Dr. Livingstone, I Presume

Psalms 19:13 (KJV) 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.

(Proverbs 6 also read)

This is the only place in the KJV where the Hebrew word is translated “presumptuous.”  Every other place it is simply “proud.”  I also noticed that the word “sins” is in italics, which indicates it is not in the Hebrew.  In the title I took the quote from Stanley when he met David Livingstone in the jungle.  The presumption was that he did not know for sure, but he had enough information to feel like he knew what he was talking about.  David is reminding us in his confession that we have a tendency to be a bit presumptuous when are thinking about ourselves and are communicating with God.

We need to make sure that our assumptions are based in scripture and not in culture.  They need to be grounded in the objective world God created not in the subjective environment we have established.

So?  Start your day by listening.  That’s really what meditation is and it’s an important part of worship.  Act like you are listening for instructions on an activity that you don’t know how to do or have not done before.  In a sense make each day new.