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Proverbs
Chapter Thirty-one
Proverbs 31
Chapter Contents
An exhortation to king Lemuel to take heed of sin
and to
do duties. (1-9) The description of a virtuous woman. (10-31)
Commentary on Proverbs 31:1-9
(Read Proverbs 31:1-9)
When children are under the mother's eye
she has an
opportunity of fashioning their minds aright. Those who are grown up
should
often call to mind the good teaching they received when children. The many
awful instances of promising characters who have been ruined by vile women
and
love of wine
should warn every one to avoid these evils. Wine is to be used
for want or medicine. Every creature of God is good
and wine
though abused
has its use. By the same rule
due praise and consolation should be used as
cordials to the dejected and tempted
not administered to the confident and
self-sufficient. All in authority should be more carefully temperate even than
other men; and should be protectors of those who are unable or afraid to plead
their own cause. Our blessed Lord did not decline the bitterest dregs of the
cup of sorrow put into his hands; but he puts the cup of consolation into the
hands of his people
and causes those to rejoice who are in the deepest
distress.
Commentary on Proverbs 31:10-31
(Read Proverbs 31:10-31)
This is the description of a virtuous woman of those
days
but the general outlines equally suit every age and nation. She is very
careful to recommend herself to her husband's esteem and affection
to know his
mind
and is willing that he rule over her. 1. She can be trusted
and he will
leave such a wife to manage for him. He is happy in her. And she makes it her
constant business to do him good. 2. She is one that takes pains in her duties
and takes pleasure in them. She is careful to fill up time
that none be lost.
She rises early. She applies herself to the business proper for her
to women's
business. She does what she does
with all her power
and trifles not. 3. She
makes what she does turn to good account by prudent management. Many undo
themselves by buying
without considering whether they can afford it. She
provides well for her house. She lays up for hereafter. 4. She looks well to
the ways of her household
that she may oblige all to do their duty to God and
one another
as well as to her. 5. She is intent upon giving as upon getting
and does it freely and cheerfully. 6. She is discreet and obliging; every word
she says
shows she governs herself by the rules of wisdom. She not only takes
prudent measures herself
but gives prudent advice to others. The law of love
and kindness is written in the heart
and shows itself in the tongue. Her heart
is full of another world
even when her hands are most busy about this world.
7. Above all
she fears the Lord. Beauty recommends none to God
nor is it any
proof of wisdom and goodness
but it has deceived many a man who made his
choice of a wife by it. But the fear of God reigning in the heart
is the
beauty of the soul; it lasts for ever. 8. She has firmness to bear up under
crosses and disappointments. She shall reflect with comfort when she comes to
be old
that she was not idle or useless when young. She shall rejoice in a
world to come. She is a great blessing to her relations. If the fruit be good
the tree must have our good word. But she leaves it to her own works to praise
her. Every one ought to desire this honour that cometh from God; and according
to this standard we all ought to regulate our judgments. This description let
all women daily study
who desire to be truly beloved and respected
useful and
honourable. This passage is to be applied to individuals
but may it not also
be applied to the church of God
which is described as a virtuous spouse? God
by his grace has formed from among sinful men a church of true believers
to
possess all the excellences here described.
── Matthew Henry《Concise Commentary on Proverbs》
Proverbs 31
Verse 1
[1] The words of king Lemuel
the prophecy that his mother
taught him.
Lemuel — Of Solomon
by the general consent both of Jewish and
Christian writers; this name signifies one from God
or belonging to God
and
such an one was Solomon eminently
being given by God to David and Bathsheba
as a pledge of his reconciliation to them after their repentance. Possibly his
mother gave him this name to mind him of his great obligations to God
and of
the justice of his devoting himself to God's service.
Verse 2
[2] What
my son? and what
the son of my womb? and what
the son of my vows?
What — A short speech
arguing her great passion for him;
what words shall I take? What counsels shall I give thee? My heart is full
but
where shall I begin? Of my womb - My son
not by adoption
but whom I bare in
the womb
and therefore it is my duty to give thee admonitions
and thine to
receive them.
My vows — On whose behalf I have made many prayers and
sacrifices
and solemn vows to God; whom I have
as far as in me lay
devoted
to the work
and service
and glory of God.
Verse 3
[3] Give not thy strength unto women
nor thy ways to that
which destroyeth kings.
Strength — The vigour of thy mind and body.
Ways — Thy conversation
repeated in other words.
Verse 4
[4] It is not for kings
O Lemuel
it is not for kings to
drink wine; nor for princes strong drink:
To drink — To excess.
Verse 6
[6] Give strong drink unto him that is ready to perish
and
wine unto those that be of heavy hearts.
To perish — To faint; for such need a
cordial.
Verse 8
[8] Open thy mouth for the dumb in the cause of all such as
are appointed to destruction.
The dumb — For such as cannot speak in their own cause
either
through ignorance
or because of the dread of their more potent adversaries.
Destruction — Who
without such succour from
the judges
are like to be utterly ruined.
Verse 10
[10] Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far
above rubies.
A virtuous woman — Here he lays down
several qualifications of an excellent wife
which are delivered in
alphabetical order
each verse beginning with a several letter of the Hebrew
alphabet.
Verse 11
[11] The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her
so
that he shall have no need of spoil.
No need — He shall have no need to use indirect courses to get
wealth.
Verse 13
[13] She seeketh wool
and flax
and worketh willingly with
her hands.
Flax — That she may find employment for her servants.
Worketh — She encourages them to work by her example; which was
a common practice among princesses in those first ages. Not that it is the duty
of kings and queens to use manual operations
but it is the duty of all
persons
the greatest not excepted
to improve all their talents
and
particularly their time
which is one of the noblest of them
to the service of
that God to whom they must give an account
and to the good of that community
to which they are related.
Verse 14
[14] She is like the merchants' ships; she bringeth her food
from afar.
From afar — By the sale of her home-spun
commodities she purchases the choicest goods which come from far countries.
Verse 15
[15] She riseth also while it is yet night
and giveth meat
to her household
and a portion to her maidens.
Giveth — Distributes all necessary provisions.
Verse 16
[16] She considereth a field
and buyeth it: with the fruit
of her hands she planteth a vineyard.
Considereth — Whether it be fit for her use.
The fruit — With the effects of her
diligence.
Planteth — She improves the land to the best advantage.
Verse 17
[17] She girdeth her loins with strength
and strengtheneth
her arms.
Girdeth — She uses great diligence and expedition in her
employment; for which end
men in those times used to gird up their long and
loose garments about their loins.
Strengtheneth — Puts forth her utmost strength in
her business.
Verse 18
[18] She perceiveth that her merchandise is good: her candle
goeth not out by night.
Perceiveth — She finds great comfort in her
labours.
Her candle — Which is not to be taken
strictly
but only signifies her unwearied care and industry.
Verse 19
[19] She layeth her hands to the spindle
and her hands hold
the distaff.
She layeth — By her own example she provokes
her servants to labour. And although in these latter and more delicate times
such mean employments are grown out of fashion among great persons
yet they
were not so in former ages
neither in other countries
nor in this land;
whence all women unmarried unto this day are called in the language of our law
Spinsters.
Verse 21
[21] She is not afraid of the snow for her household: for all
her household are clothed with scarlet.
Not afraid — Of any injuries of the weather.
Are clothed — She hath provided enough
not
only for their necessity
but also for their delight and ornament.
Verse 22
[22] She maketh herself coverings of tapestry; her clothing
is silk and purple.
Tapestry — For the furniture of her house.
Silk — Which was agreeable to her high quality.
Verse 23
[23] Her husband is known in the gates
when he sitteth among
the elders of the land.
It known — Observed and respected
not only for his own worth
but for his wife's sake.
Sitteth — In counsel or judgment.
Verse 24
[24] She maketh fine linen
and selleth it; and delivereth
girdles unto the merchant.
Girdles — Curiously wrought of linen
and gold
or other
precious materials.
Verse 25
[25] Strength and honour are her clothing; and she shall
rejoice in time to come.
Strength — Strength of mind
magnanimity
courage
activity.
Her clothing — Her ornament and glory.
Rejoice — She lives in constant tranquillity of mind
from a
just confidence in God's gracious providence.
Verse 26
[26] She openeth her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue is
the law of kindness.
Openeth her mouth — She is neither
sullenly silent
nor full of impertinent talk
but speaks discreetly and
piously
as occasion offers.
In her tongue — Her speeches are guided by wisdom
and grace
and not by inordinate passions. And this practice is called a law in
her tongue
because it is constant and customary
and proceeds from an inward
and powerful principle of true wisdom.
Verse 27
[27] She looketh well to the ways of her household
and
eateth not the bread of idleness.
Looketh well — She diligently observes the
management of her domestick business
and the whole carriage of her children
and servants.
Verse 30
[30] Favour is deceitful
and beauty is vain: but a woman
that feareth the LORD
she shall be praised.
Favour — Comeliness
which commonly gives women favour with
those who behold them.
Deceitful — It gives a false representation
of the person
being often a cover to a deformed soul; it does not give a man
that satisfaction
which at first he promised to himself from it; and it is
soon lost
not only by death
but by many diseases and contingencies.
Verse 31
[31] Give her of the fruit of her hands; and let her own
works praise her in the gates.
Give her — It is but just
that she should enjoy those praises
which her labours deserve.
Let her works — If men be silent
the lasting
effects of her prudence and diligence will trumpet forth her praises.
In the gates — In the most publick and solemn
assemblies.
── John Wesley《Explanatory Notes on Proverbs》
31 Chapter 31
Verses 1-31
Verse 1
The words of king Lemuel
the prophecy that his mother taught him.
The words of king Lemuel
I. The first thing
that strikes us here is the mother. “The prophecy which his mother taught him.”
1. A mother’s anxiety. What shall he be? Better not to be
than to
turn out a bad man. Seekest thou great things for the little one by thy side?
Seek them not; better is it to be good than to be great; to be obscure in
holiness rather than to be conspicuous in sin.
2. This is a pious mother. “The son of my vows.” It is a great thing
to be the child of a good mother. We do not know the name of this mother--her
son’s nature we know. What eminent sons have ascribed all their distinction to
their mother; but she is out of sight. He attains to fame; she is still
unknown.
II. The mother
taught her son things pertaining to character. Men cannot command circumstances
or facts
but they can preserve principles. Principles are like the piles on
which you build bridges
or on which you construct railways over morasses and
swamps. Principles are the piles of life. Unshaken convictions and principles
are only found in profound minds. King Lemuel’s mother left
as she might
safely do
the technicalities of instruction to others; she looked after
character; she laid the foundation strong in goodness. Women teach goodness
better than men. There is the right power of woman. When the counsels of good
mothers have been disregarded
how often those mothers have been avenged!
III. The prophecies
which his mother taught him. The words of Lemuel’s mother are living still. In
youth we love and are loved so quickly. Then love is pure--more of the heart
and less of the senses
which all true love is. In noble natures
the purer the
heart
the more it is purified by the love of God. Youth is the time for the
choice between God and good
and Satan and evil. “Be sober
” said this mother.
“Do not excite the body
lest the body should rise against the soul and
dethrone her.” “My soul
” said John Foster
“shall either be mistress in my
body
or shall quit it.” Never were young men in more danger than now.
1. Young men waste time. The wise man must “separate himself.” Ill
habits gather by obscure degrees.
2. Young men fail in high principle. You see how everything goes down
before things of money value. It is hard to reckon things by another than a
money value. All fast living means low thinking
or nothing at all. These are
the men who see nothing in religion
because they know nothing about it. Our
sanctification must be wrought out where we are
not where we are not. Life is
serious and earnest
but let us not despair over its failures
even though they
abide with us to the close. “He that walketh with wise men shall be wise.” Walk
with them in their books
in solitude
in meditation
and join their company at
last. (E. Paxton Hood.)
The counsels of a noble mother to her son
The identity of this man Lemuel is lost in the mist of ages. A
motherly ministry is the tenderest
the strongest
most influential of all the
Divine ministers of the world
but when the ministry is the expression of a
genuinely religious nature
and specially inspired by heaven
its character is
more elevated
and its influence more beneficent and lasting. The counsel of
this mother involves two things.
I. An earnest
interdict. With what earnestness does she break forth! Her motherly heart seems
all aflame! Her vehement intuition is against animal indulgence in its two
great forms
debauchery and intemperance; against inordinate gratification of
the passions and the appetites. The reign of animalism is a reign that
manacles
enfeebles
and damns the soul. Lust blunts the moral sense
pollutes
the memory
defiles the imagination
sends a withering influence through all
the faculties of the moral man.
II. An earnest
injunction. She enjoins social compassion. Some think in the phrase “ready to
perish” there is an allusion to the practice of administering a potion of
strong mixed wine to criminals
for the purpose of deadening their sensibility
to suffering. But there are ordinary cases of suffering and distress where wine
might be administered with salutary effect. What this mother inculcates is
compassion to the poor. It is the duty and honour of kings to espouse the cause
of the distressed. This mother enjoins not only compassion
but also justice.
She is a model mother. (David Thomas D.D.)
Verse 8
Open thy mouth for the dumb in the cause of all such as are
appointed to destruction.
The sin of cruelty to the brute creation
There is no necessary reference in this verse to the inferior
animals. We use it merely
for our accommodation. That there is such cruelty requires neither proof nor
argument. What persuasions should urge to guard against this cruelty in every
form?
1. The affecting consideration that the lower animals have not the
power of expressing and complaining of their wrongs.
2. Their subserviency to the comfort and happiness of man.
3. They are the objects of God’s peculiar and providential care.
4. Cruelty to animals is utterly inconsistent with the spirit and law
of Christianity. (David Runciman
M.A.)
Job’s example
Job was an excellent pattern to all princes. He was eyes to the
blind
and feet to the lame
and a father to the poor
and no doubt he was a
mouth also to the dumb. Such a prince the mother of Lemuel wishes her son to
be. She exhorts him to do justice and judgment to all his people
but to regard
with peculiar tenderness those unfortunate men that were in danger of losing
their estates and lives by reason of accusations brought against them. If they
were unable
through ignorance
or awkwardness
or fear
to plead their own
cause
she would have him to be their advocate
and to plead everything that
truth and equity would allow on their behalf. But charity to the poor
and
clemency to the accused
must not interfere with the due administration of
justice. It is the business of princes
in the administration of justice
to
see that the poor do not suffer. (George Lawson
D.D.)
Who can find a virtuous woman?
for her price is far above rubies.
The prophecy of Lemuel’s mother
There was never yet a woman who did not wish to have some part in
the choice of her son’s wife; and the mother of king Lemuel was no exception to
the rule. She knew the kind of woman that would make him happy
and she
contrived
by some means
to instil the knowledge into the heart of her son. It
is a fact
which should ever be before the minds of mothers
that their sons
are naturally disposed to love and revere them. This should make all mothers
walk warily
and lead them to the source of every good
so that
having sat at
the Master’s feet and learned of Him
they may go back to their children with
His Spirit shining through their eyes
and guiding alike their thoughts
emotions
and actions. The question with which this panegyric begins is rather
a startling one. “Who can find a virtuous woman?” Were good women scarce then?
and are they rare now? Devoted women
unselfish women
domesticated women
are
not too easily discovered. Where a woman’s heart is true
and her hands are
gentle
where her voice is kind and her eyes far-seeing
where she lives not to
herself nor to the world
but to the little circle whose happiness she makes
or to the God who has chosen her lot
there is the virtuous woman of whom the
wise man spoke. Nothing so damps the ardour and joy of a man or his children as
an incompetent
faulty woman at the head of the household; and nothing can be a
greater source of strength than the woman who gives an impulse to all that is
good and right
and checks the evil by a significant look or a softly-spoken
word. Good women are wanted everywhere. (A Woman’s Sermon to Women.)
Woman’s work
The figures of women which pass across the pages of the Old
Testament have so much nobility and so much character that even the slight
sketches of them in the Bible have always impressed the imagination
and
awakened the art of mankind. There is that in the New Testament woman which
in
the past
has lifted womanhood into the worship of the world
and in the
present has been the foundation of all that has been given to her
and of all
that she has won for herself. In this chapter is the image of the perfect wife
done in poetry. The woman here has the attributes of wisdom
for strength and
honour clothe her
and her future is secured by it. Her common speech is full
of it
and the wisdom of speech is love. So wise is she that trust is safe in
her. Her wisdom wins love for her; her children bless her
and her husband
praises her. She is the active manager of business as well as of the household.
She has her own prosperity
her own work in life; and her charities
which are
many
are her own. This is the Jewish ideal of womanhood
yet the Jew of the
Old Testament fails to find any ideal for womanhood beyond wifehood and
motherhood. Only portions of this belong to the notions which women have in
England of wifehood and home. Each class of society--according to the amount of
money it can allot to the household--has its own separate ideal of the function
of wives and mothers. In every case loveliness and loving-kindness and wisdom
and the making of the beautiful
and the adornment of life should be by women
combined with work. There is an inexhaustible capacity in women for this
twofold life
and for complete success in it; but the idea of it is not as yet justly conceived
and there is no steady education for it. A thousand prejudices stand in the way
of such a conception
and of the individual and free effort that it needs. The
working class girls find their work so heavy and so long
that they have not
strength of body or leisure of soul to learn what belongs to wifehood and
motherhood
There is scarcely any class so neglected
so overworked
so put
upon by others
so worn out before they are thirty years old. But there are
thousands of women who can never marry and never have a home. If they cannot be
mothers
let them have the means to be eager
living
and active women
able to
work for one another
and for the world; able to invent new work and new
spheres of work
fitted for womanhood’s special aims and powers
and for the
advance of the cause of humanity. This earth should be a fitting place and home
for humanity. It is not that now
and one of the reasons
and it may be the
most important of them all
is the imprisonment of the energy of womanhood
both by men and by themselves
in a narrow individualism. (Stopford A.
Brooke
LL.D.)
The model woman
The chief points commended in the description may be impressed if
we deal with woman’s love
work
care
charity
speech
and praise.
I. Her love. Shown
not in professions and demonstration of affection merely
but in trying to
occupy faithfully her place. It is far better to show love than merely to speak
it. So God wants to see our love to Him in its signs.
II. Her work. Kinds
of work for women differ according to their condition in society; but every
woman should have her work. A woman’s work is first the feeding and tending of
her household; beyond this she may be able to work so as to earn. Show how much
there is that young women can do towards a living in these days. All should try
to be independent.
III. Her care. In
the ruling of her household; finding for each member work
food
and
appropriate clothing. Watching that nothing is either wasted or lost
and
everything made the best of.
IV. Her charity.
Caring for the poor
and distributing of her abundance to them. How important
as an example to the children
is a generous
charitable mother!
V. Her speech.
Always prudent and kindly. Never gossiping
never slandering
never hasty or
passionate. Ever firm but gentle. See how often otherwise good characters are
spoiled by the unbridled tongue.
VI. Her praise.. It
comes from her husband
from her children
and even from her God. “Supreme love
to God
which is religion
is that which generates
animates
and adorns all
other virtues of character.” (Robert Tuck
B.A.)
The worth and work of woman
By a virtuous woman is meant one who is characterised by a number
of positive virtues and excellences
and chiefly by piety
or the fear and love
of God. Illustrate this subject by the life of “Carmen Sylva
” Queen of
Roumania.
I. The worth of
woman. “Far above rubies.” Let a man ask himself what would be the worth to his
heart
to his home
to his children
to society
of such a woman as is
described here--the ideal woman of God’s Word
the woman that every woman would
be if she only feared God
loved His Word
imbibed His Spirit
and moulded her
character upon His most blessed teachings.
1. Consider the worth of such a woman as a daughter. This is the
first relationship in life woman is called to fulfil. Who can estimate her
worth to her parents
or to her
brothers and sisters? She is not wilful
headstrong
passionate
selfish; but humble
respectful
dutiful
affectionate. The foundation of true
womanly worth is piety
the fear and love of God. Without true religion the
character has no basis. Where that is found we may expect all the virtues to
flourish into beauty.
2. The worth of such a woman as a wife. Here is an elaborate
description of her housewifely care and prudence
and industry
and economy
and the blessed effects of all this on the happiness of her husband’s heart and
home
and on his character
reputation
and prosperity. Oh
that young men
would look for piety in their wives! Nothing like that to govern their tongues
and to sweeten their tempers
and to make them amiable
pure
and true.
II. The work of
woman. Home is her sphere
and her work is to make home happy. Some women think
their work is to reform and regenerate the world. So it is
but the proper
sphere for their reforming work is not in the publicities of the world
but in
the privacies of the home
in their little children’s nurseries
and by the
side of the domestic hearth. I hold the worth of unmarried women in high
esteem. They are of the greatest value to society
and especially to the Church
of God. No single woman need pine in ennui for want of useful
occupation. (Richard Glarer.)
Far above rubies
The Bible
which is the great reservoir of the rights of man is
also the storehouse of the rights of woman. Woman’s Magna Charta is the Word of
God. It teaches us to honour woman; it warns every man that if he degrades
woman he degrades himself
and that everywhere man rises as he lifts woman up.
This text is a woman’s estimate of what woman should be. All the parts that
women have contributed to the Bible are poems; this is no exception.
I. The domestic
qualities of woman. The question of the text is indeed a warning that the kind
of woman about to be described is a model not always attained. It is not every
woman whose price is “far above rubies.” In ancient times the women made the
garments which their husbands wore. We call the unmarried woman a “spinster”; and
the word wife means a “weaver.” It is the woman who keeps the house together.
This is the description which a woman gives of a woman’s domestic qualities.
She must be wife
she must be lady
she must be housekeeper.
II. The personal
qualities of the model woman. It is said that she is strong. As far as her
strength is the result of careful and conscientious attention to the laws of
health
it deserves to be described as a virtue
and a virtue that ought to be
cultivated. If the future race of men is to be strong
the present race of
women must first he strong. Then she is industrious. She not only saves the
money others have entrusted her with
and uses it well
but she uses her own
energy until she sells her own merchandise
and her industry increases her possessions
till they become such that the watch-lamp has to be lighted that at night they
may be secure. Strong and industrious
she could afford to be generous. But
though she is generous
she is provident. She is also elegant
a lover of
beauty Ruskin says
“A woman’s first duty is to please
and a woman who does
not please has missed her end in life.” She is beautiful in her speech. She
should take an interest in everything that interests every man in the house.
She is kind
but orderly. She keeps discipline.
III. Look at her
reward. “Her husband praiseth her.” “Her children call her blessed.” The
sweetest
daintiest
purest blossoms of a woman’s heart will only flourish when
she is praised by him she loves best. This is the true reward of the true woman.
Her character is the secret of her power and her reward. (W. J.
Woods
B.A.)
A virtuous woman
1. The person inquired after. A virtuous woman is a woman of
strength. Though the weaker vessel
yet made strong by wisdom and grace and the
fear of God. A woman of spirit
who has the command of her own spirit
and
knows how to manage other people’s
one that is pious and industrious
and a
helpmeet for a man. A woman of resolution.
2. The difficulty of meeting such an one. Good women are very scarce
and many that seem to be so do not prove so.
3. The unspeakable value of such an one
and the value which he that
hath such a wife ought to put upon her
showing it by his thankfulness to God
and his kindness and respect to her
whom he must never think he can do too
much for. (Matthew Henry.)
Religion for every day--Our wives
To the young womanhood it may be said--Your capability to
fulfil the offices of womanhood will be proportioned to your worth of
character
and to the use you have made
or are prepared to make
of your
opportunities. Earnestness of life is the only passport to satisfaction in
life.
I. As a wife
realise your individual responsibility. The husband is the head of the
household; but a wife’s position does not imply inferiority. She is her
husband’s companion in life and for life
to be regarded by him as his equal.
The husband is the bread-winner
the wife is the bread-keeper and distributor.
In all the affairs of domestic life the wife should maintain her position and
influence. She should insure her authority by proving her ability to do what
the office of a wife demands. Never for a moment permit your husband to feel
that he may not trust the concerns of home to your care. Act in such a way that
instinctively he will know his property
his honour
his happiness
are safe in
your hands.
II. Cultivate all
womanly excellences. Strengthen and enlarge the best side of life
by
developing everything in you that is good. There are certain virtues essential
to the ideal wife. Be thoughtful. Be industrious. Be restful. Be loving. A
sublime self-forgetfulness lies at the bottom of every noble life
and of every
great service wrought for human good. Homely and commonplace as this ideal may
seem
it will demand all your resources. What has been urged cannot be attained
without time
judgment
care
patience
and the constant aid of Divine grace in
adaptation. (George Bainton.)
A noble woman’s picture of true womanhood
I. Mark her
conduct as a wife. Here is inviolable faithfulness. The husband trusts her
character and her management. Here is practical affection. Genuine wifely love
seeks the good of her husband
is constant as nature. Here is elevating
influence. Her words have inspired her husband with honourable ambitions
and
her diligence and frugality have contributed the means by which to reach his
lofty aims. Here is merit acknowledged. There are men who are incapable of
appreciating the character or reciprocating the love of a noble wife. Blessed
is the man who
has found s wife approaching this ideal!
II. Her management
as a mistress. Notice her industry. Diligence in useful pursuits should be the
grand lesson in all female education.
III. Her blessedness
as a mother. In the spirit
the character
and the lives of her children she
meets with an ample reward for all her self-denying efforts to make them good
and happy. Her children’s lives are a grateful acknowledgment of all her
kindness
and in their spirit and conversation she reaps a rich harvest of
delight.
IV. Her generosity
as a neighbour. Her sympathies are not confined to the domestic sphere. They
overflow the boundary of family life--they go forth into the neighbourhood.
V. Her excellence
as an individual. She was vigorous in body; elegant in her dress; dignified and
cheerful in her bearing; devout and honoured in her religion. Religion was the
spirit of her character
the germ from which grew all the fruits of her noble
life. (Homilist.)
The virtuous woman as a wife
She is a wife. The modern conception of a woman as an independent
person
standing alone
engaged in her own business or profession
and complete
in her isolated life
is not to be looked for in the Book of Proverbs. It is
the creation of accidental circumstances. However necessary it may be in a
country where the women are largely in excess of the men
it cannot be regarded
as final or satisfactory. In the beginning it was not so
neither will it be so
in the end. If men and women are to abide in strength and to develop the many
sides of their nature
they must be united. It is not good for man to be alone;
nor is it good for woman to be alone. There are some passages in the New
Testament which seem to invalidate this truth. The advocates of celibacy appeal
to the example of Christ and to the express words of St. Paul. But the New
Testament
as our Lord Himself expressly declares
does not abrogate the
eternal law which was from the beginning. And if He Himself abstained from
marriage
and if St. Paul seems to approve of such an abstention
we must seek
for the explanation in certain exceptional and temporary circumstances; for it
is precisely to Christ Himself in the first instance
and to His great apostle
in the second
that we owe our loftiest and grandest conceptions of marriage.
There was no room for a personal marriage in the life of Him who was to be the
Bridegroom of His Church; and St. Paul distinctly implies that the pressing
troubles and anxieties of his own life
and the constant wearing labours which
were required of the Gentile apostle
formed the reason why it was better for him
and for such as he
to remain single. At any rate the virtuous woman of the
Proverbs is a wife; and the first thing to observe is the part she plays in
relation to her husband. She is his stay and confidence. (R. F.
Horton
D.D.)
The excellent woman
In this final chapter of Proverbs we have celebrated in
poetic numbers the wife and mother in practical life. Each age has its own
ideal. Study this ideal in outline and in detail. Strength
energy
activity
is here the main thought. Foresight
industry
and business capacity are desired. A virtuous
woman is a woman with virtue; that is vim
strength. The virtuous woman
is virile without being masculine. The virtuous woman
whose price is above
rubies
is
like the ideal man
to walk after the law of God in every footstep
of life
as well as in every lengthened path of continued duty. Love to God
creates a holy ambition. It spurs her on to be what Jehovah intended our first
mother to be--a true helpmeet. Full of the detail of daily industry and
household management
she is yet far-sighted. Methodical
wise-hearted
kindly
in discipline
her household moves like the order of the heavenly bodies.
Woman’s strength may be in her tongue
even more than in her arms and hands.
This edged tool
growing sharper by constant use
must be consecrated
else it
will kill more than cure. The secret and spring of such a character as that of
the virtuous woman is the fear of the Lord. This fear--reverence mingled with
love--is a well-spring of life. Watered by this stream
all fair flowers of
grace
and fruits of character grow. (W. E. Griffis.)
The excellent woman
Three things concerning woman as she is portrayed in the Proverbs.
1. Her power both for good and evil is emphasised. She is recognised
as important in the social structure.
2. Her position
as portrayed here
gives us a high estimate of the
life of the Jews as a nation. You can always tell a nation’s character from the
character of its women.
3. The Jewish woman was a wife and mother. She took the place God
made for her
and filled it excellently; and in that for any one in any place
lies the highest success in life.
I. The virtue most
dealt with here is industry. Look at this model woman
accepting with a
cheerful and masterly mind the place God has given her
bound to do her best to
satisfy its conditions
and so destined to genuine content. To work is God’s
intention for us
and if we have any thought of wishing to live for Him
work
will not be to us an episode so disagreeable that we are to escape from it as
soon as possible
but rather that for which we are made and that in which we
ought to be most at home.
II. The model woman
is efficient in the management of her household. The word “virtuous” refers not
so much to purity as to adaptation to the place where God has put her. The
meaning is
“Who can find a capable woman?” Her capability is shown in her
addressing herself in strength to the exigencies of her place. It requires
wisdom to do anything well. The ideal woman uses her good sense to advantage in
the management of the home. Nothing is more worthy of one’s most acute thought
than the inconspicuous duties of the home.
III. This ideal
woman is full of enterprise. There is something very homely and natural in this
portrait of the thrifty housewife turning an honest penny when occasion offers.
This is the overflow of her exuberant interest in the prosperity of her
household. Her business enterprise is not a sign of her seeking new interests
outside of the home
but on the contrary a sign of her greater devotion to it.
Home over everything
everything for the home
is her idea.
IV. The ideal woman
is sympathetic. She does not forget the poor. Her vigorous mind does not make
her a hard
calculating person of business. She is still a woman
full of
sympathy for the unfortunate
ready to help the unsuccessful. Back of the
calculating mind lies the warm
throbbing heart
thrilled with the highest
emotions.
V. The ideal woman
is wise of speech. She is the counsellor of the household
giving good advice
and teaching them that kindness which is life’s truest wisdom. The easy running
of home affairs makes a great difference in the happiness of every one. Home is
where the character of the children is being formed. The widest empire does not
offer a more dignified throne for the exercise of high wisdom than the mother’s
seat in the home. The results of such a good woman’s life are visible. She has
a happy husband. She has appreciative children. She has a good name. May God
give to many a girlish heart a new dream--not of fair
but of good women
that
shall reproduce itself in a strong
gentle
wise life. (D. J.
Burrell.)
A helpful wife
Writing of the greatness of Mr. D. L. Moody
Professor Drummond
says: “If you were to ask Mr. Moody--which it would never occur to you to
do--what
apart from the inspirations of his personal faith
was the secret of
his success
of his happiness and usefulness in life
he would assuredly
answer
‘Mrs. Moody.’”
An industrious wife
Mrs. Henry Clay
the wife of the celebrated American statesman
during her husband’s long and frequent absences from home at the seat of
government
used to take the reins into her own hands at the farm. She made a
practical study of agriculture
oversaw the overseer
and became an oracle
among the farmers of the neighbourhood. Preparatory to Mr. Clay’s departure
from home
she invariably received from him a handsome cheque
which she as
regularly restored to him upon his return
with the laconic remark that she
found no use for it! (J. B. F. Tinling.)
A good wife
A good story is told of the famous plaid
without which
Blackie was rarely seen. One day
at Dr. Donald Macleod’s house
he said
“When
I was a poor man
and my wife and I had our difficulties
she one day drew my
attention to the threadbare character of my coat
and asked me to order a new
one. I told her I could not afford it just then
when she went
like a noble
woman
and put her own plaid shawl on my shoulders
and I have worn a plaid
ever since in memory of her loving deed!” (Memoir of J. Stuart
Blackie.)
And worketh willingly with
her hands.
Beautiful hands
As a young friend was standing with us noticing the pedestrians on
the sidewalk
a very stylish young lady passed us. “What beautiful hands
Miss--has!” exclaimed our friend. “What makes them beautiful?” “Why
they are
small
white
soft
and exquisitely shaped.” “Is that all that constitutes the
beauty of the hand? Is not something more to be included in your catalogue of
beauty?” “What more would you have?” “Are they charitable hands? Have they ever
fed the poor? Have they ever carried the necessities of life to the widow and
the orphan? Has their soft touch ever smoothed the irritation of sickness and
the agonies of pain? Axe they useful hands? Have they been taught that the
world is not a playground
or a theatre of display
or a mere lounging-place?
Do those delicate hands ever labour? Are they ever employed about the domestic
duties of life? Are they modest hands? Will they perform their charities or
their duties without vanity? Or do they pander to the pride of their owner by
their delicacy and beauty? Are they humble hands? Will their owner extend them
to grasp the hand of that old schoolfellow who now must earn her living by her
labour? Are they holy hands? Are they ever clasped in prayer or elevated in
praise?” (Christian Treasury.)
She layeth her hands to
the spindle.--
Homely attainments
There is a trite but apposite moral in the anecdote told of James
I on having a girl presented to him who was represented as an English prodigy
because she was deeply learned. The person who introduced her boasted of her
proficiency in ancient languages. “I can assure your Majesty
” said he
“that
she can both speak and write Latin
Greek
and Hebrew.” “These are rare
attainments for a damsel
” said James; “but pray tell me
can she spin?”
She maketh herself
coverings of tapestry.--
Needlework
Whenever (said Dr. Johnson)
whenever chance brings within my
observation a knot of young ladies busy at their needles
I consider myself as
in the school of virtue; and though I have no extraordinary skill in plain work
or embroidery
I look upon their operations with as much satisfaction as their
governess
because I regard them as providing a security against the most
dangerous insnarers of the soul
by enabling them to exclude idleness from
their solitary moments
and
with idleness
her attendant train of passions
fancies
chimeras
fears
sorrows
and desires.
She openeth her mouth with
wisdom; and in her tongue is the law of kindness.--
The nobility of womanhood
1. Tact is evidently the characteristic of one who “openeth her mouth
with wisdom.” She is not one whose garrulity proves the truth of the proverb
“In the multitude of words there wanteth not sin
” for she has sufficient sense
of the seriousness of life to avoid utterances which are idle and thoughtless.
Her words are the dictates of that wisdom
the beginning of which is the fear
of the Lord. Nor does she merely speak wise words
but
with true wisdom
she
recognises that “there is a time to speak and a time to be silent
” so that her
reproofs and encouragements live long in grateful memories.
2. But authority is quite as important as tact
and this is
characteristic of one who has a “law” in her lips. Suppleness in management is
of little value unless there be strength behind it. God never meant that women
should be always yielding to other people’s opinions
or that they should be
swayed hither and thither by every passing breeze of emotion. As much as men
they need firmness
the royal power of rule
for in the home
in the sick-room
and in the class they have a veritable kingdom in which to exercise authority
for God.
3. It must not be forgotten
however
that the authority here spoken
of is the law of kindness. Such
in the highest sense
is the authority of
Christ over His people. The noblest rule requires
not the display of force
nor the terrors of foolish threats
nor the countermining of a suspicious
nature
but the law of kindness
which is obeyed because it evidently springs
from love and is enforced by love. Gentlest influences are by no means the
feeblest. The spring crocus can be crushed by a stone
but
unlike it
the
crocus can push its way up through the stiff
hard soil
until it basks in the sunshine. The light of
the sun does not make noise enough to disturb an insect’s sleep
but it can
waken a whole world to duty. Those who have been able to win or to retain the
affection and trust of others exercise a power which angels might desire. (A.
Rowland
LL.B.)
A soothing voice
Yes
we agree with that old poet who said that a low
soft voice
was an excellent thing in woman. Indeed
we feel inclined to go much further
than he has on the subject
and call it one of her crowning charms. How often
the spell of beauty is rudely broken by coarse
loud talking! How often you are
irresistibly drawn to a plain
unassuming woman whose soft
silvery tone
renders her positively attractive. In the social circle how pleasant it is to
hear a woman talk in that low key which always characterises the true lady. In
the sanctuary of home
how such a voice soothes the fretful child and cheers the weary husband!
(C. Lamb.)
Verse 28
Her children arise up
and call her blessed.
The children’s praise
This is part of the just debt owing to the virtuous woman. It is
enough to make virtuous people happy that they are blessed of God. Yet this is
thrown in as the reward of virtue
that among men also ordinarily it hath its
praise. The praise that attends the virtuous woman comes from her own children.
1. It is a great comfort to those who are good themselves to see
their children rising up. Here rising up means
stir up themselves to pursue
the same course as their good mother.
2. The children of the virtuous woman call her blessed. It is her
honour that she shall be praised by them that are best acquainted with her and
most indebted to her.
I. The character
of those parents to whom honour is due from their children.
1. Those that are truly wise deserve praise.
2. Those that are truly kind.
3. Those that are industrious and careful.
4. Those that are charitable.
5. Those that are virtuous; that is
sober and temperate
just and
righteous in their conversation
exemplary in integrity and uprightness.
6. Those that are pious and religious towards God.
II. The duty of
children in discharging their debt to their parents.
1. Maintain a grateful
remembrance
and
on occasion
make honourable mention of our godly parents.
2. Give thanks to God for them.
3. We ought to be very sensible of our loss when such parents are
removed from us. (Philip Henry
M.A.)
The blessing of the pious mother
The family is the profoundest and most sacred of all our social
relationships. It is a type of spiritual relationships
and a means of
realising them. In this delineation of the excellent woman the influence of the
mother is more especially recognised. The distinctive honour of the pious
mother is that she receives the benediction of her own children. They do her
honour
speak of her with reverence and love and blessing. What must a mother
be in order to inherit such benediction of her children? Notice her prudent
regulation of the affairs of her household; her kindness
gentleness
and
benignity; her piety. The religiousness that influences a child is the
religiousness of common life
the religiousness that is the life that imbues
all things with its feeling and sanctifies all things with its presence. Urge
upon young women the present cultivation of such a character as will make them
wise and holy mothers. (Henry Allon
D.D.)
Gratitude for a good mother
Mrs. Susannah Wesley was a model mother. The wife of a country
curate
she brought up her large family so well that all Christendom has cause
to bless her name. At her death her children gathered around her bed and sang a
hymn of praise in gratitude to God for such a mother. She is called the “Mother
of Methodism
” so much did her famous sons John and Charles Wesley owe to her
influence and training. General Garfield said that his was a model mother. When
young and headstrong he obtained work on a canal boat against her wishes. One
dark night
when alone on the boat
he fell overboard. It was in a lock
where
the water was deepest. He could not swim
and was sinking when his hand touched
a rope hanging over the side
apparently by accident. He climbed on deck and
found that the rope was only held by the slightest twist round a block. He felt
it was God’s hand which had saved him
and resolved to start for home at once.
He found his mother and described his miraculous escape. “What hour was it?”
she asked. He told her
and she said
“At that very moment I was praying for
you
my son
that God would protect and bless you.” And in after-life Garfield
used to say
“I owe everything to my mother.”
Her husband also
and he
praiseth her.
Gratitude for a good wife
The Earl of Beaconsfield said
“Every step in my life to honour
and success I owe to my good and faithful wife.” President Lincoln
on
receiving a presentation
said
“I will hand this to the lady who
by her
counsel and help
has made it possible in anywise for me to serve my country.”
A working man at a great meeting said recently
“My wife was a good woman
before her conversion
but now she is worth her weight in diamonds.” When Jonathan
Edwards was discharged from his appointment he came home in despair. But his
wife smiled bravely and said
“My dear
you have often longed for leisure to
write your book
and now it has come. I have lighted a fire in your room
and
set the table with pens and paper.” He was so cheered that he set to work at
once
and wrote the book that made him famous. (S. M. Evans.)
A wife praised by her husband
The late Robert Moffat had a wife of rare excellence. For more
than fifty years she shared his toils in South Africa. The Secretary of the
London Missionary Society says
“After their return from Africa
while talking
over their labours at the Mission House
Mrs. Moffat said
‘Robert affirms that
I do not hinder him in his work.’ ‘No
indeed
’ replied Dr. Moffat
‘but I can
affirm that she has often sent me out to missionary work for months together
and in my absence has managed the station better than I could have done
myself.’ Her husband’s first exclamation on finding her gone was
‘For
forty-three years I have had her to pray for me.’”
Many daughters have done virtuously
but thou excellest them all.
To daughters
The world has dealt severely with woman. It has always been too
fashionable to distort her character
and with cruel cowardice cast on her the
entire blame for all the ills humanity endures. Long ago it was declared that
“if the world were only free from women
men would not be without the converse of
the gods.” Even Chrysostom pronounced woman to be “a necessary evil
a national
temptation
a desirable calamity
a domestic peril
a deadly fascination
and a
painted ill.” There is still an Italian proverb to the effect
“If a woman were
as little as she is good
a pea’s pod would make her a gown and a hood.”
Similarly the Germans say
“There are only two good women in the world--one of
them is dead
and the other is not found.” So Englishmen sometimes say
“If
there is any mischief you may rest sure that a woman has to do with it.” It
cannot be denied
that the devil employed woman to accomplish the ruin of the race; that by her
he disturbed Abraham’s home and heart
cast innocent Joseph into prison
robbed
Samson of his strength
brought life-long trouble upon David
seduced Solomon
into idolatry
caused John the Baptist to be beheaded
and drove Paul and
Barnabas from Antioch. But let us go over to the other side
and deal fairly
with woman. Whilst we hear the harsh voices of men shamefully reviling our Saviour
we cannot discover an instance of a woman insulting or injuring the God man.
Whilst men--even the favoured disciples--forsook Christ and fled
women
responded readily to the loving appeals of Jesus
clung constantly to His
person
ministered self-denyingly to His needs
and watched patiently and
persistently at His cross. Remember that “many daughters have done virtuously.”
It is not a few who stand before us for our admiration and gratitude. It is a
glorious galaxy of pure-minded
consecrated women to whom the Church and the
world are
and ever will be
indebted. And
further
recollect that they became
what they were
and accomplished what they did
by personal effort. They strove
to excel. They reasoned thus: “The thing is right
reasonable
desirable;
circumstances demand that it should be done; therefore
with all my heart I
will do it or fail in the effort.” Hence the words of the wise man. “Many
daughters have done virtuously
but thou excellest them all.” The words seem to
picture before us a racecourse with women runners--the goal
perfect virtue;
the course
three-score years and ten; the umpire
God; the spectators
men and
angels. We see the maiden entering the lists before she reaches her teens.
Young
innocent
inexperienced
and trustful
she begins the race; we watch her
pressing on through youth
adolescence
and old age. Now surpassing some who
started with her
then being surpassed by some who began long after her; now
level
abreast of scores of equals
then outdistancing her compeers. To-day
passing one barrier of temptation
and to-morrow scoring another victory. Not
stopping for some fading allurements as Atalanta did
but adding one excellency
to another until it is said of her: “Many daughters have run well
but thou
hast outrun them all; many daughters have done virtuously
but thou..excellest
them all.” Young women
I ask you each to enter on this holy competition. Let
me say
then
that you should cultivate affection for
and obedience to
your
parents. We have known cases in which daughters have been callously absorbed in
thoughts of themselves whilst all sympathy for the anxious and ageing mother
has been wanting--where the young woman has deemed it beneath her to help a
hard-toiling parent. I beseech you to remember that next to God you cannot love
too deeply and lastingly those who have so sympathetically watched over and
waited upon you. Never suffer either parents or friends to have cause for
pronouncing you idle or indifferent to home claims. Be as careful what books
you read as you are with what persons you associate. Above all
acquaint
yourself with the Scriptures.
And do not be ashamed to have it known that you pray. It is a lofty honour to
commune with the Infinite Father. (J. H. Hitchens
D.D.)
A woman that feareth the Lord
she shall be praised.
A woman worthy of praise
This text recognises the fact that a woman seeks admiration. She
loves to be praised. What is so natural and universal cannot be wrong.
Generally speaking
a woman who has lost the desire of praise is a lost woman.
Her self-respect has gone
and she has parted with her strongest motive to
strive after personal excellence. A. woman wins her way and strengthens her
influence by the admiration she commands and the affection she inspires. Praise
is more necessary to the right growth and happy development of human character
than is commonly supposed. We do each other a moral wrong by withholding it
when deserved. The desire to be commended may be thought an unworthy and
selfish motive. It is unworthy when the heart is satisfied with the praise of
foolish people. Very important it is whose praise we seek. All dishonest gains
are bad. To claim commendation when we are conscious of not deserving it
or
even to accept it without protest
is mean and destructive of personal
integrity. To seek the honour that cometh from God
to deserve well of the
good
can only spring from sympathy with goodness. The text glances at means of
winning admiration which you must not rely on. “Favour is deceitful
and beauty
is vain.” The praise these will bring you is not worth coveting. Beauty of form
and feature is almost always a snare when it is not an index to beauty of soul.
A woman should not place her worth in these outward advantages. She is to aim
at a higher beauty
to seek to be beautiful in the eyes of Him “who seeth not
as man seeth.” Three things should guide you in dress--truth
order
and harmony. You
violate the rule of truth if you ever dress so as to be mistaken for what you
are not. You should never purchase
what will have an ill look when it is shabby. If you do you violate the law of
order. You offend against the law of harmony if what you have on excites
remark. A woman is dressed harmoniously when her dress seems part of herself.
As the world is
marriage is the goal of a woman’s existence. Marriage makes or
mars a woman. Girls whose chief talk is about young men merit severe
reprobation. On this matter good advice may be summed up under three heads:
Think little. Talk less. Do nothing. It will be time enough for you to think
what your chances are and whom you will marry when the question comes before
you in a practical form. This advice is based upon sound reasons and justified
by manifold experiences. Piety is the bond of feminine virtues
the crown of
womanly graces. A cold theology of intellectual ideas will never satisfy you.
The religion that will command your devotion and obedience must offer a living
person to your faith and loyal affection. The gospel offers you the Lord Jesus.
Translate the description of fidelity
kindness
industry
and prudence given
in this chapter into the language of to-day. Picture to yourselves this model
of womanly excellence set in the duties and circumstances of your own lives
and then aim to be like her
for such will be the woman that feareth the Lord
and whom He will deem worthy of praise. (E. W. Shalders
B.A.)
Woman’s praises and virtues
I. Her virtues (Proverbs 31:11-27). Her conjugal
fidelity; her kindness and constancy of affection; her housewifery and
diligence; her thrift and management; her industry and assiduity; her charity
and liberality; her providence and forecast; her magnificence in furniture and
apparel; her reputation in public; her traffic and trade abroad; her discretion
and obligingness in discourse; her care of home and good government of her
family.
II. Her praise. At
home; in public; through the whole country where she lives. Prove virtue to be
the only praiseworthy thing. Favour and beauty are frail
and subject to decay
in their nature and in the opinions of men. They are things that may be
counterfeited and put on. They prove too frequently occasions of evil and
incentives to sensuality. The good woman prizes favour and beauty under three
conditions. Not so as ambitiously to seek them or fondly to vaunt them. Not so
as to rely on them as solid goods. Not so as to misemploy them
but to guide
them with virtue and discretion. Praise is sure to come to the woman that
“feareth the Lord.” The woman has equal rights with man. A virtuous woman may mean a stout
valiant woman; or a busy
industrious woman; or a woman of wealth and riches;
or a discreet woman. In its principle
this “fear” is a reverential fear. In
its operations
like the warp
it runs through the whole web of all her duties.
Such a woman shall be praised. (Adam Littleton
D.D.)
Beauty and goodness
I. The approbation
to be desired. The love of approbation is at once a virtuous and a powerful
motive. It includes the approbation of God and of good men. Some
however
cherish the love of approbation too much
and will sacrifice principle in order
to obtain it. It is a dangerous thing to have the approval of every one; it is
apt to make us careless
proud
or indifferent.
II. The false means
which are sometimes relied on to secure this end. “Favour” means a graceful
manner
demeanour
and deportment. “Beauty” refers to the countenance. We may
thank God for beauty of person and elegance of manner as for any other of the
blessings of this life. Used rightly
beauty may be a virtue
but perverted it
becomes a source of great and awful evil.
III. The certain and
only road to approbation. The woman who wishes to be praised must cultivate
religious principle. Women are apt to attach undue importance to the external
and to neglect the spiritual. Beauty without goodness passes away like a
vapour
and leaves no trace behind; or if it succeeds in being remembered
it
is only that it may be despised and abhorred. (Clement Dukes
M.A.)
Woman’s virtues
As virtues of the true matron there are named
above all
the fear
of God as the sum of all duties to God; then chastity
fidelity
love to her
husband without any murmuring; diligence and energy in all domestic avocations;
frugality
moderation and gentleness in the treatment of servants; care in the
training of children; and beneficence to the poor. (Melancthon.)
Woman’s influence
I. Favour is deceitful.
Men’s favour
the world’s favour
how fickle it ever is
how soon it changes
and what a short time it exists! How many souls have been ruined by the world’s
favours! Flattery has produced pride
and has blinded the eyes and led the
steps along the downward way.
II. Beauty is vain.
We need not disparage beauty in itself. Beauty of form and feature is of God.
But how short-lived mere beauty of face is! Sicknesses lessen it
increasing
age denies it
afflictions spoil it.
III. What shall give
us power and influence for good? Fearing the Lord. This makes the highest and
grandest type of woman. (Uriah Davies
M.A.)
Lasting love
That love which is cemented by youth and beauty
when these
moulder and decay
as soon they do
fades too. But if husbands and wives are
each reconciled unto God in Christ
and so heirs of life and one with God
then
are they truly one in God each with the other
and that is the surest and
sweetest union that can be. (Archbp. Leighton.)
Woman retaining honour
“A gracious woman retaineth honour.” That is
a woman
distinguished for her modesty
meekness
and prudence
and other virtues
will
engage affection and respect when other accomplishments fade and decline. (B.
E. Nicholls
M.A.)
Woman: her dues and her debts
There is among men no general agreement as to what exactly woman
is
or means
and what precisely she is for
and rather less agreement among
her own sex. Woman has been a great while in finding her place
and slow in
even suspecting that any place of power and dignity is her due. Woman has been
cautiously conceded to have powers of thought
or to be susceptible to a degree
of discipline
but those susceptibilities have been regarded suspiciously and
handled evasively. In higher social classes woman is considered rather in the
light of a delicacy; as no true constituent of the bone and sinew of society;
more an ornament than a utility
like the pictures we hang on our walls
or the
statuary we range in our alcoves--a kind of live art. A womanly woman is
feminine by nature
more feminine by grace
and will be consummately feminine
by translation. What it lies in the nature of a thing to become is a
providential indication of what God wants it to become by improvement and
development. An uneducated woman is as much a mistake as an uneducated man is a
mistake. By education is meant
first of all
womanliness
built out of
alternate layers of intelligence sharpened by discipline and integrity
chastened by the manifold graces of God. A young woman
as much as a young man
belongs to her times. The beauty of a home and the strength of a home is that
it is the product of affectionate co-operation and conspiracy between the prime
partners to the contract. Society has not yet made any improvement on the
marriage idea as it is laid down in the second chapter of God’s book--that the
wife is to be her husband’s helpmeet. The hope of civilisation is the home
and
the hope of the home is the mother. Characterless mothers and enervated homes
are to be dreaded
more than outward assaults of immorality or insinuations of a gross philosophy;
for it is the enervation of the home that gives to gross philosophy and bad
morality the opportunity to take hold and do its corroding and poisonous work.
Civilisation would be kept as grand as the home is kept
and the keystone of
home is the mother. (C. H. Parkhurst
D.D.)
The virtuous woman
Note--
1. Her industry and activity.
2. Her benevolence and kindness.
3. Her prudence or discretion.
4. Her devotion to God.
The importance of true religion as the crowning grace of womanhood
cannot be over-estimated. (Frederick Greeves
D.D.)
Our mothers
Writing in her diary soon after the birth of her babe
Margaret
Fuller put these words
“I am the mother of an immortal being. God be merciful
to me a sinner!” A true woman cannot feel other than seriously the import of
such an experience. Somebody has said
“She who rocks the cradle rules the
world!” The world is what those constituting it make it. “Like mother
like
child.” How great and sacred are a mother’s responsibilities! Her teaching and
example are the most forceful agents in the formation of her child’s life.
Virtue is transmitted as well as evil. The good we do lives after us as
potentially as the bad. The strong things in a mother’s life pass on to the
child as well as the weak. Let no mother say that her sphere is obscure or
secondary. A noble ambition can fill no wider scope. Certain things are
essential if you are wisely to fulfil your responsibilities of motherhood.
1. Endeavour to be what you would have your child become; in
character
in morals
in religion.
2. Look well to yourself. Live what you teach.
3. Win the respect of your child.
4. Never let your child get beyond you in intellectual sympathy. Hearts
may keep pace where heads cannot. Learn to sympathise with religious
perplexities
and learn how best they may be eased and remedied.
5. Let your child be always certain of your love. Be faithful to your
woman’s instinct. Deal patiently and lovingly with your child. Keep the home
life bright for him. Learn to respect his rights. Allow him room for the free
play of the varied powers God has given him. Are you not assured of grace
sufficient for all your mother-needs? (George Bainton.)
──《The Biblical Illustrator》