*From The Excellent Woman of Proverbs 31 written in 1847 by Anne Pratt (1806-1893)
GIVE HER OF THE FRUIT OF HER HANDS;
AND LET HER OWN WORKS PRAISE HER IN THE GATES.
AND LET HER OWN WORKS PRAISE HER IN THE GATES.
Proverbs 31:31
This passage is thought by some writers to be the continuation of the praise bestowed on this excellent matron by her husband; others regard it as a prayer offered up on her behalf. We have spoken of the gate as the place of assembly and of commerce, where the fruits of her industry would be known and appreciated, and where men would speak of her virtues; where she would be mentioned as a great example of female excellence, and her deeds of mercy and her unblamable life would characterize her as a mother in Israel, and a devout and humble servant of the great Jehovah.
Although a life of consistent virtue generally brings its own reward in the esteem of those whose good opinion is truly valuable, and though the hand of the diligent usually, in some degree, maketh rich, yet it is not always in this world that the good receive of the fruit of their hands.
We cannot be saved by an exemplary and virtuous life; for never yet was there a human being who lived, and sinned not; and the holiest action ever performed by sinful man had yet mingled with it so much infirmity of motive, that it needed the atoning blood of Christ to render it acceptable in the eyes of an infinitely holy God. But Christian principle, though it will not enable us, while in this world, to offer a perfect obedience, will certainly be accompanied by the practice of holiness, an earnest endeavour after godliness, and a hatred and avoidance of sin.