I. The fear of evil is the element of it, with which man has most directly to do.
II. It is precisely this fear of evil which, by God's help, we are to conquer; the evil itself is wholly beyond our power. "Man is born to trouble."
III. How is the power to be won? (1) By realising how purely independent of things is man's peace and happiness. (2) By taking a true measure of the range of our being and its resources. (3) By perfect filial trust in God.
J. Baldwin Brown, The Sunday Afternoon,p. 304.
Reference: Proverbs 1:33. Spurgeon, Morning by Morning, p. 188.