Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Psalms 51:4
Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done [this] evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, [and] be clear when thou judgest.
4. David’s confession to Nathan was couched in the simple words (two only in the Heb.), “I have sinned against Jehovah.” The additional words “thee only” have been taken as a proof that the Psalm cannot have been written by David. But they need not, as we have seen already, be pressed with such extreme logical precision as to exclude sin against man. All sin, even that by which man is most grievously injured, is, in its ultimate nature, sin against God, as a breach of His holy law; just as man’s duty to his fellow-man is based upon his duty to God and is regarded as part of it. Moreover the king, as Jehovah’s representative, was in an especial and peculiar way responsible to Him.
and done this evil ] Better as R.V., and done that which is evil in thy sight. Cp. 2Sa 11:27, “the thing that David had done was evil in the sight of Jehovah”: and 2Sa 12:9, “Wherefore hast thou despised the word of Jehovah, to do that which is evil in his sight?”
that thou mightest &c.] Better, that thou mayest be justified when thou givest sentence: i.e., that Thy righteousness and holiness may be declared and vindicated when Thou dost pronounce sentence on my sin. When thou speakest is shewn by the parallelism to mean, ‘when Thou dost pronounce sentence.’ Be justified corresponds to the cardinal divine attribute of righteousness: be clear to that of holiness. Cp. Isa 5:16, “God the Holy One proves Himself holy in righteousness.”
But this is a hard saying. Can it be meant that the vindication of God’s holiness is the object of man’s sin? (1) Grammar forbids us to relieve the difficulty by rendering so that thou art justified (consequence) instead of in order that thou mayest be justified (purpose). (2) We might regard that as depending upon Psa 51:3-4 a taken together, and introducing the object of the Psalmist’s confession. ‘I confess my sin, that thou mayest be justified in pronouncing sentence upon me.’The sinner’s confession and self-condemnation is a justification of God’s sentence upon sin, just as, conversely, the sinner’s self-justification is a challenge and impugnment of God’s justice (Jos 7:19; Job 40:8; 1Jn 1:10). (3) Probably however we are meant to understand that man’s sin brings out into a clearer light the justice and holiness of God, Who pronounces sentence upon it. The Psalmist flings himself at the footstool of the Divine Justice. The consequence of his sin, and therefore in a sense its purpose (for nothing is independent of the sovereign Will of God), is to enhance before men the justice and holiness of God, the absolutely Righteous and Pure. “The Biblical writers drew no sharp accurate line between events as the consequence of the Divine order, and events as following from the Divine purpose. To them all was ordained and designed of God. Even sin itself in all its manifestations, though the whole guilt of it rested with man, did not flow uncontrolled, but only in channels hewn for it by God, and to subserve His purposes. We must not expect that the Hebrew mind altogether averse from philosophical speculation, should have exactly defined for itself the distinction between an action viewed as the consequence, and the same action viewed as the end, of another action. The mind which holds the simple fundamental truth that all is of God, may also hold, almost as a matter of course, that all is designed of God” (Bishop Perowne). In this connexion passages such as 2Sa 24:1; Isa 6:10; Isa 63:17; Jdg 9:23; 1Sa 16:14 ; 1Sa 18:10; 1Sa 19:9; 1Ki 22:21, require careful consideration.
Such a view is obviously liable to misconstruction, as though, if sin is in any sense treated as part of the divine purpose, and redounding to God’s glory, it must cease to be sinful, and there must be an end of human responsibility. But the O.T. firmly maintains the truth of man’s responsibility: and St Paul, in applying the words of this verse to the course of Israel’s history (Rom 3:4) rebuts as the suggestion of an unhealthy conscience the notion that God is responsible for sin which He overrules to His glory.
The quotation in Rom 3:4 is from the LXX, in which the Heb. word for be clear is taken in its Aramaic sense, be victorious, prevail, and the last word ( when thou judgest) is ambiguously rendered. The Greek word may be passive, when thou art judged (as P.B.V., derived from LXX through the Vulg., and A.V. in Rom.), i.e. when Thy justice is challenged: but more probably it is middle, ‘when Thou comest into judgement.’ So R.V. in Rom. Cp. Jer 2:9 (LXX); Mat 5:40.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Against thee, thee only, have I sinned – That is, the sin, considered as an offence against God, now appeared to him so enormous and so aggravated, that, for the moment, he lost sight of it considered in any other of its bearings. It was a sin, as all other sins are, primarily and mainly against God; it derived its chief enormity from that fact. We are not to suppose that David did not believe and notice that he had done wrong to people, or that he had offended against human laws, and against the well-being of society. His crime against Uriah and his family was of the deepest and most aggravated character, but still the offence derived its chief heinousness from the fact that it was a violation of the law of God. The state of mind here illustrated is that which occurs in every case of true penitence. It is not merely because that which has been done is a violation of human law; it is not that it brings us to poverty or disgrace; it is not that it exposes us to punishment on earth from a parent, a teacher, or civil ruler; it is not that it exposes us to punishment in the world to come: it is that it is of itself, and apart from all other relations and consequences, an offence against God; a violation of his pure and holy law; a wrong done against him, and in his sight. Unless there is this feeling there can be no true penitence; and unless there is this feeling there can be no hope of pardon, for God forgives offences only as committed against himself; not as involving us in dangerous consequences, or as committed against our fellow-men.
And done this evil in thy sight – Or, When thine eye was fixed on me. Compare the notes at Isa 65:3. God saw what he had done; and David knew, or might have known, that the eye of God was upon him in his wickedness. It was to him then a great aggravation of his sin that he had dared to commit it when he knew that God saw everything. The presence of a child – or even of an idiot – would restrain people from many acts of sin which they would venture to commit if alone; how much more should the fact that God is always present, and always sees all that is done, restrain us from open and from secret transgression.
That thou mightest be justified when thou speakest – That thy character might be vindicated in all that thou hast said; in the law which thou hast revealed; in the condemnation of the sin in that law; and in the punishment which thou mayest appoint. That is, he acknowledged his guilt. He did not seek to apologise for it, or to vindicate it. God was right, and he was wrong. The sin deserved all that God in his law had declared it to deserve; it deserved all that God by any sentence which he might pass upon him would declare it to deserve. The sin was so aggravated that any sentence which God might pronounce would not be beyond the measure of its ill-desert.
And be clear when thou judgest – Be regarded as right, holy, pure, in the judgment which thou mayest appoint. See this more fully explained in the notes at Rom 3:4.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Psa 51:4
Against Thee, Thee only have I sinned, and done this evil in Thy sight: that Thou mightest be justified when Thou speakest, and be clear when Thou judgest.
Unimpeachable justice
Our subject will be, that both in the condemnation and in the punishment of every sinner God will be justified. Now, concerning such condemned ones, we will speak–
I. Of the Christian whose conscience condemns him. He will make the words of our text his own, and will say, Thou art justified when Thou speakest, and, etc. For–
1. He makes a confession. He owns Gods sentence just. And his confession is sincere; abundantly sufficient, without any attempt at extenuation, or promise that he will, of himself, do better. And not only does his confession justify God in condemning him, hub–
2. There is the fact that God Himself witnessed his crime; In Thy sight, he owns that it was done. And the witness of his conscience he owns to be true and abundant.
3. The Christian has no doubt about the justice of the punishment, however severe. For he remembers not only what he himself has done, but how he has made others sin.
II. The condemnation of the ungodly. This is far more terrible. But in it God will be clear.
1. Because of the sinners own confession.
2. The witnesses that will be against him.
3. And in the sinners heart there will be no doubt at last as to the righteousness of his punishment. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
Actual sin
When speaking of Original sin we had to prove its existence; but there is no need of that here. No one denies actual sin. But the readiness of this admission is our great difficulty in dealing with this subject. Its familiarity has bred indifference. But in spite of this, let us come to its consideration, and we speak–
I. Of its guilt. Take the very smallest sin and see its guilt in the fact that it has been committed against God. Thus David viewed his sin. Against Thee, Thee only, etc. This swallows up all other considerations. We are ever saying that we have net been a great sinner, never injured any man. As if the guilt was great only when man was wronged: the wrong to God being of little moment. But that a sin is against God–is that in which consists the greatness of its guilt; for, even among men, we measure the guilt of crimes not by the actual injury resulting from them, but by their injurious tendencies. The traitor who has attempted the life of his sovereign–the rebel who has tried to overthrow his authority–are rightly held as guilty when they fail as if they had succeeded. They are punished, not for the harm that their rebellion or their treason has done, but for the harm which rebellion and treason must do if not repressed. Now, what is a sinner but a rebel? He who sins has defied the sovereign authority of his God–he has set the will of the creature against the will of the Creator. But in this, your one small sin against God, you are guilty not only of rebellion, but of ingratitude. You have sinned against a Father who has made you, and preserved you, and blessed you with blessings innumerable. But more than this, there is in your sin against God not only rebellion and ingratitude, but insult. He who sins against God has been guilty of first making to himself an idol god whom he may offend with impunity, one who has eyes that see not, ears that hear not, and hands that smite not him that goeth on still in his wicked way. But you will say you never thought there could have been any harm in such a trifle. But has it ever occurred to you that this very thing that you allege in your excuse is an aggravation of your guilt? For ignorance, such as you plead, is an excuse for sin only where there is no law; where there is a law, there ignorance of that law is a sin, and a great one; it is the sin of refusing to hear God when He speaks. And if it were not so, if sins of ignorance were always guiltless, then there would be a direct bounty upon ignorance; this would be to give a revelation, and, at the same time, to give men the strongest inducement not to read it. But you will plead the force of habit, that you did it unconsciously. But this shows you have gone on in sin, and the plea is rather an aggravation of your guilt.
II. Their number–how incalculable. There are three kinds of sin,–sins, namely, of thought, word and deed; and each of these may be committed in two ways–by omission or by commission; and, further, that every sin of commission involves one of omission–that we can never do what we ought not to have done without having left undone what we ought to have done. And now, remembering the searching and comprehensive character of that law of which every transgression is a sin, try and form some remote idea of the number of your offences. And we ask you to compare sin as it appears in Gods sight, with sin as it appears in the sight, and as it is pictured in the language of men. How do men generally speak and think of sin? There are some who boast of it. But these are the exceptions, these are open profligates, whom moral and respectable society excommunicates. How, then, do morality and respectability think and speak of sin? Why–provided it offends not against the decencies and the proprieties of life–gently, indulgently, almost respectfully; there is no lack of polite phrases by which society can cloak sins, which, in their native and undisguised grossness it professes to repudiate. Adultery is gallantry; and profligacy is wildness; and profanity is a light way of speaking; infidelity is unsettled ideas about religion; and revenge is high spirit; and drunkenness is conviviality; and heartless and frivolous dissipation is innocent gaiety. And then morality and respectability have favourite vices which they will introduce to you as virtues–avarice is carefulness; and selfishness is prudence; and deceit is politeness; and wasteful luxury is hospitality; and pride is becoming self-respect–until, if you would believe them, you would be persuaded that sin was almost banished from good society, and that certainly there was no such thing to be found there as a miserable sinner. (Archbishop Magee.)
Repentance
There are two kinds of this–the sorrow of the world, and that of God. This latter regards sin as against God. It is the object of sin rather than its consequences that affect Him. For all sin is against God, more than it is against any other being. However it may despise human authority, it involves a greater contempt of His. It is a great error to say of a man that he is nobodys enemy but his own. For the carnal mind is enmity against God. And this is sins greatest aggravation, for see how glorious, how holy, how gracious God is. Failure to see this aggravation in our sin is the cause why conviction of sin is often so slight. True repentance equally regards all sin, for every sin is against God. And the reformation that follows such repentance is thorough. No sin can be a trifle, since it is against God. (W. Nevins, D. D.)
Davids accusating of himself and acquittal of God
I. The censure or accusation which he passes upon himself.
1. The simple acknowledgment or confession. Against Thee, Thee only have I sinned.
(1) His sin in the direct notion of it. The sins which are committed against our brethren and neighbours are committed against God Himself–
(a) As Lawgiver.
(b) As Creator.
(c) As Redeemer.
(2) The reduplication. Thee, Thee only. Only is here to be taken for chiefly; and that not only in regard of the sin itself, but likewise in regard of his affection and apprehension about it. This is that which should principally affect us in all our miscarriages, that they are trespasses upon God Himself.
(a) Thee, an only God; a God of pure eyes, and that cannot endure to behold iniquity.
(b) Thee, a just God, who wilt punish sin wheresoever Thou findest it.
(c) Thee, an Almighty God, a God of power and strength.
2. The additional ingemination of it. And done this evil in Thy sight.
(1) He acknowledges that his sin was not unknown to God, who saw and discerned all the windings and turnings of it.
(a) The thought and intention.
(b) The execution of it.
(c) All the excuses and pretences made for it.
This may serve to awaken and affright men in this respect; and especially as to secret miscarriages. There are abundance of people in the world who carry it fairly as to outward appearance, who yet have their private excursions into ways of wickedness, and their secret haunts of sin; and these please themselves oftentimes in the thought of their concealment from the world. Yea, but there is an all-seeing eye that beholds them in their greatest retiredness, an eye that neither slumbers nor sleeps.
(2) The enlargement and aggravation.
(a) His non-attendaney. He did not consider that God beheld him.
(b) He did not regard the presence of God.
For a thief to steal in the very sight of the judge is the highest piece of impudence that may be; and thus it is for any man to offend in the sight of God and not to be moved with it. Therefore, let us look to this, and consider what influence it has had upon us; the observing eye of God, and what it has not; what a shame is it for any to tremble at the presence of frail man, yea, it may be some little child, and beholding them in the commission of sin, and not regard the presence of the holy and pure God.
II. The acquitting of God.
1. A gracious heart gives testimony to the Word of God; it acknowledges the truth of God in that which comes from Him (Joh 3:33). This may be drawn forth according to all the words which are spoken by God. In His word of threatening, it justifies Him here by fearing and trembling at His word; as good Josiah, when he rent his clothes, and his heart was melted, etc. In his word of reproof, it justifies him here by acknowledging of the fall; Good is the word of the Lord which thou hast spoken, says Hezekiah, when he was told of his sin. In His word of promise, it justifies Him here by believing it, and expecting its accomplishment, as (Psa 119:49). In His word of command, it justifies Him hero by yielding obedience to it, and putting it into practice.
2. A submitting to the judgment of God. This is another temper and disposition of a gracious soul to clear God in His judiciary proceedings (Psa 119:75; Jer 12:1; Mic 7:9; Rom 3:2; Rom 3:19). And this is another thing which we should therefore in a sweet manner bring ourselves to; to submit with meekness and patience to Gods correction, acknowledging the justice of them, and that our punishment is still less than our iniquities have deserved. (Thomas Horton, D. D.)
Davids acknowledgment, of Gods justice
David is in thorough earnest with every confession. Here he presents the reasons why he thus avows his sin. He desires to approve the sentence of God, and to acknowledge that His verdict concerning Him could not be other than the righteous judgment which he had deserved. He could adduce nothing on which he could plead for any other sentence. If he were still to be received, it must only be upon the footing of free, undeserved grace. O, what a different experience is this from the superficial confession of sin with which most men rest content. They confess, indeed, that they are sinners; but the sin is a weakness, an infirmity, a misfortune. They have to sympathize with the sinner, but of the honour of God they think but little. The poor sinner must be comforted; but whether the honour of Gods law is maintained concerns them not. O my fellow-man, that is not repentance as the Spirit of God works it in the heart. No; he that is truly convinced of sin by the Spirit of God does not merely think of himself and what concerns him; but his great sorrow is that he has dared to commit transgression against such a God, with such a perfect law; and his great concern is how he can possibly restore that which he has destroyed; and since he can do nothing else, he lays himself down at the feet of God to yield to Him the only honour that he now can give, namely, to acknowledge that He is righteous in His judgment. (Andrew Murray.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 4. Against thee, thee only, have I sinned] This verse is supposed to show the impropriety of affixing the above title to this Psalm. It could not have been composed on account of the matter with Bath-sheba and the murder of Uriah; for, surely, these sins could not be said to have been committed against God ONLY, if we take the words of this verse in their common acceptation. That was a public sin, grievous, and against society at large, as well as against the peace, honour, comfort, and life of an innocent, brave, and patriotic man. This is readily granted: but see below.
That thou mightest be justified when thou speakest] Perhaps, to save the propriety of the title, we might understand the verse thus: David, being king, was not liable to be called to account by any of his subjects; nor was there any authority in the land by which he could be judged and punished. In this respect, God ALONE was greater than the king; and to him ALONE, as king, he was responsible. Nam quando rex deliquit, SOLI DEO reus est; guia hominem non habet qui ejus facta dijudicet, says Cassiodorus. “For when a king transgresses, he is accountable to GOD ONLY; for there is no person who has authority to take cognizance of his conduct.” On this very maxim, which is a maxim in all countries, David might say, Against thee only have I sinned. “I cannot be called to the bar of my subjects; but I arraign myself before thy bar. They can neither judge nor condemn me; but thou canst: and such are my crimes that thou wilt be justified in the eyes of all men, and cleared of all severity, shouldst thou inflict upon me the heaviest punishment.” This view, of the subject will reconcile the Psalm to the title. As to the eighteenth and nineteenth verses, we shall consider them in their own place; and probably find that the objection taken from them has not much weight.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Against thee, thee only; which is not to be understood simply and absolutely, because he had unquestionably sinned against Bathsheba and Uriah and many others, who were either injured by it, or scandalized at it; but comparatively. So the sense is this, Though I have sinned against my own body and conscience, and against others; yet nothing is more grievous and terrible to me, than to consider that I have sinned against thee; partly upon a general account, because this is the chief malignity and sinfulness of sin, that it offends and injures the glorious and blessed God; and partly upon particular reasons, because I set thee at defiance, and having used all wicked arts to conceal my sins from men, and being free from fear of punishment from them, I went on boldly in sin, casting off all reverence to thy holy and omniscient Majesty, and all dread of thy judgments, and because I sinned against thee, to whom I had such numerous and peculiar and eminent obligations, as thy prophet Nathan truly suggested to me, 2Sa 12:7,8.
In thy sight; with gross contempt of God, whom I well knew to be a spectator of my most secret actions.
That thou mightest be justified; the particle that is not taken causally or intentionally, as if this was Davids design, but eventually, as it is Exo 11:9; Psa 30:12; Hos 8:4. This will be the fruit or consequent of my sin, that whatsoever severities thou shalt use towards me and mine, it will be no blemish to thy benignity, or righteousness, or fidelity, but the blame of all will rest upon my head as I desire it may, and thy justice will be glorified by all men.
When thou speakest, Heb. in thy words, i.e. in all thy threatenings denounced against me by Nathan, and in any further sentence which thou shalt see fit to pass upon me.
When thou judgest; when thou dost plead or contend with me, or execute thy sentence or judgment upon me. Or, when thou art judged, as it is rendered Rom 3:4, for the word may be taken passively as well as actively; when any man shall presume to censure time, as not keeping thy covenant and mercy promised to David.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
4. Against theechiefly, andas sins against others are violations of God’s law, in one senseonly.
that . . . judgestthatis, all palliation of his crime is excluded; it is the design inmaking this confession to recognize God’s justice, however severe thesentence.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Against thee, thee only, have I sinned,…. All sin, though committed against a fellow creature, being a transgression of the law, is against the lawgiver; and, indeed, begins at the neglect or contempt of his commandment, as David’s sin did, 2Sa 12:9; and being committed against God, that had bestowed so many favours upon him, was a cutting consideration to him, which made his sorrow appear to be of a godly sort; wherefore he makes his humble and hearty confession to the Lord, and who only could forgive his sin;
and done [this] evil in thy sight; for with respect to men it was secretly done; and was only known to God, with whom the darkness and the light are both alike;
that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, [and] be clear when thou judgest; not that David committed this sin that God might be just, and pure, and holy; but this was the event and consequence of it: God, by taking notice of it, resenting it, and reproving for it, appeared to be a righteous Being, and of purer eyes than to behold sin with pleasure; see Ex 9:27. Or these words may be connected with his acknowledgment and confession of sin; which were done to this end and purpose, to justify God in his charge of it upon him, and in threatening him with evils on account of it, by the mouth of Nathan the prophet: or with his petitions for pardoning grace and mercy; that so he might appear to be just to his promise, of forgiving iniquity, transgression and sin, to humble penitents; and particularly that he might appear to be just and faithful to his Son, in forgiving sin for his sake; whom he had set forth, in his purposes and promises, to be the propitiation for sin, to declare his righteousness, Ro 3:25; see Ro 3:4.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
4. Against thee, thee only, have I sinned (260) It is the opinion of some that he here adverts to the circumstance of his sin, although it was committed against man, being concealed from every eye but that of God. None was aware of the double wrong which he had inflicted upon Uriah, nor of the wanton manner in which he had exposed his army to danger; and his crime being thus unknown to men, might be said to have been committed exclusively against God. According to others, David here intimates, that however deeply he was conscious of having injured men, he was chiefly distressed for having violated the law of God. But I conceive his meaning to be, that though all the world should pardon him, he felt that God was the Judge with whom he had to do, that conscience hailed him to his bar, and that the voice of man could administer no relief to him, however much he might be disposed to forgive, or to excuse, or to flatter. His eyes and his whole soul were directed to God, regardless of what man might think or say concerning him. To one who is thus overwhelmed with a sense of the dreadfulness of being obnoxious to the sentence of God, there needs no other accuser. God is to him instead of a thousand. There is every reason to believe that David, in order to prevent his mind from being soothed into a false peace by the flatteries of his court, realised the judgment of God upon his offense, and felt that this was in itself an intolerable burden, even supposing that he should escape all trouble from the hands of his fellow-creatures. This will be the exercise of every true penitent. It matters little to obtain our acquittal at the bar of human judgment, or to escape punishment through the connivance of others, provided we suffer from an accusing conscience and an offended God. And there is, perhaps, no better remedy against deception in the matter of our sins than to turn our thoughts inward upon ourselves, to concentrate them upon God, and lose every self-complacent imagination in a sharp sense of his displeasure. By a violent process of interpretation, some would have us read the second clause of this verse, That thou mayest be justified when thou speakest, in connection with the first verse of the psalm, and consider that it cannot be referred to the sentence immediately preceding. (261) But not to say that this breaks in upon the order of the verses, what sense could any attach to the prayer as it would then run, have mercy upon me, that thou mayest be clear when thou judgest? etc. Any doubt upon the meaning of the words, however, is completely removed by the connection in which they are cited in Paul’s Epistle to the Romans,
“
For what if some did not believe? Shall God be unjust? God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar; as it is written, That thou mayest be justified in thy sayings, and mightest overcome when thou art judged.” — Rom 3:3
Here the words before us are quoted in proof of the doctrine that God’s righteousness is apparent even in the sins of men, and his truth in their falsehood. To have a clear apprehension of their meaning, it is necessary that we reflect upon the covenant which God had made with David. The salvation of the whole world having been in a certain sense deposited with him by this covenant, the enemies of religion might take occasion to exclaim upon his fall, “Here is the pillar of the Church gone, and what is now to become of the miserable remnant whose hopes rested upon his holiness? Once nothing could be more conspicuous than the glory by which he was distinguished, but mark the depth of disgrace to which he has been reduced! Who, after so gross a fall, would look for salvation from his seed?” Aware that such attempts might be made to impugn the righteousness of God, David takes this opportunity of justifying it, and charging himself with the whole guilt of the transaction. He declares that God was justified when he spoke — not when he spoke the promises of the covenant, although some have so understood the words, but justified should he have spoken the sentence of condemnation against him for his sin, as he might have done but for his gratuitous mercy. Two forms of expression are here employed which have the same meaning, that thou mayest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest As Paul, in the quotation already referred to, has altered the latter clause, and may even seem to have given a new turn to the sentiment contained in the verse, I shall briefly show how the words were applicable to the purpose for which they were cited by him. He adduces them to prove that God’s faithfulness remained unaffected by the fact that the Jews had broken his covenant, and fallen from the grace which he had promised. Now, at first sight it may not appear how they contain the proof alleged. But their appositeness will at once be seen if we reflect upon the circumstance to which I have already adverted. Upon the fall of one who was so great a pillar in the Church, so illustrious both as a prophet and a king, as David, we cannot but believe that many were shaken and staggered in the faith of the promises. Many must have been disposed to conclude, considering the close connection into which God had adopted David, that he was implicated in some measure in his fall. David, however, repels an insinuation so injurious to the divine honor, and declares, that although God should cast him headlong into everlasting destruction, his mouth would be shut, or opened only to acknowledge his unimpeachable justice. The sole departure which the apostle has made from the passage in his quotation consists in his using the verb to judge in a passive sense, and reading, that thou mightest overcome, instead of, that thou mightest be clear. In this he follows the Septuagint, (262) and it is well known that the apostles do not study verbal exactness in their quotations from the Old Testament. It is enough for us to be satisfied, that the passage answers the purpose for which it was adduced by the apostle. The general doctrine which we are taught from the passage is, that whatever sins men may commit are chargeable entirely upon themselves, and never can implicate the righteousness of God. Men are ever ready to arraign his administration, when it does not correspond with the judgment of sense and human reason. But should God at any time raise persons from the depth of obscurity to the highest distinction, or, on the other hand, allow persons who occupied a most conspicuous station to be suddenly precipitated from it, we should learn from the example which is here set before us to judge of the divine procedure with sobriety, modesty, and reverence and to rest satisfied that it is holy, and that the works of God, as well as his words, are characterised by unerring rectitude. The conjunction in the verse, that-that thou mayest be justified, denotes not so much cause as consequence. It was not the fall of David, properly speaking, which caused the glory of God’s righteousness to appear. And yet, although men when they sin seem to obscure his righteousness, it emerges from the foul attempt only more bright than ever, it being the peculiar work of God to bring light out of darkness.
(260) From the confession which David makes in this verse, “Against thee, thee only, have I sinned,” Horsley is of opinion that the title of the psalm is not authentic, and that it could not have been composed on the occasion to which the title refers. “It ill suits the case of David,” says he, “who laid a successful plot against Uriah after he had defiled his bed.” But there seems to be no force in this objection. The prefix ל, lamed, translated against, sometimes means before, in the presence of, and is so rendered in Gen 23:11, and 45:1. The Hebrew words לך לברך, lecha, lebaddecha, may, therefore be rendered, “before thee, before thee only.” If this reading is adopted, then, David alludes to the clandestine manner in which he committed the sin, intimating that it was a secret sin witnessed by God only, and known in the first instance only to him, God says of it, “For thou didst it secretly,” (2Sa 12:12.) There is, however, no need to alter the translation to meet the objection of Horsley. By these words, “Against thee, thee only,” David does not mean to say that he had not wronged Uriah, whose wife he had dishonored, whom he had caused to be made drunk, and afterwards to be slain; for he acknowledges in the 14 verse that “blood-guiltiness” lay heavy upon him, and he prays for deliverance from it. They are an emphatic declaration of the heinousness of his guilt — that he had sinned chiefly against God — more against him than against man. “My offense,” as if he had said, “against Uriah, and against society at large, great as it has been, is nothing compared to that which I have committed against thee.”
(261) This is the opinion of R. Abraham and other Jewish commentators. They say that these words are not to be joined to the immediately preceding part of this verse, but either to the prayer in the first verse, or to what is stated in the third verse, “I acknowledge my transgressions;” and they put the beginning of the fourth verse, “Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done evil in thy sight,” within a parenthesis. But there is no just ground for such an interpretation. Green reads the last clause of the verse, “So that thou art just in passing sentence upon me, and clear in condemning me. ” And it is not uncommon for למען, le-maan, to be used in the sense of so that, as in Psa 30:12; Isa 28:13; and Jer 50:34. According to this reading, the words are a part of David’s confession; — he not only confesses his sin in the first part of the verse, but also here acknowledges the divine righteousness should God condemn him. This is the sense in which Calvin understands the passage.
(262) There does not appear to be any substantial difference between the reading of the Septuagint, which the apostle follows, and that of the Hebrew text. Calvin says that Paul uses the verb to judge in a passive sense, whereas it is here used actively. But this is a mistake. Street, after giving the words of the Septuagint, which are, Νικησης ἐν τω κρινεσθαι σε, says, “The verb κρινεσθαι is in the middle, not in the passive voice, and the phrase ἐν τω κρινεσθαι σε, signifies cum tu judicas ,” [ i e when thou judgest. ] “I take notice of this the rather, because the passage being cited by Paul, Rom 3:4, (and the Septuagint version of it having been inserted instead of the Hebrew, which the apostle quoted,) our translators seem to have mistaken the sense of it; for they render it, ‘That thou mightest be justified in thy sayings, and mightest overcome when thou art judged. ’ But who shall judge the Almighty?” In the other instance which Calvin mentions, the difference between the apostle’s reading and that of the Hebrew text is more in appearance than in reality. “The word זכה,” says Hammond, “is ordinarily rendered mundus fuit , clean, or clear, or pure But this, as the context evinces, must be understood in a forensic sense, as pure is all one with free from guilt; and so there is a second notion of the word for overcoming, meaning that sort of victory which belongs to him that carries the cause in judicature.” After stating that this is the rendering of the Septuagint, he observes, “That is very reconcilable with the notion of mundus fuit ; for he that doth overcome in the suit is fitly said to be cleared or quitted by the law.” Thus Hammond, with Chrysostom, supposes the meaning to be, that should God proceed against David, should he indite and arraign him at the bar of justice for his sins, demanding vengeance to be inflicted upon him, God would be justified and cleared, and would overcome in the suit.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(4) Against thee, thee only . . .This can refer to nothing but a breach of the covenant-relation by the nation at large. An individual would have felt his guilt against the nation or other individuals, as well as against Jehovah. The fact that St. Paul quotes (from the LXX.) part of the verse in Rom. 3:4 (see Note, New Testament Commentary) has naturally opened up an avenue for discussion on the bearing of the words on the doctrines of free-will and predestination. But the immediate object of his quotation appears to be to contrast the faithfulness of the God of the covenant with the falsehood of the covenant people (Let God be true, and every man a liar). The honour of God, as God of the covenant, was at stake. It is this thought which appears in the last clauses of this verse.
That . . .So that (or, in order that) thou art (or mayest be) justified in thy cause, and clear in thy judgment. The Hebrew, rendered in the Authorised Version when thou speakest, is often used of a cause or suit (see (Exo. 18:16-22, matter, &c), and it is here plainly used in this sense and is parallel to judgment. The clause seems to imply not only a sense of a breach of the covenant, but some manifest judgment from Jehovah in consequence; and, as usual, it is of its effect on the heathen that the psalmist thinks. The Divine honour would be justified when the suffering nation confessed that condemnation and punishment had been deserved. This was apparently the meaning read in the words by the LXX.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
4. Against thee, thee only The particle rendered “only,” should here take its radical signification of separately, apart, as it often does elsewhere. The sense is, “against thee, against thee” apart, or separately, from all human relations of my offense, have I sinned. His sin against humanity was great, but he now sees more clearly than ever that each sin against humanity is a sin against God, and it was the divine law, the relations of his soul to God, which gave sin its peculiar turpitude.
That mightest be justified The telic use of “that” appears strongly here, and the doctrine stands thus: From the relation of all souls to God every sin against man lies primarily against God, to the end, or final consequence, that God, who is the supreme and ultimate judge of all human conduct, may be justified in his sentence upon the wicked.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Psa 51:4. Against thee, &c. Injuries done to private persons are offences against government, and, as to the right of punishment, offences only against government. And therefore, though David had injured Bathsheba, whom he had corrupted, and Uriah, whom he had murdered; yet, as no one could call him to an account, or punish him for those crimes, but God only, whose immediate substitute he was, as king of Israel, God himself being properly the supreme governor, he could say, with great propriety and truth, against thee only have I sinned: not as if he had not sinned against Bathsheba and Uriah, and to extenuate his sin; but by way of aggravating his guilt, in that, though he was not arraignable at any earthly tribunal, he was at God’s; and that to his punishment he had rendered himself obnoxious, and was worthy of having it inflicted on him in the most exemplary manner. For thus it immediately follows; that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest. When Nathan had represented the crying and shameful injustice of the rich man, David declares with an oath, that he was worthy of death, and therefore condemns himself as deserving that punishment: and though God mercifully declared, he shall not die, yet he pronounced a very severe vengeance against him, 2Sa 12:11-12. And this sentence he acknowledges to be just. “Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil, and subjected myself to thy punishment; ( lemangan,ita ut; See Noldius upon the word;) so that thou wilt be just, bedabreka, in what thou hast spoken; i.e. the sentence thou hast pronounced against me; and pure, i.e. free from all reproach, in judging me; that is, shouldst thou pass sentence of condemnation and death against me.” Houbigant reads the words, Wash me from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sins; that thou mayest hereby be justified in what thou hast spoken, and clear when thou enterest into judgment: And he explains the words, in what thou hast spoken, of God’s promises to David, in reference to his glory, and the prosperity of his kingdom. But I apprehend this is too bold a criticism to be easily allowed; nor do I see it at all necessary to vindicate the apostle’s citation of these words, Rom 3:4 for there he quotes them only as containing this general truth: that God would be justified in the whole of his procedure with men, and even in the condemnation of the Jews themselves for their unbelief. And nothing could be more applicable to his purpose, than these words of the Psalmist, in the sense in which I have explained them: So that thou wilt be just in thy sentence; thou wilt be pure in the judgment thou hast pronounced. Chandler.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
DISCOURSE: 586
SIN AN OFFENCE AGAINST GOD
Psa 51:4. Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight; that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest.
THE occasion of this psalm is well known: it refers to one of the most melancholy transactions that ever took place in the world. In point of enormity, the deed is almost without a parallel; because it was performed by a man who till that time had made the highest professions of religion, and had been characterized even by God himself as the man after Gods own heart [Note: If this were the subject of a Magdalen Sermon, it would be proper in a delicate manner to enlarge somewhat on the crime itself.]. But it is not the crime which David committed, but only the repentance which followed it, that is the subject of our present consideration. For a long time his heart was hardened: but after that Nathan had come from God to accuse and condemn him, he yielded to the conviction, and humbled himself before God in dust and ashes. In this psalm is recorded the prayer which David offered unto God on that occasion: and it was given by David to the Church, that it might be a pattern, and an encouragement, to penitents in all future ages. The particular declaration in our text is introduced as an aggravation of his guilt. We are not however to interpret it so strictly, as if the crime which David had committed were really no offence against man; for in that view it was as heinous as can possibly be conceived: it was a sin against Bathsheba, whom he had defiled: against Uriah, whom he had murdered; against Joab, whom he had made an instrument to effect the murder; against all the soldiers, who were murdered at the same time; against the friends and relatives of all who were slain; against his own army, who were hereby weakened and discouraged; against the whole nation, whose interests were hereby endangered; against the Church of God, who were hereby scandalized; and the ungodly world, who were hereby hardened in their iniquities. It was a sin also against his whole body [Note: 1Co 6:18.]. We must therefore understand the expression rather as comparative; as if it had been said, Against thee, thee chiefly, have I sinned. Nevertheless, as an offence against God, the enormity of the crime is so great, as almost to swallow up and annihilate every other consideration of it, as the meridian sun reduces to non-existence, as it were, the twinkling of a star. It is from this consideration of it that every sin derives its chief enormity. Dropping therefore any further reference to Davids crime, we shall endeavour to shew in general,
I.
The malignity of sin as an offence against God
Men in general think little of sin, except as it affects the welfare of society: as an offence against God, it is scarcely ever deemed worthy of notice. But every sin, of whatever kind, necessarily strikes at God himself: it implies,
1.
A forgetfulness of his presence
[He is omnipresent; nor is any thing hid from his all-seeing eye But, when we commit sin, we lose all recollection that Gods eye is upon us: we say in our hearts, The Lord shall not see; neither shall the God of Jacob regard it [Note: Psa 94:7.]: How shall God know? Is there knowledge with the Most High [Note: Psa 73:11.]? Thick clouds are a covering to him, that he cannot see [Note: Job 22:13-14.]. This is no deduction of ours, but the declaration of God himself: and the truth of it is evident: for, if even the presence of a fellow-creature is sufficient to overawe men, so that they cannot perpetrate crimes to which they are most strongly tempted; so much more would the presence of Almighty God restrain us, if we were conscious that he was inspecting and witnessing all the secrets of our hearts.]
2.
A contempt Of his authority
[God, as the great Lawgiver, requires obedience to his laws, every one of which bears the impress of divine authority upon it But in violating his commands, we trample on his authority, and say in effect, I am at my own disposal: who is Lord over me [Note: Psa 12:4.]? Who is the Lord, that I should obey his voice? I know not the Lord: neither will I obey his voice [Note: Exo 5:2.]: I will not have this man to reign over me [Note: Luk 19:14.]. We have a striking exemplification of this in the conduct of the Jews, who, contrary to Gods command, would go down into Egypt: As for the word that thou hast spoken to us in the name of the Lord, (said they to Jeremiah,) we will not hearken unto thee; but we will certainly do whatsoever thing goeth forth out of our own mouth [Note: Jer 44:16-17.]. Thus, as God himself says, We not only forget him, but cast him behind our back [Note: Eze 23:35.].
3.
A disbelief of his truth
[God has spoken frequently respecting his determination to punish sin: he has said, that he will by no means clear the guilty; and that, though hand join in hand, the wicked shall not pass unpunished. Now, if we truly believed his word, we could not rush into sin: the apprehension of such tremendous consequences would deter us from it. But we are hardened by unbelief. Unbelief was the source of all the Israelites rebellions in the wilderness [Note: Psa 106:24. Heb 3:19.]; and it is the fruitful spring of all our disobedience: Ye shall not surely die, is at the root of every evil we commit [Note: Gen 3:4.]. But God is not a man, that he should lie, or the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? Hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good [Note: Num 23:19.]? Let us bear this in mind, that in the commission of sin, and the expectation of impunity, we make God himself a liar [Note: 1Jn 5:10.].]
4.
A denial of his justice
[God has represented himself as a God of judgment, by whom actions are weighed [Note: 1Sa 2:3.]; and has declared his purpose to call every work into judgment, and to judge every man according to his works. But, in violating his laws, we say, in fact, God will not require it [Note: Psa 10:13.]: The Lord is altogether such an one as ourselves [Note: Psa 50:21.]; he will not do good, neither will he do evil [Note: Zep 1:12.]. What an indignity is this to offer to the Governor of the Universe, the Judge of quick and dead! He has spoken of the last day as the day of the revelation of the righteous judgment of God: but, if the issue of it were such as we expect, and heaven were awarded to wilful and impenitent transgressors, it would rather be a day wherein Godswant of justice and of holiness shall be displayed before the whole assembled universe.]
5.
A defiance of his power
[Men who commit iniquity are represented as stretching out their hands against God, and strengthening themselves against the Almighty; yea, as running upon him, even on his neck, upon the thick bosses of his buckler [Note: Job 15:25-26.]: and to what a fearful extent this is done, we may see by the testimony of God himself: They, the workers of iniquity, say, Let him make speed, and hasten his work, that we may see it: and let the counsel of the Holy One of Israel draw nigh and come, that we may know it [Note: Isa 5:19.]. Does this appear an exaggerated account of mens impiety? See then how they are described by the Psalmist: The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God: God is not in all his thoughts. His ways are always grievous; thy judgments are far above, out of his sight: as for all his enemies, he puffeth at them [Note: Psa 10:4-5.]. What an astonishing height of impiety is this; to puff at Gods threatenings, as if we defied him to his face! Yet do we see that this is the very conduct of men, whenever we warn them to flee from the wrath to come: we seem to menace them with judgments which they have no cause to fear, and to set in array against them an enemy whom they are at liberty to despise.]
When once we view sin as an offence against God, we shall be prepared to acknowledge,
II.
The equity of his judgments which he has denounced against it
That God has denounced the heaviest judgments against it, is certain
[Against sin in general he has denounced eternal misery: The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the people that forget God [Note: Psa 9:17. Rom 1:18.] Against every individual that commits it, he has also denounced his judgments: The soul that sinneth, it shall die [Note: Eze 18:20. 1Pe 1:17.] Against every particular sin, whatever be mens excuses for retaining it, the same awful sentence is proclaimed [Note: Mar 9:42-48.] Death, everlasting death, is the wages due to sin [Note: Rom 6:23.], and the wages that shall be paid to every sinner at the last day [Note: Mat 25:46.] ]
In executing these he will be completely justified
[We are ready to account such denunciations of wrath severe, and to question the equity of them But thepenal evil of damnation will not appear in the least to exceed the moral evil of sin, if we duly consider against whom sin is committed.
Consider his greatness. Great is the Lord, says the Psalmist, yea, his greatness is unsearchable. If we could conceive the meanest reptile, or the smallest insect, endued with such a measure of intelligence as to be able in some degree to appreciate the dignity of a mighty monarch; and then to exalt itself against him, and to pour all manner of contempt upon him; the atrocity of such presumption would justly excite our keenest indignation. But the whole universe together is not as the smallest insect in comparison of God; and yet we, we atom insects of an atom world, dare to set ourselves against his divine majesty, yea, to defy him to his face. Will God then be unjust if he execute his judgments on such impious worms? Are we at liberty to insult him; and is he not at liberty to avenge himself on us? ]
But consider also his goodness. O how unbounded has this been! How has he borne with us in all our rebellion! How has he sent his only-begotten Son, to expiate our sin, and to open a way for our reconciliation with him! How has he sought to glorify in our salvation those very perfections, which we have so impiously despised, and which he might well glorify in our everlasting condemnation! How has he sent his Holy Spirit, to instruct, renew, and comfort us! How has he sent his word and ministers, to invite, entreat, expostulate, yea, and, as it were, to compel us to accept of mercy! This he has done from our youth up: this he is doing yet daily and hourly: and, as if all his own happiness were bound up in ours, he says, How shall I give thee up? Wilt thou not be made clean? Oh! when shall it once be? This is the God against whom we are sinning. This is the God whom we wish extinct [Note: Psa 14:1. Omitting the words in Italics.]; and respecting whom we say, Make the Holy One of Israel to cease from before us. This is he, whose blessed Son we trample under foot, and to whose eternal Spirit we do despite [Note: Heb 10:29.]: yea, that very goodness and long-suffering and forbearance which should lead us to repentance, are made by us an occasion of multiplying our offences against him. Say now whether he will be unrighteous in taking vengeance? Were a fellow-creature to make such returns to us, and to render nothing but evil to us for all the good we did him, should we think that he had any claim on us? Should we account ourselves unjust, if we did not acknowledge him as one of our dearest friends, and place him on a footing with our own beloved children, and make him an heir of all that we possessed? Should we not feel ourselves amply justified in rejecting such an absurd and groundless claim as this? Know then, that we have no claim on God; and, when he shall exclude us from the inheritance or his saints, he will be justified in the judgment that he shall denounce against us. Indeed, in assigning us this portion, he will only give effect to our own wishes, and answer us in the desire of our own hearts: we said to him, Depart from us; we desire not the knowledge of thee [Note: Job 21:14.]; and he will say to us, Depart from me; depart accursed into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels [Note: Mat 25:41.].]
The whole creation will unite in vindicating these judgments as just and good
[Doubtless, if it were possible, sinners would urge at the bar of judgment the objections which here they presume to bring against the justice of their God. But sin will then appear in all its deformity: it will then be seen what a God we sinned against, and what mercies we despised. Even in this world, when once persons are brought to view themselves aright, they justify God in all that he sees fit to inflict upon them [Note: It is worthy of observation, that Gods goodness to David is mentioned as the greatest aggravation of his offence. 2Sa 12:7-9.]. Aaron [Note: Lev 10:3.], Eli [Note: 1Sa 3:18.], Hezekiah [Note: Isa 39:8.], David [Note: Psa 39:9.], all confessed, that God had a right to deal with them in the way that he had done. Much more in the day of judgment, when every thing will be seen in its true light, will the whole universe approve the sentence which God shall pass on the world of the ungodly: they will make the very punishment of the wicked a subject of their songs; saying, Allelujah! salvation, and glory, and honour, and power, unto the Lord our God: for true and righteous are his judgments [Note: Rev 15:3; Rev 19:1-2.]. Indeed the miserable objects themselves, though they cannot join in the song, will be unable to condemn the sentence. The man who was excluded from the marriage-feast for not having on a wedding garment, might have urged, that he was brought in before he had time to procure one: but his plea would have been false and unavailing; and therefore he was speechless [Note: Mat 22:12.]; a striking monument of conscious guilt, and an awful specimen of a condemned soul [Note: Rom 3:19.].]
In this acknowledgment then of David we may see,
1.
The grand constituents of repentance
[Many may be sorry that they, have subjected themselves to punishment, just as a criminal may that he has forfeited his life to the laws of his country: but no man can truly repent, till he sees, that his whole life has been one continued state of rebellion against God; and that everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord is his just desert. Till a man has that view of himself, he will never be thoroughly broken and contrite; he will never lothe and abhor himself for his iniquities; he will never have that repentance which is unto life, that repentance which is not to be repented of. We entreat you all then to judge of your repentance by these marks. Do not be satisfied with being humbled on account of sin; but inquire particularly, whether you are more humbled from a view of it as against man, or a view of it as against God. These ought to bear no proportion in your estimate of your own character. Your own nothingness and vileness can only be estimated aright when viewed in contrast with the majesty you have offended, and the mercy you have despised: and till you see that everlasting misery in hell is your deserved portion, you can never lie so low as you ought to lie.]
2.
The true preparative for pardon
[Something we must bring with us to the Saviour: but what is that which we ought to bring? Must we get a certain portion of good works wherewith to purchase his salvation? No: this is a price which he will utterly despise. That which we are to bring is precisely what a patient brings to a physician, a sense of his extreme need of the physicians aid. Christ came to save sinners: we then must feel ourselves sinners. He came to seek and save that which was lost: we then must feel ourselves lost. A just sense of our guilt and misery is all that he requires: if we come wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked, he will give us that gold that has been tried in the fire, the raiment that shall cover our nakedness, and the eye-salve that shall restore our eyes to sight. If we come to him full, we shall be sent empty away: but if we come hungry and empty, we shall be filled out of his inexhaustible fulness, we shall be filled with all the fulness of our God.]
3.
The best preservative from sin
[When Joseph was tempted by Potiphars wife, he answered her, How shall I do this great wickedness, and sin against God [Note: Gen 39:9.]? Thus we would recommend all, when tempted to commit iniquity, to consider, first, what God will think of it; and next, what they themselves will think of it in the last day? Now it may appear light and venial, especially if it be not such a heinous sin as adultery or murder: but when it comes to be seen in its true light, as against an infinitely good and gracious God; and when the judgments which he has denounced against it come to be felt; what shall we think of it then? Oh! ask yourselves, What will be my view of this matter in the last day? Then even the sins that now seem of no account, will appear most heinous, and the price paid for a momentary indulgence, most prodigal. The selling of a birthright for a mess of pottage is but a very faint emblem of the folly of those, who for the whole world are induced to barter the salvation of their souls. View things in any measure now, as you will view them at the last day; and you will rather die a thousand deaths than sin against your God.]
Fuente: Charles Simeon’s Horae Homileticae (Old and New Testaments)
This is a striking expression: David looks upon the sin as directly levelled against God. He had injured Uriah, injured Bathsheba, injured, in short, everyone that heard the story, in the example he had set; but the great sin was against God. Had be not lost reverence for God, he could not have injured men. David dwells therefore upon this: Against Thee, Thee only, (says he, repeating the words with painful recollection) have I sinned. Here was the sad, sad business. Reader, it is among the truest marks of genuine sorrow, when we detect our sin against the sovereignty of God at every step.
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Psa 51:4 Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done [this] evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, [and] be clear when thou judgest.
Ver. 4. Against thee, thee only, have I sinned ] This he spake in respect of the secresy of his sins, say some; whence also it followeth, “And done this evil in thy sight.” David sent for Bathsheba by his servants, but they knew not wherefore he sent for her, saith Kimchi; neither knew any one why letters were sent to Joab to kill Uriah; but because he refused to obey the king, bidding him go home to his house, &c. Others thus, Against thee only, that is, thee mainly; for every sin is a violation of God’s law; the trespass may be against man, but the transgression is ever against God. Others again thus, Against thee, &c., that is, against thee, so good a God, have I thus heinously offended, giving thereby thine enemies occasion to blaspheme thee. This, I take it, is the true meaning.
And done this evil in thy sight
That thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, &c.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
only = alone. This is primary, and contains the secondary.
evil. Hebrew. ra’a’.
That, &c. Quoted in Rom 3:4.
when Thou speakest: i.e. in Thy word. Some codices, with three early printed editions, Septuagint, and Vulgate, read “in Thy words” (plural) Compare Rom 3:4.
clear = pure; such moral purity as belongs not to man, only to God (Job 15:14; Job 25:4. Pro 20:9). Hebrew. zakak.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Against: Gen 9:6, Gen 20:6, Gen 39:9, Lev 5:19, Lev 6:2-7, 2Sa 12:9, 2Sa 12:10, 2Sa 12:13, 2Sa 12:14, Jam 2:9, Jam 2:11
evil: Gen 38:7, 2Ki 17:17, 2Ki 21:6, Luk 15:21
that thou: Psa 50:4, Psa 50:6, Luk 7:29, Rom 3:4
when: Act 17:31, Rom 2:5, Rev 15:3, Rev 15:4, Rev 16:5, Rev 19:11
Reciprocal: Gen 15:14 – that Lev 26:41 – and they 1Sa 2:17 – before 1Sa 2:25 – if a man 2Sa 11:15 – Set ye 2Sa 11:27 – displeased 1Ki 18:2 – went to show 1Ch 21:17 – Is it not I Job 40:4 – Behold Job 40:8 – Wilt Job 42:7 – ye have Psa 32:5 – iniquity Psa 78:1 – General Ecc 3:18 – that God Isa 5:3 – judge Jer 12:1 – Righteous Jer 14:20 – for Jer 50:14 – for she Lam 1:20 – for Dan 9:7 – righteousness Mic 6:3 – testify Mat 15:27 – Truth
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Psa 51:4. Against thee, thee only, have I sinned Which is not to be understood absolutely, because he had sinned against Bath-sheba and Uriah, and many others; but comparatively. So the sense is, Though I have sinned against my own conscience, and against others, yet nothing is more grievous to me than that I have sinned against thee. And done this evil in thy sight With gross contempt of thee, whom I knew to be a spectator of my most secret actions. That thou mightest be justified This will be the fruit of my sin, that whatsoever severities thou shalt use toward me, it will be no blemish to thy righteousness, but thy justice will be glorified by all men. When thou speakest Hebrew, in thy words, in all thy threatenings denounced against me. And be clear when thou judgest When thou dost execute thy sentence upon me.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
51:4 Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done [this] evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou {e} speakest, [and] be clear when thou judgest.
(e) When you give sentence against sinners, they must confess you to be just, and themselves sinners.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
David had finally come to the place where he was willing, not only to call his sin what it was, but to admit that it was sin against God primarily. Obviously he had sinned against Bathsheba and her husband, but David rightfully admitted that the worst thing he had done was offending God. He made no attempt to blame God for what had happened but took full responsibility himself. He acknowledged that his Judge was guiltless and that he was guilty. Taking personal responsibility for our sins is an important part of true confession.
"To say ’Against thee, thee only, have I sinned’ may invite the quibble that adultery and murder are hardly private wrongs. But it is a typically biblical way of going to the heart of the matter. Sin can be against oneself (1Co 6:18) and against one’s neighbour; but the flouting of God is always the length and breadth of it, as Joseph saw long before (Gen 39:9)." [Note: Kidner, p. 190.]
"Once we understand that no sin is against a fellow human being alone and that all sin is transgression against God, we will no longer treat it so lightly." [Note: Merrill, "Psalms," p. 433.]