May we here apply the truth to those who may be unsaved. The law of God is holy; it

demands perfect obedience, failing which, it can pronounce nothing but the penalty.

You, like all men, have failed to obey that law, for it extends to the thoughts of the

heart--from the cradle to the grave--and needs a perfect man to obey its precepts. Your

condition is truly terrible, for you are under the curse! Your only hope is, not that you

may evade the claims or penalty of the law, but that the Lord Jesus had said in the

presence of His Father: "I will be Surety for him--of My hand shalt thou require him."

If you feel your helplessness; if you see yourself as a condemned rebel, yet see that God

is righteous Who taketh vengeance--then turn to the Lord Jesus Who came to save His

people from their sins. He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life.

This Psalm, written by inspiration of God, gives us in the first place, David's own

experience as a saved sinner;  secondly, the experience of the redeemed in all

dispensations; and thirdly and chiefly, the heart utterances of the Lord when here on

earth. It may perhaps seem strange at first sight that this Psalm should speak of the

perfect, sinless, Holy One of God, but, if we keep in mind the passage considered in the

first article of this series in connection with Suretyship, we shall be the better able to

enter into its wonderful teaching. By nature man was in the "horrible pit", and to this

"pit" the spotless Son of God descended. He humbled Himself even to the death of the

cross, wherefore God hath highly exalted Him, and the Gates of Hell (or Hades, the

unseen place) could not prevail against Him.

Verses 6, 7 and 8 are quoted in Heb. 10: as the Lord's words, when He entered upon

His substitutionary work--when He Who was God over all, blessed for ever, became

flesh and tabernacled among us. Verse 8 makes it very clear that Christ was perfectly

righteous, and we must keep this in mind as we read verse 12--which speaks of "Mine

iniquities", and "My heart faileth Me". The sinless One speaks of "Mine iniquities"!

Here indeed we see the full extent of substitution. So completely does our Surety enter

into our position that, while in His Own nature perfectly sinless and righteous, He

graciously bears our sins in His Own Body on the tree, and there receives the stroke and

dies as the great Sin-bearer. Hallelujah--What a Saviour!

It should be noted that the passage does not speak of "our iniquities" but "Mine

iniquities". The Saviour can have no fellowship with us here, for He and He alone can

put away sin. He and His Father alone accomplished the work of Redemption. No man

is called upon to help; no one could do anything but mar such a work. Grace is supreme,

and the glory is the Lord's.

Let us look back now to verse 5. In this verse blessings are the theme, and they are

innumerable. In verse 12 sins are the theme, and they are more in number than the hairs