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.”
KJV
Read in Psalm 19Meaning
Keep your servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not rule over me. The prayer seeks restraint from deliberate, arrogant transgression and freedom from its mastery, not a claim that the worshiper can make himself sinless.
Read carefully
Keep your servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not rule over me. The prayer seeks restraint from deliberate, arrogant transgression and freedom from its mastery, not a claim that the worshiper can make himself sinless. Keep the verse inside its literary unit.
Reflection
Read this verse within Psalm 19’s movement from creation’s witness to the LORD’s instruction and finally to self-examination and prayer. Receive its wisdom without turning poetic language into scientific proof, legalism, spiritual superiority, or a promise of moral perfection.