Psalm 51:3-4

This is David's confession of sin. Before it had been pleading for mercy, now he is confessing his sin. This is where he really owns up to his sin. The English translation does not show it, but the Hebrew emphasizes the word "I." It is actually repeated. So in this verse, it would be, "For I, I acknowledge my transgressions." So it is to show us that he truly recognizes and admits his rebellions and violations of God's will as shown in His law. He is telling God, "I get it. I messed up. I own these things. I shouldn't have done it." And in realizing how wrong he was in his deeds, they constantly plague him. "My sin is ever before me."

He cannot get those feelings of guilt and foolishness and disappointment with himself and contamination out of his mind. He wants to put in a pipe cleaner and clean himself out, but he cannot. He cannot clean himself up. No matter how he tries, only God can clean him up. So he is saying, "Look, I'm aware, deeply aware of what I've done. I've hit rock bottom here and I need Your forgiveness because I can't stand it. My skin crawls at my own depravity." He feels wretched constantly. Because he knew that he had disappointed God so much.

Then he goes and says, "Against You, You only, have I sinned." And this contains a head scratcher for most of us because we know that David's actions certainly harmed Bathsheba, the baby that she bore, Uriah definitely, and others, many others. We could make a case that as the king of Israel, what David did in all of those sins, he wronged all Israel. He wronged us by bringing more sin into the world. So why does he emphatically say he had sinned only against God? "Against You, You only, have I sinned."

Now, we know that this concept had been in the Bible a long time or been in the thoughts of godly men, because Joseph says as early as Genesis 39:9, that sin is against God. He said that when fleeing from Potiphar's wife. Now David, then, takes that idea and uses it as a rhetorical device in this psalm to show the sheer magnitude of difference between sin against God and sin against people. He is saying there is such a gap in results or in destruction between sinning against God and sinning against a person.

What he is telling us here is that every sin is chiefly and fundamentally a desecration and breach of an individual's relationship with God, the number one relationship in a person's life. It is the most serious breach of relationship because the result hanging over the sinner's head is eternal separation if he does not repent. If there is any hope for life, especially eternal life, the sins' foremost offendee, God, must be appeased. And we do that by seeking forgiveness, confessing our sins, and repentance. And all of this, of course, comes under the umbrella of Christ's works on our behalf so that this is possible.

Now another perspective on this, that sin is only against God. Think of this: What is God? God is Creator. He is Provider. He is Lawgiver, and many, many other things. He wears many hats. He is the great Supreme Deity of the universe. No one is higher than He is. But what do we do when we sin? Our sin spoils His creation. Our sin misuses or mistreats what He provided. Our sin breaks His law. In some way, every sinful thing that we do damages something He set in place for our good. Or those sins expropriate something He has not given. Something that He in His love and mercy have withheld from us.

So whether it is destroying or damaging something that He has given or taking something that He has not given, we have offended Him. To use a very mild term, all these deeds show our disrespect for God. Because they are offenses against His good, righteous, and perfect nature. So we could say David's statement is correct in principle. That sin is only against God. Because the ramifications for the relationship with Him are so great that the others are fairly insignificant.

Yes, people are hurt by our sins. I am not denying that. … . . .