Charles Ellicott Commentary Psalms 73:20

"As a dream when one awaketh, So, O Lord, when thou awakest, thou wilt despise their image." — Psalms 73:20 (ASV)

As a dream. —Better,

As a man on waking (despises) his dream,
So, O Lord, on rousing yourself, you will
Despise their shadow.

An image of the result of the Divine judgment on the vain and boastful tyrants, which may be illustrated by Henry V’s rising with his royalty to self-respect:

“I have long dreamt of such a kind of man,
So surfeit-swelled, so old, and so profane;
But, being awake, I do despise my dream.”