Editorial January 20, 1962 Issue

"None of his steps shall slide"

Ralph E. Wagers

James speaks of "a double minded man" as being "unstable in all his ways" (1:8). The Psalmist takes up the subject in an entirely different manner: "The righteous shall inherit the land, and dwell therein for ever.... The law of his God is in his heart; none of his steps shall slide" (Ps. 37:29,31). The difference between the righteous individual and the double-minded one is that the law of God predominates in the heart of the one but not in that of the other.

The "double minded man"—a combination of contrary qualities —seems both to live and to die in the flesh, to be alternately well or sick, strong or weak, as circumstances determine. Believing ourselves to be such a man, we are unsettled and insecure. Not distinguishing between falsity and verity, we are as apt to give way to fear as to stand with courage, as apt to be wrong as to be right.

The first Psalm presents a clear picture of the righteous or godly person: "His delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. ...Whatsoever he doeth shall prosper."

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