Wife’s Duty to Her Husband

Nowhere is wickedness more greatly revealed than in a wicked woman, and nowhere is Christianity more beautifully exemplified than in a pure, chaste woman. “A virtuous woman is a crown to her husband.”* (Proverbs 12:4) “her price is far above rubies. The heart of her husband does safely trust in her…. She will do him good and not evil all the days of her life.”* (Proverbs 31:10-12) These words are beautiful and should encourage a wife to a life of faithfulness and devotion, that she may be a crown to her husband and be valued far above rubies. The wife that will honor and reverence her husband and seek to please him will find a joy in her own heart. “Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praiscth her.”* (Proverbs 31:28)

Wives should love their husbands (Titus 2:4) and reverence them: “Let the wife see that she reverence her husband.”* (Ephesians 5:33) The wife is to reverence her husband as the Christian reverences God. To reverence God is to be submissive to Him, and to look upon Him as our Lord and protector, adviser, etc.; to fear and obey Him, yet be in perfect freedom. Such should be the attitude of the wife toward her husband.

“Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord.”* (Ephesians 5:22) Too few women comprehend the full meaning of this text. Just as the Christian consecrates, resigns, and submits himself to the care and control of God, so the wife is to submit herself to her husband. Just as the Christian leans in loving confidence upon God, so the wife should lean in loving confidence upon her husband; and the husband’s conduct toward the wife should be such as would encourage her to trust and confide in him, as God’s conduct toward us encourages us to trust and lean upon Him. When the husband and wife are kind, loving, and gentle toward each other, when she in her weakness feels her dependence upon him, and lovingly, trustingly looks unto him as her defense, and he in his strength and delight folds her in his strong arms of protection with a feeling of responsibility to nourish and cherish her—then they can testify that they have a heaven in their home. Unless they have attained unto such a life, they have not attained to a perfect Bible Christianity, neither to perfect joy and happiness.