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If we take a view of God's special properties, we shall find the glory of them so set forth in Christ's Incarnation and Passion, and the redemption of man thereby, as in nothing more. I will exemplify this in five of them.

1. The power of God hath been manifested by many wonderful works of His since the beginning of the world. The book of Job and book of Psalms do reckon up catalogues of God's powerful and mighty works; but they are all inferior to those works which were done by the Son of God becoming man and dying; for hereby was the curse of the law removed, the bonds of death broken, the devil and his whole host vanquished. The Son of God did this, and much more, not by arraying Himself with majesty and power, but by putting on Him weak and frail flesh, and by subjecting Himself to death. Herein was strength made perfect in weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9).

2. The wisdom of God was greatly set forth in the first creation or all things in their excellent order and beauty, and in the wise government of them; but after that by sin they were put out of order, to bring them into a comely frame again was an argument of much more wisdom, especially if we duly weigh how, by the creature's transgression, the just Creator was provoked to wrath. To find out a means, in this case, of atonement betwixt God and man must needs imply much mow e wisdom. For who should make this atonement? Not man, because he was the transgressor; not God, because He was offended and incensed: yet God, by taking man's nature upon Him, God-man, by suffering, did this deed; He made the atonement. God having revealed this mystery unto His Church, every one that is instructed in the Christian faith can say, Thus, and thus it is done: But had not God by His infinite wisdom found out and made known this means of reconciliation, though all the heads of all creatures had consulted thereabout, their counsels would have been altogether in vain. We have, therefore, just cause with an holy admiration to break out and say, "Oh the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God!" (Romans 11:33).

3. The justice of God hath been made known in all ages by judgments executed on wicked sinners, as the punishment of our first parents, the drowning of the old world, the destroying of Sodom and Gomorrah with fire and brimstone, the casting off the Jews, the casting of wicked angels and reprobate men into heft fire; but to exact the uttermost of the Son of God, who became a surety for man, and so to exact it as in our nature He most bear the infinite wrath of His Father and satisfy His justice to the full, is an instance of more exact justice than ever was manifested.

4. The truth of God is exceedingly cleared by God's giving His Son to die, and that in accomplishment of His threatening and promises.

(1) For threatening God had said to man, "In the day thou eatest of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt surely die" (Genesis 2:17). How could God's truth have been accomplished in this threatening, and man not utterly destroyed, it Christ had not died in our nature?

(2) For promise, the first that ever was made after man's fall was this, "The seed of the woman shall bruise the serpent's bead" (Genesis 3:15). As this was the first promise, so was it the ground of all other promises made to God's elect in Christ. Now God having accomplished this promise by giving His Son to death, how can we doubt of His truth in any other promise whatsoever? The accomplishment of no other promise could so set out God's truth as of this; for other promises do depend on this, and not this on any of them. Besides, this is the greatest of all other promises. We may therefore on this ground say, "He that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?" (Romans 8:32).

5. God's mercy is most magnified by sending His Son into the world to die for man. "The mercies of God are over all His works" (Psalm 145:9). But the glass wherein they are most perspicuously seen is Jesus Christ made man, and made a sacrifice for man's sin.

(W. Gouge.)

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KJV: For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.

WEB: For it became him, for whom are all things, and through whom are all things, in bringing many children to glory, to make the author of their salvation perfect through sufferings.