A Voice from the Past - Chrysostom

For He espoused her as a wife, He loves her as a daughter, He provides for her as a handmaid, He guards her as a virgin, He fences her round like a garden, and cherishes her like a member: as a head He provides for her, as a root He causes her to grow, as a shepherd He feeds her, as a bridegroom He weds her, as a propitiation He pardons her, as a sheep He is sacrificed, as a bridegroom he preserves her in beauty, as a husband He provides for her support.

John Chrysostom, 347-407 AD, Eutropius, and the Vanity of Riches, Homily II, 15 (Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Philip Schaff, Hendrickson Publishers, 2012, pp. 262, 263)

What does it mean that the church is the bride of Christ? How does that help us to understand our relationship with God?