For a Glory and a Covering: A Practical Theology of Marriage

"Lord, here am I. Change him." "God, I'm trying. She started it."

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These are common claims, but they're so far from what a Christian marriage should be. We invoke Christ at the wedding but then seem to default to an alien theology all too quickly afterward. In this simple and practical book, Doug Wilson offers a richer and comprehensive theology of marriage. Marriage is intended to be a glorious picture of the gospel, and marriages grounded elsewhere regularly create a small hell on earth. In this book he covers headship and submission (and their counterfeits), communication, jealousy, divorce, forgiveness, growing old together, and widowhood.

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From the Book:

"Marriage is instituted by the triune God, and when rightly understood it is one of the most glorious pictures of the gospel ever given to man. And of course, when it is abused (as it often is), it presents a potent false gospel as well. That false gospel either seduces people into a sentimental mess, attracting them on false grounds and with false promises, or it presents an unwelcome caricature that causes people to be repelled. But as Christians who want to structure all of our lives on the bedrock of the Scriptures, we should certainly do the same with marriage, and we will quickly discover that this way of living presents the world with a stark alternative.... A godly marriage does not consist of this marital technique or that one. A godly marriage occurs when a man and a woman both die to themselves, and are raised to the life that seeks the best interest of the other in all things. This is the only kind of godly marriage there is. And when we give all away in this manner, we discover that we receive all. We learn to give in order to receive, in order to be able to give some more. And we are married to someone who is doing the same thing." -From the Introduction