Psalms 109:6

Set thou a wicked man over him: and let Satan stand at his right hand.

Set thou a wicked man over him - as his superior, armed with judicial authority to execute God's judgment on him. A just retribution for his own past abuse of judicial power ("his office," Psalms 109:8) in oppressing the humble. So Pilate, who condemned the Just One, Messiah, was himself forced to go to Rome to answer the accusations of the Samaritans against him before the Roman emperor (36 AD). Eusebius (H.E., 2: 7) says that soon afterward 'wearied with misfortunes,' be killed himself. However, as "a wicked man" stands in parallelism to "Satan," the former must mean the ideal wicked man, Satan's representative, instigated and energized by Satan, who is himself called "the wicked one" (1 John 2:13; 1 John 3:12; 1 John 5:18), who "sinneth from the beginning," and makes others to sin (1 John 3:8).

Thus "a wicked man" will include in its particular application Doeg and Ahithophel in David's time, and Pilate, the Jewish nation, and especially Judas (to whom the psalm refers, according to Acts 1:20), in relation to the judicial murder of Messiah. Satan was "set over" Judas, in that he drove the traitor, after having caused the Lord's murder, to murder himself. Lastly, "the man of sin, that wicked" one (2 Thessalonians 2:3; 2 Thessalonians 2:8), shall, after his tormenting oppression of the Church, be himself cast alive into a lake of fire, to be tormented by Satan, "set over" him.

And let Satan stand at his right hand. Compare especially Zechariah 3:1, 'Satan standing at the right hand of Joshua the high priest, to resist him,' but 'rebuked' by Yahweh. "Satan" has there the Hebrew article, 'the adversary.' The accuser stood usually at the right hand of the accused, to urge against him every plea, and to press for his punishment. A very different Being, even the Lord, our "Advocate" (1 John 2:1), stands 'at the right hand' of the godly poor man, "to save him" from the adversaries "that condemn his soul" (Psalms 109:31: cf. Psalms 110:5). The right-hand side, being the place for energetic action, is the appropriate position for one to occupy who resolutely hinders (Job 30:12) or helps another.

The Hebrew [ saaTaan (H7854)], Satan, means an adversary who accuses another in a court of justice-the very idea in the Greek [ antidikos (G476)] (1 Peter 5:8) - or opposes another in any and every way. So "Devil" [ diabolos (G1228)] means a slanderous accuser (cf. Revelation 12:9; Revelation 20:2; "the enemy and the avenger," Psalms 8:2; Psalms 44:16; "the mighty," who holds men 'captive,' but who shall have 'his prey,' the Lord's people, 'taken from him' Isaiah 49:24-23.). In Job 1:6; Job 1:12; Job 2:1, the proper name "Satan" is used for the first time. It has the Hebrew article there, which shows that the word was an appellative before it became a proper name. Hengstenberg argues that, because there is no Hebrew article here, the word is appellative-`an adversary'-not a proper name - "Satan." But the word, from being an appellative in Job's time, had become a proper name in David's time; as also we find it without the Hebrew article in 1 Chronicles 21:1.

The Hebrew term 'adversary' occurs most frequently in this psalm, so that there is no doubt the Holy Spirit had in view, besides the human adversaries, the wicked spirit-adversary who lurks behind them - "the prince of this world." The revelation concerning Satan in Scripture is gradual. In the Pentateuch he appears only in his grovelling animal form as "the serpent." Hengstenberg thinks 'Azazel,' the margin, Leviticus 16:8. for 'the scape-goat,' to refer to the evil spirit; but this is improbable: more likely is the translation there in Smith's 'Dictionary of the Bible' ('Day of Atonement,' S. Clark), 'for complete sending away.' In Job he appears in a higher form, but altogether at God's control, and only allowed, for God's purposes. Outwardly to afflict Job. The dualistic notion of the Persians-that Ormuzd, the good Being, and Ahriman, the evil one, divide the universe between them-is thus directly opposed by Scripture. In the very times when Persia rules the Jews it is utterly negatived by the account, Zechariah 3:1, etc. The full revelation of "the strong man armed" was withheld until New Testament times, when 'the stronger man' who 'spoileth' him was manifested. Then he is unfolded in his terrible power, as "the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience" (Ephesians 2:2; "the tempter," Matthew 4:3; Matthew 4:5; Matthew 4:10).