He looketh upon men, and [if any] say, I have sinned, and perverted [that which was] right, and it profited me not;
Ver. 27. He looketh upon men] He looketh to see when any will repent and return unto him. Now Christ's looks are often operative, and cause that which he looks after. A stroke from guilt broke Judas's heart into despair; but a look from Christ broke Peter's heart into tears.
And if any say, I have sinned] So he say it penitently, as David and the prodigal; and not feignedly, as Saul; or forcedly, as Pharaoh; or desperately, as Judas. In men's courts, saith Quintilian, it is best to say Non feci, to plead not guilty; but in God's court it is better to say Ego feci, Guilty, Lord; mercy, Lord; and not to put God to his proofs, as they did, Jeremiah 2:35; since he that hideth his sins shall not prosper, but he that confesseth and forsaketh them shall find mercy, Proverbs 28:13 .
And perverted that which was right] Thus the true penitentiary layeth load upon himself, and aggravates his sins, whereof (saith Merlin) we have here a definition answerable to that of St John, 1 John 3:4, "Sin is the transgression of the law." I have writhed from the right, saith he in the text. I have turned aside to crooked ways, and so have deserved to he led forth with the workers of iniquity, Psalms 125:5; as cattle are to the slaughter, or malefactors to execution.
And it profited me not] Sin is an ill pay master, and sends home all her servants by weeping cross. The best that can come of it is shame, Romans 6:21, and godly sorrow, working repentance, 2 Corinthians 7:10, but usually the end of those things is death; this is the just hire of the least sin, Romans 6:23. It not only profiteth not (whatever it promiseth), but prejudiceth and proves pernicious. This penitent man thanks his sin for his late sickness, and yet thinks he hath escaped fair too; for so some render the text, Nec poenas condignas dedi, My punishment hath been less than my offence, Non aequale fuit. See Ezra 9:13, See Trapp on " Ezr 9:13 "