Ps. li. 4. Jgainst thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil ifi thy sight ; that thou mayest he justified when thou speahest, 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
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 God's own heart^" But it is not the crime Avhich David committed, but only the repentance which followed it, that is the subject of our present consideration. For a long time his heart was har- dened : but after that Nathan had come from God to accuse and condemn him, he yielded to the convic- tion, 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 hei- nous 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 endan- gered ; 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''." We must therefore understand the expression rather as comparative ; as jif 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
* If this were the subject of a Magdalen Sermon, it would, be pro- per in a delicate mannei- to enlarge somewhat on the crime itself. '' 1 Cor, vi. IS.