詩人、畫家暨版畫家威廉•布萊克（William Blake）與妻子凱薩琳共享45年的美滿婚姻。從婚禮當天開始，夫妻倆便一起工作，直到1827年威廉逝世為止。凱薩琳會為威廉的素描上色，他們的忠誠堅貞，讓他們挺過貧困的歲月，克服種種挑戰。甚至在威廉離世前的最後幾週，雖然健康狀況不佳，他仍繼續藝術創作，最後一幅素描作品就是他妻子的面容。四年後，凱薩琳逝世時，手裡緊握著她丈夫的一支畫筆。

布萊克夫婦刻骨銘心的愛情，呈現出雅歌所描述的那種愛情。雖然雅歌描述的愛情確實適用於婚姻關係，但早期的基督徒相信，這也是指耶穌對祂的追隨者那永不止息的愛。雅歌描述愛情「如死之堅強」（8章6節），這是一個出色的比喻，因為人類自古以來所知的事實，即死亡是最終而且無可逃避的結果。這堅強之愛「所發的電光，是火焰的電光」（6節），而且不像我們所熟悉的火焰，這些火焰是不會熄滅的，連洪水暴雨都不能將之澆熄。一如雅歌強調：「愛情，眾水不能熄滅。」（7節）

我們當中有誰不渴望真愛呢？雅歌提醒我們，無論何時我們遇到了真摯的愛，上帝都是那愛的終極源頭。而且在耶穌裡，我們每一個人都能認識一份深刻而不滅的愛，一份燃燒如烈焰的愛。

Poet, painter, and printmaker William Blake enjoyed a forty-five-year marriage with his wife, Catherine. From their wedding day until his death in 1827, they worked side by side. Catherine added color to William’s sketches, and their devotion endured years of poverty and other challenges. Even in his final weeks as his health failed, Blake kept at his art, and his final sketch was his wife’s face. Four years later, Catherine died clutching one of her husband’s pencils in her hand.

The Blakes’ vibrant love offers a reflection of the love discovered in the Song of Songs. And while the Song’s description of love certainly has implications for marriage, early believers in Jesus believed it also points to Jesus’ unquenchable love for all His followers. The Song describes a love “as strong as death,” which is a remarkable metaphor since death is as final and unescapable a reality as humans will ever know (8:6). This strong love “burns like blazing fire, like a mighty flame” (v. 6). And unlike fires we’re familiar with, these flames can’t be doused, not even by a deluge. “Many waters cannot quench love,” the Song insists (v. 7).

Who among us doesn’t desire true love? The Song reminds us that whenever we encounter genuine love, God is the ultimate source. And in Jesus, each of us can know a profound and undying love—one that burns like a blazing fire.