“Veiling the rays of His majesty” by Herman Witsius

“Is it not the most incredible of all miracles, that the eternal Son of God, the Lord of glory, veiling the rays of His majesty, became a creature;—and among creatures, not one of the seraphim or cherubim, but a man (and how little is man to be accounted of!) and among men, not a king or a monarch, but “a servant of rulers.”

Truly He was pleased to converse familiarly with us, and to live in a condition which might obtain for us the name of brethren.

“In all things” He was “made like unto us, that He might be a merciful and faithful High-priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people.”

“For we have not an High-priest who cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities, but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.”

In short, He submitted to the lowest degree of our vileness, that He might exalt us above the rank of men, and make us partakers of his own, that is, of “a divine nature.”

O compassion! O almost incredible vehemence of love! O how far doth this love exceed the tenderness of a brother’s or a father’s affection! With what emotions of gratitude wilt thou be acknowledged! With what returns of love wilt thou be recompensed! What heart is so cold and frozen as not to be dissolved, warmed, and kindled into flames, by the ardours of so boundless a love!

If we wish to have a solid foundation for our joy in the incarnation of Christ, it is necessary that the same person who was once fashioned in the womb of the Virgin after the likeness of a man, be formed also in our hearts, that He live there, that He be nourished there, that He grow up there “unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ.”

Since He was conceived by the power of the Holy Ghost, it is not for us to pretend to be His brethren, unless we give evidence by a holy course of life, that we are renewed by the same Spirit after the image of God. And as He would not be conceived by any but a virgin, we too must embrace Him with a pure and chaste mind, which detests every appearance of a whorish attachment to the world, and is animated with a virgin love to God alone.

Just as at His birth, choirs of heavenly Angels praised the incarnate Son of God in joyful strains, it is incumbent upon us to celebrate that great mystery of godliness, and God the author of it, with devout and unceasing praises.

The blessed Angels begin the song; let us follow them with the voice and the heart. “Glory to God in the highest,” who has exhibited a brighter display of his admirable perfections in this illustrious work, than He did of old in the creation of the whole universe!

Glory to the Father, who has raised up, admitted, and given us such a Surety!

Glory to the Son, who clothed himself with human flesh, and so cheerfully accomplished his surety-undertaking on our behalf!

Glory to the Holy Spirit, the revealer and witness of so deep, so momentous, so precious a truth; and the earnest of so invaluable and longed-for a salvation!

Hosanna, blessed Jesus, thou true and eternal God, thou true and holy man! In the unity of Thy person, we recognise both natures, each possessing its own distinct properties.

Thee we acknowledge. Thee we worship. From Thy hand alone we expect salvation.

May the whole world of Thine elect unite with us in knowing, acknowledging, and adoring Thee, and thus be saved through Thy blessed name! Amen.”

–Herman Witsius, Sacred Dissertations on the Apostles’ Creed, Vol. 2 (Grand Rapids, MI: Reformation Heritage, 1681/2012), 2: 33-35.