The Praise of a Godly Woman

In Short

Delivered as a funeral sermon for Lady Frances Robartes in 1626, this text is a rigorous theological exploration of true Christian virtue and the enduring value of a pious life. Hannibal Gamon examines Proverbs 31:30 to outline the qualities that distinguish a truly godly woman from those who possess merely external beauty, worldly status, or temporary charms. He details the spiritual mechanics of divine fear, the eternal promises assured to the faithful, and the specific legacy left behind by Lady Frances. The work remains an illuminating artifact of seventeenth-century English devotional literature and Reformed pulpit eloquence.

The Story

The argument unfolds as an extended exposition of Proverbs 31:30, systematically demonstrating why a woman who fears the Lord deserves highest praise. Hannibal Gamon begins by establishing that human praise is a debt owed to both men and women, yet it must be awarded with careful discrimination. Mere nobility, wit, wealth, or physical beauty are insufficient and fleeting. By nature, all human beings are fallen, frail, and subject to corruption; thus, true praise-worthiness requires a transformative, supernatural grace. Because a woman’s physical nature is naturally framed with greater weakness, her spiritual victories over the flesh are all the more commendable and magnificent in the eyes of God.

Gamon contrasts the godly woman with the ungodly, describing how a lack of holy fear breeds pride, vanity, domestic disruption, and spiritual neglect. Conversely, the woman marked by true fear does not act out of a slavish terror of hell, but out of a filial love for God, dreading His displeasure far more than any earthly suffering. This holy fear serves as the principal engine of her daily life, driving her toward constant self-denial, sincere repentance, active charity, and unyielding perseverance.

Moving from the internal nature of this grace to its public reward, Gamon outlines the expansive scope of the promised praise. A godly woman receives the highest estimation from God, her family, and the wider community of faith. Scripture itself supplies her titles of honor, depicting her as a loving companion to her husband, a wise builder of her household, and a source of strength to the church. Though worldly scoffers may mock or misrepresent the faithful during their mortal lives, Gamon insists that ultimate praise belongs to God’s designated timeline. True approval is deferred until the final return of Christ, who will bring all hidden things to light, expose the emptiness of profane judgments, and grant everlasting honor to the righteous.

Turning finally to the immediate occasion of the sermon, Gamon applies these universal doctrines directly to the memory of Lady Frances Robartes. He offers a portrait of her domestic and personal devotion, highlighting her submissive helpfulness to her husband, her diligent care in educating and matching her children in religious households, her generosity toward servants, and her sincere struggles against her own bodily infirmities and fiery passions. He concludes by urging the grieving congregation not to drown in unseemly sorrow, but to actively honor her memory by mortifying their own sins, embracing a holy fear of God, and steadfastly imitating her pious example until they meet the Lord in glory.

How It Unfolds

The mandate for praise Gamon asserts that praise is a necessary debt, but it must be reserved exclusively for those who possess the internal grace of divine fear rather than superficial charms like wealth or beauty.

The frailty of nature The sermon establishes that all humans are naturally corrupted by sin, meaning that spiritual virtue in a woman is a triumph of divine grace over natural weakness.

The anatomy of holy fear True fear is distinguished from servile terror; it is born from the love of God, relies on His promises, and continuously cleanses the soul from known sins and improper desires.

The nature of the promise A godly woman receives rich commendations from Scripture, her household, and her community, serving as a protective pillar to her family and a source of fruitfulness to the church.

The delay of ultimate honor Earthly scoffers often mock the righteous, but the believer waits patiently for Christ’s final judgment, when all secret motives will be made manifest and public praise will be rendered permanent.

The life of Lady Frances Lady Frances Robartes is presented as the concrete embodiment of these spiritual doctrines, demonstrated through her letters, her management of servants, and her careful parenting.

Repentance in weakness Her struggle with impatience during her final illness is revealed not as a failure, but as evidence of her genuine faith, which brought her to deep tearful repentance and holy self-revenge.

The call to imitation Gamon closes with a charge to the congregation to put away their favorite sins, embrace God's covenant of grace, and continuously replicate the virtues of the deceased.

The People

• Hannibal Gamon: The preacher and minister at St. Maugan in Cornwall. He acts as an authoritative, passionate spiritual guide who seeks to instruct his listeners, defend the dignity of holy women, and direct human grief toward active repentance and perseverance.
• Lady Frances Robartes: The deceased noblewoman whose funeral occasions the sermon. She is portrayed as a dedicated wife, a vigilant mother, a kind mistress to her servants, and a sincere believer who actively fought her natural frailties and sought the mortification of her sins.
• John Robartes: The son and heir to Richard, Lord Robartes. He is the primary addressee of the sermon’s dedication, whom Gamon directly challenges to reject his own bosom-sins and pursue the fear of the Lord as his highest honorable calling.
• The Ungodly Woman: An illustrative figure used throughout the sermon to contrast with the righteous. She is defined by her reliance on external paint, false hair, lavish apparel, domestic neglect, and a slavish terror of punishment rather than a loving hatred of sin.

In Its Own Voice

"By nature then both sexes are alike faultie, alike discommendable in Gods sight, and so they should be in ours."

Before establishing the particular virtues of Lady Frances, Gamon grounds his sermon in the equal spiritual standing of men and women under divine judgment.

"She feares hell torments, because shee hath sinned, but shee feares not Gods displeasure, lest shee should sinne..."

Gamon illustrates the core difference between mere servile terror and genuine, saving fear within the human heart.

"I am impatient indeed, and then I weepe for my impatiencie."

Lady Frances reflects candidly upon her own bodily and mental frailty during her final sickness, revealing her ongoing practice of evangelical repentance.

What It's Really About

At its core, the sermon is a treatise on the nature of spiritual motivation and the true source of human dignity. Gamon argues that human worth cannot be derived from earthly distinctions such as lineage, physical beauty, or intellectual brilliance, because these are temporary and shared by the ungodly. Instead, true value stems from a heart regenerated by the Holy Spirit.

The text addresses the psychological difference between a fear driven by a dread of punishment and a fear driven by filial devotion to God. Gamon asserts that a life governed by the latter produces genuine moral strength, domestic harmony, and a quiet confidence that withstands both temporal afflictions and the hostile opinions of a fallen world.

Why Read It Today

This sermon will appeal to readers interested in seventeenth-century religious history, historical theology, and the cultural attitudes surrounding death, gender, and family life in Early Modern England. It offers a vivid example of Reformed funeral rhetoric, blending dense scriptural exposition with classical citations, patristic authority, and personal biography.

Reading the text requires navigating period conventions, including archaic spelling, early modern punctuation, and an extensive network of Latin marginalia referencing figures like Saint Augustine, Saint Jerome, and Saint Ambrose. Gamon’s style is unapologetically doctrinal and structured around meticulous logical divisions.

What stays with the reader is the unexpected egalitarian thrust of Gamon's spiritual argument—where "soules have no sexes"—and the intimate, vulnerable glimpse into Lady Frances’s final days. Her candid struggles with pain and irritability ground an otherwise highly stylized rhetorical monument in recognizable human emotion.