Thomas says that Christ merited exaltation. In each of teh fourr senses that His humiliation merited exaltation, there is the same poetic symmetry: His passion and death merited exaltation; His descent merited ascent; his shame merited exaltation; and His submission to human judges merited an exaltation as Judge.

What does “merit” mean here? It doesn’t seem to be a matter of strict justice in any normal sense. In human terms at least, the fact that someone humbles Himself does not earn him exaltation. One might say that we’re talking divine merit and justice here, but that just brings back the question: What sort of thing is divine merit and justice?

It seems that, often as not, Thomas has an aesthetic conception of merit and justice in mind. There is no principle of law that would require the humble to be exalted, the dead to be raised, the descended to ascend. But it is symmetrical, balanced, harmonious. It is beautiful.