Psalms 17:4-5

4 when it comes to what people do: because of the words from your lips I have avoided the ways of the violent. 5 My steps are on your paths; my feet have not slipped.

These words express the appreciation of a person who has paid attention to what God has instructed, and that discipline has kept him from becoming a violent person. He talks about not having strayed from the path. As a hiker, I know that if I don’t pay attention to the white blazes, I can get seriously lost very quickly. The blazes are there to mark the trail. God’s word marks the path we Christians should take. We only harm ourselves if we choose to deviate from what it teaches.