‘As for the works of men, by the word of your lips,
I have kept myself from the ways of the violent.
My steps have held fast to your paths,
My feet have not slipped.'
When he compares his behaviour with the behaviour of others he can justly claim that because he has heard YHWH's word from His lips (through His Law) he has kept himself from being an unjustly violent man, even though none might have had better excuse. For he was a trained fighting man, had a band of men at his call, and had been unjustly treated. Yet he has ensured that his steps held fast firmly to YHWH's paths, and his feet never slipped. What we suffer provides no excuse for how we behave.