The Bible Commentaries and Others: Psalms 143 v 3

http://biblebitbybit.blogspot.com/2016/01/psalms-143-v-3.html
Posted by Psalms on Saturday, 23 January 2016

Psalms 143:3

For the enemy hath persecuted my soul; he hath smitten my life down to the ground; he hath made me to dwell in darkness, as those that have been long dead.

143:3. For the enemy hath persecuted my soul. The attack was upon the soul or life of the psalmist: our adversaries mean us the worst possible evil; their attacks are no child’s play; they hunt for the precious life.

He hath smitten my life down to the ground. The existence of David was made bitter by the cruelty of his enemy; he was as one who was hurled down and made to lie upon the ground, where he could be trampled on by his assailant. Slander has a very depressing effect upon the spirits; it is a blow which overthrows the mind as though it were knocked down with the fist.

He hath made me to dwell in darkness, as those that have been long dead. The enemy was not content with bringing his life to the ground—he would lay him lower still, even in the grave; and lower than that, if possible, for the enemy would shut up the saint in the darkness of hell if he could. David was driven by Saul’s animosity to haunt caverns, like an unquiet ghost; he wandered out by night, and lay hid by day like an uneasy spirit which had long been denied the repose of the grave. Good men began to forget him, as though he had been long dead. Poor David! He was qualified to bless the house of the living, but he was driven to consort with the dead! Such may be our case, and yet we may be very dear to the Lord. One thing is certain: the Lord who permits us to dwell in darkness among the dead will surely bring us into the light, to dwell with those who enjoy life eternal.

Excerpt from:

The Treasury of David by Charles Haddon Spurgeon (1834-1892)