Matthew Henry Commentary Psalms 73:15-20

"If I had said, I will speak thus; Behold, I had dealt treacherously with the generation of thy children. When I thought how I might know this, It was too painful for me; Until I went into the sanctuary of God, And considered their latter end. Surely thou settest them in slippery places: Thou castest them down to destruction. How are they become a desolation in a moment! They are utterly consumed with terrors. As a dream when one awaketh, So, O Lord, when thou awakest, thou wilt despise their image." — Psalms 73:15-20 (ASV)

The psalmist having shown the progress of his temptation, shows how faith and grace prevailed. He maintained respect for God's people, and with that, he restrained himself from speaking what he had thought amiss. It is a sign that we repent of the evil thoughts of the heart if we suppress them.

Nothing gives more offense to God's children than to say it is vain to serve God; for there is nothing more contrary to their universal experience. He prayed to God to make this matter plain to him; and he understood the wretched end of wicked people. Even in the height of their prosperity, they were only ripening for ruin. The sanctuary must be the resort of a tempted soul.

The righteous man's afflictions end in peace, therefore he is happy; the wicked man's enjoyments end in destruction, therefore he is miserable. The prosperity of the wicked is short and uncertain, slippery places. See what their prosperity is; it is only an empty show, it is only a corrupt imagination, not substance, but a mere shadow; it is like a dream, which may please us for a little while as we are sleeping, yet even then it disturbs our rest.