by Kevin Burtoon
Believer, take note of a humble prayer this morning and take note of who prayed it.:
“Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me: then shall I be upright, and I shall be innocent from the great transgression” (Psalm 19:13 KJV).
“Such was the prayer of the ‘man after God’s own heart,’ wrote Alistair Begg, speaker on the Truth For Life radio ministry. “Did holy David need to pray like this? How needful, then, such a prayer must be for us babes in grace! It is as if he said, ‘Keep me back, or I shall rush headlong over the precipice of sin.’”
“Also note the Apostle Paul’s admonition, “Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall” (1 Cor. 10:12 KJV).
“Some form of the word presumptuous appears eight times in the King James Version,” reads a passage on the website http://www.gotquestions.org. “The word indicates intentionality and audacity in rebellion.”
“A presumptuous sin can be committed by a single person (Exodus 21:14; Numbers 15:30; Deuteronomy 17:12; 18:22; Psalm 19:13), multiple people (2 Peter 2:10), or the entire nation of Israel (Deuteronomy 1:43; 17:13).
“The phrase presumptuous sins is found only once in the KJV. Most older translations use the word presumptuous, while newer translations instead use deliberate, willful, arrogant, insolent, or similar words.”
“Our evil nature, like an ill-tempered horse, is apt to run away. May the grace of God put the bridle upon it and hold it in, that it rush not into mischief,” Begg writes.
“What would the best of us do if it were not for the checks that the Lord sets upon us both in providence and in grace! The psalmist’s prayer is directed against the worst form of sin—that which is done with deliberation and willfulness.”
“Even the holiest need to be ‘kept back’ from the vilest transgressions. It is a solemn thing to find the apostle Paul warning saints against the most loathsome sins: “Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry” (Col. 3:5 ESV).
“What! Do saints really need to be warned against such sins as these? Yes, they do,” Begg writes. “The whitest robes, unless their purity be preserved by divine grace, will be defiled by the blackest spots.”
“Experienced Christian, do not boast in your experience; you will trip if you look away from Him who is able to keep you from falling. You whose love is fervent, whose faith is constant, whose hopes are bright, do not say, ‘We shall never sin,’ but rather cry, ‘Lead us not into temptation.’”
“There is enough kindling in the heart of the best of men to light a fire that shall burn to the lowest hell, unless God shall quench the sparks as they fall,” Begg writes.
“Who would have dreamed that righteous Lot could be found drunk and committing immorality? Hazael said, ‘Is Your servant a dog, that he should do this thing?’ and we are very apt to use the same self-righteous question.”
“May infinite wisdom cure us of the madness of self-confidence,” Begg writes.
Indeed, let us place that confidence to God. As we turn back to 1 Corinthians, here’s good news:
“There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it” (1 Cor. 10:13 KJV).
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