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" ...

6_Set thou over him a wicked person. _(305) Hitherto he poured out his complaint against a vast number of persons; now he seems to direct it against a single individual. Probably he speaks of each of them individually. It is, however, equally probable that he refers in very marked terms to some one in particular among these wicked persons, the most notorious transgressor of any of them. Some conjecture, and not without reason, that Doeg is the person here aimed at, who, by his treason and revolt, sought to bring ruin, not only upon David, but also upon all the holy priests; and we know that this psalm is applied by Peter to Judas, (Acts 1:20) But with equal propriety, and certainly not less forcibly, may this complaint be considered as applicable to some most intimate and particular friend of the Psalmist. Respecting the imprecations contained in thi

6-20 The Lord Jesus may speak here as a Judge, denouncing sentence on some of his enemies, to warn others. When men reject the salvation of Christ, even their prayers are numbered among their sins. See what hurries some to shameful deaths, and brings the families and estates of others to ruin; makes them and theirs despicable and hateful, and brings poverty, shame, and misery upon their posterity: it is sin, that mischievous, destructive thing. And what will be the effect of the sentence, "Go, ye cursed," upon the bodies and souls of the wicked! How it will affect the senses of the body, and the powers of the soul, with pain, anguish, horror, and despair! Think on these things, sinners, tremble and repent....

Verse Psalms 109:6. _LET SATAN STAND AT HIS RIGHT HAND._] As the word שטן _satan_ means an _adversary_ simply, though sometimes it is used to express the evil spirit _Satan_, I think it best to preserve here its grammatical meaning: "Let an _adversary_ stand at his right hand:" i.e., Let him be _opposed_ and _thwarted_ in all his purposes. All the _Versions_ have devil, or some equivocal word. The ARABIC has [Arabic] _eblees_, the chief of the apostate spirits; but the name is probably corrupted from the GREEK διαβολος _diabolos_; from which the LATIN _diabolus_. the ITALIAN _diavolo_, the SPANISH _diablo,_ the FRENCH _diable_, the IRISH or CELTIC _diabal_, the DUTCH _duivel_, the GERMAN _teufel_, the ANGLO-SAXON _deofal_, and the ENGLISH _devil_, are all derived. The original, δι

SET THOU A WICKED MAN OVER HIM - This commences the imprecatory part of the psalm, extending to Psalms 109:20. The first thing that the psalmist asks is, that his foe might be subjected to the evil of having a man placed over him like himself: a man regardless of justice, truth, and right; a man who would respect character and propriety no more than he had himself done. It is, in fact, a prayer that he might be punished “in the line of his offences.” It cannot be wrong that a man should be treated as he treats others; and it cannot be in itself wrong to desire that a man should be treated according to his character and deserts, for this is the object of all law, and this is what all magistrates and legislators are endeavoring to secure. AND LET SATAN STAND AT HIS RIGHT HAND - As his counselor and adviser. The langua

EXPOSITION THE title of this psalm—"To the chief musician, a psalm of David"—is thought to be not inappropriate. We may have here David's own appeal to God against his persecutors, and especially against a chief persecutor, who may be Saul, or Doeg, or Ahithophel, or Shimei. The psalm opens with mingled complaint and prayer. The adversaries are spoken of in the plural (Psalms 109:2). They have abused and maligned the writer, have returned evil for the good that he has sought to do them, and given him hatred for his love (Psalms 109:5). The psalmist, in return, utters against them, or rather against his chief persecutor, a series of male dictions (Psalms 109:6) which constitute a stand

SET THOU A WICKED MAN OVER HIM,.... Or "them", as the Syriac version; over everyone of his adversaries, and all of them: and which may be interpreted, as it is by Cocceius, of tyrannical princes and governors, set over the Jews, as Tiberius, Caius, Claudius, Nero, c. and their deputies, Pilate, Felix, Festus, Florus all wicked men, and which were a judgment on them for their usage of Christ. Though here some single person is designed, even Judas, notorious for his enmity and ingratitude to Christ; and by the wicked one set over him may be meant Satan, as in the next clause, as he is sometimes called, Matthew 13:38, into whose hands and power Judas was put, under whose influence he was; who entered into him, took possession of him, and put it into his heart to betray his Master, John 13:2....

PSALM 109-113 Psalms 109 Christ in Humiliation _ 1. Despised and rejected (Psalms 109:1)_ 2. The rejectors and their fate (Psalms 109:6) 3. The Christ in His sorrow (Psalms 109:21) The five Psalms which are next grouped together belong to the most interesting in the whole collection. They give a marvellous prophecy concerning Christ, His rejection, exaltation and coming glory. In Psalms 109:1 we see Him rejected. In Psalms 110:

CIX. A PSALM OF CURSING. This Ps. is further than anything else in the whole Psalter from the spirit of Christianity. It falls into three parts: Psalms 109:1. The Psalmist's distress in persecution; Psalms 109:6. Bitter curses against his foes; in Psalms 109:21 he recurs to his suffering but is confident of final deliverance. Note that in Psalms 109:6 he does not merely assert that God will punish. Had he done so, he would have felt his pain of body and soul much softened. As it is, he is in utter wretchedness, and curses his foes in the anguish of his spirit. No doubt he regards his enemies as utterly wicked. But we do not

SET THOU. "[saying] Set Thou", &c. See note above. Note the _Parenthesis_ (App-6), verses: Psalms 109:6. AND LET SATAN. And then Satan will. SATAN. an adversary....