At the BBC in London, Paul Arnold’s first broadcasting job was making “walking sounds” in radio dramas. While actors read from scripts during a walking scene, Paul as stage manager made corresponding sounds with his feet—careful to match his pace to the actor’s voice and spoken lines. The key challenge, he explained, was yielding to the actor in the story, “so the two of us were working together.”
A divine version of such cooperation was sought by the author of Psalm 119, which emphasizes living by the precepts of God’s Word. As Psalm 119:1 says, “Blessed are those whose ways are blameless, who walk according to the law of the
Theologian Charles Bridges commented on verse 133: “When I take therefore a step into the world, let me ask—Is it ordered in God’s word, which exhibits Christ as my perfect example?”
Walking this way, we show the world Jesus. May He help us walk so closely with Him that people glimpse in us our Leader, Friend, and Savior!
INSIGHT
Psalm 119 is the longest psalm and chapter in the Bible; its 176 verses speak of the authority and sufficiency of the Scriptures. The author isn’t named. One rabbinic tradition says Ezra penned it, whose devotion for Scripture is well-attested (Ezra 7:10; Nehemiah 8:1–9). But most scholars say David composed the psalm because it sounds Davidic in tone and expression, and reflects his own experience. Oppressed and persecuted by many powerful enemies, the psalmist writes of the encouragement and strength he received from trusting and meditating on the Scriptures (vv. 11, 15, 23, 27, 48, 78, 97, 99, 148). Acknowledging the Scriptures have protected and preserved his life, the writer commits himself to obeying them (v. 129).