An exposition with practical observations continued upon the eighth, ninth and tenth chapters of…An exposition with practicall observations continued upon the eighth, ninth and tenth chapters of…

Every sin is committed against God; that's the first. Sin is most opposite to God. It is against God in his nature: against God in his will: against God in his very being. Sin would thrust God out of the world, if it were possible; and therefore it is rightly translated, They have sinned against him. No marvel if God do so much against sinners, when sin doth so much against him; but is it not a miracle, that God should do any thing, especially such great things for sinners, when sin doth so much against him? David (Psal. 51.4.) saw his sin was so much against God, that he overlooks all others against whom it was,¹ Against thee, thee only have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight, which some mis-interpret, as if, because he was a King, he could do no injury to his subjects, and therefore saith, Against thee, thee only have I sinned. But, They who rule men, may sin against man: and David sinned in that act against man; First, by doing private wrong. Secondly, by giving public scandal. The reason then why David spake thus, was because the sin he had committed was so much against God, that though he had grievously offended against man, in taking away the life of one subject, the chastity of another, and by endangering the whole army to compass a cover for his sin, yet, in this his sin exceeded in sinfulness, that he sinned against God; and therefore he saith, Against thee, thee only; or, take it comparatively, the sin is so much against thee, that what is against any other is not worth the naming. God is not only wronged, but he is chiefly wronged in every sin. As, because in the wrong done to the life or estate of a subject, the King is chiefly wronged, therefore all indictments run in this stile, Against the peace of our Sovereign Lord the King, his Crown and Dignity. Lastly, That place may be understood in the second sense of, Against thee, that is, Before thee; and so it seems to be expounded in the later part, Against thee only have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight, that is, though others took no notice of this, though it was done in secret (2 Sam. 12.12.) yet it was committed clearly and plainly before thine eyes, thine eyes, which are ten thousand times brighter then the Sun, beheld me in the darkness of that folly; and therefore against thee have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight;