The Sin of Presumption

Keep Your servant also from those who are insolent; do not let them rule over me! Then I will be blameless and free from great transgression. (Psalm 19:14)

From this verse of David’s psalm we are shown that there are two kinds of sin before God: one is the sin of rebellion, the other is the sin of presumption. Not doing what we are commanded to do is the sin of rebellion. Now we all know this kind of sin; and from this sin we want to be saved. But please note that besides the sin of rebellion there is also the sin of presumption, which is that we do what we have not been commanded to do.

To be active outside the Lord’s will is to be presumptuous. Do we know that it is equally sinful for us to act without God’s command? It is counted as sin before the Lord if we work for Him without His command and work more according to our own ideas, even though we may regard what we do as the most excellent. David’s prayer was to the Lord to keep him away from the sin of presumption.