John Donne’s sonnet asks the soul to absorb a staggering truth: the triune God, served by angels, makes his temple in the human breast. The Father eternally begets the Son and chooses us by adoption as co-heirs of glory and endless Sabbath rest. A central simile imagines a robbed man who finds his stolen goods sold, forced to lose or buy them back; so the Son of glory came down and was slain to unbind us whom he had made and Satan had stolen. The closing couplet intensifies the marvel—it was much that man was made like God before, but far more that God should be made like man. The mood is hushed, deeply personal, and filled with gratitude for a love that refuses to be outdone.
Holy Sonnet XV: Wilt Thou Love God, As He Thee? Then Digest — Summary
Wilt thou love God, as he thee? Then digest, My soul, this wholesome meditation, How God the Spirit, by angels waited on In heaven, doth make his Temple in thy breast. The Father having begot a Son most blest, And still begetting, (for he ne'er be gone) Hath deigned to choose thee by adoption, Co-heir t' his glory, and Sabbath' endless rest. And as a robbed man, which by search doth find His stol'n stuff sold, must lose or buy 't again: The Son of glory came down, and was slain, Us whom he'd made, and Satan stol'n, to unbind. 'Twas much that man was made like God before, But, that God should be made like man, much more.