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Matthew Henry

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Psalms 73:15-20

We have seen what a strong temptation the psalmist was in to envy prospering profaneness; now here we are told how he kept his footing and got the victory. I. He kept up a respect for God's people, and with that he restrained himself from speaking what he had thought amiss, Ps. 73:15. He got the victory by degrees, and this was the first point he gained; he was ready to say, Verily, I have cleansed my heart in vain, and thought he had reason to say it, but he kept his mouth with this... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Psalms 73:20

As a dream when one awaketh ,.... So will be all the temporal felicity of wicked men, all an illusion, all a dream; when they lift up their eyes in hell, and awake in the resurrection, they will find themselves destitute of all their riches and honours, and it will be as if they had only dreamed of them, and never enjoyed them; see Job 20:6 so, "O Lord, when thou awakest"; to judgment, to take vengeance on wicked men, and vindicate his own people; and who seems sometimes to be as it were... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 73:20

As a dream when one awaketh - So their goods fled away. Their possession was a dream - their privation, real. Thou shalt despise their image - While destitute of true religion, whatever appearance they had of greatness, nobility, honor, and happiness; yet in the sight of God they had no more than the ghost or shade of excellence which God is said here to despise. Who would be rich at such risk and dishonor? read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 73:20

Verse 20 20.As it were a dream after a man is awakened. This similitude is often to be met with in the Sacred Writings. Thus, Isaiah, (Isaiah 29:7,) speaking of the enemies of the Church, says, “They shall be as a dream of a night vision.” To quote other texts of a similar kind would be tedious and unnecessary labor. In the passage before us the metaphor is very appropriate. How is it to be accounted for, that the prosperity of the wicked is regarded with so much wonder, but because our minds... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 73:1-28

Metrically, the psalm seems to fall into eight stanzas; the first and last of two verses each, the remaining six each of four verses. read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 73:1-28

The grievous conflict of the flesh and the Spirit, and the glorious conquest of the Spirit at the last. I. THE BEGINNING OF THE PSALM . In this he ingeniously pointeth at those rocks against which he was like to have split his soul. II. THE MIDDLE OF THE PSALM . In this he candidly confesseth his ignorance and folly to have been the chiefest foundation of his fault. III. THE END OF THE PSALM . In this he gratefully kisseth that hand which led him out... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 73:1-28

Asaph's trial and deliverance. Asaph was greatly tempted, as this psalm plainly shows. It does not matter whether he speaks of himself or, as is likely, of some other servant of God. Consider— I. HIS TEMPTATION . 1 . It was a very terrible one. (See Psalms 73:2 , "My feet were almost gone," etc.) How honest the Bible is! It tells the whole truth about men, and good men, too. It shows them tempted, and all but overcome. 2 . It arose from his seeing " the prosperity of... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 73:1-28

The solution of a great problem. The question here is—Why should good men suffer, and bad men prosper, when the Law had said that God was a righteous Judge, meting out to men in this world the due recompense of their deeds? The course of things should perfectly reflect the righteousness of God. The psalmist struggles for a solution of this problem. The first verse contains the conclusion he had arrived at. I. HIS DANGER . Expressed in the second, thirteenth, and twenty-second... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 73:20

As a dream when one awaketh; so, O Lord, when thou awakest, thou shalt despise their image. As men despise their dreams when they awake from them, so, when God "stirs up himself and awakes to judgment" ( Psalms 35:23 ), he will despise such mere semblances of humanity ( Psalms 39:6 ) as the wicked are. read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Psalms 73:20

As a dream when one awaketh - Their prosperity is like the visions of a dream; the reality is seen when one awakes. A man in a dream may imagine that he is a king; that he dwells in a palace; that he is surrounded by flatterers and courtiers; that he walks in pleasant groves, listens to the sounds of sweet music, sits down at a table loaded with the luxuries of all climes, and lies upon a bed of down. He may awake only to find that he is encompassed with poverty, or that he is on a bed of... read more

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