Psalm 19:13
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.
The inevitable question this verse begs is: What are “presumptuous sins”? And why are they at the heart of “the great transgression”?
The word presume comes into the English language from a Latin root meaning “anticipate” or “assume.” In short, a “presumptuous sin” would be an anticipated one, or, more simply, one that has been planned.
Transgression is transgression, and all sins are consequential. But sins we have thought about and planned for, those we have calculated and anticipated, are “the great transgression.” It is one thing to sin in ignorance or innocence, falling victim to the temptation of the moment or an uncharacteristic lapse of moral judgment. But surely it is quite another thing to sin by premeditated planning and design.
On occasion I have heard young people say something like, “I will sow my wild oats in my youth and then, after I have experienced the carefree life, I will repent and return to God. There is plenty of time to do both, and in the end it will be well with me. Besides, I know others who have been sinners in their youth, and they have died firmly in the faith.” No statement has terrified me quite like that one. This is “presumptuous sin,” and it will be counted by God as “the great transgression.” The consequences of this kind of sin will not be well with the guilty.
There is peril in playing the prodigal son knowingly, expecting God to forgive us, expecting Christ to bleed for us, expecting mercy to cover us. Among the most grievous sins a mortal can commit is to crucify Christ “afresh,”76 to knowingly ask Him to suffer on the cross a little longer—or again and again and again—while such an one commits knowingly, with planning and premeditation, his or her “presumptuous sins.”
May God protect us from ever presuming on His grace, from presuming on His mercy, from presuming on His forgiveness. May God protect us from all sins, but especially from those we knowingly plan to commit. They are “the great transgression[s].”
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