If I had said, I will speak thus; Behold, I had dealt treacherously with the generation of thy children.
If I say, I will speak thus. It is not always wise to speak one's thoughts; if they remain within, they will only injure ourselves; but once uttered, their mischief may be great. From such a man as the psalmist, the utterance which his discontent suggested would have been a heavy blow and deep discouragement to the whole brotherhood.
Had Asaph reasoned as the doubters do, he would have betrayed God's children and forfeited their blessings. To follow such a course of doubt is to abandon the fellowship of those in whom God has made His filial relationship a living reality, the true Israel, the righteous generation.
AI summary
Commenting on Psalm 73:15-18
If I say, I will speak thus,.... Either as the wicked do, Psa 73:8 or rather as he had thought in his own mind, Psa 73:13, wherefore he kept it all to himself, and did not make known to others the reasonings of his mind, and the temptations he laboured under: behold, I should offend against the generation of thy children; of whom care should...