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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》