2. By power —
[The deliverances vouchsafed to the Jews of old were effected by " a mighty hand, and a stretched-out arm." And it is only " in the day of God's power that any are made willing™" to embrace the salvation offered them in Christ Jesus. The " report of the Gospel is believed by those only, to whom the arm of the Lord is revealed'1." To rescue a soul from the tyranny of sin and Satan, is a work of omnipotence. Easy as it may seem to persuade a person to believe in Christ, it far surpasses the ability of any created being. " God him- self must bring us to this self-same thing0:" and we are told, that, in the accomplishment of this work, he exerts no less power than he did when he raised Jesus Christ from the dead, and set him at his own right hand, above all the principalities and powers, whether of heaven or hell1'. Redemption is pre- pared for us before we come into the world: but, in order to enjoy its benefits, we must, each in his own person, experience the mighty working of God's power : He who " spoiled prin- cipalities and powers upon the cross," must triumph over them in our hearts ; and incline us, by the effectual operation of his Spirit, to embrace the salvation which he purchased with his blood.]
God has not only thus consulted our happiness, but, II. Herein " he has also glorified himself" —
Every work of God's hands bespeaks his wisdom, his power, and his goodness : but the work of re- demption glorifies all his perfections. We might easily shew how his justice and his holiness are illus- trated by it, and how they are made to harmonize with truth and mercy : but we shall content ourselves with shewing, that herein he has glorified,
1. His grace and mercy —
[Consider only the state in which we were, when God sent his only dear Son to redeem us ; and the state in which
m Ps. ex. 3. » Isai. liii. 1. ° 2 Cor. v. ,r>.
P Eph. i. 19 — 21. The original in ver. 19. shews that the Apostle lahoured to the utmost to express his ideas, which were too big for utterance. Tt'e »/ cwa'pe might have sufficed : hut to that he adds /ut'ytQoc ; and to that v7rfp/3a\\oj/. Because all this was inadequate to convey his mind fully, he accumulates other terms ; Kara rrjv la^yy — Kara to kdutov tF]q 1(t\voq — Kara, rr)v eripyeiay k. r. X. Having thus multiplied his terms to the uttermost, and pressed into his ser- vice the strongest word that the Greek language could afford him, he repeats it ; i)v iti'ipyijaev. What light does this cast upon the subject before us !
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