomes a motivation in a person based on the “foundation” of hope.

Since “good” is always sourced in God, any expectation of such is also sourced in God.

expectation – or “hope,” a synonym of the above word. Used in Zech 9.17 where he calls God’s people “prisoners of the hope”!

gladness – joy, mirth

The root word pictures glad and joyful with the whole disposition as indicated by its association with the heart (Ex4.14; Ps19.18; 104.15; 105.3), soul (Ps86.4), and eyes (Pr15.30).

Many things bring such gladness, e.g., wine (Ps104.15), ointment and perfume (Pr27.9), a wise son (Pr10.1), a kind word (Pr12.25), meeting a loved one (Ex14.14), God’s law (Ex19.8), and more. The Lord and His salvation are cited most frequently as the reason for joy.

Such gladness is to be shared, Dt12.7!

While fools find joy in folly (Pr15.21), the righteous find everlasting joy (Isa51.11).

Gladness is frequently used for holy days (Num10.10).

perishes – perish, be destroyed, die, withers like a plant!

References to consider:

Pr 24.20
²⁰ For there will be no future for the evil man;
The lamp of the wicked will be put out.

Pr 11.7
⁷ When a wicked man dies, his expectation will perish,
And the hope of strong men perishes.

Pr 15.21
²¹ Folly is joy to him who lacks sense,
But a man of understanding walks straight.

Is 51.11
¹¹ So the ransomed of the Lord will return
And come with joyful shouting to Zion,
And everlasting joy will be on their heads.
They will obtain gladness and joy,
And sorrow and sighing will flee away.

On the “righteous” and the “wicked,” see the previous notes on Pr10.27.

On the future of the wicked . . . 

their wages are deceptive, Pr11.8
their treasures are without value, Pr10.2
their hopes come to “destruction,” Pr10.28
what they dread occurs, Pr10.24
the Lord thwarts their craving, Pr10.3
the Lord allows them to be hungry, Pr13.25
the Lord curses them, Pr3.33
they are ensnared by their evil deeds, Pr5.22
they are humbled before the righteous, Pr14.19
they are punished, Pr10.16
they are overthrown, Pr12.7
they are brought down by calamity, Pr14.32
they experience trouble, Pr11.8, ruin, Pr3.8, disaster, Pr16.4, violence, Pr10.6, premature death, Pr10.27
they perish, Pr11.10, are swept away, Pr10.25, destroyed, Pr14.11, snuffed out, Pr24.20

Sharpening for my life today:

The expectations of the wicked are weighed against their aspiration, sin, and, against God’s justice. Because expectations rest on their foundations, the way of the expectation is the way of the foundation!

Here’s a gem from the Lord that goes to the heart of hope!

Learn carefully, when hope is realized you find relief, strength, confidence, patience, peace. Our hope rests in God’s Word and Work! Pr23.17-19, the righteous have a “latter end” (NASB margin on Pr23.18) while the “wicked” are “cut off.”

Consider carefully, real hope finds its harbor in God, His character, His justice, and most definitely His “loyal-love,” most definitely the heart of hope!