Scripture Reading: “Against thee, thee only, have I sinned…” (Psalm 51:4) 

Is David denying here the horrible wrong done by him to Uriah the Hittite, whose wife was stolen by David and whose life was taken by David? Absolutely not! David is just saying that in the ultimate sense of the word all sin is committed against God alone.

God alone is the lone arbiter of sin. He alone defines it and determines what is right from what is wrong. Sin is, as the Bible clearly teaches, the transgression of God’s law (1 John 3:4) and the falling short of God’s glory (Romans 3:23). Thus, it is God alone who is disobeyed and dishonored by our sin.

It is to God alone that we are accountable and to Him alone that we will answer for our sin. This fact was especially true of a king like David, who was accountable to no man and answered to nobody. Perched on his royal throne in his regal robe no one dared to question the actions or decrees of Israel’s monarch. Yet, David readily acknowledged that there was a throne higher than his and a higher authority to whom even the kings of the earth must ultimately answer.

“God is the only being who is good, and the standards are set by Him. Because God hates sin, He has to punish those guilty of sin. Maybe that's not an appealing standard. But to put it bluntly, when you get your own universe, you can make your own standards.” (Francis Chan)