Again, a husband loves his wife with a constant love, and so does Christ his Church. He will not cast her away tomorrow having loved her today. He does not vary in his affection. He may change in his display of affection, but the affection itself is still the same. A husband loves his wife with an enduring love; it never will die out: he says, “Till death us do part will I cherish thee;” but Christ will not even let death part his love to his people. “Nothing shall separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
A husband loves his wife with a hearty love, with a love that is true and intense. It is not mere lip-service. He does not merely speak, but he acts; he is ready to provide for her wants; he will defend her character; he will vindicate her honor; because his heart is set upon her. It is not merely with the eye that he delighteth now and then to glance upon her, but his soul hath her continually in his remembrance: she has a mansion in his heart from whence she can never be cast away. She has become a portion of himself; she is a member of his body, she is part of his flesh and of his bones; and so is the Church to Christ for ever, an eternal spouse.
From a sermon entitled "A Glorious Church," delivered May 7, 1865. Image by atomicjeep under Creative Commons License.
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