“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. It’s flashes are flashes of fire, the very flame of the Lord. 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.”
– Song of Solomon 8:6–7
Oh, what a picture of the strength of love according to God’s design. Love is strong as death. Its flashes are flashes of fire, the very flame of the Lord. Many waters cannot quench love. Floods cannot drown love. It’s stronger, more valuable than all the wealth of a man’s house. Yet, we all know that if we don’t work at love, that it can and grow weak and love can wane.
There is an adversary who wants to weaken the love of every husband for his wife, he wants to weaken the love of a wife for her husband. And not just there. There’s an adversary who wants to weaken the love of parents for their children or children for their parents. There’s an adversary who wants to weaken the love of brothers and sisters in Christ for each other. An adversary who wants to weaken the love of the church for those without Christ. Just see all the different ways that the strength of love can be compromised. And Song of Solomon 8 is talk about how God desires for that love to be strong in marriage.
Song of Solomon 8:6–7 Prays for Strength in Our Marriages
So, I want to lead us to pray for that kind of strength of love in our marriages and that God would give us grace to work hard toward that end. And at the same time, to work hard to cultivate love for people all around us, knowing these are the greatest commandments, right, to love God with everything we have and to love others as ourselves.
God, may our lives be marked by the strength of love like this. Yes, ultimately for you, God, help each one of us to love you with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. And then God, we pray that you would help us to love others selflessly, to love others as ourselves. And marriage, as we see in Song of Solomon chapter eight here, we pray for the strength of love. God, I pray over every marriage represented in those who are praying right now for marriages that come to mind around us, God, we pray for the strength of love to prevail, that the floods of all this world throws at different marriages would not overwhelm love, but that love would withstand.
Song of Solomon 8:6–7 Prays for Love in Our Family
And God, we pray for this kind of love in our family relationships, in your family, in our churches and God for those without Christ. God, we pray today for pastors and church leaders, the small number of them who are in Afghanistan. We pray that you would strengthen their love for people who desire their harm, who want to hurt them and their families.
God, help them to love well. I cannot imagine being a pastor in those situations. I think about pastors we work with through Urgent and Radical and just what you are doing. And then through those brothers and sisters who are leading in the church in different ways, God, please help them in every way they need to persevere in love for you, no matter what that means for them and love for others, including those who would seek to bring them harm.
This Verse Asks God for His Help
Lord, that your church, as we live on mission in the world. In Jesus’ name, we pray. In the name of the one who loves us with a love that is higher and wider and deeper and stronger than anything we can fathom. We praise you for your love for us. We pray all of this in the name of Jesus who loved us so much that he died on the cross for us. In his name we pray, amen.
David Platt serves as a pastor in metro Washington, D.C. He is the founder of Radical.
David received his Ph.D. from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and is the author of Don’t Hold Back, Radical, Follow Me, Counter Culture, Something Needs to Change, Before You Vote, as well as the multiple volumes of the Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary series.
Along with his wife and children, he lives in the Washington, D.C. metro area.
