'...God is indeed impassible in the sense that external events cannot alter his personal identity or character. He is faithful, which is the chief point the Fathers intended by calling him "impassible."
Nevertheless it remains true that a hangover of the original pagan intention has controlled too much of what may be called our theological sensibility, and some points also of our more sophisticated theology...
No part of Scripture makes sense if our reading is controlled by by the dogma that to be God is simply to be without passion, and the theological allegory solicited by the Song least of all. Indeed, in our present poem the Lord does not merely respond to his people's passion for him, but has in himself an antecedent spring of longing for her; he is in himself passionate. He not only loves, but climbs the palm tree to grasp love, longing for what he will find. How should we correct our inherited interpretation of deity to accommodate the biblical God's passion for us is a matter much controverted in contemporary theology. Preachers and teachers of the Song must at least be aware how drastically the Song contradicts our usual theological prejudices.'
Robert W Jenson, Song of Songs, p.77.
