John Angell James

“And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him”— Genesis 2:18.

Man was made to show forth God’s glory and praise, to be in subordination to Him and only to Him; woman was created to be, in addition to this, the glory of man by being in subordination to him, as his help and his ornament. She was not only made out of him, but for him. All her loveliness, comeliness, and purity are not only the expressions of her excellence, but of his honor and dignity, since all were not only derived from him, but made for him.

This then is woman’s true position; and if anything more need be said to prove it from the records of Christianity, we may refer to Apostolic language in other places, where wives are enjoined to “be subject to their husbands in all things, even as the church is subject to Christ” (Eph 5:24).

Nor is the Apostle Paul alone in this, for Peter writes in the same strain. Let woman then bow to this authority and not feel herself degraded by such submission. It has been said that in domestic life, man shines as the sun, but woman as the moon with a splendor borrowed from the man. It may be said with greater truth and propriety and less invidiously¹⁷ that man shines as the primary planet reflecting the glory of God, Who is the center of the moral universe. And woman, while she equally derives her splendor from the central Luminary¹⁸ and is governed by His attraction, is yet the satellite of man, revolves around him, follows him in his course, and ministers to him.

Behold, then, I say again, woman’s position and mission is summed up in love and subjection to her husband.

Everything connected with the relationship of man and woman has, however, since the Fall, a more serious character. Her love has become more anxious; her humility more profound. Bashful of her own defects and anxious to reinstate herself in her husband’s heart, woman lives to repair the wrong she has inflicted on man and lavishes upon him consolations, which may sweeten the present bitterness of sin, and warnings, which may preserve from the future bitterness of hell.

Woman, then, whatever relation she may bear to society at large, whatever duties in consequence of this relation she may have to discharge, and whatever benefits by the right discharge of these duties she may have in her power to confer upon the community, must consider herself chiefly called to advance the comfort of man in his private relations. [She will] promote her own peace by promoting his; and to receive from him all that respect, protection, and ever assiduous affection to which her equal nature, her companionship, and her devotedness give her so just a claim. She is, in wedded life, to be his constant companion, in whose society he is to find one who meets him hand to hand, eye to eye, lip to lip, and heart to heart; to whom he can unburden the secrets of a heart pressed down with care or wrung with anguish; whose presence shall be to him better than all society; whose voice shall be his sweetest music, whose smiles his brightest sunshine; from whom he shall go forth with regret, and to whose converse he shall return with willing feet when the toils of the day are over; who shall walk near his loving heart, and feel the throbbing of affection as her arm leans on his and presses on his side. In his hours of retired conversation, he shall tell her all the secrets of his heart, find in her all the capabilities and all the promptings of the most tender and endeared fellowship, and in her gentle smiles and unrestrained speech enjoy all to be expected in one who was given by God to be his associate and friend.

In that companionship, which woman was designed to afford to man, must of course be included the sympathetic offices of the comforter. It is her role, in their hours of retirement, to console and cheer him; when he is injured or insulted, to heal the wounds of his troubled spirit; when he is burdened by care, to lighten his load by sharing it; when he is groaning with anguish, to calm by her peace-speaking words the tumult of his heart and to act in all his sorrows the part of a ministering angel.

Nor should she be backward to offer, nor he backward to receive, the counsels of wisdom which her prudence will suggest, even though she may not be intimately acquainted with all the entanglements of this world’s business. Woman’s advice, had it been asked for and acted upon, would have saved thousands of men from bankruptcy and ruin. Few men have ever had to regret their taking counsel from a prudent wife, while multitudes have had to reproach themselves for their folly in not asking, and multitudes more for not following, the counsels of such a companion.

If, then, this is woman’s mission according to the representation of her Almighty Creator, to be the suitable helpmate of that man to whom she has given herself as the companion of his pilgrimage upon earth, it of course supposes that marriage, contracted with a due regard to prudence and under all proper regulations, is the natural state of both man and woman.

And so, I affirm, in truth it is. Providence has willed it and nature prompts it. But as the exceptions are so numerous, is there no mission for those to whom the exception appertains? Is it married women only who have a mission and an important one? Certainly not. In these cases, I fall back upon woman’s mission to society at large. And is not this momentous? Has it not been admitted in all ages and by all countries that the influence of female character upon social virtue and happiness, and upon national strength and prosperity, is prodigious,¹⁹ whether for good or for evil?…Every woman, whether rich or poor, married or single, has a circle of influence within which, according to her character, she is exerting a certain amount of power for good or harm. Every woman by her virtue or her vice, by her wisdom or her folly, by her dignity or her levity²⁰ is adding something to our national elevation or degradation. As long as female virtue is prevalent, upheld by one sex and respected by the other, a nation cannot sink very low in the scale of ignominy²¹ by plunging into the depths of vice.

To a certain extent, woman is the conservator of her nation’s welfare. Her virtue, if firm and uncorrupted, will stand sentinel over that of the empire. Law, justice, liberty, and the arts all contribute, of course, to the well-being of a nation; beneficial influence flows in from various springs, and innumerable contributors may be at work, each laboring in his vocation for his country’s weal.²² But let the general tone of female morals be low, and all will be rendered nugatory,²³ while on the other hand, the universal prevalence of womanly intelligence and virtue will swell the stream of civilization to its highest level, impregnate it with its richest qualities and spread its fertility over the widest surface. A community is not likely to be overthrown where woman fulfills her mission, for by the power of her noble heart over the hearts of others she will raise it from its ruins and restore it again to prosperity and joy. Here then, beyond the circle of wedded life as well as within it, is no doubt part of woman’s mission, and an important one it is. Her field is social life, her object is social happiness, her reward is social gratitude and respect.

If I am right as to the nature of woman’s mission, I cannot err as to the proper sphere of it. If she was created for man, and not only for the race of man, but for one man, then the easy and necessary inference is that home is the proper scene of woman’s action and influence. There are few terms in the language around which cluster so many blissful associations as that delight of every…heart, the word “home.” The Elysium²⁴ of love, the nursery of virtue, the garden of enjoyment, the temple of concord,²⁵ the circle of all tender relationships, the playground of childhood, the dwelling of manhood, the retreat of age; where health loves to enjoy its pleasures, wealth revels in its luxuries, and poverty bears its rigors; where sickness can best endure its pains and dissolving nature expire; which throws its spell over those who are within its charmed circle and even sends its attractions across oceans and continents, drawing to itself the thoughts and wishes of the man who wanders from it to the antipodes²⁶—this home, sweet home is the sphere of wedded woman’s mission.

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17. invidiously – likely to cause resentment.
18. Luminary – a natural light-giving body, i.e., the sun; metaphorically here of God.
19. prodigious – impressively great in size or power; enormous.
20. levity – undignified behavior.
21. ignominy – dishonor; disgrace; shame.
22. weal – well-being; prosperity.
23. nugatory – worthless; of no value or importance.
24. Elysium – a place or state of ideal happiness.
25. concord – harmony; agreement between persons.
26. antipodes – places on the surface of the earth directly opposite to each other.

From Female Piety reprinted by Soli Deo Gloria.

John Angell James (1785-1859): English Congregationalist preacher and author; preached and wrote to common people of every age group and station in life; held in high esteem, yet a humble and unpretentious man, who said, “My design is to aid the Christian in the practice of Scriptural truth.” Author of Female Piety, A Help to Domestic Happiness, An Earnest Ministry, and many others.

Courtesy of Chapel Library