Joel Beeke is the President of Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary, and he has served as pastor of a local church for nearly three decades. That experience combines beautifully, here resulting in a book that is theologically excellent and targeted at practical application. Beeke writes to help married couples, and he succeeds at targeting his words to the common weaknesses.

The first section of Friends and Lovers focuses on the need for friendship between the partners in a marriage, then it offers suggestions for how to cultivate that relationship. The second — and far larger — section targets sexual intimacy in a tasteful and helpful manner.

I’d describe Friends and Lovers as a mix of encouragement and small suggestions to married couples. Due to its small size (93 pages), this book is tailored more to suggestions than comprehensive theology but that is also part of its appeal. Don’t pick this title up for a theology of marriage; pick it up to help your marriage.

My only complaint with this book is the short format. Cruciform Press focuses on short, accessible books, which is a great blessing to busy people who want good material that can be read quickly. That format however, means that an author must necessarily skip much that could be said on the topic. Here, Beeke does a fantastic job in encouraging married couples to pursue companionship and intimacy, even though he can’t cover everything. ( )