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 8:7
Song of Solomon is the love song above all love songs, for it is the love song inspired by God to give us his perspective on love and romance, on courtship and marriage. Near the end of the story, we read these words spoken by Shulammite, the bride of young King Solomon:
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.
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.
(8:6-7)
Love is not only exclusive, strong and passionate (verse 6), it is also invincible and priceless.
In verse 7 we see that true love endures. It is invincible. “Many waters cannot quench love; neither can floods drown it.”
When I was a little boy, my parents moved my four sisters and me to Niagara Falls, New York. There, for the first time, I saw snow and I learned that I spoke with an accent and I saw the stunning Niagara Falls. Niagara Falls is so powerful – an avalanche of water! Yet the Bible says that all the water in the world cannot quench love.
Because love never ends. It’s invincible. It endures to the end of time. There will be challenges in marriage. But be undeterred, unflagging, unmovable! Tenacious! No matter what, refuse to throw in the towel.
There is a story from World War II that I especially like. The Queen of England was asked if she planned to evacuate her children from London, because the bombing of the city was so severe. She replied, “The children won’t leave unless I leave. I won’t leave unless the King leaves. And the King won’t leave under any circumstances whatsoever.”
That’s the way to think of marriage: I won’t leave under any circumstances whatsoever. True love is invincible.
True love is not only invincible, it is also priceless beyond compare. “If a man offered for love all the wealth of his house, he would be utterly despised.”
Is that not true? Is love not invaluable? Is it not a gift of God to treasure beyond the greatest Rembrandt masterpiece?
There is a classic passage on love in 1 Corinthians 13. It describes the glory and beauty and supremacy of love and then closes with these immortal words: “So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.”
Love is simply the greatest thing in the world. And of all human loves, the crown jewel is marital love, a love that is exclusive, strong, passionate, invincible and priceless beyond measure. That’s real love.
This is the kind of love that God wants for every married couple. Pursue it! Pursue this love with all your heart! Settle for nothing less!