Scripture
Let’s read Song of Solomon 8:6-7:
6 Set me as a seal upon your heart,
as a seal upon your arm,
for love is strong as death,
jealousy is fierce as the grave.
Its flashes are flashes of fire,
the very flame of the LORD.
7 Many waters cannot quench love,
neither can floods drown it.
If a man offered for love
all the wealth of his house,
he would be utterly despised.
Introduction
The day has finally arrived!
I am sure that there were times when you thought that this day would never arrive. But here it is!
Everything is great! The setting is great! The occasion is great! The guests are great! The bridesmaids are great! The groomsmen are great! The bride is great! The groom is great!
You have spent many hours in preparation for this great event, and here it is!
At another wedding, not unlike this beautiful wedding, a young granddaughter leaned over to her grandmother and asked, “Why is a bride always dressed in white?”
Her grandmother replied, “Because white represents happiness and today is the happiest day of her life.”
The little girl thought for a moment. And then she asked another question, “Then why is the groom always dressed in black?”
We smile at the little girl’s question. But we know that weddings are happy occasions. In fact, Jesus’ first miracle—changing water into wine—took place at a wedding. And his presence made that wedding even more special because of his presence.
God is here today as you exchange your vows and get married.
Some may wonder if God is present in this beautiful setting rather than in a church building. I read a story about a young couple who went to discuss the details of their wedding with their pastor. The couple wanted an outdoor wedding, but they were a bit hesitant to mention it because a wedding in a church sanctuary somehow seemed more “official.”
However, the pastor set them at ease when he said, “Oh, you’ll still be getting married in a sanctuary. The ceiling is just a little higher.”
Yes, God is here as we celebrate happiness and love.
Lesson
The text that you have selected for your wedding, Song of Solomon 8:6-7, is perhaps the greatest hymn to love ever expressed. And interestingly, it was spoken by a woman.
I would like to take just a few moments today and highlight several characteristics of true love from the Song of Solomon 8:6-7.
I. True Love Is Possessive (8:6a)
First, true love is possessive.
The woman said, “Set me as a seal upon your heart, as a seal upon your arm” (8:6a)
In biblical times a seal was often a ring worn on the finger. Hot wax was placed on a document and then the seal on the ring was stamped on the wax. It showed everyone who was the owner of the document.
Interestingly, the woman did not ask for a ring to be put on her husband’s arm or finger. Instead, she asked him to take her herself into his very heart, and to make her the seal of his love.
In other words, she said, “I am giving myself to you as a sign of my love for you. I will be your possession.”
And isn’t that what happens in true love. True love always gives oneself away so as to be possessed by the other person.
Marriage never works when there is a 50-50 contract. But it always works when there is a 100-100 giving of oneself to the other.
Of course, in our modern day we symbolize the giving of oneself to the other person by the giving of a ring. So, whenever you look at your wedding ring, you are saying in effect, “This ring is a symbol of me as a seal upon your heart, as a seal upon your arm.”
So, true love is possessive.
II. True Love Is Permanent (8:6b)
Second, true love is permanent.
She continued, “. . . for love is strong as death, jealousy is fierce as the grave” (8:6b).
The word jealousy can also mean “passion.”
And what is being said is that true love lasts until death. Passion for her lover will last until the grave.
Unfortunately, we live in a time in which marriages break up all the time.
According to the wedding statistics of the National Association of Wedding Ministers, there are approximately 2.4 million weddings each year in the United States. (By the way, January has the fewest weddings; only 4.7% of weddings take place in the month of January!)
In contrast to 2.4 million marriages per year, there are approximately 1.1 million divorces each year. In other words, for every 2 marriages there is 1 divorce.
But true love is permanent. True love is not here today and gone tomorrow. True love is strong as death.
In order for love to be permanent you must nurture it. Most marriages fail due to inattention, not because of too much attention.
I encourage you to follow the apostle Paul’s counsel in 1 Corinthians 13:4-8a: “Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends.”
So, true love is possessive, and permanent.
III. True Love Is Powerful (8:6c)
Third, true love is powerful.
The last part of verse 6 says, “Its flashes are flashes of fire, the very flame of the LORD” (8:6c).
Love is described like a burning, hot, powerful fire.
The day was unseasonably warm when a young couple got married. To make matters worse, the air conditioning in the church sanctuary wasn’t working.
Becoming increasingly uncomfortable in her gown, the bride grumbled during the photo session, then endured the receiving line, cutting the cake, even opening the presents.
But when she saw the mountain of cards to open, that was it. Smiling, she said to the guests, “You’ll have to excuse us, but we’re very hot and need to do something about it!”
Her face grew even hotter when she saw her husband’s surprised look and realized what she had said!
True love, however, is powerful, like a roaring fire.
But further, there is an acknowledgement in this passage that true love comes from the LORD. It originates with God. It is described as “the very flame of the LORD.”
The Bible teaches us that God is love (1 John 4:8). And since he is love, he gives love, he enables love, he empowers love. The deepest, richest, truest expression of love is that which comes from God, and it is powerful.
So, true love is possessive, permanent, and powerful.
IV. True Love Is Persevering (8:7a)
Fourth, true love is persevering.
Verse 7 says, “Many waters cannot quench love, neither can floods drown it” (8:7a).
The Bible sometimes speaks of water as a threat. One thinks of Noah’s Flood, Moses’ crossing of the Red Sea, and Joshua’s crossing of the Jordan River.
This woman said that true love is so persevering that nothing can crush it. No matter how threatening circumstances around her may seem, there is nothing that can defeat true love. True love perseveres regardless of the circumstances.
Chris Messick wrote a poem titled, “For You Are the One.” One young man sent the first two stanzas of the poem to his girlfriend:
For you I would climb
The highest mountain peak
Swim the deepest ocean
Your love I do seek.
For you I would cross
The rivers most wide
Walk the hottest desert sand
To have you by my side.
And then he added a postscript. He wrote, “P.S.—I’ll be over Saturday night if it doesn’t rain!”
We chuckle at his fickleness, but feel bad for the girl who desires a love that truly perseveres.
Your vows today are an expression of a love that perseveres regardless of the circumstances. You are promising to each other “to have and to hold from this day forward, for better for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health, till death do us part.” That is not a love that is fickle. It is a love that is persevering.
So, true love is possessive, permanent, powerful, and persevering.
V. True Love Is Precious (8:7b)
And finally, true love is precious.
The last part of verse 7 says, “If a man offered for love all the wealth of his house, he would be utterly despised” (8:7b).
Sex can be bought. But true love can never be bought.
True love is precious, it is more costly than anything we own, and it is always given.
You have seen those advertisements on TV that list the price of a number of different items, and then close with an item that is “Priceless.”
True love is precious. The writer of Proverbs 31:10 said, “An excellent wife who can find? She is far more precious than jewels.”
So, true love is possessive, permanent, powerful, persevering, and precious.
Conclusion
I encourage you to remind yourselves regularly about the characteristics of true love. I will give you a copy of this message, and perhaps once a year on your anniversary, you can read it to remind yourselves of the commitment you are making to each other today.
The greatest picture of true love is that of Jesus for his bride, the Church. In every possible and perfect way, Jesus’ love for his own is possessive, permanent, powerful, persevering, and precious.
Jesus sets believers as a seal upon his own heart, indicating that we are his possession.
Jesus showed that his love is indeed strong as death in that he died for his own. That showed the permanence of his love.
Jesus’ love for believers is powerful. Indeed, it is the very flame of the LORD.
Jesus’ love is persevering. Nothing in all creation can separate believers from the love of God that is in Christ.
And Jesus love for his own is precious. We cannot buy his love. Instead, Jesus’ love is given to his own.
And as each of you grows closer to Jesus, you will discover that he will, by his amazing grace, enable your love for each other to be possessive, permanent, powerful, persevering, and precious. Amen.
