If the Lord wills and the creek don't rise

James 4:15 KJV

For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that.

The Bible is to be interpreted literally but understood spiritually. It means what it says but that doesn't mean we get what it says. 

"Ye ought to say, if the Lord will" carries a far deeper meaning that simply saying words. The context requires we understand this to be a dependence upon the Lord for

• Life
• Enablement and
• Means

 to do whatever it is we do. Merely saying "If the Lord wills and the creek don't rise" is a far cry from trusting the Lord for life and breath and being.

This is the true sense of the passage.