Psalms 10:15

15 Break the wicked right arms, break all the evil left arms. Search and destroy every sign of crime.

Psalms 10:15 Meaning and Commentary

Psalms 10:15

Break thou the arm of the wicked and the evil [man]
His power and strength, so that he shall not be able to hold the sword, to strike a blow, or do any hurt to the people of God; see ( Ezekiel 30:21-25 ) . This prayer is in some measure already fulfilled in antichrist, the man of sin, or pope of Rome; though his kingdom is not broke to pieces; as it will be when Christ's kingdom shall be more visibly set up, to which reference is had in ( Psalms 10:16 ) ; see ( Daniel 2:44 ) ; yet his strength is weakened, his arm is broken, he has not the power he had, nor can he tyrannise and do the mischief he once did: "but as [for] the evil man" {m}, for so the words should be read, there being an "athnach" under the word "wicked", which ends the proposition there:

seek out his wickedness [till] thou find none;
which designs a thorough search after sin, full punishment of it, and the entire ruin and destruction of the wicked; and the sense is, that God would make a strict inquiry into the wickedness of the man of sin, which he promised himself he would not, ( Psalms 10:13 ) ; and that he would punish him and his followers to the uttermost for it, until there should not be one of the antichristian party found upon earth; with which sense agrees ( Psalms 10:16 ) ; see ( Psalms 104:35 ) .


FOOTNOTES:

F13 (erw) "improbum quod attinet, requiras" Gejerus; so Michaelis.

Psalms 10:15 In-Context

13 They wonder why the wicked scorn God and get away with it, Why the wicked are so cocksure they'll never come up for audit.
14 But you know all about it - the contempt, the abuse. I dare to believe that the luckless will get lucky someday in you. You won't let them down: orphans won't be orphans forever.
15 Break the wicked right arms, break all the evil left arms. Search and destroy every sign of crime.
16 God's grace and order wins; godlessness loses.
17 The victim's faint pulse picks up; the hearts of the hopeless pump red blood as you put your ear to their lips.
Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.