"THOU EXCELLEST THEM ALL"
Proverbs 31:10-31

INTRODUCTION:
A.	There are few mothers who lay claim to the most space in the 		
	encyclopedia, but in the Book of Books, "Mother" stands high on the "list 	
	of the Lord."

B.	In Proverbs 31:29, Solomon said, "Many daughters have done 
virtuously, 		but thou excellext them all."

One writer said, "A nation has no better friend than Mother.

C.	The world today often characterizes those as great who justifies the 	
	domestic lifestyle, who make marriage an experiment, who dilute love to 	
	lust, who pawn their offspring like cattle, who select mates like seamy and 	
	sordid garments, and those who ride ruthlessly over all morals.

God's Word, however, praises those who personify the higher and nobler 
		characteristics, and those who help produce the principles that are 
holding 		this tottering old world together.

I want to mention four words which relate to the ministry of Mothers.
The words are:  Affection, Endowment, Employment, and Enjoyment.

I.  AFFECTION:

A.	In the Book of Proverbs, chapter 31, you have a beautiful picture of 	
	excellence in a word portrayal of the ideal wife and mother.

In verse 30, the separation and selectivity is clear in the terms, "Favor 
is 		deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the Lord, she shall 
		be praised."

B.	Not only does inspiration and divinity endear this "Queen of May," but 
		the leaders of the ages have chosen to eulogize her charms and grace.


A Jewish proverb states:  "God could not be everywhere, so He made 	
	mothers."

A Persian proverb declares: "Heaven is at the feet of mothers."


A Spanish proverb quips; "An ounce of mother is worth a pound of 	
	clergy."

Poets have also been inspired to pen words of wealth concerning 
mother.  
May Riley Smith wrote:
"The sweetest face in all the world to me, Set in a frame of shining golden hair, With 
eyes whose language is fidelity; This is my mother, Is she not most fair?"

William Goldsmith Brown remarked:
"The sweetest sounds to mortals given Are heard in mother, home, and heaven."

Strickland Gillilan penned these words:
"You may have tangible wealth untold; Caskets of jewels and coffers of gold;  Richer 
than I you can never be - I had a mother who read to me."

Baker inscribed these expressions:
"She could not paint, nor write, nor rhyme Her footprints on the sands of time, As 
some distinguished women do; Just simple things of life she knew - Like tucking 
little folds in bed, Or soothing someone's aching head.  She was no singer, neither 
bless With any special loveliness To win applause and passing fame; No headlines 
ever blazed her name. But, oh, she was a shinning light To all her loved ones, day and 
night!

Her home her kingdom, she its queen; Her reign was faithful, honest, clean, Impartial, 
loving, just, to each And everyone she sought to teach.  Her name?  Of course, there 
is no other In all the world so sweet - just Mother!"

C.	I suppose the most quoted words of this day will be the words of 	
	Abraham Lincoln who said, "All I am or hope to be, I owe to my angel 	
	Mother."

William Ross Wallace wrote another statement equally as famous when 
		he said, "The hand that rocks the cradle is the hand that rules the world."

Emerson wrote; "Men are what their mothers make them."

Kate Douglas Wiggin observed; "Most all the other beautiful things in 
life 		come by twos and threes, by dozens and hundreds.  We have plenty of 
		roses, stars, sunsets, rainbows, brothers, sisters, aunts, and cusins, but 	
	only one mother in the whole world."

Coleridge declares; "A mother is a mother still, the holiest thing alive."

II.  ENDOWMENT:

A.	Not only has this wonder among women endeared herself to the  hearts 
		of millions, but she has also endowed the generations that have followed 
		with her kindly attributes.  To endow is to enrich or to bestow as a gift, 
		such as a talent or a quality.  It is Mother who endows the home.

B.	Alice Hawthorne asked the question, "What is home without a mother?"

C.	The foundational pillars of a house may be made of stone, block, or 
brick.
The floors may be enlayed, and the roof of composition or slate.
The utilities may be of the most modern or the most ancient.
The furnishings may exhibit a variety of tastes.
But a house is no more a home than a hut is a hell, for
without Mother a home is not a home.
Father may be the head of the home, but Mother is the heart and the 
soul.
She is its breath of life, its pulse beat, its atmosphere, and its sweetness.

D.	A mother also endows her children and those about her.

In Proverbs 31:28, "Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her 	
	husband also, and he praiseth her."

John Quincy Adams stated; "All that I am, my mother made me."


Garfield, after taking the oath of office; turned to his mother and kissed 
		her and said, "You brought me to this."

Frances Parkinson Keyes said; "Of all the men I have known, I cannot 
		recall one whose mother did her level best for him when he was little, 
who 		did not turn out well when he grew up."

Billy Sunday used to preach, "I don't think there are enough devils in 
hell 		to take a young person from the arms of a godly mother."

a.	Many men are holding positions of honor and fame which they 	
		could not claim without the help, guidance, and support of a 		
	faithful wife and a dedicated mother.

b.	There are presidents, premiers, and prime ministers who have 	
		climbed the heights of success and achieved the acclaim of the 		
	world, whose citations should be inscribed to their loyal spouse, or 		
	their medals could easily be pinned on their God-fearing parents.

c.	Mother, you hold the key to the souls of your sons.  Do not
leave the door of that sanctuary ajar and open to every wind 
of wickedness.

E.	You also stamp the coin of character for your daughters.

a.	I often ask, what kind of examples are we setting?
What lessons are we teaching?
What do our offspring know about truth?
What is their conception of honesty, virtue, and integrity?
What do they really value and prize most in this world?
Are we making our sons and daughters into our own image?
Will their lives reflect our faith?
Will their works praise us in the courts of Heaven?
Will our endowment to this generation and the next generation be 
			that which will stand the test and the trials of these times?

       

III.  EMPLOYMENT:

A.	Now if you are an average mother, you excel in extra-ordinary 		
	employment.

a.	The text reads;  "She looketh well to the ways of  her household, 
			she seeketh wool, and flax, and worketh willingly with her hands."

b.	Motherhood involves more everlasting toil, fatigue, and sacrifice 
			than any other calling.

No doubt this is why many avoid it.

c.	The Bible says;
Proverbs 31:15 She riseth also while it is yet night, and giveth meat to her household, 
and a portion to her maidens.

Proverbs 31:18...her candle goeth not out by night.
Proverbs 31:19 She layeth her hands to the spindle...


B.	Just you suggest to Mom that you do not feel well, and immediately she 
		has a remedy.

a.	You have only to hint that you are a little bit chilly, and she 	
		searches for a blanket or a quilt.

b.	She has the ESP ( extra-sensory perception).

She anticipates your needs and delights in meeting them.

C.	Mother's employment involves many vocations and professions.

a.	She runs a restaurant.
She is our favorite chef and connoisseur of foods.
No one can prepare our cuisine and delicate dishes like Mom.


b.	She also runs a laundry and dry cleaning business.
While the family steps out in its best bib and tuck, Mother has 	
		probably supervised the grooming of every thread.

c.	She is a top-notch tailor.

When the seams need adjusting, the buttons replaced, or a new 
style 			is desired for the holiday, Mother usually gets the bid.

d.	She's a stylist and seamstress all in one.

e.	She is also the Superintendent of Education in her home.

She supervises students from the kindergarten through the highest 
			universities.

She never refuses a problem and always has time for her scholars.

f.	She runs a hospital as well.

She's the pediatrician, the splinter surgeon, the receptionist, the 
			nurse, and the orderly.

She writes her own unique anesthesia, sometimes called a caress, 
			a soothing of a brow, or a bedtime story.

“Who ran to help me when I fell  And would some pretty story 
tell,
Or kiss the place to make it well? -My mother.”

IV.  ENJOYMENT:	

A.	Will all the work, fatigue, and sacrifice that goes with motherhood, she 
		is probably the happiest person in the world.

Verse 25 of the text says;
Proverbs 31:25...she shall rejoice in time to come.


B.	Most mothers live, move, and have their being for one reason, and that 
		is to urge their children to success.

a.	They know and recognize there is no success outside of Jesus 	
		Christ.

C.	Has anyone ever told you how she worked when you were ill?

a.	If only the old rocking chair could speak;
if the cradle could tell its story of the years;
if the old pine floor could tell us the reason for 
every impression which it felt;
what a message these could bring, if only we would listen.

D.	Oh, midnight of motherly watching, how can you keep silent?

a.	Speak out and tell that wandering young man the story that he 	
		needs to hear.
Speak out and reveal the prayers that were prayed in his behalf.
Speak out and review the plans that were made for your daughter.

b.	Oh foolish son, do not be the heaviness of your mother.

Oh wayward child, turn back from your wanderings and 		
		experimental excursions with evil.

c.	Ambitious daughter, do not cast the faith of your mother for a 
faith 			which she rejected.

For the greatest of all joys which any parent can experience is to 
			hear of the salvation of their sons and daughters, children and 	
		grandchildren, "My son that was dead is alive!  My daughter who 	
		was lost is found!"

F.	Do you have any idea how many prayers will reach the throne of God 
		from mothers who are still carrying the burden of their children and their 
		companions?


a.	Many of you have tried to run from the truth.

You have tried to abandon your Christian training.

You are mixed up, because you have mingled with the mad mobs 
			of materialism and pleasure.

You are sick and tired of doubts, uncertainties, and despair.

Your heart cries out for love, for worship, and for hope that is 	
		found only in Jesus Christ.

G.	O wayward one, better return--go and kiss those lips that have so often 
		prayed for you, and the brow that has ached for you.

a.	Look again into those eyes that have so often wept for you, and 
			touch those hands that have toiled for you.

b.	Put your arms around those shoulders bent from carrying too 
much 			of your burden.

Tell her, tell her in no uncertain terms, that you love her, and that 
			"She excells them all!"

PRAYER:
Our heavenly Father, cause this listening audience to review anew the dignity, 
the grandeur, the tenderness, and the everlasting divine significance of motherhood.
Touch the mothers of our world and give them the patience and the wisdom to 
rise above daily discouragement’s, the clash of ideals, and the cares of this life.
Give them the strength which they need to salvage our society, and reestablish 
faith in God, in our homes, in our nation, and in the lives of our sons and daughters.
Help each of us to shoulder our spiritual responsibilities courageously, 
faithfully, and patiently.
Let the example of Jesus Christ be seen by each succeeding generation, from 
the cradle to the grave.  This we pray in Christ's name, Amen.
-------------------------
Note: Parts of this message and Illustrations I wrote, but I believe I obtained the basic 
format from another COG Minister.  dannyb@nternet.com
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