Psalms 51:4

“Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, etc.] 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, (<101209>2 Samuel 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;…”

“Against thee--chiefly, and as sins against others are violations of God's law, in one sense only. that . . . judgest--that is, all palliation of his crime is excluded; it is the design in making this confession to recognize God's justice, however severe the sentence.”

“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…”

“Thee only - Which is not to be, understood absolutely, because he had sinned against Bathsheba 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. Thy sight - With gross contempt of thee, whom I knew to be a spectator of my most secret actions. Justified - This will be the fruit of my sin, that whatsoever severities thou shalt use towards me, it will be no blemish to thy righteousness, but thy justice will be glorified by all men. Speakest - Heb. in thy words, in all thy threatenings denounced against me. Judgest - When thou dost execute…”

“51:4 Against . . . you alone: This is hyperbole—the psalmist knows he also sinned against human beings (2 Sam 11:2-4, 15-17), but his offense against God is more important. He expects God to rebuke him and will accept whatever verdict God renders (see Rom 3:4).”

“Against: Gen 9:6, Gen 20:6, Gen 39:9; Lev 5:19, Lev 6:2-7; Sa2 12:9, Sa2 12:10, Sa2 12:13, Sa2 12:14; Jam 2:9, Jam 2:11 evil: Gen 38:7; Kg2 17:17, Kg2 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 Psalms 51:5”