Break the arm of the wicked and evil man, so that You may seek out his wickedness and find it no more.
The arm is an image of strength and of the ability to cause harm. The psalmist asks God to break not merely a person’s body, but his evil power and his ability to oppress. The phrase “May You seek out his wickedness and no longer find it” has a judicial sense. The psalmist asks that the Lord fully examine and remove the wicked person’s evil, so that it no longer continues and his ability to do harm is finally brought to nothing. This prayer does not permit the believer to commit violence personally. It entrusts judgment to God. In the light of Christ’s teaching, we can at the same time ask that the power of evil be broken and that the sinner repent. When the oppressor turns back, his evil arm is morally broken and no longer serves lawlessness. The verse teaches the believer to pray not for superficial calm, but for the radical stopping of evil. God’s righteousness exposes, restrains, and finally removes lawlessness.