The Martyn Lloyd-Jones Memorial Lecture this year was given by Dr Iain Duguid at the London Theological Seminary on 6 October.
Love, sex, marriage and singleness are not easy issues on which to speak and, consequently, there has often been an absence of teaching on these important aspects of the Christian life. Dr Duguid, of Westminster Theological Seminary, Philadelphia, USA, delivered a powerful and compelling lecture and offered a refreshingly positive perspective on the subject, which, while recognising the importance of the prescriptive instructions of Scripture, balanced this with the often ignored passion and romance of the Song of Songs.
Love as strong as death
The basis of the lecture was the man’s song of consummation in the second half of chapter four and the woman’s declaration in chapter eight that love is as strong as death and as intense as Sheol. Biblical love was sharply juxtaposed with the shallow populist conception of the term. This dovetailed with his tripartite description of marriage as a legal contract, an affectionate relationship and a sexual bond. He highlighted how each element represents a fundamental ingredient of the biblical compound of matrimony.
