“Strength and honour are her clothing; and she shall rejoice in time to come.” Proverbs 31:25

Matthew Poole’s Commentary is the only one I am using in this post since he spelled it out so clearly. All of the quotes are from him.

“Strength; not strength of body, which is no ornament of that sex, save only as she preserves her health and strength by sobriety and exercise, which other men waste by intemperance and idleness; but strength of mind, magnanimity, courage, resolution, activity.”

Do you see why I love the commentaries of old? They weren’t afraid to express the differences between men and women. Men have far more strength than women. Those who identify as trans and men pretending to be women in women’s sports have proven this without a doubt. (All of us, who have any common sense, already knew this to be true!) Men have ten times the testosterone as women do, and their upper body strength is far superior to women’s. They are generally faster, stronger, and taller than women. Did you know even in chess, men dominate?! God made us different for good reasons. Men are the protectors and providers of women and children. We need good men.

“Honour; either, 1) Her prudent, pious, and amiable behaviour, in which true honour principally consists; 2) That good name and honourable esteem which she hath gained amongst all that know her by her virtuous disposition.”

She lives by God’s Word. She loves the Lord, so she obeys Him in everything. Our family and neighbors should be able to see our love for Jesus Christ by our behavior. Our husbands absolutely should, too! We should never be accused of being hypocrites. When our behavior matches God’s Word, Christ is glorified! Does everyone know you by your virtuous disposition?

“Her clothing; these, and not her rich garments mentioned before, are her great ornament and glory.”

Strength and honor are her clothing, not what she puts on. God cares far more about who we are than what we look like. He wants us to work on our inner man. Our culture is consumed with the outward appearance. Women spend boatloads of money on their appearance. This is not how godly women are to live. We are to be content with what we have, for godliness with contentment is great gain. Fill your mind with His Word and solid biblical preaching from godly men, and then you will be transformed!

“She shall rejoice in thee to come: the sense is either, 1) In her old age, she reaps the comfort and benefit of her youthful labours, or rather, 2) She lives in constant tranquillity of mind, and a confident and cheerful expectation of all future events, how calamitous soever, partly because she hath laid in provisions for a rainy day, and chiefly because she hath the comfortable remembrance of a well-spent life, and, which follows thereupon, a just confidence in God’s gracious providence and promises made to such persons.”

Living in a constant tranquillity of mind and cheerful expectation of future events…Doesn’t this sound wonderful, women? Don’t we all want this? This is a verse I think about often: “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.” (Isaiah 26:3). I recently taught this to my grandchildren: “If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.” (Colossians 3:1-4)

If you want peace and joy, you must dwell on the lovely and good as God commands in Philippians 4:8. If you scroll through the bad news of the day, you will never have this. You also must learn to take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ, and renew your minds daily with Truth. This is God’s perfect will for you.

***The next post in this series: She Opens Her Mouth With Wisdom.

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