It pleased the Lord to rescue you from death, not because of any foreseen righteousness in you but according to the good pleasure of His will. And the only reason He did that was to honor His Son, to make Him the firstborn of many brethren and so that our Lord could see the travail of His soul and be satisfied. You are the gift of the Father to the Son, and the only merit that enters into this transaction is the merit of the Son, not yours and not mine.
