Novelists are able to convey much about a person’s character by describing how they walk. Proud men walk erect. Beautiful women glide. Villains sneak. People may shuffle, wander, roam, or march. But how should Christians walk? In Psalm 119, we have seen that if we are to walk as God wants us to walk, we must be able to see the right way clearly. The world is dark and there are many paths. We need the light of God’s Word to guide us (v 105-112). The next stanza emphasizes that determination is needed to obey God’s law. This world is filled with ungodly influences, so we are never going to walk as God wants us to walk unless we are determined to do it. “Double-minded” people will fail, for they want both God and the world. They have an interest in God but are not fully committed to serving Him (v 113). By contrast, the psalmist shows how we must fix our minds on obeying God—resolutely, but not independently. We draw near to the LORD as our refuge against evil, for we are able to persevere in our walk with God only because He perseveres with us. This is why we must constantly ask for help, looking to God for His sustaining grace in each step of our journey (v 114-117). Having been with God in prayer, the psalmist is able to see the distorted values and the futility of life for those who stray from the LORD’s commands. Meanwhile, he shakes in fear before God and His holy Word (v 118-120). As Tim Keller explains, this is “the deep, trembling joy and wonder that increase as we relate to Him not as we imagine Him to be but as He truly is. How can we be sure we are encountering the real God and not the God we want Him to be? Only through the Word.” In the last of the three stanzas that have to do with walking by God’s Word, we are reminded that those who want to walk with God must keep looking intently to Him at all times. The words that seem to tie this stanza together are “your servant” (v 122, 124, 125). Unlike the enemies of God who oppress him, the psalmist has sought to do “what is just and right.” His eyes are on God, longing for Him to fulfill the promises of His Word (v 121-123). As the LORD’s servant, he has learned to trust in God’s steadfast love. And though he is in a desperate condition, he is more concerned about the fact that God’s law is being broken. So he calls upon Him to “act,” leaving justice in God’s hand, while he himself walks in the way of God’s blessing (v 124-128). For further meditation: