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You may turn in your Bibles to 
Proverbs chapter 31. Proverbs chapter 31, we have 
in recent months looked at biblical manhood in the book of Proverbs, 
and tonight we're taking up biblical womanhood. We won't repeat a 
lot of the material, the things that were said concerning man 
as man. Hopefully, you ladies all listened 
and saw that those things applied to you as well. We said that 
the Christian man, a biblical man, is devoted to Christ. He 
is disciplined in his life, diligent in his work, determined to do 
justly, and dedicated to sound doctrine. Well, the woman, as 
such, is likewise devoted to Christ, disciplined in life, 
diligent, determined, and dedicated to sound doctrine. We may briefly 
review some of those concepts, but I'm going to focus primarily 
this evening on the Christian wife. The Christian wife. So, 
I want to begin reading in Proverbs 31 at verse 10. Who can find 
a virtuous wife? For her worth is far above rubies. The heart of her husband safely 
trusts her, so he will have no lack of gain. She does him good 
and not evil all the days of her life. She seats wool in flats 
and willingly works with her hands. She is like the merchant 
ships. She brings her food from afar. 
She also rises while it is yet night and provides food for her 
household. and a portion for her maidservants. 
She considers a field and buys it. From her profits she plants 
a vineyard. She girds herself with strength 
and strengthens her arms. She perceives that her merchandise 
is good, and her lamp does not go out by night. She stretches 
out her hands to the distaff, and her hand holds the spindle. 
She extends her hand to the poor. Yes, she reaches out her hands 
to the needy. She is not afraid of snow for 
her household, for all her household is clothed with scarlet. She 
makes tapestry for herself. Her clothing is fine linen and 
purple. Her husband is known in the gates 
when he sits among the elders of the land. She makes linen 
garments and sells them and supplies sashes for the merchants. Strength 
and honor are her clothing. She shall rejoice in time to 
come. She opens her mouth with wisdom 
and on her tongue is the law of kindness. She watches over 
the ways of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness. 
Her children rise up and call her blessed, her husband also, 
and he praises her. Many daughters have done well, 
but you excel them all. Charm is deceitful and beauty 
is passing, but a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised. Give her of the fruit of her 
hands and let her own words praise her in the gates. Amen. Well, 
let us pray. Father, we thank You for this 
description of a godly woman. We thank You for the rest of 
the Bible that fills in for us what this woman looks like. And 
we would pray tonight that Your Spirit would guide us, that He 
would take these truths and write them on our hearts, that You 
would cause us to have harmony in our households, that we would 
seek to obey the Scriptures. For we know, God, herein lies 
genuine happiness. when we relinquish our own will, 
when we relinquish our own way, and when we submit ourselves 
to the Holy Word of God. How we pray, Father, that these 
things would be glorifying to you. And we ask in Jesus' holy 
name. Amen. Well, tonight, as I said, 
we're going to look at mainly characteristics of the Christian 
wife. But I do want to sketch just 
a few things by way of review, by way of reminder. We said that 
a godly man and now a godly woman is devoted to Christ. It's not 
enough for a woman just to make some bare profession of faith 
and not to live consistent with it. It's not enough for a woman 
just to be satisfied in the thought that her man knows theology. 
No, a Christian woman ought to be a student of Holy Scripture. As we read here, you will see, 
verse 30, charm is deceitful and beauty is passing. Whatever 
you may think you have going for you now is going to go the 
way of all flesh. It is a matter of gravity. It is a matter of natural law. As we age, we don't always look 
as good as we once did. So, not that some of us look 
good to begin with, but some others, you might bank on that. 
But that's not what's important. What is important is to fear 
God. But a woman who fears Jehovah, 
she shall be praised. And as a Christian woman, it 
is your responsibility to cultivate a devotional life. And by that 
I mean you read your Bible and you pray. By that I mean you 
read other books, not fiction. I'm not saying all fiction is 
always necessarily evil. But you ought to have a steady 
diet of sound theology. You ought to think in terms of 
the basic categories. of systematic theology. You ought 
to know what the Bible says concerning God, concerning man, concerning 
Christ, concerning salvation. You ought to be convinced of 
doctrines like what we call Calvinism or the Reformed faith. It's not 
enough just that, oh, my husband, he knows all those particulars. 
You need to know those particulars as well. You need to grow in 
the grace and in the knowledge of the Lord Jesus. It's not just 
a man who needs to study the Bible and be spiritually minded, 
but all you ladies do as well. That's the best gift ultimately 
you can give your husband and you can give your children, is 
to understand who God is and to live in light of who God is. So please take that as a necessary 
responsibility in your Christian life. A woman who fears the Lord, 
she shall be praised. You must cultivate that. You 
must learn. You must understand. You must 
be a student of Holy Scripture and of theology. The Christian 
woman is disciplined, just like her man. She is disciplined in 
the areas of her tongue. You notice in chapter 31, verse 
26, it says, she opens her mouth with wisdom, and on her tongue 
is the law of kindness. Elsewhere in the Proverbs, it 
says that the mouth of the wicked pours forth evil. Well, a godly 
woman doesn't do that. She exercises restraint. She 
doesn't say those things which are calculated to tear down and 
destroy. But rather, she sets a guard 
over her mouth. She's disciplined in that area. She seeks to restrain her tongue. She, like her husband, seeks 
to restrain her passions. She seeks to restrain in the 
area of alcohol, or in food, or in sex. She ought to be godly 
in each of these categories and in each of these areas. She needs 
to be disciplined. There needs to be an overall 
restraint of herself. Self-control is a fruit of the 
Holy Spirit. In the Proverbs, we find that 
we are to keep our own heart with all diligence. In fact, 
look at that for just a moment. Proverbs chapter 4. Proverbs 
chapter 4. A wonderful statement concerning 
self-control or self-government. It says, keep your heart with 
all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life. I 
fear that oftentimes we as well-meaning Christians are trying to keep 
everybody else's hearts. We're trying to make sure everybody 
else performs up to our standard. But the text is conspicuous. 
The text is very clear that we are to keep our own heart with 
all diligence. There is one heart that I am 
responsible for. Now, as a husband, you are responsible 
to help your wife and you have some oversight over your children. 
And of course, pastors will ultimately give account for churches and 
things of that nature. But the general maxim is that 
we need to be busy, not meddling in everybody else's affairs, 
but seeking to restrain our own heart. Understanding that from 
that heart spring the issues of life. Solomon then describes 
or fleshes out what that will look like. Keep your heart with 
all diligence, he says. And then in verses 24 to 27, 
he fleshes it out. He says, put away from you a 
deceitful mouth and put perverse lips far from you. Let your eyes 
look straight ahead and your eyelids look right before you. 
Ponder the path of your feet and let all your ways be established. 
Do not turn to the right or the left. Remove your foot from evil. So when you keep your heart, 
when you get the control center under control, then all those 
other vital elements will hopefully follow in suit. So the godly 
woman is devoted to Christ. She's disciplined in her life. 
She's diligent in her work. You can't read Proverbs 31 and 
miss that. In fact, that's a passage for 
home business seminar, if you will. This is a busy woman right 
here. She ain't messing around. She's 
not laying around watching Oprah and reading magazines all day. 
She is a busy and diligent woman. There are tasks to be performed, 
there are things to be done, and she's not playing games with 
any of this. She is very diligent with reference 
to her life. She is determined to do justly, 
and we've already mentioned, she's dedicated to sound doctrine. Ladies, if your theology is only, 
oh, but my husband knows this, and my husband knows that, you 
need more than that. Recently I had an experience 
where I met a pastor's wife, and I asked her, it wasn't any 
strange meeting, it was just out in the middle of somewhere, 
and I said, oh, are you Calvinist? Are you Reform? Well, I really 
don't understand what that means. Well, her husband should have 
been teaching her. She should be listening in church. 
One of the responsibilities of a husband is to disciple his 
wife. So men, if ultimately your wives 
don't know any theology or Bible, you need to remedy that. You 
need to teach them. You need to make sure they listen 
to the right sermons, read the right books, get the right doctrine. Have them read the confession 
of faith so that they have a working knowledge, a good approach, a 
good understanding of sound reform doctrine. So that is the Christian 
woman. Now secondly, the Christian wife. 
These correspond to some degree to what we've already said with 
reference to the husband. Remember when I treated the doctrine 
of husband, not husbandry, but when I treated the doctrine of 
the biblical husband, I said he treats his wife like a gift. 
He treats his wife like a gift. Well, ladies, do you know that 
if he treats you like a gift, you need to behave like a gift. And by that I mean you need to 
be a blessing and not a curse to your man. She is a gift. That is established in the Proverbs. 
Proverbs 12 and verse 4. An excellent wife is the crown 
of her husband, but she who causes shame is like rottenness in his 
bones. That's a horrible, horrible testimony 
to the effect that a woman can have upon her husband. I mean, 
I hope that if I were to pump some truth serum into your man, 
he wouldn't say, my wife causes rottenness in my bones. These are some terrifying passages 
here. Are you an excellent wife as 
the crown of your husband? Or are you one who causes shame 
and rottenness in his bones? Again, in Proverbs 18, verse 
22. Proverbs 18, verse 22. It says, he who finds a wife 
finds a good thing and obtains favor from the Lord. Blessed statement there. Ladies, 
are you behaving as a good thing? Are you serving? Are you loving? Are you caring? Are you supporting 
your husband in such a way that his assessment of you would be, 
wow, I have found a good thing from the Lord. And then in Proverbs 
19, verse 14, houses and riches are an inheritance from fathers, 
but a prudent wife is from the Lord. Remember, I cited Luther's 
description of his wife. He said, the greatest gift of 
God is a pious, amiable spouse who fears God, loves his house, 
and with whom one can live in perfect confidence. I've often 
wondered about this Katie that God gave to Luther. If you read 
anything about Luther prior to his marriage, he had a lot of 
issues. A lot of physical problems. I 
don't think he was the most tidy bachelor. Katie was quite the 
godsend for Martin Luther. And he acknowledged that and 
he extolled God and he extolled the virtues of the one whom God 
had given him. So ladies, you need to behave 
like a gift. Don't behave like rottenness 
in his bones. Don't be one that pulls him down 
and drags him down. And again, I encourage the men 
the same way. Treat your wife like she's a 
gift. Don't beat her down. Don't be harsh. Don't be unkind. Don't be ungodly. A godly woman 
who behaves like a gift avoids contentiousness. Contentiousness 
means given to angry debate, quarrelsome, perverse. Webster 
in his 1828 dictionary illustrates with Proverbs chapter 27 and 
verse 15. Webster's dictionary has come 
a long way since its first publication in 1828. You get that original 
edition and there's texts of Scripture throughout illustrating 
particular words that he is defining. Proverbs 27, verse 15, a continual 
dripping on a very rainy day, and a contentious woman are alike. 
Whoever restrains her, restrains the wind and grasps oil with 
his right hand. In other words, he cannot do 
it. He cannot change her. He cannot 
turn her from such a wayward path. Proverbs 19 and verse 13. Proverbs 19 and verse 13. A foolish son is the ruin of 
his father, and the contentions of a wife are a continual dripping. It's not behaving like a gift. Drip, drip, drip, drip, drip, 
to the point where your man wants to run away or hide in the rooftop, 
or rooftop, or go out into the wilderness. You're not being 
godly. I don't care what everybody else 
may say. You are not being godly. You 
are not an encouragement and a benefit to your husband. You are disobedience to God's 
Holy Word. It's not a light matter. I mean, 
brethren, we are put in families for good. We have to do battle 
in the world. We shouldn't have to do battle 
in the family. We should have harmony. We should 
have peace. We should have unity. We should 
have that blessed companionship that God has ordained in His 
Word so that we're equipped to go out into the battlefield. 
I mean, some poor guys have to go out in the world to get some 
peace. That's not right. My brethren, 
let not such things be. Proverbs 21, verse 9. Proverbs 
21 and verse 9, better to dwell in a corner of a housetop than 
in a house shared with a contentious woman. I really don't think we 
read that properly. I'm sure we read it and we go, 
oh wow, that's funny. But as a young man, let's say 
I'm not married. Let's say I'm a single man and 
it's not my time yet to get married. Am I taking that passage, am 
I praying it in? Am I saying, Lord God, give me 
a woman that isn't like this? Give me a woman that doesn't 
make me want to leave my own house. Give me a woman so that 
I'll want to come home. I know in our home, when we've 
gone through Proverbs and family devotions, I always charge the 
boys, make sure you're very careful. Make sure you're on guard. Make 
sure you're on the alert. Just because you're a man and 
she's a woman, doesn't necessarily mean you're going to jive. Doesn't 
necessarily mean things are going to be right. And conversely, 
I've often charged my girls, make sure you're not this kind 
of a woman. Make sure that you're not the 
kind of a woman that makes her husband long for the blessed 
peace of the wilderness. I mean, would your husband, would 
he admit to wanting to come home at night? Or is he, oh man, anything but 
home. You might chuckle a little bit, 
but this is a reality. There's people out there. They 
don't want to be together. That's just wrong. Especially 
when we profess faith in Christ. Remember the grand paradigm. 
Remember what a husband and a wife are supposed to picture and typify. Husbands, love your wives as 
Christ loved the church. Wives, submit to your husbands 
as the church to her Lord. Well, hopefully most of us want 
to come to church on Sunday. Hopefully most of us like to 
be in the house of God. How would it be? Oh, what a drudgery, 
what a dreary. Now I realize there's times our 
hearts are cold. We may not always be running 
to the house of God in the manner of Psalm 122, but as a general 
rule, we want to be here. There are homes, brethren, where 
men don't want to be there, where women don't want to be there. 
Let that not be the case here. Proverbs 25, verse 24. Proverbs 
25, verse 24. Here it is again. It is better 
to dwell in a corner of a housetop than in a house shared with a 
contentious woman. Angry. Fighting. Always brawling. Always wanting to tangle with 
you. Life's too short for that. Don't 
you agree? Life is too short for us to be 
at odds with one another. To engage in animosity. I mean, 
if you're thinking right now, well, I kind of got that with 
my husband or wife. Repent. Forsake it. Fix it. Obey God. It's much better. Much more pleasing 
to live in the manner that God has ordained. If you are a contentious 
woman, if you are given to angry debate, if you are quarrelsome, 
if you are perverse, it not only has a souring effect upon your 
husband, but it affects the children. It does picture Christ and His 
relationship with the church in a wrong manner. It is the 
blight upon a poor husband. I have the wretched state of 
the poor husband. If you've ever met a man who's 
got a wife that fits this bill, it's tough to see that. It's hard to see a man beaten 
down. And brethren, there are a lot 
of wicked women out there. I say to you young men, be careful. I say to you young men, be cautious. Get about 18, 19, 20, 21. You 
get into that age, oh, I'm ready to get married. Slow down. Think biblically. Think righteously. Realize that when you say, I 
do, it is forever. And young ladies, guard your 
hearts against being this kind of a person. Apt to contend. Given to angry debate. Quarrelsome 
or perverse. That doesn't mean you just lie 
down as a doormat and let everybody run over you. But the idea is 
that you're not always looking for a fight. Not always looking 
to pick a fight or be on the other side. So, she behaves like 
a gift. A second observation concerning 
a godly wife is that she is trustworthy. We saw that in Proverbs 31. Proverbs 
31, verse 11. The heart of her husband safely 
trusts her, so he will have no lack of gain. She's trustworthy. That doesn't mean she has to 
text you every ten minutes she's away. That's your relationship 
with your wife. You've got problems. There's 
some obsessive men out there. You've got to tell me every step 
of the way, honey. That's not what it means. It means you don't 
have to worry about her. She's not going to run it into 
the ground. Certain areas of trustworthiness, economics. He doesn't have to worry that 
she's soaking him financially. She runs to the store every time 
with the credit card and he gets the bill and he says, man, what's 
happening here? She's trustworthy. She lives 
within the means ordained. She lives within the means that 
He has established for the effective conduct of their family affairs. She is trustworthy as a parent. He doesn't have to worry about 
his kids in the hands of some psycho. He can trust the fact 
that she is going to tend to them. She is going to discipline 
them. She is going to love them. She 
is going to reprove them. He realizes that when he is away, 
when the king is gone, the queen is in control and everything 
should run smoothly and effectively. He trusts her sexually. She is faithful. She is chaste 
with reference to sexual devotion. She is not cultivating other 
relationships. She is not engaged in illicit 
thought. She is not a flirtatious woman. 
but rather she is chased in her conduct and her husband safely 
trusts her. Ladies, you need to be trustworthy. You need to be a woman. Described 
here, the godly wife is worthy of her husband's confidence. 
He does not have to worry about her devotion, her allegiance, 
or her desires. That's what the Proverbs set 
forth in this statement. His heart safely trusts her. A third observation from Proverbs 
31, she does him good. Notice in verse 12, she does 
him good and not evil all the days of her life. Isn't that 
a good thing? She does him good. It's not like 
he's praying, oh Lord, in spite of my wife, help me to make it. 
No, use my wife and her goodness to me. so that I can achieve 
the goals that you've established. Remember the role of Eve in the 
garden. She's a helper. She is a helpmate. She takes His name. She comes 
alongside of Him. She is a complement to Him. The 
husband is the head of the family. The husband is the head of the 
wife. It's not that she's the head 
and her husband helps her. It's that he's the head and the 
wife helps him. The Lord God said, it is not 
good that man should be alone. I will make him a helper comparable 
to him. Bridges says, if it implies subjection, 
it involves no degradation. If it implies subjection, it 
involves no degradation. This is not a bad thing. Feminists 
don't like it. They refuse to take their husband's 
name. They refuse to be His helper. 
They refuse to come alongside of Him. But the Scriptures clearly 
declare that a godly woman comes alongside of her man, and she 
is devoted to do Him good. She's like Christ. Remember when Jesus said, My 
meat is to do the will of My Father who sent Me. He's the 
pattern. He's the example of submission. 
We talked about this on Wednesday night in our studies in the book 
of Hebrews. Hebrews chapter 10, the Apostle cites Psalm 40, where 
it is written in the book, to do your will, O God. That's Jesus' 
mindset. Jesus didn't come here with this 
sort of an independent thrust. He didn't say, oh, now I'm out 
from under my Father's reign and rule. Now I can really live 
and have my way. No. His meat was to do the will 
of His Father who sent Him. He lived conscientiously serving 
the interests of His Father. Now, if you think that just sounds 
bad and wicked and vicious, you haven't understood the concept 
biblically. God has made husband and wife 
to function as one flesh. The husband has his orientation. The husband has his duties. The 
husband has his responsibility. And so does the wife. If they're 
both vying for power, they're both vying for control, they're 
both vying for headship, nothing will get done. It's that simple. Her orientation is for doing 
Him good, not evil, all the days of her life. The godly wife does 
not make her man want to live in the wilderness. She does not 
want to make her man live on the rooftop. She's not like continual 
dripping of rain, but rather she does Him good all the days 
of her life. Fourthly, she is submissive. 
She is submissive. And the Bible tells us this very 
clearly in Ephesians 5, 22-24, Titus 2, 5, and 1 Peter 3, verse 
1. It says to be submissive to your 
own husband. Not be submissive to every man 
out there. There's protection built right 
into the structure. Be submissive to your own husband. God doesn't say to all you ladies, 
you need to submit to every man. You need to be like the dog who 
puts its tail between its legs when it sees another dog, a bigger 
dog. That's not it at all. You submit to your own husbands. 
This means to subject oneself, to be subjected or subordinated 
of submission in the sense of voluntary yielding in love. And we've missed something of 
this. Today we just want to get married because we just want 
to have the fun. There's responsibilities involved. There's commitment involved. 
This is a covenantal contact where there are stipulations, 
where there are parties, where there are binding contractual 
elements, where there are blessings, and where unfortunately there 
are cursings as well. And ladies, this is a vital element 
of your godly living under Christ. It is to submit to your husband. Submission in the Bible is demonstrated 
in various ways. Jesus submits to His Father. 
Again, if anybody says, oh, submission is demeaning, you don't understand. 
You need to repent. You need to be transformed by 
the renewing of your mind. Jesus submitted to His Father. You read the Gospel of John. 
Several places. Psalm 40, as I already alluded 
to. Hebrews chapter 10. Hebrews chapter 5. He was heard. Why? Because of His godly fear. His godly obedience. Jesus Christ 
submitted to His heavenly Father. Beyond that, Jesus Christ submitted 
to His earthly parents. So you can't say, well, I'm not 
going to submit because that guy is a wretch. And Joseph and 
Mary weren't. I mean, they may not have been 
as wretched, say, as me, but they were still sinners. That's 
no excuse. We have a governing authority 
that's wretched, don't we? And yet Paul is very clear. Let 
every soul be subject to the governing authority, for there 
is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established 
by God. In fact, in Romans 13, Paul says 
that when you resist the authority, you are rebelling against God. 
So, you can't say, well, submission is bad. No, it isn't. Jesus submitted. You can't say, well, I'm only 
going to submit if He's perfect. He's righteous. He's only ever 
godly. No, Jesus submitted to unrighteous 
earthly parents. Jesus submitted in the civil 
realm as well. He paid taxes to Caesar. He didn't lead a tax revolt. 
Contrary to the charges that would be later brought upon him, 
Jesus paid taxes. Whose image is on the coin, he 
asked. Probably Tiberius Caesar. Well, 
then pay him. but give to God what is God's. 
Christ submitted to an ungodly magistrate. So, ladies, there's 
no excuse. I know your man's not perfect. 
I know your man's got issues. I know your man's got problems. But that is not an excuse for 
a failure to submit. See, nowhere in any of the biblical 
texts do you see something of sort of a bargaining table Well, 
honey, if I lead you properly, then you'll submit this much. 
And the wife says, honey, if you lead me properly, then I'll 
submit this much. That's why I tell you, if you're 
not married, make sure you think about these things. Make sure 
you take every thought captive to the obedience of Jesus Christ. 
No bargaining table. It's just this is what you're 
supposed to do as a married couple. Husbands, lovingly lead your 
wives. Wives, lovingly submit to your 
husbands. Now, if your husband obviously 
tells you to sin, you must obey God rather than man. Acts 5.29. That's a principle abiding that 
we need to remember. Peter was told not to preach 
the gospel of Jesus Christ. He said we must obey God rather 
than man. If your husband tells you to 
sin, that is an instance where you do not need to submit. You 
obey God. You do it respectfully, you do 
it graciously, you do it kindly, but you are not supposed to sin. if man tells you to. So the godly wife is to be a 
submissive wife to her own husband, and she is so without complaining 
about it, agonizing about it, or thinking she has been dealt 
an unfair hand. Right? Oh, my life is so hard. You know what? I'm sorry. You're a big guy, big girl. You made your decisions. You 
can deal with it. As a professing Christian, you need to deal with 
it biblically. You need to obey God. It's always better to obey. Obedience is better than sacrifice. That's one of the points of that 
passage in Hebrews chapter 10. The idea is that God wanted perfection. That's what Christ rendered up 
on our behalf. So, if you're living in sin, 
you're not leading your wife the way you ought to be, or you're 
not submitting to your man the way you ought to be, repent. 
Confess it, forsake it, and you will find mercy. That's the blessings 
of the Christian Gospel. And then fifthly and finally, 
she is respectful. This submission isn't just hiding 
under the piano when hubby comes home. Yes sir, yes sir, that's 
not it at all. It's respect. It's mutual. Hebrews 5.25. I'm sorry, Ephesians 
5. Ephesians 5.33, Nevertheless, 
let each one of you in particular so love his own wife as himself, 
and let the wife see that she respects her husband. She respects him. This is literally 
the word pha-be-tai. The Greek word phabos, where 
we get phobia. We often think of arachnophobia, 
a fear of spiders. Not respecting spiders, but a 
fear of them. The Greek word Paul uses here 
is that the woman fears her husband. Again, not hiding underneath 
the piano. The idea is one of reverence, 
the one of respect. That example of Sarah, she called 
Abraham Lord. Not because he was deity, not 
because he was God, but because she was respecting and reverencing 
her man. The godly wife is one who does 
him good and not evil all the days of her life. She doesn't 
belittle, disrespect, or continually put her husband down. Respect is crucial. You may not think so. Sometimes 
ladies go, why is he on this kick that he wants me to respect 
him? Because it's God-ordained. It's the way the Lord has made 
men. Paul speaks very specifically 
to the orientation of the parties. What does a wife need? She needs 
love. She needs affirmations of love. She needs tokens of our love. She needs encouragement. She 
needs kind words. She needs a man not to be embittered 
against her. So why do you think Paul tells 
husbands, love your wives? When you ask a woman, what is 
it that you want in this relationship? I want him to love me. Why? Because God made her that way. And then you ask the man, what 
do you want? I want her to submit and I want 
her to reverence me. I want her to respect me. That's 
not wicked, brethren, unless he's on a power trip or he's 
a tyrant or he wants you to bow down to him in some ungodly way. 
But that's not most of our problem. It's some respect. Acknowledge 
that he's a hard worker. Acknowledge that he's a good 
provider. Acknowledge that he's doing well. Acknowledge when 
he leads the family spiritually or devotionally. Acknowledge 
him and respect what he does. I guarantee you, ladies, if you 
do that and you are biblical, your man will do anything for 
you, anything awful. Hopefully he won't go and rob 
a bank for you. But it's just the way God has put it together. So those areas, those elements. 
She behaves like a gift. She is trustworthy. She does 
him good. She is submissive. She is respectful. Does this describe you ladies? Oh yeah, that's me right there. In fact, I'm going to write a 
book on godly womanhood. I'm going to put my picture right 
on the cover. My gleaming teeth. Is this what you pursue? It may 
not be you right now, but is this what you're pursuing? This 
ought to be what you're pursuing. This ought to be what you are 
about. This is the defining characteristic 
of your orientation. We seek to honor God. We're not 
seeking to honor the world. We're not seeking to be the supermodel. We're not seeking to be the power 
woman. We're seeking to honor the Lord 
God. Will your children rise up and 
call you blessed? Proverbs 31, 28. Will your husband 
rise up and call you blessed? Will your husband say, many daughters 
have done well, but you excel them all? And man, if your wife 
is aspiring to these things, then honor her with such language. 
Don't be afraid you're going to puff her up. Don't be afraid 
she's going to get all proud. If she's really godly and she's 
really pursuing these things, she can handle a bit of praise. 
The man in the Proverbs did this. Many daughters have done well, 
but you excel them all. I want to exhort each of the 
ladies here to pursue the biblical model of womanhood. There's a 
lot of things that sort of get thrown into the mix as well. 
You know, you've got to be this, plus you've got to do this, and 
you've got to do that, and you've got to do this, and you've got 
to do that. Do these few things. I'm sure there's others we can 
pull out of the text. But you seek these things, and 
it's a lifelong pursuit. Whether you raise up 15 children 
that can go out and sing or whatever it is that they can do. That's 
not necessarily the description of godly womanhood. Be faithful. Make sure your orientation is 
toward your man, toward your children. Seek to honor and glorify 
the Lord God. And then by way of encouragement, 
I remember doing this for the men. I'm a man. I fall way short. I need to hear that, praise God, 
that Jesus Christ came into this world. Whenever we look at duty, 
whenever we look at law, whenever we look at what we must perform, 
there is a certain sense where we ought to be discouraged. I 
don't know that any woman I've ever met is always these things 
all the time. But I want to assure you that 
Jesus Christ has satisfied all righteousness. That Jesus Christ 
has secured your redemption. You will not stand before God 
in heaven based on what you did as a wife. You will stand before 
God in heaven based on what Christ did. Based on the fact that He 
submitted. Based on the fact that He died. 
That He rose again. So be encouraged that Jesus has 
paid it all. That Jesus has brought forgiveness 
and the imputation of an alien righteousness. And based on that 
reality, now go and live the way He has called you to live. 
And may God indeed give us harmony. May God indeed give us peace. 
May God indeed cause our houses to be homes, to be havens, to 
be restful places where a man can come at the end of the day 
and be refreshed, be renewed, be reinvigorated so that he can 
go back out into the world and engage his calling. Ladies, you 
have a high calling under God in terms of your man, or your 
husband, that sounds kind of weird, your man, your husband, 
and towards your children. Very often you are downplayed 
and say, oh, you're just a housewife. There's no greater task. I mean, 
that is an amazing thing. And you ought never to discount 
it. The stewardship that the Lord has entrusted to godly women 
in terms of husbands and in terms of children, it is a high calling 
and a high privilege. And you need to grasp it and 
you need to pursue it and that biblically. Well, let us pray. 
Father, we thank You for Your Word and we thank You for this 
description in the Scripture of a godly woman. And I pray 
for my sisters that they would be encouraged with reference 
to Jesus, with reference to the Gospel. And that they would be 
encouraged to pursue these things, these elements. And Father, I 
pray that You would indeed make our homes peaceful and happy. Make them places where God is 
exalted and honored and glorified. And we ask, Father, in heaven, 
that when our families and our homes are in order, that our 
church would reflect that as well, and that this would be 
a place of peace and unity, and that we could pursue those things 
that the Scripture sets before us. We ask now that you would 
go with us. We ask that you would watch over 
us in this coming week, and that you would be glorified in our 
lives. And we ask through Jesus Christ 
our Lord. Amen.