Psalm 51:4a
Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight;
As we saw yesterday, David recognises his own sin and calls it what it is. Today we see that he also understands WHY it is so serious. He knows that when he sins, he sins against God himself.
If you're familiar with the Psalm, perhaps v.4 is no longer
surprising. But as we slow down to think about it we see that this is actually an extraordinary thing to say! David has committed adultery and murder. We're not told whether Bathsheba was a willing participant in the 'affair' but in a '#MeToo' world, we would certainly call it an abuse of power and ask questions about the extent to which a woman in her situation could meaningfully consent. David has definitely sinned against Bathsheba's husband, and quite possibly against Bathsheba herself. He has sinned against his whole people by pursuing his own selfish desires in place of leading them faithfully in obeying God's commands. Yet he says he has sinned
against 'God alone'. What? Doesn't he care about the human cost of his actions? Is he not yet fully repentant for his sin towards them? Yet these aren’t the words of an unrepentant man, trying to cover up or avoid responsibility for his actions. David knows that he has seriously wronged other people. I think what he means here is that his sin is also against God. And that sin against God is so serious that it completely overshadows the sin against other people. Not because he underestimates the seriousness of his actions on a human level, but
because he rightly appreciates the seriousness of the even greater evil of sinning against God.
Do we? Do we recognise that when we do wrong, the offence against God is greater than the offence against the other person? As we consider that, we realise that our sin is so much more of a problem than we thought! After all, if I feel angry, or proud or envious towards someone else, but manage not to express it outwardly, I can easily think that I have nothing to repent of ... I didn't actually shout at them (although I wanted to), I didn't in fact tell them that their idea was utterly stupid and mine was so
much better (although clearly, to me, it was). If I've managed to stop short of sinning against them in words and actions, then I'm OK. Aren't I?
We would certainly want to thank God for giving us that
self-control! But if sin is primarily rebellion against God, then my heart is still guilty. In my pride I have valued myself more highly than another person made in God's image, and so devalued the creator. In my anger I have assumed that the world should be ordered entirely to suit me, and so dishonoured the real king. In my envy I have concluded that good gifts have been wrongly distributed, and so dishonoured the generosity of the ultimate giver. Even if I have spoken and acted impeccably towards
other people, I've sinned against God in my heart. Let's confess to God the full extent of our sin, which goes far beyond what is visible to others. And let's praise him for his gracious love and forgiveness, which extend further
still.
