om«i.jEL5 1 1 5 
 
 Section jj? m 3 2?, 
 
 N« 
 
THE 
 
 Poachers (tfomplete |)omilctkaI 
 
 COMMENTARY 
 
 ON THE 
 
 OLD TESTAMENT 
 
 (ON AN ORIGINAL PLAN), 
 
 5Eitlt Critical ani (Explamtiflrs £iott0, Xndtrt*, <St.c., ©tx- 
 
 BY VARIOUS AUTHORS. 
 
 n li o n : 
 RICHARD D. DICKINSON, 89, FARRINGDON STREET. 
 
 1889. 
 
HOMILETICAL COMMENTARY 
 
 ON THE BOOK OF 
 
 ESTHER. 
 
 THE REV. W. BURROWS, B.A. 
 
 SECOND EDITION. 
 
 RICHARD D. DICKINSON, 89 FARRINGDON STREET. 
 
 1889. 
 
Richard Clay & Sons, Limited, 
 London & Bungay. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 INTRODUCTION AND PREFACE 
 NO DIVINE NAME 
 
 PAGE 
 1 
 
 2 
 
 TEE BOOK CANONICAL 
 AUTHORITIES CONSULTED 
 
 PAGE 
 
 1 
 
 2 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 Critical Notes 4 
 
 Time's Doings with Human Greatness, 
 
 verses 1, 2 ... ... ... ... 4 
 
 Suggestive Comments on ver. 1, 2 ... 6 
 The Contrast between the Human and the 
 
 Divine, ver. 3 — 5 ... ... ... 8 
 
 A Feast for all People 9 
 
 Suggestive Comments on ver. 3 — 5 ... 10 
 
 Self-glorification, ver. 4 — 6 ... ... 11 
 
 Suggestive Comments on ver. 4 — 6 ... 13 
 Unwise Liberality, but a Wise Regula- 
 tion, ver. 7, 8 14 
 
 The Drunkard's Excuses and Woe ... 15 
 
 Suggestive Comments on ver. 7, 8 ... 16 
 Vashti, the Persian Monarch's Queen, 
 
 ver. 9 ... 20 
 
 Suggestive Comments on ver. 9 ... ... 21 
 
 A Catalogue of Names, ver. 10 and 14 ... 22 
 
 Suggestive Comments on ver. 10 and 14 23 
 False Merriment and its Result, ver. 
 
 10—12 ... '• 24 
 
 Suggestive Comments on ver. 10 — 12 ... 25 
 
 Vashti's Dilemma, ver. 10— 12 27 
 
 Suggestive Comments on ver. 10 — 12 ... 29 
 
 The Seven Wise Men, ver. 13, 14 ... 30 
 
 Suggestive Comments on ver. 13, 14 ... 32 
 
 A King in Consultation, ver. 15 ... 33 
 
 Suggestive Comments on ver. 15 ... 34 
 Courtiers forsake a Failing Cause, ver. 
 
 16—20 34 
 
 The Folly of Trusting in Man 35 
 
 Suggestive Comments on ver. 16 — 20 ... 36 
 Vashti is stripped of Queenly Externals, 
 
 ver. 21, 22 37 
 
 Suggestive Comments on ver. 21, 22 ... 39 
 
 Main Homiletics of the whole Chapter ... 40 
 
 Illustrations to Chapter I. 43 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 Critical Notes 47 
 
 Regrets— Natural, Useless, and Whole- 
 some, ver. 1 ... .. ... ... 48 
 
 Suggestive Comments on ver. 1 49 
 
 The Servility of the King's Servants, ver. 
 
 2—4 52 
 
 Suggestive Comments on ver. 2 — 4 ... 52 
 
 A Truly Royal Character, ver. 5— 7 ... 56 
 
 Suggestive Comments on ver. 5 — 7 ... 58 
 
 Esther's Hopeful Beginning, ver. 8 — 10 62 
 
 Suggestive Comments on ver. 8 — 10 ... 63 
 
 Illustrations to Chapter II. ... ... 64 
 
 Mordecai's Loving Solicitude, ver. 11 ... 65 
 
 Suggestive Comments on ver. 11 ... 67 
 
 The'Vanity of Earthly Hopes, ver. 12—14 67 
 
 Suggestive Comments on ver. 12 — 14 ... 69 
 
 Esther's Elevation, ver. 15—20 69 
 
 Suggestive Comments on ver. 15 — 20 ... 71 
 The Plotters and the Counter-plotter, 
 
 ver. 21—23 73 
 
 Suggestive Comments on ver. 21 — 23 ... 75 
 
 Illustrations to Chapter II. ... ... 77 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 Critical Notes 79 
 
 The Prosperous Wicked Man, ver. 1—6 80 
 
 Suggestive Comments on ver. 1 — 6 ... 81 
 
 The^Blind Method of Revenge, ver. 7 ... 86 
 
 Suggestive Comments on ver. 7 ... 87 
 
 A False Aspect of the Truth, ver. 8—11 88 
 
 Hainan's Murderous Proposal, ver. 8 ... 90 
 
 Suggestive Comments on ver. 8 — 11 ... 91 
 
 Fruitless Preparations, ver. 12 — 14 ... 95 
 
 Suggestive Comments on ver. 12 — 14 ... 97 
 Irregularities of Human Conditions, ver. 
 
 15 98 
 
 Suggestive Comments on ver. 15 ... 102 
 
 Illustrations to Chapter III 104 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Critical Notes 108 
 
 Great Sorrow, ver. 1 — 4 ... ... ... 109 
 
 Suggestive Comments on ver. 1 — 4 ... 112 
 The Action of Sympathy Rejected, 
 
 ver. 4 ... ... ... 114 
 
 Suggestive Comments on ver. 4 ... 116 
 
 A Ministerial Appointment, ver. 5, 6 ... 119 
 
 Suggestive Comments on ver. 5, 6 ... 124 
 
 A Strange Meeting, ver. 6— 9 127 
 
 Suggestive Comments on ver. 6 — 9 ... 130 
 
 Prudential Considerations, ver. 10—12 132 
 
 Suggestive Comments on ver. 10 — 12 ... 134 
 A Human Voice, speaks Divine Lessons 
 
 for Human Lives, ver. 13, 14 ... 135 
 God's Purpose and Man's Opportunity, 
 
 ver. 14 139 
 
 Suggestive Comments on ver. 13, 14 ... 142 
 
 A Woman's Heroism, ver. 15, 16 ... 149 
 
CONTEXTS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Suggestive Comments on ver. 15, 16 ... 152 
 
 A Good Man's Characteristics, ver. 17 . 158 
 
 Suggestive Comments on ver. 17 ... 160 
 
 Illustrations to Chapter IV. ... ... 1(31 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 Critical Notes 165 
 
 The Royalty of Faith, ver. 1, 2 166 
 
 Suggestive Comments on ver. 1, 2 ... 169 
 Large Otter and some of its Consequences, 
 
 ver. 3—5 176 
 
 Suggestive Comments on ver. 3 — 5 ... 178 
 
 Directions for Prayer, ver. 6 — 8 ... 182 
 
 Suggestive Comments on ver. 6 — 8 ... 184 
 
 The Superficial Man, ver. 9, 10 187 
 
 Suggestive Comments on ver. 9, 10 ... 188 
 The Discontented Man as a Reckoner, 
 
 ver. 11—13 194 
 
 Suggestive Comments on ver. 11 — 13 ... 197 
 
 The Speech of a Foolish Wife, ver. 14 ... 203 
 
 Suggestive Comments on ver. 14 ... 205 
 
 Illustrations to Chapter V 207 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Critical Notes 214 
 
 A Humiliated King, ver. 1 215 
 
 Suggestive Comments on ver. 1 ... 217 
 A King's Sorrow for an unrewarded Sub- 
 ject, ver. 2, 3 220 
 
 Suggestive Comments on ver. 2, 3 ... 222 
 The King's Inquiry and Concession, 
 
 ver. 4, 5 226 
 
 Suggestive Comments on ver. 4, 5 ... 227 
 Self-flattery leading to Self-humiliation, 
 
 ver. 6—11 228 
 
 Suggestive Comments on ver. 6 — 11 ... 230 
 
 A Small Man in Adversity, ver. 12—14 235 
 
 Suggestive Comments on'vcr. 12 — 14 ... 236 
 
 Illustrations to Chapter VI 241 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 Critical Notes 243 
 
 A Strange Banquet, ver. 1—4 244 
 
 Suggestive Comments on ver. 1 — 4 ... 245 
 
 The Doings of a Wicked Heart, ver. 5, 6 248 
 
 PA OB 
 
 Suggestive Comments on ver. 5, 6 ... 249 
 The Fear, the Folly, and the Doom of the 
 
 Kvil-Doer, ver. 7—10 250 
 
 Suggestive Comments on ver. 7 — 10 ... 252 
 
 Illustrations to Chapter VII 256 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 ( 'lit ieal Notes 257 
 
 Sudden but Wise Changes, ver. 1, 2 ... 258 
 
 Suggestive Comments on ver. 1, 2 ... 260 
 
 Sin survives the Sinner, ver. 3, 4 ... 262 
 
 Suggestive Comments on ver. 3, 4 ... 264 
 
 The Pleadings of a Great Passion, ver. 5, 6 266 
 
 Suggestive Comments on ver. 5, 6 ... 268 
 
 A Monarch's Imbecility, ver. 7, 8 ... 271 
 
 Suggestive Comments on ver. 7, 8 ... 273 
 
 Evil Counteracted, ver. 9—14 275 
 
 Suggestive Comments on ver. 9 — 14 ... 277 
 
 Days of Rejoicing, ver. 15 — 17 ... ... 279 
 
 Suggestive Comments on ver. 15 — 17 ... 280 
 
 Illustrations to Chapter VIII 282 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Critical Notes 285 
 
 Hope and Foreboding, ver. 1 287 
 
 Suggestive Comments on ver. 1 ... 289 
 
 Self-Help brings Help, ver. 2, 3 ... 291 
 
 Suggestive Comments on ver. 2, 3 ... 292 
 
 The Greatness of Goodness, ver. 4 ... 295 
 
 Suggtstive Comments on ver. 4 ... 296 
 
 The Fate of Evil-Doers, ver. 5—11 , ... 298 
 
 Suggestive Comments on ver. 5 — 11 ... 299 
 
 The Rigour of Justice, ver. 12—16 ... 303 
 
 Suggestive Comments on ver. 12 — 16 ... 304 
 
 A National Memorial, ver. 17—28 ... 307 
 
 Suggestive Comments on ver. 17 — 28 ... 309 
 
 Important Letters, ver. 29— 32 314 
 
 Suggestive Comments on ver. 29 — 32 ... 315 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 Critical Notes 317 
 
 A Good Government, ver. 1 — 3 ... 318 
 
 Suggestive Comments on ver. 1 — 3 .. 319 
 
 Illustrations to Chapters IX. and X. ... 322 
 
INDEX 
 
 TO THE ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 Abuse of wealth 
 Access to God 
 A feast and a good day 
 Alexander and the Cynic 
 Alexander the Great 
 Alpine travellers 
 Anger ... 
 Anger, control of 
 Anger subdued 
 Ask and receive 
 
 Bird-catcher, apologue of a 
 Bountiful king 
 Brotberton, Joseph ... 
 Bunyan's wife 
 Buonaparte's activity 
 Byron's lameness 
 
 Cardinal Wolsey 
 
 Caterpillar, the 
 
 Cbange, advantage of 
 
 Cheerful and beautiful for Christ 
 
 Christopher Columbus 
 
 Church-door religion 
 
 Circumstances 
 
 Clay made fragrant by roses 
 
 Clive and his moderation . . . 
 
 Come, a song-bird 
 
 Conscience guilty 
 
 Conscience wakeful 
 
 Counsel, wicked 
 
 Count Zinzendorf 
 
 Danger 
 
 Danger of discontent 
 
 Danger of prosperity 
 
 Dead swine good 
 
 Deliverance, Hubert de Burgo 
 
 Devotion of Arminius 
 
 Different disposal of blessings 
 
 dignity 
 
 Diogenes, what he can do without 
 
 Dress ... 
 
 Drinking dangerous ... 
 
 PAGE 
 
 43 
 
 209 
 
 284 
 
 212 
 
 208 
 
 322 
 
 45 
 
 64 
 
 45 
 
 283 
 
 212 
 44 
 213 
 163 
 163 
 213 
 
 162 
 
 212 
 
 282 
 
 284 
 
 207 
 
 162 
 
 242 
 
 78 
 
 106 
 
 241 
 
 46 
 
 46 
 
 46 
 
 241 
 
 43 
 210 
 
 43 
 162 
 106 
 164 
 107 
 
 43 
 213 
 
 77 
 
 44 
 
 Dr. Livingstone's tonic 
 
 PAGE 
 
 ... 207 
 
 Duty, its own reward 
 
 .. 78 
 
 Earth's heroes unknown 
 
 .. 7S 
 
 Eastern hospitality ... 
 
 .. 323 
 
 Envy ... 
 
 .. 46 
 
 Eudocia and Chrysostom 
 
 .. 162 
 
 Everything to die for 
 
 .. 164 
 
 Excuses 
 
 .. 46 
 
 Executioners ... 
 
 .. 106 
 
 Faith, the soul's venture 
 
 .. 208 
 
 Faith of parents 
 
 .. 322 
 
 Favour of God 
 
 .. 43 
 
 Feast, how to make a 
 
 .. 43 
 
 Findern flower 
 
 .. 164 
 
 Flattery 
 
 .. 46 
 
 Forgiveness ... 
 
 .. 46 
 
 Fortitude of Bechuanas 
 
 .. 242 
 
 French king ... 
 
 .. 256 
 
 Friendship 
 
 .. 46 
 
 Full chest hidden 
 
 .. 256 
 
 Fulness of Christ 
 
 .. 44 
 
 Gipsy horse-stealer ... 
 
 .. 256 
 
 God, access to 
 
 .. 209 
 
 God, ingratitude to ... 
 
 .. 208 
 
 God's kindness 
 
 .. 77 
 
 God's promises conditional ... 
 
 .. 208 
 
 Good name, a 
 
 .. 323 
 
 Good principles 
 
 .. 104 
 
 Gossner 
 
 .. 209 
 
 Grace Darling of Berstead ... 
 
 .. 165 
 
 Great men 
 
 .. 322 
 
 Great men, descendants of ... 
 
 .. 347 
 
 Great men, distinguishing ... 
 
 .. 32 
 
 Greatness, true 
 
 .. 323 
 
 Hardening effects of sensibility 
 
 .. 161 
 
 Hero, true 
 
 .. 164 
 
 Hero, young Illinois 
 
 .. 165 
 
 Honesty in little things 
 
 .. 283 
 
 Honour from man ... 
 
 .. 212 
 
 House of joy 
 
 .. 284 
 
INDEX TO THE ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 Hymn, consecration .. 
 Hypocrisy 
 
 Idols 
 
 Ingratitude ... 
 Innocence vindicated 
 Intrepid judge 
 
 Judge Jeffreys 
 
 Latimer and Bonner 
 Laws of the Jews 
 Leech and surgeon 
 Literary Jeremiads 
 Look to the end 
 Lot casting ... 
 Lot, deciding by 
 Love of books, and want 
 Loyalty, disinterested 
 
 Man who killed his neighbours 
 Martyr's heroism 
 Mother's glory 
 Mutual help, need of 
 
 Nations 
 
 Nations, punishment of 
 
 Nations, safeguard of 
 
 Negro and his enemy 
 
 Not necessary to livo 
 
 Not sick when duty calls ... 
 
 Parable of hog and horse . . . 
 Parents, faith of 
 Parents, influence of 
 Passions, discipline of 
 Patriotic Greek 
 
 Patriotism 
 
 Patriotism, Spartan ... 
 
 Patriot's duty 
 
 Patton, the late Dr. William 
 
 Persian king and snow 
 
 Petitioner, a bold 
 
 Philippa, Queen 
 
 Philosopher and enraged emperor 
 
 Pleasures 
 
 Power ... 
 
 Prayer, answer to ... 
 Prayer, constant in ... 
 Prayer effective 
 Prayer, protection through 
 Prayers, < 'hrist presenting our 
 Prayers, family 
 Presents, royal, to an official 
 of pleasures 
 
 Pride of wealth 
 
 Privileges, England's 
 
 nil 
 45 
 
 45 
 46 
 
 257 
 45 
 
 256 
 
 78 
 105 
 105 
 211 
 
 104 
 104 
 104 
 107 
 
 283 
 
 105 
 
 208 
 
 77 
 
 322 
 
 323 
 323 
 323 
 105 
 164 
 163 
 
 107 
 322 
 322 
 64 
 161 
 283 
 283 
 283 
 209 
 285 
 208 
 163 
 256 
 45 
 43 
 20! I 
 209 
 209 
 209 
 242 
 210 
 212 
 45 
 43 
 32;; 
 
 1 'i < isp< irity not suitable for every man 282 
 
 Prosperity of the wicked 107 
 
 Radical reform ... 64 
 
 Page 105 
 
 Repentance before ]i;u;1(hi ... ... 64 
 
 Repentance, counterfeit ... ... 64 
 
 Responsibility, individual 64 
 
 Retribution, case of 256 
 
 Revenge 105 
 
 Saladin, the death of 212 
 
 Satan, a hard task-master ... ... 242 
 
 Saxon serfs ... ... ... ... 162 
 
 Sealing letters 284 
 
 Selfishness 210 
 
 Sermon to one hearer ... ... 162 
 
 Shepherd crushed by the rock ... 163 
 
 Sidney Smith... ... ... ... 163 
 
 Sigismund and Theodosius 208 
 
 Signet rings ... ... ... ... 283 
 
 Silence a virtue ... ... ... 78 
 
 Silken garments fresh 77 
 
 Sin 46 
 
 Sin, impressions of ... 64 
 
 Singing in prison ... ... ... 208 
 
 Sleep, Providence in withholding ... 241 
 
 Sleeping safe ... ... ... ... 241 
 
 Sleepless night ... ... ... 241 
 
 Soldiers, not butchers ... ... 106 
 
 Sour milk and black bread .. . ... 161 
 
 Spider's web 207 
 
 Surgical operation ... ... ... 107 
 
 Sympathetic traveller ... ... 104 
 
 Switzer, the young ... ... ... 322 
 
 Taxes, the heaviest 323 
 
 Teaching of children ... ... 163 
 
 Things temporal ... ... ... 211 
 
 Time, loss of ... ... ... ... 45 
 
 Trouble in every house ... ... 105 
 
 True greatness ... 78 
 
 True hero ... 164 
 
 Tunnel, workmen in the ... ... 207 
 
 Ulysses and the Syrens 107 
 
 Ungodly pope, the ... ... ... 210 
 
 Unskilful persons in a boat ... 161 
 
 Virtues, the true adorning ... ... 77 
 
 Whitfield 322 
 
 Wife 45 
 
 Woman, degradation of ... ... 64 
 
 Worldly dignity renounced... ... 211 
 
 Wrath cured 105 
 
IIOMILETIC COMMENTARY 
 
 BOOK OF ESTHER. 
 
 INTRODUCTION AND PREFACE. 
 
 The Book is Canonical. 
 
 The Book of Esther has been said to be not canonical, but the objectors are mainly 
 found in later periods of the Church's history. For the Jews have ever regarded 
 this Book as canonical, and placed it on the same level with the law of Moses. 
 Neither does there appear to be any foundation for the observation made by 
 Baxter, in his ' Saint's Best,' that the Jews were accustomed to cast this Book to the 
 ground, because the name of God was not in it. If, indeed, any such custom 
 prevailed among the Oriental Jews, it must have been simply to express their 
 hatred of Hainan. The Jews believed that, whatever destruction might attend the 
 other sacred writings, the Pentateuch and the Book of Esther would always be 
 preserved by a special providence. This latter statement was the prophetic utter- 
 ance of Maimonides, and so far it has not been falsified. This is a fact worthy 
 of being carefully considered, that while many other writings have passed into 
 oblivion, this story of Esther is still exerting an influence. The reasons, also, 
 which may account for the preservation of other writings will not suffice to account 
 for the continued existence of Esther ; for it is not to be regarded as a standard 
 Avork on history, though it gives a most faithful account of Persian customs. 
 It does not record the advance of either science or philosophy, and on its pages 
 are not impressed the glowing images of the poet's mind. We may conclude that 
 this little story of a captive Jewish maiden holds its place in the sacred writings 
 because there is a Divine purpose in its preservation. 
 
 While its preservation may be due to Jewish patriotism, yet great deference is 
 due to Jewish opinion and to Jewish custom ; for to the Jews were committed 
 the oracles of God. They are surely the greatest authorities on this subject, for 
 they lived near the times when the events recorded took place. If then the Jews 
 have put into our hands the Book of Esther as well as the Books of Moses, we 
 
 6 
 
IIOMTLETW COMMENTARY: EXT HEP.. 
 
 must nol Id go our hold of those treasures which they have transmitted. Tin's 
 Book is canonical, showing the vanity and instability of earthly glory, giving a 
 sublime example of self-sacrifice, and describing for our instruction a daring faith 
 in the light and the true, as well as a wonderful power of patient endurance under 
 oppression. 
 
 It may, however, he objected that the revengeful spirit manifested in the latter 
 part of the Book is not an examjde for our imitation. We may reply that it is no 
 more an example to be imitated than Persian luxury and eil'cminacy are to be 
 commended, and no more than the vices of Old Testament saints are to be 
 regarded with favour. While we do not lay great stress on the fact that the 
 Itala or ante-Hieronymian version omits the "whole of the nineteen verses of the 
 ninth chapter, we may fairly inquire were they originally in the Book, and wish 
 for Esther's sake that they had never appeared. But this, after all, is characteristic 
 of Scriptural writing. The strong hand of the analyst is present, and nowhere 
 is found unsparing eulogy. The vice that degrades is depicted, though never 
 in attractive colours, as well as the virtue that adorns and elevates. The story 
 of the cruel proceedings in the ninth chapter is no commendation of them ; it is a 
 hare recital of facts to make us shrink from even the semblance of evil. 
 
 No Divine Name. 
 
 The great objection to the Book of Esther is that the name of God is omitted. 
 So De Wette, who objects to all the other books of the Old Testament because 
 of their theocratico-mythological spirit, condemns this for its want of religion. 
 '1 here may, however, be some force in Keil's observation, that the writer neither 
 wished to depict the persons whose acts he was narrating as more godly than they 
 really were, nor to place the whole occurrence under a point of view alien to the 
 actors and the event itself. It is quite true that the sacred writers never exaggerate ; 
 but then Keil's statement implies a studied omission of the Divine name on tho 
 part of the author. We do not enter upon the discussion of the authorship of this 
 Book, and cannot decide as to the relative claims of Ezra, Nehemiah, or Mordeeai. 
 If, however, the last-named be the author, as is highly probable, we cannot suppose 
 him purposely forbearing to mention the Divine name simply for fear of making 
 the characters depicted more godly than they really were. A more satisfactory 
 reason for the omission is that it is a translated extract from the memoirs of the 
 Persian king. It is very likely that Mordeeai, occupying the high position he 
 did in the Persian court, would have free access to such memoirs. Then the 
 Bcene of the Book is laid in Persian dominions; we are surrounded with a Persian 
 atmosphere, and Persian words are constantly recurring. This instinctive adoption 
 of the fashion of the Persian court may lie the reason of the singular omissi :ii. 
 ips we may conclude that this omission arose from the increasing dread 
 of using the. Divine name which was already manifested at this period of Jewish 
 history. 
 
 Th'- Almighty lias no need to write his name in order to let us know that his 
 Wisdom and power have been controlling the march of human events. The name 
 
INTRODUCTION AND PREFACE. 
 
 of God may be absent, but his power is everywhere visible. Traces of this 
 Divine power may be noticed in the Book of Esther. We may observe Divine 
 Omniscience anticipating threatened evil; Omnipotence thwarting the designs of a 
 jealous favourite, defeating and overruling the plots of the wicked. We may see 
 God's special providence in bringing forth his chosen instruments to high places iu 
 the kingdoms "for such a time as that " at which Esther appeared. 
 
 Authorities consulted. 
 
 In commencing the study of Esther it might be felt that it was itself barren for 
 homiletic purposes, and that little help was to be expected from previous labourers. 
 But there is more help than might be expected. Of course all the commentators 
 have handled the Book with more or less of skill, and in more modern times 
 Lange and Keil have brought great critical acumen to the study. The story of 
 Esther has been "glorified by the genius of Handel and sanctified by the piety of 
 Racine ; " vividly but cursorily handled by the descriptive hand of Stanley ; applied 
 to moral uses by Dr. M'Crie ; referred to by Heeren as giving the most accurate 
 picture of Persian customs ; and expounded more at large, with that elaborateness 
 which is characteristic of Scotch divines, in discourses by the Eev. George Lawson, 
 Dr. Davidson, and others whose names will be given where cpioted. We 
 shall make use of all previous productions, remembering that our work is to 
 be the homiletic expositor of the Book. Its study is interesting, and much 
 useful material -may be here found for the pulpit. Pearls lie deep; and, to the 
 faithful and diligent seeker, pearls of Divine truth will be discovered in every part 
 of the Divine Word. Eawlinson tells us that by the Jews this Book is called 
 Megillath Esther, "the roll of Esther," or, more shortly, Megillah, "the roll," 
 since it was always written on a separate roll, which was read through at the feast 
 of Purim. We must carefully unwind the roll and attentively read the inscriptions 
 in order that we may find that this Scripture too is " profitable for doctrine, for 
 reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness ; that the man of God may 
 be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works." And this we shall attain 
 if the inspiring Spirit direct in our reading, as he directed in the writing of the 
 Book. Come then, gracious and holy Spirit, bless our labours, and make f Jaem 
 productive of moral enlargement. 
 
 b2 
 
EOMILETIC COMMENTARY: ESTHER. ["chap. i. 
 
 CHATTER I. 
 
 PERSIAN SPLENDOUR. 
 
 Critical Notes.] 1. Ahasuerus] Ileh. Ahashvevosh. Prince, chief. A name given in Scrip- 
 ture to Cambvs* s, the son of Cyrus, and to Astyages, king of the Medes (Ezra iv. 6 ; Dan. ix. 1). 
 India to Ethiopia] describes the king's dominion, but does not definitely fix the date of his reign. 
 The hundred and twenty-seven provinces indicate tin- aarpairmai. 2. Shushan the palacel Tlie 
 king's favourite winter residence. Shusharj the lily, the rose, the joy. 3. The power of Persia] The 
 king's body-guard. The princes, the pashas, or governors of those provinces. 4. An hundred and 
 fourscore days) We are not obliged to conclude that all or any of the governors were present during 
 the whole period of festivity. — Batolinson. 5. Garden of the king's palace] The kingly palace, or 
 scries of houses, was situated, in Oriental manner, as is customary also to-day, in a huge park. — 
 Lange. 6. White, green, and blue hangings] Rather, "where was an awning of fine white 
 cotton and velvet." White and blue, or violet, were the royal colours of Persia. Beds of gold and 
 silver] (.'ouches or sofas on which the guests reclined at meals. The cloths were woven with gold 
 and silver threads. 7. Royal wine] A very costly wine, called the Chalybonian wine, that the 
 Persian kings used to drink. 12. Vashti refused to come] It was regarded as something unheard 
 of if th«' queen appeared in public unveiled. — lange. Vashti means the best. 13. Which knew 
 the times] Astrologers and magicians ; generally to be learned. 14. The seven princes] refers in 
 the present case to the seven Amshaspands, in others to the days of the week, or the seven planets. 
 22 According to the language of the people] Obscure. The native tongue of the head of the 
 house to be used in the family. 
 
 MAIN IIOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH. Verses 1, 2. 
 
 Time's Doings with Human Greatness. 
 
 Ahasuerus is gone, liis royal city has perished, and even his stately palace 
 lias left behind only a few insignificant traces. But the simple story of Esther 
 survives. Palaces of marble, as well as mansions made of the less enduring 
 brick, strangely vanish. Strong fortifications disappear. Wonderful it is that 
 material structures seem less enduring than insubstantial thought structures. 
 Suggestive it is that the man Ahasuerus moves a formless shadow across the 
 stage, while his doings and external greatness are vividly represented. 
 
 I. This monarch's unknown individuality. The proceedings of Ahasuerus 
 are only such as might be expected from any Persian monarch of that period, 
 possessing irresponsible power, invested with all the signs of extended dominion, 
 Burrounded by courtiers who rendered indiscriminate flattery, steeped in luxury 
 and in frivolity, and like one of the governors in India, who told the native 
 princes that they were but dust beneath his feet. The record of the doings of 
 Ahasuerus, therefore, cannot, give positive information as to his personality. His 
 position in tin' Persian dynasty cannot he undoubtedly ascertained ; hut, his place 
 in the Divine economy is certain. The very weakness of his character was a 
 buttress for the Jewish nation. His love of luxury turned out to tin "enlarge- 
 ment" of the Jewish people. His i in mortal it y is that of those who are saved 
 from oblivion by the greatness of others. Time, sooner or later obscures the 
 epitaph. The name written may he, Ahasuerus, and future generations will fail 
 to discover the person indicated. The, advancing time will weave its mists about 
 the name, and the individual will be lost in darkness. But a Divine hook of 
 remembrance 18 kept, and then; the names of the righteous are written in 
 
chap. I.] HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: ESTHER. 5 
 
 characters of ever-enduring light. Their names shall shine in the all-revealing 
 splendours. Let men strive to work in harmony with, and in furtherance of, all 
 Divine purposes. 
 
 II. This monarch's individuality is only declared by the extent of his 
 material kingdom. " This is Ahasuerus which reigned," &c. His kingdom may 
 be measured by the land surveyor and described by the historian. It extended 
 from India to Ethiopia. He embraced in his rule the borders of India on the one 
 side, and Egypt on the other — an extent of country about two thousand five hun- 
 dred miles in length. He possessed some of earth's loveliest lands. The fertilizing 
 waters of the Nile left rich deposits on one portion of his territory, and another 
 almost reached the sources of the sacred Ganges, while the Euphrates washed the 
 walls of Babylon, and was fed by streams that flowed near the royal city of Susa. 
 The Black Sea, famous in the history of modern conflicts, and the Caspian, were 
 partly included in the territories over which he reigned. Lands and cities of his- 
 toric fame were compelled to pay him tribute, and some of the noblest races on 
 earth obeyed his commands. But the moral king is nobler, and has a more exten- 
 sive and a more permanent kingdom. Even the material universe is the believer's 
 possession, intended for his spiritual development. Death strips the earthly king 
 of his royal robes, and leaves him unthroned ; but death lets the moral king into 
 a larger sphere, and the results of his earthly conquests he will enjoy in heaven. 
 The kingliest men have owned only a few feet of land, and sometimes not enough 
 land for a tomb, according to short-sighted views of ownership. 
 
 III. This monarch's greatness consisted in external display. The throne 
 on which the king sat was a chair made of gold, adorned with a costly carpet, 
 upon which none might sit, on pain of death. There was also a footstool of gold. 
 The king held a golden sceptre in his right hand. Close behind stood an 
 eunuch bearing a fan, and with his mouth covered, for fear his breath should be 
 offensive to the mighty monarch. Such are the pomp and circumstance with 
 which Oriental monarchs endeavoured to separate themselves from, and raise 
 themselves above, their fellow-creatures. This is greatness in the estimation of 
 the children of this world. But true greatness is superior to mere gorgeous 
 externals. The one disappears when the showy livery is removed, but the other 
 abides through all changes. Lazarus was great in his rags ; Dives was mean in 
 his purple and fine linen. A great soul ennobles the meanest surroundings. 
 
 IV. This monarch's proud position is not to be envied. There are many 
 who would regard Ahasuerus with envy, as, amid a group of attendants, he paced 
 those terraced heights on which the palace of Shushan was erected, as he watched 
 the gentle gliding of the sweet waters of the Euloeus, as he listened to the music 
 of pipers and harpists, as he pleased himself with the natural and artistic beauties 
 of the scene, and as he gazed upon the flat and fertile plains that stretched at the 
 base of the royal palace. The riches both of art anil of nature seemed to combine 
 in order to make existence pleasant. But no human lot is without its admixture 
 of pain. From the high places of the earth Ave catch the echo of those wailing 
 cries that mingle with the mocking sounds of revelry. Kings are but men, and 
 their hearts too are touched by the painful hand of sorrow. The inscription over 
 an imaginative palace is, "Here is the abode of everlasting pleasures and content." 
 But no such inscription can be truthfully placed over the gates of any earthly 
 palace, and certainly it will not describe Shushan the palace. Happy he who 
 wisely keeps the palace of his soul, and finds there the elements of true 
 gladness. 
 
// 0M1 1. 1: TIG ' 'OMAt EN T. 1 R Y : ES Til Ell. 
 
 [CHAP. I. 
 
 Suggestive Comments ox Verses 1, 2. 
 
 Y.t.1. Ahasuerus. The difficulty of 
 Btating positively who was the Ahasuerus 
 Bpoken of in this passage is almost in- 
 superahle. The nearest approach to a 
 settlement of the question is the state- 
 ment that Ahasuerus was one of the 
 Persian monarchs who lived ahout the 
 time of Darius, Xerxes, and Artaxerxes, 
 and musl have been one of those mon- 
 archs : for only those three are described 
 by Herodotus as possessing the extent 
 of territory attributed to them in the 
 Book of Esther. Most of our modern 
 critics decide that Ahasuerus is Xerxes, 
 and this conclusion is said to be forti- 
 fied by a resemblance of character. As 
 Xerxes scourged the sea, and put to 
 death the engineers of his bridge because 
 their work was injured by a storm, so 
 Ahasuerus repudiated his queen Vashti 
 use she would not violate the 
 am of her sex, and ordered the 
 ere of the whole Jewish people to 
 gratify the malice of Hainan. jSow 
 Herodotus is evidently the father of 
 fables as well as the lather of history. 
 In the book Polyhymnia, from which the 
 above in Maine of foolish conduct is 
 quoted, Herodotus tells us of some 
 prodigies which fairly lead us to doubt 
 his trustworthiness. And we may well 
 with M it ford when he affirms 
 that some of the anecdotes related by 
 Herodotus " are utterly inconsistent 
 with the characters to whom they refer. 
 Among the latter I should reckon the 
 ridiculous punishment of the Hellespont 
 by stripes and chains, together with 
 executions equally impolitic as inhuman, 
 and repugnant to what we learn on best 
 authority of the manners of the Per- 
 sians." The assembly spoken of by 
 Herodotus as called by Xerxes in order 
 to deliberate concerning the Grecian 
 war does not resemble that great feast. 
 and assembly which was held by 
 Ahasuerus in Shushan the palace, and 
 which lasted an hundred ami fourscore 
 • lavs. Those frightful dreams which 
 Xerxes is said to have had at this 
 period do not speak to us at Least of the 
 merriment of Ahasuerus in Shushan. 
 This luxury and splendour only seem to 
 
 point to the Persian greatness which 
 culminated about this period. The two 
 narrations — the one given by Herodotus 
 as to Xerxes, and the other in the Book 
 of Esther as to Ahasuerus— may appear 
 to agree in point of time, hut do not 
 necessarily as to the nature of tin; 
 events recorded. There is surely an >i. 
 priori argument in favour of those his- 
 torians who lived near the time when 
 the events took place which theyrecord, 
 and who had hetter means of knowing 
 the characters and events whom and 
 which they describe than later authors. 
 ft is a fact to be considered that 
 throughout the Book of Esther in the 
 LXX. Artaxerxes is written for Ahas- 
 uerus, and that the apocryphal additions 
 of the Book of Esther give this name. 
 Josephus, also, being such a painstak- 
 ing historian, did not write Artaxerxes 
 for Ahasuerus Avithout good reason. 
 The name Ahasuerus sets forth the 
 dignity of the man rather than dis- 
 tinguishes him from others. It is a 
 general title of the Persian kings, as 
 Pharaoh, Ptolemy, and Caesar were 
 general names for rulers of other coun- 
 tries. "Why should Ave institute a pain- 
 ful comparison between the believer who 
 is said not to own a foot of land, and 
 the licentious monarch Avho reigns over 
 one hundred and seven and twenty 
 provinces'? For, it is truly observed, 
 some of the vilest men possessed all the 
 great and large dominions of the Persian 
 empire. But if God has bestoAved true 
 faith, unfeigned love, and unaffected 
 humility, he has bestowed treasures of 
 inestimably greater value than all the 
 possessions of Xerxes or of Nero. A 
 man may rule over an extensive king- 
 dom, and yet he a slaA'e ; for lusts are 
 tyrannical masters. A man may be a 
 slave in outward condition, and yet be 
 the noblest freeman, the grandest king 
 of all. lie is royal who is a member of 
 that kingdom which is to extend from 
 sea to sea. and from the river to the 
 ends of the earth, which in fact is 10 
 include all nations. ( >ther kin_ 
 shall fail, but Christ's kingdom of love 
 shall ever endure. 
 
CHAI\ I.] 
 
 IIOMILETIC COMMENTARY : ESTHER. 
 
 Monarchs will be still adding, and 
 although a man were monarch of the 
 whole world, yea, and had command of 
 the moon and the stars, yet would he 
 still he peeping beyond them for more, 
 more. — Trapp. 
 
 An overgrown kingdom which in time 
 would sink with its own weight, and, as 
 usual, would lose its provinces as fast as 
 it gained them. If such a vast power 
 be put into bad hands it is able to do so 
 much the more mischief. — M. Henry. 
 
 Ver. 2. Sitting is a posture common to 
 judges and kings, but more particularly 
 characteristic of the kings of Persia. 
 The Persian kings are always painted 
 as sitting on a throne under a lofty 
 canopy. This is true of them even in 
 the time of war, and in their journeys. 
 Xerxes, indeed, was present in the 
 battles sitting ; thus it was at Ther- 
 mopylae, according to Herodotus, and at 
 Salamis, according to Plutarch. — Lange. 
 
 Tins monarch's palatial residence. 
 Shushan is mentioned in three of the 
 sacred books — Nehemiah, Esther, and 
 Daniel — as well as by profane writers. 
 Originally it was the capital of the 
 province called in Scripture Elam, and 
 by the classical writers sometimes Cissian, 
 and sometimes Susis, or Susiana ; and 
 was situated on the banks of the river 
 Eulai, or Euloeus. Daniel refers to it 
 in the account of his vision as forming 
 part of the Babylonish empire. Its 
 foundations are said to have been laid 
 even before the time of Chedorlaomer. 
 The remains found on the supposed site 
 point to a very remote past. It was 
 comprehended in the Persian empire in 
 the time of Cyrus or Darius, and to 
 the latter is generally given the credit 
 of being the founder or builder of the 
 great palace described in the Book of 
 Esther. It was chosen by the Persian 
 monarch as the capita] of his empire on 
 account of its vicinity to Persia, its 
 climatic advantages, and the great ex- 
 cellence of its water. The circumference 
 of Shushan, exclusive of some outlying 
 mounds, was about three miles ; but 
 little more than the name of the city 
 remains. The bases of a few columns, 
 having upon them inscriptions which 
 are deciphered with difficulty, are all 
 
 that is now left of this proud city. 
 Shushan means the lily, the rose, the 
 joy — a name given on account of the 
 fertility of the country, and the abund- 
 ance of lilies that flourished in the dis- 
 trict. This lily no longer flourishes, 
 this Narcissus no more emits its frag- 
 rance ; the joy and pride of the nations 
 has fallen from its eminence. Thus the 
 flowers of earth perish, but the celestial 
 flowers bloom for evermore. Our Be- 
 loved is as the lily of the valley and 
 the rose of Sharon, and he shall ever- 
 more unfold his loveliness and emit his 
 Divine fragrance. 
 
 The palace of Shushan was one of 
 the architectural wonders of its day, 
 and its size and its magnificence would 
 have attracted considerable attention in 
 modern times. In visiting the ruins of 
 our ancient abbeys we are astonished 
 at the evidences of minuteness and of 
 massiveness which still survive in those 
 gigantic and yet graceful structures. 
 But more profound emotions of sublimity 
 are produced by visiting the ruins of 
 Persepolis, which corresponded to the 
 palace of Shushan in great measure, 
 and from which at least we must gather 
 our conception of what the Shushan 
 palace was like, for nearly all the ruins 
 of the latter have disappeared. In 
 speaking of Persepolis, Porter observes, 
 " Nothing can be more striking than 
 the view of its ruins ; so va^t and so 
 magnificent, so fallen, mutilated, and 
 silent ; the court of Cyras, and the 
 scene of his bounties ; the pavilion of 
 Alexander's triumph, and the awful 
 memorial of the witness of hi* power.'' 
 The first object which presented itself 
 was a columned hall of the largest size, 
 which has not been rivalled in space or 
 in beauty by any building either ancient 
 or modern, not even by Egyptian Carnac 
 or Cologne Cathedral. On three, sides 
 of the hall were vast porches, supported 
 by twelve columns, while the great 
 central hall had thirty-six, which Avere 
 a little over sixty feet high. These 
 columns were all fluted, and surmounted 
 by capitals formed into the shape of the 
 heads of bulls, or horses, or wild asses. 
 Heeren supposes these pillars to have 
 supported a roof of cedar, but some 
 
8 E0M1LETIG COMMENTARY: ESTHER. [chap. r. 
 
 authorities doubt whether this large in Shushan, which was a favourite spring 
 
 hall could have had a rout'. In the residence. — Lange. 
 
 grounds we see on one side what is In this city was the famous palace of 
 
 called the queen's house, and on the Cyrus, which was adorned with marble 
 
 other lli" king's house. In looking at walls, golden pillars, and great store of 
 
 tlic whole group we may see terrace precious stones, shining as so many 
 
 rising above terrace, and building above stars from the roof and sides of it, to 
 
 building, to the height of two hundred the dazzling of the eyes of the beholders. 
 
 feet above the level of the plain. Fa- — Trapp. 
 
 bulous creatures in stone frowning like Time sadly overcometh all things, and 
 mighty sentinels; the terraces graced is now dominant, and sitteth upon a 
 with trees, shrubs, and flowers of rich sphinx, and looketh unto Memphis and 
 luxuriance, indicating the fertility of old Thebes; while his sister Oblivion 
 the country as well as the skill of the reclineth semi-somnous on a pyramid, 
 cultivators. Evidences there were on gloriously triumphing, making puzzles 
 all .sides that the wealth, genius, and of Titanian inscriptions, and turning old 
 productive power of that vast empire glories into dreams. History sinketh 
 had been collected and concentrated to beneath her cloud. The traveller, as 
 the erection and adornment of the stately he paceth amazedly through those de- 
 pile of buildings. serts, asketh of her who builded them, 
 Shushan the palace. The king had and she niumbleth something, but what 
 a royal establishment in several cities, it is he heareth not. — Anonymous. 
 but at the time here referred to it Avas 
 
 MAIN' 1IOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH. Verses 3—5. 
 
 Tiie Contrast between the Human and the Divine. 
 
 Such immense assemblages, and feasts for such a lengthened period, were not 
 uncommon to Oriental monarchs. A similar feast was given by the Emperor of 
 China to the whole population of the province. 
 
 I. Human preferences. "We have not the means of positively declaring why 
 Ahasuerus gave this great feast. The story of Esther simply records the giving of 
 the feast in order to impart unity to the account, and as being necessary to the 
 explanation of after events. But there is good in all ; and if there was generosity 
 in this vain and ambitious monarch, it is seen in the fact that he included the low- 
 est as well as the highest in his festive arrangements. But greater still is the 
 Divine benevolence; for Ahasuerus first entertained the magnates, and then con- 
 descended to the lowest, while to the poor is the gospel preached. Moral reforms 
 Beem first to touch the " small," and then to affect the "great." In primitive 
 times the poor welcomed the gospel, and gladly sat down at the feast of Divine 
 love. What a pity that in these days the poor, to a very large extent, appear to 
 shut themselves out from the gospel feast! The problem now to solve is how to 
 extend the beneficent inilueiices of Christianity beyond the circle of the respect- 
 able classes. Ahasuerus surrounded himself with his body-guard— a large and 
 imposing retinue— and with the pachas or governors of the provinces. These were 
 accounted great; bul God finds the Divinely great amongst the humanly small. 
 Human distinctions are reversed in Divine estimation. The preferences of earth 
 are not the preferences of heaven. The greal of this planet will look small, and 
 the small of human reckoning appear great, when placed beneath the truer light of 
 a Bublimer sphere. 
 
 II. Human limitation. Ahasuerus gave a I asl which lasted one hundred and 
 eighty days at the most, ; and. according to some authorities, for only seven days. 
 Il is highly probable that the same guests did not continue for the whole period of 
 
chap. I.] IIOMILETIO COMMENTARY: ESTHER. 9 
 
 the feast. Each day there would be fresh arrivals. When one company was 
 feasted, another took up the vacated couches in the festive hall. However pro- 
 longed the earthly feast, it must at last terminate. The resources of the hosts are 
 exhausted ; the capacities of the guests fail ; the viands become corrupt ; the ban- 
 queting-hall crumbles to ruins ; the festivities are rudely interrupted ; the songs 
 of gladness give place to cries of sadness. But the feast of Divine love is for all 
 time and for all eternity. The resources of the Omnipotent cannot be exhausted. 
 The word limitation can find no place in the celestial vocabulary. 
 
 III. Human infelicity. Earthly feasts too prolonged bring damage to the 
 body, sadness and distress to the spirit. The soul of man cannot find in sensual 
 pleasures its true good. In this book we find that merriment was the direct cause 
 of melancholy. Our greatest earthly joys are too often the sources of our deepest 
 sorrows. Pleasure and pain are closely related, and the one is the parent of the 
 other. The harp hangs upon the willows, and though no hand touch the strings, 
 it gives forth a mournful strain. But Divine joys do not end in tears. The plea- 
 sures of heaven are free from all attendant pains. The golden harps give forth no 
 wailing sounds. The feasts of the true Paradise are satisfying ; and the deeper we 
 drink of the Divine springs, the more satisfaction do we experience. Therefore 
 saith Divine love, " Feast, O friends ; drink, yea, drink abundantly, O beloved." 
 
 IV. Human incompleteness. The feast was given in the court of the garden 
 of the king's palace. A very beautiful place, no doubt. We can picture its splen- 
 dours, both natural and artificial. Its fruits luscious, its flowers beautiful in form 
 and in colour, its aromas sweetly fragrant, and the whole aspect of the scene 
 enchanting ; but our best earthly gardens are incomplete. Man makes a beautiful 
 garden, and is said to have made the wilderness smile j but the smile only conceals 
 the silent sigh. There is a gloomy grotto in every earthly garden. The lilies fade, 
 the oaks and lindens and acacias are blasted ; the very fragrance becomes offen- 
 sive. In God's garden the trail of the serpent is not visible, the reproving question 
 is not heard, the marks of defect are nowhere seen. It is perfect and complete ; 
 the result of unerring wisdom, the expression of boundless resources. 
 
 Here learn — (a) Immoderate pleasure causes sorrow. Jesus was present at a 
 marriage-feast, and not as a reproving spirit. The Divine love spreads a table in 
 the wilderness covered with sweetest viands, while his songsters raise their joyful 
 notes at the feast. But in the bitterness of the recoil from excessive pleasure, we 
 say of laughter, It is madness, and of mirth, What doeth it 1 (b) " He that is of a 
 merry (or cheerful) heart hath a continual feast." The appetite for more develops 
 with the increase of the supply. Nature requires little, and grace less. Oh that 
 we could reach the Apostle's sublime altitude — " I have learned in whatsoever 
 state I am, therewith to be content." 
 
 A Feast for all People. 
 
 This was a glorious feast. But in Isa. xxv. 6, 7 we have a description of 
 one which far surpasses it. It is the promise of a feast made by God, furnished 
 with the very best provision, for all people, and, therefore, a feast in which toe 
 have an undoubted interest. That we may see how much better the Lord's feast 
 is than Ahasuerus's feast, let us consider the Lord's feast, and the benefits which 
 result from attending it. 
 
 I. The Lord's feast described. In connection with the feast we notice — 1. The 
 place where it is made. Ahasuerus made his in the palace garden ; God makes 
 his in a mountain (Isa. xxv. 6). That means the Church of God on earth, 
 composed of his penitent, believing, grateful, and obedient subjects. This col- 
 lective body, or community of God's people, is called by Moses " the mount of the 
 Lord" (Numb. x. 33). (1) The Church of God on earth, like a mountain, 
 is generally conspicuous. It cannot be hid. It is seen by God with gracious 
 
10 HOM1LETIC COMMENTARY: ESTHER. [chap. i. 
 
 complacency ; it is seen by angels with joy, and affectionate care ; it is seen by men 
 with avowed contempt ; it is seen by devils with envy and malice. They envy 
 the honours of this mountain ; they hate its sovereign, and are manifestly opposed 
 to its government. (2) Hence, like a mountain, it is peculiarly exposed to storm* 
 — storms of persecution, temptation, opposition. (3) But notwithstanding those 
 hostile assaults, like a mountain, it remains immovably secure. God has promised 
 to watch, to be present with, and to keep it. (4) Like a mountain, it is extensively 
 beneficial. A mountain is a shelter from storms; so is the Church. Do the 
 treasures of heaven dnip on the mountains, and break forth in springs for the 
 benefit of man? So the secret of the Lord is with them that fear him. But let 
 us observe — 2. The feast itself. This is undoubtedly the gospel feast. It is some- 
 times called a marriage feast, a great supper, &c. This leads us to observe — 3. 
 The provision with which the feast is furnished. " Fat things full of marrow, of 
 wine on the lees well refined." The provisions thus described are such as must 
 In- — (1) Carefully selected. (2) Dearly purchased. (3) Supremely excellent ami 
 highly gratifying. 4. The guests for whom this feast is promised. " For all peo- 
 ple." (1) This implies that all mankind need the blessings of the gospel. (2) 
 That those blessings art' obtainable by oil those u-ho come for them. 
 
 II. The benefits which result from attendance at this feast. These we find 
 are great and various. As — 1. The removal of darkness. 2. Deliverance from 
 sorrow. The Lord will wipe away all tears ; all tears of guilty distress, of sutl'er- 
 ing mortality. 3. Exemption from eternal death. 
 
 Application : — 1. On coming to this feast, as Christ commands, confidently 
 expect what he promises. 2. When received at this feast, let your whole deport- 
 ment be answerable to your entertainment. Be humble, thankful, charitable. — ■ 
 Sketches of Sermons. 1838. 
 
 Suggestive Comments on Verses 3 — 5. 
 
 Ver. 3. Banquets on so grand a scale, set on as if it should have been the 
 
 and extending over so great a period, last; yet all this long feast hath an end, 
 
 have not been unfrequently provided by and all this glory is shut up in forget- 
 
 the luxurious monarchs of Eastern coun- fulness. — Bishop Hall. 
 tries, both in ancient and modern times. Epicurus himself, who placed happi- 
 
 The early portion of this festive season, ness in pleasure, enjoined temperance as 
 
 however, seems to have been dedicated a necessary means of this pleasure. An 
 
 to amusement, particularly an exhibition author of our nation justly observes, 
 
 of the magnificence and treasures of the that when a great multitude of alluring 
 
 com-t. — Port. Commentary. dishes are set upon a table, a wise man 
 
 The description of this feast corre- may see palsies, apoplexies, and other 
 
 Bponds to the statement of ancient Per- grievous or mortal distempers lurking 
 
 sian luxury and magnificence which the amongst them. — Rev. Geo. Lawson. 
 Greet authors have sent down to us. It is said of the father of Louis XV., 
 
 The vast numbers entertained at their king of France, that when his preceptor 
 
 feasts, as well as the long continuance one day was speaking of this feast of 
 
 of these feasts, are points noticed by Ahasuerus, and wondered how the 
 
 ancient writers. — Kitto. Prince of Persia could find patience for 
 
 Such a feast, as that all other feasts such a long feast, he replied. "That his 
 
 were but hunger to it, whether Ave re- wonder was how he could defray the 
 
 the number of the guests, the expense of it." He was afraid that the 
 
 uess of the preparation, or the con- provinces would be compelled to observe. 
 
 tinuance of time; yet it had an end. a fast for it. On another occasion the 
 
 B so hath not the feast of a good same prince said, that he did not under- 
 
 ence. — Trapp. stand how a king should taste unmingled 
 
 A world of meat; every meal was so joy at a feast, unless he could invite all 
 
CHAP. I.] 
 
 TIOMILETIC COMMENTARY : ESTHER. 
 
 11 
 
 his subjects to partake ; or unless lie 
 could be assured, at least, that noue of 
 them would go supperless to bed. 
 
 Great pleasure is often followed by 
 equally great displeasure. Occasions of 
 joyous feasting commonly end in sorrow. 
 —Starke. 
 
 Better is a dinner of herbs with quiet- 
 ness, and the enjoyment of one's self and 
 a friend, than the banquet of wine with 
 all the noise and tumult that needs 
 attend it. — Matthew Henry. 
 
 Ver. 5. As the king could not furnish 
 a house for so many guests as were in- 
 vited to his entertainment, pavilions 
 were prepared for them in the palace 
 garden. 
 
 Lest the glory of this great king 
 might seem like some coarse picture, 
 only fair afar olf, after the princes and 
 nobles of the remote provinces, all the 
 people of Shushan are entertained for 
 seven days, with equal pomp and state. 
 The spacious court of the palace is 
 turned into a royal hall, the walls are 
 of rich hangings, the pillars of marble, 
 the beds of silver and gold ; the wine 
 and vessels strive whether should be 
 richer; no man drank in worse than 
 gold. The attendance was answerable 
 to the cheer, and the freedom matched 
 both. — Bishop Hall. 
 
 This feast was held, not in the out- 
 lying grounds, but in the centre of the 
 group of buildings. And the curtains 
 around this central group of buildings 
 would admit the light and secure warmth, 
 — an arrangement most desirable for a 
 spring residence. 
 
 Garden. The world has had a 
 great many beautiful gardens ; but not 
 any of them can be compared to the 
 garden which Christ has in his Church. 
 The Church may be compared to a 
 
 garden, because, 1. It is a place of the 
 choicest flowers. There are sunflowers, 
 snowdrops, lilies. 2. It is a place of 
 the most select fruits. There are the 
 fruits of patience, charity, integrity. — 
 Rev. C. Leach, F.G.S. 
 
 The king made a feast unto all the 
 people. This was not amiss, so that 
 care was taken that no irregulars were 
 found amongst them ; for kings should 
 carry themselves towards their people 
 as kindly as parents do toward their 
 children, and shepherds toward their 
 sheep. Are they not, therefore, patres 
 patriae, fathers of their country and 
 shepherds of their people 1 
 
 Both unto great and small. Pell- 
 mell, one with another, to show his 
 liberality ; which he might better have 
 bestowed in another way than belly 
 cheer, and such open-house keeping to 
 all comers without difference. — Trapp. 
 
 Seven dags. Too long together to 
 be a feasting, sith at such times men 
 are apt to exceed and outlash ; eating 
 that on earth that they must digest in 
 hell, and drowning both bodies and 
 souls in wine and strong drink, as 
 Eichard III. did his brother Clarence 
 in a butt of Malmsey. — Trapp. 
 
 1. The power of a nation is not its 
 wealth. As individuals, so nations 
 have been ruined by growing too rich. 
 2. The power of a nation is not its 
 fortifications. Babylon had high walls 
 and good defences, but was overthrown 
 by the Persians. The power of a nation 
 is its virtuous people. Thus — 4. The 
 security and peace of nations consist not 
 in magnificent feasts, but in the good 
 government of its people, the happiness 
 of its people, the education and en- 
 lightenment of its people. — lieu. C. 
 Leach, F.G.S. 
 
 MAIN IIOjIILETICS OF THE PAEAGEAPH. Verses 4, 6. 
 
 Self- Glorification. 
 
 We speak of Oriental magnificence and Oriental love of display, and do not 
 sufficiently remember that there is an English love of display. During the last 
 few years wealth has increased in England; and with the increase of wealth there 
 lias grown an increase of ease, of luxury, and of display. Class has vied with 
 class. The order of the day has been ruinous extravagance. The consequence 
 
12 H0M1LKTR COMMENTARY: ESTHER. [chap. i. 
 
 has been disaster and infamy. Pride must have a fall, and the English nation 
 must experience yet further troubles if it does not seek a true reformation of 
 manners. 
 
 I. This monarch was able to make a proud display, and to gratify the 
 Oriental taste for magnificence. The wealth possessed by the Persian monarchs 
 at this period must have been vast, for at the commencement of every year the 
 princes came with their costly presents from the different provinces of the extensive 
 empire. The satrapy of Cilicia furnished a goodly number of horses as its yearly 
 tribute. From another part came a long train of large trays placed on men's heads, 
 on which were shells, stuffs of all sorts, and pearls; then many trays filled with 
 sugar and sweetmeats ; and after that many mules laden with fruits. A third sent 
 a string of one hundred camels, and as many mules, together with weapons of war. 
 And so from all the widely extended provinces the gifts came. And even India 
 furnished a tribute, consisting of vessels filled with gold, and of ornaments, and of 
 wild asses which were prized for the purpose of stocking the royal parks. It is 
 not, therefore, astonishing that Ahasuerus was able to give the numerous guests 
 '• drink in vessels of gold (the vessels being diverse one from another), and royal 
 wine in abundance." The vastness of his resources may also be still more clearly 
 apprehended from a consideration of the fittings and furniture as thus described : — 
 " White stuff variegated with purple hangings, fastened with cords of byssus and 
 purple to silver rings and marble pillars ; couches of silver and gold upon a pave- 
 nient of malachite and marble, and mother-of-pearl, and tortoise-shell." The 
 couches prepared for the guests were covered with cloth woven of gold and silver 
 thread, and were placed upon a tesselated, mosaic-like floor. These imposing 
 white marble pillars were stationary, and formed a permanent part of the palatial 
 residence. How magnificent ! (Shall we not condone his vanity as he showed the 
 riches of his glorious kingdom, and the honour of his excellent majesty 1 No 
 wonder that he was exalted Avith pride. How much to feed the spirit of self- 
 glorification ! 
 
 II. But this proud display was a contemptible exhibition. For it showed 
 (a) The materialism of his nature. No mention here of moral riches. He showed 
 the riches of his kingdom, but never spoke of the virtue of his people. The 
 external was magnified; the internal was dwarfed. It might be, so far, refined 
 materialism; but in any shape materialism is degrading. (/>) Tin- narrowness of 
 liis view. Great as was the magnificence of this monarch, greater still, by tar, is 
 the Creator's magnificence as seen even in this material universe j and this world 
 is but a small part of his empire. Bring together the treasures and glories of all 
 the palaces and mansions of earth; and, being only a small selection, they but 
 tend to show to the reflective mind the vastness of nature's resources. But all 
 this the monarch's mind did not perceive. Self bounded the range of his vision. 
 He was contracted in his views, (<■) TJie childishness of his spirit. The beautiful 
 simplicity of the child is seen in its display of its possessions ; but the ignoble 
 childishness of the monarch is seen in the display of his material riches. The 
 Almighty does not make a parade of the riches of his glorious kingdom; but per- 
 mits them to speak for themselves. Yea, he seems to conceal his treasures; and 
 all goodly pearls reveal themselves only to diligent seekers. 
 
 III. This proud display has a sorrowful aspect. He showed his riches . . . 
 
 many days. The display only lasted for days after all. This sorrowful word is 
 written on all our earthly possessions. Days mark the period of our stewardship ; 
 foi all are stewards. The end of the days, though many, even an hundred and 
 fourscore, will come at last. And then whose shall these things be] Then what 
 account will the poor, elated, flattered monarchs be able to give of their steward- 
 ship] Let us then (a) follow the example of the Divine King and not of the 
 human. Let not vain breath be spent in blowing the glorifying trumpet Pearls 
 will be found. Let our wealth — material, intellectual, or moral — speak for itself. 
 
CHAP. I.] 
 
 nOMILETIC COMMENTARY: ESTHER. 
 
 13 
 
 Let the light of goodness shine out clearly, and then we shall not need to say, 
 See how brightly toe illuminate the universe, (b) Let us see the warning word 
 " days " inscribed on all our possessions, on our golden thrones, on our palaces of 
 marble, and over our gardens of delight. This will abate our pride ; this will 
 remove the spirit of self-glorification. He that possesses spiritual riches, the gift 
 of Christ Jesus, will find his " days " merge into the bright, unending day of 
 heaven. 
 
 Suggestive Comments on Verses 4, 6. 
 
 Ver. 4. What is greatness if it be 
 not showed 1 And wherein can greatness 
 be better shown than in the achieve- 
 ments cf war and the entertainments of 
 peace ] — Bishop Hall. 
 
 This is instanced by the Holy Ghost, 
 to set forth the pride and vanity of this 
 great monarch, abusing God's gifts to 
 his own ambition, and priding himself 
 in that wealth which had been gotten 
 by the hard labour of his poor subjects. 
 — Trap p. 
 
 This was vainglory, an affectation of 
 pomp to no purpose at all ; for none 
 questioned the riches of his kingdom, 
 nor offered to vie with him for honour. 
 If he had showed the riches of his 
 kingdom, and the honour of his majesty, 
 as some of his successors did, in contri- 
 buting largely towards the building of 
 the temple, and the maintaining of the 
 temple - service, it would have turned 
 to a much better account. — Matthew 
 Henry. 
 
 Poor man ! he little knew wherein 
 true riches, glory, and royalty consisted. 
 
 The princes feasted ; the provinces 
 would have to fast. 
 
 Upon a pavement of red and blue. 
 These are those things that make us 
 desirous to live long here. Will these 
 save a man from sickness 1 Do not 
 these outward gauds and gaieties carry 
 away the heart from the love of better 
 things 1 — Trapp. 
 
 Wealth, honour, and draperies are 
 poor things to put a dying head upon. 
 
 If the feast of an earthly monarch be 
 so magnificent, what will be the feast of 
 the King of kings in heaven 1 There 
 will be unfading splendour, and plea- 
 sures without exhaustion or satiety. All 
 things are ready for this feast; we are 
 all invited. May we accept the gracious 
 invitation, seek and find the weddin™ 
 
 garment, and sit down at the marriage 
 supper of the Lamb. — Henry and Scott. 
 
 1. The folly of building upon " riches " 
 and "honour." It is idolatrous in prin- 
 ciple. It puts the creature in the place 
 of the Creator. It looks no higher than 
 this life. God, heaven, eternity, are all 
 sacrificed for pleasure. It is destructive 
 in its issues. " A house on the sand." 
 " A broken cistern." " A lifeless tree." 
 2. The wisdom of building upon the 
 true riches. It is pious in its principle. 
 It refers all to God. Exalts him in the 
 soul, and renders to him his just honour. 
 It is elevated in its aim. Heaven — 
 eternity. Mean is the ambition of the 
 man who aims at universal empire when 
 compared with the Christian's aim. He 
 aims at the possession and enjoyment of 
 God.— Rev. G. Leach, F.G.S. 
 
 An ancient father, when he first set 
 his foot in Home, at that time the mis- 
 tress and wonder of the world, made 
 this pious observation : " If an earthly 
 kingdom is so glorious, how glorious 
 must the new Jerusalem be ! " If you 
 account those men happy who were 
 feasted in the royal gardens of Shushan, 
 how blessed must those men be who 
 are admitted to an eternal feast in 
 Christ's Father's House ! Gold and 
 silver and pearls are but poor emblems 
 of its celestial splendour. — Rev. G. 
 Lawson. 
 
 The owner of this must have been 
 very much prospered. 1. Prosperity 
 should lead to praise. 2. As a matter 
 of fact, prosperity is often hostile to the 
 spiritual life. 3. To permit the plea- 
 sures of life to absorb our attention is 
 degrading to the nature entrusted to us 
 by God. 4. It is destructive to the 
 happiness which thus is mistakenly 
 sought. Application: 1. To the rich 
 and prosperous : be on your guard. To 
 
11 HOmLETIC COMMENTARY: ESTHER. [-hat . t. 
 
 the poor: murmur not that prosperity were better, wisdom or riches, answered, 
 
 has been denied you; wealth is the Riches: "for I have often," said he, 
 
 eternal ruin of many. — B. T/iompson. "seen poor Aviso men at rich fools' 
 
 It is nol your riches of this world, doors, but never rich fools at poor wise 
 
 bul your riches of grace, that shall do men's doors;" yet wealth may he 
 
 your souls good. " Not my wealth, nor joined with wisdom, goodness with 
 
 my blood, but my Christianity makes greatness. Mary and Martha may he 
 
 me noble," quoth that noble martyr sisters ; righteousness and riches may 
 
 Romanus. And though the philosopher dwell together. — Adams. 
 merrily, when he was asked whether 
 
 MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH. Verses 7, 8. 
 
 Unwise Liberality, but a "Wise Regulation. 
 
 Here is liberality shown no1 merely by a warmth of feeling, or by a flow of well- 
 expressed sentiments, but by the extent of its bestowals. Xo one could justly 
 complain that Ahasuerus was of a niggardly turn of mind on this occasion. All 
 Avas done on a large and generous scale, "according to the state of a king." Costly 
 vessels adorned the festive board, the rich Chalybonian wine foamed and sparkled 
 in the golden tankards. There was no stint at this royal entertainment. The, 
 generous man commands our admiration, if not our esteem. And while we seek 
 to show the unwisdom of tins king's course of proceeding, we do not refuse our 
 meed of praise for the generous spirit which lie displayed. 
 
 I. This monarch's liberality was unwise, for it was an encouragement to 
 drunkenness. According to Grecian information, an exceedingly large quantity 
 of wine was drunk at Persian feasts. Now, if the king's provision ami the king's 
 decree were intended, or were calculated, to promote extensive drinking, and weie 
 a permission to each guest not to stint himself as to the amount of -wine he 
 drank, then it was not Avise ; for moderation is desirable, as all alloAv. Even 
 strong drinkers admit the advantages of temperance. A certain king asked a 
 philosopher how he was to behave himself, and the philosopher replied, "Remem- 
 ber always that you are a king." This the inebriate cannot do, for alcohol, though 
 it may quicken the imagination, enfeebles both the will, the memory, and the 
 judgment. The drunkard is a slave, and not a king, though he sit on a Persian 
 tin diie. No drunkard can inherit the kingdom of heaven. The rich Avines of 
 earth spoil the taste, so that the spirit cannot appreciate the richer Avines of heaA r en. 
 
 II. This monarch's liberality was unwise, even if it were not an encourage- 
 ment to drunkenness. Alcohol is useless as an article of diet, and wines are 
 drunk for the sake of the alcohol which they contain. Alcohol is treated as an 
 alien in all its travels through the body, and no part AA'elcomes it as a friend, or 
 provides for it a home. If alcohol impairs the power of the physical system, if, 
 further, it blunts the reason, prevents the critical faculty from exercising its tine 
 power of drawing the line between the evil and the good, ami lessens the authority 
 of moral control, then surely it should not be received by him who is a self-deny- 
 ing practiser of thai which is morally good; then surely the sincere follower of 
 ( 'hrist should abstain. 
 
 III. This monarch's liberality was unwise, even if it were an encouragement 
 to merriment. The respectable drinker professes to take alcohol, not through the 
 promptings of animalism, but for the sake of the genial excitement and the feeling 
 of good fellowship it promotes. Tin' least is dull when alcohol does not furnish its 
 exhilarating influence. It excites the intellect, promotes conversation, and gives a 
 charm to existence, its advocates seem to declare. But the laughter engendered by 
 alcohol is as the crackling of thorns under a pot. Yea, it is worse. The thorns 
 crackle and expire without any unpleasant consequences, but this laughter 
 
CHAP. I.] EOMILETIG COMMENTARY: ESTHER. 13 
 
 crackles with a noise that is ominous of coming troubles. An even flow of plea- 
 sure, the product of the harmonious and healthy working of all the parts of a man's 
 nature, is more to be preferred than that undue excitement which produces a fear- 
 ful relapse and a painful recoil. 
 
 IV. This monarch's unwise liberality was in some measure atoned for by 
 the wisdom of his regulation. The spirit of the regulation made by this Persian 
 monarch may be brought out by the statement that every man was allowed to 
 please himself. And this, so far, is wise. Let there be no forced drinking at the 
 feast. We may go further, and say, Let the man be a teetotaller without asking 
 unpleasant questions, and letting him feel that his course requires an apology. The 
 social tyranny of the past has received a blow through the advance of temperance 
 principles from which it will not recover ; but we still feel too much of its power 
 at our public feasts. Surely a man ought to be allowed to refuse wine in the same 
 way as he would refuse any other article at the table. 
 
 Let wise men learn to abstain. Hooker says that " a greater good is to be 
 chosen before a less." Some men declare that it is good to take alcoholic beverages, 
 but it is plainly proved that it is a greater good not to take ; therefore let the not- 
 taking be the purpose of every well-instructed nature. If we seek the preservation 
 of bodily health we must not take. If reason is to rule, if the balance of the moral 
 nature is to be preserved, if body, soul, and spirit are to be presented an acceptable 
 and holy and living sacrifice to God by Christ Jesus, we must beware of alcoholic 
 drinks ; we must exercise wise and joyful restraints at all festive gatherings ; we 
 must recognize the truth that we are greater, and bow to greater things than that 
 of allowing the soul to be slave of the body, the moral nature to be moulded by 
 fashion, and the reason to be tyrannized over by foolish customs. 
 
 I. The drunkard's excuses, by which he endeavours to defend or palliate his 
 
 crime. 1. Good fellowship. But can friendship be founded on vice ; especially 
 on a vice which notoriously impairs the memory and the sense of obligation, leads 
 to the betrayal of secrets, and stirs up strife and contention 1 Instead of promoting 
 conversation, it destroys it by destroying the very capacity of communicating 
 rational and agreeable thought. The drunkard may make his company merry, but 
 they laugh at, not Avith him, and merely because they are delighted with the sight 
 of one sillier than themselves. 2. It drowns care. But the drunkard's care must 
 arise either from the ill state of his health, the unfortunate position of his worldly 
 affairs, or the stings of his guilty conscience ; and, in either case, his temporary 
 oblivion is purchased at the cost of an aggravation of the evils which cause him to 
 desire it. To drink to drown remorse is especially absurd, for all that the drunk- 
 ard can expect from this course is the benefit of travelling some part of the road to 
 eternal misery with his eyes covered. 3. The drunkard has other excuses. He 
 says that he is so exposed to care and business that he cannot avoid drinking to 
 excess, or that he is of so easy and flexible a temper that he cannot resist the 
 importunities of his friends, as he calls them. Thus he is for softening his vice 
 into a sort of virtue, and calling that good nature which his creditor calls villany, 
 and his family cruelty. 
 
 II. The drunkard's woe. This is made up of the miserable effects, as well 
 temporal as spiritual, of his favourite vice. 1. Poverty. 2. Contempt. 3. Ill 
 health. 4. An untimely death. Consider, too, the spiritual evils that spring from 
 and punish the vice of drunkenness. 1. The understanding is depraved and dark- 
 ened. 2. The will is enfeebled and dethroned. The passions are inflamed am I 
 rendered ungovernable. 3. Regard for men, reverence for God, are destroyed. 
 Drunkenness travels with a whole train of other vices, and requires the whole 
 width of the broad way to give it room. — Clapham's Selected Sermons. 
 
16 
 
 EOM I L /•: TIC C< >MM EN Tj I R ) ' : ES Til EH. 
 
 [CHAP. I. 
 
 Suggestive Comments on Verses 7, 8. 
 
 Here was no compulsion, either as to 
 the measure or the quality of tin; draught: 
 every man's rule was his own choice. 
 
 Who can but blush to see forced healths 
 in Christian banquets, when tin; civility 
 of many pagans commands liberty ! — 
 Bishop Hail. 
 
 The bounties of Providence are con- 
 tinual evidence of God's tender care 
 towards us, his undeserving creatures, 
 and are to be thankfully and humbly 
 received, and used piously and in mo ler- 
 ation. They are given for the support 
 of our nature, to enable us to glorify God 
 in our bodies and our spirits ; let us not 
 then render ourselves incapable of doing 
 so by drowning our rational powers in 
 intoxicating liquors, and throwing our 
 bodies out of health and comfort by a 
 worse than beastly use of God's mercies. 
 — Hughes. 
 
 Be not drunk with wine, wherein is 
 excess; but be filled with the Spirit, 
 speaking to yourselves in psalms and 
 hymns and spiritual songs, making 
 melody in your heart to the Lord. — 
 Paul, tin- A i a idle. 
 
 There was no forcing of healths or 
 urging of them; every man drank as 
 he pleased ; so that if there w r ere any 
 that drank to excess, it was their own 
 fault. This caution of a heathen prince, 
 even then when he would show his 
 generosity, may shame many that are 
 called Christians, that think they do 
 not sufficiently show their good house- 
 keeping nor bid their friends welcome 
 unless they make them drunk, ami, 
 under pretence of sending tin; health 
 round, send the sin round and death 
 with it. There is a woe to them that 
 do so; let them read it and tremble 
 (Hal), ii. L5, 10). It is robbing men of 
 their reason, their richest jewel, and 
 making them fools, the greatest wrong 
 that, can be. — Matthew Henry. 
 
 "The man who would compel his 
 fellows to wound their own souls, by 
 sinning against God, must, be viewed in 
 no better light than a barbarian who 
 puts a sword into their hands, and re- 
 quires them to sheathe it in their own 
 
 bowels." 
 
 We arc not told in the present passage 
 that the king on this occasion exception- 
 ally permitted moderation, especially to 
 such of his guests as were, according to 
 their ancestral customs, addicted to 
 moderation, and who would else have 
 been compelled to drink moderately ; 
 for the words with which this verse 
 concludes, while they imply also a per- 
 mission to each to drink as little as he 
 chooses, are specially intended to allow 
 every one; to take much. — Bertliau. 
 
 Vcr. 8. I. This shows tlte common 
 sense of tin- king. He behaved much 
 better in this matter than many who 
 are known as gentlemen. Many are 
 lost through being importuned to drink 
 against their wish. 
 
 II. This would test the moral strength 
 of the guests. Wise men will not eat 
 and drink more than the laws of temper- 
 ance allow. If any drank too much, it 
 was his own fault ; there was no com- 
 pulsion. He could blame neither the 
 king nor the law. 
 
 III. The tenth verse shoics, however, 
 that wine mastered the king. He would 
 sutler no man to be compelled to drink 
 to excess, yet set the example of exces- 
 sive drinking. The law provided for 
 moderation, but the king went beyond 
 all that. In eating, drinking, and every- 
 thing we do, let us remember the chief 
 end of man. — Rev. C. Leach, F.G.iS. 
 
 Drunkenness. Drunkenness is an 
 abomination to God and a degradation 
 to man. By this sin the creature which 
 is inferior oidy to the angels makes 
 himself lower than the brute. 
 
 I. See the peril of moderate drinking. 
 It creates the appetite for drink. We 
 have no natural taste for it ; it increases 
 as well as creates the appetite. Supply 
 creates demand; it grows with what it 
 feeds on. It gives the appetite entire 
 control. The man becomes first a slave, 
 then a victim. 
 
 II. See the madness of drunkenness. 
 It beclouds the intellect, destroys the 
 personality, and debases the image of 
 God. 
 
 III. See the woes of drunkenness. 
 There is the woe of physical conse- 
 
CHAT". I.] 
 
 IIOMIL E TIC COMMENT A R Y : ES TIIER. 
 
 17 
 
 quences ; there is the woe of a dis- 
 tracted mind ; there is the woe of per- 
 verted powers ; there is the woe of 
 moral defects ; and there is the woe of 
 God's malediction. This is written in 
 both volumes of the Scripture. — Rev. C. 
 Leach, F.G.S. 
 
 There is no homogeneity between 
 alcohol and any part of man's physical 
 system. Tissue does not assimilate it ; 
 the blood cells are distorted in shape 
 and imperfect in action through its per- 
 nicious influence ; the nervous system 
 is deranged, and the nerve centres are 
 quickened to undue action, by its irritat- 
 ing power ; the digestive processes are 
 arrested by its precipitating properties ; 
 the liquor sanguinis flows with greater 
 ease and purity when not impregnated 
 with its subtle poison ; animal heat is 
 promoted by oleaginous substances, but 
 ultimately lowered by the injurious ac- 
 tion of alcohol ; and the cerebrum can 
 decide difficult questions with greater 
 clearness, and the cerebellum can hold 
 the reins of government with more per- 
 fect mastery, when alcohol does not dis- 
 turb. Alcoholic drinks are injurious, for 
 they impair the body's power of resisting 
 both the approaches of pestilence and the 
 changes of climate. Life in God's world 
 must be preserved on God's conditions 
 of truth, sobrietj'", and industry. The 
 man who takes alcoholic drinks in moder- 
 ation may suppose that he will escape 
 damage, but it is a delusion, for the man 
 who drinks his daily drams will not- 
 only gradually but surely impair the 
 physical nature, but have a blunted con- 
 science, and a solution of continuity in 
 the powers of ratiocination and memory. 
 We cannot be unacquainted with their 
 properties of producing a pharisaic self- 
 complacency in certain classes. 
 
 According to the state of the king. 
 For whom it was not unlawful to feast, 
 so to show his liberality towards his 
 peers and courtesy to his people. But 
 that which was blameworthy in him 
 was — 1. His vain-glory. 2. His prodi- 
 gality. 3. His misspending of time, 
 4. His neglect of business. 5. His con- 
 tempt of the true God, not once ac- 
 knowledged by him or his guests. 
 Lastly, their profane mirth and jollity, 
 
 without the least note of sanctity or 
 respect to God's glory. — Trapp. 
 
 \\\ abundance, according to the state 
 of the king, according to the hand = 
 power of the king, means that the great- 
 quantity did honour to the power of 
 the king, or that it corresponded to the 
 ability and riches of the king. — Lange. 
 
 The kingly character. The true king 
 is the able man. Able he should be 
 not only from the abundance of his 
 material resources, and the advantages 
 of his situation, but from the greatness 
 of his moral nature. Every man who 
 is morally able is a king. But this true 
 kingship is only possible by virtue of 
 spiritual alliance with the King Christ 
 Jesus. He was the gloriously able Man. 
 He has such a store of ability that he 
 can make all his followers able. 
 
 I. It was not according to the state of 
 a king (1) to make a vain parade. The 
 man conscious of his strength or of his 
 wisdom need never and will never boast 
 his powers. There will be fit occasion 
 when he- speaks of his ability. The sun 
 shines without directing attention to his 
 rays. (2) To place temptation in the 
 way of his subjects. Heaven's King 
 tempteth no man to evil ; he seeketh 
 to make all kingly. There is a royal 
 benevolence in his nature and royal bene- 
 ficence in his proceedings. The kingly 
 are those who imitate this blessed pattern. 
 This unkingly earth needs more kingly 
 men of this true type. (3) To be weak 
 ami capricious. Poor Ahasuerus was not 
 an able man. He was like a poor reed 
 tossed by the gusts of passion and the 
 whirlwinds of caprice. He sat on a 
 throne, but did not wield the sceptre of 
 a firm will. He was himself governed 
 
 II. It was according to the state of a 
 king (1) to be munificent. The hand of 
 some kings is grasping. But the true 
 conception of the kingly hand is to be 
 open in order to spread blessings. The 
 more munificent and the more kingly. 
 Let there be large and unostentatious 
 bestowals of material, intellectual, and 
 moral wealth, and thus we shall be 
 kingly. (2) To work for moral eleva- 
 tion. Oh that kings would work for 
 the moral as well as the material pro- 
 gress of the nations ! Some do neither. 
 
18 
 
 U0M1LETIQ COMMENTARY: ESTHER. 
 
 [chat. r. 
 
 They pauperize the nations in order to 
 enrich themselves, and sec not that the 
 wealth of the people is the wealth of the 
 people's sovereign. The kings arc few. 
 We want an increase of mural kings who 
 shall be king-creators. We need a larger 
 royal race to throw broad-cast royal seed 
 from which shall spring a goodly harvest 
 of kingly men. (3) To embody and 
 manifi si moral strength. That king will 
 not do much in the. way of moral eleva- 
 tion who is himself an example of im- 
 moral degradation. In order to lift 
 others we must ourselves he lifted. In 
 oiilcr to make others able we must our- 
 selves he ahle. Strength imparted is 
 strength increased. The greater number 
 of kings we create and the more kingly 
 we become. The more we enthrone 
 others and the more splendid does our 
 throne appear. 
 
 The common people are like tempered 
 wax, whereon the vicious seal of great- 
 ness makes easy impression. It was a 
 custom for young gentlemen in Athens 
 to play on recorders ; at length Alcibi- 
 ades, seeing his blown cheeks in a glass, 
 threw away his pipe, and they all fol- 
 lowed him. Our gallants, instead of 
 recorders, embrace scorching lust, star- 
 ing pride, staggering drunkenness, till 
 their souls are more blown than those 
 Athenians' cheeks. I would some Alci- 
 biades would begin to throw away these 
 vanities, and all the rest would follow 
 him. Thus spreads example, like a 
 stone thrown into a pond, that makes 
 circle to beget circle, till it spread to the 
 banks. Judas's train soon took fire in 
 the suspectless disciples; and Satan's 
 infections shoot through some great star 
 the intluence of damnation into the ear 
 of the commonalty. Let the experience 
 hereof make us fearful of examples. — 
 Adams. 
 
 The drinking wax according to the 
 hiu<; none did compel. The king had 
 expressly appointed "that they should 
 do according to every man's pleasure." 
 ( )f course there is the question whether, 
 if some man's "pleasure" should take 
 
 him bey 1 the hounds of temperance 
 
 and propriety, any restraint would he 
 put upon him? It seems as if there 
 would he. The enforcement of that part 
 
 rtf the rule, if it existed, was probably 
 
 left. With I lie "officers of the hulls.-." 
 
 The dangerous time was al the end of n 
 
 least, as we shall see. Meantime, it is 
 enough to observe that there is to be no 
 
 compulsion ; the inebriating cup is not. 
 to be pressed on the unwilling guest. 
 That custom apparently had been hut 
 too common among the Persians ami 
 their imitators. It is not entirely, how- 
 ever, in moral recoil that sanction is 
 thus given in law to the better practice. 
 There is a touch of political prudence in 
 it. For here at the feast are princes 
 from all parts, with their retainers and 
 tribes. There are men here from the 
 mountains who are famous for their 
 temperance and for the strictness and 
 simplicity of their manners. Such men 
 would not be won, but disgusted rather 
 and alienated from the royal cause, by 
 anything like Bacchanalian excess. In 
 prudence, therefore, as well as from, 
 possibly, higher motive, the principle of 
 temperance must have the reinforcement 
 of public law. 
 
 It is humiliating to remember that no 
 long time has elapsed in this country 
 since the very same objectionable and 
 repulsive habit against which this public 
 law of the Persians was directed, pre- 
 vailed in some of the social circles id' 
 this country. It was a point of hospi- 
 tality to press the bottle even on the 
 unwilling guest. The generous ho-t 
 hardly felt that he had done his duty 
 until his guests were reeling, and if 
 some of them were under the table the 
 triumph of his beneficence was complete. 
 You might easily cull from the poi 
 the last century, both of England and 
 Scotland, descriptions and allusions 
 pointing to a state of things which, 
 happily, has now passed away. This, 
 indeed, is our reason for dwelling "ii 
 such a subject — repulsive enough in 
 itself — for even a few moments. It is 
 always helpful to observe any signs of ;i 
 real progress, and, undoubtedly, in the 
 course of a generation or two, we. have 
 in this particular made very great pro- 
 gress. Within the whole sphere of what 
 is called society, anything approaching 
 Compulsion would not be tolerated, and 
 in fact is never attempted. 
 
CHAP. I.] 
 
 HO MI LET 10 COMMENTARY : ESTHER. 
 
 If) 
 
 Whether we do not, on a wider scale, 
 as a people in fact, and with the force 
 of law, practise compulsion still, and 
 that on the weakest and most helpless 
 part of our people, is a very serious 
 question, and one which, to say the 
 least, we cannot answer with the same 
 confidence. If places where drink is 
 sold to the common people are multi- 
 plied much heyond the reasonable needs 
 of the community; if exceptional privi- 
 leges are given to the sellers ; if their 
 houses, with many exits and entrances, 
 are planted in the most conspicuous 
 spots; if they hum the brightest lights 
 in the streets, and are allowed to keep 
 open long after other trades and indus- 
 tries are closed and silent, does not all 
 this and more of the same kind amount 
 to a sort of compulsion to working- 
 people, and trades-people, and thought- 
 less young people of both sexes 1 If the 
 spirit of that old Persian law were ex- 
 pressed in our own legislation about 
 drink, it would, as we cannot help feel- 
 ing, be all the better for the morals and 
 manners of our time, for the sobriety of 
 the working-classes, and for the safety 
 of the young. " Men are not made 
 virtuous by Act of Parliament " has 
 grown to be a kind of axiom on this 
 and some other subjects ; and many a 
 one rides off on it, easily and gaily, as 
 though he had performed some feat in 
 logic. Put the axiom is one which 
 ought to be disputed. It is not broadly 
 and roundly true. Indeed a part of it 
 is untrue ; for Acts of Parliament, when 
 they are wise and suitable to the people 
 for whom they are framed, do help, in- 
 strumentally, to make men virtuous. 
 So Acts of Parliament, when they are 
 unwise and evil, help, instrumentally, 
 to make men vicious. When tempta- 
 tions and inducements to excess are 
 made too strong for the feeble resistance 
 they meet with, and made so partly by 
 legislation, is it not clear that the State 
 herself becomes a temptress, and to that 
 extent does " compel " 1 She makes the 
 law under which — in whatever way the 
 responsibility may be shared — there are 
 so many victims. She gathers the tax 
 which intemperance pays to sustain her 
 
 magnificence and power. She must 
 therefore have some corresponding abil- 
 ity to promote goodness and morality in 
 their exterior forms. She can refuse to 
 tempt, or to sanction temptation. She 
 can keep the path of virtue and obedi- 
 ence, as far as it is in her care, open. In 
 one word, as we have it on the highest 
 authority, she can be " the minister of 
 God " to men " for good." 
 
 So much we have thought it right to 
 say in contravention of the dictum of 
 the let-alone philosophy which is so 
 much applied to this and some kindred 
 subjects. Put we cordially assent to 
 the view that virtue and goodness in 
 the deeper sense are first of all from 
 above — from the Father of lights, from 
 the untempted, untempting God, all- 
 generous, ever-merciful — and then that 
 in earthly form they are the result and 
 product of the free action and mutual 
 intercourse of human minds. Let the 
 moral and intellectual power of the 
 community, in its full force, come to 
 the rescue. Direct conflict with evil 
 can only take us a certain length even 
 if it be successful. The inculcation and 
 the production of goodness among our 
 fellow-men will take us at once into 
 illimitable fields, and set us on a path- 
 way of progress unending. When we 
 have large increase of knowledge among 
 the people, some corresponding elevation 
 of social sentiment, and some refinement 
 of taste, and some improvement in the 
 structure of houses, and amusements 
 which are not corrupting and yet are 
 really amusing — we may hope confi- 
 dently to see the same process taking 
 place among the masses of the people, 
 in relation to temperance, which has 
 been accomplished so largely among the 
 higher classes. It is a vast and various 
 problem. It is a long question. We 
 can only do our own part by adopting 
 sound principles, and, still more, by the 
 uniform practice of moderation in all 
 things, because we are of those who 
 believe that "the Lord is at hand." 
 Whether we eat, therefore, or drink, or 
 whatsoever we do, let us do all to his 
 glory. — Raleigh. 
 
 c J, 
 
20 HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: ESTIIER. [chap. i. 
 
 MAIN IIOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH. Verse 9. 
 Vasiiti, the Persian Monarch's Queen. 
 
 I. Her significant name. Those critics who determine the personality of 
 Ahasuerus do not speak so positively about the personality of Vashti. \Ve read 
 hei name, but cannot tell either her ancestors or the place of her birth. It may be 
 supposed that she came from Yezd, for the women of this province were esteemed 
 the nmst beautiful in Persia. The proverb is, that to live happy a man must have 
 a wife of Yezd, eat the bread of Yezdecas, and drink the wine of Shiraz. However, 
 she stands before us in a great measure unknown. She plays her part in the 
 drama, and then disappears from the stage, but does not pass away without 
 imparting useful lessons. Her very name is significant, and means in old Persian 
 "the best." She was good of countenance, and doubtless possessed " the light of 
 that dark eye" which made the power of Eastern women, " wondrous strong, yet 
 lovely in their strength." There was a charming grace in her motion, and a 
 pleasant witchery in her voice. Her "long locks foiled the painter's power." 
 She was so lovely, that after the assembled magnates had been satiated with 
 beautiful sights, she must be brought forth to minister to the pleasure of natures 
 cloyed with the very excess of beauty and the brilliance of regal splendours. The 
 wise man says that "favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that 
 feareth the Lord, she shall be praised." Physical beauty is the gift of God, and by 
 no means to be despised ; but that beauty is vain which is the only means 
 employed to procure favour, and which conceals internal unloveliness. But surely 
 there may be the combination of physical beauty and moral loveliness. If we 
 cannot find in nature either the flower well shaped and beautifully tinted that 
 gives forth sweet fragrance, or the bird of beautiful plumage that can send out rich 
 music, yet surely the beautiful Avoman may by Divine grace give forth the sweet 
 fragrance of godliness, and her deeds become so many glad songs in this weeping 
 world. And much may be done for religion by strong-minded and spiritually- 
 gifted Yashtis. Even many professing Christian women may learn useful moral 
 lessons from one whose religious tenets they might reject. Whatever view may be 
 taken of her conduct, this is plain, that she was not a mere plaything for man, that 
 she was not ready to sacrifice the moral sense in order to feed her own vanity by 
 ministering to the bacchanalian caprice of a despot. Many names are given at 
 random, and do not set forth the attributes of the persons to whom they are applied. 
 A woman may be called Vashti, and yet not be the best either physically, or 
 intellectually, or morally. Certain it is that many bear the better name of ( Jhiistian 
 who are not Christlike. The outward beauty is not increased by the outshining of 
 inward loveliness; the. "marred" countenance is not rendered attractive by the 
 pervasive and far-gleaming influence of a soul "full of grace and truth." The 
 Christian should be the best, if not in physical beauty, if not in intellectual grace 
 and power, yet in that spiritual loveliness which can make all attractive. Better 
 than the name that: proclaims either physical beauty or glorious ancestry, better 
 than the boasted titles of earth, is that name which tells of Divine grace in the 
 soul, which links us on to the sublime ancestry of God's true heroes, and betokens 
 our Divine royalty. 
 
 II. Vashti the queen also gives a feast. It is asserted that Vashti was one 
 of the king's inferior wives, dignified with the title of queen. And this statement 
 is supported by a reference to Berodotus. Now in the 1 k to which the refer- 
 ence is here made we lind that the great historian relates that the Persians made 
 this statement to King Amyntas — that it is a custom with us Persians, when we 
 have given a greal feast, to introduce our concubines and lawful wives to sit by our 
 side. Put the statement was evidently made for an illegitimate and licentious 
 
CITAP. I.] 
 
 HOMILETIC COMMENTARY : ESTHER. 
 
 21 
 
 purpose, and is not, therefore, to be received as a correct representation of Persian 
 customs. And if it were, the appeal proves too much, for it shows that Vashti was 
 neither a lawful wife nor a concubine, for both are said to be introduced to the 
 feasts. The separation of men and women is in accordance with existing Oriental 
 customs, which oblige women to feast separately from the men, even on the same 
 occasions of rejoicing. And this was plainly the custom in the time of Ahasuerus. 
 Certainly it was a special favour shown unto Esther when the king and Haman 
 attended the banquet she had prepared. If Vashti were a mere concubine she 
 would not have been sent for with such courteous formality, and she would not 
 have ventured to refuse to comply with the despot's command. The feast is said 
 to be in the palace, as if to mark the separation more distinctly. And she gave the 
 feast to the ladies either in her own apartments, or in some portion of the royal 
 dwelling placed at her disposal. According to this custom men must feast together, 
 and women must be excluded. But the Divine word teaches the better rule, that 
 men should never so conduct themselves as to make it expedient to exclude the 
 society of virtuous women. For the woman is the complement of the man. Each 
 from each, each to each, should both receive and give. Perfect manhood cannot 
 be attained except there be the refining touch of a woman's gentle hand. And 
 perfect womanhood cannot be reached unless a man's influence is at work imparting 
 strength. But this above all — no man should go where a virtuous and high-souled 
 woman cannot enter. Christianity has still a great work to do in teaching men 
 that all pleasures should be forbidden in which wives and children cannot partici- 
 pate. The feasting is injurious where pure and sensitive spirits are not regarded as 
 welcome quests. 
 
 Suggestive Comments on Verse 9. 
 
 It is remarkable in this third feast — 
 
 I. That the women feasted within 
 doors. Not in the open court, as their 
 husbands did. 
 
 II. That they feasted apart from the 
 men. Which, whether it were of pride, 
 because Vashti would keep state by 
 herself, or of necessity, because either 
 the custom of the country or the king's 
 jealousy would not allow her presence 
 among so many of the opposite sex, yet 
 surely this may condemn our most las- 
 civious mingling of both sexes together 
 in dancing and such like meetings, where 
 nothing is more usual than lustful looks. 
 Lot, feasting and drinking wine with 
 his own daughters fell into sin. The 
 Israelites doing the like with the daugh- 
 ters of Moab were ensnared and sub- 
 verted. The dancing damsel so inflamed 
 that old goat Herod, that, like a madman, 
 he sweareth to give her her desire to the 
 half of his kingdom. — Trapp. 
 
 I cannot but envy the modesty of 
 heathen dames. Vashti the queen and 
 her ladies, with all the several ranks of 
 the sex, feast apart, entertaining each 
 other with a bashful courtesy, without 
 
 wantonness, without that wild scurrility 
 which useth to haunt promiscuous meet- 
 ings. Oh shameful unchastity of those 
 loose Christians, who must feed their 
 lust while they fill their bellies, and 
 think the feast imperfect Avhere they 
 may not satiate their eye no less than 
 their palate. — Bishop Hall. 
 
 While the king showed the honour 
 of his majesty, the queen and her ladies 
 showed the honour of their modesty, 
 which is truly the majesty of the fair 
 sex. — M. Henry. 
 
 The king did not grudge to his queen 
 and the women of Shushan the pleasures 
 which he allowed himself and his male 
 subjects, so far as they could be enjoyed 
 without indecency. 
 
 It would have been dangerous to 
 morals and inconsistent with received 
 usages for the queen and ladies of Shu- 
 shan to have associated with the other 
 sex in their banquet ; but they had a 
 feast by themselves, in which, doubtless, 
 they respected the laws of decorum and 
 temperance. 
 
 Let not women be locked in their 
 chambers as if they were criminals that 
 
HOMTLETIC COMMENTA RY: ESTHER. 
 
 [chap. t. 
 
 must, be Locked under close restraint; 
 luit Let them not use their liberty for an 
 occasion to the gratification of idleness, 
 or a spirit of dissipation. Let them 
 beware of that .society that would cor- 
 rupt their morals or stain their character. 
 — Rev. George Lawson. 
 
 The name Vashti has probably a con- 
 nection with the old Persian vahisti 
 (the best), or with the related behisht. 
 In modern Persian Vashti signifies a 
 beautiful woman. Vashti gave the feast 
 to the ladies in the king's palace, z. e. 
 either in her own apartments, which 
 also were in the royal residence, or in 
 some other dwellings there which were 
 placed at her disposal for this festive 
 occasion. — Lunge. 
 
 The condition of woman in antiquity 
 was little better than that of a slave. 
 She was the property of her husband, 
 if married ; if unmarried, she was the 
 plaything or slave of man, never bis 
 equal. The morality of married life, 
 which is the strength and glory of any 
 people, was hardly known. Pompey 
 and Germanicus were singular in the 
 fidelity that marked their marriage rela- 
 tions on both sides, and were famous 
 through the singularity. The utter im- 
 
 purity of the men reacted in a similar 
 sell-degradation of the other sex. In 
 Rome marriages became, as a rule, mere 
 temporary connections. In order to 
 escape the punishments inflicted on 
 adultery in the time of Tiberius, mar- 
 ried women, including even women of 
 illustrious families, enrolled themselves 
 on the otlicial lists as public prostitutes. 
 St. Paul only spoke the language which 
 every one who knows the state of morals 
 of those days must use, when he wrote 
 the well-known verses in the opening of 
 bis Epistle to the Romans. The bar- 
 barians of the German forests, alone of 
 the heathen world, retained a worthy 
 sense of the true dignity of woman. 
 " No one there laughs at vice," says 
 Tacitus, " nor is to seduce and to be 
 seduced called the fashion." " Happy 
 indeed," continues the Roman, thinking 
 of the state of things around him, "those 
 states in which only virgins marry, and 
 where the vows and heart of the bride 
 go together. Infidelity is very rare 
 among them." The traditions of a purer 
 time Still lingered beyond the Alps ; the 
 after-glow of light that had set else- 
 where. — Geikie. 
 
 MAIN 1IOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH. Verses 10 and 14. 
 A Catalogue of Names. 
 
 Names are applied to persons and things to set forth their distinguishing charac- 
 teristics, and to separate one from the other. The name of the person should repre- 
 sent and bring before us the person so designated. But the names of these seven 
 eunuchs and seven princes do not give us any indication of their peculiar proper- 
 ties. These names are names only. The persons named are lost in the oblivion of 
 the past. 
 
 I. Human names are needful to the perfection of tie historic record. This 
 J look of Esther is a history as well as a drama. For the consistency of the drama, 
 and to the perfection of the historic record, there must be the record of names. We 
 may wish to know .something about the persons named, hut the historian cannot 
 always check his narration to describe every person to whom allusion must be made. 
 All '],,. hag to do is to give a faithful and general account of the transactions 
 
 recorded. 
 
 II. Human names are useful as being incidental testimonies to the veracity 
 of the history. A long list of names is dry reading. It sometimes makes an 
 unpleasant break in the even How of the narrative, lint it gives an air of truthlul- 
 
 to the record. It shows that, the writer either has much skill, or is speaking 
 about real transactions with which he is familiar. We have no just reason to sup- 
 pose that these sacred writers were endowed with the worldly cunning which led 
 
chap, i.] IIOMILETIC COMMENTARY: ESTHER. 23 
 
 them to conjure and insert names for tlie purpose of making their myths appear 
 something more than mythical compositions. There is the evident absence of all 
 deep art in their compositions. There is a simplicity which speaks of veracity. 
 
 III. Human names are recognized by the Divine mind. Language itself 
 must be of Divine origin. We cannot conceive human language having come into 
 existence in any other way. Names, then, are part of the Divine plan. The God 
 of order must approve of those names which are needful to the orderly movements 
 of society. They are plentifully employed in the Divine book. There are distinc- 
 tions on earth, and names are needful to preserve those distinctions. There are 
 distinctions in heaven, and perhaps names will continue in that sublimer sphere. 
 
 IV. Human names may be entered on the historic page and the owners sink 
 away into obscurity. These seven eunuchs and seven princes have for us no deep 
 interest ; their glory is gone, their names only abide. How touching it is to 
 reflect that the greater part by far of the race become only meaningless names ! 
 We have even no certain data for the interpretation of these names. They have 
 generally but little resemblance to known Persian names. But we may go further. 
 The best known names of the present will be crowded out of prominence by the 
 names of coming celebrities. There are vast multitudes in this country who do not 
 know the names, and still fewer who are acquainted Avith the characters, of those 
 great men who have fashioned our country's history. So passes speedily away all 
 human glory. The name of Christian will ever abide. 
 
 V. Human names may be entered on the historic page without any merit on 
 the part of the owners. If historic scrolls contained only the names of the merit- 
 orious, if even of the meritorious from a human standpoint, how short would be 
 the list ! The work of the historian would be very considerably abridged. These 
 names are inserted on account of their connection with the sacred story. 
 
 VI. Human names may be recorded in a sacred list and yet the owners not 
 themselves be sacred. This number seven was peculiarly sacred to the Persians. 
 If these eunuchs and princes had been of sacred character, if they had been known 
 for deeds of goodness, we may reasonably suppose that the Divine penman would 
 have paused in order to testify of their noble characters. This course is from time 
 to time pursued in the Bible. Many that are unsacred have their names written 
 on the sacred lists of earth. It is difficult, yea impossible, to keep our sacred lists 
 perfect. The names of the unworthy and the impure will get inserted. The sacred 
 list of heaven alone is perfect. Characters, not reputations, are considered in 
 Divine judgments. Not the skilful utterers, but the consistent doers of Divine 
 words will be written on Divine lists. 
 
 VII. Better than the celebrity of human names is the immortality of noble 
 deeds. The most celebrated of human names will vanish. Noble deeds alone are 
 immortal. When the names now blazoned forth on the pages of history, or trum- 
 peted in the ears of the Avorld, are known no more, then will be remembered the 
 names of God's faithful ones. For God is not unrighteous to forget their works 
 and their labours of love. 
 
 " Be good, my child, and let who will he clever — 
 Do nohle deeds, not dream them all day long ; 
 And so make life, death, and that vast forever 
 
 One grand, deep song.'' — Charles Kinr/sley. 
 
 Suggestive Comments on Verses 13, 14. 
 
 It is to be added, also, that mere some presumption of veracity ; and all 
 
 genealogies, bare narratives of the num.- unadorned narratives, which have no- 
 
 ber of years which persons, called by thing to surprise, may be thought to 
 
 such and such names, lived, do not carry somewhat of the like presumption 
 
 carry the air of fiction ; perhaps do carry too. — Butler s Analogy. 
 
21 E0M1LETIG COMMENTARY: ESTHER. [CHAP. I. 
 
 Every human name more or less his- Butwhole pages together of nothing but 
 
 toric. Some persons exorcise a direct names are so preposterously beyond all 
 
 historic influence; others are but inci- imaginable necessities of allusion, and so 
 
 dentally associated with the great facts destructive of all interest in the reader, 
 
 of time.- Dr. Parker. that we may safely infer that the intro- 
 
 In a similar way, many of the driest duction of such matter, to the extent we 
 
 portions of t lie historic hooks — the find it in the Bible, will admit of no 
 
 genealogies, I'm' example — minister to such solution. As little will it admit of 
 
 the same end. The mere frequency and a mythical origin; for though myths 
 
 copiousness of such matter, nntinctured may be a gradual and insensible growth 
 
 witli tlie smallesl trace of mythological of the popular imagination, they are yet 
 
 influences, and attended, as it often is, tine to the principles on which they 
 
 with a break in the continuity and have been constructed and embellished, 
 
 interest in the narrative, is, pro tanto, a to amuse or instruct; and neither the 
 
 voucher that the writings in which they one purpose nor the other can be an- 
 
 occur are neither fiction nor myth. . . . swered by whole chapters containing no- 
 
 We can understand the moderate use thing but long catalogues of names. — The 
 
 which Homer or De Foe may have made /Superhuman Origin of the Bible, hy 
 
 of such matter ; that is, just so far as to Henry Eogers. 
 impart a general air of verisimilitude. 
 
 MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PAEAGRAPH. Verses 10—12. 
 
 False Merriment and its Result. 
 
 " When the heart of the king was merry with wine" he sent the seven eunuchs 
 — which refers in the present case to the seven Amshaspands, in others the number 
 refers to the days of the week, or the seven planets — " to bring Vashti the queen 
 before the king with the crown royal, to show the people and the princes her 
 beauty. But the queen Vashti refused to come at the king's commandment: 
 therefore was the king very wroth, and his anger burned in him." 
 
 I. Here is false merriment. There is a merriment which is wholesome, and 
 there is a merriment which is injurious. That merriment which is the outcome of 
 a nature working harmoniously will do good, and will leave pleasant reflections ; 
 but that merriment which is the outcome of a nature where alcohol has sunk into 
 temporary oblivion all unpleasant views, and has unduly excited into delirious joy, 
 will work damage, and when it has gone a bitter memory will remain. The last 
 state of the man's heart made merry with wine is always worse than the state- 
 before the heart Avas reached by the delusive liquor. The false, both in nature 
 and in morals, cannot be without either attendant or consequent evils. Better no 
 merriment than that which is purchased at the expense of future repose. Let the 
 heart of man lie merry with the new wine of heaven 
 
 II. Here false merriment leads to a foolish command. When the heart is 
 thus merry with wine the head gets wrong. The directing portion of the brain is 
 disordered and weakened by alcohol. Strange freaks are performed, and the merry 
 
 heart too often becomes a broken heart. Very suggestive is tlie statement "when 
 the heart of the king was merry with wine." frothing is said about the head. The 
 stomach is ton often the strongest force in a drunkard's frame. Ahasuerus, in his 
 maudlin Btate, did not dream that his beloved and beautiful queen would dare to 
 be disobedient, lie gave a foolish command. His folly brought its bitter fruit. 
 He sowed the wind and reaped the whirlwind. Let us be careful how and whom 
 we command. 
 
 III. A foolish command leads to a humiliating refusal. It never occurred to 
 this proud and merry-making monarch that a woman would venture to refuse, when 
 
chap. I.] HOMILETIC COMMENTARY ': ESTHER. 25 
 
 courtiers fawned and flattered, and when princes rendered obeisance. In the very 
 climax of his glory and his merriment he received a blow which was more humili- 
 ating than defeat on the battle-field. What a consternation when Vashti refused 
 to come ! If there was one thing more than another calculated to make this kin" 
 sober, it was the tidings that Vashti refused to come. Our troubles come from 
 quarters where we least expect them. 
 
 IV. This humiliating refusal leads to a still more humiliating- display. 
 Sometimes fools are so silly as not to see that they have been humiliated. But 
 Ahasuerus had not been rendered senseless by the copious draughts of rich wine ■ 
 he had just enough sense left to see that he had received a great affront; "there- 
 fore was the king very wroth, and his anger burned in him." A king in a childish 
 passion. How unkingly ! This royal child asked for his queen to be brought, as 
 an over-spoilt child asks for a fresh toy to gratify a surfeited nature, and then "begins 
 to cry and make a farcical scene because the request is refused. If there was one 
 manly spirit present at the scene, he must have blushed for his country to see it 
 governed by such a pitiful specimen of manhood. Here learn — 1. That human 
 greatness reveals human icealcness. Earthly kings are not omnipotent. Only God 
 is all-powerful ; and oftentimes with the small hand of his weakest creatures he 
 touches the strong man and makes him tremble. In the day of proudest successes 
 Ave receive the most humiliating strokes. 2. An uncurbed will must meet with 
 strange rebuffs. A Persian monarch's command was not to be disputed, and thus 
 he did not learn to respect the rights of others. While we uphold our own rights, 
 and maintain a proper dignity, we must remember that others have rights. 
 Spoiled children must come to grief. 3. That at Divine feasts alone do toe find 
 the best at the last. Where Ahasuerus and his like preside the best wine is drunk 
 first, and at the conclusion the guests are only too glad to escape without personal 
 harm. Where Christ presides the joyful guests exclaim, Thou hast kept the good 
 wine till now. 
 
 Suggestive Comments on Verses 10 — 12. 
 
 1. It was certainly the king's weak- wroth, and his anger burned in him. 
 
 ness to send for the queen into his Anger. I. The deformity of anger. 
 
 presence when drunk. (1) He dishon- What an ugly thing is anger, dispossess- 
 
 oured himself as a husband. He ought ing a man of his soul (which is possessed 
 
 to have protected, and not exposed, his by patience), and disfiguring his body 
 
 wife. (2) He diminished himself as a with fieriness of eyes, furiousness of the 
 
 king in commanding that from his wife looks, distortion of the face, inflamma- 
 
 which she might refuse, much t> the tion of the nostrils. The Hebrews call 
 
 honour of her virtue. 2. Perhaps it was anger Aph, because therein the nose 
 
 not her wisdom to deny him. (1) She riseth, the colour changeth, the tongue 
 
 refused, though he sent his command by stammereth, the teeth gnash, the hands 
 
 seven honourable messengers. (2) Had clasp, the feet stamp, the pulse beats, 
 
 she come, while she did it in pure obe- the heart pants, the whole man swells 
 
 dience, it had been no reflection upon like a toad, glows like a devil, tormenting 
 
 her modesty. — M. Henry. himself before his time ; whence many 
 
 1 . Great pleasure is often followed heathens have advised the angry man to 
 
 by equally great displeasure. 2. Occa- look at his face in a glass, and so grow 
 
 sions of joyous feasting commonly end ashamed of his distemper, 
 in sorrow. 3. Although beauty is a II. The disgrace of anger. The 
 
 gift of God, still one should not make Holy Ghost hath stigmatized the angry 
 
 a boast of it, nor yet be proud of it. 4. person for a fool in grain, such an one 
 
 Pride occasions much sorrow, and often as exalts folly, sets it upon high to be 
 
 plunges into destruction. seen of all, and proclaims himself a 
 
 Ver. 12. Therefore was the king very fool; yea, the worst of fools; for "proud, 
 
2fi 
 
 UoMILETIC COMMENTARY : ESTHER. 
 
 [CHAP. I. 
 
 haughty scorner ia his name that deal- 
 
 eth in proud wrath;" that is his title. 
 Thus God loads such a man with dis- 
 grace. And whereas he thinks by his 
 big looks and high terms to carry it 
 among men (as Lamech did), when ho 
 hath gotten revenge especially ; the 
 Apostle purposely disgraceth revenge of 
 injury by a word signifying disgrace, 
 loss of victory, or impotency of mind. 
 And, indeed, it is un manliness of spirit, 
 and little wit in the head, that causeth 
 a great deal of passion in the heart, 
 as we see in infants and sick people. 
 Thunder, hail, tempest, neither trouble 
 nor hurt the celestial bodies ; no more 
 doth anger great minds. The tops of 
 some mountains are said to be so high 
 above the middle region of air, that not 
 so much as the dust of them is moved 
 out of the place from year's end to year's 
 end : so is it here. Great spirits and 
 men of understanding are, like the upper 
 region, in a perpetual serenity ; or, at 
 least, like the highest planets, that of 
 all the rest are thought to be lowest in 
 course, or like a diamond that is neither 
 bruised nor cut. 
 
 III. The danger of anger. It 
 consumes the body ; it confounds the 
 soul. Fevers, colics, palsies, pleurisies, 
 apoplexies, inflammation, consumption, 
 are caused by it, wdiile it dries up the 
 cadical moisture (that balsam of the 
 body), boils the heart into brine, and, 
 vipei like, makes an end of the owner; 
 who, as he lived undcsired, so he dies 
 unlamented, as Nerva, Valentinian, and 
 other choleric kings and persons of great 
 note, wdio hereby have wrought their 
 own ruth and ruin. And for the poor 
 soul it is indisposed, by unadvised anger, 
 for prayer or any other duty to God 
 01 man. He is laid open, like an un- 
 walled city, to many sins, mischiefs, 
 and miseries ; temporal, spiritual, and 
 eternal. He that lives and dies in this 
 fury becomes a prey to the furies of 
 hell. — Trapp. 
 
 Vers. 10, 12.— What has thus degraded 
 the king? Wine. The king was happy 
 in the obedience of princes, l>ut unhappy 
 in Ihc disobedience of his wife. What 
 a disappointment ! lie showed the glory 
 of bio kingdom, and the honour of his 
 
 excellent majesty many days; but he 
 also showed that, with all his glory, he 
 could not command a woman. Disputes 
 between husbands and wives are bad at 
 any time, but much worse in the pres- 
 ence of company. Though a mighty 
 king, he was also a poor slave. He 
 drank wine to excess. He issued an 
 unrighteous command. He was carried 
 away by anger. Rich man ! Yet how 
 poor, with all thy wealth. A sober slave 
 is more respected, and more to be re- 
 spected, than a drunken king. " I will 
 not come," said Vashti ; and all the 
 persuasion of the great men could not 
 persuade her. When asked to violate 
 our conscience, let us dare to say, No. 
 If husbands expect obedience from their 
 wives, let them be reasonable in their 
 commands. The guilt of disobedience 
 sometimes rests upon hint wdio issues 
 the command. " Husbands, provoke 
 not your wives to anger." They have 
 given themselves to and for you. Wives, 
 do not dishonour those husbands who 
 have chosen jou before all others. Per- 
 haps Vashti thought, What means this 
 uncouth motion? More than six months 
 hath this feast continued, and all this 
 while Ave have enjoyed the wanton lib- 
 erty of our sex. Were the king him- 
 self this command could nob be sent. It 
 is the wine, and not he, that is guilty 
 of this errand : is it for me to humour 
 him in so vain a desire? Will it agree 
 with our modest reservedness to offer 
 ourselves to be gazed at by millions of 
 eyes? Who knows what wanton at- 
 tempt may follow upon this ungoverned 
 excess? This very message argues that 
 wit and reason hath yielded I heir place 
 to that besotting liquor. Vashti refuseth 
 to come. . . . *Thc blood that is once, 
 inflamed with wine is apt to boil with 
 rage. It vexes him to think that those 
 nobles whom he meant to send away 
 astonished with the demonstration of 
 his power and majesty should now say, 
 "What boots it Ahasuerus to rule afar 
 oil' when he cannot command at home? 
 In vain doth he boast to govern kings, 
 while he is checked by a woman." — 
 r>is!n>i> Hull. 
 
 And his anger burned within him; as 
 Nebuchadnezzar's also did upon a like 
 
CIIAP. I.] 
 
 IIOMILETIC COMMENT ART : ESTHER. 
 
 27 
 
 occasion, hotter than his seven times' 
 heated oven, or than the mountain 
 Etna doth. Moses' anger waxed hot in 
 him, so that he knew not well what he 
 did in it, it raised such a smoke. Jonah 
 was ready to hurst with anger; his hlood 
 hoiled at his heart as hrimstone doth at 
 the match. Therefore is the heart set 
 so near the lungs, that when it is heated 
 Avith anger it may he allayed and cooled 
 by the blast and moisture thereof. Jo- 
 sephus saith that he brake off the feast 
 upon this occasion. — Trapp. 
 
 We see that God reserves the best fur 
 the last. God's last works are his best 
 works. The new heaven and the new 
 earth are the best ; the second wine 
 that Christ created himself was the best; 
 spiritual things are better than natural. 
 A Christian's last is his best. God will 
 have it so for the comfort of Christians, 
 that every day they live they may think, 
 my best is behind, my best is to come ; 
 that every day they rise they may think, 
 I am nearer heaven one day than I was 
 before, I am nearer death, and therefore 
 nearer Christ. What a solace is this 
 to a gracious heart ! A Christian is a 
 happy man in his life, but happier in his 
 death, because then he goes to Christ ; 
 
 but happiest of all in heaven, for then 
 he is with Christ. How contrary to a 
 carnal man, that lives according to the 
 sway of his own base lusts ! He is 
 miserable in his life, most miserable in 
 his death, but most miserable of all after 
 death. I beseech you lay this to heart. 
 Methinks, considering that death is but 
 a way for us to be with Christ, Avhich 
 is far better, this should sweeten the 
 thinking of death to us, and we should 
 comfort ourselves daily that we are nearer 
 happiness. — Sihbes. 
 
 Ahasuerus went from bad to worse, 
 as we all do whenever we fail to practise 
 the self-denial of obedience to God. 
 Pride, luxury, excess in wine, mad up- 
 setting of the first laws of nature, these 
 came first ; then followed in its order 
 furious anger, which may do anything. 
 He was stung in the apple of his eye. 
 AY hen I am bringing to so triumphant a 
 finish the pageant planned since I came 
 to the throne, when everybody is think- 
 ing how supremely grand I am above 
 all men, to be thus humiliated by a 
 woman ! Ah, sire! had you respected 
 yourself you would have been spared all 
 the humiliation. — Symington. 
 
 MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PAEAGEAPH. Verses 10—12. 
 
 Vashti's Dilemma. 
 
 There are great crises in the history of individuals as well as of nations. An 
 arrestive hand checks our progress. We are compelled to pause and deliberate. 
 Such a crisis had now arrived in the history of Vashti. The great turning-point of 
 her life now appears. The question is, Shall I be unquecnly, and thus remain a 
 queen 1 ? or shall I be queenly, and become unqueened? Summon up thy heroism, 
 Vashti ; all thy fortitude will now be required. 
 
 I. She receives an unkingly message. Doubtless the seven chamberlains 
 Avould give the king's message in true courtly style ; bat even courtly words may 
 indicate unkingly intentions. It was so in this case. Vashti was to leave the 
 company of her guests, and put on the crown royal, which was a high-pointed 
 turban ; and consequently she was to appear in entire royal apparel. We may sup- 
 pose that her person was to be graced with costly robes of splendid colours from 
 the province of Cashmir, and with garments made of the finely-wrought and richly- 
 variegated silks of the Medians. Pearls from the Persian Gulf would flash their 
 varied and chastened colours. Rich jewels would not be wanting to increase the 
 splendour. And gold from the distant parts of the empire would manifest the 
 vastness of the kind's resources, and tend to set forth the charms of the queen's 
 person. Being purified with oil of myrrh and sweet odours, she would emit a 
 pleasant fragrance by her every motion, as well as display her beauty in new and 
 attractive aspects to the beholders. No purpose was to be served beyond that 
 
28 HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: ESTHER. [cttai\ t. 
 
 of showing the people and the princes her beauty. She was to throw aside her 
 self-respect, to divest herself of true queenly attributes, and appear with her face 
 unveiled, in order that the courtly revellers might feast upon her countenance ; and 
 thus she was to do that which was abhorrent to an Eastern woman's sense of pro- 
 priety. No wonder if her spirit rebelled against such unkingly purposes. The 
 kings of time are cruel to their favourites. At first they may be loaded with 
 honours ; but afterwards, if any offence is given, the honours are taken away, and 
 the favourites made to feel that it would have been better for them to have 
 remained in obscurity. A despot's guests are not to be envied, for the arbitrary 
 and unreasonable nature of his commands may turn their laughter into weeping. 
 But in the long run despots are cruel to themselves. " The merciful man doeth 
 good to his own soul ; but he that is cruel troubleth his own flesh." However, 
 let us remember that the King of heaven is no unreasoning despot. His command- 
 ments are not grievous, and are for the highest good of those to whom they are 
 given. The guests at Divine feasts need never fear that he will send unkingly 
 messages. And should they disobey there will be given opportunity for confession 
 and time for amendment. This merciful king bears long and compassionately even 
 with hardened offenders. Blessed indeed are those who serve the King of heaven, 
 and sit down at Divine feasts ! 
 
 II. She displays a queenly spirit. If Vashti were simply a vain woman, — 
 proud of her mere physical beauty, — it may be fairly conjectured that the desire to 
 display her charms would overpower the spirit of self-assertion, which some suppose 
 to be the explanation of her conduct. This was undoubtedly the one opportunity 
 of her life for reaching the climax of earthly glory. It was indeed a great occasion 
 when womanly vanity would induce compliance ; but Vashti rose superior to the 
 seductive prospect. Many of our modern Vashtis would have rushed to the ban- 
 queting-hall, and the spirit of self-assertion would not have been allowed to over- 
 master the spirit of vanity. Not only women, but many men have sacrificed far 
 more than Vashti was called upon to sacrifice in order to obtain a portion even of 
 that applause which would have greeted the queenly beauty had she, with winning 
 smiles and graceful movements, presented herself at the king's command. But she 
 refused to go, and nobly braved the worst consequences rather than violate her 
 modesty, and appear in public unveiled. For anything we know to the con- 
 trary, she may have tried reasonable methods in order to extricate herself from 
 the difficult position. But who can reason with a despot who has been made 
 unreasonable by Avine, and whose smallest caprice must not be thwarted? The 
 narrative, simply states the result, that she refused to go at the command of the 
 monarch. However, if Vashti's assailants still persist that she was an arrogant and 
 supercilious beauty, — that she was intoxicated with admiration and with her 
 exalted position, — there is something to admire in that daring spirit which was 
 ready to brave death rather than obey a command which appeared to her un- 
 reasonable : for she would know that a Persian monarch's rage might mean 
 death to the offender. Certainly obedience is due to those in authority; but 
 the command of conscience is superior to the commands of husbands, or of kings. 
 The commands of conscience should be supreme; but there is a danger lest the 
 voice of mere caprice be confounded with the voice of conscience. The com- 
 mands must lie prayerfully and carefully examined. The voices must lie tried. 
 Have they a Divine sound] Then all must follow the directions of the all- 
 imperative voice, though it leads to banishment, to spoliation, and even to death. 
 
 III. Her queenly spirit was not appreciated. It provoked the wrath of the 
 king, and his anger burned in him. And the courtiers and great ladies did not 
 appear to her defence. There is ever a natural tendency for the strong to oppress 
 the weak. Throughout all ages women have found it difficult to get their due 
 from men. Christianity has been woman's great elevator and benefactor; and 
 she has been, as is most fitting, its most faithful adherent and propagator. But 
 
CHAP. I.] 
 
 110 Ml LET IC COMMENTARY : ESTHER. 
 
 29 
 
 still woman's weakness is too often trespassed upon l>y manly strength. To be on 
 the side of right, if supported by might, excites little or no opposition ; but to be 
 on the side of right when it is the side of weakness is to be guilty of folly and of 
 rebellion against constituted authority. Even to this day the inebriated Ahasuerus 
 has his apologists, though they may not mean it ; and the unqueened Vashti is 
 followed in her retirement with the pitying sneer of those who assert that she failed 
 because she was not a sagacious woman. The banished Vashtis ought to receive 
 full credit for the heroism of their conduct. Shameful it is that those who profess 
 to believe in persecuted apostles, in slain reformers, and in a crucified Jesus, should 
 always be carefully looking about for some error in conduct, for some failure in 
 policy, in order to account for the non-success of those whom society has banished 
 from its palaces. Not only ancient, but modern critics would account for the 
 beheading of John by the statement that he made a rude and personal attack ; for 
 the stoning of Stephen, by the suggestion that he spoke truth in an unpalatable 
 form ; for the unpopularity of Paul, that his bodily presence was weak ; and for 
 the banishment of Vashti, by the supposition that she was arrogant and unwise in 
 her method of refusal. The Vashtis must be prepared for some depreciation if 
 they resolutely adhere to, and firmly follow, that which they believe to be true, and 
 noble, and virtuous. But this may be their consolation, that time is on their side, 
 and that the Great Supreme accepts sincerity of motive ; yes, though the con- 
 sequent action be not the wisest. For he is not a hard task-master. Let the 
 true-hearted Vashtis rejoice, for their judgment is with God. 
 
 Suggestive Comments on Verses 10 — 12. 
 
 " Wine is a mocker, strong drink is 
 raging ; and whosoever is deceived there- 
 by is not wise." Ahasuerus formerly 
 behaved like a king. His wine, and 
 the vessels in which it was drunk, 
 were royal, according to the state of the 
 king ; but now his behaviour is like 
 one of the vain fellows. He boasts 
 of the extraordinary beauty of his 
 wife. In defiance of the manners of the 
 Persians, and of the laws of decency, 
 he will now have her brought into a 
 drunken assembly of princes and peasants 
 for a public show. What is it that has 
 thus degraded the great king 1 An 
 honest peasant that knows how to guide 
 his affairs, and to govern his family with 
 discretion, is more truly royal than Aha- 
 suerus, exposing his shame before his 
 people. Wine has transformed him 
 from a king to a clown, or something 
 below a clown. It is said, that the 
 Spartans used to compel their slaves to 
 intoxicate themselves, that they might 
 show them in their cups to their children, 
 and thus produce in their minds a per- 
 petual detestation of this worse than 
 beastly vice. You have no occasion to 
 bring drunken men into the presence of 
 
 your children. Scripture gives you 
 pictures of this vice sufficient for your 
 admonition and theirs. It is plain from 
 the instance before us, that a sober slave 
 is more respectable than a drunken 
 king. 
 
 SJie teas fair to look upon, and all 
 the princes and people must, for once, be 
 gratified with a sight of her shining 
 countenance, that they might admire the 
 king's happiness in the possession of 
 such unrivalled beauty. Vain man ! 
 Did he not know that the most glorious 
 beauty of the human face as of the 
 visible creation, is but a fading flower? 
 Still less did he know, that this beauty, 
 in a day's time, would be no longer his 
 property, and that he would lose the 
 possession of it by his own folly. Let 
 those who have wives, however beauti- 
 ful, be as though they had them not ; 
 for the fashion of this world passeth 
 away. 
 
 Vashti had good reason to beg to be 
 excused from appearing in a company 
 Avhere too many were merry with wine. 
 She is too often imitated by women who 
 have promised obedience to their hus- 
 bands. They will allege, that the mean- 
 
30 
 
 HOM1L ETIC COMMENT A R Y: ESTHER. 
 
 [chap. I. 
 
 ing of llu'ir promise was that tl my were 
 to obey their husbands in all reasonable 
 things. If by reasonable things they 
 meant things in -which they could give 
 obedience with a good conscience, the 
 limitation would be very proper. But a 
 more frequent meaning which they have 
 for the expression is, things which please 
 their own humours. If these only are 
 the matters in which they are disposed 
 to yield obedience, the promise ought 
 never to have been made ; for whenever 
 they conform themselves to their own 
 humours, rather than to the known will 
 of their husbands, they break ;i solemn 
 promise. 
 
 If husbands expect due obedience 
 from their Avives, let them be always 
 reasonable in their commands. You see, 
 that all the authority of the greatest 
 king in the world could not make Vashti 
 obedient to a foolish command. She 
 will rather encounter the king's wrath ; 
 and " the wrath of a king is like mes- 
 sengers of death." 
 
 Therefore was the king very wroth, 
 and his anger burned in him. He was 
 confounded and shocked at the unex- 
 pected disappointment. He hoped to 
 show to all his people and princes in 
 Shushan how happy he was, and only 
 showed them his misery. — Rev. G. 
 Lawson. 
 
 Then took place the succession of 
 violent scenes, so thoroughly character- 
 istic of Oriental despotism, but which to 
 the I Lebrew historian was so familiarized, 
 that they appear to fill him rather with 
 
 admiration than astonishment and honor 
 — the order for the queen to unveil her- 
 self — contrary to the immemorial usage 
 of Persia, and therefore the sure Bign 
 of the king's omnipotence — before the 
 assembled court, the rage of the king 
 at her refusal, and her instantaneous 
 divorce. In the annual Persian repre- 
 sentation of the tragedy of the sons of 
 Ali, an English ambassador is brought as 
 begging their lives; and to mark his 
 nationality a hoy dressed up as an un- 
 veiled woman accompanies him as the 
 ami tassadress. — Stanley's Jewish Ch urch 
 and Note. 
 
 The queen refused to appear at the 
 king's command as delivered by the 
 eunuchs, because she did not choose to 
 stake her dignity as a queen and a wife 
 before his inebriated guests. The 
 audacity of Persians in such a condition 
 is evident from history. — Keil. 
 
 While Ahasuerus was intent to show 
 how far the limits of his empire ex- 
 tended, by calling to his court the 
 governors of the most distant provinces, 
 he found in close proximity, yea, in his 
 very house, insubordination to his will. 
 Though he knew how to punish it, yet 
 he could not conquer it, nor turn it in- 
 to obedience to his wishes. There is, 
 therefore, a power higher than that of 
 man, were he even the mightiest ruler 
 of earth. To disobey human commands 
 may be dangerous, may bring temporal 
 disadvantage, but to despise God's laws 
 is degrading, and will bring eternal 
 ruin. — -Lange. 
 
 MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH. Verses 13, 14. 
 
 The Seven Wise Men. 
 
 " Where shall wisdom be fou ml, and where is the place of understanding?" 
 At first sight we may naturally look for it in the palaces of kings, for they have the 
 opportunity of gathering round them the choicest spirits in the realm. They have 
 money at their command ; and money answereth all things. The wise man's wisdom 
 is too often a mere article of barter, and is sold to the highest bidder. The prospect 
 of money sometimes causes the wise man to prostitute his wisdom to foolish purposes. 
 But the wisdom of courtiers is not always directed by highest moral motives. The 
 wisdom may be great, but the moral power weak. True wisdom is oftener found 
 in lowly hearts and true. A poor wise man may by his wisdom deliver the city ; 
 and yet no man remember that same poor man. Poverty has its drawbacks. 
 Little wisdom counts for much where there is much wealth, sounding titles, and an 
 exalted position. 
 
chap. I.] HOMILETIC COMMENTARY : ESTHER. 31 
 
 I. The character of these wise men. In general we may say that they were 
 men of learning and men of business. Observation was joined with meditation to 
 the extension of their knowledge. They were not mere bookworms, but studied 
 men and things. They might judge the times by heavenly phenomena as astrolo- 
 gers ; but, like the princes of Issachar, they also may have been " men who knew 
 the times, what Israel ought to do." The perfectly Avise man must study men 
 as well as books. It is well to know human law and judgment; it is better 
 to know Divine law. " The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul." 
 This defines the nature of true wisdom. " Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is 
 wisdom ; and to depart from evil, that is understanding." 
 
 EI. The favour granted to these wise men. Ancient kings preserved their 
 dignity by exclusiveness. Only a few were admitted to familiar intercourse. 
 These wise men saw the king's face. This earth's grandest King frequented the 
 thronged highwaj s. He was the guest of publicans and of sinners. His greatness 
 was not dependent upon the pomp of circumstances. His royalty could stand the 
 rude stare of the multitude. The eye of faith, though possessed by the lowliest, 
 may still see the face of heaven's King. " The pure in heart shall see, and do see, 
 God." 
 
 III. The exalted position occupied by these wise men. They sat the first in 
 the kingdom. Many would regard them with envy. But highest seats are not always 
 the most pleasant. Golden chairs may be uneasy ; silken couches may have their 
 pricking thorns. A wise man may sit the first in the kingdom to-day, and to- 
 morrow he may be elevated to the gallows on which Haman was hung. Lofty 
 seats are dizzy and dangerous places. Christ's spiritual kingdom affords safe and 
 pleasant seats for all its subjects. 
 
 IV. The noble qualities of these wise men were ignobly used. They knew 
 the times, so as to trim their sails to the best advantage for themselves. Their 
 wisdom was a mere marketable commodity. It was ready to be used anyhow for 
 the procuring of either wealth, or place, or power. They knew law and judgment, 
 but they knew that what was law for the despot was not law for the oppressed 
 subject. Prudence is a virtue; but prudence may be degraded into mere time- 
 serving policy. There is a wisdom which dares to do right, and brave all conse- 
 quences. 
 
 V. The vision with which these men were favoured had no transforming 
 power. They saw the king's face, but did not catch the inspiriting inliuence of a 
 mighty sold. There must have been in that wide realm faces better worth seeing 
 than that of the weak-minded despot. We cannot gather from this account that 
 these wise men were any nobler for this favoured vision. The face of heaven's 
 King has transforming power. Its light dispels the darkness of humanity ; its 
 Divine influences rain down and change the very faces of beholders. " But we 
 know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him ; for we shall see him as he 
 is." The likeness is being now and here fashioned. Each Christian's face 
 should bear the impress of royalty. Christians too should emit transforming 
 and purifying influences. 
 
 VI. The exalted position occupied by these wise men was not employed for 
 the advantage of the oppressed. Where is the use of being great if we cannot 
 use our greatness to help the little 1 High seats should be occupied not for self- 
 glorification, but to lift up our fellows out of the pits of wretchedness. We do 
 not read that these men bent from their proud positions to rescue a condemned 
 woman — condemned before she had been heard, and banished without an oppor- 
 tunity of saying a word in justification of her conduct. Surely it is better to pri- 
 on the side of mercy. Let those in high places consider the Aveaknesses and the 
 awful temptations of those in low places. 
 
32 
 
 WiMILETIC COMMENTARY: ESTHER. 
 
 [CHAP. I. 
 
 Suggestive Comments on Verses 13, 14. 
 
 Where should the perfeci ion of wisdom 
 be, if not in the courts of great princes i 
 or what can the treasuries of monaruhs 
 purchase more valuably precious than 
 
 learned and judicious attendance? or 
 what can be so fit for honour as the 
 wisest] These were his oracles in all 
 his doubts j these are now consulted in 
 this difficulty. Neither must their advice 
 be secretly whispered in the king's ear, 
 but publicly delivered in the audience of 
 all the princes. It is a perilous way 
 that these sages are called to go, betwixt 
 a husband and wife, especially of such 
 power and eininency. — Bishop Hull. 
 
 As he had seven chamberlains to 
 execute his orders, so he had seven 
 counsellors to direct his orders. The 
 greater power a man hath, the greater 
 need he hath for advice, that he may 
 not abuse his power. — M. Henry. 
 
 Of these Persian privy counsellors it 
 is said — 1. That they were wise men. 
 2. They were skilful in the times, that 
 is, well versed in histories, and well 
 furnished with experiences. 3. That 
 they knew the laws, which they had 
 ready, and at their fingers' ends, as we 
 say. 4. They also knew judgment, that 
 is, equity and moderation, without which 
 utmost right might be utmost wrong, as, 
 indeed, it proved in the case in hand. — 
 Trapp. 
 
 Which Icnew the times. The good 
 man can say, like the psalmist, " My 
 times are in thy hand." "The sove- 
 reign Arbiter of destiny holds in his own 
 power all the issues of our life ; we are 
 not waifs and strays upon the ocean of 
 fate, hut are steered by infinite! wisdom 
 toward our desired haven. Providence 
 is a soft pillow for anxious heads, an 
 anodyne for care, a grave for despair." 
 
 Ver. 14. The kings of Persia did not 
 suffer themselves to be seen by all persons 
 on all occasions. These were a favoured 
 few. But all that love the Lord shall 
 see the " King's face " in heaven. That 
 will be a happy sight. The sorrows of 
 life will then be past; death will then 
 lie destroyed ; heaven ami all its joys 
 
 will be OUTS lor ever. 
 
 Which sat the first in the kingdom. 
 
 A great privilege which depended upon 
 wealth, and upon the favour of the 
 king. They who sit with Christ in bis 
 kingdom will have no title because of 
 earthly position. It will be because of 
 goodness, and the grace and mercy which 
 saves us. — Rev. C. Leach, F.G.S. 
 
 He that would mount cares not what 
 attendance he dances at all hours, upon 
 whose stairs be sits waiting, what enor- 
 mities he soothes, what deformities he 
 imitates, what base offices he does pros- 
 trate himself to, so he may rise. The 
 poor man envies the great for his honour ; 
 the great perhaps envies the poor more 
 for his peace, for as he lives obscurely, 
 so securely. He that rightly knows the 
 many public and more secret vexations 
 incident to honour would not, as that 
 king said of his crown, stoop to take it 
 up, though it lay at his feet before him. 
 When the Lord hath set thee up as 
 high as Hainan in the court of Ahasuerus, 
 or promoted thee to ride with Joseph in 
 the second chariot of Egypt ; were thy 
 stock of cattle exceeding Job's; did thy 
 wardrobe put down Solomon's, and thy 
 cupboard of plate Belshazzar's when the 
 vessels of God's temple were the ornature ; 
 yet all these are but the gifts of Wisdom's 
 left hand, and the possessors may be 
 under the malediction of God. 
 
 How many rich merchants have sud- 
 denly lost all ! how many noblemen 
 si ild all ! how many wealthy heirs spent 
 all ! Few Sundays pass over our heads 
 without collections for shipwrecks, fires, 
 and other casualties ; demonstrative 
 proof's that prosperity is inconstant, 
 riches casual. And fur honour, Ave read 
 that Belisarius, an honourable peer of 
 the empire, was forced in his old age to 
 beg from door to door. Frederic, a greal 
 emperor, was so low brought that he 
 sued to be made but the sexton of a 
 church. — Adams. 
 
 "A great English writer has pictured 
 an imaginary character as having a sweet 
 look of goodness, which drew out all 
 that was good in others. There must 
 have been some Buch Divine attraction 
 to the poor and outcast in the looks and 
 whole person of our Lord." — ■ Geikie. 
 
chap, i.] HOMILETIC COMMENTARY : ESTHER. 33 
 
 This King's face has not only a sweet expelled, and fresh goodness imparted, 
 
 look of goodness, but a transforming By the process of devoutly and lovingly 
 
 power of goodness. To see aright this gazing we are experiencing the process of 
 
 King's face is not only to have our good- being changed into the same Divine- 
 
 ness drawn out, but to have the badness image. 
 
 MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH. Verse 15. 
 
 A King in Consultation. 
 
 Most men have not the opportunity of being present when a king holds a con- 
 sultation. Such an opportunity is now presented. Enter the banqueting hall. 
 Let silence be kept, for the king is about to speak. But we shall find here only 
 that which is to be avoided, and nothing to imitate. 
 
 I. The king ignores the folly of his own conduct. There is not here the 
 slightest hint that his request was unreasonable. The demand made that Vashti 
 should be brought into the court of revellers unveiled is spoken of in solemn phrase 
 as a commandment, as a proceeding the carrying out of which was needful to the 
 welfare of the state. Men by a change of words, by cunning phrases, try to change 
 the nature of their crimes. It is hard to bring ourselves faithfully to task. AVe 
 rea' lily ignore the folly of our own conduct when we are bitterly smarting under its 
 results. 
 
 II. The king tries to shift the blame on to others. In this the king shows 
 himself the son of that first parent who blamed his wife and tried to exculpate 
 himself. Adam blames Eve. Ahasuerus is wroth with Vashti. Ahab calls Elijah 
 Israel's troubler, Herod beheads John the Baptist. A man blames his fellows ; 
 a man finds fault with his circumstances; a man quarrels with his organization. 
 But the last person a man blames is himself. When he has come to do this 
 thoroughly, his reformation is more than half completed. 
 
 III. The king tries to get away from the whispers of conscience. If guilty 
 men were fully satisfied with their reasonings about the force of circumstances and 
 their defective organizations, they would not show themselves so uneasy. The 
 reasoning, if conclusive, would be condoning and pacifying. Vashti's crime was 
 only small, if crime it was ; why, then, should the king make so great a commotion 
 over so small a matter 1 ? Why, because the voice of conscience was not altogether 
 stifled, and it spoke so as to fill him with trouble. The king's dignity might be 
 touched by the unhappy queen's refusal ; but his conscience was touched much 
 more. Men are always most angry with, and most severe upon, others when their 
 own consciences are troubled. And when a guilty conscience sits upon the seat of 
 judgment, the poor prisoner may not expect mercy; for then the severest decrees 
 will be pronounced. A guilty conscience is a great legalist. It says what shall 
 be done " according to laws ; " it searches out for precedents and examples ; it is 
 very strict in its requirements ; it does not temper justice with mercy ; it keeps 
 all mercy for itself, and justice, which thus becomes injustice, for those brought to 
 its bar. This king had no right to sit in judgment, for he himself was the 
 originator of the supposed misdemeanour. 
 
 IV. This king makes others partners of his guilt. Humanity hedges about a 
 king, whether divinity does so or not. Men flock around a royal standard. That 
 which is a crime in a subject becomes only a folly in a king. And so Ahasuerus 
 had no difficulty in gathering around him the wise men to consult about the crime 
 of a poor woman, and condemn her to banishment. It would have required the 
 spirit of a martyr to utter any remonstrances in the presence of this mighty despot, 
 and a martyr spirit is not often found in king's palaces. It requires ruder fare for 
 its development than the sumptuous feasts of royal tables ; it needs coarser cloth- 
 ing than purple and fine linen. The world's great prophets are not clothed in suit 
 
 D 
 
34 IIOMTLETIC COMMENTARY : ESTHER. [chap. I. 
 
 raiment. They move in the wilderness. And so it is all the more praiseworthy 
 when those wearing Boft clothing have spirits strong and hold. Courtly martyrs 
 are few, hut when found are most nohle. 
 
 Sdggestive Comments on Verse 15. 
 
 Instead of at once following out what The comhined wisdom of all, it seems, 
 
 his anger suggests, Ahasuerus submits was enlisted to consult with the king 
 
 his case to the law and custom. This in what course should he taken after so 
 
 itself is great and beautiful ; this is the unprecedented an occurrence as Vashti's 
 
 victory of culture over crudeness and disobedience of the royal summons. It, 
 
 passion. But in the manner in which is scarcely possible for us to imagine the 
 
 this is done here it amounts to nothing astonishment produced by such a refusal 
 
 after all. We seem to feel in advance in a country and court where the will of 
 
 that nothing good will come of it. — the sovereign was absolute. The assem- 
 
 Lange. bled grandees were petrified with horror 
 
 Because she hath not 'performed the at the daring affront. Alarm for the 
 
 commandment, &c. This was a fault, consequences that might ensue to each 
 
 no doubt, but not so heinous as was of them in his own household next 
 
 made of it. The faults of his wife a seized on their minds, and the sounds 
 
 man must either tollere or tolerare, of bacchanalian revelry were hushed 
 
 cover or cure, and go about to kill a fly into deep and anxious consultation — 
 
 upon her forehead with a bottle, as they what punishment to inflict on the refrac- 
 
 say. But God hath a providential hand tory queen. — Port. Commentary. 
 in it for the good of his Church. — Trap}}. 
 
 MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH. Verses 16—20. 
 
 Courtiers Forsake a Failing Cause. 
 
 It is not here asserted that this is a characteristic of courtiers, which may not be 
 observed in other men ; for it is a too general custom to push a man or woman 
 down when tokens of falling are visible. But the courtly style is to flatter the 
 powerful, and to speak no helpful words on behalf of the weak. In the multitude 
 of counsellors there is safety, if there be no personal interests at stake ; but these 
 courtiers were time-serving counsellors. They knew the danger of opposing the 
 arbitrary commands of a Persian monarch, and therefore they do not try to palliate 
 Vashti's conduct, but condemned her completely. 
 
 I. The courtly orator. Memucan was evidently a true courtly orator, and he 
 was put forth as the spokesman of the rest. He plainly knew that it would not be 
 prudent to oiler any opposition to the monarch's wild caprice. Memucan by artful 
 insinuation justifies the extravagant whim of this Eastern despot. The orator can 
 do much either for good or for evil. How awful when his great power is directed 
 by selfishness ! 
 
 II. His cunning flattery. His flattery was insinuating and captivating. He 
 artfully alludes to the extent of the monarch's dominions, to the resistless nature 
 of his decree, and to the vastness of his influence. He flatters by declaring that a 
 wrong done to the king is a wrong done to all his subjects. But he flatters most 
 by assuming that the king's command was altogether legitimate, and in no wise to 
 be disputed. " The king Ahasuerus commanded Vashti the queen to be brought 
 in before him, but she came not." Thus it shall he reported, so says the courtly 
 orator ; but what says the uncourtly and intelligent observer? Even if he blames 
 Vashti he will not condone the fault of Ahasuerus as was done by Memucan. Truly 
 a flattering mouth worketh ruin. 
 
chap, i.] HOMILETIO COMMENTARY: ESTHER. 35 
 
 III. His vicious reasoning. Memucan understood how to make the worse 
 appear the better reason ; how cunningly to mingle truth with falsehood ; how art- 
 fully to fan the king's wrath into a consuming llame ; and how, by plausible utter- 
 ances, to show that the gratification of the king's unreasonable desire was for the 
 welfare of every household in the vast empire. A vicious logical process may be 
 carried out through ignorance, but too often it is indicative of the working of a 
 vicious nature. The heart must be right as well as the head if logical rules are not 
 to be violated. The simple heart will come straight to a correct conclusion where 
 the twisted but cultivated nature will falter. 
 
 IV. His time-serving policy. Memucan had regard to the welfare of himself 
 and his compeers more than that justice should be done to Vashti. Thus all are 
 prepared for the sharp verdict that Vashti must be unqueened ; that she must have 
 no further intercourse with the monarch ; and that another, better than she, was 
 to possess her royal estate. But he carefully refrains from adding, And thus she 
 will have no future opportunity of bringing time-serving courtiers to judgment. 
 These courtiers, in order to save themselves, and prevent Vashti from retaliating, 
 strove, by placing her conduct in the worst light, by showing how injurious would 
 be the influence of one in the highest position throughout the whole realm if she 
 were left unpunished, and by the advocacy of stringent measures, to divest her of 
 all power to do them harm in the future. 
 
 V. His unfeeling nature. The true orator should be a man of feeling. His 
 sympathies should go out towards the weak and the oppressed. But Memucan 
 was not a true orator. Certainly he was not a son of consolation. He had power, 
 but it was not power directed by goodness. His gift of speech was ready for the 
 use of the highest bidder. His heart was made of stone. He had a position to 
 maintain, and he would maintain it at whatever cost. The better feelings must be 
 stifled ; the voice of conscience must be hushed ; a weak woman must be tram- 
 pled out of existence. Ah, poor Vashti found by bitter experience that an arm of 
 flesh is but a broken reed on which to lean in the day of adversity. Vain is the 
 help of man in the time of trouble. Who shall rise up for her against the courtly 
 speakers and evil plotters 1 It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence 
 in courtiers, in nobles, or in princes. 
 
 The Folly op Trusting in Man. 
 
 " Cursed is the man that trusteth in man ; that maketh flesh his arm." To make 
 flesh our arm is to confide in human wisdom, power, riches, &c. for protection from 
 evil, or for the attainment of any personal advantage. This practice spreads 
 through all grades of society. The king Ahasuerus was guilty of it. But let us 
 remark that this practice — - 
 
 I. Is idolatrous in its principles. Whatever a man confides in for protection 
 and happiness is unquestionably his god. Let all covetous, ambitious, and licentious 
 persons consider this, — they all " make flesh their arm," and their hearts depart 
 from the Lord ! 
 
 II. It is grovelling in its aim. It looks no higher than present good, and 
 things altogether unworthy of an immortal spirit. God, the proper and adequate 
 good of the soul — the noblest object to which it can aspire — is neglected and 
 shunned ; the sinner's heart departs from him, to pursue wind, and chaff, and 
 vanity. 
 
 III. It is unreasonable in its foundation. It is built upon an extravagant 
 supposition, viz., that the creature can supply the place of the Creator ; indeed, it 
 supposes that man can do what God cannot. 
 
 IV. It is destructive in its issue. " Cursed is the man that trusteth," &c. 
 The man that trusteth in his fellows shall be like the heath in the desert — worth- 
 less, sapless, fruitless ; " he shall not see good when good cometh," shall not enjoy 
 
 D 2 
 
36 
 
 IIOMILETIG COMMENTARY: ESTHER. 
 
 [chap. r. 
 
 it — " but he shall inhabit the parched places," Arc. He shall prosper in nothing. 
 His soul shall hi' disconsolate, like a man banished to some desolate spot, amidst 
 burning sands and trackless wilds, where, all is melancholy, dreary, and waste, and 
 where he at length expires through famine. The cisterns he has hewn out are 
 broken. 
 
 Learn — 1. There is no safety in man. 2. To put your trust in the Lord. — 
 Sketches of Sermons, 1838. 
 
 Suggestive Comments on Verses 16 — 20. 
 
 Ver. 16. What is the influence our 
 conduct is likely to have upon others 1 
 Will many follow our example 1 Then 
 if we go wrong, we must share the guilt 
 of those who follow us. Offences must 
 needs come, but woe to that man by 
 whom the offence cometh. Vashti's of- 
 fence, it was said, was likely to be hurtful 
 to all the princes and people in all the 
 dominions of Ahasuerus. The great are 
 under strong obligations to act aright. 
 The gi'eater our position, the greater our 
 influence for good or for evil. Those in 
 the humblest walks of life have an in- 
 fluence. It is true all round that " no 
 man liveth unto himself, no man dieth 
 unto himself." 
 
 A bold man he was, surely, that durst 
 deliver his mind so freely of such a busi- 
 ness, and in such a presence. What if 
 the king and queen should grow friends 
 again — where had Memucan been ] If 
 his cause and his conscience had been as 
 good as his courage was great, all had 
 been as it ought to be. . . . Here they 
 condemn the queen unheard and uncon- 
 victed, which is against all law, Divine 
 and human. Was the king's bare word 
 a law or rule of right 1 ? and is not a 
 wife, in case of sin commanded by her 
 husband, rather to obey God than man ] 
 Here you may see when flattery and 
 malice give information, shadows are 
 made substance, and improbabilities ne- 
 cessities, so deceitful is malice, flattery 
 so unreasonable. — Trapp. 
 
 Ver. 17. It has been said that the 
 nation regulates itself by the example 
 of the king. It is to be feared there is 
 far too much truth in the saying. Even 
 Christians conform to this world too 
 readily, and think themselves excusable 
 if they are but following the example of 
 the great. It was argued that it' Vaahti 
 refused obedience to her husband, the 
 
 ladies of Persia and Media might follow 
 her example. If the queen and inferior 
 ladies refused submission, might not all 
 women in the kingdom do the samel 
 (Jan any husband in the king's domin- 
 ions expect greater submission from his 
 wife than the king himself 1 ? 
 
 Public persons are by Plutarch com- 
 pared to looking-glasses, according lo 
 which others dress themselves ; to pic- 
 tures in a glass window, wherein every 
 blemish is soon seen ; to common wells, 
 which if they be poisoned, many are 
 destroyed. The common people com- 
 monly are like a flock of cranes ; as the 
 first flies all follow. — Trapp. 
 
 Ver. 1 8. The king's nobles and princes 
 trembled for their own authority and 
 dignity. They were afraid to trust the 
 good sense of their wives. No doubt 
 their fears were just. What could be 
 expected of Avomen held in the bonds of 
 ignorance and slavery, as the Avives of 
 the East generally Avere, but that they 
 Avould attempt to snap their fetters 1 
 With the Avomen of our land it is very 
 different. They are greatly favoured, 
 they ought therefore to prize their privi- 
 leges. Wives, be obedient to your hus- 
 bands. Contention and wrath in fami- 
 lies is an evil of such magnitude, that 
 the Persian princes thought it necessary 
 to use the most vigorous and severe 
 measures to prevent it. 
 
 Likewise si tall the Indies . . . say. 
 Say Avhat 1 We "will not do as our 
 lords command us. Like enough all 
 this, for their tongues Avere their OAvn, 
 and their wills no less. That free Mill, 
 about Avdnch there is so much ado made, 
 when once lost, the Avomen caught it 
 up; and hence they are so wedded to 
 their oavii will, saith one merrily. — 
 Trapp. 
 
 Contempt and wrath. Contempt on 
 
CHAP. I.] 
 
 riOMILETIC COMMENTARY: ESTHER. 
 
 37 
 
 the wives' part, and wrath on the hus- 
 1 lands' ; wives shall slight their hus- 
 bands, and they again shall fall foul 
 upon their wives ; and the house they 
 dwell together in shall be no better 
 than a fencing-school, wherein the two 
 sexes seem to have met together for 
 nothing but to play their prizes, and to 
 try masteries. — Trapp. 
 
 Ver. 19. If it please the king. Cour- 
 tier-like, lest he should seem to prescribe 
 to the king, or to prejudice the rest of 
 the royal counsellors, he thus modestly 
 prefaceth to his ensuing harsh and hard 
 sentence. He knew well enough it 
 would please the king at present, in the 
 mind he was now in ; and to prevent 
 any alteration, he moves to have it 
 maiie sure by an irrevocable law, that he 
 might not hereafter be censured for this 
 his immoderate and unmerciful censure, 
 but to be sure to save one howsoever.— 
 Trapp. 
 
 Ver. 20. This decree would probably 
 inspire wives with fear, but would it not 
 tend to make husbands greater tyrants ? 
 The wives will cringe and obey like 
 schoolboys when their masters are pre- 
 sent, but will they promote their hus- 
 bands' interests and comforts ? Let your 
 wives share your happiness if you wish 
 them to contribute to it ; treat them 
 with tenderness if you wish them to 
 sympathize with you in times of dis- 
 tress. Let not their faults be blamed and 
 punished until you can say that your 
 behaviour has not tempted them to do 
 wrong. 
 
 And when the king's decree shall be 
 published. But why should any such 
 thing be published at all, unless the 
 king be ambitious of his own utter 
 dishonour? Is there none wiser than 
 another, but that the king must bewray 
 his own nest, tell all the empire that he 
 was drunk, or little better, and did in 
 his drink determine that against his fair 
 queen that he so soon after repented? 
 
 He should have done in this case as a 
 man doth that, having a secret sore, 
 clappeth on a plaister, and then covereth 
 it with his hand, that it may stick the 
 faster, work the better. — Trapp. 
 
 Persian law and gospel laiv. 1. Per- 
 sian law was arbitrary, chiefly according 
 to the caprice of the king ; and it was 
 cruel. This is seen in the case of Vashti. 
 2. Gospel law is righteous ; it is founded 
 upon God's justice and righteousness. 
 Persian laws, being dictated by whim 
 and caprice, were often degrading in 
 their effects. But God's laws are always 
 ennobling and exalting. God is ever 
 ready to forgive. If we confess our sins, 
 he is faithful and just to forgive us our 
 sins. Merciful is the gospel. " How 
 often shall I forgive 1 " inquired Peter ; 
 "until seven times?" "Yea, until 
 seventy times seven," said the King 
 of heaven. 
 
 Envy. Envy intrudes itself into all 
 positions. It affects princes and cour- 
 tiers. It is cruel in its nature and 
 design, and seeks always to bring down. 
 It is subtle in its movements, and dis- 
 astrous in its results. 
 
 Wicked counsel. The counsel of the 
 wicked is — 1. Natural to a depraved 
 heart. The carnal mind is enmity a- 
 gainst God. To follow the counsel of 
 the wicked is to swim with the stream. 
 2. Popular — the way of the multitude. 
 To put it far away is to be singular. It 
 is not always easy to come out and be 
 separate ; yet we must. 3. Pleasing 
 to the flesh. Sin wears a serpent's skin, 
 and carries a serpent's sting. The for- 
 bidden fruit is pleasing to the eye and 
 sweet to the taste. But true counsel- 
 lors will set aside all respect for private 
 interests ; will keep their eyes fixed 
 upon the public good; and will seek 
 to avoid injustice, though thereby their 
 own interests be endangered. — Rev. C 
 Leach, F.G.S. 
 
 MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH. Verses 21, 22. 
 
 Vashti is stripped of Queenly Externals. 
 
 Popular oratory is very frequently only the art of articulating the wishes and 
 desires of the multitude. Skill is required at once to comprehend, as if by intuition, 
 
38 H0M1LETIG COMMENTARY: ESTHER. [chap. i. 
 
 those desires ; to put them in attractive form, and to speak them forth as if they 
 were novel ideas ; but the man is untrue to himself who is determined that 
 Ids sayings shall please the kings and the princes who hold in their hands his 
 reputation for oratory. And Memucan had caught the trick of popular oratory. 
 His words were the expression of the king's then present feeling, and the interpret- 
 ation of the desires and fears of the listening and applauding courtiers. And we 
 are not surprised to read that the saying pleased the king and the princes, and the 
 king did according to the word of Memucan. All was put in motion. The post- 
 horses galloped from stage to stage. It is the proverbial and figurative statement 
 that they flew swifter than the cranes. The postmasters took from the couriers the 
 king's letters which proclaimed the cpieen's degradation; which, to those who 
 looked beneath the surface, set forth the king's rage more than his desire that 
 every man should bear rule in his own house. And soon throughout the whole 
 realm the story of Vashti's fall was heard. It was widely known that her crown 
 was taken away, and that she was loAvered from her high estate. And doubtless 
 none were found brave enough to speak in her defence. It would be then, as it is 
 too often now, that all forsook in the dark day of her disaster. Those who 
 flattered her beauty when she was queen would depreciate it when she was 
 unqueened. Those who fawned in the day of prosperity would either " damn with 
 faint praise " her daring spirit, or bluster about her disgusting arrogance, in the day 
 of adversity. We do not hear of any consoling or defending voice being lifted 
 up for her help when she had incurred the king's wrath. Let us hope that she 
 was not quite friendless and forsaken. But so far as the narrative is concerned we 
 do not hear of any such voice, or of any faithful adherents. Undefended she fell. 
 Grasping tenaciously the banner of right she was slain. A lonely wanderer she 
 went forth from the palace gates. Or if she still remained an inhabitant of the 
 king's harem, the lowest menials might scout her presence. Her tears might be 
 her meat day and night for a season ; but though no human hand wiped away 
 those tears, yet an approving conscience might bring untold consolation in the 
 hours of distress, and she that sowed in tears might afterwards reap in joy. A 
 victim she to a mistaken sense of what was right, as some would declare. But oh, 
 it is noble thus to fall. Better and more glorious is it thus to suffer, through even 
 a mistaken sense of duty, than to let moralities and scruples take care of them- 
 selves for fear they should stand in the way of advancement, or help on the 
 spoliation of worldly wealth and honours. 
 
 Here learn — 1. That virtue is not always successful in this icorld. It is only a 
 supposition for the purpose of supporting a foregone conclusion that Vashti was 
 reinstated. Our narrative does not state anything of the kind, and this is the 
 only authentic history of Vashti's career. Now it has been said that God makes 
 innocence of soul ever prosper. This is true spiritually, but is not always true as 
 the world accounts prosperity. Novelists, in making virtue triumphant and vice 
 finally a faUure in this world, simply set forth that which is in harmony with our 
 conceptions of what ought to be; but then it is plain enough that all things are 
 not as they ought to be in this disordered universe. The Vashtis are not 
 reinstated; the Josephs are not always taken out of prison and placed on thrones ; 
 the Jobs do not invariably find that the last earthly state is better than the first. 
 Johns are sometimes beheaded in prison, and Peters are crucified. It would take 
 great skill to show that Paul had made " the best of this world." He did not seem 
 to think so himself, and he ought to have been a good judge. Certainly it was 
 not "a best" that would be chosen by those who advocate the possibility of 
 making the best of both worlds. Apostles and reformers have endured poverty, 
 persecution, and martyrdom. Genius has pined away in garrets ; greatness has 
 been trampled upon by littleness ; shrewd business men have ground down their 
 superiors ; virtue has been hidden in dens and caves of the earth; truth, with 
 sad heart, has wandered about in sheep skins and goat skins. And the world's 
 
chap. I.] IIOMILETIO COMMENTARY : ESTHER. 39 
 
 greatest heroes have not infrequently been the world's greatest sufferers. 2. That 
 virtue uncrowned is better than vice crowned. This may do in theory, but will not 
 be accepted in practice by the vast majority. In our eagerness to catch or to 
 preserve the perishable crowns of earth we let our principles go to the winds. 
 Still wrong-doers even applaud right doing. And however that may be, an approv- 
 ing conscience will sustain, though time-serving courtiers and angry monarohs 
 oppress, and pass their stringent measures of banishment, of confiscation, and even 
 of death. Virtue is nobler in a miserable hut than vice in a splendid palace. 
 Lazarus was more royal in his rags than Dives in his purple and fine linen. A 
 true-hearted Vashti is richer in her very degradation than the enthroned and 
 worshipped Ahasuerus. Behind the outward glitter was the inward gnawing of 
 a reproachful memory. But behind the cloud of Vashti's shame might be the 
 cheering light of conscious integrity. And in this sense the good man may make 
 the best of both worlds. Earthly crowns may be taken away, but the crown of 
 Divine approval cannot be removed by any external force. 3. That the path of 
 duty is the way to lasting glory. If Vashti had possessed a prudential regard to 
 her own safety, her name might not have been heard of outside the palace. But now 
 multitudes have heard her name, and wherever this book travels a memorial will 
 be raised to tell of her womanly modesty and her heroic dignity. And no deed 
 done in a right spirit shall perish ; for nothing is lost in the material universe, 
 and much less can there be loss in the moral universe. Those who fight in 
 Virtue's cause may fall on the battle-field, but they conquer by their seeming 
 defeats, and their wounds, by Divine grace, through the atoning merits of the 
 Saviour, will be productive of immortal honours. We cannot follow Vashti in her 
 journeyings and watch her entering the palace beautiful. But this is certain — those 
 who love and serve the better King, Jesus Christ ; those who come to him in true 
 penitence and childlike faith, will never be cast out because they have done 
 wrong even, if the wrong-doing was unintentional ; and his followers will not do 
 wrong designedly and Avith the full consent of their renewed natures. The 
 Divine Bridegroom asks not that the bride be perfect in knowledge, not that she 
 be free from error in judgment, but that she be perfect in love. 
 
 Suggestive Comments on Verses 21, 22. 
 
 Ver. 21. We do not wonder that man should bear rule in his own house, 
 
 the king was pleased with a proposal This is the law of God. 
 
 that gratified his pride and anger. The safety and honour of a prince is 
 
 The princes, too, were pleased with a in virtue, not unrighteous laws, 
 
 law which flattered their vanity and Whether it was the passion or the 
 
 sanctioned their domestic tyranny. policy of the king that was served by 
 
 And the saying pleased the king, this edict, God's providence served its 
 
 Pity but itching ears should have own purpose by it, which was to make 
 
 clawing counsellors. Memucan was a way for Esther the queen. — Mattheto 
 
 fit helve for such a hatchet, and his Henry. 
 
 advice fit lettuce for such lips. What The king and the princes approve 
 
 marvel that such a counsellor pleased this heavy judgment of Memucan's. 
 
 the king, when as he had before given No doubt many messages passed ere 
 
 place to two such bad counsellors — the rigour of this execution. That 
 
 wine and anger I How rare a jewel in great heart knows not to relent, but will 
 
 a prince's ear is a faithful counsellor, rather break than yield to an humble 
 
 that will deliver himself fully, not to deprecation. When the stone and the 
 
 please but to profit. — Trapp. steel meet fire is stricken : it is a soft 
 
 Ver. 22. The king not only divorces answer that appeaseth wrath. Vashti 
 
 his queen, but publishes a decree is cast off. — Bishop Hall. 
 
 through all his dominions, that every It was unanimously resolved, with a 
 
40 
 
 1IOMILETIC COMMENTARY : ESTHER. 
 
 [CHAP. I. 
 
 wise regard to the public interests of 
 the nation, that the punishment of 
 Vashti could be nothing less than de- 
 gradation from her royal dignity. The 
 doom was accordingly pronounced and 
 made known in all parts of the empire. 
 — Port. Commentary. 
 
 We do not ourselves wonder, that, 
 when the king's high council — his wise 
 men — came to consider the matter, 
 they derided fliat Vashti must have 
 her diadem taken from her. They saw, 
 also, that the question was one of near 
 interest to themselves ; for if it went 
 ahroad, as it was sure to do, that the 
 queen had flatly refused to obey even 
 the king of kings, what had they and 
 
 the other princes of the land to expect 
 in their own families from the example 
 if this high crime were not condignly 
 punished? But one is amazed at the 
 infantine simplicity of these famous 
 sages in recommending the issue of a 
 royal decree in all the languages of 
 this great empire — " that every man 
 should bear rule in his own house." 
 This is, undoubtedly, one of the most 
 amusing things in all history. One 
 cannot but imagine the inextinguish- 
 able burst of shrill merriment which 
 rung through every one of the one 
 hundred and twenty-seven provinces 
 of the Persian empire when this sage 
 decree was promulgated. — Dr. Ki.tto. 
 
 MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE WHOLE CHAPTER. 
 
 This book presents us with impressive views of man with and without grace ; 
 of the great instability of human affairs; of the sovereign power, justice, and 
 faithfulness of the Supreme Being. We now call your attention to the first 
 chapter. 
 
 I. The king of Persia at this time was Ahasuerus. Commentators differ 
 about him. He was a heathen — a stranger to God — possessing extensive 
 dominions. His was the second of the four great empires. These empires 
 have come to nought ; but, brethren, there is a kingdom which passeth not 
 away. Its King will remain in heaven for ever. Let us be numbered among its 
 subjects. 
 
 II. This mighty potentate, Ahasuerus, wished to make a display of his 
 greatness: made a feast — the power of Media and Persia present — he exhibited 
 his riches, and honour, and glory. Notice his pride. Beware of pride. Pray that 
 you may habitually remember what you are — poor, fallen sinners. 
 
 III. At this feast, though a heathen one, moderation was observed. " And 
 the drinking was according to law : none did compel." Intemperance is an 
 abomination and a degradation; hence we should flee from it. 
 
 IV. But though the feast of Ahasuerus was free from the disgrace of 
 compelling the guests to proceed to drunkenness, yet did very evil consequences 
 result from it. It is but seldom that such meetings are. free from such conse- 
 quences. We read of Belshazzar's feast; Ave read of Herod's feast. In such 
 entertainments God is liable to be forgotten. Solomon, who with extraordinary 
 diligence, and unparalleled success, had examined and tried the sources of all 
 earthly gratification, tells us, in language which ought never to be out of remem- 
 brance, that " it is better to go to the house of mourning than the, house of 
 feasting." 
 
 V. Let us consider the evil which was occasioned by the feast. — The king 
 ordered the queen to be brought. She refused to come. The wrath of the king 
 was kindled. The result was a council, then the divorcement of the queen. 
 Quarrels, animosities, and heart-burnings are so contrary to that religion of love 
 which a received gospel generates, that we ought to strive to the utmost for the 
 preservation of the opposite virtues. Christ is the. Prince of Peace; let us not 
 only trust in his death for salvation, but imitate his meekness and lowliness of 
 heart. 
 
CIIAr - !•] IIOMfLETIC COMMENTARY : ESTHER. 41 
 
 Two short remarks shall close this discourse : — 1. It behoveth us to lead excellent 
 lives, and the higher we are placed in the community the more ought this to he 
 the object of our ambition. Let our lives be continual sermons to° those amon^ 
 whom we live. _ 2. It behoveth us to regard the duties which appertain to the 
 relations of life in which we are placed. " Brethren, let every man wherein he is 
 called, therein abide with God." — Hvghcs. 
 
 I. The vast extent of the Persian empire. It comprehended all the countries 
 from the river Indus on the east to the Mediterranean on the west ■ and from the 
 Black Sea and Caspian in the north to the extreme south of Arabia, then called 
 Ethiopia. This gigantic dominion was divided into 127 provinces or Governments 
 each of which was placed under a satrap, or, in modern language, a pasha who 
 managed its affairs, and annually transmitted a certain sum as revenue to the 'king. 
 The seat of government was variable, according to the season of the year the 
 summer months being spent by the court at Ecbatana, and the winter months at 
 Susa, or, as it is called in this chapter, Shushan, the palace. The form of govern- 
 ment in the East has from the earliest times been despotic, one man swayin" the 
 destinies of millions, and having under him a crowd of smaller despots, each in his 
 more limited sphere oppressing the people subjected to his rule. 1. Despotism has 
 its occasional fits of generosity and kindness. It is as kind-hearted that Ahasuerus 
 is brought before you in the early part of this chapter. He was spending the 
 winter months at Susa. The retinue of the monarch was vast, and the fountains 
 and gardens were on a scale of grandeur which we cannot well conceive. There 
 then, the king, but little concerned about the welfare of his subjects, was spendino 
 his time, chiefly in selfish ease and unbounded revelry. To him it was of no 
 moment how his people were oppressed by those whom he set over them • his sole 
 concern was to enjoy his pleasures. 2. With all the luxury and temptation to 
 self-indulgence, there was no compulsion employed to draw any one beyond the 
 bounds of temperance. The law was good, but the king himself had too largely 
 used the liberty, and hence his loss of self-control and all sense of propriety. 
 When heated with wine he sent for Vashti, &c. Lessons suggested are — (1) Extra- 
 vagancies and follies into which men are betrayed by intemperance. (2) That 
 which dethrones reason and destroys intellect should surely be avoided. (3) AH the 
 consequences which affect the man individually, and others also, rest upon the head 
 of the transgressor. (4) Intemperance (a) blots out distinction between right and 
 wrong; (l>) foments all the evil passions of the natural heart; (c) destroys the 
 proper exercise of the power of the will ; (d) and often inflicts grievous wounds upon 
 the innocent, as the case of Vashti here already demonstrates. (5) The necessity 
 of guarding against these evils. 
 
 II. The evils which arose from the peculiar family arrangements of those 
 countries. We take occasion here to observe two great evils : — 1. The condition 
 of the female sex was that of degradation. The married woman was not really 
 what the Divine institution intended her to be, the true companion and friend 
 of her husband. She was kept in a state of seclusion, real freedom she knew 
 not ; she was, in truth, only a slave, having power to command some other 
 slaves. She was without education, and generally unintelligent, frivolous, and 
 heartless. She was guarded with zealous care, as if she had been very precious 
 but at the same time she was wholly dependent upon the caprices of her lord. 
 2. Yet, strangely enough, in the second place, it is to be noticed that, as if 
 to afford evidence that the law of nature cannot be trampled upon with im- 
 punity, it very frequently happened that the female influence Avas felt by the 
 despotic husband, so as to make him in reality the slave. Not conscious of it 
 but imagining that he held the place of absolute authority, he was himself 
 governed ; yet not through the power of real affection, but through the imbecile 
 doting which constituted all that he knew of real affection. Common history 
 
42 TIOMILETIC COMMENTARY: ESTHER. [CHAP, i. 
 
 abounds with illustrations of this fact, and in the sacred history we have 
 examples of the Bame kind ; David, Solomon, and Ahab are instances. There 
 is never a violation of God's righteous appointments, but it is followed by some 
 penalty. From this Book of Esther, it appears very obviously that Abasuerus, 
 with all his caprices and his stern, imperious self-will, was at first completely 
 under the influence of Vashti, as he afterwards came to be under that of 
 Esther. The whole domestic system being unnaturally constructed, there was, 
 of necessity, derangements in the conducting of it. The despot might he one 
 day all tenderness and submission, and the next day he might, to gratify his 
 humour, exact from his slaves what, a short time afterwards, he would have 
 counted it absolutely wrong in himself to command, and punishable in them 
 to do. 
 
 III. The degradation of Vashti. We have to look at the circumstances 
 which are brought before us in tbe narrative. At a season when sound counsel 
 could scarcely have been expected, and when he who sought it was not in a tit con- 
 dition to profit by it, the serious question was proposed by the king, "What shall 
 be done to Vashti?" &c. To defer the consideration of so grave a subject to a 
 more fitting season would have been so clearly the path which a wise counsellor 
 would have recommended, that we feel astonished that it Avas not at once 
 suggested. But the wrath of the king was so strongly exhibited that his com- 
 pliant advisers did not venture to contradict him. " Memucan answered," &c. 
 ]S T ow, with respect to this opinion of the chief counsellor, it may be observed that 
 it was based upon a principle which in itself is unquestionably right, although 
 there was a wrong application made of it. Rank and station, Avhile they command 
 a certain measure of respect, involve very deep responsibility. Fashions and 
 maxims usually go downward from one class of society to another. Customs, adopted 
 by the higher orders as their rule, gradually make their way until at length they 
 pervade all ranks. Thus far Memucan spoke wisely, when he pointed to the 
 example of the queen as that which would certainly have an influence, wherever it 
 came to be known, throughout the empire. Lut the principle, in the present 
 instance, was wrongly applied when it was made the ground of condemning the 
 conduct of Vashti. The design was to make her appear guilty of an act of insub- 
 ordination, which it was necessary for the king to punish, if he would promote 
 the good of his subjects, whereas, in reality, she had upon her side all the au- 
 thority of law and custom, and was to be made the victim both of the ungovern- 
 able wrath of the king, who was beside himself with wine, and also of flatterers 
 who, to gratify him, would do wrong to the innocent. See here the danger of 
 flattery. 
 
 Let us extract some practical lessons from our subject. 1. The inadequacy 
 of all earthly good to make man truly happy. Surveying the whole scene 
 portrayed in the early verses of this chapter, we might imagine that the sovereign 
 who ruled over this empire, upon whose nod the interests of so many millions 
 depended, and for whose pleasure the product of so many various climes could be 
 gathered together, had surely all the elements of enjoyment at his command. . . 
 And yet Ave must say that the mightiest sovereign of his time, with I'll provinces 
 subject to him, with princes serving him, and slaves kissing the dust at his feet, 
 was not half so happy as the humblest individual here, who knows what is meant 
 by the comforts of home, Avhere he is in the midst of those who love him. 2. A 
 few remarks may be offered upon the domestic question here settled by the king 
 and his counsellors, as to the supremacy of man in his own house. Hoav could 
 they pronounce a sound judgment upon a question which their customs prevented 
 them from rightly knowing? 3. We have in the text a law spoken of which 
 changeth not. And, my friends, there is such a law, but it is not the law of the 
 Medes and Persians, it is the law of the Eternal. Jehovah's law changeth not. 
 And what does it say ? " This do and live." " Cursed is every one that eontinueth 
 
CHAP. 
 
 I-] 
 
 HOMILETIC COMMENTARY : ESTHER. 
 
 43 
 
 not in all things written in the hook of the law to do them." That seals us all up 
 under wrath. But we turn the page, and we read and see that " Christ is the end 
 of the law for righteousness." And is not this our conclusion, then — " I will flee 
 from the curse of the immutable law, and shelter myself under the righteousness of 
 Christ, which is also perfect and immutable, that through him and from him I 
 may have mercy and eternal life " 1 — Dr. Davidson. 
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS TO CHAPTER I. 
 
 Power. Pompey boasted, that, with one stamp 
 of his foot, he could rouse all Italy to arms ; 
 with one scratch of his pen, Ahasucrus could call 
 to his assistance the forces of 127 provinces ; but 
 God, by one word of his mouth, one movement 
 of his will, can summon the inhabitants of hea- 
 ven, earth, and the undiscovered worlds to his 
 aid, or bring new creatures into being to do his 
 will. 
 
 Dignity. A French doctor once taunted 
 Flechier, Bishop of JS'ismes, who had been a 
 tallow-chandler in his youth, with the meanness 
 of his origin ; to which he replied, " If you had 
 been born in the same condition that 1 was, you 
 would still have been but a maker of candles." 
 
 Great men. Columbus was the son of a 
 weaver, and a weaver himself. Cervantes was 
 a common soldier. Homer was the son of a 
 small farmer. Demosthenes was the son of a 
 cutler. Terence was a slave. Oliver Cromwell 
 was the son of a London brewer. Howard was 
 an apprentice to a grocer. Franklin was a 
 journeyman printer, and son of a tallow-chandler 
 and soap-boiler. Dr. Thomas, Bishop of Wor- 
 cester, was the son of a linen-draper. Daniel 
 Defoe was a hostler, and son of a butcher. 
 Whitfield was the son of an innkeeper at Glou- 
 cester. Virgil was the son of a porter. Horace 
 was the son of a shopkeeper. Shakespeare was 
 the son of a woolstapler. Milton was the son 
 of a money scrivener. Robert Burns was a 
 ploughman in Ayrshire. Yet all these rose to 
 eminence. 
 
 How to make a feast. " Lord Chief Justice 
 Hall frequently invited his poor neighbours to 
 dinner, and made them sit at table with himself. 
 If any of them were sick, so that they could not 
 come, he would send provisions to them warm 
 from his table." 
 
 Favour of God. It was the saying of a wise 
 Roman, " I had rather have the esteem of the 
 Emperor Augustus than his gifts ; " for he was 
 an honourable, understanding prince, and his 
 favour very honourable. When Cyrus gave one 
 of his friends a kiss, and another a wedge of 
 gold, he that had the gold envied him that had 
 the kiss as a greater expression of his favour. 
 So the true Christian prefers the privilege of 
 acceptance with God to the possession of any 
 earthly comfort, for in the light of his counten- 
 ance is life, and his favour is as the cloud of the 
 latter rain. — Butler. 
 
 Pride of wealth. Alcibiades was one day 
 
 boasting of his wealth and great estate, when 
 Socrates placed a map before him, and asked him 
 to find Attica. It was insignificant on the map; 
 but he found it. " Now," said the philosopher^ 
 "point out your own estate." "It is too small 
 to be distinguished in so little a space," was the 
 answer. "See, then!" said Socrates, "how 
 much you are affected about an imperceptible 
 point of land." 
 
 Your bags of gold should be ballast in your 
 vessel to keep her always steady, instead of being 
 topsails to your masts to make your vessel giddy. 
 Give me that distinguished person, who is rather 
 pressed down under the weight of all his honours, 
 than puffed up with the blast thereof. It has 
 been observed by those who are experienced in 
 the sport of angling, that the smallest fishes bite 
 the fastest. Oh, how few great men do we 
 find so much as nibbling at the gospel hook. — 
 Seeker. 
 
 Abuse of wealth. I am no advocate for mean- 
 ness of private habitation. I would fain intro- 
 duce into it all magnificence, care, and beauty, 
 when they are possible ; but I would not have 
 that useless expense in unnoticed fineries or 
 formalities — cornicing of ceilings, and graining 
 of doors, and fringing of curtains, and thousands 
 of such things— which have become foolishly and 
 apathetically habitual. ... I speak from experi- 
 ence : I know what it is to live in a cottage with 
 a deal floor and roof, and a hearth of mica slate ; 
 I know it to be in many respects healthier and 
 happier than living between a Turkey carpet and 
 a gilded ceiling, beside a steel grate and polished 
 fender. I do not say that such things have not 
 their place and propriety ; but I say this empha- 
 tically, that a tenth part of the expense which is 
 sacrificed in domestic vanities, if not absolutely 
 and meaninglcssly lost in domestic comforts and 
 encumbrances, would, if collectively afforded and 
 wisely employed, build a marble church for every 
 town in England. — Buskin. 
 
 Banger. " A boy climbing among the Alps 
 saw some flowers on the verge of a precipice, and 
 sprang forward to get them. The guide shouted 
 his warnings ; but the heedless boy grasped the 
 flowers, and fell a thousand feet upon the rocks 
 below with them in his hand. It was a dear 
 price for such frail things, but he is not the only 
 victim of such folly." 
 
 Banger of prosperity : When Crates threw 
 his gold into the sea, he cried out, Egoperdum te, 
 ne tu perdas me, that is, " I will destroy you, lest 
 
44 
 
 nOMILETIC COMMENTARY: ESTHER. 
 
 [CTTAI*. I. 
 
 vmi should destroy me." Thus, if the world lie 
 not put to death here, it will put us to death 
 hereafter. Then we shall say, as Cardinal 
 Wolsey, when discarded by his prince and aban- 
 doned to the fury of his enemies: "If I had 
 served my God as faithfully as my king, he 
 would not have thus forsaken me." Poor man ! 
 all the perfumes on earth are unable to prevail 
 over the stench of hell. — Seeker. 
 
 In a long sunshine of outward prosperity, the 
 dust of our inward corruptions is apt to fly about 
 and lift itself up. Sanctified affliction, like sea- 
 sonable rain, lays the dust, and softens the soul. 
 — Salter. 
 
 When fire is put to green wood there comes 
 out abundance of watery stuff that before ap- 
 peared not; when the pond is empty, the mud, 
 the filth, and toads come to light. The snow 
 covers many a dunghill, so doth prosperity many 
 a rotten heart. It is easy to wade in a warm 
 bath, and every bird can sing in a sunshiny day. 
 Hard weather tries what health we have ; afflic- 
 tions try what sap we have, what grace we have. 
 Withered leaves soon fall off in windy weather, 
 rotten boughs quickly break with heavy weights, 
 &c. — Brooks. 
 
 Some of you glory in your shame, that you 
 have drunk down your companions, and carried 
 it away — the honour of a sponge or a tub, which 
 can drink up or hold liquor as well as you. — 
 Baxter. 
 
 We commend wine for the excellency of it ; 
 but if it could speak, as it can take away speech, 
 it would complain that, by our abuse, both the 
 excellencies are lost ; for the excellent man doth 
 so spoil the excellent wine, until the excellent 
 wine hath spoiled the excellent man. Oh, that 
 a man should take pleasure in that which makes 
 him no man ; that he should let a thief in at his 
 mouth to steal away his wit; that for a little 
 throat indulgence he should kill in himself both 
 the first Adam — his reason, and even the second 
 Adam — his regeneration, and so commit two 
 murders at once. — Adams. 
 
 An earnest young minister was in the house 
 of a rich friend. He was pressed to take wine, 
 but refused. It was again pressed upon him. 
 At length he yielded to their importunities, and 
 drank a little. Gradually he formed a liking for 
 wine, and at length began taking far too much. 
 By degrees, and almost before he was aware of 
 it, he became a drunkard. He was degraded 
 from his office of the ministry, and sank lower 
 and lower. Years after he had been pressed to 
 drink by his rich friend, he came again to his 
 door ; this time to beg for a little food, and was 
 ordered away as a drunken vagabond. 
 
 Joseph Kalston, of Philipsburg, Penn., met 
 with a horrible death by freezing. He had been 
 drinking freely, and had, while drunk, to wade 
 the Moshandoo Creek; but, ere he proceeded 
 two-thirds of the way, his limbs refused to per- 
 form their office. He grasped a bough of an 
 overhanging tree, unable to advance farther ; 
 and soon the fast-congealing water cemented 
 close about him — a tomb of ice which Btretched 
 from shore bo shore. Two days after he was 
 found there rigid as an icicle, his knees embedded 
 in a 6hcet of the frozen element seven inches 
 
 thick, his body inclined a little forwards, his 
 hands clutching the boughs, eyes astare, and 
 despair pictured on his features. — Pittsburgh 
 Jjcspatch. 
 
 God trieth men's love to him by their keeping 
 his commandments. It was the aggravation of 
 the first sin that they would not deny so small 
 a thing as the forbidden fruit, in obedience to 
 God ! And so it is of thine, that will not leave 
 a forbidden cup for him. miserable wretch ! 
 dost thou not know thou canst not be Christ's 
 disciple if thou forsake not all for him, and hate 
 not even thy life in comparison of him, and 
 wouldst die rather than forsake him ? And thou 
 like to lay down thy life for him, who wilt not 
 leave a cup of drink for him ? Canst thou burn 
 at a stake for him, that canst not leave an ale- 
 house, or vain company, or excess, for him ? 
 What a sentence of condemnation dost thou pass 
 upon thyself [—Baxter. 
 
 Not in the day of thy drunkenness only dost 
 thou undergo the harm of drunkenness, but also 
 after that day. And as when a fever is passed 
 by, the mischievous consequences of the fever 
 remain, so also when drunkenness is passed, the 
 disturbance of intoxication is whirling round 
 both body and soul. And while the wretched 
 body lies paralyzed, like the hull of a vessel after 
 a shipwreck, the soul, yet more miserable than 
 it, even when this is ended, stirs up the storm 
 and kindles desire ; and when one seems to be 
 sober, then most of all is he mad, imagining to 
 himself wine and casks, cups and goblets. — 
 Chrysostom. 
 
 " If you have glutted yourselves with worldly 
 pleasures, it is no wonder that you should find 
 an unsavoury taste in spiritual delights. Doves 
 that are already filled find cherries bitter." — 
 /. Lyth, D.D. 
 
 Bountiful King. The Lord, like a most 
 bountiful king, will be angry if any man will ask 
 a small thing at his hands ; because he had 
 rather give things of great worth than of small 
 value. His goodness is infinite. — Poiccll. 
 
 Fulness of Christ. I have found it an inter- 
 esting thing to stand at the edge of a noble 
 rolling river, and to think, that although it has 
 been flowing on for 6000 years, watering the 
 fields, and slaking the thirst of a hundred genera- 
 tions, it shows no sign of waste or want. And 
 when I have watched the rise of the sun as 
 he shot above the crest of the mountain, or, in a 
 sky draped with golden curtains, sprung up from 
 his ocean bed, I have wondered to think that he 
 has melted the snows of so many winters, and 
 renewed the verdure of so many springs, and 
 planted the flowers of so many summers, and 
 ripened the golden harvest of so many autumns, 
 and yet shines as brilliantly as ever ; his eye not 
 dim, nor his natural strength abated, nor his 
 floods of lightness fail, for centuries of boundless 
 profusion. Yet what are these but images of the 
 fulness that is in Christ ! Let that feed your 
 hopes, and cheer your hearts, and brighten your 
 faith, and send you away this day happy and 
 rejoicing! For when judgment flames have 
 licked up that flowing stream, and the light of 
 that glorious sun shall be quenched in darkness, 
 or veiled in the smoke of a burning world, the 
 
CHAP. I.] 
 
 H0M1LETI0 COMMENTARY : ESTHER. 
 
 45 
 
 fulness of Christ shall flow on through eternity 
 in the bliss of the redeemed. Blessed Saviour ! 
 Image of God! Divine Redeemer! In thy 
 presence is fulness of joy ; at thy right hand 
 there are pleasures for evermore. What thou 
 hast gone to heaven to prepare, may we be 
 called up at death to enjoy! — Dr. Guthrie. 
 
 Wife. " And now let us see whether the 
 word ' wife ' has not a lesson. It literally means 
 a weaver. The wife is the person who weaves. 
 Before our great cotton and cloth factories arose, 
 one of the principal employments in every house 
 was the fabrication of clothing : every family 
 made its own. The wool was spun into threads 
 by the girls, who were therefore called spinsters; 
 the thread was woven into cloth by their 
 mother, who, accordingly, was called the weaver, 
 or the wife ; and another remnant of this old 
 truth we discover in the word ' heirloom,' applied 
 to any old piece of furniture which has come 
 down to us from our ancestors, and which, 
 though it may be a chair or bed, shows that a 
 loom was an important article in every house. 
 Thus the word ' wife ' means weaver ; and, as 
 Trench well remarks, 'in the word itself is 
 wrapped up a hint of earnest, indoor, stay-at- 
 home occupation, as being fitted for her who 
 bears the name.' " 
 
 Pleasures. The pleasures of the world surfeit 
 with satisfying, while heavenly pleasures satisfy 
 without surfeiting. The surfeited nature of the 
 sensualist requires a constantly increasing stim- 
 ulus to rouso his used-up powers, but with each 
 advance in Christian enjoyment there is an 
 increased power to appreciate heavenly joys. 
 The pleasures of the world are like the kiss of 
 Judas, given but to betray ; the pleasures of 
 heaven make the soul bright and beautiful, as 
 when the face of Moses was transformed by the 
 vision of God. — /. G. Pilkington. 
 
 Pleasures. Pleasures, like the rose, are 
 sweet, but prickly ; the honey doth not counter- 
 vail the sting ; all the world's delights are vanity, 
 and end in vexation ; like Judas, while they 
 kiss, they betray. I would neither be a stone 
 nor an epicure ; allow of no pleasure, nor give 
 way to all ; they are good sauce, but naught to 
 make a meal of. I may use them sometimes for 
 digestion, never for food. — llenshaic. 
 
 Price of pleasure. Goethe, in his " Faust," 
 introduces for his hero a student longing for the 
 pleasures of knowledge. The devil appears, to 
 seduce him from his pursuit ; Faust is to have 
 all possible sensual enjoyment in life, but is to 
 pay for it by yielding his soul to the devil at 
 last. At the end, Mephistopheles, jealous of his 
 claim, appears and carries off his victim, the 
 student's lost soul. 
 
 Anger. I am naturally as irritable as any ; 
 hut when I find anger, or passion, or any other 
 evil temper, arise in my mind, immediately 1 go 
 to my Redeemer, and, confessing my sins, I give 
 myself up to he managed by him. — Clarke. 
 
 Anger subdued. Two good men on some 
 occasion had a warm dispute ; and remembering 
 the exhortation of the Apostle, " Let not the sun 
 go down upon your wrath," just before sunset 
 one of them went to the other, and knocking at 
 the door, his offended friend came and opened it, 
 
 and seeing who it was, started back in astonish- 
 ment and surprise ; the other, at the same time, 
 cried out, "The sun is almost down." This 
 unexpected salutation softened the heart of his 
 friend into affection, and he returned for answer, 
 " Come in, brother, come in." What a happy 
 method of conciliating matters, of redressing 
 grievances, and of reconciling brethren ! — 
 A rvine. 
 
 Hypocrisy. A very capital painter in London 
 exhibited a piece representing a friar habited in 
 his canonicals. View the painting at a distance, 
 and you would think the friar to be in a praying 
 attitude : his hands arc clasped together and held 
 horizontally to his breast, his eyes meekly 
 dennssed like those of the publican in the gospel : 
 and the good man appears to be quite absorbed 
 in humble adoration and devout recollection. 
 But take a nearer survey, and the deception van- 
 ishes; the book which seemed to be before him 
 is discovered to be a punch-bowl, into which the 
 wretch is all the while in reality only squeezing 
 a lemon. How lively a representation of a 
 hypocrite ! — Sailer. 
 
 Idols. A man's idol is not necessarily an 
 image of gold ; it may be a child of clay, the 
 fruit of his own loins, or the wife of his bosom ; 
 it may be wealth, fame, position, success, or 
 business — anything which absorbs unduly the 
 affections and attention. Against all such the 
 Almighty pronounces the decree: "Thou shale 
 have no other gods before me," and hurls his 
 resistless missiles of destruction. Either our- 
 selves or our idols must be destroyed. 
 
 Idolatry ! You cannot find any more gross, 
 any more cruel, on the broad earth, than within 
 the area of a mile around this pulpit. Dark 
 minds, from which God is obscured ; deluded 
 souls, whose fetish is the dice-box or the bottle ; 
 apathetic spirits, steeped in sensual abomination, 
 unmoved by a moral ripple, soaking ill the 
 swamp of animal vitality ; false gods, more 
 hideous, more awful than Moloch or Baal, wor- 
 shipped with shrieks, worshipped with curses, 
 with the hearthstone for the bloody altar, and the 
 drunken husband for the immolating priest, and 
 women and children for the victims. — Dr. 
 Chapin. 
 
 Loss of time. We are doomed to suffer a 
 hitter pang as often as the irrevocable flight of 
 our time is brought home with keenness to our 
 hearts. The spectacle of the lady floating over 
 the sea in a boat, and waking suddenly from 
 sleep to find her magnificent ropes of pearl neck- 
 lace by some accident detached from its fastening 
 at one end, the loose string hanging down into 
 the water, and pearl after pearl slipping off for 
 ever into the abyss, brings before us the sadness 
 of the case. That particular pearl which at the 
 very moment is rolling off into the unsearchable 
 deep, carries its own separate reproach to the 
 lady's heart, but is more deeply reproachful as 
 the representative of so many other uncounted 
 pearls that have already been swallowed up irre- 
 coverably while yet she was sleeping, of many, 
 besides, that must follow before any remedy can 
 be applied to what we may call this jewelly 
 hemorrhage. 
 
 The iut tepid judge. One of the favourites of 
 
40 
 
 nOMILETW COMMENTARY: ESTHER. 
 
 [OIIAP. I. 
 
 Henry V., when Prince of Wales, having been 
 indicted for some misdemeanour, was condemned, 
 notwithstanding all the interest lie could make in 
 
 liis favour, and the prince was so incensed at the 
 issue of the trial that he struck the judge on the 
 bench. The magistrate, whose name was Sir 
 William Qascoigne, acted with a spirit becoming 
 his character. He instantly ordered the prince 
 to be committed to prison, and young Henry, 
 sensible by this time of the insult he hid offered 
 to the laws of his country, suffered himself to be 
 quietly conducted to jail by the officers of justice. 
 The king, Henry IV., who was an excellent 
 judge of mankind, was no sooner informed of this 
 transaction, than he cried out in a transport of 
 joy, " Happy is tbe king who has a magistrate 
 possessed of courage to execute the laws, and 
 still more happy in having a son who will submit 
 to such chastisement." — Arvine. 
 
 Flattery. The coin most current among man- 
 kind is flattery : the only benefit of which is, 
 that, by hearing what we are not, we may learn 
 what we ought to be. 
 
 Whitlield, when flattered, said, "Take care of 
 fire : I carry powder about me." 
 
 A flattering priest told Constantine the Great 
 that his virtues deserved the empire of the world 
 here, and to reign with the Son of God here- 
 after. The emperor cried, " Fie, fie, for shame; 
 let me hear no more such unseemly speeches ; 
 but, rather, suppliantly pray to my Almighty 
 Maker, that, in this life and the life to come, I 
 may be reckoned worthy to be his servant." 
 
 Excuses. He that does amiss never lacks 
 excuse. Any excuse will serve when one has not 
 a mind to do a thing. The archer that shoots 
 ill has a lie ready. He that excuses himself 
 accuses himself. A bad workman always com- 
 plains of his tools. 
 
 Wicked counsel. A young man devoted him- 
 self to a religious life. His ungodly parents sent 
 aim many letters to dissuade him. Being fully 
 decided to go on in his chosen course, when any 
 letters came addressed to him he threw them into 
 the tire at once, without opening them. When 
 friends and kindred stand between us and Christ, 
 they must be disregarded. 
 
 Sin. Sin is like the little serpent aspis, which 
 stings men, whereby they fall into a pleasant 
 sleep, and in that sleep die. — Stoinnock. 
 
 Eiivi/. We shall find it in Cain, the proto- 
 murderer, who slew his brother at the instigation 
 of envy. We shall find in the dark, and gloomy, 
 and revengeful spirit of Saul, who, under the 
 influence of envy, plotted for years the slaughter 
 of David. We shall find it in the king of Israel, 
 when he pined for the vineyard of JVaboth, and 
 shed his blood to gain it. Yea; it was envy 
 that perpetrated that most atrocious crime ever 
 planned in hell or executed on earth, on which 
 the sun refused to look, and at which nature 
 gave signs of abhorrence by the rending of the 
 rocks— I mean the crucifixion of Christ, for the 
 evangelist tells us that for envy the Jews de- 
 livered our Lord. — /. A. James. 
 
 The poets imagined that envy dwelt in a dark 
 cave; being; pale and Lean-looking as guilt, 
 abounding with gall, her teeth black, never re- 
 joicing but in the misfortunes of others; ever 
 
 unquiet anil careful, and continually tormenting 
 herself.— Wit. 
 
 Friendship. True friendship can only be 
 made between true men. Hearts are the soul of 
 honour. There can be no lasting friendship 
 between bad men. Bad men may pretend to 
 love each other; but their friendship is a rope of 
 sand, which shall be broken at any convenient 
 season. But if a man have a sincere heart within 
 him, and be true and noble, then we may confide 
 in him. — Spurgeon. 
 
 Ingratitude. A petted soldier of the Mace- 
 donian army was shipwrecked, and cast upon the 
 shore apparently lifeless. A hospitable Mace- 
 donian discovered him, revived him, took him to 
 his home, and treated him in a princely manner, 
 and, when he departed, gave him money for his 
 journey. The rescued soldier expressed warm 
 thanks, and promised royal bounty to his bene- 
 factor. Instead, when he came before Philip, 
 he related his own misfortunes, and asked to be 
 rewarded bv the lands and house of his rescuer. 
 Ilis request was granted, and he returned, and 
 drove out his former host. The latter hastened 
 to lay the true state before the king; when he 
 restored the laud, and caused the soldier to be 
 branded in the forehead, " The Ungrateful 
 Guest," as the reward of his baseness. 
 
 Conscience wakeful. Though in many men 
 conscience sleeps in regard to motion, yet it 
 never sleeps in regard to observation and notice. 
 It may be hard and seared, it can never be blind. 
 Like letters written with the juice of lemon, that 
 which is written upon it, though seemingly 
 invisible and illegible, when brought before the 
 fire of God's judgment, shall come forth clear and 
 expressive. — M' Cosh. 
 
 Guilt// conscience. It gives a terrible form 
 and a horrible voice to everything beautiful and 
 musical without. Let Byron describe its anguish, 
 for who felt it more thau he ? — 
 
 " The mind that broods o'er guilty woes 
 Is like the scorpion girt by 6 re ; 
 In circle narrowing as it glows, 
 The flames around their captive close, 
 Till inly searched by thousand throes, 
 And maddening in her ire, 
 One sad and sole relief she knows — 
 The sting she nourished for her foes ; 
 Whose venom never yet was vain, 
 Gives but one pang, and cures all pain, 
 And darts into her desperate brain; 
 So do the dark in soul expire, 
 Or live like scorpion girt with fire. 
 So writhes the mind remorse has riven, 
 Unfit for earth, undoomed for heaven, 
 Darkness above, despair beneath, 
 Around it flame, within it death." 
 
 Forgiveness. As the prince or ruler only has 
 power to forgive treason in his subjects, so God 
 only has power to forgive sin. As no man can 
 forgive a debt only the creditor to whom the debt 
 is due, so (Jod only can forgive us our debts, 
 whose debtors we are to an incalculable amount. 
 But we know that he is always ready to forgive. 
 '• He keeps mercy for thousands, and pardons 
 iniquity, transgression, and sin." 
 
 Forgiveness. In a school in Ireland, one boy 
 
chap, ii.] HOMILETIO COMMENTARY : ESTHER. 47 
 
 struck another, and when he was ahout to he trious Plantagenets so completely waned, that 
 
 punished, the injured hoy begged for his pardon, the direct representative of Margaret Plantagenet, 
 
 The master asked, " Why do you wish to keep daughter and heiress of George, Duke of Clarence, 
 
 him from being flogged ? " The boy replied, " I followed the trade of a cobbler in Newport, 
 
 have read in the New Testament that our Lord Shropshire, in 1637. Among the lineal descend- 
 
 Jesus Christ said that we should forgive our ants of Edmund of Woodstock, sixth son of 
 
 enemies ; and, therefore, I forgive him, and beg Edward I., and entitled to quarter the royal 
 
 he may not be punished for my sake." arms, were a village butcher and a keeper of a 
 
 At the present day the green turben which turnpike gate ; and among the descendants of 
 
 marks descent from Mahomet is often worn in Thomas Plantagenet, Duke of Gloucester, fifth 
 
 the East by the very poor, and even by beggars. son of Edward III., was included the late sexton 
 
 In our own history the glory of the once illus- of a London church. — Geikie. 
 
 CHAPTEE II. 
 
 Critical Notes.] 1. After these things] How long after the divorce of Vashti is uncertain. It 
 may have been only a few months, or it may have been a year or more after. He remembered Vashti] 
 And along with the remembrance came a desire to have her restored to favour again, and probably, 
 also, a feeling that she had been too severely dealt with. 2.] The youths, or male domestics, without 
 regard to age, that served before the king, sought to avert the danger that threatened. They advised 
 that maidens, virgins, be brought to the king, and that these should be beautiful to look upon. 3. The 
 house of the women] The harem was always an essential part of an Oriental palace. In the Persian 
 palaces it was very extensive, since the Persian monarchs maintained, besides their legitimate wives, 
 as many as three hundred or four hundred concubines. Hege, strictly speaking, seems to have been 
 "keeper of the virgins" only, since the concubines were under the care of Shaashgaz. — Raivlinson. 
 Things of purification] Cleansing and anointing with precious oils. 5.] Jair, Shimei, and Kish 
 can hardly mean the father, grandfather, and great-grandfather of Mordecai. On the contrary, if Jair 
 were perhaps his father, Shimei and Kish may have been the names of renowned ancestors.. Shimei 
 was probably the son of Gera, and Kish the father of Saul ; for in genealogical series only a few 
 noted names are generally given. Upon the ground of this explanation, Josephus makes Esther of 
 royal descent, viz., the line of Saul, king of Israel ; and the Targum regards Shimei as the Benja- 
 mite who cursed David. It is more in accordance with the Hebrew narrative style to refer the 
 relative to the chief person of the sentence preceding it, viz., Mordecai, who also continues to be 
 spoken of in ver. 7. Hence we prefer this reference, without, however, attributing to Mordecai more 
 than one hundred and twenty years of age. For the relative clause, who had been carried away, 
 need not be so strictly understood as to assert that Mordecai himself was carried away ; but the object 
 being to give merely his origin and lineage, and not his history, it involves only the notion that he 
 belonged to those Jews who were carried to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar with Jeconiah, so that he, 
 though born in captivity, was carried to Babylon in the persons of his forefathers. — Keil. 7. Ha- 
 dassah, that is, Esther] Tyrwhitt regards Hadassah as the court name, by which she was kuown 
 among the Persians, and Esther as her Jewish maiden name, by which she was known to her own 
 people. But to this it may be fairly replied that she would be more likely to be known to her own 
 people as well as to the Persians by her royal name; and most interpreters have naturally understood 
 from the expression, he brought up Hadassah, which is Esther, that Hadassah was her early maiden 
 name, and that she took the name of Esther when she became queen. Moreover, Hadassah is of 
 Semitic origin, and signifies myrtle; while Esther is the Persian word for star. The fair and 
 beautiful maiden was known as myrtle; the brilliant and fascinating queen was called star. The 
 name Hadassah is, indeed, substantially identical with Atossa, mentioned by the Greek writers as the 
 wife of Darius Hystaspes, and daughter of Cyrus, but the identity in name is insufficient to identify 
 the Jewish virgin with one who is so clearly represented by Herodotus as both daughter of Cyrus 
 and widow of Cambyses. — Whedon's Com. His uncle's daughter] This uncle's name was Abihail 
 (ver. 15). Mordecai and Esther were cousins, but Mordecai must have been the elder. 9. Seven 
 maidens] Probably each of the virgins had the same number of maids to attend her; but Esther's 
 maids were chosen with special care. It seems also that both Esther and her maids were favoured 
 with the choicest apartments in the harem. 10. Not showed her people] This was a piece of wise 
 policy on the part of her foster-father. He knew well that the Jews were not too popular, and had 
 she beforehand declared that she belonged to the captive nation, her cause would have been next to 
 hopeless. 11. Mordecai .... before the court of the women's house] This leads us to suppose 
 that he was an eunuch. It is not probable that he would, otherwise, have such access to the house 
 of the women as it appears he had. It is the opinion of many that he was a royal porter having 
 
48 HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: ESTHER. [chap. n. 
 
 charge of one of the principal gates. 13. Whatsoever she desired] In the way of jewels, orna- 
 ments, or dress. "No doubt," Bays llawlinson, " the virgins generally took the opportunity — one 
 that would occur but once in their lives — to load themselves with precious ornaments of various 
 kinds— necklaces, bracelets, earrings, anklets, and the like." 15. She required nothing] She made 
 no etfort to adorn her person with jewellery or dress to please her own fancy, but left the matter 
 entirely to Ilegai, who would be likely to know best what would please the king. 16. Tebetb. 
 (answering to part of our December and January), in the seventh year of his reign] Vashti was 
 east off in the third year of his reign (ver. 3); so that four years passed before another queen, or at 
 least before Esther, was crowned in her stead. 18.. Made a release to the provinces] Usually 
 understood as a release from tribute. The Persian kings were wont to remit the arrears of tribute 
 due at the time of their accession; and Xerxes may have thought it wise to make such a release just 
 after the disastrous Grecian wars. The feast, release, and gifts were, doubtless, in keeping with 
 kingliness. 19. When the virgins, &e.] Rather, " When virgins." These words should begin a 
 new paragraph. They stand in contrast with those of verse 8, and serve in the mind of the writer 
 to date the new event here narrated, viz., the discovery, by Mordecai, of the plot against the life of 
 the king. — Speaker's Com. It appears that there was a second collection of virgins at Shushan, 
 probably made some years after the first. After his unsuccessful wars Xerxes wholly abandoned 
 himself to the pleasures of the court. We may thus understand his second gathering of virgins. 
 20. Esther had not yet showed, &c] This verse should be regarded as a parenthesis, and is 
 designed as a circumstantial clause, to show that Esther was obedient to Mordecai as much after she 
 became queen as before. It also shows that this second collection sprang from no prejudice against 
 Esther as a Jewess. 21. Bigthan] Probably the same as Bigtha (ch. i. 10). Called Biglhana 
 in ch. vi. 2. Which kept the door] Lit., guards of the threshold. Being doorkeepers, like Mor- 
 decai, the latter was able the more readily to learn of their conspiracy, such conspiracies among 
 the officers of the court were common in the East, and many a monarch (and subsequently even 
 Xerxes himself) fell by the hand of assassins. 23. Hanged on a tree] This punishment was per- 
 formed by the Persians by crucifying or impaling. Grecian writings and the Behistun inscription 
 frequently mention this kind of execution. The criminal was sometimes first slain, hut generally 
 impaled alive. The book of the chronicles] Official records, made and kept by the royal scribes, and 
 constituting a body of state papers or annals. See note on Ezra iv. 15; 2 Sam. viii. 17; and 
 Introduction to Kings, on the sources. — Whedon's Coin. 
 
 MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH. Verse 1. 
 
 Regrets — Natural, Useless, and Wholesome. 
 
 Vasliti was banished, but she was still a queen, for she reigned in the halls of 
 the monarch's sad memory. The jewelled turban may be placed on the head of 
 another, but a royal soul cannot be stripped of queenly prerogatives by a monarch's 
 power. The king bowed to her greatness, and practically confessed her royalty, 
 though kingly pride and Persian law might prevent a revocation of the edict. 
 He remembered Vashti in fond but sad regrets. 
 
 I. Regrets are natural. The sweet vision of Vashti's grace and beauty 
 pleased the fancy of Ahasuerus while it troubled his soul. Her refusal to violate 
 her modesty unconsciously called forth his admiration. And if he had any nobility 
 in his nature, her marvellous daring must have commanded his esteem. How sad 
 the reflection that in an evil and thoughtless moment of undue merriment and 
 boasting he had been the cause of her fall and her banishment ! Thus there would 
 be a mixture of gloom ami of light, of joy and of sorrow, of fond regrets and of 
 painful upbraidings, as he remembered Vashti. It is natural for us to look back 
 to the past, ami indulge in grief over our losses and our lollies. Man is a creature 
 looking both before and behind. One sign of his greatness. He recalls the past, 
 and he tries to picture the future. It was, then, natural for Ahasuerus, when his 
 wrath was appeased, to remember Vashti, and what was decreed against her. 
 Natural for all to regret their losses, and especially those that have been the result 
 of their own folly. 
 
 II. Regrets and nothing more are useless. Tears will flow, but tears cannot 
 save. They may excite pity, but cannot work out deliverance, nor undo the past. 
 Regrets cannot suck up the water that has been spilt upon the ground. In this 
 iustance regrets cannot restore the deposed Vashti. If she knew of the monarch's 
 
CHAP. II ] IIOMILETIG COMMENTARY: ESTHER. 19 
 
 remembrance it might afford her some gratification, but this was all the good it 
 would do her. Regrets cannot bring to life the dead which the past has entombed. 
 Let us then so strive to live, to control our passions, that the remembrance of the 
 past may not haunt us with reproaching misdeeds. 
 
 III. Regrets and something more may be wholesome. Eegrets that issue in 
 repentance are wholesome. It is well to remember the past when by it we are 
 brought to true repentance. It would have been pleasant if we had been per- 
 mitted to read that Ahasuerus repented as he remembered his folly. Regrets that 
 lead to honest effort are wholesome. Wise is the man who, as he regrets the past, 
 seeks to put forth every effort to repair the wrongs of the past, and be himself a 
 better man for the future. Surely Ahasuerus might have done something more 
 to repair the wrong done to Vashti in spite of the rigour of Persian law. Regrets 
 that prompt the desire for forgiveness are wholesome. If it were not seemly for 
 Ahasuerus to seek forgiveness from Vashti, yet he ought to have sought forgive- 
 ness from God . Have we no wrongs that need to be righted ? Have we no 
 sins that require forgiveness] We regret our sins when they expose us to 
 temporal evils. Let us regret our sins as committed against God. Let us pray 
 God for Christ's sake to be merciful unto us. He is ready to forgive. Let 
 us learn that self-pleasing is the highway to self-loathing. Our greatest sorrows 
 are often the harvest of the seed our own hands have scattered. Remorse is 
 a bitter cup to drink, and we prepare the repellent ingredients. Memory can 
 be a great tormentor, and the sinner makes the lash with which memory inflicts its 
 painful strokes. And those who injure the just will find that they injure them- 
 selves much more. The just may perish, but their memory is ever blessed. The 
 fragrance of correct thinking, of truthful speaking, and of right doing comes from 
 the tombs of the martyrs, and blesses the world. Oh, whatever may come of 
 worldly honours, let men and women be true to principle, and so live that truth- 
 loving men will pleasantly remember their names, and, in a not distant future, 
 even persecutors will assist in decorating their tombs ! 
 
 Suggestive Comments on Verse 1. 
 
 All that he could do was to indulge the less who have been carried into 
 in vain regrets ; mingled, perhaps, with these outward acts of personal injury 
 self-upbraidings. It is the usual penalty and brutality, but that we should be 
 of rashness, especially the rashness of incited the more to guard our own hearts, 
 temporarily inflamed passion. To bring For whether the injustice and cruel 
 down the things of court and fashion to wrong be done by kings surrounded by 
 every-day life, how many of our police their councillors, and defended by their 
 reports, attended with fines and im- rank from civil penalties, or by the 
 prisonments, are to be attributed to the meanest subjects who are lodged in our 
 very same causes as led to the deposition jails, the Judge of all the earth deals 
 of Vashti, and the subsequent regrets of equitably, and in his final allotments 
 the king. When passion is allowed to will show that he is no respecter of 
 get the reins of reason, violence is almost persons. He brings our feelings and 
 sure to follow, and after-reflection to motives and secret passions to the same 
 administer the lash of self-censure and tribunal as actions, and pronounces sen- 
 remorse. The seat of those domestic tence accordingly. With the fear of 
 feuds and dastard assaults on the weak God upon us, let us be jealous of un- 
 and defenceless which are brought to bridled passion, and stamp out wrath, 
 light in our criminal courts, and excite and we shall be saved from many of 
 our indignation and horror, is just the those remembrances and regrets which 
 auger, malice, and reckless speech with rob life of much happiness. "Keep thy 
 which we may be ourselves chargeable, heart with all diligence, for out of it are 
 It is not that we should censure them the issues of life." 
 
50 
 
 HOMIL ETIC COMMENT A R Y : ES TU EH. 
 
 [chap. n. 
 
 () memory ! thou art a bitter avenger. 
 Vashti might weep, but Artaxerxes had 
 to repent. In the heat of passion, the 
 one small offence, which had not been of 
 her own making, had hulked so largely 
 in his eyes as to shut out her many 
 excellencies, kindnesses, and devotion ; 
 but when passion had subsided, these 
 came prominently into view, and made 
 that one offence seem as a very mote on 
 a ground which was generally good and 
 praiseworthy. But he could now do 
 nothing to remedy the evil which had 
 been done. In this view there is some- 
 thing terrible in the two words which 
 Abraham is represented as addressing 
 to the rich man in the New Testament 
 historical parable, " Son, remember ! " 
 Recall the past ! Think on the former 
 unrequited, unacknowledged, and abused 
 goodness of God ! Think of how thou 
 didst despise the poor, ulcerated, dog- 
 licked beggar at thy gate ! Ah ! these 
 bitter memories of earth will be in- 
 gredients in the future cup of the penal 
 suffering of the lost ! May God in his 
 mercy deliver us from them all, and 
 give us in their stead the blessed memory 
 of an accepted Saviour, and "a life of 
 faith on the Son of God, who loved us, 
 and gave himself for us ! " — McEwen. 
 
 I. Sin and punishment are insepar- 
 able companions. They go together 
 with chains of adamant. Like indivi- 
 dual twins, they are born together, live 
 together, are attended the one by the 
 otber, as the body by the shadow. 
 
 II. When sin is in the saddle then 
 punishment is on the crupper. Isidore, 
 the monk, was one that vaunted he had 
 felt in himself no motive to sin for forty 
 years together. The Hebrews have but 
 one and the same word for both ; and 
 blind nature prompted those mariners to 
 demand of the obnoxious prophet Jonah, 
 What evil hast thou done (Jonah i. 7), 
 that the hand of thy God doth follow 
 thee so close? and those barbarians to 
 censure St. Paul for some murder, whom, 
 though he had escaped the sea, yet 
 vengeance suffered not to live (Acts 
 xxviii. 4). — Trapp. 
 
 1. He thought upon the happy days 
 he had spent in her society. 
 
 2. He remembered the proofs of 
 affection she had formerly given. 
 
 3. He remembered her punishment. 
 How sad ami heavy ! Now that his 
 wrath is appeased, and bis judgment 
 again balanced, he can see his weakness. 
 The wrong which be thinks he has ex- 
 perienced from her he now sees to be of 
 a very doubtful kind. " He must even 
 confess to himself that, though he had 
 consulted his counsellors, he still had 
 acted in a passionate manner, and given 
 too free a rein to his wrath." This 
 should have taught him to control his 
 passions. 
 
 4. He remembered Vashti, but she 
 was now lost to him. Lost for ever as 
 his queen. Lost by his own act. The 
 result of his own passion and wrath. 
 And now the folly of his own act, like a 
 serpent, stings him. Ahasuerus, amid 
 all his wealth and splendour, now feels 
 an oppressive want. He suffered a loss 
 which could not be made good by any 
 other possession, however precious. He 
 may have more Avives, and many of them, 
 but they are not Vashti. David may have 
 another son, but not a fair Absalom. 
 
 In speaking of the king's sorrow, it 
 should be distinguished from repentance, 
 or godly sorrow. From what we know 
 of the character of Ahasuerus, we may 
 safely conclude that the remorse he felt 
 would be of a selfish character. He was 
 no doubt troubled, but was it — 
 
 1. Because of the injustice he had 
 done to a virtuous, yet helpless woman I 
 or 2. Because he felt that he had sinned 
 against the law of right 1 ? or 3. Because 
 he had lost his beautiful queen 1 Doubt- 
 less the latter chiefly, if not entirely. It 
 was, therefore, only selfish sorrow. The 
 kind of repentance or sorrow which a 
 thief has when he finds himself in prison, 
 deprived of liberty. He grieves, not be- 
 cause he is a thief, and wrongs his fel- 
 lows, but because he has lost the chance 
 to steal. Had Ahasuerus not lost Vashti, 
 he would probably have never felt a 
 pang. This feeling is as different as 
 possible from repentance. Beal repent- 
 ance begins in humiliation of heart, and 
 ends in reformation of life ; it consists 
 in the heart being broken for sin, and by 
 sin. If we ever enjoy that peace which 
 comes from God, our repentance must be 
 that which is not to be repented of. 
 
 The nature of true repentance is well 
 
CTIAP. II.] 
 
 IIOMIL E TIC COM ME NT A R Y : ES TH ER. 
 
 51 
 
 set forth in the following outline, by a 
 wise old writer : — 
 
 There seems to he an hysterosis in the 
 words, " Repent thee of thy remissness, 
 laziness, lukewarmness, ami learn by that 
 tliousufferest to he zealous of good works," 
 " fervent in spirit, serving the Lord." Be 
 zealous and repent ; that is, be in earnest 
 and thorough in thy repentance, and each 
 part thereof, contrition, or humiliation, 
 and conversion, or reformation. 
 
 1. Know that God will never leave 
 pursuing thee until the traitor's head be 
 thrown over the wall, till thou humble 
 thyself, and walk with God. As one 
 cloud follows another, until the sun con- 
 sumes them, so one judgment after an- 
 other, till godly sorrow dispels them. 
 Let the glory be to him, taking the 
 shame and blame of it ourselves, sub- 
 mitting to anything that he shall see 
 good to inflict. Say, Here I am, let him 
 do to me as seemeth him best. If God 
 will have my life, here it is ; if my 
 goods, here they are ; if my children or 
 any other dear pledge of his former 
 favour, I resign them freely into his 
 hands. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners ; 
 not your hands only, with Pilate, but 
 your hearts also, with David (Ps. li.). 
 Make use of all means, improve all occa- 
 sions, turn all the streams into this one 
 channel, for the drivinp of that mill 
 may grind the heart. 
 
 2. Our sorrow must be unto a trans- 
 mutation, or inward change. Our con- 
 trition must be joined with conversion, 
 else all is lost ; for this latter is the con- 
 summation of the former, and the seal 
 of its sincerity. Here, then, you must 
 set to work again, and be zealous in it. 
 Let your crosses teach you to cast away 
 all your transgressions, to turn from all 
 your wickedness, repent of all your dead 
 works, and put off all the fruits of the 
 flesh. Spare no sin, but least of all thy 
 beloved sin — thy familiar devil ; pitch 
 thy hatred chiefly upon that, fight nei- 
 ther against small nor great in com- 
 parison of that ; say of it, as Haman of 
 Mnrdecai, What avails me anything so 
 long as that liveth ] But that once dead, 
 the rest will soon follow, as all the serv- 
 ants attend the master's funeral. — Trapp. 
 When the wrath of Aha.-uerus was 
 cooled, did he nut, think you, envy 
 
 E 
 
 persons of a less powerful position than 
 himself 1 
 
 Remorse now punished the king almost 
 as severely as his imperious and unjust 
 decree had punished the unhappy cpieen. 
 
 Man is not so wise that his decrees 
 are perfect, and his enactments incapable 
 of improvement. 
 
 He ought to have felt grief and shame, 
 that, in his wine and rage, he had so 
 severely punished, and in such an irre- 
 vocable manner rejected, so fair and 
 desirable a woman. 
 
 Time assuageth the heat of anger, but 
 time does not always fill up the gaps 
 which human wrath makes. 
 
 Man has wants which no wealth can 
 meet. There is a want which the best 
 social arrangements cannot supply. 
 
 There is a craving in the human heart 
 which no earthly power can satisfy. 
 
 Guilty man needs to be placed in a 
 right relation towards God. 
 
 " Ahasuerus was as poor as the hum- 
 blest slave in his dominions in this 
 respect, and far poorer than the poorest 
 of the children of Judah, dispersed 
 through his empire as exiles, but know- 
 ing Jehovah." When the soul can rest 
 on God, as the God of redemption, when 
 it can claim Jesus Christ as its portion, 
 then all outward inequalities of rank 
 and fortune become subordinate ; the 
 Christian possessor of a large inherit- 
 ance feels that his chief good is in Christ, 
 the poor believer feels that he has a 
 share of the same exhaustless fulness. 
 There is nothing that a man is more 
 ready to keep than his wrath. But 
 Ahasuerus's against Vashti was after a 
 time assuaged. He remembered Vashti 
 not without some remorse, but without 
 all true repentance. He forsook not his 
 rash anger as a sin, but legretted it for 
 a time, and laid it asleep, to be raked 
 up again on as slight an occasion. In 
 graceless persons vices may be barbed or 
 benumbed, not mastered and mortified. 
 A merchant may part with his goods, 
 and yet not hate them. A man may 
 part with his sins for self-respects, and 
 yet retain his affection for them; he 
 may remember his Vashti, his bosom 
 sins, from which he seemeth divorced, 
 and, by such a sinful remembering of 
 them, recommit them. — Trapp). 
 
52 E0M1LETI0 COMMENTARY: ESTHER. [chap. ii. 
 
 MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGKAPH. Verses 2—4. 
 
 The Servility of the King's Servants 
 
 It is to be expected that servants should obey, and should seek to study the 
 desires and wishes of those whom they serve. But even servants should exercise 
 discretion, and not sacrifice principle at the shrine of policy. It does not appear 
 that these servants set themselves to consider the claims of principle. Policy was 
 their rule. By policy were they governed, and by policy were they at last 
 undone. 
 
 I. These servants studied the king's weaknoss. But this did not require 
 much study. It was patent to the dullest observer. Those who are constantly 
 about a man may understand the man hetter than he understands himself. These 
 servants evidently understood the monarch's weakness. Ultimately safe is it for 
 the man to be surrounded by those who can be, and will be, faithful. We may 
 not like faithful men, but at the last we shall find them to serve our highest 
 welfare. 
 
 II. These servants pandered to the king's weakness. Base pandering to 
 the sinful weaknesses of men and women has been the bane of every age. It is 
 at work in this enlightened age. While we rightly consider the corruption of a 
 Persian court let us seek to have our eyes open to the corruptions of English 
 society ; and faithfully endeavour to stem the torrent of iniquity. Are we still to 
 pursue the system of pandering to the worst passions of our fellows 1 Are there 
 no faithful ones to be found in modern society ? 
 
 III. These servants unscrupulously provided for the king's weakness. 
 The barbarous nature of their proposition could not be so evident to them as it is 
 to us who live in these more blessed days. But surely even to them a passing 
 thought might come as to the cruel nature of their proposition. Did they never 
 and for one moment think of the cruelty of the proceeding by which the fairest 
 flowers were to be plucked with ruthless hand from the choicest home-gardens of 
 the land? Did they not consider the woes and tears of mothers and fathers 
 weeping for the loss of the fair young virgins taken to be imprisoned in the king's 
 harem 1 But self-interest blinds our eyes to the interests of others, and to the 
 claims of truth and of duty. It would be so then, as it is now on too large a 
 scale. Men are still unscrupulous. We bow at the shrines of fashion, of custom, 
 and of wealth. Oh, in these days Mammon is the great monarch, at whose behests 
 fair young virgins are deflowered and strong young men are slaughtered. Mammon 
 is exalted. Humanity is trampled beneath the feet. Mammon is the modern 
 Ahasuerus, at whose commands homes must be decimated and true nobility thrown 
 to the winds. 
 
 IV. These servants were for the present successful. Their proposition 
 pleased the king, and measures were carried out for its accomplishment. Yet the 
 success was not according to their wish. True, Vashti was banished and the 
 measures were carried out to prevent her recall ; yet those measures tended to tlie 
 promotion of Esther, who was God's instrument for the salvation of her people, 
 and the destruction of the Lord's enemies. The benefits, then, of a time-serving 
 policy are not of the most lasting nature. If we would reap permanent good we 
 must sow Divine seed. If we would build permanent structures of glory we 
 must use Divine materials. 
 
 Suggestive Comments on Verses 2 — 4 
 
 It is said the king's servants suggest- another queen-royal had the approbation 
 
 ed this to him. But kings' servants of the wise men, else it could not have 
 
 know pretty well what to suggest. No been carried out successfully, 
 
 doubt, however, the policy of having And then began the preparation, the 
 
cnxp. n.] 
 
 HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: ESTHER. 
 
 53 
 
 narrative of which needs no illustration 
 of ours. It is perfectly plain : and it is 
 not edifying. And yet it is. Eightly 
 read — under due emotions and reflec- 
 tions, it is edifying (and especially to 
 the female part of the world), in the 
 highest degree. That our/hi to he edi- 
 fying which shows much cause for grati- 
 tude. Now just look at that picture of 
 Persian female life of the highest kind. 
 Persia — the mistress of civilization at 
 the time : the seat of wealth and splen- 
 dour : the land of the hrave and the 
 wise. And this is how it treats its 
 noblest women ! Could female degrad- 
 ation he more complete? All the more 
 complete that none wondered : none 
 protested : none resisted — unless we 
 may take Vashti's rebellion as a kind 
 of moral insurrection against the whole 
 treatment and state of woman. If it 
 was so, it spent itself. For here they 
 come from far and near — the young, 
 the fair, the nobly-born — as well as 
 those of humbler condition in their 
 miserable darkness, thinking that an 
 honour (without a thought of wrong 
 about it), which would now be esteemed, 
 in any Christian country, the deepest 
 disgrace. To use the words of an 
 English bishop on this chapter, " It is," 
 he says, " of priceless worth, as showing 
 the need under which the human race 
 then lay, of that deliverance which has 
 been wrought by the incarnation of the 
 Son of God, the seed of the woman, 
 who raised womanhood to a high and 
 holy dignity, and by that spiritual 
 espousal of a Church universal, by which 
 he had sanctified marriage, and made it 
 a great mystery. And it may remind 
 the world of the inestimable benefits it 
 owes to Christianity." Also, one ought 
 to say, that the narrative of this chapter, 
 although we pass it over lightly, is quite 
 purely written. Now this matter ought 
 to be faced, plainly. Sceptics ami 
 enemies of the faith are in the habit of 
 alleging or insinuating that there are 
 not a few passages in Holy Writ not fit 
 to be read in families and congregations 
 — hardly in closets. A considerable 
 number of passages certainly are not 
 suitable for public reading or exposition. 
 Therefore they are not read ; and they 
 are not expounded, except for some 
 
 special ends. But impure passages, in- 
 delicate corrupting passages'? Not one. 
 The breath of God has passed through 
 this chapter, and it is clear and clean, 
 so that no one of simple mind will get 
 harm by reading it. Would any one 
 say the same regarding some of our 
 fashionable novels and tales 1 — many of 
 them, softly be it spoken, and sorrow- 
 fully, and with shame, written by wo- 
 men ! ! — by women calling themselves 
 Christians, who, at any rate, have re- 
 ceived the benefit of the Christian civil- 
 ization so far, who therefore have been 
 elevated — away beyond heathen female 
 life. And this is the way they behave 
 themselves, and show their gratitude. 
 They spend their energy and their 
 genius, such as it is, in corrupting their 
 fellow-creatures, filling the minds of the 
 young with evil suggestions, which either 
 distress them, or pollute and deprave 
 them : working up disgusting situations, 
 and horrible scenes ; making light of 
 the holiest ties of human life, and apo- 
 logizing for some of its deepest evils and 
 crimes. 
 
 I am not speaking at random, al- 
 though I do not profess to be speaking 
 from any extensive personal know- 
 ledge ; but on reliable authority, by 
 consensus of judgment of the most im- 
 partial description, I believe this mat- 
 ter needs the attention of good people 
 far more urgently than some other 
 things Avhich secure that attention. At 
 any rate, I feel quite sure that I am 
 but doing my duty in thus testifying 
 and warning. One tiling we can all do, 
 Ave can refuse to read. Happily there 
 is enough good literature of every kind 
 — not heavy, dull, solemn, but fresh, 
 bright, humorous, pathetic, comic, 
 tragic — all kinds of the really good, by 
 writers both alive and dead. So that 
 there is no excuse for going clown into 
 the slough. " Keep thyself pure." — 
 Raleigh. 
 
 Verses 3, 4. — This was an extravagant 
 course. 1. All the provinces of the 
 kingdom must be searched for fair 
 young virgins. 2. Officers were ap- 
 pointed to choose them. 3. A house was 
 prepared for them, and a person ap- 
 pointed to have charge of them, to see 
 that they were well provided for. 4. 
 
M 
 
 1IOMILETIC COMMENTAhY: ESTHER. 
 
 [CHAP. II. 
 
 No less than twelve wait///* was allowed 
 them for their purification, some of them 
 at- least, who were brought out of the 
 country, that they might be very clean 
 and purified. Even those who were the 
 masterpieces of nature must yet have all 
 this help from art to recommend them 
 to a vain ami carnal mind. 5. After 
 the king had once taken them to his 
 bed, they were made recluses ever after, 
 except the king pleased at any time to 
 send for them ; they were looked upon 
 as secondary wives, were maintained by 
 the king accordingly, and might not 
 marry. — Matthew Henry. 
 
 A true representation of what we 
 should be without the Gospel. 
 
 Without Divine revelation man sinks 
 very low. 
 
 Learn how much we are indebted to 
 the Bible for present as well as for 
 future happiness. 
 
 We enjoy the inestimable advantage 
 of knowing the Lord's will. We are 
 unworthy of it if we follow the prompt- 
 ings and suggestions of our own hearts 
 in order to jj'&tse ourselves. 
 
 The first question with us should be, 
 How are we to walk so as to please God] 
 
 Nothing is a surer sign of our de- 
 pravity than to prefer the pleasing of 
 our flesh to the pleasing of him who 
 made us, of him by whom we must be 
 judged at the last day. 
 
 If we make it our grand business to 
 fulfil the desires of the flesh and of the 
 mind, we walk according to the course 
 of this world, according to the prince of 
 the power of the air. — Dr. Lawson. 
 
 It is not possible that great princes 
 should want soothing up in all their 
 inclinations — in all their actions. No- 
 thing could sound more pleasing to a 
 carnal ear, than that all the fair young 
 virgins, throughout all his dominions, 
 should be gathered into his palace at 
 Shushan for his assay and choice The 
 decree is soon published ; the charge is 
 committed to Hegai, the king's chamber- 
 lain, both of their purification and orna- 
 ments. — Bishop Hall. 
 
 The marriages of princes are com- 
 monly made by policy and interest, for 
 the enlarging of their dominions and 
 the strengthening of their alliances; 
 but this must be made partly by the 
 
 agreeableness of the person to the king's 
 
 fancy, whether she be rich or poor, 
 noble or ignoble. 
 
 What ado was made here to humour 
 the king ; as if his power and wealth 
 were given him for no other end but 
 that he might have all the delights of 
 sense wound up to the height of plea- 
 sureableness and exquisitely refined, 
 though at the best they are but dross 
 and dregs in comparison with Divine 
 and spiritual pleasure. 
 
 The higher men are advanced in 
 authority, the lower they sink in slavery 
 to their sensual appetites. How low is 
 humanity sunk when such as these are 
 the leading pursuits and highest happi- 
 ness of men ! when every consideration 
 of decency, equity, and conscience, even 
 health, life, and the immortal soul itself, 
 are sacrificed ; disappointment and vex- 
 ation must ensue ; and he most wisely 
 consults his enjoyment, even in this 
 present life, who most exactly obeys 
 the precept of the Divine law. — Scott. 
 
 Verse 2. They knew him to be a 
 sensualist and effeminate ; they there- 
 fore agree to feed his humour, to drown 
 him again in pleasure, so to drive 
 away his melancholy. Such miserable 
 comforters are carnal physicians ; so 
 wretched is our nature, to endure no 
 other physic ; so justly doth God fit tho 
 physician to the patient, the helve to 
 the hatchet ; so do the wicked help 
 each other forward to their deserved 
 destruction. Ahasuerus' counsellors be- 
 came brokers to his lust, neither is this 
 any thing unusual with such. — Trapp. 
 
 The whole passage affords US displays 
 of human character, the contemplation 
 of which is highly useful ; but the chief 
 thing which it is intended to exhibit to 
 us is the wonderful working of God 
 for the accomplishment of his purposes, 
 especially in relation to his Church and 
 his people. The divorce of Vashti was 
 intended to prepare the way for the 
 exaltation of Esther, and she was raised 
 to the kingdom that, by her influence 
 with the king, she might prevent a plot 
 for the extermination of the Jewish race. 
 And how wonderfully was this brought 
 about. None of the agents dreamed of 
 such a thing. It was In ought about by 
 means of heathens. — Dr. M'Crie, 
 
chap, ii.] 
 
 IIOMILETIG COMMENTARY: ESTHER. 
 
 In this second chapter we are per- 
 mitted to see the consequences which 
 resulted from the banquet described in 
 the first chapter. In the present lecture 
 we shall state and enforce one or two 
 general principles. " After these things," 
 etc. (vers. 1—4). 
 
 I. We have here to notice the regret 
 of the king for his rash and unwar- 
 rantable act. It is very obvious from 
 the narrative, that when he came to 
 himself, and had time to reflect on all 
 that had taken place, he was sensible 
 that he had committed injury ; and that 
 he had not only wronged Vashti, but 
 also made himself a sufferer. (1) He 
 could not dense a remedy. There are 
 wishes which even the most powerful 
 despots cannot get gratified, and limits 
 to their will which even they cannot 
 pass over. It seemed to be by a simple 
 exercise of supreme authority that Ahas- 
 uerus triumphed over the helpless, and 
 had his desire carried into effect. But 
 when he would have retraced his steps, 
 he could not. (2) The law of the Medes 
 and Persians must stand. Yet the enact- 
 ment which did wrong to the innocent 
 queen, at the same time recoiled upon 
 the head of the king himself. 
 
 II. But again we have to notice the 
 expedient which his counsellors sug- 
 gested to free him from his difficulty. 
 Probably he would be moody and harsh 
 toward them, when he saw to what issue 
 their advice had brought him. Despot- 
 ism, like spoilt children, must be soothed 
 and flattered. He had degraded his 
 queen ; but another might be found to 
 occupy the place from which she had 
 been removed. The humour of the king 
 fell in with the suggestion. He con- 
 sented; it led to the promotion of Esther, 
 a Jewess, to the high dignity of being 
 Queen of Persia. These things are wor- 
 thy of our attention in the way of prac- 
 tical application. They suggest several 
 lessons. 1. In the first place we may 
 draw from them the lesson, that when 
 men suffer themselves to be carried 
 away by the impulse of any violent pas- 
 sions, they may commit acts which can- 
 not afterwards be remedied, and which 
 they themselves may have especially to 
 lament. We think it is plain from the 
 words, "the king remembered Vashti, 
 
 what she had done, and what had been 
 decreed against her," that when he was 
 able to reflect calmly upon the decree 
 which had been issued for the degrada- 
 tion of Vashti, he was conscious that 
 she had been faithful to her place and 
 character, while he himself had forgotten 
 what was due to both. All the past he 
 would gladly have cancelled, but it wa3 
 beyond his power. His will could work 
 evil, but it could not undo the evil 
 which had been wrought. 2. It forms 
 no excuse for sin committed, that the 
 transgressor had reduced himself to a 
 condition in which he ceased to retain 
 his full consciousness of the distinction 
 between right and wrong. It is with his 
 own consent that he passes the bound- 
 ary line between reason and folly ; and 
 although, in one aspect of the case, he 
 may not be precisely answerable for all 
 his acts when the power of self-govern- 
 ment is gone, yet obviously he is to be 
 called to account for reducing himself to 
 that state. Let us take an illustration 
 from the history of Saul. Furnished 
 with the gifts of the Spirit, counselled 
 by Samuel, he might have been a model 
 to the sovereigns who were to come after 
 him. He failed to improve his privi- 
 leges, the Spirit of the Lord departed, 
 and the evil spirit took possession of 
 him — slew prophets, etc. He was held 
 responsible, although the evil spirit 
 prompted him, because he had laid his 
 heart open for the reception of the evil 
 spirit. Just so in all cases. When a 
 man has perpetrated a criminal act, 
 having wilfully deprived himself of the 
 power that would have restrained him 
 from it, he has no right to claim im- 
 munity from the consequences of his 
 miserable self-will, or to complain that 
 he is unrighteously dealt with when he 
 is visited with punishment. 3. But 
 there is another general application 
 which may be legitimately made of this 
 part of our subject, viz., that repentance 
 may come too late. There is many a 
 cry for mercy raised when the time for 
 the exercise of mercy has passed away. 
 By the law of the Medes and Persians 
 the king found himself in a condition 
 from which he would gladly have been 
 extricated, but could not devise the 
 means. By the unalterable law of heaven 
 
5G 
 
 UUMILETW COMMENTARY: ESTHER. 
 
 [CHAP. II. 
 
 it is ordained that except we repent we 
 
 must perish. And by the same law it, 
 is required that repentance be immediate. 
 " Where fore, my brethren, take heed lest 
 there be in any of you an evil heart of 
 unbelief, in departing from the living 
 God." lint notice — 
 
 III. The whole case furnishes such 
 evidence of the power of an overruling 
 Providence, that I would take this 
 opportunity of referring to the sub- 
 ject. The lesson which the text teaches 
 is, in one sentence, this — that, amid all 
 the workings of human passion and folly, 
 there is a power exercised which brings 
 order out of confusion, and good out of 
 evil. 1. We present the case briefly as 
 the text brings it before us. Revelry 
 had produced disorder. It had led to 
 most unjust measures towards the queen. 
 The advisers of these measures, finding 
 it necessary to soothe the feelings of 
 their despotic sovereign, recommended 
 to him a certain mode of procedure. 
 The result of this was Esther's advance- 
 
 ment. In all this we have a special 
 Providence, overruling the sins of men 
 for the promotion of the interests of the 
 people of God. 2. We see a specimen 
 of the absolute and unrestrained will of 
 man put forth to accomplish ends which 
 had no apparent connection whatever 
 with the will of God, or with what 
 would be pleasing to him. When the 
 curtain which conceals the movements of 
 Providence i-; withdrawn, we can mani- 
 festly trace the connection between the 
 follies and passions of men and the pro- 
 duction of important results which they 
 could not have dreamt of. We can per- 
 ceive the hand of the Lord working 
 where we would not have looked for it, 
 and understand how the very wrath of 
 men is made to praise him. But ob- 
 serve, the sin of the monarch was not 
 one whit diminished because it was over- 
 ruled for good ; but neither is the good 
 to be regarded as evil because it was 
 the undesigned fruit of man's unholy 
 passions. — Dr. Davidson. 
 
 MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH. Verses 5—7. 
 
 A Truly Eoyal Character. 
 
 The leading part of this history is prophetic. While it records the past it 
 depicts the future. It shows how two of the Jewish nation rose, through the 
 providence of God, to occupy the foremost positions in the Persian kingdom. 
 Mordecai the Jew and Esther his foster-child — two captives — became next in 
 authority and in power to king Ahasuerus. They were great both among the Jews 
 and among the Persians : for the one was queen, and the other was prime minister. 
 The story of their humiliation and after- exaltation is only equalled by the charming 
 narrative of Joseph. And both surpass in interest the inventions of skilful novelists. 
 History and biography repeat themselves. The Hamans have persecuted and 
 planned the destruction of the Mordecais ; but the irrepressible genius of the 
 Jewish nation has ever asserted its sovereignty. It is surprising how the Jew from 
 time to time battles successfully against adversity, and makes it minister to pros- 
 perity. The Jews have accumulated wealth, — though every barrier has been raised 
 against their success, — and their property has been again and again confiscated by 
 greedy rulers. The Jews have risen to power in spite of restrictive enactments. 
 Iheir influence is felt to-day to a large extent. The noblest part of our literature 
 is based on Jewish records. They have given to the world its best system of 
 morals. Surely this wondrous people have still a most important part to play in 
 this world's great transactions ; and the study of the most obscure among this 
 people cannot be devoid of interest to every intelligent being. 
 
 I. Mordecai's royal ancestry. Great importance was attached to genealogical 
 tables by ancient nations. They did not smile at the claims of long descent. 
 Certainly intellectual and moral, as well as physical, qualities are capable of trans- 
 mission. It is indeed true that some boast of their ancestry who have little else 
 to boast. The Jews were especially particular in their records of genealogy for 
 
chap. II.] HOMILETIO COMMENTARY : ESTHER. 57 
 
 territorial, political, and religious reasons. Tims in the Targum of Esther we 
 have Hainan's pedigree traced through twenty-one generations to the "impious 
 E^au ; " and Mordecai's through forty-two generations to Abraham. In this 
 canonical account Mordecai's pedigree is traced to the tribe of Benjamin. This 
 was one of the smallest tribes, but three names make it prominent. From it 
 sprang Saul, the first king of the Jewish nation ; Mordecai, the noble deliverer of 
 his people; and Paul, the great Apostle of the .Gentiles. On the one hand 
 Mordecai was connected with Saul, who was royal by virtue of his office ; and on 
 the other hand he was connected with Paul, who was royal by virtue of the 
 nobility of his character. Mordecai himself was of royal ancestry, of royal char- 
 acter, exercising regal functions, " seeking the wealth of his people, and speaking 
 peace to all his seed." He was a man to do honour to any tribe. It is no wonder 
 that he stands high in Rabbinical estimation, and that mythical stories gather 
 around his person. He is spoken of as being acquainted with seventy languages, 
 and as having lived four hundred years. He is invested with splendid robes, 
 adorned with costly jewels, and placed On the pinnacle of earthly greatness. The 
 courtly heralds with their trumpets proclaim his glory. He was nobler than all. 
 There dwelt within him a patriotic spirit that made him sublime. There was in 
 him a heroic assertion of manhood, which lifted him high above the common people. 
 There was also a wonderful tenderness, which made him the adored of his own 
 nation. He was one of those men that only appear at intervals, that dignify the 
 race, and seem to make sacred the soil on which they tread. 
 
 II. Mordecai's unattractive name. Proper names are words which serve for 
 marks separating one individual from another. The name Mordecai brings before 
 us the individual and separates him from the person named Hainan. The name 
 Mordecai, when viewed as to its meaning, does not raise in our mind the correct 
 thought as to his character. We may consider Mordecai as a word of Chaldoean or 
 Persian origin, and as meaning the worshipper of Merodach, the war-god of Babylon. 
 But he was no foolish idolater. If he had been there was no justification for his 
 refusal to bow down before Hainan. If he had been he would not have so resolutely 
 adhered to the purpose of delivering the Jews, the worshippers of the true God. 
 He was by moral lineage connected with Abraham, the father of the faithful, the 
 friend of God. The name may be but the reputation, which may be true or false. 
 Character is what the man is. To be noble is better than to be accounted noble. 
 Let men rise superior to names. The word Mordecai has been made to mean the 
 little man. He may have been little physically ; and thus the two Benjamites 
 stood in striking contrast. Saul was head and shoulders above his fellows ; and 
 Mordecai was perhaps below the average standard. Saul was, however, selfish and 
 mean-spirited; while Mordecai was benevolent and noble-spirited. Saul was craven 
 and cowed before a woman ; but Mordecai was bold and daring before the great 
 Hainan. Saul abjectly prayed to be honoured before the elders of his people, and 
 before Israel ; but Mordecai cared not for his own honour so long as Israel was 
 saved and glorified. If the man is not the mere flesh and bones that constitute 
 the external framework, then Saul was the little man and Mordecai the great man. 
 Manhood is not to be gauged by inches or by ounces ; but by thoughts, feelings, 
 and actions. Brutes may be measured and weighed by material appliances; but 
 men should be measured and weighed by moral appliances. The balances of the 
 infinite purities are the tests by which men should be tried. And then what a 
 reversal of estimates. The little becomes great, and the so-called great dwindle 
 down to their true proportions. The Sauls are rejected, as Saul was at last. 
 The Mordecais are honouied, for the man Mordecai waxed greater and greater. 
 In the Targum of Esther he is said to be called Mordecai, because he was like 
 the pure myrrh. Its taste is bitter and acid, and its smell strong. The taste of 
 this myrrh was bitter and acid to the enemies of God and of goodness; but its 
 smell was sweet to the delivered Jews. As the myrrh is pressed to bring out its 
 fragrance ; so the essential sweetness of Mordecai's character was brought out 
 
5H IIOMILETIC COMMENTARY: ESTHER, [ciiap. n. 
 
 more fully by the afflictions to which he was subjected. He was crushed not to 
 death, but into a more perfect life and a Diviner fragrance. He was one of those 
 world's greal solitary heroes that conquered by his defeats. Ever thus is noble 
 manhood developed. Rough is the school where genius is trained. Sharp is the 
 stroke which touches the soul into Diviner aspects. Keen is the instrument which 
 shapes the spirit into perfect forms of moral beauty. Rude and steep is the path- 
 way along which the traveller struggles up to the heights where the celestial 
 sunlight quivers, and where the soul finds a sphere adequate for its expansion. 
 
 III. Mordecai's attractive deed. Mordecai is greatest when he saw Ins little 
 cousin left a poor orphan, and took her to his house and to his heart, and became 
 to her a second father, so gentle and loving that she no longer mourned the loss 
 of her first father. She delighted to render to Mordecai the allegiance of a true 
 loving daughter. We too often lose sight of the fact that life's little things are 
 really life's great things. We begin with the little and go up to the great. But 
 we do not measure correctly. Our terms are untrue. The great deed was when 
 Mordecai took and brought up Hadassah. The little deed was when he reaped the 
 results of his goodness. For sowing is greater than reaping ; but the sowing is 
 done in tears, and the harvest is gathered amid a flourish of trumpets. Men are 
 greatest in their little things. The chariot of Ahasuerus was not checked in its 
 course, the attendant courtiers never condescended to notice, when Mordecai guided 
 to his home the orphaned girl. But he was sowing seed which produced strange 
 and yet glorious fruit. The deed was most attractive. He was true to the claims 
 of relationship and to the dictates of humanity. Without thought of reward, 
 without a knowledge of her future glory, he adopted the child. The orphan's 
 tears touched his heart and evoked his sympathies. How sweetly pathetic the 
 short account, " Whom Mordecai, when her father and mother were dead, took for 
 his own daughter." Christianity is better than Judaism. Let it be ever seen that 
 the Christian religion makes its adherents human, tender, considerate. Let us not 
 say, A father to the fatherless is God in his holy habitation, and leave the father- 
 less to starvation and beggary. Christianity has done much in this direction. 
 Orphan homes are the trophies of the humanizing tendencies. But adoption of 
 the orphan is better than crowding a lot of poor orphans together to be drilled and 
 marched out like young soldiers. Esthers grow best when the Mordecais become 
 their fathers. Christianity lias still much work to do. 
 
 Suggestive Comments on Verses 5 — 7. 
 
 It is singular that it should have Esther, or Hadassah (which was her 
 
 ever been imagined, although it has Jewish name), had been left an orphan, 
 
 been by some, that it was Mordecai who Whether Mordecai had any family of 
 
 had been carried from Jerusalem to his own we are not informed ; but, 
 
 Babylon, at the time when Jeconiah, moved with compassion for her in her 
 
 also called Jehoiachim, was dethroned, desolate and unprotected state, he took 
 
 and led into captivity by Nebuchad- her to his house, and brought her up as 
 
 nezzar. In that case, he must at this his own daughter. The maiden was 
 
 time have been considerably more than fair and beautiful, it is said — the expres- 
 
 a hundred years old, whit h is altogether sions mean that she was of graceful form 
 
 inconsistent with the part he is repre- and beautiful countenance — and from 
 
 sented as performing in this book. It what is brought out in the history, the 
 
 is evidently Kish, his great-grandfather, endowments of her mind were in har- 
 
 who lived in Jeconiah's time, and who mony with the graces of her person, 
 
 was carried to Babylon, on which sup- Sad, however, might the destiny of the 
 
 position Mordecai would be a man prob- lovely orphan have been, but for the 
 
 ably in the prime of life at the period kind and tender-hearted Mordecai. If 
 
 referred to in ths text. His cousin she had been east upon the world with- 
 
CHAP. II.] 
 
 II0MILET1G COMMENTARY: ESTHER. 
 
 59 
 
 out friends and without a home, the 
 very beauty and accomplishments with 
 which she was so highly gifted might 
 have rendered her only a prey to some 
 of those designing and selhsh wretches 
 whose chief object it is to seduce and 
 ruin those who are fair and beautiful as 
 she was. But the eye of the Lord was 
 upon the helpless maiden, to protect and 
 guide her; and Mordecai had her brought 
 to his house as her home. No doubt 
 he felt that he was sufficiently rewarded 
 for his benevolence, in watching over a 
 creature so interesting as Esther must 
 have been — in marking her progress, 
 and receiving the tokens of her con- 
 fidence and affection. But there were 
 other rewards in store for him, which he 
 dreamt not of, to recompense his work 
 of faith and labour of love. In taking 
 her into his house, and charging himself 
 with the expense of her education and 
 maintenance, he may have been regarded 
 by some of his covetous neighbours, 
 especially if he had a family of his own, 
 as laying himself under a burden which 
 a prudent man would have rather en- 
 deavoured to avoid. But he thought 
 not of this. He acted according to the 
 spirit of the Divine law, and the impulses 
 of his own generous heart ; and that 
 from which selfishness would have turned 
 away as a burden, he found eventually 
 to be in every respect a precious trea- 
 sure. A blessing followed him because 
 he had pity upon the orphan. 
 
 Now, there are some remarks very 
 obviously suggested by this part of the 
 narrative. I should say that here we 
 have a fine example of the practical 
 power of true religion, in leading to a 
 benevolent regard for the comfort and 
 well-being of the unprotected. It can- 
 not be denied indeed, that specimens of 
 the same kind of benevolence are to be 
 found among the heathen. The tics of 
 kindred have been felt and acknowledged 
 where the light of Divine truth was 
 never enjoyed ; and there are on record 
 acts of generosity and self-denial per- 
 formed by men ignorant of the Bible, 
 which put to shame the selfishness of 
 many who live under the teaching of 
 the Word of God. But there is this 
 difference ; that Mordecai, in what he 
 did for Esther, acted only in accordance 
 
 with the maxims and spirit of the law 
 which came from heaven — only did 
 what the law positively enjoined, and 
 what, as professing to be subject to it, 
 it became him to do. One manifest 
 purpose of the Mosaic dispensation was, 
 while it separated the seed of Abraham 
 from all other nations, to unite them 
 closely among themselves as brethren. 
 And this purpose it effected to a wonder- 
 ful extent, notwithstanding the opposi- 
 tion which it had to encounter from the 
 corrupt heart and grovelling propensities 
 of the people among whom it was set 
 up. It is peculiarly interesting to 
 notice, that it was during the captivity, 
 when the Jews were scattered hither 
 and thither throughout the Persian 
 dominions, and when every man might 
 have been supposed to have enough to 
 do in attending to his own interests, and 
 providing for his own family, that 
 Mordecai took charge of his uncle's 
 orphan daughter, and gave her a refuge 
 in his own house. Whatever care and 
 difficulty he had to undergo in support- 
 ing himself in the land of exile, he 
 remembered the injunction of the law, — 
 " Ye shall not afflict any widow or 
 fatherless child ; if thou afflict them in 
 any wise, and they cry unto me, I will 
 surely hear their cry ; " and the prophet's 
 commentary upon it, — " Is not this the 
 fast that I have chosen, that thou deal 
 thy bread to the hungry, and that thou 
 bring the poor that are cast out to thy 
 house 1 ? When thou seest the naked, 
 that thou cover him ; and that thou 
 hide not thyself from thine own flesh?" 
 Now, while it is impossible for us to 
 read what Mordecai did without feeling 
 that his memory deserves to be had in 
 respect, as a man who had imbibed the 
 spirit of the law, and who, amid many 
 temptations to set its injunctions aside, 
 endeavoured to regulate his conduct by 
 its recpairements ; while we see in him 
 an exemplification of that principle of 
 brotherly love, which the law so earnestly 
 inculcates ; let us not forget that the 
 gospel of Christ is designed at once to 
 deepen the feeling of brotherly affection, 
 and to give it a far wider range of 
 operation. If the poor exiled Jew had 
 compassion on his orphan niece, and 
 brought her up as his own daughter, 
 
on 
 
 1IOMILETIC COMMENTARY: ESTHER. 
 
 [chap. it. 
 
 how sacred should the claims of orphan- 
 age be in the view of those who profess 
 to follow him who said, "Blessed are 
 the merciful, for they shall obtain 
 mercy ; " and, " By this shall all men 
 know that ye are my disciples, if ye 
 love one another. A new commandment 
 give I unto you, that ye love one an- 
 other ; as I have loved you, that ye also 
 love each other." The charities of the 
 Jews were confined almost exclusively 
 to those of their own nation. This was 
 indeed a natural consequence of their 
 being isolated from the rest of the 
 world ; a result of the particular light 
 in which they were taught to regard the 
 heathen, and in which the heathen in 
 turn regarded them. But "in Christ 
 Jesus there is neither Greek nor Jew, 
 Barbarian nor Scythian, bond nor free ; 
 but all are one in him." Not that the 
 ties of ordinary relationship are weakened 
 by the gospel, and that we are to over- 
 look the special claims of kindred in the 
 enlarged held which it opens up for the 
 exercise of our benevolent affections. 
 By no means. But we are to act toward 
 all men as if they were our neighbours, 
 and toward all who are of the household 
 of faith as brethren. This is the lesson 
 which we learn from our Lord's teach- 
 ing, and more emphatically still from 
 his example. And it must be confessed, 
 to the honour of Christianity, that one 
 circumstance which distinguishes the 
 countries which have been even only in 
 name brought under its influence, is the 
 provision that has been made in various 
 forms for the distresses of suffering 
 humanity. The institutions for the 
 relief of the diseased, of the destitute, 
 of the fatherless and the orphan, and of 
 the erring who would fain return into 
 the pat lis of rectitude, are to be regarded 
 as so many evidences of what the gospel 
 has effected for the removal of the 
 temporal evils under which society 
 groans. Different opinions there may 
 well be as to the wisdom of the rules by 
 which some of these institutions are 
 governed, and of the means by which 
 they seek the attainment of their objects ; 
 but there can be no dispute as to their 
 benevolent design, or as to the point, 
 that their origin is to be traced up to 
 the diffusion of the knowledge of the 
 
 Word of God. At the sane time, my 
 friends, I cannot help remarking, that 
 
 there is something in the conduct of 
 Mordecai, as recorded in the text, and 
 of those who, like him, exercise their 
 benevolence personally in assisting and 
 protecting the helpless, and endeavour- 
 ing to ameliorate their condition — some- 
 thing that raises it far above that of the 
 people who contribute, however largely 
 and willingly, toward the support of 
 public institutions for the relief of the 
 distressed. It is an easy matter for the 
 wealthy to be charitable, when their 
 gifts, administered by others, involve no 
 sacrifice of time or labour, and no care 
 and anxiety to themselves. But the 
 noblest exercise of charity is exhibited 
 when we take an interest personally in 
 the well-being of the unprotected, and 
 when they can look to us as their friends 
 and counsellors, to whom they can have 
 recourse in their sorrows, and troubles, 
 and difficulties. It may not be that we 
 have opportunity to act literally as 
 Mordecai did, and to give shelter to the 
 orphan in our own homes ; but we 
 only act in the spirit of the gospel of 
 Christ, when, according to our means, 
 we make some of the helpless the objects 
 of our special care, and regard them as 
 a trust committed to us by our heavenly 
 Father. The exercise of the kindly 
 affections toward any such carries in it 
 its own reward, and with these labours 
 of love on the part of his people God is 
 well pleased. — Da vii Ison . 
 
 Mordecai is a lowly descendant of a 
 formerly distinguished, indeed royal, 
 family. He belongs to the scattered 
 foreigners fallen under contempt, who 
 were carried away captives from Jerusa- 
 lem. He is in a strange land, lie has, 
 it appears, neither father nor mother, 
 neither wife nor child. Even his rela- 
 tives, his uncle and his aunt, are dead. 
 But the latter left an orphan; he is to 
 her a father, she to him a daughter, 
 indeed a precious treasure. Doubtless 
 he is aware how great a trust was left to 
 him in her and with her ; how God is 
 justly called the Father of orphans, and 
 that He especially blesses those who 
 pity and minister to them. He knows 
 his duty toward her, and its fulfilment 
 brings to him satisfaction, makes him 
 
CHAP. II.] 
 
 H0M1LETIC COMMENTARY : ESTHER. 
 
 01 
 
 happy. God has blessed her with 
 beauty ; but Avhat is more, he lias be- 
 stowed on her an obedient, humble, and 
 unassuring spirit, as is afterwards fully 
 shown by her conduct in the royal house 
 of the women, and as had doubtless been 
 often manifested before. She loves her 
 people, and surely also its customs, laws, 
 and religion. Thus she is to him indeed 
 a Hadassah, a myrtle, in the true sense 
 of the word, an unpromising and yet 
 promising bud. Indeed, to him she was 
 developed into a lovely flower of hope ; 
 and though it happen that she is taken 
 into the royal house of the women, she 
 will still be to him a lovely flower, 
 whose presence he seeks, whose pros- 
 perity lies at his heart day by day, 
 whose development will cause him to 
 rejoice. Again, she will more and more 
 become to him a brilliant star, an 
 Esther, in whose light he views his own 
 and his people's future. In this manner 
 his life is not poor, though he appear in- 
 significant and obscure, though it be filled 
 with painful reminiscences and great 
 perplexities, which he must combat daily 
 in his heathen surroundings. On the 
 contrary, he is rich in light and hope ; 
 and even if he had realized the latter in 
 a less degree than he eventually did, 
 still his existence would not have been 
 in vain. — Lange. 
 
 Ver. 5. Mordecai was one of those 
 characters which clearly reveal the hand 
 of Providence. 
 
 The light we have of his early life is 
 little better than darkness. But when 
 he appears at Shushan it becomes lustrous 
 as the noontide sun. 
 
 He possessed the qualification which 
 fitted him for swaying a sceptre. 
 
 Mordecai's ancestors were dead and 
 buried, but family greatness lived with 
 him. 
 
 Some men's noble deeds and heroism 
 exist only in name, are hung in picture- 
 galleries, and recorded in the chronicles 
 of their family. 
 
 A great name is often carried by a 
 very little man. Greatness does not 
 always pass on. 
 
 In the person of Richard Cromwell 
 we have not an Oliver Cromwell. 
 
 Ver. 6. Carried away. Every 
 child of God is where God has placed 
 
 him for some purpose. You have been 
 wishing for another position where you 
 could do something for Jesus : do not 
 wish anything of the kind, but serve 
 him where you are. If you are sitting 
 at the king's gate there is something for 
 you to do there, and if you were on the 
 queen's throne, there would be some- 
 thing for you to do there : do not ask 
 either to be gatekeeper or queen, but 
 whichever you are serve God therein. 
 Mordecai did well because he acted as 
 Mordecai should. — C. H. Spurgeon. 
 
 The best may have their share in a 
 common calamity ; but God will not 
 fail even then to set his eyes upon them 
 for good. The husbandman cutteth his 
 corn and weed together, but for different 
 purpose. One and the same common 
 calamity proveth, melteth, puriiieth the 
 good, damneth, wasteth, destroyeth the 
 evil. — Trapp. 
 
 It was a good thing for Esther when 
 left an orphan, in a strange land, that 
 Mordecai would become her foster-father. 
 
 It was a good thing for Mordecai that 
 he took Esther home and brought her up. 
 
 Whilst giving he received . " There 
 is that scattereth and yet increaseth." 
 This Mordecai experienced. 
 
 Be careful whom you turn from your 
 door ; an angel, in rags, may come there 
 some day. 
 
 The adopted child, or even the captive 
 slave, may be God's ministering angel. 
 
 That passage, " The Lord blessed the 
 Egyptian's house for Joseph's sake," is 
 very suggestive. 
 
 The little maid in Naaman's house 
 became an untold blessing to her master. 
 
 Mordecai took Esther, and was well 
 rewarded. 1. By Esther's goodness 
 when with him. 2. By her obedience 
 to him after she had left him. 
 
 Mordecai brought up Hadassah, and 
 Esther afterwards brought up Mordecai. 
 
 She was a poor orphan, but Christ 
 left her not comfortless. He had pro- 
 vided and enabled Mordecai to feed her, 
 to train her up in the fear of God, and 
 to defend her chastity from the fear of 
 lust ; beside that, her head was by Him 
 destined to a diadem. Esther the cap- 
 tive shall be Esther the queen ; Esther 
 the motherless and fatherless shall ba 
 a nursing mother to the Church, and, 
 
62 BOMTLETIO COMMENTARY: ESTHER. [chap. n. 
 
 meanwhile, meet with a merciful guard- 3. After mentioning the barbaroua 
 
 i in — Mordecai. Why, then, should edict for destroying all their children, 
 
 not we trust God with ourselves and Stephen says: "In which time Moses 
 
 our children'? — Trapp. was born, and was exceeding fair" — - 
 
 Took for his own daughter. He "fair to God," as it is in the original, 
 
 hid not his eyes from his own flesh, as according to the Hebrew idiom. It waa 
 
 some unnatural ostrich or sea-monster; the beauty of the babe, shining through 
 
 he made not, as many do, tuition a its tears, that excited the compassion of 
 
 liroker for private gain ; he made not, the Egyptian princess ; and it was 
 
 instead of a daughter, a slave or sponge Esther's beauty which first won the 
 
 of his pupil ; he devoured her not under Persian monarch. 
 
 pretence of devotion, but freely took 4. But the Apostle, referring to the 
 
 her for his child, and bred her in the faith of Moses, lets us further into the 
 
 best manner. — Trapp. mystery of Providence: "By faith 
 
 There is a resemblance between Esther Moses was hid three months of his 
 
 , and Moses. parents, because they saw he was a 
 
 1. The one was raised up to emanci- proper child." Mordecai was to Esther 
 pate Israel from cruel bondage, the lather and mother; and what hinders 
 other to preserve them from a plot us to think that he participated in the 
 which had for its object their extermi- feelings of the parents of Moses, and 
 nation. that when he first looked on the beauty 
 
 2. Moses was taken out of the river, of the infant orphan, faith combined 
 and adopted by Pharaoh's daughter, with natural affection and benevolence 
 Esther was raised to the bed of Ahasu- in inducing him to take her for his own 
 erus and the crown royal. daughter. — Dr. M'Orie. 
 
 MAIN HOMILET1CS OF THE PARAGRAPH. Verses 8—10. 
 Esther's Hopeful Beginning. 
 
 A good beginning often ensures a good ending. Often, but not always. Buds 
 of promise in this world are sadly and frequently nipped by the untimely blast, 
 or the searching frost. Purposes are broken. Glorious plans are thwarted. "Well- 
 conceived structures do not reach completion. However. Esther began well and 
 ended well. She was one of those wondrous beings that make an impression upon 
 all. She carried sunshine everywhere, and all were attracted by the sweet light of 
 her presence. 
 
 I. Esther was brought to the king's house along with other maidens. This 
 was not much to the other maidens. To some a gloomy prospect. But to Esther 
 it was one of the steps to a future high position. 
 
 II. She impressed the keeper of the women. The maiden pleased him, and 
 she obtained kindness of him. On her entrance into what we may call public life 
 she made an impression. She moved along, exerting a charm upon all. Monarch 
 and subject confessed her power, and yielded to her benign sway. AH are not 
 alike gifted with this power of pleasing, but all should strive to please others for 
 their good to edification. The more unselfish we become, the more are we likely 
 to please others and to receive kindness. 
 
 III. She was advanced to the best place. Hegai preferred her to the best 
 place of the house of the women. Ahasuerus advanced her to the best place in the 
 kingdom. She receives a good place in the pages of sacred history. Let not our 
 strife be for the best of earthly places. That is the best place where the good Lord 
 shows his glory. Let us dwell in the presence of Jesus Christ. Where he dwells 
 is heaven. 
 
 The fact that Esther was of Jewish extraction might have militated against her 
 elevation, therefore she preserved a wise reticence. Time is on the side of him who 
 knows how to wait. Mordecai does not enforce either falsehood or deeeitfuhiess, 
 
CHAP. II.] 
 
 HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: ESTHER. 
 
 63 
 
 but simply patience for the period to arrive when truth may he revealed with 
 advantage. An untruth must he scorned ; hut the man who tells the truth at 
 unseasonable periods, or in a wrong spirit, may do more harm than good. " Give not 
 that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they 
 trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you." The prudent man 
 foreseeth the evil and taketh all lawful methods for its prevention. Christianity 
 teaches foresight. Prudence is commended both by nature and by revelation. But 
 it must not degenerate into cunning. Mordecai was prudent in the management of 
 his household. He trained Esther well, for she did the commandment of Mordecai 
 like as when she was brought up with him. Good training, as a general rule, 
 makes good children. " Train up a child in the way in which he should «o and 
 Avhen he is old he will not depart from it." The well-trained child will not be 
 likely to forget its duty even in the palace. Parents often blame their children for 
 following evil courses ; but if such parents closely examined they might find reason 
 to blame themselves. In this age children forget the commandment of their 
 parents long before the palace is reached. 
 
 Suggestive Comments on Verses 8 — 10. 
 
 Ver. 9. Esther teas brought. Poor 
 Esther, who had been so kindly cherished 
 by Mordecai, was now led away from his 
 house to be the slave or the beloved 
 wife of the great king, as his caprice 
 should determine. 
 
 1. Her consent was not asked. 
 
 2. The consent of Mordecai, her 
 adopted father, was not asked. 
 
 3. They were both slaves to a despotic 
 master, and had, therefore, no choice. 
 Blame not Esther, therefore, but pity 
 her, when ye hear that, like so many 
 other maidens, she was led away to the 
 house of the king's women. She was 
 not an actor, but a sufferer. Had she 
 been left to her choice it is probable she 
 would have chosen the poorest Jew that 
 was faithful to his religion for her hus- 
 band, in preference to the great king. — 
 Dr. Lawson, 
 
 There is, unquestionably, a difficulty 
 connected with this 8th verse. 
 
 1. If Mordecai, of his own accord, 
 presented Esther as a candidate for the 
 royal favour, then he acted in opposition 
 to the law of Moses, which forbade that 
 the daughters of Israel should be given 
 to the heathen. It would be no apology 
 for his conduct that he designed by 
 what he did to advance the interests of 
 his nation. What is forbidden by the 
 law must not be done that good may 
 come of it. 
 
 2. Many interpreters suppose that 
 those who were commissioned to select 
 the virgins for the kind's seraylio exe- 
 
 cuted their office without respect to the 
 feelings of the parties interested. Esther 
 was taken, therefore, without there being 
 any choice left, either to her or Mordecai, 
 in the matter. 
 
 3. Others that, as the whole was so 
 manifestly providential, Mordecai may 
 have received special intimation from 
 heaven to bring his orphan cousin under 
 the notice of the king's officers. There 
 is nothing in the history to warrant this 
 opinion ; therefore we embrace the first 
 supposition as the most probable account 
 of the affair. 
 
 4. But whatever may have been the 
 feelings of Mordecai and Esther, we see 
 the special workings of Providence in 
 her behalf. She obtained favour of the 
 chief of the eunuchs above all the other 
 maidens who had been committed to 
 his care, so that, without solicitation on 
 her part, not only was there more than 
 ordinary indulgence toward her, but she 
 was even treated with a degree of respect 
 that seemed, as it were, the prelude to 
 yet higher advancement. The com- 
 mencement of Esther's life in the palace 
 gave promise of a prosperous issue. — 
 Dr. Davidson. 
 
 Ver. 9. Esther's Preferment. Who 
 would have thought (a) a Jew, (I>) a 
 captive, (c) an orphan, was born to be a 
 queen, an empress ! So it proved. Pro- 
 vidence sometimes raiseth up the jiour 
 out of the dust to set them among 
 princes. 
 
64 
 
 I10MTLETI0 COMMENTARY: ESTHER. 
 
 [CHAP. II 
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS TO CHAPTER II. 
 
 Discipline of the passions. The passions may 
 be humoured until they become our master, as a 
 horse may be pampered till he gets the better of 
 his rider; but early discipline will prevent mutiny, 
 and keep the helm in the hands of reason, 
 Properly controlled, the passions may, like a horse 
 with the bit in his mouth, or a ship with the helm 
 in the hand of a skilful mariner, be managed and 
 made useful. 
 
 A rich landlord once cruelly oppressed a poor 
 widow. Her son, a little boy of eight years, saw 
 it. He afterwards became a painter, and painted 
 a life likeness of the dark scene. Years after- 
 wards, he placed it where the man saw it. He 
 turned pale, trembled in every joint, and offered 
 any sum to purchase it, that he might put it out 
 of sight. Thus there is an invisible painter 
 drawing on the canvas of the soul a life likeness, 
 reflecting correctly all the passions and actions 
 of our spiritual history on earth. Now and 
 again we should be compelled to look at them, 
 and the folly of our acts will sting us, as it did 
 the landlord, and also Ahasuerus. 
 
 Control of anger. Socrates, finding himself 
 in emotion against a slave, said : " I would beat 
 you if I were not angry." Having received a 
 box on the ears, he contented himself by only 
 saying, with a smile, "It is a pity we do not 
 know when to put on the helmet." Socrates, 
 meeting a gentleman of rank in the streets, 
 saluted him ; but the gentleman took no notice 
 of it. His friends in company, observing what 
 passed, told the philosopher " That they were so 
 exasperated at the man's incivility, that they had 
 a good mind to resent it." He very calmly 
 replied, " If you met any person in the road in a 
 worse habit of body than yourself, would you 
 think you had reason to be enraged with him on 
 that account ? Pray, then, what greater reason 
 can you have for being incensed at a man for a 
 worse habit of mind than any of yourselves ? " 
 That was a brave;, strong man. 
 
 Impressions of sin. The great stone book of 
 nature reveals many records of the past. In the 
 red sandstone there arc found, in some places, 
 marks which are clearly the impression of showers 
 of rain, and these are so perfect that it can even 
 be detected in which direction the shower in- 
 clined, and from what quarter it proceeded — and 
 this ages ago. Even so sin leaves its track 
 behind it, and God keeps a faithful record of all 
 our sins. — Biblical Treasury. 
 
 " If you cut a gash in a man's head, you may 
 heal it ; but you can never rub out, nor wash 
 out, nor cut out the scar. It may be a witness 
 against you in his corpse ; still it may be 
 covered by the coffin, or hidden in the grave ; 
 but then it is not till decomposition shall take 
 place, that it shall entirely disappear. Bat, if 
 you smite your soul by sin, you make a scar that 
 will remain; no coffin or grave shall hide it; no 
 fire, not even the eternal flames, shall burn out 
 sin's stains.'' 
 
 Counterfeit repentance. Beware thai you 
 make no mi-take about the nature of true repent- 
 
 ance. The devil knows too well the value of the 
 precious grace not to dress up spurious imitations 
 of it. Wherever there is good coin there will 
 always be; bad money. — liyle. 
 
 Repentance before pardon. The first physic to 
 recover our souls is not cordials, but corrosives ; 
 not an immediate stepping into heaven by a 
 present assurance, but mourning, and lamenta- 
 tions, and a little bewailing of our former trans- 
 gressions. With Mary Magdalene we must wash 
 Christ's feet with our tears of sorrow, before we 
 may anoint his head with " the oil of gladness." 
 — Browning. 
 
 In all parts of the East, women are spoken of 
 as being much inferior to men in wisdom ; and 
 nearly all their sages have proudly descanted on 
 the ignorance of women. In the Hindoo book 
 called the 'Kurral,' it is declared, "All women 
 are ignorant." In other works similar remarks 
 are found : " Ignorance is a woman's jewel. The 
 feminine qualities are four — ignorance, fear, 
 shame, and impurity. To a woman disclose not 
 a secret. Talk not to me in that way; it is all 
 female wisdom.'' — Roberts. 
 
 Degradation of woman. The farmers of the 
 upper Alps, though by no means wealth} - , live 
 like lords in their houses, while the heaviest 
 portion of agricultural labour devolves on the 
 wife. It is no uncommon thing to see a woman 
 yoked to the plough along with an ass, while the 
 husband guides it. A farmer of the upper Alps 
 accounts it an act of politeness to lend his wife 
 to a neighbour who is too much oppressed with 
 work ; and the neighbour, in his turn, lends his 
 wife for a few day's work, whenever the favour 
 is requested. — Rercy. 
 
 Radical reform. A small bite from a serpent 
 will affect the whole body. There is no way to 
 calm the sea but by excommunicating Jonah 
 from the ship. If the root be killed, the 
 branches will soon be withered. If the spring 
 be diminished, there is no doubt that the streams 
 will soon tail. When the fuel of corruption is 
 removed, then the tire of affliction is extinguished. 
 — Seeker. 
 
 Individual responsibility. Daniel Webster 
 was once asked, '-What is the most important 
 thought you ever entertained?'' He replied, 
 after a moment's reflection, " the most important 
 thought 1 ever had was my individual responsi- 
 bility to God." There is no royal read, either 
 to wealth or learning. Princes and kings, poor 
 nun, peasants, all alike must attend to the wauls 
 of their own bodies, and their own minds. No 
 man can eat, drink, or sleep by proxy. No man 
 can get the alphabet learned for him by another. 
 All these are things which everybody must do 
 for himself, or they will not be done at all. Just 
 as it is with the mind and body, so it is with the 
 soul. There are certain things absolutely needful 
 to the soul's health and well-being. Each must 
 repent lor himself. Each must apply to Christ 
 for himself. And for himself each must speak to 
 God ami pray. — Ryle. 
 
chap, il] H0M1LETIC COMMENTARY : ESTHER. 65 
 
 MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PAEAGEAPH. Verse 11. 
 Mordecai's Loving Solicitude. 
 
 The histories of Morclecai and Esther are very closely interblended. They run 
 side by side, like the two differently-coloured rivers — the Arve and the Ehoue. 
 But the course of one is from time to time being crossed and coloured by the course 
 of the other. Esther played a leading part in the deliverance of the Jewish nation 
 from threatened destruction, but she owed very much to the teaching, the influence 
 and the wise directions of Mordecai. To Esther belonged the glory of pleading 
 with King Ahasuerus, and securing the rights of the oppressed ; but to Mordecai 
 belonged the glory of directing her movements. She was the seen, and he the 
 unseen worker. And these latter often do the most important work, though they 
 are sometimes left to pine away in obscurity. The skilful workman invents and 
 gains little advantage ; while the cunning capitalist uses the invention and flourishes. 
 The poor wise man saves the city, but his services are not requited. The thinker 
 creates in secret, and receives small rewards ; while the talker uses the thinker's 
 materials, and reaps a harvest of applause and material benefits. However, Mordecai 
 was not unrewarded, for Esther was neither ungrateful nor unmindful of her 
 obligations. These two work and reap together. They sow in tears, in fasting, 
 and in prayers; but they reap in victory, in light, in gladness, and in honour. 
 Let us believe this for our consolation, that work done for God cannot die. 
 Workers in the dark and workers in the light will meet together in the rewarding 
 presence of infinite mercy. 
 
 I. Mordecai's loving solicitude. The title by which Mordecai was designated 
 was " the Just." This is a better title than that of earl or noble, of king or prince. 
 What a blessing to a nation when men that are just in the broadest sense of that 
 Avord direct its affairs, or even dwell near its palace gates ! Just men are required 
 to save nations from decline and from final overthrow. Mordecai, however, was no 
 stern embodiment of justice. In him it was tempered by mercy. Kindness was 
 also his characteristic. There was in him a wonderful tenderness which made him 
 adored of his own people. He was true to the claims of relationship, and he 
 adopted Esther as his own child. The orphan's helpless state appealed to his man- 
 hood, and he practically said, I will be thy protector. In protecting her he benefited 
 both himself and his whole nation. There is beautiful humanness in the record — 
 " He brought up Hadassah." Mordecai loved the child, and his affection grew as 
 he watched her developing loveliness. And when she was parted from him he 
 followed her with loving solicitude. Space separated, but love united. Mordecai 
 showed the loving anxiety of a true father for an absent child. 
 
 II. This loving solicitude was of Divine origin. It is true indeed that all our 
 good is Divine. " Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh 
 down from the Father of lights." But we may here note a special endowment. God 
 intervenes in human affairs. He makes use of human passions for the promotion 
 of his merciful purposes. And this was part of the Divine plan that Mordecai and 
 Esther shoidd be closely knitted together ; for both had important work to do, and 
 for both a great destiny was assigned. Human reasons may be given to account for 
 Mordecai's love for Esther, but there were also Divine reasons. The Divine is ever 
 working in and by the human. One man is attracted to another by an unknown 
 force. That attraction is heaven-implanted : God's agents are not as solitary as they 
 seem. The reformer is the outcome of the thoughts and feelings of his time, working 
 it may be in secret. Mordecai is essential to Esther. His loving solicitude was a 
 vital force in her wondrous career. 
 
GO HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: ESTHER. [chap. n. 
 
 III. This loving solicitude quickened Mordecai's discernment. True love is 
 not blind, us sometimes it is represented. It, is a quickener of the discerning faculty. 
 It is sharp to apprehend danger. The mother's car is quick and her eye is keeu 
 to detect the approach of evil to her offspring. Mordecai at once perceived the 
 danger to which Esther was exposed by the new position to which she had been 
 taken. We have good reason for anxiety when our children are lifted to the heights 
 of prosperity. Many sons and daughters have been ruined in palaces who, humanly 
 speaking, would have remained virtuous in cottages. 
 
 IV. This loving solicitude taught Mordecai a true creed. Love is light. lie 
 that dwelleth in love dwelleth in a clear apprehension of Divine truth and of Divine 
 methods. The heart and the head must he clarified by love's indwelling, as well 
 as enlightened by knowledge, if there is to be the possession of sound doctrine. 
 Mordecai might believe in predestination. He might feel assured that his niece or 
 cousin was God's "chosen vessel." But love taught him better than to let the 
 mysteries of Divine decrees interfere with the practical duties of life. " Although 
 he trusted God with his niece, yet he knew that an honest care of her might well 
 stand with faith in God's providence. God must be trusted, but not tempted by 
 the neglect of careful means." — Trapp. 
 
 V. Thus Mordecai's love made him watchful. How Mordecai came to possess 
 the privilege of walking every day before the court of the women's house — whether 
 he was one of the king's eunuchs, or whether he secured the privilege by purchase 
 — we cannot tell. But there he was, Avatching with intense interest the maiden's 
 career. The sentinel at his post. The sailor at the helm. 80 Mordecai walked 
 every day before the court of the Avomen's house. His love greAv by the withdrawal 
 of its object. His anxiety increased as the danger enlarged. We should be watchful 
 for the Avelfare of others. Mordecai symbolizes the love of the eternal Father. God 
 watches to knoAV Iioav his people do. Esther could not see Mordecai in his daily 
 Avalks, but he Avas watching. We cannot see God, but he too is watching. We 
 cannot feel God, but he is protecting. Our vision is not as the Divine vision. 
 Ours cannot pierce the clouds and the darkness which shroud and conceal the 
 infinite. But the Divine vision knows no obstruction. God knows all, and ever 
 Avatches. Trust ever in the abiding Ioa'c and continued Avatchf ulness of an unchanging 
 (h.d. 
 
 VI. Mordecai's love rendered him self-forgetful. He did not stop to think 
 that his conduct might appear unseemly us he walked every day before the court of 
 the Avomen's house. Love is unconscious of self. It goes out in supreme regard 
 towards the object of attachment. We fancy Mordecai faithful at his post in spite 
 of the frowns of stately courtiers or the ridicule of fawning menials. This speaks 
 of the nobler self-forgetfulness of a mightier love. Even Jesus pleased not himself. 
 He walked every day before the courts of men's and Avomen's hearts, though they 
 rejected his love and despised his beneficent ministry. He still walks. Behold, 
 1 stand at the door and knock. At the door of many hearts he is knocking now. 
 
 VII. Mordecai's love concerned itself about Esther's highest welfare. It is 
 a suggestive expression — To know the peace of Esther. True peace is nut possible 
 where the soul is not in a right condition. There is no peace to the wicked. That 
 love is poor Avhich does not seek the welfare of the Avhole nature. How many 
 fathers would feel that their children were all right if they saw them only in the 
 outer courts of a palace ! But oh, there Avas danger in the palace of Ahasuerus. 
 And there is danger in the palace even of our gracious queen. Bight parental love 
 a*ks how the child is doing both temporally and spiritually, and what is to become 
 of him or her both in time and in eternity. Hoav are you doing 1 Are you on the 
 way to the palace of heaven 1 ? 
 
CITVP. II.] 
 
 nOMTLETIC COMMENTARY: ESTHER. 
 
 07 
 
 Suggestive Comments on Verse 11. 
 
 1. Mordecai was so deeply interested 
 in the fate of Esther, that day after day 
 he was found watching any opportunity 
 that might occur to learn from some 
 eunuchs passing in or out how Esther 
 fared, and what her prospects were. 
 Perhaps there may have been others 
 in similar circumstances with himself, 
 solicitous about their daughters or 
 friends ; and if so, his conduct would 
 attract the less notice. But what we 
 have principally to remark is the paternal 
 interest which all along he took in the 
 orphan whom he had reared. She was 
 evidently his chief earthly care ; and 
 now, when she was, as it were, taken 
 out of his hand, and no longer dependent 
 up >n his bounty and his kindness, he 
 was as much concerned about her as 
 when in her childhood she had sat upon 
 his knee and returned his affectionate 
 embrace. And so parental love is always 
 exhibited. Although the grown-up 
 youth is treated differently from the 
 mere child, and there may be fewer of 
 the words and outward tokens of endear- 
 ment than there were, the heart of the 
 parent has not become colder ; but there 
 are, now deep anxieties connected with 
 the progress of the youth, with his 
 settlement in life, and his whole future 
 career, which were not felt before ; and 
 though it may not outwardly appear, 
 the most solicitous and intense affection 
 is experienced by the parent at the time 
 when the objects of it are beginning 
 to feel that they can do something for 
 themselves in the world. — Davidson. 
 
 2. Parents and guardians might take 
 an example from Mordecai. There was 
 danger in the palace of a heathen king, 
 but there is danger also in a great city. 
 Let there bu solicitude for those who are 
 exposed to its temptations — the solici- 
 tude which leads to watchfulness, and 
 finds its expression in prayer. If there 
 
 is the oppression of conscious weakness 
 and separation, the more reason for layin^ 
 the case before him who can keep " the 
 feet from falling, the eyes from tears, 
 and the soul from death." — McEwan. 
 
 3. Mordecai had taken Esther for his 
 child, and was curious of her welfare, 
 though she was now grown up, and pre- 
 ferred at court. The court, he knew, 
 was an ill air for godliness to breathe in. 
 His care was, therefore, that she might 
 have Gaius's prosperity, even mentem 
 sanam in corpore sano, a sound mind 
 in a sound body. The Turks wonder 
 to see a man walk to and fro, and use 
 to ask such an one what he meaneth? 
 and whether he be out of his way, or 
 out of his wits 1 — Trapp. 
 
 Mordecai was so much older than 
 Esther as to make it natural for him to 
 assume toward her the position of a 
 father. What he was in the matter 
 of occupation we can only guess, when 
 we see him take easily to the place of a 
 porter at the palace gate, and when we 
 find him turn as easily to the business 
 of a scribe. But there is no guess-work 
 as to what Mordecai was in the matter 
 of character. He showed " piety at 
 home." When his uncle died, leaving 
 on the world a fair girl, who, it would 
 seem, had never known a mother's care, 
 he took his cousin for his own daughter, 
 and brought her up. How wisely and 
 piously he did so Esther's conduct will 
 prove. We shall presently see how he 
 proved himself a faithful, sharp-eyed 
 servant, and fearless in the right ; and 
 the issue of the story will reveal his 
 heroic public spirit. This Mordecai is 
 altogether an admirable man ; of good 
 natural powers, enlarged and applied by 
 religion ; wise, sterling, a man who can 
 afford to wait ; worth a thousand 
 Ahasueruses. — A. M. Symington, B.A. 
 
 MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH. Verses 12—14. 
 The Vanity op Earthly Hopes. 
 
 Hero is a vivid description of the means taken to minister to and to gratify 
 the carnal pleasures of a depot. Sensuality is permitted without stint. Manhood 
 is lowered. The animal is made supreme. Ahasuerus the king is turned into 
 
 F 2 
 
68 nOMlLETIC COMMENTARY : ESTHER. [chap. n. 
 
 Ahasuerus the slave, — the slave of degrading lusts. Men have not the same oppor- 
 tunities of self-degradation as were provided for this Eastern monarch. But still 
 men may give way to the sensual. Let them avoid the earthly and the sensual, 
 for their climax is the devilish. Now consider the unhappy case of these poor 
 virgins. 
 
 I. The great preparation. For twelve months these unhappy victims were 
 being prepared for the great occasion that would most likely occur only once in 
 their lives. Oil of myrrh and sweet odours were at their disposal in abundance. 
 The choicest garments and rarest jewels were in readiness. Female vanity could for 
 once gratify its propensity for outward adornments. Through all time men and 
 Avomen will make great preparation to render the external attractive, while the 
 internal is neglected. Even now women will dress and trick themselves up for 
 a state reception of a few moments' duration. Very few make earnest preparation 
 to dres-! the soul, and to be ready for heavenly reception. 
 
 II. The flattering hopes. Each virgin would doubtless entertain the hope of 
 becoming queen in place of the deposed Vashti. What a delightful prospeel ! 
 How flattering the hopes that would flutter in each virgin's mind ! We please our- 
 selves thus with fond delusive hopes. Well is it for us that hope is so buoyant 
 in this dark world. After all, these flattering hopes are of great service to us in 
 our chequered career. 
 
 III. Great preparations wasted. These virgins derived little earthly profit 
 from all their planning and arranging. What a picture this of the wasted prepar- 
 ations in the lives of most ! Much money is spent on the boy's education, and just 
 as he reaches manhood death comes and seizes the prey. The lovely maiden droops 
 and dies ere the flower of her beauty is fully blown. The prince is killed by 
 the weapons of savages before he has had time to achieve a name and to lay claim 
 to imperial dignity. The pen falls from the writer's hand just as he is beginning 
 to give permanence to the laboured and matured thoughts of his mind. The 
 world is full of ruins. Wasted preparations strew the ground. 
 
 IV. Flattering hopes destroyed. These virgins were sent back into the 
 chambers of the concubines — " the prison of sad and withered hearts." There are 
 many prisons that we do not see. Imprisoned souls endure the saddest punish- 
 ment. Withered hearts! who shall count them? Flattering hopes destroyed! 
 who shall tell their appalling number 1 Every life has its own long, dreary list 
 of blasted hopes. 
 
 Learn — («) that preparation for heavenly service is never roasted. Perhaps life is 
 not so full of waste as we have supposed. The Divine Builder can turn our very 
 ruins to useful purposes. The preparation that was wasted in one man's life may 
 be of service to another. However, the true way to avoid possible waste is to make 
 this earthly life a preparation for the heavenly. We prepare to enter the court 
 of earthly kings, and are never summoned to the royal presence ; but those who 
 prepare in the right spirit and according to the gospel method to enter the court of 
 the King eternal will most assuredly be summoned to stand in that Presence where 
 there is fulness of joy. (/>) That the hopes suggested by the gospel cannot be 
 destroyed. The hopes of the worldling are too often delusive. The hopes of the 
 hypocrite shall perish. But the hope of the righteous is gladness. To tin; man 
 who builds by faith on the gospel of God's dear Son there is gladness in anticipa- 
 tion and gladness in fruition. Those who, justified by faith in Christ, and sanctified 
 by the Divine Spirit, entertain the hope of being for ever in heaven, will never 
 he sent back to the prison of sad and withered hearts, (r) If the children of this 
 world make such great preparations for positions they may never be called tooccupy, 
 \cliat preparations should tin 1 children of light make to occupy aright the high 
 position In which liny /rill be most certainly called. "Wherefore the rather, 
 brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure." 
 
CHAP, n.] 
 
 110 MI LET IC COMMENTARY: EST TIER. 
 
 69 
 
 Suggestive Comments on Verses 12 — 14. 
 
 What strife, what emulation was 
 now amongst all the Persian damsels 
 that either were or thought themselves 
 fair ! Every one hopes to be a queen, 
 and sees no reason why any other should 
 he thought more excellent. How happy 
 were we if we could be so ambitious of 
 our espousals to the King of heaven ! 
 Every virgin must be six months purified 
 with the oil of myrrh, and six other 
 months perfumed with sweet odours, 
 besides those special receipts that were 
 allowed to each upon their own election. 
 O God, what care, Avhat cost is requisite 
 to that soul which should be addressed 
 a fit bride for thine holy and glorious 
 majesty 1 When we have scoured our- 
 selves with the most cleansing oil of our 
 repentance, and have perfumed ourselves 
 with thy best graces, and our perfectest 
 obedience, it is the only praise of thy 
 mercy that we may be accepted. — 
 Bishop Hall. 
 
 No doubt the virgins generally took 
 the opportunity — one that would occur 
 but once in their lives — to load them- 
 
 selves with precious ornaments of various 
 kinds — necklaces, bracelets, earrings, 
 anklets, and the like. — Rawlinson. 
 
 What care and cost is required for the 
 decoration of the soul when it would 
 prepare as an acceptable bride for Jesus. 
 — Starke. 
 
 Because God desires more and more 
 to have delight in us, and to draw nigh 
 to us, and therefore he more and more 
 goes on to purge us. For though he 
 loves us at first, Avhen full of corruptions, 
 yet he cannot so much delight in us as 
 he would, nor have that communion 
 with us, no more than a husband can 
 with a wife who hath an unsavoury 
 breath or a loathsome disease. They 
 must therefore be purified for his bed, 
 as Esther was for Ahasuerus. " Draw 
 nigh to God," says James, " and he will 
 draw nigh to you ; " but then you must 
 " cleanse your hands, and purify your 
 hearts," as it follows there ; God else 
 hath no delight to draw nigh to you. — 
 Goodwin. 
 
 MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH. Verses 15, 20. 
 Esther's Elevation. 
 
 God in the mysterious nature of his operations puts down the mighty from their 
 seats, and exalts them of low degree. In all the changes of life, in the rise and 
 fall both of nations and of individuals, we shall only be able to walk with calmness 
 as we see the ruling purpose of the Supreme moving on to its accomplishment. 
 Let the history of God's movements in the past be the interpreter of the present, 
 and impart settled faith in the unerring wisdom of the Infinite. The Vashtis may 
 fall, but their fall is the Divine stepping-stone by which the orphaned Esthers rise 
 to greatness in order to be of service to humanity. Written history reveals the 
 working of God; and when the history of the present is written it will declare that 
 God is still working. Let us now read the history of Esther's elevation so as to 
 teach in the present. 
 
 I. God's servants patiently wait his time. That Esther was the servant of 
 God is plain from the whole of this history. She was his chosen vessel. Here 
 she waits the Loi'd's time. She is in no hurry; she manifests the calm of conscious 
 greatness. True greatness has nothing to lose by patience. It may be objected 
 that she was compelled to wait her turn. It may, however, be replied that many 
 are unwise enough to try and fight against the force of Providence, and seek to 
 hurry on Divine movements. Esther did not take this course because she had 
 been taught Divine lessons. She coidd wait. Blessed are they who know how to 
 wait when waiting is the Divine appointment. Blessed are they also that know 
 
70 HOMILETJC COMMENTARY: ESTHER. [chap. it. 
 
 how to move when the turn has come to go in unto the king. Ready to serve hoth 
 hy waiting and by moving is the characteristic of God's servants. 
 
 II. God's servants have sustaining confidence. Esther required nothing hut 
 what the king's chamberlain appointed. As a wise woman, she would take what 
 was seemly and necessary for her adornment, hut, as one conscious of being sent on 
 a Divine mission, she was not bent upon decking herself with gaudy jewels. She 
 let her beauty tell its own thrilling story, and work in its own magical way. The 
 goodness of her sold shone right through her physical form, and rendered her more 
 attractive than if she had worn the most costly garments. She had a sustaining 
 confidence which made her not over-anxious and exacting in her requirements. A 
 sincere effort to serve God will deliver from the evils of over-anxiety. Nature 
 requires little, and grace less. She required nothing but what was appointed. Oh 
 for grace to lessen the number of our requirements, to learn the difficult lesson, in 
 whatsoever state we are therewith to be content. 
 
 III. God's servants find favour in unexpected quarters. From a human point 
 of view it was a surprising thing that the king should so suddenly find his love 
 drawn out towards this captive and orphaned Jewess. But more surprising still is 
 the fact that Esther obtained favour in the sight of all them that looked upon her. 
 Was green-eyed Jealousy on that occasion conquered ? Did none of the on-looking 
 virgins attempt to depreciate her beauty 1 Did none object to the shape of her 
 nose, the colour of her hair, or the tone of her complexion 1 Was no whisper heard 
 against this lovely maiden 1 Women are sharp to find out each other's defects, and 
 yet Esther escaped because she was Divinely fashioned and Divinely guided. She 
 was admired by all because she was God's servant. Hatred is sometimes the 
 penalty of faithfulness in God's service ; but if persecuted for Christ's sake we shall 
 receive the favour of heaven, which is better than the favour of earth. However, 
 we may find this, that God raises up for his servants friends in unexpected quarters. 
 Joseph found friends and helpers in the prison. Daniel had lions for his friends 
 and a king for his comforter. Eunyan was trusted by his jailor. 
 
 IV. God's servants are royal. The king set the royal crown upon Esther's 
 head, and made her queen instead of Vashti. But Esther needed no earthly 
 insignia to set forth her royalty. She was God's servant, and all his servants are 
 royal. A kingly seed, a royal race are the children of God. She was a queen by 
 virtue of a Divine creation. She was royal by reason of the queenly magnificence 
 of her character. Her virtues were her crown. They shone with brilliancy far 
 surpassing the virtue of pearls or rubies. The crown which Ahasuerus placed on 
 her head will crumble to dust, but the crown of her virtues will never suffer any 
 tarnishing of its lustre. What ambition there is to receive royal crowns from 
 earthly kings ! What commotion in the seraglio when the whisper went forth, 
 Esther has received the crown royal ! How soldiers will light, and what hardships 
 officers will endure in ord< r to receive the decorating ribbon or medal from an 
 earthly sovereign ! But this is as nothing to the position of those who are to 
 receive the heavenly crown from the hand of the King eternal. Happy day when 
 Jesus shall set the royal crown of his approval upon the heads of his favourites. 
 
 V. God's servants are instruments of good. We are not now about to refer 
 to Esther's great life-work in the deliverance of her people from a great danger, but 
 to the facts here stated. In order to celebrate Esther's elevation to the crown, the 
 king made a great feast, called Esther's feast, to all his princes and servants, and 
 granted release to the provinces. This release may he understood either of a remis- 
 sion of labour or a remission of taxes. It is highly probable that it refers to the 
 appointment of a holiday, on which there would lie a resting from labour. Finally, 
 the king gave gifts with royal munificence. — Keil. When the righteous are exalted 
 the nation has reason to rejoice. Even material benefits result from their elevation. 
 The country owes more to the presence in it of the righteous than it either under- 
 stands or is prepared to admit. The king's former feast ended disastrously, but we 
 
chap.il] BOMILETIC- COMMENTARY: ESTHER 71 
 
 do not read of any evil resulting from the joyful festivities on this occasion. May 
 we suppose that Esther's presence exerted a salutary and restraining influence 1 
 The righteous should he saving forces. 
 
 VI. God's servants are fitted for the positions to which they are raised. 
 Esther was gifted with the power of silence, and this is a rare gift. She did not 
 show her kindred nor her people, for the set time had not yet arrived for the 
 announcement. Intoxicated with her success, she might have made an untimely 
 hoast of the lowness of her origin. But she did not, for she was Divinely fitted. 
 She knew both when to speak and when to ke»*p silence. God fashions and 
 educates his servants for the particular spheres they are designed to fill, and for 
 the special duties they are intended to discharge. 
 
 VII. God's servants in highest positions do not overlook the minor morali- 
 ties. It would, we may suppose, have been called a minor immorality had Esther 
 neglected the commandment of Mordecai. She was now a queen, and was she to 
 be in subjection to her uncle 1 There may be minor and major in moralities, but 
 unfaithfulness in the least leads to unfaithfulness in the greatest. Esther was 
 convinced of Mordecai's wisdom and impressed with a sense of his kindness, and 
 therefore felt that his commandment was binding. We cannot afford, even in 
 highest positions, to be deaf to the voice of wisdom. The commandments of wise 
 old men have in them a Divine force. Those Esthers are Divinely wise who pay 
 respectful attention to the weighty words of the aged Mordecais. 
 
 Observe that all Christians are the servants of God, whetlier the earthly position 
 be high or low. They are royal, whether dwelling in a cottage or reigning in a 
 palace. They should not be over-anxious about the good or great things of this 
 life. Esther required nothing. They should move with quiet faith and restful 
 confidence in their God. They should seek, above all, to fit themselves to be 
 instruments of good to their kind. 
 
 Suggestive Comments on Verse 15. 
 
 Now when the turn of Esther, &c. — queen above all the wives of the king, 
 
 Then, and not till then. So when Joseph her heart still clung, not only with grati- 
 
 was sufficiently humbled, the king sent tude, but with childlike obedience, to 
 
 and loosed him ; the ruler of the people her pious uncle and foster-father, as in 
 
 let him go free. When David was be- the time when he trained her as a little 
 
 come weaned from the world, when his girl. — Stolberg. 
 
 heart was not haughty, nor his eyes Let then both men and women learn 
 
 lofty, then was he advanced to the king- by this case so to direct all their aims 
 
 dom. He that believeth maketh not and desires as to please God alone by 
 
 haste. God's time is best ; and as he the ornament of a good conscience, and 
 
 seldom cometh at our time, so he never by the forms of minds well adjusted ; 
 
 faileth at his own. — Trapp. but to despise the adventitious bodily 
 
 She required nothing. — As other maids ornaments of this world as vain in his 
 
 had done to set out their beauty, but sight, and by this piety gain the surer 
 
 contenting herself with her native come- rewards of heaven. For this alone is 
 
 liness, and that wisdom that made her the true beauty, which is precious in 
 
 face to shine, she humbly taketh what God's view, and which causes us to be 
 
 Hegai directed her to, and wholly resteth approved by the King of kings, and 
 
 upon the Divine providence. — Trapp. joined to him in spiritual matrimony. 
 
 Undazzled by splendour and royalty, .... Surprising that even the heathen 
 
 the tender virgin rejected all these things, saw and taught this, for Crates says: 
 
 With noble simplicity she took the orna- That is ornament which adorns, but that 
 
 ments, neither selecting nor demanding adorns which makes a woman more ad- 
 
 anything, which the chief chamberlain justed and more modest. For this end 
 
 brought to her. Even after she became neither gold, nor gems, nor purple avails, 
 
72 
 
 TIO MI LET IC COMMENTARY: ESTHER. 
 
 [CHAP. II. 
 
 but whatever has the import of gravity, 
 modesty, and chastity. — Feuardent. 
 
 That mind is truly great and noble 
 that is not changed with the highest 
 prosperity. Queen Esther cannot forget 
 her cousin Mordecai ; no pomp can make 
 her slight the charge of so dear a kins- 
 man ; in all her royalty she casts her 
 eye upon him amongst the throng of 
 beholders ; but she must not know him ; 
 her obedience keeps her in awe, and will 
 not suffer her to draw him up with her 
 to the participation of her honour. It 
 troubles her not a little to forbear this 
 duty, but she must ; it is enough that 
 Mordecai hath commanded her not to 
 be known who or whose she was. — Hall. 
 
 Nor was Esther behind with her grate- 
 ful returns. Too many when suddenly 
 exalted forget their former friends, or, 
 what is as bad, forget themselves, become 
 vain and arrogant, and so impatient of 
 admonition and good advice. Children, 
 when they grow up, are apt to think 
 that they are released from all obligation 
 even to their natural parents ; they be- 
 come wise in their own conceits, and 
 spurn advice as if it were an undue 
 assumption of authority. But " Esther 
 did the commandment of Mordecai, like 
 as when she was brought up with him." 
 The least signification of his will was a 
 law to her ; for she knew that he would 
 require nothing of her inconsistent with 
 her duty to God and her husband. He 
 had enjoined her not to make known her 
 kindred or her people ; and this she re- 
 ligiously abstained from, not only when 
 she was under the conduct of Hegai, but 
 after she was seated in the affections of 
 Ahasuerus, and had come to the king- 
 dom. " Esther had not yet showed her 
 kindred nor her people; as Mordecai 
 had charged her." She, no doubt, felt 
 a strong desire to make the avowal, and 
 to use her interest with the king for the 
 advancement of her kind benefactor. 
 But even this generous feeling she re- 
 pressed, because it would have led to a 
 transgression of his command. To testify 
 her gratitude she would not disobey him, 
 nor run the risk of displeasing him. And 
 she acted thus, though it does not appear 
 that he acquainted her with his reasons 
 for concealment. We may be sure, 
 
 however, that Mordecai did not impose 
 this silence arbitrarily ; and his caution 
 confirms the remark already made, that 
 he looked forward to something more im- 
 portant that was to be accomplished by 
 the elevation of his daughter, and waited 
 for the opportune occasion when the dis- 
 closure of her people and relationship 
 to him would be the means of advancing 
 it. "Known unto God are all his works 
 from the beginning," and " the secret of 
 Jehovah is with them that fear him." — 
 McCrh. 
 
 There is everything about Esther to 
 engage our interest and sympathy. It 
 is sad enough to find ourselves, even in 
 adult years, suddenly in the front rank 
 through the falling of those who stood 
 in nature before us ; but " she had neither 
 father nor mother " while still a child, 
 needing all care. And there were serious 
 aggravations of her orphanhood — her sex, 
 her belonging to the race of exiles, her 
 beauty. But the Lover of little children, 
 the Father of the fatherless, who had 
 said to these captives, " Leave thy father- 
 less children, I will preserve them alive," 
 had provided for Esther one who proved 
 to her both father and mother. And 
 there are early indications that the orphan 
 girl was a daughter of the Lord Almighty ; 
 she obeyed Mordecai, even when beyond 
 his control ; and she was modestly free 
 from love of display, a feature scarcely 
 to be expected in a favoured beauty un- 
 less she had also grace. At length she 
 became queen consort, and Mordecai's 
 faith had its reward. For we are disposed 
 to think it must have been in faith that 
 he had committed her to the various 
 perils of these twelve months. The 
 parallel between Esther and the child 
 Moses is striking (as McCrie shows in 
 his lectures) : each exceeding fair ; each 
 raised from lowly station to a place 
 beside the throne ; each a deliverer of 
 Israel ; each cast upon the waters for a 
 time, although the waters on which 
 Esther was cast were far more perilous 
 than the Nile, and the royal home than 
 the ark of bulrushes ; so that Ave may 
 credit Mordecai with faith like that of 
 Am ram and Jochebed. At least it is 
 certain that Esther's advancement, while 
 it came through the beauty which gave 
 
chap, ii.] HOMILETIO COMMENTARY: ESTHER. 73 
 
 her her name, did not come through that that " discretion " without which her 
 
 alone or chiefly. God gave " her favour comeliness would have heen in his 
 
 in the sight of all them that looked on judgment " as a jewel of gold in a 
 
 her;" her Father sent her to her hus- swine's snout." — A. M. Symington, B. A. 
 band, a poor orphan indeed, but with 
 
 MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH. Verses 21, 23. 
 The Plotters and the Counterplotter. 
 
 In this passage we have a striking illustration, even in a temporal point of view, of 
 James's statement, " Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin ; and sin 
 when it is finished, bringeth forth death." Here in these two plotters — Bigthan and 
 Teresh — are depraved affections and desires bringing forth sinfulness of purpose ; it 
 was not their fault that the sinful purpose did not culminate in the sinful deed, and 
 they were guilty. The sinful purpose unchecked on our part renders us criminal 
 in the sight of God, though not always in the sight of man. This sinful purpose 
 brought upon them temporal death. " They were both hanged on a tree." Tem- 
 poral death is not always the result of sinful purposes. If it were, what a valley of 
 death this world would be. But oh, if we do not repent of sinful purposes, and 
 fly to Jesus Christ, the sinner's refuge, spiritual death will be the inevitable result. 
 The plotters are Bigthan and Teresh. Their design was dark and dastardly, and 
 not to be condoned, because such plots were too common in those days. The 
 counterplotter was Mordecai, who sat at the king's gate. 
 
 I. Notice, Their discontentment and his contentment. Profane history throws 
 no light on their circumstances. We cannot tell whether or not they had a true 
 cause for anger. We must simply abide by the statement — two of the king's 
 chamberlains were wroth. Anger may arise from either real or ideal causes. Cer- 
 tainly discontentment is a fruitful source of anger. The discontented man soon 
 finds out reasons why he should be angry. A fancied grievance is quite enough to 
 stir up the nature and rouse the angry passions. If the truth were known, these 
 men had very likely more reason to be pleased with the monarch for their advan- 
 tages than to be angry on account of some grievance. Mordecai had not much 
 outward reason for satisfaction. He might have reasonably expected more in conse- 
 quence of Esther's elevation. But he sat with contented heart at the king's gate. 
 He did not complain because he had not been raised to some high position at the 
 court. He sat not as a cringing captive, not with the frown of discontent on his 
 brows ; but rejoicing, we may believe, in the elevation of her he loved, sweetly 
 dreaming of her glory, and trying to picture to himself the salutary effect of her 
 moral influence in that heathenish palace. 
 
 II. Their discontentment culminates in a murderous purpose. They sought 
 to lay hands on the King Ahasuerus. He that hateth his brother is a murderer. 
 Anger is a murderer, though the victim escapes with his life. Society cannot punish 
 for unenacted murder. Human governments can only take cognizance in this respect 
 of deeds. The Divine government exercises control in the immaterial Avorld of 
 thought. Thoughts are powers. Unexpressed anger is sinful if encouraged. God 
 will try our thoughts. Who then shall stand 1 ? 
 
 III. This contentment expressed itself in a faithful discharge of duty. 
 Mordecai did not say, Why should I meddle ] what matters it to me what becomes 
 of this heathen despot 1 But he practically said, Here is a great wrong being planned ; 
 it is my duty to make known the conspiracy and bring the plotters to judgment. 
 It is required not only of those in high positions, but of those in low positions, that 
 they be found faithful. The men sitting at the king's gate can often do more service 
 to the nation than those sitting in the king's presence. Usefulness is required of 
 
74 HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: ESTHER. [chap. it. 
 
 all, wherever found. And oh. the men at the gate of heaven's King should he 
 faithful. Let us cultivate contented and grateful hearts with and for the dis- 
 pensations of Divine providence, and thus we shall the more likely he faithful 
 servants. 
 
 IV. Their folly and his wisdom. Wickedness is always a lolly, and goodness 
 is always wisdom. But this must especially strike the ohservant mind, that the 
 wicked very often fuing themselves to punishment hy some egregious act of folly 
 on their own part. The murderer in aiming at concealment pursues the very 
 course which makes his detection easy. And these men plotted ; hut lo, hy their 
 folly the plot is discovered. And the thing was known to Mordecai. He took a 
 wise course for the successful defeating of their murderous design. If they plotted 
 cunningly, he counterplotted more skilfully. He did not demand an audience of 
 Ahasuerus. That might have aroused the suspicions of these murderous chamber- 
 lains. But he could trust Esther. So he told it unto her, and she certified it unto 
 the king in Mordecai's name. In dealing with the wicked we must he careful. 
 In passing through this world we must be wise as serpents. 
 
 V. Their doom and his reward. The matter was investigated hy the king, and 
 found out as Mordecai had testified. The two criminals were hanged on a tree, i. e. 
 impaled on a stake, a sort of crucifixion. — Kcil. A speedy end was put to their 
 plotting. Those who plot against earthly kings are sometimes apparently successful • 
 hut those who plot against the King of kings shall not always triumph. Their 
 overthrow will he accomplished, and their punishment is ultimately certain. The 
 circumstance was entered in the hook of the chronicles, before the king, immediately 
 after sentence had been passed by a court over which the monarch presided. And 
 that was all faithful Mordecai appeared likely to get. No money was given him 
 from the royal purse. No medal was struck in commemoration of his faithfulness. 
 He was not advanced to some post of trust and of influence. His present reward 
 was found in the consciousness of having done his duty. But other rewards 
 followed through the guidance of him who is not unrighteous to forget. God 
 never forgets. Words spoken to help the weak, to cheer the disconsolate, and to 
 guide the perplexed will be remembered. The very tears shed over human woe 
 and sin will have their place in the final adjustment. When the mighty transac- 
 tions of kings and of warriors have passed into obscurity, when the researches of 
 philosophers and of scientific men have lost their attraction, when the poet's flights 
 have erased to exert their wizardry, and the musician's strains to thrill, and the 
 painter's canvas is perished like the shrivelled parchment scroll, then will shine 
 forth in heavenly colours, stamped with Divine approval, those works of faith and 
 those words and deeds of love which may now escape the notice of the children of 
 this world. 
 
 Learn — (<() That no position of life is free from danger. The one event of 
 death must come sooner or later, both to king and to subject. (6) That faithful 
 subjects are a monarch's true protection. Let monarchs rely not on decrees, not 
 on severity, not on soldiers, but on that love which they have kindled in the 
 breasts of their subjects. (c) That faithful subjects are God-fearing subjects. 
 (■/) That kings should seek to surround themselves with God-fearing ministers, 
 and should as certainly and as speedily reward those who do well as they punish 
 ih" evil-doers, (e) Hut that well-doing is required in all, whether the world forgets 
 or the world remembers and rewards. 
 
chap, ir.] 
 
 HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: ESTHER. 
 
 Suggestive Comments on Verses 21, 23. 
 
 If the necessity or convenience of his 
 occasions called him to serve, his piety 
 and religion called him to faithfulness 
 in his service. Two of the king's cham- 
 berlains, Bigthan and Teresh, conspire 
 against the life of their sovereign. JS"o 
 greatness can secure from treachery or 
 violence ; he that ruled over millions of 
 men, through a hundred and seven and 
 twenty provinces, cannot assure himself 
 from the hand of a villain ; he that had 
 the power of other men's lives is in 
 danger of his own. Happy is that man 
 that is once possessed of a crown incor- 
 ruptible, unfadeable, reserved for him in 
 heaven ; no force, no treason can reach 
 thither ; there can be no peril of either 
 violence or forfeiture there. The like- 
 liest defence of the person of any prince 
 is the fidelity of his attendants. 
 
 Worthy dispositions labour only to 
 deserve well, leaving the care of their 
 remuneration to them whom it concerns ; 
 it is fit that God's leisure should be 
 attended in all his designments. — Bishop 
 Hall. 
 
 Nothing justifies us in assuming that 
 Mordecai reported those conspirators 
 because of selfish reasons, or in order to 
 gain distinction and merit, or because 
 Ahasuerus as the husband of Esther was 
 nearly related to himself. Besides being 
 an indication, it may be an expression 
 of shrewdness, of his sense of duty. 
 Although the Jew as such did not have 
 a very warm feeling of attachment to 
 the Persian king, still, in so far as he 
 lived according to the Divine word, he 
 sought to perform his obligations also 
 toward the heathen governmental autho- 
 rity. Thereby he also becomes a practical 
 illustration of the fact that the piety 
 which is nurtured by God's word is also 
 of benefit to the heathen state and to 
 heathen rulers. The governments of 
 modern times, which treat religion not 
 only with toleration, but also with in- 
 difference, should remember that godly 
 fear, as it is useful for all things, is also 
 the most substantial bulwark for the 
 continuance of the state. — Lawje. 
 
 At the time that inquisition was made, 
 Bigthan and Teresh might think them- 
 
 selves quite secure. So far as they knew, 
 the dark plot was confined to their own 
 breasts, and as they were both implicated, 
 it was not likely that either of them 
 would divulge their secret. They would 
 continue their duties, and assume an air 
 of indifference. One little circumstance, 
 and another inadvertent speech, and a 
 weapon thrust away into a corner to be 
 ready for use, and a number of small 
 things may have been brought to the 
 surface, and from these a web is woven 
 around the designing conspirators out 
 of which it was impossible to disentangle 
 themselves. "'It was found out" — 
 words which remind us of the final dis- 
 closure of human hearts. How much 
 has escaped detection by men ! How 
 much have they been misled by the mere 
 outward appearances ! Thoughts and 
 feelings, intentions and deeds have been 
 shut in to some chamber of the heart into 
 which the light has never been allowed 
 to shine. The subjects of them have 
 never reflected upon them themselves, 
 and have guarded them from the view 
 of others. They may even have passed 
 through life with an unchallenged and 
 apparently saintly character. It is only 
 for a little while. The inquisition of 
 men may be faulty and fail, but the 
 inquisition of God is perfect and un- 
 qualified. When he makes inquisition 
 for sin there shall be nothing either 
 conceived or executed that will not be 
 "found out." In prospect of that 
 future revealing of the secrets of our 
 hearts — that unveiling of ourselves to 
 ourselves, and before all men — it is our 
 best policy, as well as essential for our 
 highest peace, that we should now deal 
 honestly, candidly, almost severely, with 
 ourselves, walking humbly and without 
 dissimulation before all men, and ear- 
 nestly pleading for God's mercy in Christ 
 to cover the multitude of our sins. 
 " There is nothing covered that shall 
 not be revealed ; and hid, that shall not 
 be known." 
 
 What reward was given to Mordecai 
 by the king for his prevention of the 
 evil which menaced him ! Some com- 
 mentators have drawn a lesson against 
 
70 
 
 HOM1LETIC COMMENTARY: FATTIER. 
 
 [CTIAr. II. 
 
 ingratitude, from the circumstance that 
 nothing is reported as having been done 
 for Mordecai. If nothing was done, 
 however, it can hardly be said that 
 nothing was intended. The whole affair 
 was " written in the book of the chron- 
 icles before the king" — accurately set 
 down by the scribes who were continually 
 Avith the king to record all remarkable 
 things which happened in the court, and 
 kept by him for future reference. By 
 and by we shall find that this register 
 was produced, and the events now 
 narrated were recalled to the memory of 
 Ahasuerus, and led to the elevation of 
 Mordecai. The reward tarried, but still 
 it came. Men may be unmindful, but 
 God never. And the manner in which 
 this pious Jew was ultimately rewarded 
 ought rather to incite us to look away 
 from the human to the Divine, and put 
 greater trust in the leading and recom- 
 pense of God. — McEwan. 
 
 The narrative before us teaches, that 
 Avhatever station in providence men are 
 called to fill, they may be instrumental 
 in conferring important benefits on 
 others. Mordecai, a man of humble 
 rank, exercising compassion and benevo- 
 lence, trained up the orphan girl who 
 became queen of Persia, and through 
 whose instrumentality vast benefits were 
 conferred on the Jews. Mordecai, who 
 sat in the king's gate, saved the life of 
 the king. And many incidents there 
 are, recorded both in ancient and modem 
 history, which illustrate the truth that 
 in human society the several classes are 
 so dependent on one another, that the 
 highest may be made debtor to the 
 lowest, and that the humblest may 
 render services to those above them 
 which cannot be adequately repaid. Such 
 fidelity as Mordecai exhibited has often 
 1» in exemplified. — Davidson. 
 
 For Esther did the commandment of 
 Mordecai. — Her honours had not altered 
 her manners ; she was as observant of 
 Mjrdecai still as ever. So was Joseph, 
 David, Solomon, Epaminondas, and 
 others of their old and poorer parents. 
 Pope Benedict, a Lombard, a shepherd's 
 son, would not acknowledge his poor 
 mother when she came to him lady-like, 
 but caused her to put on her shepherdess 
 
 apparel, and then did her all the honour 
 that might be. Sir Thomas More would 
 in Westminster Hall beg his father's 
 blessing on his knees. Mordecai was 
 Esther's foster-father, and had given her, 
 though not her being, yet her well-being ; 
 and hence she so respects him, and is so 
 ruled by him. She had gotten from him 
 that nurture and admonition in the 
 Lord that was better to her than the 
 crown of the kingdom ; for what is un- 
 sanctified greatness but eminent dis- 
 honour ? If any parents find disobedient 
 children, let them consider whether, 
 Eli-like, they have not honoured (I mean 
 cockered) their sons too much, which is 
 the reason they honour them so little 
 now. 
 
 In those days. — While this voluptuous 
 prince was in the glut of carnal de- 
 lights his life is sought for; so slippery 
 places are great ones set in ; so doth the 
 Lord sauce their greatest prosperity with 
 sudden and unexpected dangers. Thus 
 Attilas, king of the Huns, was hanged 
 up in gibbets, as it were, by God's own 
 hands in the midst of his nuptials. 
 
 Some great princes have wished 
 never to have meddled with government ; 
 as Augustus, Adrian, Pertinax, who used 
 to say that he never in all his life 
 committed the like fault as when he 
 accepted the empire ; and many times 
 he motioned to leave the same, and to 
 return unto his house. Dioclesian and 
 Maximian did so ; for they found that 
 quot servi, tot hostes; >j//ot custodes, f"t. 
 carnifices ; they could not be safe from 
 their own servants ; but, Damocles-like, 
 they sat at meat with a drawn sword 
 hanging by a twined thread over their 
 necks. Hence Dionysius durst not trust 
 his own daughter to barb him. And 
 Massinissa, king of Kurnidia, committed 
 his safe-keeping to a guard of dogs ; for 
 men he durst not trust. 
 
 And thr thing was knoion to Mordecai. 
 — How he came to know it is uncertain. 
 Josephus saith that it was revealed to 
 him by one Barnabazus, a Jew, who was 
 servant to one of the conspirators. P. 
 Solomon saith that the eunuchs talked 
 dl' the plot before Mordecai in the 
 language of Tarsus, supposing that he 
 had not understood them, and so it 
 
CHAP. II.] 
 
 HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: ESTHER. 
 
 77 
 
 came forth. Others conceive that they 
 solicited him, being one of the keepers 
 of the king's door, also to join with 
 them. Howsoever it was that he got 
 inkling and intelligence of their bloody 
 purpose, God was in it, and good 
 men are of his privy council. " The 
 secret of the Lord is with them that fear 
 him." — Trapp. 
 
 Besides flatterers, despots are apt to 
 have traitors and assassins about them, 
 such as Eigthan and Teresh. Mordecai 
 detected their villany, and no doubt 
 ran considerable risk in exposing it. 
 But he was not one of those who are 
 honest only when honesty appears to 
 them to be the best policy ; he did the 
 right because it was the right, faithfully 
 and fearlessly. Therefore he would not 
 be disappointed when weeks and months 
 went by without the selfish king taking 
 
 notice of the important service he had 
 rendered him. He probably did not 
 know that it " was written in the book 
 of the chronicles before the king," for it 
 was Esther who saw to that. There was 
 another book of remembrance, " by 
 seraphs writ," before One who may 
 " hide himself," but who never forgets. 
 "The Lord hearkened, and heard it, 
 and a book of remembrance was written 
 before him for them that feared the 
 Lord, and that thought upon his name. 
 And they shall be mine, saith the Lord 
 of hosts, in that day when I make up 
 my jewels ; and I will spare them, as a 
 man spareth his own son that serveth 
 him." Soon, following this story, we 
 shall "return, and discern between the 
 righteous and the wicked, between him ' 
 that serveth God and him that serveth 
 him not." — A. M. Symington, B.A. 
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 Ver. 11. God's kindness. No doubt, said the 
 Rev. John Brown of Haddington, I have met 
 with trials as well as others, yet so kind has God 
 been to me, that I think, if he were to give me 
 as many years as I have alreadv lived in the world, 
 1 should not desire one single circumstance in 
 my lot changed, except that I wish I had less 
 sin. As Mordecai watched over Esther, so God 
 watches to know how his people do. The mean- 
 ing of all God's dispensations, the extent of his 
 kindness, and the unwearied nature of his watch- 
 ing we shall not know till we stand in the 
 revealing light of eternity. Oh, to believe that 
 God's ways are best— that the storm as well as 
 the calm, the rough as well as the smooth, the 
 painful as well as the pleasant are indications of 
 God's kindness. 
 
 Ver. 11. A mother' 1 's glory. A boy, hearing a 
 visitor of his father make use of the familiar 
 saying that " an honest man is the noblest work 
 of God," made this innocent annotation upon it : 
 " No, sir, my mamma is the noblest work of God." 
 bet parents be as lovingly anxious for the wel- 
 fare of tbeir children as Mordecai was for Esther's; 
 let them by judicious treatment, by wise and 
 loving example, and by constant prayer lead them 
 up into the beauty of holiness, and thus their 
 memories will be blessed, and their names held 
 in affectionate esteem. Some parents complain 
 of a want of obedience and of reverence on the 
 part of their children, who might with more 
 reason complain of their own folly in not insist- 
 ing upon obedience from the very first, and in 
 not conducting themselves so as to command 
 reverence and affection. 
 
 Ver. 15. Virtues the true adorning, Plutarch 
 speaks of a Spartan woman, that when her neigh- 
 
 bours were showing their apparel and jewels, she 
 brought out her children, virtuous and well taught, 
 saying, These are my ornaments and accoutre- 
 ments. Esther did the like with her virtues, 
 which drew all hearts unto her ; like as fair 
 flowers in the spring do the passenger's eyes. She 
 bad decked herself with the white of simplicity, 
 with the red of modesty, with the silk of piety, 
 with the satin of sanctity, and with the purple 
 of chastity ; and being thus adorned and beautified, 
 women shall have God himself to be their suitor, 
 and all godly men their admirers. — Trapp. 
 
 Ver. 15. Dress. A woman's dress should 
 always be modest, never arrest attention, or 
 suggest the unchaste. " Madam," says old John 
 Newton, "so dress and so conduct yourself that 
 persons who have been in your company shall 
 not recollect what you had on." A fashionably- 
 dressed lady once asked a clergyman if there was 
 any harm in wearing feathers and ornaments. 
 He answered, " If you have the ridiculous 
 vanity in your heart to wish to be thought pretty 
 and fine, you may as well hang out the sign." 
 Dress should be not only modest, but becoming — 
 becoming to the stature, gait, complexion, and 
 station of the wearer. — ■ The Practical Philosopher. 
 
 Ver. 15. Silken garments fresh. Troya relates 
 that Francesca and her paramour Paolo were 
 buried together after their slaughter by Fran- 
 cesca's enraged husband ; and that three centuries 
 after the bodies were found at Rimini, whither 
 they had been removed from Pesaro, with the 
 silken garments yet fresh. But even such gar- 
 ments as those shall decay. They cannot resist 
 the withering hand of old Time. All that is 
 material must perish. But the silken garment 
 of virtue shall be ever fresh. It will last not 
 
1I0MILET1C COMMENTARY": ESTHER. 
 
 [CHAP. II. 
 
 merely for three centuries, but for the cycles of 
 eternity, Fresh and beautiful for ever is this 
 glorious garment. 
 
 Ver. 15. Clay made fragrant by the rose. A 
 traveller in passing through the country in 
 Persia chanced to take into his hand a piece of 
 clay which lay by the wayside, and to his 
 surprise he found it to exhale a most delightful 
 fragrance. Thou art but a poor piece of clay, 
 said he ; an unsightly, unattractive, poor piece of 
 clay! How fragrant thou art 1 I admire thee, I 
 love thee ; thou shaft be my companion ; I will 
 carry thee in my bosom. But whence hast thou 
 this fragrance? The clay replied, I have been 
 dwelling with the rose. Esther was not an 
 unsightly, unattractive piece of clay; but her 
 fragrance came not from her physical beauty, but 
 from the fact that in her dwelt the rose of good- 
 ness. The clay of a well-shaped physical form 
 has a certain attractiveness, but it is only ren- 
 dered perfect as it enshrines and is beautified by 
 the sweet flower of virtue. The fragrance of a 
 holy life is far-reaching, ever attractive, and ever 
 enduring. 
 
 Ver. 20. Silence a virtue. Taciturnity is 
 sometimes a virtue, and Tacitus the best his- 
 torian. Queen Elizabeth's motto was, Video, 
 taceo — I see, and say nothing. Sophocles saith, 
 nothing better becometh a woman than silence. 
 Euripides also saith that silence, and modesty,, 
 and keeping at home are the greatest commend- 
 ation to a woman that can be. Curtius tells us 
 that the Persians never trust one whom they find 
 to be talkative. Some know when to speak and 
 when to keep silent, but do not act up to their 
 knowledge. Esther had the knowledge and the 
 grace to conduct herself accordiug to the require- 
 ments of her condition. 
 
 " Give every man thine ear, but few thy voice ; 
 Take each man's censure, but reserve thy judg- 
 ment.'' — Polonius. 
 
 Ver. 23. Duty its own reward. On the 
 coast of Wales a vessel was being wrecked, and 
 the life-boat men pushed out to the rescue. 
 Again and again they braved the storm, and 
 drove on through the surging billows, in order to 
 save human life. When the work was com- 
 pleted, and the last man brought on shore, they 
 were asked what reward could be given. And 
 their noble reply was, that they wanted no pay- 
 ment, their reward was that they had succeeded 
 in saving the shipwrecked from a watery grave. 
 Mordecai found his reward in the consciousness 
 of having done his duty. An approving con- 
 science is better than the wealth of monarchs. 
 Earthly books of chronicles may bury while they 
 record our good deeds, but the noble worker 
 looks above and beyond the plaudits of time. 
 
 Ver. 23. EartKs heroes unknown. Before 
 men went out to the last American war, the 
 orators told them that they would all be remem- 
 bered by their country, and their names be com- 
 memorated in poetry and in song; but go to the 
 graveyard in liichmond, and you will find there 
 six thousand graves, over each one of which is 
 the inscription ''Unknown." The world dues 
 not remember its heroes ; but there will be no 
 unrecognized Christian worker in heaven. Each 
 one known by all, grandly known, known by 
 acclamation ; all the past story of work for God 
 gleaming in cheek, and brow, and foot, and 
 palm. They shall shine as distinct stars for 
 ever and ever. — Talmage. 
 
 Ver. 10. True greatness. Augustine says 
 " that God is great in great things, but greatest 
 in little things." And if we would form a true 
 estimate of men, we must measure them not by 
 their great things, but by their little things. 
 Mordecai was greatest not when he was gnat in 
 the king's house, but when he adopted his little 
 cousin, and was faithful when sitting at the 
 king's gate. A new arithmetic is required in 
 social computations. Life's littles are really and 
 often life's greats. Men are greatest in their 
 little things. We do not need martyr stakes, nor 
 battle-fields, nor any public scenery to show us 
 the good and true man. His little acts, his 
 daily conduct will furnish tests. One flash 
 reveals the diamond. 
 
 Ver. 23. Latimer and Banner. Bishop 
 Latimer, when examined before Bonner, at first 
 answered without much thought and care. But 
 presently a startling sound falls on bis ear. It is 
 only the scratching of a pen on paper behind the 
 curtain. Why should the bishop stop ? Why 
 should his face grow pale and his frame 
 tremble ? By means of that pen his words were 
 being taken down to be used against him. 
 " Suppose you knew that a register was kept by 
 some invisible scribe of all that you think, or 
 speak, or act ; what manner of persons would you 
 endeavour to be in the exercise of every virtue ? 
 Know, then, that none of your actions ever can 
 be forgotten, that even your most secret thoughts 
 are written in durable registers. The Lord 
 hearkens and hears all that is spoken by us. He 
 observes all that we think or do, and a book of 
 remembrance is written before him, which will 
 one day be opened, to the praise of them that do 
 well, and to the confusion of the wicked. Mor- 
 decai was not presently rewarded by the king for 
 the eminent service which he had done him. No 
 matter ; it was marked down in the king's 
 register. If he had never been rewarded by the 
 king, the testimony of his conscience and the 
 assurance of Divine approbation were more to him 
 than all that the kinjr could bestow." — Lawson. 
 
chap, in.] IIOMILETIO COMMENTARY : ESTHER. 
 
 79 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 Critical Notes.] 1. After these things] After the events related in the former chapter. 
 The twelfth year of the reign of Ahasuerus, five years after ch. ii. 16, but here somewhat sooner. 
 " The name Hainan is probably the same which is found in the classical writers under the form of 
 Omanes, and which in ancient Persian would have been Umana or Umanish, an exact equivalent of 
 the Greek Eumenes Hammedatha is perhaps the same as Madata or Mahedata (Madates of Q. 
 Curtius), an old Persian name signifying " given by (or to) the moon." — Rawlinson. The term Agag 
 means " the fiery," and may have been applied to persons without any reference to nationality. It was 
 employed as a general name of dignity by the kings of Amalek. Impossible to determine Hainan's 
 nationality. We may perhaps conclude that the epithet " Agagite " is here used symbolically of a 
 heathen enemy of the Jews. 2. Bowed] A simple inclination of the body as to an equal in 
 courtesy ; but reverenced] a complete prostration in Oriental style of homage to a superior. A 
 kind of religious homage. Mordecai's confession that he was a Jew appears to imply that the rules of 
 his religion would not allow him to offer the semblance of Divine honours to a mortal. Mordecai is 
 represented in the apocryphal Esther as praying: " Thou knowest, Lord, that it was neither in 
 contempt nor pride that I did not bow to Haman ; for I would have been glad for the salvation of 
 Israel to kiss the soles of his feet. But I did this that I might not glorify man more than God ; 
 neither would I worship any, God, but thee." 4. Whether Mordecai's matters would stand] 
 Whether the religious scruples of a Jew would be tolerated in opposition to Persian laws and 
 customs. 6. He thought scorn] Literally, it was contemptible in his eyes. 7.] The first month 
 Nisan corresponds nearly with our April. The twelfth month Adar with our March. An 
 interval of eleven months, ite is an old Persian word meaning lot (sors). The words " from day to 
 clay, from month to the twelfth month," must not be understood to say that lots were cast day by 
 day, and month by month till the twelfth ; but that in the first month lots were at once cast, one 
 after the other, for all the days and months of the year, that a favourable day might be obtained. 
 We do not know the manner in which this was done, " the way of casting lots being unknown to 
 us." — Keil. But Eawlinson says Fur is supposed to be an old Persian word etymologically 
 connected with the Latin pars, and signifying part or lot. In modern Persian parch has that 
 meaning. The recovered fragments of the old language have not, however, yielded any similar root. 
 V*sn mav be regarded as an impersonal verb, and refers to some one whose office it was to cast lots. 
 8.] the Jews were at this time a people scattered abroad. From the fall of Samaria the tribes of 
 Israel had become more and more dispersed among the people in all the provinces of the East, until 
 their trihe divisions could be now but faintly recognized. Seneca says, " Such power have the 
 customs of this detestable people already gained, that they are introduced into all lands ; they the 
 conquered have given laws to their conquerors." 9.] Ten thousand talents of silver, reckoned 
 according to the Mosaic shekel, are £3,750,000 ; according to the civil shekel, £1,875,000. — Keil. 
 10.] The signets of Persian monarchs were sometimes rings, sometimes cylinders, the latter probably 
 snspended by a string round the wrist. The expression here used might apply to either kind of 
 signet. — Rawlinson. The signet cylinder of Darius Hystaspes bears a trilingual inscription which 
 reads, " Darius the great king," and also a picture of the king hunting lions in a palm grove. 11.] 
 Some understand this to mean that Ahasuerus refused the silver which Hainan had offered to him ; 
 but the passage is better explained as a grant to him of all the property of such Jews as should be 
 executed. In the East confiscation follows necessarily upon public execution, the goods of criminals 
 escheating to the crown, which does with them as it chooses. — Rawlinson. 12.] The scribes of 
 Xerxes are mentioned more than once by Herodotus. They appear to have been in constant 
 attendance on the monarch, ready to indite his edicts, or to note down any occurrences which he 
 desired to have recorded. — Rawlinson. a^si.Tijns and nil"SB are here placed together, the satraps of 
 the larger provinces and the rulers among the separate peoples of the provinces. The D^to are the 
 native so-called bora princes of the different people. 13.] By the runners, by whom they were sent, 
 are meant the posts, the angari or pressmen, who were posted on the main roads of the empire at 
 definite distances from each other, from four to seven parasangs, and who rapidly expedited the royal 
 (mails) letters or commands. The three verbs — to destroy, to kill, and cause to perish — are combined 
 to give strength to the expression, uhhv is their property, which is called spoil because it was 
 delivered up to plunder. 14.] By the issue of the decree at this time (the first month) the Jews through- 
 out the empire had from nine to eleven months' warning of the peril which threatened them. So long 
 a notice is thought to be "incredible," and the question is asked, Why did they not then quit the 
 kingdom? In reply we may say, (1) That many of them may have quitted the kingdom ; and, (2) 
 That those who remained may have believed, with Mordecai, that enlargement and deliverance would 
 arise from some quarter or other. As to its being improbable that Hainan should give ouch long 
 notice, we may remark that Haman only wished to be quit of Mordecai, and that the flight of the 
 
80 IJOMILETIC COMMENTARY: ESTHER. [chap. hi. 
 
 Jews would have served his purpose quite as well as their massacre. — Bawlifuon. 15.] n^zi primarily 
 does not mean that it was distressed by terror or sorrow, but that it was perplexed, aid not know 
 what to think of such a terrible command. The remark that " Shushan was perplexed" has been 
 attributed to Jewish conceit, but without reason. Susa was now the capital of Persia, and the main 
 residence of Persians of high rank. These, being attached to the religion of Zoroaster, would 
 naturally sympathize with the Jews, and be disturbed at their threatened destruction. Nay, even 
 apart from this bond of union, the decree was sufficiently strange and ominous to " perplex " 
 thoughtful citizens.— Rawlinson. 
 
 MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH. Verses 1, 6. 
 The Prosperous Wicked Man. 
 
 Matthew Henry says, "I wonder what the king saw in Haman that was 
 commendable or meritorious ; it is plain that he was not a man of honour or justice, 
 of any true courage or steady conduct, but proud, and passionate, and revengeful ; 
 yet was he promoted and caressed, and there was none so great as he. Princes' 
 darlings are not always worthies." 
 
 I. The wicked man in great pro;peri,y. History, both of nations and of 
 individuals, repeats itself. Both in ancient and in modern times Ave may see the 
 wicked in great prosperity. Haman is typical. The race is prolific. Hainan is 
 the progenitor of a long line that by skilful plotting rise above the heads of superior 
 men. If earthly greatness be a reward, the good are not always rewarded in time. 
 In this world rewards are not- rightly administered. Push and tact get the prize. 
 Modest talent may be commended in the song or in the oration, but may be thank- 
 ful if it does not find itself compelled to enter the workhouse. Goodness in purple 
 and fine linen is commended ; but goodness personified in a certain beggar named 
 Lazarus is not an article of modern creeds. We are still too prone to believe that 
 Virtue fares sumptuously every day, and that only Vice is fed with crumbs and has 
 its sores licked by the dogs. 
 
 II. The prosperous wicked man is surrounded by fawning sycophants. 
 "All the king's servants, that were in the king's gate, bowed, and reverenced Haman: 
 for the king had so commanded concerning him." But a king's commandment is 
 not required to secure outward homage towards those in high places. There is 
 always a sycophantic crew ready to worship earthly greatness. Clothe a man with 
 the outward marks of royal favour, and many are at once prepared to become 
 his blind adulators. Christian England has not improved very much on heathenish 
 Persia. Outward show attracts more admirers than inward worth. Iniperialisni 
 is glorified in political, literary, and ecclesiastical spheres. Greatness, not goodness, 
 is still a leading virtue in ethical systems. Prowess in arms, push in business, 
 skill in politics, success in literature, and parade in religion are the articles of the 
 creed in which modern society devoutly believes. The wicked Hainan so long as 
 he is prime minister must be reverenced. 
 
 III. The prosperous wicked man is surrounded by meddling sycophants. 
 Even admirers may be too officious. If Haman had known and seen all he might 
 have prayed, Save me from my friends. The king's servants told Haman that there 
 was a -lew who would not reverence enthroned and bedazzled wickedness. No, 
 they would have told him this had they told him the truth; they might have told 
 him this had they seen Mordecai's nobility. However, their selfish zeal carried 
 them too far. They were undermining Hainan's maud position, and frustrating 
 their own purposes of aggrandisement. How often it is that in trying to grasp 
 too much we lose all ! 
 
 IV. The prosperous wicked man finds that false greatness brings trouble. 
 That greatness is false which is not the outcome of goodness. The courseof wicked 
 prosperity cannot run smooth. Hainan meets with the cheeking and detecting 
 
chap, in.] HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: ESTHER. 81 
 
 Mordecai. Ahab is troubled by Elijab. Nathan said unto David, Thou art the 
 man. Herod beheads John the Baptist, but still he is not free from a reproving 
 spirit. When Mordecai refuses to bow let Hainan tremble. We do not attempt 
 to prosecute the difficult inquiry what it was which led Mordecai to refuse to bow 
 to Haman. Much has been said and written, but no satisfactory conclusion has 
 been reached. All that Ave can say is, that there must have been a strong religious 
 motive working in the mind of Mordecai which induced him to pursue a course 
 which exposed him to the wrath of an Eastern despot. The nobility, the heroism 
 of Mordecai must be admired as he thus braved death itself, and refused to follow 
 the multitude in doing eviL Oh, for more Mordecais ; for those who shall dare to 
 be singular ; for those who will stand by their convictions. Let great men watch 
 how men of strong convictions deport themselves. There is more wholesome 
 teaching in the silent mood of the strong-minded than in the honeyed words of 
 shallow sycophants. 
 
 V. The prosperous wicked man may learn that an unrestrained nature 
 brings trouble. Hainan was intoxicated with his greatness, and could not brook 
 it that one poor Jew refused an outward act of homage. Haman was full of wrath, 
 and consequently was full of trouble. Wrath is cruel, both to the subject and the 
 object. A dark cloud gathers on Hainan's countenance, for wrath drives away the 
 cheering sunlight, and brings darkness over the whole man. One whispered hiss 
 reaching the great man's ear is sufficient to drown the hosannas of the multitude. 
 
 VI. The prosperous wicked man unwittingly plots his own downfall. 
 Hainan's wrath led him to dangerous extremes. He vainly fancied that nothing could 
 withstand his greatness ; so he determines to take signal vengeance on Mordecai 
 by making his whole nation suffer. It was not sufficient for this great man to 
 touch Mordecai only. He would not demean himself by laying hands on that one 
 dog of a Jew. He must have wholesale slaughter. Wherefore Haman sought to 
 destroy all the Jews that were throughout the whole kingdom of Ahasuerus. Poor 
 Haman ! Already we see thee treading on a volcano. Thy hands are digging 
 the pit into which thou shalt fall. Thy minions are already preparing the gallows 
 on which thou thyself shalt be hung. 
 
 (a) Prosperity has its draivbacks. This is true of all prosperity, but more 
 especially of the prosperity of the wicked. The triumphing of the wicked shall 
 be short. Greatness purchased by the sacrifice of goodness must bring trouble to 
 its possessor sooner or later, (b) " Better it is to be of an humble spirit with the 
 lowly, than to divide the spoil with the proud. " Haman and his flatterers were 
 dividing the spoil, but they were not happy. Mordecai was of a humble spirit, 
 and enjoyed peace of mind, (c) That our greatest troubles often spring from our 
 own depraved natures. Hainan's depravity worked him misery and ruin in the end. 
 
 " Heaven is most just, and of our pleasant vices 
 Makes instruments to scourge us." 
 
 Suggestive Comments on Verses 1, 6. 
 
 We have the picture given us, and vain, false, selfish, and not merely cruel 
 
 are called to study it, of a thoroughly in the thoughtless way that all selfish 
 
 bad man, one of his seed who was a liar persons are cruel, but vindictive and 
 
 and a murderer from the beginning.* black-hearted. All was going well with 
 
 The greater number of bad men have this man. His rivals had been crushed, 
 
 some redeeming feature in their charac- his seat had been set above the seats of 
 
 ters to which we are glad to turn for all the noblemen at court, the king had 
 
 relief ; but you look in vain for any made him his boon companion, and had 
 
 redeeming feature in Haman. He was issued orders that the palace servants 
 
 * John viii. 44. should bow before him and do him 
 
82 
 
 IIOMILETIC COMMENTARY: ESTHER. 
 
 [CHAP. Ill 
 
 reverence. He was as nearly happy as 
 
 a man can be whose ruling passion is 
 vanity; but such men hold their happi- 
 ness by a very frail tenure. It does 
 
 not look altogether well that Ahasuerus 
 should have needed to give special orders 
 about his servants bowing to Hainan. 
 Darius had not needed to do this in the 
 case of Daniel. Had the favourite been 
 respected and liked, men would have 
 given him all seemly honour unbidden. 
 But this was a very different case. 
 ] >aniel carried that within himself which 
 secured his peace, even when suddenly 
 flung down from lofty station to the 
 lions' den ; but this little-great man was 
 made miserable by discovering that there 
 was a single porter who did not prostrate 
 himself before him. " But Mordecai 
 bowed not, nor did him reverence." It 
 does seem a very small matter, but when 
 such a man as Mordecai attached import- 
 ance to it, we must pause and consider 
 whether the matter was really so small 
 as it seemed. For it is an unsafe way of 
 reasoning to say about anything, It is 
 only one little act ; why scruple over it] 
 If it does no good, it can do no harm ; 
 and so forth. By such reasoning habits 
 of untruth and intemperance have many 
 a time been formed, and what was per- 
 haps little in itself, if it had been possible 
 to separate it from all else, has been 
 found to be anything but little in its 
 results. The truth is, we cannot separate 
 any single action from the rest of our 
 lives, so that the importance of an action 
 depends not on its greatness or its little- 
 ness, but on many other circumstances, 
 such as, how often we do it, the effect it 
 has on others, particularly its influence 
 on our own consciences. In this case it 
 mi happened that what Mordecai did — 
 rather what he determined not to do — 
 proved to be of very great importance to 
 the whole Persian empire; but he could 
 not know that. What he did know was, 
 thai it' he had once bowed to Hainan 
 his conscience would have been defiled, 
 as surely as Daniel's would have been if 
 he had eaten the king's meat; and a 
 polluted conscience is no trifle. A man 
 has to Cany it about with him all day, 
 to go to sleep with it if he can, to en- 
 counter it again when he awakes, until 
 
 God purges out the stain. — A. M. 
 Symington, B.A. 
 
 True religion dues not interfere with 
 
 tl rdinary courtesies of life, nor does 
 
 it forbid our rendering that honour to 
 rank and station which is their due. But 
 when vice and real infamy are shrouded 
 under high rank, the Christian must 
 beware of acting so as to make it sup- 
 posed that the rank forms an apology 
 for the vice and infamy, or renders them 
 less hateful than they really are. 
 
 It is to be regarded as a kind of 
 retribution, in the case of ungodly and 
 wicked men, that the very irregularity 
 and violence of their passions contains 
 in itself what is sufficient to embitter 
 the whole cup of their enjoyment. This 
 is matter of universal experience. In 
 the instance before us, it is very plain 
 that Mordecai's unbending and contempt- 
 uous attitude rendered Hainan altogether 
 indifferent to the homage which was 
 rendered to him by others. Formerly 
 he had retired from his attendance upon 
 the king, through the crowd of obsequi- 
 ous and prostrate slaves, with the highest 
 desires of his heart gratified. His great- 
 ness was acknowledged. His will was 
 law. There was no man in the kingdom, 
 next to the sovereign himself, to whom 
 such incense was offered by all. He had 
 reached a higher elevation than the 
 greatest nobles of the kingdom occupied. 
 Unbounded power and wealth were 
 within his grasp, and what more could 
 he wish for 1 ? But now one incident, 
 in itself so trifling that we wonder it 
 could have even occasioned him pain 
 for a moment, strips his grandeur and 
 power of all their charms. Mordecai 
 will not bow to him, nor do him rever- 
 ence. The slavish homage of thousands 
 ceases to gratify him because this one 
 man — a Jew — will not recognize his 
 greatness, nor honour him. His feeling 
 is brought out afterwards very graphic- 
 ally in the history when, after recount- 
 ing to his family and friends all the 
 dignities and advantages which, through 
 the favour of the king, he enjoyed, he 
 says, " All this availeth me nothing, so 
 long as I see Mordecai the Jew silting 
 at the king's gate." 
 
 The wicked always receive part of 
 
CHAP. III.] 
 
 HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: ESTHER. 
 
 83 
 
 their punishment in the violence of some 
 unhallowed passion which hlinds them 
 to all the real benefits of their lot. Is 
 there not a gnawing disease in the heart 
 of the covetous man, for example, which 
 prevents him from enjoying the good 
 things which are placed within his 
 reach, just because he has not yet 
 acquired all that he wishes to possess 1 ? 
 And still, as he gets more and more, is 
 he not as far as ever from being satisfied, 
 since he has not yet reached the point at 
 which he aims 1 Or, again, look to the 
 man who is the slave of envy, and mark 
 how miserable this base passion makes 
 him. He has ample means of enjoyment 
 which he can call his own, but his 
 neighbour has something which pleases 
 him better, and just because that one 
 thing is awanting to himself, he can find 
 no satisfaction in the varied blessings 
 which a kind Providence has showered 
 upon him. His neighbour's good is to 
 him what Mordecai at the king's gate 
 was to Hainan. In like manner, I might 
 advert to the working of the more violent 
 passions of anger and revenge, as a cause 
 of intense torment to those who cherish 
 them, and as altogether preventing them 
 from taking advantage of many sources 
 of happiness which lie open to them on 
 every side. I might also allude to the 
 misery which wounded vanity and 
 affronted pride often bring to those who 
 have high notions of their own import- 
 ance, as when a trifling word or action 
 will discompose them for many days 
 together, and deprive them of their relish 
 for the things that formerly pleased and 
 made them happy. l>ut enough has 
 been said to show how by a just retri- 
 bution the ungodly, following out their 
 natural tendencies and passions, work 
 out their own punishment. How differ- 
 ent is the picture presented to us where 
 grace reigns in the heart. Although 
 corruption is not altogether eradicated 
 from the spiritual man, yet its power is 
 subdued ; the fierce passions are tamed ; 
 love takes the place of envy, malignity, 
 and wrath ; and the believer, seeking 
 and finding his chief enjoyment in God, 
 remains comparatively unruffled by those 
 incidents which breed so much vexation 
 and disquietude in the breast of the 
 
 ungodly. The wise man says that "he 
 who is of a merry heart hath a continual 
 feast ; " and emphatically it may be said 
 that the heart in which the Spirit of God 
 dwells is a peaceful sanctuary — the seat 
 of pure enjoyment. 
 
 Satan is always ready to take advan- 
 tage of the season when the mind is 
 perturbed by any strong passion, in order 
 to hurry his victims onward to some act 
 of violence from which in other circum- 
 stances they would have shrunk. Hainan 
 at this time was precisely in such a mood 
 as made him an easy prey to the enemy. 
 His self-importance, his worldly gran- 
 deur, the king's favour, all set at nought 
 by Mordecai, aggravated his deadly re- 
 sentment, and made him seek the de- 
 struction of the whole Jewish race. It 
 could not have been but by Satanic 
 influence that a scheme of such vast and 
 daring atrocity was devised. There is 
 nothing said in the history to show that 
 the disposition of Hainan was habitually 
 cruel, that he was one who would have 
 taken pleasure in inflicting pain for no 
 reason but to gratify a propensity of his 
 nature. From the brief glances we 
 obtain of his domestic life, he seems to 
 have enjoyed the confidence and affection 
 of his family, as far as was compatible 
 with the usages of the age and country; 
 a circumstance which certainly seems to 
 warrant the conclusion that he was not 
 of a temper unmixedly cruel and tyran- 
 nical. But when the master passion of 
 revenge took possession of him, then by 
 working upon it Satan transformed him 
 into a very fiend. And it has always 
 been one of the devices of the enemy to 
 drive men into criminal excesses to their 
 own ruin through the instrumentality of 
 some favourite lust or appetite. It was 
 the covetous spirit of Judas that opened 
 a way to the tempter to hurry him to 
 betray the Saviour. It was an unmanly 
 fear on the part of Pilate, lest he should 
 be misrepresented to the Roman emperor, 
 that the tempter took occasion of to lead 
 him, in opposition to all his convictions, 
 to deliver up Jesus to be crucified. All 
 need to be upon their guard, then, 
 against the wiles of the crafty adversary, 
 and to strive to have their desires and 
 feelings so kept under the control of the 
 
81 
 
 nOMTLETW COMMENTARY; ESTHER. 
 
 [chap. Ill 
 
 Divine law that he may not through 
 bheii own sinful inadvertence obtain the 
 mastery over them, and lead them cap- 
 tive at his will. — Davidson. 
 
 How insatiable is revenge, especially 
 when it is associated with national and 
 religious rancour ! Haman learned that 
 Mordecai was a Jew, and he resolves at 
 once on the total extermination of that 
 people. Nero wished that the Romans 
 had but one neck, that he might despatch 
 them at once ; Haman resolves by one 
 decree to sweep off " all the Jews which 
 were in all the kingdom of Ahasuerus." 
 That the quarrel was not merely personal, 
 but was inflamed by national hatred, is 
 evident from the designation, " the 
 Jews' enemy," repeatedly given to Hainan 
 in this book. The discovery that Mor- 
 decai was of Jewish extraction, while it 
 gave a keenness to his insult, added a 
 sweetness to Hainan's meditated revenge. 
 — Me One. 
 
 For the king had so commanded con- 
 cerning him. — And if the king had com- 
 manded these servile souls to worship a 
 dog or a cat, as the Egyptians did ; a 
 golden image, as Nebuchadnezzar's sub- 
 jects did ; to turn the glory of the incor- 
 ruptible God into the similitude of a 
 corruptible man, of four-footed beasts 
 or creeping things, they would have 
 done it. Most people are of King 
 Henry's religion, as the proverb is, re- 
 solving to do as the most do, though 
 thereby they be undone for ever. 
 
 But Mordecai bowed not, nor did 
 him reverence. — He did not, he durst 
 not, though pressed to it with greatest 
 importunity. And why ? Not because 
 Hainan wore a picture openly in his 
 bosom, as the Chaldee paraphrast and 
 Aben-Ezra give the reason ; not merely 
 because he was a cursed Amalekite ; but 
 because the Persian kings required that 
 themselves and their chief favourites 
 (such as proud Hainan was) should be 
 reverenced with a kind of divine honour, 
 more than was due to any man. This 
 the Jews by their law were forbidden to 
 do. It was not, therefore, pride or sell- 
 willedness that made Mordecai so stiff 
 in the hams that he would not bend to 
 Hainan, but fear of sin, and conscience 
 of duty. He knew that he had better 
 
 offend all flic world than God and his 
 own conscience. 
 
 That tlieytold Tinman. — Purposely to 
 pick a thank and curry favour. And 
 although it was truth they told Haman, 
 yet because they did it not for any 
 love to the truth, nor for respect to 
 justice, nor for the bettering of either 
 party, but only to undo the one and to 
 incense the other, they were no better 
 than slanderers. 
 
 And lw thought scorn to lay hands on 
 Mordecai. — He thought it a small 
 matter, saith Josephus, a thing below 
 him, too little for his revenge, which, 
 like fire, burnetii all it can lay hold 
 upon, especially when, as here, it ariseth 
 from ambition. Haman thought scorn 
 to foul his fingers with Mordecai alone. ; 
 the whole nation must perish, and all the 
 children of God that were scattered 
 abroad. — Trap}). 
 
 " Why transgressest thou the king's 
 commands'? " The servants of the king 
 said to Mordecai, " Why wilt thou re- 
 fuse to bow before Haman, transgressing 
 thus the wishes of the king ? Do we 
 not bow before him]" "Ye are fool- 
 ish," answered Mordecai ; "a}-, wanting 
 in reason. Listen to me. Shall a mortal 
 who must return to the dust be glorified % 
 Shall I bow down before one born of 
 woman, whose days are short 1 ? When 
 he is small he cries and weeps as a child ; 
 when he grows older sorrow and sighing 
 are his portion ; his days are full of 
 wrath and anger, and at the end he 
 returns to dust. Shall I bow to one like 
 him? No, I prostrate myself before the 
 eternal God, who lives for ever. He 
 who dwells in heaven and bears the 
 world in the hollow of his hand. His 
 word changes sunlight to darkness, his 
 command illumines the deepest gloom. 
 His wisdom made the world ; He placed 
 the boundaries of the mighty sea. The 
 waters are his, the sweet and the salt. 
 To the struggling waves he says, 'Be still ; 
 thus far shalt thou come, no further, that 
 the earth may remain dry for my people. 1 
 To him, the great Creator and Iluler of 
 the universe, and to no other, will I 
 bow." Haman was wroth against Mor- 
 decai, and said to him, " Why art thou 
 so stiff-necked ? J >itl not thy forefather 
 
CHAP. III.] 
 
 IIOMILETIC COMMENTARY: ESTHER. 
 
 85 
 
 bow down to mine ] " " How 1 " replied 
 Mordecai ; " which of my ancestors 
 bowed before forefather of thine 1 " Then 
 Hainan answered, " Jacob thy fore- 
 father bowed down to Esau, his brother, 
 who Avas my forefather." " Not so," 
 answered Mordecai, " for I am descended 
 from Benjamin, and when Jacob howed 
 to Esan, Benjamin was not yet born. 
 Benjamin never bowed until his descend- 
 ants prostrated themselves in the holy 
 temple, when the divinity of God rested 
 within its sacred portals, and all Israel 
 united with him. I will not bow before 
 the wicked Hainan." — Talmud. 
 
 He hearkened not unto them. — He 
 would not be persuaded from his purpose 
 to remain true to the principles of his 
 religion. His course was dictated not 
 by obstinacy, but by firmness of religious 
 principle. Herodotus relates the case of 
 certain Spartans who visited Shushan 
 in the time of Xerxes, and, when ushered 
 into the royal presence, refused to pros- 
 trate themselves and worship before the 
 king, on the ground that it was contrary 
 to their customs to worship a man. 
 
 They told, Hainan.- — Until they told 
 him, Hainan seems not to have noticed 
 that Mordecai did not bow down to him. 
 ■ — American Commentary. 
 
 Haman strove to destroy all the Jews 
 in the whole realm of Ahasuerus, as being 
 of the same mind with Mordecai. In 
 the West such an idea as this would 
 never have occurred to a revengeful 
 man ; but in the East it is different. 
 The massacres of a people, a race, a class, 
 have at all times been among the inci- 
 dents of history, and would naturally 
 present themselves to the mind of a 
 statesman. The Magophonia, or a great 
 massacre of the Magi at the accession of 
 Darius Hystaspis, was an event not fifty 
 years old in the twelfth year of Xerxes, 
 and was commemorated annually. A 
 massacre of the Scythians had occurred 
 about a century previously. — Rawlinson. 
 
 God is so great, so sovereign, that if 
 thou pleasest him not he accounts thee 
 an enemy ; if thou beest not subject to 
 him thou art a rebel. As kings, yea, 
 favourites, thinking themselves so great, 
 that if any be not wholly theirs, if any 
 man veils not, stoops not, their spirits rise 
 
 against them as enemies, as Hainan's 
 did against Mordecai ; and so, in like 
 manner, Art thou not king 1 ? says 
 Jezebel to Ahab ; and therefore judged 
 it an affront to him to be denied any- 
 thing. In like manner, Am I not God 1 
 says the Lord. If there be any perverse- 
 ness of spirit shown to kings, it is 
 interpreted enmity, because their great- 
 ness expects all should serve and be 
 subject to them. Xow the greatness of 
 God is such as it necessarily and justly 
 draws this on with it. Hence the carnal 
 mind is said to be enmity against God. 
 - — Goodwin. 
 
 The persons with whom Mordecai 
 had to do at the king's gate were, as has 
 been said, probably more curious than 
 malicious in the first instance; but a 
 man is none the better liked for taking 
 up higher ground than that occupied 
 by those about him. The busy-bodies 
 wished to " see whether Mordecai's 
 matters would stand," whether the 
 supreme power would recognize a Jew's 
 conscience, and, if not, what a Jew would 
 then do with his conscience ; so they 
 informed Haman. And they did see, 
 plentifully. The first effect was to reveal 
 the paltriness of Hainan. He was full 
 of rage where a man of any greatness of 
 soul would have been only amused. 
 " Who would be angry with a Quaker 
 for not taking off his hat when he comes 
 into a room ] " But Haman was one of 
 those whom if you strip, seeking to find 
 the greatness beneath their fine clothes, 
 lo ! there is nothing ! That is, nothing 
 great or good. For there is something 
 bad and ugly — black revenge. Justice 
 is said to blindfold herself that she may 
 hold the scales evenly, not knowing 
 what has been put into each ; but 
 revenge shuts both eyes that it may see 
 no scales at all. What monstrous dis- 
 proportion betw T een the offence and the 
 penalty, to avenge a small personal 
 affront received from one Jew by 
 " causing to perish in one day all Jews, 
 old and young." To account for this 
 we must keep in mind the ancient 
 national feud already explained ; and 
 we shall do Avell to remember that 
 instances are not wanting of the same 
 deadly hatred against the seed of the 
 
86 HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: ESTHER. [ciiaf. hi. 
 
 woman. To say nothing of Kero or thousand Protestants on the eve of St. 
 Domitian, nor of Radama in Madagascar Bartholomew's day in France. — A. M. 
 
 quite recently, let us recall the well- Symington, B.A 
 known case of the massacre of fifty-six 
 
 MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGEAPH. Verse 7. 
 
 The Blind Method op Revenge. 
 
 This is curious, that there should he method in madness. Insanity is the result 
 of mere mental confusion or distraction. Sometimes it arises from the preponderance 
 of one idea, and that idea is pursued with marvellous persistence. It has its method, 
 hut by being narrow in its vision it becomes blind in its pursuit. Eevenge when 
 it becomes a master passion is the worst madness. It has its method, but no Avonder 
 that it is blind. It is persistent in seeking to carry out its revengeful project. It 
 is patient until the time has arrived to strike the deadly blow. 
 
 I. Revenge is blind in its method. Let the conduct of Haman, as the embodi- 
 ment of revenue, be our illustration. He caused the lot to be cast in order to find 
 out the favourable day for the accomplishment of his fiendish purpose. "VVe are 
 astonished to find method in him who was "full of wrath;" but we are not 
 astonished to find that he was blind in his proceeding, (a) He was blind to the 
 fact that there is no chance. His course was self-contradictory. He consulted 
 chance in order to make a definite arrangement. A kind of blindness men often 
 display, (b) He was blind to the fact that so-called chance might as easily be 
 against him as for him. He evidently thought himself all-important, and that the 
 paper drawn out of the pitcher would most certainly have written on it the lucky 
 day. Men that trust to chance will in the long run find that they have been fools 
 for their pains, (c) He was blind to the fact that " the lot is cast into the lap ; but 
 the whole disposing thereof is of the Lord." It was so here. The lot was disposed 
 to the complete discomfiture and overthrow of revengeful Haman, and to the 
 salvation of Mordecai and his people. 
 
 II. Revenge is injurious in its persistence. Haman persisted in his revengeful 
 purpose. The pertinacity of the man is marvellous. "What a glorious revolution 
 would soon take place if the good were as persistent in the pursuit of merciful 
 purposes as the bad are in revengeful projects. Every bad passion is injurious in 
 its permanence. More injurious to its subject than to its object. Haman was doing 
 himself more injury and rendering himself more miserable than he could have done 
 or rendered Mordecai even if all his purpose had been accomplished. " Let not tin; 
 sun go doAvn on your wrath " is a wise lesson. The wise will let their anger cool, 
 but in the bosom of a fool it burns till morning light. 
 
 III. Revenge is destructive in its patience. Haman was willing to wait 
 twelve months in order that his revenge might be the more signally marked, and 
 his triumph the greater. But his very patience worked liis ruin. We sometimes 
 say time is on the side of him who will but wait. But time asks what is the 
 character of the waiter, and what is the purpose he has in view. Time is not on 
 the side of revengeful waiters. Time holds in its hands no rewards to be presented 
 in the distant future to the wicked. Every man must suffer either here or hereafter 
 who pursues a course of seeking to avenge his wrongs. 
 
 Let Hainan's followers ponder the telling proverbs — " < Jurses, like chickens, always 
 come home to roost;" they return, that is, to those from whom they went forth. 
 " Ashes always ily hack in the face of him that throws them." " Harm watch, harm 
 catch." " Who sows thorns, let him not walk barefoot." Hear the instructive, 
 voice of Paul — "Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, hut rather give place unto 
 wrath ; for it is written, Vengeance is mine ; I will repay, saith the Lord. Therefore 
 
CHAP. III.] 
 
 HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: ESTHER. 
 
 87 
 
 if thine enemy hunger, feed him ; if he thirst, give him drink : for in so doing thou 
 shalt heap coals of fire on his head. Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil 
 with good." 
 
 Suggestive Comments on Verse 7. 
 
 Lithe twelfth year of king Ahasuerus. — - 
 When Esther had now been queen above 
 four years, and, being greatly beloved, 
 was in a capacity to do her people good. 
 This was a sweet providence ; the remedy 
 was ready before the disease broke out. 
 No country hath more venomous creatures 
 than Egypt, none more antidotes. So 
 godliness hath many troubles, and so 
 many helps against trouble. — Trapp. 
 
 They cast Pur, that is, the lot. — The 
 Septuagint preserves a clause of this verse 
 which assists to explain its meaning. It 
 thus reads, " They cast Pur, that is, the 
 lot, before Haman, from day to day, and 
 from month to month (that he might 
 destroy in one day the race of Mordecai, 
 and the lot fell for the fourteenth) of the 
 twelfth month, that is, the month Adar." 
 From this it appears that the lots were 
 cast in order to determine the month and 
 the day of the month which might be 
 most propitious for this barbarous under- 
 taking, or most calamitous for the Jews. 
 — Illustrated Commentary. 
 
 The method of procedure seems to 
 have been this, that at the beginning 
 of the first month Haman caused the 
 diviners whom he kept about him to cast 
 the lot to determine what day of the 
 month, and what month of the year, 
 would bring his design to a successful 
 termination. In this manner he learnt 
 that the thirteenth day of the twelfth 
 month would be the propitious day. 
 The interval was long, nearly a whole 
 year ; but this was brought about by a 
 special providence, in order that the 
 scheme might be defeated, and the pro- 
 jector of it visited with the punishment 
 lie merited. Under all systems of false 
 religion, divination, or the attempt to 
 pry into futurity so as to get light cast 
 upon contingent affairs, has been largely 
 practised. We find reference made to 
 it in the Book of Genesis, as an Egyptian 
 custom, when the cup which was put 
 into Benjamin's sack is called that by 
 which Joseph divined. The Babylonians 
 
 or Chaldreans, however, seem to have 
 been addicted to divination beyond all 
 other nations, and were indeed proverbial 
 for the use of it. There are several re- 
 ferences made t.o this in the prophetic 
 books. The Persians also were addicted 
 to the same practices ; and it is said that 
 among that people even at the present 
 day, no one commences a journey, or 
 almost any work the most trifling, without 
 consulting an almanac, or an astrologer, 
 for a fortunate moment. It would seem, 
 indeed, as if there were a natural tendency 
 in the human mind to read futurity by 
 certain devices of its own. We hear 
 sometimes of individuals in our own day 
 who are so weak as to suffer themselves 
 to become the dupes of designing knaves, 
 who for money pretend by certain signs 
 and omens to foretell what will be the 
 residt of matters in which they are in- 
 terested. One could afford to smile at 
 the absurd credulity which thus allows 
 itself to be imposed upon, if it were not 
 that the cherishing the desire to know 
 the future, and having recourse to any 
 such means to have it gratified, is de- 
 nounced in the Scripture as impiety. 
 The Jewish people were solemnly warned 
 against such procedure, that they might 
 not by means of it degrade and pollute 
 themselves as the heathen did. No 
 rational man will suppose that by casting 
 lots, or by observing the flight of birds, 
 or by inspecting the entrails of an animal 
 slain in sacrifice, or by astrology, or by 
 any of the other methods which were 
 employed to discover what day or hour 
 would be suitable for an undertaking, or 
 what would be the issue of it, a true 
 residt could be obtained. Yet, as all 
 these things formed part of the instru- 
 mentality by which Satan kept up his 
 dominion over the minds of men, we can 
 conceive that sometimes in the Divine 
 providence they might be permitted to 
 take effect, to punish those who were 
 given over to a blind and reprobate mind, 
 and that, as in the case of Haman's lots, 
 
88 
 
 II0M1LETIC COMMENTARY: ESTHER. 
 
 [CHAP. III. 
 
 there might he an overruling of human 
 sin and folly to work out the purposes 
 of the Divine government. 
 
 It is natural for us to desire to lift up 
 the veil ; and sometimes, in pressing 
 emergencies, we would give much to be 
 enabled to do this. But since the word 
 of God tells us that all events are under 
 his control, and that his eye is ever on 
 his people, and all that concerns them, 
 for their good, we may well wait patiently 
 for the evolution of his purposes. — 
 Davidson. 
 
 Superstition tind imposture have al- 
 ways been ready to lend their aid to 
 the worst and most diabolical deeds. It 
 was customary among the ancients to 
 divide their days into lucky and unlucky, 
 and they were anxious to undertake any 
 great work on a propitious day. Among 
 the various ways to which they had 
 recourse for ascertaining this was the 
 lot, which was used on this occasion by 
 Hainan. It is of little importance to 
 ascertain the particular mode of casting 
 the lot, whether it was by means of dice, 
 or other instruments cast into the urn, 
 or by throwing arrows or other missiles, 
 accompanied with certain magical actions. 
 
 Observe the overruling providence of 
 God. During an interval of eleven 
 months, Mordecai and Esther had time 
 to use means for defeating the design, 
 and if they proved unsuccessful, the 
 Jews had time to shift fur their lives. 
 The hearts of all men are in the hand of 
 the Lord, who can turn them as he 
 pleaseth. Haman was the slave of super- 
 
 stition, which controlled his must violent 
 passions, and by means of it his wrath 
 was restrained, and its intentions brought 
 to nought. " The Lord is known by the 
 judgment which he executeth ; the 
 wicked is snared in the work of his own 
 hands." " Haman has appealed to the 
 lot, and to the lot he shall go, which, 
 by adjourning the execution, gives judg- 
 ment against him, and breaks the neck 
 of the plot."— McCrie. 
 
 There is a proverb to the effect that 
 the devil limps, and any who look 
 thoughtfully into history or more private 
 affairs will find it confirmed. That is 
 to say, the god of this world betrays 
 himself, and cannot help betraying him- 
 self, by leaving some point unguarded, 
 by doing something unwise, even when 
 much power and cunning have been 
 brought into play. Or, to put the same 
 truth in another aspect, when the enemies 
 of God and man are most busy, and 
 seem to be most successful, " he that 
 sitteth in the heavens shall laugh ; the 
 Lord shall have them in derision." 
 There were blunders in Haman's plot 
 against the people of God which secured 
 its failure. Why did he offer two 
 millions sterling as compensation for the 
 loss of revenue, at the same time that he 
 was telling Ahasuerus it was "not for 
 the king's profit to suffer " the Jews to 
 live? If the king had taken time to 
 think, he would have detected a selfish 
 motive under the inconsistent offer. It 
 did not escape Esther when her time 
 came to speak. — A. M. Symington, B.A. 
 
 MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH. Verses 8—11. 
 
 A False Aspect of the Truth. 
 
 Success begets confidence. It was so in this case. Haman had been successful, 
 and consequently became confident. He knew his present power with the king, 
 and therefore takes his steps accordingly. He lays his plans before he, makes his 
 wicked request unto the monarch. Put a man may be blindly confident, and his 
 over-confidence may lead to his destruction, as it did in the case of Haman. There 
 may be too much caution. A man may be afraid to take a bold step when bold- 
 ness is required and is safety. Put there may be too little caution. A man, for 
 the want of caution, may take a leap in the dark, and plunge into the abyss of ruin. 
 Here Hainan displayed a want of wise caution. lie is now taking the dangerous 
 Lap. Soon we shall see him plunging in the abyss. 
 
 I. A U'U3 description. Hainan had accurately studied the condition of the 
 
chap, in ] HO MI LET IC COMMENTARY: ESTHER. 89 
 
 Jewish people, and was acquainted with their internal regulations, and he describes 
 them correctly. Our enemies tell us the truth. In one aspect Hainan was a truth- 
 ful delineator. Josephus himself could not have done better than Hainan. He 
 describes them — (a) As a scattered people. Throughout the extensive kingdom of 
 Ahasuerus these Jews were scattered, mixing with the people and yet distinct. 
 AVherever they were they preserved their nationality. Wonderful race these Jews ! 
 Wonderful in Hainan's time, wonderful still in Disraeli's time. A people scattered 
 and peeled through all time, but a people never stripped of that marvellous quality 
 by Avhich they are unique, (b) As a peculiar people. They had laws diverse from 
 all people. These laws were God-given. These laws were the fountain from which 
 has flowed the best judicial streams this world has seen. The ancient Jewish 
 legislator, in the very childhood of the world's history, promulgated a legal code 
 which nineteenth century legislators may still study with profit. jSTo wonder that 
 these laws were diverse from all people. These laws were Divine • other laws are 
 human. These laws, in their leading principles, Avere cosmopolitan; other laws are 
 local. These laws were intended for the formation of a glorious Divine society. 
 Other laws are for the formation of human societies. These laws are eternal ; but 
 other laws, in so far as they are divergent, are temporary. Hainan was right, and 
 yet Hainan was wrong. 
 
 II. A false implication and declaration. It is sometimes said that the tailor 
 makes the man, and so we may say that the speaker makes or unmakes the truth. 
 Truth may be so dressed as to look like and to do the work of falsehood. Haman 
 makes two false implications, and one false declaration, («) A scattered people, 
 and therefore influential for evil. These Jews are amongst all the people in the 
 provinces of thy kingdom, and therefore consider how much evil they may do. 
 What power for sowing in all directions the seeds of rebellion ! (b) A peculiar 
 people, and therefore dangerous. They have laws and opinions of their own. They 
 are likely to think for themselves. A race of thinkers is not promising soil for 
 despots. These Jews were not molluscous animals. Despotism cannot long flourish 
 where backboned and strong-muscled men are permitted. Haman was nearer the 
 truth than he imagined. Here is a false declaration — ■" neither keep they the king's 
 laws." The laws of God are never opposed to any laws that are for the welfare of 
 a nation. These Jews, in so far as they were God-fearing people, would not refuse 
 to keep any law that was for the good of the kingdom of Ahasuerus. Mordecai 
 was a better keeper of the law than Haman. 
 
 III. An unjust inference. "Therefore it is not for the king's profit to suffer 
 them." Hainan's logic would not meet with the approval of Aristotle. His pre- 
 mises did not warrant his conclusion. Defective logic more often arises from bad- 
 ness of heart than from weakness of intellect. The pure in heart will come to right 
 conclusions, though they may not have the power of putting their reasoning into 
 syllogistic form. Oh, if the king had only then turned to the book of the chron- 
 icles, and read the record of Mordecai's faithfulness, he would have seen that it was 
 for his profit to suffer this despised race. 
 
 IV. An artful petition. Haman artfully keeps his wily and wicked project in 
 the background. Here is — (a) Lying obsequiousness. "If it please the king." 
 Haman is seeking to please himself. Little he cares about the king's pleasure, so 
 that his own revenge is satisfied, (b) Feigned liberality. How wonderfully 
 generous malice can be ! A little forgiveness to Mordecai, even if Mordecai had 
 sinned, would have been truer liberality than this magnificent offer of wealth to be 
 poured into the king's treasury, (c) Ostentatious zeal. How zealous people are 
 when there is a wicked motive working. Haman pretends a great deal of zeal for 
 the king, but he has zeal for himself. Oh, how often self creeps in when Ave pre- 
 tend to be zealous for the Lord of hosts. Yes, when Ave have no pretence, when Ave 
 are trying to be sincere, how much of self in our best Avorks. 
 
 V. A weak compliance. The king at once, Avithout inquiry, without exercising 
 
90 HOM1LETIO COMMENTARY: ESTHER. [chap. hi. 
 
 his intelligence, gave the needful power into the hands of this wicked Hainan. 
 Weak and self-indulgent people do great harm because they will not be at the 
 trouble to think. The ring of royal authority was given to the revengeful favourite. 
 The king was undermining his own power. The nation has indeed reason to mourn 
 when wicked men are exalted. What a satire is the king's declaration to Hainan 
 — unconscious it may be, but none the less biting when observed — " The silver is 
 given unto thee, the people also, to do Avith them as it seemeth good to thee." 
 Little good would Hainan do unto the people. 
 
 In our utterances let us put the truth in its proper relations, so that a correct 
 impression may be produced, and that no misrepresentation may be the consequence 
 of our declarations. In our hearing of statements let us have no ear for the mere 
 slanderer, let us properly weigh and measure the charges brought forward. Let us 
 see to it that our motives are pure, and then our vision will be clear, our reasoning 
 valid, and our actions honourable. 
 
 " A He which is half a truth is ever the blackest of lies ; 
 For a lie which is all a lie may be met and fought with outright, 
 But a lie which is part a truth is a harder matter to fight." 
 
 Haman's Murderous Proposal (verse 8). 
 
 Revenge is cruel, but never more cruel than when it has its foundation in 
 mortified pride. In the passage before us it is carried to an almost incredible 
 extent. Hainan occupied the highest post of honour, next to the royal family, in 
 the Persian empire. All the subjects in the kingdom bowed down to him. But 
 there was a poor man, one Mordecai, who sat at the king's gate, and consequently 
 was often passed by Hainan, who refused to pay him this homage. At this neglect 
 Hainan was grievously offended. He deemed it an insufferable insult, which could 
 be expiated only by the death of the offender. On inquiring into Mordecai's habits 
 and connections, Hainan found that he was a Jew ; and conceiving probably that 
 this contemptuous spirit pervaded that whole nation, and accounting it a small 
 matter to sacrifice the life of one single individual, he determined if possible to 
 destroy the Avhole nation at once ; and accordingly he made this proposal to King 
 Ahasuerus, engaging from his oavii resources to make up to the king's treasury 
 whatever loss might arise to the revenue from the proposed measure. Now this 
 proposal appearing at first sight so very extraordinary, I will endeavour to set 
 before you — 
 
 I. The commonness of it. In every age of the world have God's people been 
 hated, for the very reasons that are here assigned — " Their laAvs are diverse from 
 those of all other people, neither keep they the laws of the kingdoms where they 
 dwell." They worship the one true and living God. Of course, whatever laws 
 are inconsistent Avith the laAvs of God they disobey. On this account they are 
 hated, reviled, and persecuted. David tells us of confederacies formed to " cut off 
 the JeAvs from being a nation." So, in the early ages of Christianity, there were 
 not less than ten strenuous efforts made to attain this object. And at different 
 periods since that time has persecution raged to the utmost extent to destroy, if 
 possible, all real piety from the face of the earth. But we need not go back to 
 former ages for an elucidation of this truth. True, the cruelties of martyrdom are 
 stayed ; but private animosity is indulged as far as the laws of the land wherein 
 we live Avill admit, and every person who thoroughly devotes himself to God is 
 made to feel its baneful influence. "All that will Jive godly in Christ Jesus shall 
 suffer persecution," Passing over the inhumanity of this proposal, as being too 
 obvious to be insisted on, I proceed to notice — 
 
 II. The impiety of it. The very accusation brought against the .lews by Hainan 
 shows what is the real ground of enmity against the Lord's people' ; it is thai they 
 
CHAP. III.] 
 
 H0M1LETIC COMMENTARY : ESTHER. 
 
 91 
 
 serve God, whilst the rest of the world bow down to idols ; and that in this deter- 
 mination of theirs they inflexibly adhere to the dictates of their own conscience. 
 This is universal amongst all the people of the Lord. But this preference of God 
 to man is the very thing which gives offence. Look at the prophets and apostles, 
 and see what was the ground of the world's opposition to them. And this leads 
 me to show — 
 
 III. The folly of it. Can it be thought that such feeble worms as Ave should 
 be able to prevail against Almighty God ? Haman, with all his power, could not 
 prevail against the Jews, who yet, in appearance, were altogether in his hands. 
 The whole power of the Roman empire, by whomsoever wielded, could not root 
 out the disciples of the Christian Church, " nor shall the gates of hell ever prevail" 
 against the weakest of God's faithful people. 
 
 Address — (a) Those who are the objects of the world's hatred. Realize the 
 promises which God has given, and then say, Shall I be afraid of a man that shall 
 die, and of the son of man that shall be as grass, and forget the Lord my maker ] 
 (b) Those who are unhappily prejudiced against the Lord's people. If you cannot 
 see with their eye^, do not endeavour to make them see with yom*s, unless in a 
 way of sober argumentation and of candid reference to the word of God. To have 
 recourse to derision or persecution of any kind will only involve your own souls 
 in yet deeper guilt than you already lie under for rejecting the gospel of Christ. 
 Beware how you imitate the unbelievers of former ages in opposing the work of 
 God in others ; for if you do not succeed you only fight against God for nought ; 
 and if you do succeed you will perish under the accumulated guilt of destroying the 
 souls of others, for assuredly " their blood will be required at your hands." — 
 Abridged from Simeon's ' Horce Homileticce.' 
 
 Suggestive Comments on Verses 8 — 11. 
 
 Therefore it is not for the Icing's profit. 
 — See how this sycophant fills his mouth 
 with arguments, the better to achieve 
 his desire. An elaborate set speech he 
 maketh, neither is there a word in it 
 but what might seem to have weight. 
 He pretends the king's profit and the 
 public good, concealing and dissembling 
 his ambition, avarice, envy, malignity, 
 that set him a-work. Politicians when 
 they soar highest are like the eagle, 
 which, whiles aloft, hath her eye still 
 upon the prey, which by this means she 
 spies sooner, and seizes upon better. 
 Haman holds it not fit there should be 
 more religions than one in a kingdom, 
 for preventing of troubles. Nebuchad- 
 nezzar was of the same mind when he 
 commanded all men to worship his 
 golden image. But must all, therefore, 
 die that will not do it 1 and is it for the 
 king's profit that the righteous be rooted 
 out 1 Is not the holy seed the stay of 
 the state, the beauty and bulwark of the 
 nation 1 — Trapp. 
 
 It is not for the king's pr 'ofit to suffer 
 
 them. — Worldly hearts are not led by 
 good or evil, but by profit or loss ; neither 
 have they grace to know that nothing 
 is profitable but what is honest, nothing 
 so desperately incommodious as wicked- 
 ness ; they must needs offend by rule, 
 that measure all things by profit, and 
 measure profit by their imagination. 
 How easy is it to suggest strange untruths 
 when there is nobody to make answer ! 
 False Haman ! how is it not for the 
 king's profit to suffer the Jews'? If thou 
 construe this profit for honour, the king's 
 honour is in the multitude of subjects ; 
 and what people more numerous than 
 they 1 if for gain, the king's profit is in 
 the largeness of his tributes ; and what 
 people are more deep in their payments % 
 if for service, what people are more 
 officious? How can it stand with the 
 king's profit to bereave himself of sub- 
 jects, his subjects of their lives, his 
 exchequer of their tributes, his state of 
 their defence ? He is a weak politician 
 that knows not to gild over the worst 
 project with a pretence of public utility. 
 
92 
 
 IIOMILETIC COMMENTARY: ESTHER. 
 
 [CHAP. III. 
 
 No name under heaven hath made so 
 many fools, so many villains, as this of 
 profit. — Bishop Hall. 
 
 Along the banks of the Euphrates and 
 Tigris, already renowned for their schools 
 of learning ; high up in the mountains 
 of Kurdistan, where perchance their 
 descendants linger still ; all the dis- 
 persed settlers were included in those 
 words, which might stand as the motto 
 of the larger part of the Jewish race ever 
 since — which might have been said of 
 them by Tacitus in the Roman empire, 
 or by the Arabian or English chroniclers 
 of the middle ages. "The line of beacon- 
 lights kindled from hill to hill along the 
 whole route from Jerusalem to Babylon, 
 from Olivet to Sartaba, from Sartaba to 
 Grophniah, from Grophniah to Have- 
 ran, from Haveran to Beth-Baltin, — 
 waving the torches upwards and down- 
 ward, till the whole country of the 
 captivity appeared a blazing fire," — was 
 an apt emblem of the sympathetic links 
 which bound all these settlements to- 
 gether. Of this vast race, for whom so 
 great a destiny was reserved, the Book 
 of Esther recognized as by a prophetic 
 instinct the future importance. — Stanley. 
 I will pay ten thousand talents of 
 silver. — This was above two millions of 
 our money, which Haman offered to pay 
 into the treasury to indemnify the king 
 for the loss of revenue which he would 
 sustain by the destruction of the Jews. 
 That a foreigner, and probably a captive, 
 was enabled at the Persian court to 
 acquire such wealth as the offer of so 
 enormous a sum implies, makes it less 
 wonderful that Neheniiah was in a con- 
 dition to sustain the charges of his 
 government from his own resources. It 
 will be recollected that Haman appears 
 to have been the chief minister of the 
 king, and that functionary enjoys pecu- 
 liar opportunities for the acquisition of 
 wealth. On New Year's Day the king 
 receives the offerings of his princes and 
 nohles. On one such occasion, when 
 Mr. Morier was present, the offering of 
 the person holding this office surpassed 
 every other in value, amounting to about 
 £30,000 in gold coin. Other statements 
 are extant concerning the extraordinary 
 wealth possessed by some of the subjects 
 
 of the ancient Persian empire. In the 
 reign of Xerxes a noble Lydian named 
 Pythius entertained the whole Persian 
 army — the largest ever assembled — on 
 its march towards Greece ; and then 
 freely offered to contribute all his pro- 
 perty in gold and silver to the support 
 of the war. It amounted altogether to 
 2000 talents of silver and four millions 
 (wanting 7000) of gold darics — more 
 than four millions of our money ; be- 
 sides which he had, as he said, estates 
 and slaves which would still afford him 
 a suitable maintenance. This noble offer 
 was declined by the king, as that of 
 Hainan was by Ahasuerus. 
 
 Sealed with the Icing's ring. — In the 
 British museum are preserved specimens 
 of Egyptian seals of the ring class. 
 Some of them are finger-seal rings ; but 
 the larger are scaraboeus or beetle seals. 
 These are all mounted in handles, or 
 rings of metal, in which they revolve on 
 pivots. This was doubtless to render 
 them more portable, while it enabled the 
 face to be turned outward, so as to increase 
 their effect as ornaments, and to enable 
 them to be worn with more convenience 
 — attached, as they probably were, to 
 some part of the person. — Illustrated 
 Family Bible. 
 
 So do injured pride, envy, malice, 
 hatred still seek to blast the fairest re- 
 putation by baseless calumny. The word 
 of a friend is trusted, and the slander 
 is believed and repeated, and acquires 
 strength from its currency. If we blame 
 Ahasuerus for too readily listening to the 
 invective of Haman, and condemning the 
 Jews unheard and untried, we should be 
 on our guard against committing the 
 same sin, by giving heed to scandal in 
 regard to others without careful personal 
 inquiry and observation, lest we should 
 be only crediting the creations of the 
 worst passions and distempers of our 
 fallen natures. The Saviour was calum- 
 niated by his adversaries because he 
 spake the truth. They hated him, and 
 therefore spake against him. And the 
 whole history of the Church of Christ 
 upon earth hears evidence that the policy 
 of our great adversary is to traduce and 
 vilify those whom he desires to ruin. 
 By this means he would break their 
 
CHAP. III.] 
 
 JIOMTLETW COMMENTARY: ESTHER. 
 
 93 
 
 influence and tare-sow all their good. 
 Let us be on our guard against aiding 
 and abetting him in this matter. 
 
 Another artifice of the enemy, which 
 was also illustrated by Haman, is to 
 assume the air and attitude of apparent 
 disinterestedness. Judas concealed his 
 real feelings and motives when betraying 
 our Lord under the symbol of affection. 
 And Haman sought to insinuate his love 
 of the empire and the stability of the 
 throne as his only motives for the 
 destruction of several millions of un- 
 offending persons, by offering to pay 
 down ten thousand talents of silver. 
 It reminds one of the many specious 
 schemes which are constantly being 
 thrust before the public by designing 
 worldlings — who offer large bonuses 
 with nothing to sustain their magnificent 
 prospects. The projectors of these 
 schemes affect only the public good — 
 the rapid and certain enrichment of 
 those who will give them their con- 
 fidence and their money ; and not until 
 the bubble bursts do the poor victims of 
 their deceit apprehend the real motives 
 by which they were influenced. In like 
 manner do early temptations to evil all 
 hold out the promise of present good. 
 Some pleasure to be attained, or ad- 
 vancement reached, or laurel wreath 
 worn. What a piece of disguised 
 disinterestedness was it on the part of 
 Satan when he proposed to give to 
 Christ all the kingdoms of the world, 
 and the glory of them ! Men are not 
 so wise and quick as was our Lord in 
 discovering the real motive of the 
 tempter, and resisting him by a reference 
 to the word of God. They are captiv- 
 ated by the show of disinterestedness, 
 and only come to a knowledge of their 
 mistake in the reaping of its fruits. 
 Meanwhile, it serves the purpose of the 
 enemy by inciting trust, and preventing 
 religious reflection and inquiry, just as 
 Hainan's silver talents blinded Ahasu- 
 erus to the dark-hearted malignity of 
 their promiser. Let us bring every 
 temptation to the test of an enlightened 
 conscience, and the penetrating, exposing 
 power of God's word ; and under the 
 mask of disinterestedness we shall dis- 
 cover the poisoned sting secreted in the 
 
 suggested sin. "Do as I bid thee, O 
 king ; and thou shalt rid the empire of 
 a mighty burden, and secure greater 
 stability and peace for thy throne and 
 government." No ; the policy of the 
 arch-fiend, through his agents, is not 
 changed from that which he followed in 
 the oarden of Eden. " Am not I your 
 disinterested benefactor 1 ?" "Ye shall 
 not surely die : for God doth know that 
 in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes 
 shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, 
 knowing good and evil." — McEwan. 
 
 There is a false halo of grandeur shed 
 around the path of the conqueror, and 
 there is not so palpable a connection 
 between his exploits and absolute revolt- 
 ing ferocity, as there is between the 
 decree of Artaxerxes and Haman, and 
 the execution of it. But looking from 
 the cruelty which is glossed over by the 
 name of military glory, we even find 
 cool, unmitigated atrocities in the records 
 of civilized nations, which are as dis- 
 graceful to humanity as Hainan's — yea, 
 which surpass them. Haman was a 
 heathen, a stranger, therefore, to the 
 softening power of religion, and we see 
 in him only an illustration of what 
 human nature is when left to itself, 
 without the control of any pure and 
 heavenly influence. But what shall we 
 say of the indiscriminate massacre of 
 the Protestants (1572) in Paris, and 
 other parts of France, wherein at least 
 70,000 persons in brief space fell victims 
 to the bigotry and cruelty of the king 
 and his advisers ? That was a tragedy 
 contrived in cold blood, and advised by 
 favourites, to glut the revenge of Papal 
 Pome. Day and hour were fixed here, 
 as they were by Haman. But, unhappily, 
 day and hour were kept, and the true 
 worshippers of God, the lovers of his 
 truth, the best friends of religion and 
 morality, the excellent of the earth, were 
 massacred because they would pay 
 homage to Christ himself, and not to the 
 Roman Antichrist. And what shall we 
 say of the cruelties,— that is too tame a 
 word, — what shall we say of the horrible 
 barbarities which, by the command of 
 the Romish tyrant, whose hands are red 
 Avith the blood of the saints, were perpe- 
 trated in the valleys of the Waldenses, 
 
94 
 
 H0MILET10 COMMENTARY: ESTHER. 
 
 [CHAP. III. 
 
 when not only men, Imt feeble women 
 and helpless children, were savagely 
 tortured and slain by a brutal soldiery 
 
 for no other reason than that they would 
 worship God as his word commands? 
 And are not scenes of equal atrocity set 
 before us in the history of our own 
 country, when wholesale murder was 
 authorized by royal edict because our 
 forefathers would not take their religion 
 and forms of worship from the enact- 
 ments of the civil powers, but would 
 serve God as they believed the Bible 
 required, and as their consciences ap- 
 proved] Hainan's character is one of 
 the blackest in history. But on a calm 
 review, and with full allowance for the 
 time and circumstances in which he 
 lived, he is pure as compared with the 
 infamous King of France, who looked 
 from his palace window and enjoyed the 
 scene of slaughter in his capital ; with 
 the savages who shed the 1)1 ood of the 
 noble martyrs in the valleys of the Alps; 
 and with the last monarchs of the 
 Stuart line and their wretched accom- 
 plices, who persecuted to the death the 
 resolute defenders of civil and religious 
 freedom. But will not God visit for 
 these things 1 Nay, should we not rather 
 say, Hath he not visited already ] The 
 visitation of Hainan we shall soon have 
 before us. Deeply has France already 
 paid for the innocent blood which her 
 rulers shed long ago, and her soil, it is 
 to be feared, is not yet cleansed from 
 the pollution. Other persecutors have 
 had their award also. And the great 
 central persecuting power, Borne herself, 
 will in due time have her foretold destiny 
 fully accomplished. As she hath done 
 it Avill be done to her. Even if the 
 word of God were silent on the subject, 
 we could not but anticipate that that 
 anti-Christian power, to whose direct 
 influence may be traced persecution and 
 bloodshed such as heathenism never 
 was stained with, will have the measure 
 meted to her which she has meted out 
 to others. But Ave need not speak 
 doubtfully here. The Divine word has 
 fixed the doom of Papal Home. And 
 if she seems to be raising herself in our 
 day, it is assuredly only to give the 
 greater impulse to her final ruin, that 
 
 she may fall from the greater height, 
 when, like the great millstone cast by 
 the angel into the sea, she shall be 
 engulfed in the abyss of the wrath of 
 God. — Davidson. 
 
 That believers obey not the laws of 
 the king has always been the chief 
 complaint among the anti - Christian 
 rabble, of which Hainan furnishes a copy. 
 The children of God, in their eyes, must 
 ever be insurrectionists, disturbers of 
 the peace, persons subject to no law or 
 order, and by whom the public weal is 
 endangered. — Berlenburg Bible. 
 
 Satan, as Christ says, is a liar and a 
 murderer. Hence he is ever busy in 
 persecuting the Church with his lying 
 and murderous designs. You have 
 heard before his lie : The people are 
 using new laws and ceremonies, and they 
 de-pise the edicts of the king. Now 
 hear his murderous words : If it please 
 thee, decree that this people be destroyed. 
 — Brenz. 
 
 A man resigned to the will of God 
 will disregard the laws of man when- 
 ever these stand opposed to the will and 
 laws of God, however much he may 
 sutler thereby. When men disobey the 
 laws of man and violate them, it is very 
 soon taken notice of ; but if they violate 
 the law of God, then no one seems to 
 observe the fact. We should not make 
 man our idol, nor make flesh our arm. 
 Immoderate ambition generally breaks 
 out into cruelty. The anger of great 
 men is fierce ; hence one should have a 
 care not to arouse the same against one's 
 self. — Starlce. 
 
 When wicked men cannot otherwise 
 persecute the righteous, then his religion 
 and laws must furnish them with a 
 cause and a covering for their evil inten- 
 tions. In important matters it is not 
 good to render a hasty judgment, it is 
 better to reflect. God permits the wicked 
 to have success beyond their own expect- 
 ation at times, but afterward destruction 
 will come all the more unexpectedly. — 
 Starke. 
 
 The sorrowful condition of the Jews 
 becomes very apparent and plain as here 
 revealed; likewise the just judgment of 
 God is here fulfilled. He says, They 
 would not obey God in their own land, 
 
CHAP, in.] HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: ESTHER. 95 
 
 -where they enjoyed such great freedom ; the sacred groves, and idols, and super- 
 
 but now they groan under the severe stitions of the heathen. Now they are 
 
 service that presses upon them, and they placed and scattered under the most 
 
 are brought into the risk of life itself, tyrannical' form of government. They 
 
 They refused to assemble in the sanctu- neither can nor dare congregate to offer 
 
 aries of Jerusalem under their own a service of praise to God. — Feuardent. 
 kings ; they ran after the golden calves, 
 
 MAIN" HOMILETICS OF THE PAEAGEAPH. Verses 12—14. 
 Fruitless Preparations. 
 
 Haman had no regard to the contingency of human affairs. He was blind to 
 the fact that it is not in man's power to control events, and arrange for the future. 
 He had not learnt the wise man's lesson — " Boast not thyself of to-morrow ; for thou 
 knowest not what a day may bring forth." To-morrow is a humiliating term often 
 to those who have far-reaching designs. To-morrow never comes when we work 
 under the guidance of human arrogance. It never comes exactly as we purposed. 
 The seed may flourish to-morrow, but the sower has perished ; or the seed which 
 he has sown flourishes to his destruction. Enjoy thyself, Haman, to-day, call forth 
 thy scribes, send forth thy bloody edicts, for to-morrow is coming with crushing 
 doom ! "We all need to look into the future in order to read the lesson of our 
 weakness. 
 
 I. Here is unseemly haste. No sooner had Haman received the king's 
 permission than he goes forth to his work of revenge. He is in a hurry to set in 
 operation the plans which should work to the destruction of the despised race. 
 There would have been propriety in Haman pausing and considering well before 
 sending forth the orders which were intended to work such vast mischief. Better 
 still if Haman had said, " This scheme is an unworthy one. I am compromising 
 my dignity and my manhood. I will go back to the king, and undo the evil I 
 have sought to accomplish." Better think twice before committing ourselves to an 
 unworthy action. 
 
 II. Here are inconsistent precursory measures. The bad are always incon- 
 sistent. Their lives are not harmonious. Wickedness renders a man inconsistent. 
 The good in man, or at least the voice of conscience, works against or speaks against 
 the evil. There would be times when Haman would feel the dreadful nature of 
 the enterprise upon which he had set his heart. Eevenge impelled to action, but 
 conscience still spoke in reproving tones. We have pictured Haman as the 
 revengeful man, being willing to wait in order that there might be the more signal 
 display of his malicious power ; but here we find him proceeding in regular method, 
 as if to justify his deeds. It may be, however, that Haman was afraid of his own 
 position, If we have given him credit for too much conscientiousness, we cannot 
 easily charge him with too much selfishness. All must be done according to law, 
 that Hainan's enemies may not in the future have the power of charging him 
 with open-handed crime. Obedience to the eternal law of right is the only method 
 by which human lives can be rendered consistent and harmonious. 
 
 III. Here is a low estimate of human life. This is one of the strange 
 anomalies, that great men, as the world accounts greatness, think so little of 
 human life. Is ambition to be fed 1 — human lives must be slaughtered. Is 
 revenge to have its way 1 — human lives must be sacrificed. Kings, conquerors, 
 and statesmen have regarded no life as precious which stood in the way of their 
 ambitious schemes. Haman was bad, but there are more Hamans than we think 
 of in the historical records. The low estimate of life is here shown — (a) In the 
 unmethodical nature of the slaughter designed. The three terms — to destroy, to 
 
9f5 J10MILETIC COMMENTARY: ESTHER. [ciiap. hi. 
 
 kill, and to cause to perish — may be employed to give intensity to the barbarous 
 decree. But they also set forth the dreadful fact that the poor people were to be 
 killed anyhow. Let the servants of revenge do their work after any fashion, so that 
 ii is 'lone effectually, and the hated race are removed from the face of the earth. 
 (/>) In the indiscriminate nature of the slaughter designed. " All Jews, both young 
 and old, little children and women." Revenge would glut itself. The young and 
 the fair, the beautiful and the innocent, the wise and the virtuous, must be slain. 
 These bleating lambs, what have they done that the light of life must be quenched 
 in its very dawn '? (••) In the rapacity after property . The spoil of the slaughtered 
 is to be taken for a prey. Life versus property. This decree is one of the 
 unwritten decrees of modern civilization. Let the spoil of the slaughtered be taken 
 for a prey. Men and women, fair maids, and even little children are slaughtered 
 in order to increase property. 
 
 IV. Here is wickedness bolstered up by human authority. " The copy of the 
 writing for a commandment to be given in every province was published unto all 
 people, that they should be ready against that day." Wickedness wears a mask ; 
 it shrinks from the exposure of its own deformity. State policy requires the 
 enormous sacrifice. Capital must have its due return. Business is business. The 
 law of supply and demand must have its way, though that may be through human 
 blood. These are some of the flimsy and false excuses with which sin dresses up 
 itself in order to make a respectable appearance. 
 
 Great men should try to get a true idea of the importance of life. Such an idea 
 might save them from mad and wicked enterprises. God has crowned life with an 
 excellent glory. To preserve life nature yields her million products, and pours into 
 the lap of man her myriad fiuits ; — 1o promote its welfare the sun bathes the world 
 with his influences, and the component parts of the atmosphere are blended together 
 in relative proportions ; — and to increase its pleasures the flowers give forth their 
 fragrance and show their beauty, hills and mountains rise in grandeur, sweet dales 
 rest in their encircling embrace ; the birds make the air vocal with their songs of 
 praise ; and the stars gem the midnight sky, forming a glorious canopy for man. 
 For the development of man's whole life time is not adequate, and eternity is the 
 sphere in Avhich an ever-expanding life shall work on to unknown heights of blessed 
 perfection. Life is great, and high estimates ought* to be formed of its worth. 
 Statesmen should remember Hud the true wealth of a community is its men. 
 
 " 111 fares the land, to hast'ning ills n prev, 
 Where wealth accumulates, Mini men deeny. 
 Princes and lords may flourish, or may fade; 
 A breath can make them, as a breath has inade; 
 But a bold peasantry, their country's pride, 
 When once destroyed, can never he supplied." 
 
 All ought to remember that life is ignoble ichcn passio7i is allowed to ride. How 
 many lives are thus rendered inglorious ! Lives with fair opportunities for develop- 
 ment are blasted by an overmastering passion. Lives with extensive prospects for 
 usefulness are crushed by the influence of ignoble motives. What a position was 
 that to which Hainan was raised ! How many might have blessed his memory ! 
 His name might have been lauded by the national orators, and sung by the national 
 poets. But his name is scouted, and his memory is covered with opprobrium. The 
 name of the wickel shall rot. The memory of the just only is blessed. Let 
 passion then be subordinated to principle. Let the ambition be to be good and to 
 do good. Let the honour that cometh from God be the supreme concern. And 
 then, whether men bow or refuse to bow, the soul will be unruffled. 
 
chap, in.] 
 
 HOMILETIC COMMENTARY : ESTHER. 
 
 97 
 
 Suggestive Comments on Verses 12 — 14. 
 
 The very circumstance which is urged 
 as an objection to the truth of the nar- 
 rative is rather to be regarded as an 
 evidence of its trustworthiness. The 
 Book of Esther does not contain any 
 record of miraculous events. There are 
 no wonders and prodigies in it, at which 
 infidelity might carp, and with reference 
 to which it might say that the writer 
 must have drawn so largely upon his 
 fancy in some places as to render sus- 
 picious what appears to be the record of 
 simple matters of fact. The whole tenor 
 and style of the book indicate that the 
 writer of it acted the part of a historian 
 who was concerned only to relate what 
 actually took place ; and if he had been 
 a deceiver he certainly would not have 
 laid himself open to an objection so very 
 palpable as that under review, when it 
 was in his power, by the mere alterations 
 of dates, to make the whole narrative so 
 plausible that not a flaw could be found 
 in it. In a word, I consider the difficulty 
 before us as an argument for the truth 
 of the history. But further, it must be 
 kept in mind that though the king's 
 scribes were called on the thirteenth day 
 of the month to write the decree, it does 
 not follow that the work was finished in 
 a day. King Artaxerxes reigned over 
 one hundred and twenty-seven provinces, 
 as we read in the first chapter. Diverse 
 languages and dialects were spoken in 
 many of these provinces. The edict was 
 given forth, we are told, " to the rulers 
 of every people of every province, accord- 
 ing to the writing thereof, and to every 
 people after their language." The docu- 
 ment had to be translated, then, into 
 different languages, and a translation 
 sent with the Persic original ; and be- 
 sides, there would, no doubt, be private 
 communications dictated by Haman to 
 the governors of the different provinces, 
 containing directions as to the manner 
 in which the bloody work was to be 
 executed, and the spoils of the Jews dis- 
 posed of ; so that some considerable time 
 would elapse before the royal decree could 
 be sent out to the provinces. We learn, 
 indeed, from the eighth chapter that it 
 
 was the twentieth day of the third month 
 before Mordecai obtained permission to 
 counteract the design of Hainan ; and, 
 making allowance for distance and modes 
 of travelling, we may suppo.-e that the 
 sentence against the Jews had not even 
 reached the more remote parts of the 
 empire when the remission of it was 
 resolved upon. But again, and more 
 particularly, it is very obvious that we 
 have to regard the whole transaction 
 here as overruled in the providence of 
 God for the good of his people and the 
 confusion of their enemies. It is easy 
 to say that there is an air of improba- 
 bility in the whole story, because, even 
 with a few months' warning, the Jews 
 would have had time to remove from 
 the places where they were doomed to 
 perish. But whither could they have 
 gone ? is one question. The Persian 
 empire was so extensive that it would 
 have been difficult fur them to escape 
 beyond its bounds and find a refuge 
 elsewhere. Besides, how coidd they 
 have fled, when no doubt there were 
 orders issued to prevent their flight 1 
 We know that in persecuting times in 
 France, and in our own country also, 
 while the victims of persecution were 
 warned that within a certain period no 
 mercy would be shown to them, there 
 were steps taken to prevent their escape ; 
 and even the attempt to escape was de- 
 nounced as criminal. In the case which 
 we have before us in the text the whole 
 matter turns upon this point — that 
 Haman got what he considered the 
 favourable day for his enterprise fixed 
 by a superstitious practice which he 
 revered and believed to be infallible. 
 Then, after this, he felt as if all were 
 secure ; and with a recklessness — or, as 
 we might call it, an infatuation — such 
 as there are many examples of in the 
 perpetrators of heinous crimes, he pro- 
 ceeds to accomplish his purpose in a 
 way which one would say was calculated 
 to render it abortive, and to ruin him- 
 self. — -Davidson. 
 
 Multitudes may have been in such a 
 state of bondage as to make it impossible 
 
98 
 
 UOMILETIC COMMENTARY: ESTHER. 
 
 [CHAP. III. 
 
 for any great number of them to escape ; 
 and as for others, it may have been 
 expected and desired that some of them 
 would leave the kingdom. But suck 
 as Mordecai, whom Haman especially 
 wished to destroy, could not leave the 
 kingdom, any more than Nehemiah, 
 without permission from the king. It 
 was also in keeping with Hainan's cha- 
 racter to cause all the anguish and horror 
 possible to the Jews in anticipation of 
 the dreadful slaughter. Then we must 
 remember that a wise Providence so 
 overruled this whole procedure as to 
 bring to nought the plans of the Jews' 
 enemy, and make his malignant hatred 
 of the Jews the occasion of his ruin. — 
 Whedon's Commentary. 
 
 If the chronicles of Persia thus record 
 an intended massacre of the Jews which 
 appals us in its extent and atrocity, the 
 chronicles of Spain, Italy, and France 
 contain records of massacres of Protest- 
 ants which equal it in unmitigated bar- 
 barity. Let us thank God that our lot 
 has been cast in times of comparative 
 quiet, when the spirit of persecution and 
 bloodshed is afraid to manifest itself ; 
 and when the exhortation of the apostle 
 is not rendered hard by a " reign of 
 terror" — "Fear God, honour the king." 
 — McEwan. 
 
 " Where," one is ready to ask, " will 
 rulers find persons willing to execute such 
 unreasonable and barbarous orders'?" 
 Executioners have seldom been wanting. 
 Many are accustomed to do blindly 
 whatever their superiors require, with- 
 out inquiring whether it be right or 
 wmng. Others act under the influence 
 of fear; while a thousand passions — 
 sellishness, avarice, malice, envy, strife, 
 
 hatred to godliness, and the innate love 
 of cruelty — take the opportunity of 
 gratifying themselves under the covert 
 of authority, and the pretext of executing 
 its mandates. — McCrle. 
 
 Ver. 13. The malice of Haman could 
 no more frustrate the ancient oracles 
 relating to the Jews than it could pull 
 the sun out of the firmament, and de- 
 prive the world of the light of day. 
 "The sceptre was not to depart from 
 Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his 
 feet, till Shiloh should come." The 
 Shiloh was not yet come. Judah must, 
 therefore, continue a distinct nation, 
 under governors that proceeded from 
 himself. Hainan's malice will be so far 
 from finding the means of extirpating 
 Judah, that the glory of that people, 
 though eclipsed, must again shine forth 
 as the morning. 
 
 Ver. 14. Haman caused the edict 
 against the Jews to be published hi the 
 language of every people, that they 
 might all be prepared to bear their part 
 in the destruction of the Jews. But 
 the enemies of Israel had one thing in 
 view, and the God of Israel quite another. 
 Haman intended to make the destruction 
 of Judah as sure as possible, but God 
 intended to make all nations attentive 
 witnesses of his power and wisdom dis- 
 played in counteracting the designs of 
 their enemies, and accomplishing their 
 salvation. The effect of such an edict 
 would be the fixing of all men's attention 
 on the event ; and the event Avas to 
 make it evident that there was no God 
 like the God of Israel, nor any people 
 on the earth so much the care of heaven 
 as that nation which was held in abhor- 
 rence by Hainan. — Lawson. 
 
 MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH. Verse 15. 
 
 The Irregularities of Human Conditions. 
 
 Swiftly the grim messengers of intended death fly throughout the land. It is 
 the proverbial and figurative statement that these posts flew faster than the cranes. 
 We may picture the pest-horses galloping from stage to stage. The post-masters 
 took from the couriers the king's letters which proclaimed death and spoliation to 
 all of Jewish nationality. Ami very soon throughout the land the sad story of this 
 strange and murderous edict was known. It was known not only in the sorrow- 
 darkened homes of the dews, but also in the homes of those who were for the 
 
chap, in.] HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: ESTHER. 99 
 
 present free from the fear caused by such a murderous design. And we may well 
 suppose that there were perplexity and insecurity everywhere. The Jews were 
 sadly troubled. The rest of the people were perplexed and insecure ; for if there 
 was no safety for these inoffensive Jews, if for them this wholesale and unrighteous 
 slaughter, what security is there for any other portion of his Majesty's subjects'? 
 Yes, and there was perplexity in the breast of Haman, and in the heart of Ahasuerus 
 the king. For evil doers are always evil thinkers. Those who purpose trouble for 
 others will be troubled themselves. Haman and the king might sit down to drink, 
 and try to drown and to forget their perplexity ; but the dark shadow of wrong- 
 doing would dog their seeps, and render them uncomfortable. Happy is it for us 
 that we live in such a country, and under such a wise government. It has its 
 faults, but they are mere trifles when we consider the faults of Eastern despotism. 
 Let us wisely use our privileges. 
 
 I. The inequalities of human conditions. The most striking instance of 
 inequality is that which is illustrated between the condition of the oppressor and 
 the oppressed. We do not believe in the Divine right of kings as advocated and 
 upheld by some in the past, but there is a broad and true sense in which govern- 
 ments are Divine. Fear God. Honour the king. These are two injunctions 
 binding upon men. Wise government tends to the consolidation of human society. 
 It is for the general good that some should rule, and that others — the large majority 
 — should be ruled. There is law in the material world. There are higher and 
 lower in the intellectual world. There is law — the law of love — even in heaven. 
 There must be law on earth. Where there is no law, where there is no rule, there 
 is no liberty worthy of the name. Bat every blessing, every right and even Divine 
 organization, is capable of being subverted. That which, rightly managed, is for 
 the general good may be rendered productive of manifold evils. A true king 
 should be the father of his people, and the type of God. A despot is the oppressor 
 of the people, the slave-driver of the people, the robber of the people, the scourge 
 of the race, and the type of the devil. A king may be an oppressor without being 
 a hard-hearted monster. He may be weak, effeminate, given up to luxury, and 
 influenced by others more cruel than himself. Such an oppressor was Ahasuerus. 
 Hainan was his evil genius. Haman was the vile master spirit in the palace plot- 
 ting tremendous wrongs. Haman was the cruel serpent fascinating and deluding 
 the weak-minded monarch, and spitting venom upon all the Jews. Here are the 
 oppressors in Shushan the palace, dictating their murderous edicts, and yonder, 
 scattered abroad and dispersed among the people, are the oppressed. Already we 
 seem to hear the cries and to behold the fast-falling tears of such as are oppressed, 
 and they appear to have no comforter. And on the side of the oppressors there is 
 power. Power in Shushan the palace. Weakness among the scattered Jews. 
 Royal despotism has well-nigh been swept away from the face of the earth, but 
 still may we see, if we rightly vise our eyes, this inequality of human conditions — 
 the oppressors and the oppressed. The defeat of the South by the North in 
 America has not abolished all slave-driving In this free and liberty-worshipping 
 country there is still oppression. Oh, the tears of such as are oppressed ! How 
 fast they still fall. What an ocean they make ! If these tears are kept in Divine 
 bottles, how large and how many the bottles ! If these bottled tears are to confront 
 the oppressors, they may well pray for the rocks and mountains to fall upon and 
 hide them from the consequences of their evil doings. Let us see to it that we do 
 the things that are just and equal. The inequality of human conditions is further 
 illustrated by the contrast between the jollity of the palace and the perplexity of the 
 city. How beautifully simple and yet how suggestive the statement : " The king 
 and Haman sat down to drink ; but the city Shushan was perplexed." Revelry in 
 the palace. Misery in the cottage. The wine of mirth, and jollity, and forgetful- 
 ness for the king. The wine of bitterness for his subjects. The music of pipers 
 and harpists, of singing men and singing women, for the court. The sad, discordant 
 
100 HOMILET1C COMMENTARY : ESTHER. [chap. hi. 
 
 notes of wailing for a large portion of the population. The city Shushan was 
 perplexed, and well it might he. Tlte indifference of one class of the community 
 towards another and seemingly less-favoured class is brought tovieicin this passage. 
 Is a Persian state the only one where this state of things may he witnessed ? Are 
 heathen countries the only lauds where we may hehold this heartless indifference ? 
 No • even in Christian states class distinctions are far from heing abolished. At 
 this day, and in this country, there are revelry in high places, and want and 
 wretchedness in low places. In this time of commercial depression, the well-to-do 
 classes should ask, Are we only enjoying ourselves while many of our countrymen 
 arc in a state of distress? This indifference has its root in and is the outcome of 
 selfishness. AVhat did the king care for the misery of others so long as his own 
 pleasures were not interrupted? It is a relief for us to suppose that the king was 
 not all taken up with self. The after history shows that selfishness had not 
 destroyed all traces of true feeling. But Ave find very few traces of good in poor 
 Hainan. Especially at this time, what did he care so long as revenge was glutted? 
 All that lie appeared to mind was his own personal aggrandizement. His revenge 
 would revel in human blood. His avarice would gladly feed upon the spoil of the 
 slaughtered. His ambition would gloat over this dreadful display of his power. 
 Oh, "this hateful selfishness! What beauty it spoils ! What life it wastes ! What 
 goodness it destroys ! It is an insatiate deity that requires holocausts to be offered 
 at its shrine, and never cries, It is enough. 
 
 II. The mysteries of human conditions. The air is thick with mysteries. We 
 move in a maze. We are lost in bewilderment. And this is one of the mysteries 
 — the king and Haman are enjoying themselves, while there is perplexity in the 
 city of Shushan. One man seems to pass his life in joy, and another in sorrow. 
 Success appears to attend every step which is taken by one man, but defeat and 
 disaster are the portion of another. He is ever struggling against adverse forces, 
 and never appears able to come off conqueror in the contest. This is one of the 
 mysteries that King David sought to know by intense thought. This, too, was a 
 difficulty that beset the Psalmist— the existence of triumphant evil. It Avas that 
 which vexed him, and he could not put it together. There are SAvindles that are 
 sovereign, and sovereigns that are swindlers. Base men in the high places of the 
 earth. ° Haman feasting Avith the king. Mordecai mourning at the king's gate. " I 
 Avas envious at the foolish, Avhen I saw the prosperity of the wicked." Did poor 
 Mordecai feel envious? We cannot be hard upon him if he did. Were the 
 thoughts of Mordecai turned in this direction ? Did he, too, try to solve the mys- 
 tery ,°and give it up as a hopeless task? Did it tend to deepen his grief and darken 
 his hours of soitoav ? And all men and women in suffering must have felt it more 
 or less. The mystery is there ; but why let it be a trouble ? The mystery is there ; 
 but Avhy not try to leave it and get into serener heights ? 
 
 III. The compensating forces of human conditions. The law of compensation 
 has more extensive ramifications than is dreamt of in the philosophy of narrow 
 thinkers. If there be such a principle in the material world, Avhy not in the moral 
 world, since both are fashioned and governed by the same Author? We knoAV not 
 how far those are correct who tell us that happiness and misery are pretty equally 
 distributed. This, however, is a very comfortable doctrine for those Avho have 
 happiness enough themselves, and do not care to give themselves the trouble of 
 looking after the welfare of the less fortunate. But there are compensations. The 
 joys of the rich have their drawbacks. The sorrows of the poor are not without 
 their alleviations. The pleasure of Ahasuerus was not a permanent stream. The 
 glory of Haman Avas soon tarnished. The sorrow of Mordecai Avas turned into 
 laughter. There may be hunger in the wilderness, but there is manna from 
 heaven. There may be thirst, but there is water from the smitten rock. The 
 waters of Marah may be bitter, but there is close by a God-given tree to sweeten. 
 
chap, in.] HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: ESTHER. 101 
 
 In the journey there is a Marah, but there is further on an Elim, with its twelve 
 wells of water, and threescore and ten palm trees. 
 
 IV. The sympathetic element in human conditions. The city Shushan was 
 perplexed. The Jews, we may well imagine, had many sympathizers. Sorrow 
 draws men and women more closely together than joy. It is easier to weep with 
 those that weep than to rejoice with those that rejoice. Self-regarding consider- 
 ations might cause the citizens of Shushan to he perplexed, and lead the well-dis- 
 posed of the Persians to sympathize with the Jews. Perhaps even poor Ahasuerus 
 was trying to get away from the working of a sympathetic nature as he sat down 
 to drink. This is a compensating force when sorrow elicits sympathy. Seek to 
 feel with and for others' woes. When one part of a city suffers, the whole of the 
 city should he perplexed. 
 
 V. The harmonizing principle for human conditions. "What principle is there 
 that is to adjust in fit proportions the various parts and members of human society 1 
 What power must be brought to bear so that men and women may neither hurt 
 nor destroy one another'? Are communistic doctrines to be promulgated and 
 received 1 Is there to be a great levelling process in society 1 Is Hainan to be 
 hanged on the gallows ? Must Mordecai be made prime minister in his stead ] Is 
 Ahasuerus to be dethroned ] Or is he to be made merely the mouthpiece and 
 executor of a number of men who shall be supposed to be voted for by the nation 
 in popular assemblies? Something may be done by wise methods of government. 
 Something may be done by placing noble-minded men in high offices of the state. 
 Something may be done by the rich being rich in good works, and being ready to 
 distribute, and by the poor being frugal, contented, and industrious. But the only 
 effective harmonizing principle is the gospel rightly understood, broadly interpreted, 
 and fully received. That gospel which dethrones selfishness, and teaches the true 
 brotherhood of humanity. That gospel which teaches to fear God, to honour the 
 king, and all men to love one another. That gospel which preaches peace to all, 
 both to those that are far off as well as to those that are near. 
 
 VI. The true sustaining power for all human conditions. " This is the victory 
 that overcometh the world, even our faith." Let the " perplexed " of every city and 
 of every nation endure as seeing him who is invisible. The true help in life's 
 difficulties is to go into the sanctuary of God. Wherever there is a believing soul, 
 there God makes a little sanctuary of glorious manifestations. By faith and prayer 
 Mordecai, Esther, and the Jews were saved and delivered out of their perplexities. 
 By faith and prayer the world's true heroes have ever conquered. And by the 
 same means must men and women still prevail. Here learn — (a) To keep away from 
 sensuality, which hardens the nature. Hainan would keep the king drinking, so 
 that he might be kept callous and indifferent. Strong drink blunts the fine edge 
 of reason, darkens the understanding, and hardens the nature, (b) To cultivate 
 sympathy, which ennobles the nature. Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil 
 the law of Christ. The law of Christ is the law of love. The fulfilment of that 
 law is man's noblest work. The greatness of Jesus is the greatness of his loving 
 sympathy, (c) To foster firm faith in an over-ruling power, which brightens life. 
 Not faith in the overthrow of the Hamans of time, not faith in the theory that 
 kings will see their folly, but faith in the power of One who is all-wise and all-good. 
 (d) To have respect unto the harmonies of heaven amid the discords of earth. We 
 may not live to see the day when the perplexity of Shushan will be turned into 
 gladness, but every true soul will be ushered into and enjoy the harmonies of that 
 city where the inhabitants are never perplexed. 
 
102 
 
 HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: EST II En. 
 
 [f'TTAP. ITT. 
 
 Suggestive Comments on Verse 15. 
 
 It is a Avooful thing to see great ones 
 quaff the tears of the oppressed, and to 
 hear them make music of shrieks. — 
 Bishop Hall. 
 
 A prince and an officer who, at the 
 time when the inhabitants of their chief 
 city are in the greatest consternation, 
 when above all an entire people is 
 thrown into mortal fear of their life, 
 can sit down to eat and drink, mani- 
 fest either an inhumanity which would 
 easily arouse a general revolt, or an evil 
 conscience which already foretells the 
 failure of their plans. — Lange. 
 
 So to drown the noise of conscience, 
 and so to nourish their hearts as in a day 
 of slaughter. Thus Joseph's brethren, 
 when they had cast him into the pit, sat 
 down to eat bread, when it had been 
 fitter for them to have wept for their 
 wickedness. So did the Israelites, when 
 they had made them a golden calf. 
 Herod feasteth when he had cast the 
 Baptist into prison. The anti-Christian 
 rout revel and riot when they had 
 slain the two witnesses. The Pope pro- 
 claimed a jubilee upon the Parisian mas- 
 sacre. The King of France said that he 
 never smelled anything more sweet than 
 the admiral's carcase, when it stank with 
 long lying. Better is the perplexity of 
 him that suffereth evil than the jollity 
 of him that doeth evil. — Trapp. 
 
 It is an absurd and impious thing to 
 indulge ourselves in mirth and pleasure 
 when the Church is in distress and the 
 public are perplexed. — Matthew Henry. 
 The cruel measure could not but till 
 all peace-loving citizens with horror and 
 anxiety. — Keil. 
 
 Haman gives up himself to pleasure 
 and jollity, in which he had the honour 
 to be companion to the king. He will 
 sim hi find that the end of this mirth 
 is heaviness. The city Shushan was 
 perplexed when the king and Haman 
 were enjoying this merriment. What 
 heart could be free from perplexity on 
 such an occasion 1 The Jews were 
 known to be as innocent as their neigh- 
 bours. Many of them resided in the 
 city of Shushan. The prospect of their 
 
 miserable and unmerited fate was ter- 
 rible. Who could tell where such mis- 
 chiefs were to end 1 Haman might next 
 day petition his deluded master to com- 
 pliment him with a like sacrifice of 
 other lives. The people of Shushan at 
 this time would be in much the same 
 state of mind as a Persian minister of 
 state in later times, who said that he 
 never left the king's presence without 
 putting his hand to his head, that he 
 might feel whether it was still standing 
 on his shoulders. — Lawson. 
 
 But what must the Jews scattered 
 throughout the provinces of the empire 
 have thought of this strange decree ] 
 They were not in the secret of the plot. 
 They knew nothing of Hainan's injured 
 pride, and Mordecai's religious opposi- 
 tion to the king's commandment. They 
 would regard it purely as an event in 
 the providence of God. And how inex- 
 plicably mysterious must it have seemed 
 to them ! In their exile they had been 
 faithful to his word, keeping themselves 
 from the sins of surrounding heathenism, 
 and so preserving themselves in his fear 
 that even Haman the Agagite had 
 nothing of which to accuse them save 
 respect to the laws of their God. Where- 
 fore, then, had he permitted this tre- 
 mendous calamity to overshadow them ] 
 Might they not have doubted his provi- 
 dence ] Certainly, as the Jews were at 
 this time circumstanced, their faith in 
 God was put to a severe test, and we 
 may readily conclude that the ordeal 
 through which they were now passing 
 would either find them better or worse — 
 more or less trustful in him who maketh 
 the wrath of men to praise him. The 
 common experience of God's people 
 bears witness to similar mysterious over- 
 shadowings. They cannot account for 
 them. When they were most devoted 
 to his service, and most anxiously seek- 
 ing his favour; when they were most 
 strenuously battling against the world, 
 and endeavouring to bring honour to his 
 name ; when they were expecting his 
 blessing, and looking for good from his 
 sovereign hand, it has often been even 
 
CHAP. III. J 
 
 H0M1LETIG COMMENTARY: ESTHER. 
 
 103 
 
 then that there have come events which 
 it was natural to interpret as signs of 
 his displeasure, tokens of his wrath. 
 But we are wrong interpreters of his 
 providence beforehand, and even after- 
 wards. The sufferer cannot understand 
 his long illness, nor the prosperous man 
 his sudden fall into poverty and re- 
 proach, nor the parent the anguish of 
 repeated strokes of bereavement, nor the 
 widow the wisdom and benevolence of 
 her desolation and loneliness. All is 
 dark and mysterious to them, and they 
 may be sorely tempted to discredit the 
 mercifulness of the Divine purpose in 
 Providence. Of such ordeals, too, we 
 can confidently affirm that after having 
 passed through them they will either 
 leave us better or worse. From the 
 history of God's afflictive dealings in 
 the past we may clearly gather one grand 
 lesson — never to doubt his word, and 
 always to have faith in his love. Job, 
 Jacob, Daniel, David, and the Jews in 
 Persia all teach us this lesson. At such 
 times it is most glorifying to him, as 
 well as comforting to ourselves, to trust 
 in him explicitly and fully. — McEwan. 
 
 Self-indulgence renders men callous 
 to the distresses and sufferings of their 
 fellow-men. " The king and Hainan sat 
 down to drink ; but the city Slmshan 
 was perplexed." Give the votary of 
 sensuality or intemperance the oppor- 
 tunity of gratifying his craving, and he 
 cares not what misery he may occasion 
 to those in whose well-being he is bound 
 to take the deepest interest. Let the 
 sensualist have his will, and it costs him 
 not a thought that he may be destroying 
 the happiness of families, and ruining 
 for time and eternity the victims of his 
 ungodly lust. Strong carnal appetite, 
 when it is excited, sets at defiance the 
 law of nature as well as the law of God. 
 One can scarcely think without shudder- 
 ing of the conduct of the two men re- 
 ferred to in the text. They had resolved 
 to shed innocent blood without measure ; 
 
 but they could sit down as boon com- 
 panions to enjoy themselves over their 
 wine, and could contrive to drown any 
 remonstrances of conscience with the 
 flowing goblet. Could there be a more 
 thorough personification of evil in one 
 of its most revolting forms than we have 
 here 1 And yet, my friends, it finds its 
 counterpart, although on a smaller scale, 
 in the procedure of multitudes who live 
 under the light of the gospel ! Is that 
 individual one whit better than the in- 
 famous pair referred to in the text who, 
 forgetting the claims of home, and his 
 responsibilities as a father and a husband, 
 spends his earnings in debauchery, and 
 thus reduces what might be a happy 
 family to wretchedness and poverty ? 
 "While he is enjoying himself with his 
 companions, all reckless of his obligation 
 to protect and provide for his wife and 
 children, they are sitting in absolute 
 want, with no prospect for the morrow 
 but what is still more gloomy than the 
 experience of to-day. Then, if there are 
 any here to whom these remarks are in 
 any respects applicable, let them bethink 
 themselves of their sin and folly ; let 
 them judge themselves by the same rule 
 whereby they would judge the king and 
 Hainan. Then they will acknowledge 
 that they have been unfaithful to a sacred 
 trust committed to them, and they will 
 endeavour by the help of the grace of 
 God to be no longer the destroyers, but 
 the protectors of those whom they have 
 solemnly vowed to protect. And let 
 me conclude my remarks upon this part 
 of the subject by again saying, that the 
 excessive indulgence of any forbidden 
 appetite makes men selfish, and regard- 
 less of the rights of others. So that, as 
 the followers of Christ, we should all 
 strive to keep the desires of our animal 
 natures in subjection, else we forfeit all 
 claim to belong to him with whom the 
 will of his heavenly Father was paramount 
 in everything. --Davidson. 
 
104 
 
 IIOM1LETIC COMMENTARY : ESTI1ER. 
 
 [rn.\r. ni. 
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS TO CHAPTER III. 
 
 Ver. 1 . Look to the end. Thus oft empty vessels 
 swim aloft ; rotten posts are gilt with adulterate 
 gold ; the worst weeds spring up bravest ; and 
 when the twins strive in llebekah's womb, pro- 
 fane Ksau comes forth first, and hath the primo- 
 geniture. But whiles they seek the greatest dig- 
 nities, they mostly meet with the greatest shame ; 
 like apes, while they be climbing they the more 
 show their deformities. They are lifted up also 
 that they may come down again with the greater 
 poise. It was, therefore, well and wisely spoken 
 by Alvarez de Luna, when he told them who 
 admired his fortune and favour with the King of 
 Castile, You do wrong to commend the building 
 before it be finished, and until you see how it 
 will stand. Frinces' favourites should consider 
 with themselves that honour is but a blast, a 
 magnum nihil, a glorious fancy, a rattle to still 
 men's ambition ; and that as the passenger look- 
 eth no longer upon the dial than the sun shineth 
 upon it, so it is here. — Trapp. 
 
 Ver. 1. The sympathetic traveller. Here is some- 
 thing that happened on a railway train somewhere 
 in New England last summer. A woman clad in 
 deep mourning entered the cars at a railway sta- 
 tion. She took a seat just in front of an innuisi- 
 tive-looking, sharp-faced female. The woman in 
 black had not been seated long before she felt a 
 slight tap on the shoulder, and heard her neigh- 
 bour ask, in a low, sympathetic tone, "Lost 
 anybody ? " A silent nod was the response. A 
 slight pause, and then a second question: "Child ? " 
 A low shake of the head in the negative. " Pa- 
 rent?" A similar reply. "Husband?" This 
 time the slight nod again. " Life insured ? " A 
 nod. " Experienced religion ? " A nod. Then : 
 " Well, well, cheer up ! Life insured and experi- 
 enced religion ; you're all right, and so's he ! " 
 Hainan's life was not insured, as the sequel of the 
 history shows. He did not experience the saving 
 power of religion, and therefore a small matter 
 disturbs his happiness. Mordecai's life was in- 
 Bured in the best sense. No weapon formed against 
 the Lord's anointed can prosper until the Lord's 
 time. Those are safely kept who are kept by 
 God. 
 
 Ver. 2. Good principles. A young man was in a 
 position where his employers required him to make 
 a false statement, by which several hundred pounds 
 would come into their hands which did not belong 
 to them. All depended upon this clerk's serving 
 their purpose. To their great vexation, he utterly 
 refused to do so. He could not be induced to sell 
 his conscience for any one's favour. As the result, 
 he was discharged from the place. Not long 
 after, he applied for a vacant situation, and the 
 gentleman, being pleased with his address, asked 
 1 1 i in for any good reference he might have. The 
 young man" felt that his character was unsullied, 
 and so fearlessly referred him to his last employer. 
 " I have just been dismissed from his employ, and 
 you can inquire of him about me." It \\:is a new 
 
 fashion of getting a young man's recommendation ; 
 but the gentleman called on the linn, and found 
 
 that he was " too conscientious about trifles." 
 The gentleman had not been troubled by too con- 
 scientious employees, and preferred that those 
 intrusted, with his money should have a fine sense 
 of truth and honesty, so he engaged the young 
 man, who rose fast in favour, and became at 
 length a partner. " A good name is rather to be 
 chosen than great riches.'' Even unscrupulous 
 men know the worth of good principles that can- 
 not be moved. The Emperor Constantius, father 
 to Constantine the Great, once commanded all his 
 Christian servants to offer sacrifices to the gods 
 of Rome. If they refused to obey his command 
 they were to be dismissed from his service. Many 
 of them obeyed ; others did not, and accordingly 
 were dismissed. But in a day or two he turned 
 out all those who complied with his orders, and 
 recalled all those whom he had expelled, saying 
 that those would be most faithful to their prince 
 who were most faithful to their God, and that 
 he would not trust men who were false to their 
 religion. Mordecai was conscientious about trifles, 
 and true to his religion. This he was whether 
 he found favour with man or not. He looked for 
 the favour of God. This must be the inspiring 
 motive, for conscientious men do not always suc- 
 ceed, as the world reckons success. The advice 
 of Mr. Carter — a Puritan preacher — to one of his 
 congregation, " You must work hard, and fare 
 hard, and pray hard," was good : but we cannot 
 feel sure about his conclusion — "And then you 
 will be sure to thrive." In these modern times 
 we have certainly known some who have worked 
 hard, and fared hard, and prayed hard all their 
 lives, and at their death have not been able to 
 bequeath a shilling. 
 
 Ver. 7. Lot casting. The old interpreter 
 addeth in urnam, into the pitcher. And the new 
 annotations tell us that, about casting lots, there 
 was a pitcher into which papers, with names of 
 the several months written on them, and rolled 
 up, were cast ; yea, also papers with the name of 
 every day and of every month were cast in ; then 
 one, blindfolded, put in his hand, and pulled out a 
 paper, and according to the marks which they had 
 set down, such a month proved lucky, and such 
 a day in the month ; and, by God's providence, 
 it so fell out that their supposed lucky day was 
 on the twelfth month, whereby it came to pass 
 that their plot was defeated before the time of 
 accomplishing thereof. — Trapp. 
 
 Ver. 7. bedding by lot. In nearly all cases 
 where reason cannot decide, or where the right 
 of several claimants to one article has to be settled. 
 recourse is had to the lot, which " causeth con- 
 tentions to cease." In the East a young man is 
 either so accomplished, or so rich, or so respect- 
 able, that many fathers aspire to the honour of 
 calling him son-in-law. Their daughters are said 
 to be beautiful, wealthy, and of a good family; 
 what is he to do ? The name of each young lady 
 is written on a separate piece of olah, and then 
 all are mixed together. The youth and bis 
 friends then go to the front of the temple ; and 
 
CIIAP. III.] 
 
 HOMTLETIC COMMENTARY: ESTHER. 
 
 105 
 
 being sf«ted, a person who is passing by at the 
 time is called, and requested to take one of the 
 pieces of olah, on which a lady's name is inscribed, 
 and place it near the anxious candidate. This 
 being done, it is opened, and she whose name is 
 written there becomes his wife. — Oriental Illus- 
 trations. 
 
 Ver. 7. The leech and surgeon. "When a sur- 
 geon puts a leech upon a patient, his intention is 
 to heal ; the leech follows the instincts of its na- 
 ture, and the two work together to produce the 
 desired result. When Joseph's brethren sold him 
 into Egypt, their intention was to humiliate him 
 and to be rid of him ; but it was made to serve 
 God's intention, which was to exalt him. So 
 Haman planned for the destruction of the Jewish 
 people, and delayed his purpose ; but it was 
 God's purpose to save. Hainan's delay hastened 
 the purpose of God. Should we not rather say 
 that God made use of Haman's delay to bring 
 about his gracious purpose of deliverance to Israel 
 and destruction to their enemies ? 
 
 Ver. 5, Trouble in every house. Talmage 
 says, " I passed down a street of a city with 
 a merchant. He knew all the finest houses 
 on the street. He said, There is something the 
 matter in all these houses. In that one it is 
 conjugal infelicity. In that one, a dissipated son. 
 In that, a dissolute father. In that, an idiot 
 child. In that, the prospect of bankruptcy." In 
 Hainan's house there was trouble. Mordecai 
 troubled Haman. The good must ever be trou- 
 blers to the wicked. 
 
 Ver. 5. Revenge. The Highland chief lay 
 a-dying in his mountain home, and in his dying 
 heart were hard revengeful thoughts towards an 
 opposing clan. A minister waited at his bedside, 
 and exhorted him to forgive, assuring him of the 
 fact that God will not forgive if we do not. And, 
 said the chief, I will forgive them ; but in almost 
 the same breath he said to his son, that he left 
 him a father's curse if he forgave them. Louis 
 XII. said that nothing smells so sweet as the dead 
 body of an enemy. The Christian's code is one 
 of forgiveness — that nothing smells so sweet as 
 the rescued body of an enemy. Well would it 
 have been for Haman — well both temporally and 
 spiritually — had he really forgiven the supposed 
 slight of Mordecai. 
 
 Ver. 8. The laws of the Jews, Prosper's con- 
 ceit was, that they were called Judsei because 
 they received their laws from God. And, there- 
 fore, if Demosthenes could say of laws in general 
 that they were the invention of Almighty God ; 
 and if Cicero could say of the laws of the twelve 
 tables in Rome that they far exceeded and ex- 
 celled all the libraries of all the philosophers, how 
 much more true was all this of the laws of the 
 Jews, given by God, and ordained by angels in 
 the band of a mediator, Moses ! Seneca, though 
 he jeered the Jews for their weekly Sabbath as 
 those that lost the seventh part of their time, yet 
 he could not but say that, being the basest people, 
 they had the best laws, and gave laws unto all 
 the world. Those holy Levites acknowledge, 
 with all thankfulness, that God had given them 
 right judgments, true laws, good statutes and 
 commandments, whereby he severed them from 
 all other people, as his own peculiar ; and this 
 
 was their glory wherever they came, though the 
 sycophant Haman turneth their glory into shame, 
 as one that loveth vanity, and sought after leas- 
 ing. — Trapp. 
 
 Ver. 9. Rage. Rage is essentially vulgar, and 
 never vulgarer than when it proceeds from morti- 
 fied pride, disappointed ambition, or thwarted 
 wilfulness. A baffled despot is the vulgarest of 
 dirty wretches, no matter whether he be the 
 despot of a nation vindicating its rights, or 
 of a donkey sinking under its load. — Hartley 
 Coleridge. 
 
 Ver. 9. Wrath cured. A valiant knight, 
 named Hildebrand, had been injured and offended 
 by another knight, named Bruno. Anger burned 
 in his heart, and he could hardly wait for the day 
 to take bloody revenge on his enemy. He passed 
 a sleepless night, and at dawn of day he girded 
 on his sword, and sallied forth to meet his an- 
 tagonist. But as it was early he entered a chapel 
 by the wayside, and sat down and looked on the 
 pictures which were on the walls, lit up by the rays 
 of the morning sun. There were three pictures. 
 The first represented our Saviour in a purple robe 
 of scorn before Pilate and Herod, and bore the 
 inscription, " When he was reviled, he reviled not 
 again." The second picture showed the scourging 
 of Jesus, and under it was written — " Who 
 threatened not, when he suffered." And the 
 third was the crucifixion, with these words — 
 "Father, forgive them." When the knight 
 had seen these words he knelt down and prayed. 
 Then the light of evening was more lovely to the 
 returning knight than the light of morning had 
 been. 
 
 Ver. 9. The negro and his enemy. A slave 
 who had by the force of his sterling worth risen 
 high in the confidence of his master, saw one day, 
 trembling in the slave-market, a negro, whose 
 grey head and bent form showed him to be in 
 the last weakness of old age. He implored his 
 master to purchase him. He expressed his sur- 
 prise, but gave his consent. The old man was 
 bought and conveyed to the estate. When there, 
 he who had pleaded for him took him to his own 
 cabin, placed him on his own bed, fed him at 
 his own board, gave him water from his own cup ; 
 when he shivered, he carried him into the sun- 
 shine ; when he drooped in the heat, bore him 
 safely to the shade. What is the meaning of all 
 this ? asked a witness. Is he your father ? No. 
 Is he your brother ? No. Is he your friend ? 
 No. fie is mine enemy. Years ago he stole 
 me from my native village, and sold me for a 
 slave ; and the good Lord has said, " If thine 
 enemy hunger, feed him ; if he thirst, give him 
 drink ; for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of 
 fire on his head." When put to the test of practice 
 it will be found that very few Christians believe 
 in inspiration. Where is the professed follower 
 of Christ in these days who would think of 
 following the negro's simple acceptance of an 
 inspired injunction. 
 
 Ver. 9. The man who killed his neighbours. 
 The Americans have a tract on this subject. It 
 contains, in the form of a narrative, many useful 
 practical suggestions on the art of overcoming 
 evil with good. It is with kindness — modest, 
 thoughtful, generous, persevering, unwearied 
 
100 
 
 IIOMILET1C COMMENTARY: ESTHER. 
 
 [CIIAP. III. 
 
 kindness— that the benevolent countryman kills 
 his churlish neighbour ; and it is only the old 
 evil man that he kills, leaving the new man to 
 lead a very different life in the same village after 
 the dross has been purged away. If any one 
 desires to try this work, he must bring to it 
 at least these two qualifications — modesty and 
 patience. If he proceed ostentatiously, with an 
 air of superiority, and a consciousness of his own 
 virtue, he will never make one step of progress. 
 Put even though the successive acts of kindness 
 should be genuine, the operator must lay his 
 account with a tedious process and many disap- 
 pointments. Many instances of good rendered 
 for evil mav seem to have been thrown away, and 
 no symptom of penitence appear in the counten- 
 ance or conduct of the evil-doer; but be not 
 weary in this well-doing, for in due season you 
 shall' reap if you faint not. Although your 
 enemy has resisted your deeds of kindness even 
 unto seventy times seven, it does not follow that 
 all or that any one of these has been lost. — Arnot. 
 
 Ver. 9. Clive and his moderation. "When our 
 great Eastern conqueror, Clive, was accused in 
 Parliament of having amassed too much during 
 the period of his conquests, he boldly said, " Why, 
 when I think of that treasure, and see the hills 
 of gold and silver here, and the jewels there, I 
 declare I am astonished at my own moderation." 
 Haman offered a large sum of money to Ahasu- 
 erus— a large sum, whether the 10,000 talents 
 be reckoned according to the Mosaic shekel, 
 £3,750,000, or according to the civil shekel, 
 £1,875,000. But the wealth of the prime minister 
 of that vast country must have been great. 
 Doubtless the Jews then, as now, would be a 
 people given to the accumulation of wealth and 
 property, and he would see that he would be no 
 loser by the bargain. He would confiscate the 
 property of the slaughtered Jews, and thus enrich 
 himself by the transaction. It seemed an oppor- 
 tunity most favourable for wreaking his revenge 
 and enriching himself and the state. Haman's 
 large offer is moderation itself when we think 
 of all the consequences of his proposal. The 
 destruction of a whole people, much trouble in 
 the kingdom, and the confiscation of vast wealth. 
 
 Ver. 13. The deliverance of Hubert de Bitrgo. 
 We read in our Chronicles, that when King 
 Henry III. had given commandment for the 
 apprehending of Hubert de Burgo, earl of Kent, 
 he fled into a church in Essex. They to whom 
 the business was committed, finding him upon 
 his knees before the high altar, with the sacra- 
 ment in one hand, and a cross in the other, 
 carried him away, nevertheless, unto the Tower 
 of London. The bishop, taking this to be a 
 great violence and wrong to the Church, would 
 never leave the king until he had caused the earl 
 to be carried back to the place whence he was 
 Fetched. This was done; and although order 
 was taken lie should not escape thence, yet it 
 gave the king's wrath a time to cool, and him- 
 self leisure to make proof of his innocency ; by 
 reason whereof he was afterwards restored to the 
 kind's favour, and former places of honour. And 
 the like befell these Jews ere the thirteenth of 
 
 Adar; but Haman, blinded with pride and 
 superstition, could not foresee it. — Trapp. 
 
 Ver. 13. Soldiers, not butchers. At the famous 
 Bartholomew's massacre, when the King of 
 France sent his orders to the commanders in the 
 different provinces to massacre the Huguenots, 
 one of them returned him this answer : " In my 
 district your Majesty has many brave soldiers, 
 but no butchers." That virtuous governor never 
 felt any effects of the royal resentment. It is to 
 be feared that few of the Persian governors would 
 have given such proofs of virtuous courage if the 
 king's edict had not been reversed. We find 
 none of all the governors of the provinces of the 
 Babylonian empire that refused to bow their 
 knees to the graven image which Nebuchadnezzar 
 the king set up. The subjects of princes who rule 
 with unlimited dominion are for the most part 
 slaves both in body and in soul. They are taught 
 from their earliest days, by the examples which 
 they see around them, to consider their princes as 
 gods on earth, whose will must not be disputed. 
 — Laivson. 
 
 Ver. 14. Executioners. There is abundance 
 of evidence that, in the middle ages, the office of 
 public executioner was esteemed highly honour- 
 able all over Germany. It still is, in such parts 
 of that country as retain the old custom of execu- 
 tion by stroke of sword, very far from being held 
 discreditable to the extent to which we carry our 
 feelings on the subject, and which exposed the 
 magistrates of a Scotch town, — I rather think 
 no less a one than Glasgow, — to a good deal of 
 ridicule, when they advertised, some few years 
 ago, on the occasion of the death of their hang- 
 man, that "none but persons of respectable cha- 
 racter " need apply for the vacant situation. At 
 this day, in China, in Persia, and probably in 
 other Oriental kingdoms, the Chief Executioner 
 is one of the great officers of state, and is as 
 proud of the emblem of his fatal duty as any 
 European Lord Chamberlain of his golden key. 
 — Note to Anne of Geierslcin. 
 
 No doubt very many of the subjects of 
 Ahasuerus would be willing to become execu- 
 tioners, in order to secure the favour of the 
 monarch, and to get a share of the spoil. They 
 would get themselves ready against that day uf 
 intended slaughter. 
 
 Ver. 15. A love of books and want. In one 
 of our large manufacturing centres a working 
 man, with a love of books, had managed with 
 great economy to collect together so many as 
 150 volumes ; and all these had to be sold to 
 meet the necessities of nature. One volume was 
 highly valued. When he did not want the money 
 he could have sold the book for a sovereign, but 
 when starvation came the precious treasure had 
 to be sold for one shilling. That one book tells 
 a sad tale of suffering to those who can catch its 
 silent message. In contrast, we may read of the 
 eleventh edition of a modern book published at 
 thirty shillings. And what is even this to the 
 large sums spent in splendidly bound and illus- 
 trated copies of poets and artists? And what is 
 even this when we hear of a lady of high rank 
 selling a marriage present— consisting of a mag- 
 
CHAP. HI.] 
 
 HOMILETIC COMMENTARY : ESTHER. 
 
 107 
 
 nificent tiara of diamonds, which cost £13,000 — 
 in order to defray the cost of sinful extravagance, 
 while many of our countrymen are in starvation? 
 •'The king and Haman sat down to drink; hut 
 the city Shushan was perplexed." We are thank- 
 ful for the displays of liberality in our country ; 
 hut still too many in this land sit down to drink 
 while a vast multitude are perplexed. 
 
 Ver. 15. The surgical operation. In one of 
 our London hospitals a poor man was about to 
 undergo a surgical operation. The anaesthetic 
 was administered, but while it rendered him in- 
 sensible to pain, it did not lessen his power of 
 bearing and observing. Around him were as- 
 sembled a number of young medical men, One 
 half were opposed to the operation, and said, The 
 man will die in our hands ; but the other said, 
 "What a stroke of business it will he if the opera- 
 tion is successfully performed; it will make our 
 fortunes ! Selfishness ruled ; the operation was 
 performed. The poor man heard the pleading 
 of selfishness, and said, It ought not to have 
 been done ; I shall never get better ; and in a 
 few days he expired. It is most likely the dis- 
 ease would have killed him, but is that any 
 excuse for this stroke of selfish policy ? We 
 give all praise to the members of the medical 
 profession, but we must not ignore its defects. 
 But oh, this selfishness is common to all. What 
 waste of precious life has selfishness incurred ! 
 Haman is not the only one who drinks at the 
 expense of the suffering of others. 
 
 Ver. 15. The prosperity of the wicked. Would 
 it not be accounted folly in a man that is heir to 
 many thousands per annum that he should envy 
 a stage-player clothed in the habit of a king, 
 and yet not heir to one foot of land ? who, 
 though he have the form, respect, and apparel 
 of a king or nobleman, yet is at the same time a 
 very beggar, and worth nothing. Thus wicked 
 men, though they are arrayed gorgeously, and 
 fare deliriously, wanting nothing, and having 
 more than heart can wish, yet they are but only 
 possessors ; the godly Christian is the heir. 
 What good doth all their prosperity do them ? 
 It doth but hasten their ruin, not their reward. 
 The labouring ox is longer lived than the ox that 
 is put into the pasture — the very putting of him 
 there doth but hasten his slaughter; and when 
 God puts wicked men into fat pastures, into 
 places of honour and power, it is but to hasten 
 their ruin. Let no man, therefore, fret himself 
 because of evil-doers, nor be envious at the pros- 
 perity of the wicked ; for the candle of the 
 wicked shall be put out into everlasting darkness , 
 they shall soon be cut off, and wither as a green 
 herb. — Spencer. 
 
 Parable of the hog and the horse. "After 
 these events." What events? After God had 
 created the remedy before the infliction of the 
 ■wound; after Mordecai had saved the king's life 
 before the orders for the destruction of his people 
 were promulgated. After these events the king 
 
 advanced Haman, the son of Hammedatha the 
 Agagite, to an illustrious position in the king- 
 dom. He was raised, however, but to be de- 
 stroyed. His destinv was like to that of the hog 
 in the parable of the horse, the colt, and the 
 hog. A certain man possessed a horse, a colt, 
 and a bog. For the two former he measured 
 out daily a certain amount of food — so much 
 was their allowance, no more, no less ; the hog, 
 however, was allowed to eat according to his 
 own pleasure. Said the colt to the horse, 
 " How is this? Is it just? We work for our 
 food, while the hog is a useless animal ; surely 
 we should have as much to eat as is given to 
 him." "Wait," answered the horse, "and you 
 will soon see, in the downfall of the hog, the 
 reason." With the coming of the autumn the 
 hog was killed. " See," said the horse, " they 
 did not give the hog so much to eat for his own 
 benefit, but in order to fatten him for the 
 killing."— Talmud. 
 
 Ver. 15. Different disposal of blessings. 
 When a prince bids his servants carry such a 
 man down into the cellar, and let him drink of 
 the beer and wine, this is a kindness from so 
 great a personage to be valued highly ; but fu- 
 tile prince to set him at his own table, and let 
 him drink of his own wine, this, no doubt, is far 
 more. Thus it is that God gives unto some men 
 great estates, abundance of corn, and wine, and 
 oil; yet, in so doing, he entertains them but in 
 the common cellar. But for his people they have 
 his right-hand blessings ; he bestows his graces 
 on them, beautifies them with holiness, makes 
 them to drink of the rivers of his pleasures, and 
 means to set them by him at his own table with 
 himself in heavenly glory. — Spencer. 
 
 Ver. 15. Ulysses and the Syrens. We may 
 rend that Ulysses, when he was to pass the coast 
 of the Syrens, caused his men to stop their ears, 
 that they might not be enchanted by their music 
 to destroy themselves; but for himself he would 
 only be bound to the mast, that though he should 
 hear, yet their musical sounds might not be so 
 strong as to allure him to overthrow himself by 
 leaping into the sea. Thus there are some of 
 God's people that are weak in faith, so that when 
 they see God's outward proceedings of pro- 
 vidence seemingly contrary to his promises, they 
 are apt to be charmed from their own steadfast- 
 ness. It were therefore good for them to stop 
 their ears, and to shut their eyes to the works, 
 and look altogether to the word of God. But 
 for those that are strong, in whom the pulse of 
 faith beats more vigorously, they may look upon 
 the outward proceedings of God ; yet let them 
 be sure to bind themselves fast to the mast — the 
 word of God — lest when they see the seeming 
 contrariety of his proceedings to the promise, 
 they be charmed from their own steadfastness, 
 to the wounding of their own most precious souls, 
 and weakening the assurance of their eternal 
 salvation. — Spencer. 
 
108 nOMILETIC COMMENTARY: ESTHER. [chap. iv. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Critical Notes.] 1. Perceived all that was done] Evident that Mordecai knew not only 
 the terms of the public proclamation, but the particulars of the private arrangement between Human 
 and the king. For in ver. 7 it is said, "And Mordecai told him of all that had happened unto him, 
 and of the sum of the money that Haman had promised to pay to the king's treasuries for the Jews, 
 to destroy them." Put on sackcloth with ashes] An abbreviated combination, meaning that he put 
 on a hairy garment and spread ashes upon his head in sign of deep grief. To rend one's clothes in 
 grief was as much a Persian as a Jewish practice. When tidings of Xerxes' defeat at Salamis 
 reached Shushan, all the people " rent their garments and uttered unbounded shouts and lamenta- 
 tions." — Herod, viii. 99. -?t an intensified form of expression, similar to the Latin conquestus, 
 violent complaint, earnest and vociferous demonstration. 2.] The king's gate was the free place 
 before the entrance to the royal palace. Further he could not go, for it was not permitted to bear 
 the semblance of an evil omen before the king. 3.] The sorrow was general. All the Jews broke 
 diit into mourning, weeping, and lamentation, while many manifested their grief in the manner 
 described. 4, 5.] The matter was made known to Esther by her maids and eunuchs ; and she fell 
 into convulsive grief. The verb here used is a passive intensive — to be affected with grief as one 
 seized with the pains of delivery. She sent clothes to her guardian, that he might put them on, 
 doubtless, that thereby he might again stand in the gate of the king, and so relate to her the cause 
 of his grief. But he refused them, not only because he would wear no other than garments of 
 mourning, but because he desired a private opportunity to communicate with her. Mordecai 
 accomplished his object, and Hatach the eunuch was sent to him to obtain particulars. — Lange. 
 What it was, and why it was] lit. what this, and why this? She had not been informed of 
 this terrible decree. 6. The street of the city] The broad open place before the palace. — Whedon's 
 Commentary. 7. The sum of the money] Itatber a statement of the silver. The word here 
 rendered sum means a distinct or accurate statement. Mordecai told Hatach what had befallen him, 
 and gave him also a statement of the silver Haman had promised to bring into the king's treasury. 
 " This promise of Haman is here emphatically mentioned as the chief point not so much for the 
 purpose of raising the indignation of Esther to the highest pitch (Berthemi), as to show the resent- 
 ment and eagerness with which Haman had urged the extermination of the Jews." — Eeil. 8. The 
 copy of the writing of the decree] may very probably refer to the contents of the writing of the 
 decree ; possibly Mordecai had noted down the substance of that decree. To make supplication 
 unto him, and to make request before him for her people] To entreat, supplicate for something 
 diligently. She should petition relief for her people. " A perilous undertaking to urge upon her. 
 lint Mordecai's faith already began to discern a Divine reason for her elevation in the kingdom at that 
 time (see ver. 14). — Whedon's Commentary. 11. The inner court] The court that faced the 
 principal audience hall — the throne chamber — where alone it would be practicable for Esther to see 
 the king on such business. In the time of Deioceses the Mede, approach to the king was already 
 very difficult ; and among the Persians, with very few exceptions, no one was permitted to approach 
 the king without a notice. As to the golden sceptre, Rawlinson observes— " A modern critic asks, 
 ' Is it iikely that a Persian king would always have a golden sceptre by him to stretch out towards 
 intruders on his privacy ? ' It seems enough to reply that in all the numerous representations of 
 Persian kings at Persepolis, there is not one in whicli the monarch does not hold a long tapering staff 
 (which is probably the sceptre of Esther) in his right hand." Esther's difficulty arose from the fact 
 that she had not been called to come in unto the king for thirty days. She did not feel quite sure 
 of her position. To venture unsummoned might be to prejudice the cause. 13.] Mordecai does not 
 reproach Esther with being indifferent to the fate of her fellow-countrymen, but rather calls her 
 attention to the fact that her own life is in danger. 14.] Who knows, if thou hadst not attained to 
 royalty at or for such a time ? may be taken as the translation of the latter part of this verse. The 
 other place may refer to another agent of God in contrast with Esther ; but thus it refers ultimately 
 to Divine interposition. And although neither God nor God's nssurances are here mentioned, still, 
 as is justly remarked by Brenz, " We have this noble and elearly heroic faith of Mordecai, which 
 sees the future deliverance, even amidst the most immediate and imminent danger." 15, 16.] Esther 
 resolves to go to the king unsummoned and begs a three days' fast. " Though God and prayer are not 
 here mentioned, it is yet obviously assumed that it was before God that the Jews were to humble 
 themselves, to seek his help, and to induce him to grant it." — Bertheau. The three days, night and 
 day] are not to be reckoned as three times twenty-four hours, but to be understood of a fast which 
 1 i-t> till the third day alter that on which it begins ; for, according to ver. 1, Esther goes to the 
 king on the third day. The last words, If I perish, I perish, &c] are the expression not of 
 despair, but of resignation, or perfect submission to the providence of God. 17. And Mordecai 
 went his way] I. e. from the place before the court of the king, to do what the queen had 
 commanded him to do —Keil, 
 
chap, iv.] HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: ESTHER. 109 
 
 MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH. Verses 1—4. 
 
 Great Sorrow. 
 
 A tragic interest attaches to the man who is the subject of great sorrow. We are 
 drawn towards him by the power of sympathy. He is lifted out of the common herd, 
 and his individuality becomes at once more apparent and more prominent. Job is 
 one of those characters that stand out most conspicuously in ancient story. His 
 name is the most frequently mentioned, and the most widely known. Job is a 
 very byword, and is as familiar in our mouths as household words, yea, it is a 
 household word itself. And why is this 1 It is, we presume, not merely on account 
 of his great patience under suffering, but on account of those varied and dark 
 sorrows through which he passed. The patriarch Jacob is to us more luminous, 
 more human, more fragrant, and more attractive, when tempest-tossed by trouble, 
 when crushed by sorrow, than when luxuriating in the land of Goshen. The 
 centre point of interest in the history of Abraham is when he is called upon to 
 offer up his son Isaac. David is never sublimer than when in the intensity of his 
 anguish he mourns the slaughter of his wayward son Absalom. And Mordecai is 
 to us grander and more endearing when clothed in his hairy garment and with 
 ashes on his head, indicative of his grief, than when he was arrayed in royal ap- 
 parel, and the crown royal was placed on his head, and he rode forth on the king's 
 own horse. Mordecai's loud and bitter cry of sorrow touches humanity more 
 deeply than the proclamation of Hainan, " Thus shall it be done to the man whom 
 the king delighteth to honour. " But if such interest attaches to the individual in 
 sorrow, what shall be said of a nation in mourning 1 A whole nation weeping and 
 wailing. Throughout that vast empire, in all its towns and villages, might be seen 
 Jews clothed with sackcloth and sitting in ashes. National joy is attractive, but 
 national sorrow has a more solemn interest. Sublimely and solemnly grand is the 
 aspect of Nineveh mourning and fasting, as one man, for its sins. But these poor 
 Jews were weeping and wailing on account of a threatened slaughter which was 
 undeserved. Let us come near to the man and the nation thus under the dark 
 shadow of threatened evil. 
 
 I. Sorrow cannot be prevented. Sibbes says, " None ever hath been so good 
 or so great as could raise themselves so high as to be above the reach of troubles." 
 And Watson observes in the same strain, " The present state of life is subject to 
 afflictions, as a seaman's life is subject to storms. ' Man is born to trouble ; ' he is 
 heir-apparent to it ; he comes into the world with a cry, and goes out with a groan." 
 This paragraph is a forcible illustration of these truths. Goodness is personified 
 in Mordecai. Goodness combined with greatness are personified in Esther the 
 queen. Earthly greatness is personified in the king. He was so great that the 
 emblems of sorrow are not permitted to come nearer than the king's gate. And 
 there were varying degrees of goodness and of greatness among the Jewish people, 
 and yet all were subject to sorrow. The very goodness of Mordecai was the cause 
 of his trouble. The tender, gentle goodness of Esther the queen was the reason 
 why she was <: intensely grieved." The king's gate might be closed against the 
 entrance of those wearing the garb of sorrow. But sorrow itself can overleap the 
 loftiest barriers, and find a way through the strongest bulwarks. Sorrow darkens 
 the cottage and the palace. The merry laugh and prattle of childhood in sweet 
 country homes are hushed in the presence of this great on-coming calamity. Lovers 
 forget their new-found joy as they think of the national trouble. The harps are 
 hung on the willows, and the children of Zion weep as they feel that the ha ids of 
 the persecutors are strong. Mordecai's loud and bitter cry is heard in the palace, 
 
110 1IOM1LETIC COMMENTARY: ESTHER. [chap. IV. 
 
 and mingles itself with the music of pipers and harpists. The bright and cheery 
 countenance of Esther wears an unwonted gloom. 
 
 II. Sorrow cannot be explained. Of course we may give the explanation 
 that sin is the cause of sorrow in its general and broad aspect. But when we come 
 to particularize we find ourselves at fault. Easy it is for us now to see the mis- 
 takes made by Job's friends in trying to account for his great troubles ; but if 
 Job's friends had kept silent and lived till the present time they would most likely 
 be found to be as wise as their critics. It is not so very difficult to be wise after the 
 event. But sorrows even after they have passed and have done their blessed work 
 cannot always be explained. Eternity is the only true and complete interpreter of 
 time. Heavenly joys only can make plain the meaning of earthly sorrows. Why 
 should Mordecai suffer ? What is the purpose of his present distress 1 Why 
 should intense grief shake and toss the fair nature of the virtuous Esther ] Why 
 should many hearts be troubled that are the shrines of truth, of beauty, and of 
 goodness 1 In the light of history and of God's providential dealings we may now 
 offer an explanation ; but while the facts of history are being enacted, while God's 
 providential dealings are in operation, the troubled hearts are sorely perplexed. 
 Mordecai's cry was the cry of grief, but was it not also the cry of baffled endeavour 
 to understand the mystery 1 Our particular sorrows cannot at present receive 
 definite explanation. The seed can only be properly explained by the harvest. 
 The seed of our present sorrows can only be properly explained by the consequent 
 harvest of eternal joys. 
 
 III. Sorrow cannot be hidden. It does not appear that Mordecai strove to 
 hide his sorrow. Some assert that be gave vent to his sorrow in order to attract 
 notice, and to get an audience with Esther. Difficult to say how far this suggestion 
 is correct. Certainly Mordecai's patriotism and goodness would lead him to feel 
 deeply the present position of his people. He could not help the manifestation of 
 his grief. Stoics might say, Keep your sorrow's to yourself ; do not parade your 
 griefs ; do not be ever showing the bleeding sores of your wounded heart. But 
 poor Mordecai could not carry out the stony lessons of these stern teachers. Emo- 
 tion is as much a part of our God-given nature as intellect. The man who does not 
 feel is a man with the better part of manhood destroyed. And feeling must sooner 
 or later find an expression. These people Avere demonstrative. The English are 
 not demonstrative. They are said to take their very pleasures sadly. They are 
 comparatively silent about their sorrows. But it can even be found out when an 
 Englishman is in trouble. The cry of wounded hearts may be silent, but it is pene- 
 trating. The fragrance of crushed spirits is pungent and powerful. It is better 
 not to hide our sorrows. Trouble concealed is trouble increased. Sorrow caged 
 up and confined is the breeder of much mischief. If earth closes her kingly gates 
 against the cry of our sorrows, heaven opens wide its pearly gates, and as soon as 
 ever the cry passes inside those gates it is changed into laughter. 
 
 IV. Sorrow cannot be confined. It passes from nature to nature. It travels 
 from home to home. Even when men and women are not personally affected by 
 that which is the cause of the sorrow, yet they feel its influence, and are sad. Go 
 into the house where death has entered ; see all the family in teats, and your nature 
 is at once softened and subdued. It was natural to expect that all the Jews should 
 be affected with sorrow for a common calamity threatened. But the maids and the 
 eunuchs participated in the grief. And Esther, though ignorant of the reason for 
 the sorrow, was intensely grieved. This community of feeling, this wonderful 
 susceptibility to sorrow, speaks to us of our brotherhood. We are members one of 
 another. 
 
 V. But sorrow can be mitigated. It may not be in our power to remove 
 sorrow, but it may be so mitigated as not to crush and destroy. It may be miti- 
 gated, yea, removed — (a) By believing that the threatened trouble may never come. 
 The trouble which Mordecai and these Jews feared never came. They had good 
 
chap, iv.] H0M1LETIG COMMENTARY : ESTHER 111 
 
 reason for fear and for sorrow. Many of our fears are Avithout foundation. Many 
 of the troubles we fear may never come. Why weep over ideal troubles ? Let us 
 keep our tears till the sorrow is present. Do not let us go out to meet the enemy 
 in our present weakness, (b) By believing that God knows how to effect a deliver- 
 ance. Mordecai's trouble was not the mere fancy of a disordered brain. The 
 trouble was there. The edict had gone forth. The death-warrant was signed and 
 sealed. To all human appearance Mordecai was as much a doomed man as the 
 criminal fettered in his cell and waiting the hour of his execution. But God 
 worked out for him and all the Jews a wonderful deliverance. Mordecai's God still 
 reigns, and can still work for the deliverance of the oppressed, (c) By believing 
 that sorrow may be rendered productive. In this case the sorrow was the means of 
 bringing about deliverance. The sorrow of Mordecai and of these Jews was one of 
 the methods employed by God to work out the deliverance of his chosen people. 
 Your sorrows may work out your deliverance. The sorrows of an Egyptian bondage 
 may lead you to desire and to attain to the joys of the promised land. " Godly 
 sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of." Salvation here 
 mentioned is the highest and most complete deliverance. Sorrow may be the means 
 of bringing about enlargement. Not enlargement merely in the sense of respiration, 
 as the word is employed in this chapter as a translation of Mordecai's declaration, 
 but enlargement in the sense of development. Sorrow is a great developing agency 
 when rightly received, and when blessed by the Holy Spirit of God. Mordecai's 
 sorrow developed his nature, enlarged his sympathies, and increased his power of 
 vision. Sorrow sometimes makes people selfish. They nurse their sorrows like 
 mothers fondle their sickly babies. They think of nothing but of themselves and 
 their troubles. This, however, is not the proper elfect, is not the designed purpose of 
 sorrow. It should open up the whole nature. It should expand all the powers, both 
 intellectual and moral, of a man's being. As the waters of the Nile overflow the 
 surrounding country, and open up the soil, and prepare it for the reception of the rice 
 seed ; so the waters of our sorrows should overflow and open up the otherwise barren 
 soil of our natures, and prepare it for the reception of the seed of all truth in its mani- 
 fold bearings. Let sorrow do its perfect work of developing. Sorrow seems to say 
 in mournful measures to all its children, " Be ye also enlarged." It touches to finer 
 and broader issues. It should bring out the latent powers and forces of suffering 
 humanity. It should develop into strength and Christlike nobility and manliness. 
 The developing power of sorrow is brought out by the apostle when he tells us 
 that " tribulation worketh patience ; and patience, experience ; and experience, 
 hope." See to it that such is the blessed fruit of sorrow's operation. Sorrow should 
 be productive in another sense. It should intensify the appreciative faculty, and 
 set our souls longing for the pure realms where sorrows will be all unknown because 
 they will be no longer required. Hunger is the best sauce. The sorrows of time 
 prepare us to receive the joys of heaven. When there is intense thirst there can be 
 nothing more refreshing than a drink of clear, sparkling spring water. The sorrows 
 of our pilgrimage intensify the soul's thirst for the consolations of the gospel and 
 of God's promises, and for the abiding comforts of the celestial home. The hart 
 pants for the water-brooks. The poor soul hunted and harried by the fierce dogs of 
 trouble pants for the earthly sanctuary, and much more for the heavenly sanctuary. 
 Mordecai in his trouble looked to Esther, and looked still higher, for he expected 
 enlargement and deliverance from another place. We may look to earth. We must 
 make use of all legitimate earthly means. But we must look for true enlargement 
 and deliverance from another place. What place is that but the throne of God, 
 the mercy-seat, the Father's house. In that house sorrow will be turned into joy, 
 weeping into laughter, crying into songs of gladness, and pain into perpetual and 
 unsullied pleasure. 
 
112 
 
 HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: ESTHER. 
 
 [CHAP. IV. 
 
 SUGGKSTIVE COMMENTS ON VERSES 1 4. 
 
 2. For none might enter into the king's 
 gate clothed with sackcloth. — Behold, 
 they that wear softs are in kings' houses, 
 and those that are altogether set upon 
 the merry pin. Jannes and Jamhres, 
 those jugglers, are gracious with Pharaoh, 
 when Moses and Aaron are frowned upon. 
 Baal's prophets are fed at Jezebel's table, 
 when Elias is almost pined in the desert. 
 The dancing damsel trippeth on the toe, 
 and triumpheth in Herod's hall, when 
 the rough-coated Baptist lieth in cold 
 irons ; and Christ's company there is 
 neither cared for nor called for, unless 
 it be to show tricks and do miracles for 
 a pastime. The kings and courtiers of 
 Persia must see no sad sight, lest their 
 mirth should be marred, and themselves 
 surprised with heaviness and horror. 
 But if mourners might not be suffered 
 to come to court, why did those proud 
 princes so sty up themselves, and not 
 appear abroad for the relief of the poor 
 oppressed. — Tra/ >/ >. 
 
 In the case of Mordecai, the first effect 
 of the proclamation was bitter anguish, 
 for his conduct had been the flint out of 
 which the spark leaped to kindle this 
 portentous conflagration. Not for a 
 moment would we doubt the Tightness 
 of that conduct, for his way had been 
 hedged in by the providence of God on 
 the one side, and the precept of God on 
 the other ; but this, while it eased his 
 conscience, would only drive the sword 
 deeper into his heart. He " rent his 
 clothes, and put on sackcloth with ashes, 
 and went our, into the midst of the city, 
 and cried with a loud and a bitter cry ; 
 and came even before the king's gate." 
 But Mordecai's grief did not upset his 
 judgment. The genuine sorrow of an 
 honest soul very seldom has that effect ; 
 and this man's greatness comes out in 
 his deliberateness. To see him rushing 
 out into the streets and up to the palace 
 gate clothed in sackcloth, and tilling the 
 air with shrieks and groans, you might 
 fancy that his reason had been thrown 
 off its balance ; but Mordecai knew very 
 well where he was running to, and how 
 
 far he must make his cry reach. It soon 
 appeared that he had made a copy of the 
 edict and brought it with him, that he 
 had informed himself as to the. details 
 of the blood-money, and that he had 
 thought out and fixed in his own mind 
 what must be done. Faith too, as well 
 as sound judgment, may be discerned 
 under this good man's grief. Certainly 
 the cloud was very black, but he had 
 found out a thinner place, if not. a rift, in 
 it. " In the way of obeying God I have 
 exposed my people to this fearful peril ; 
 but, on the other hand, God has these 
 four years and more established my 
 foster child next to the throne. Putting 
 these two things together, I am surely 
 not wrong in judging that the} r point to 
 the place where the cloud will yet part 
 and greater light come through it." It 
 was precisely the laient foice of piety 
 that gave Mordecai courage enough to 
 set aside every thought of his own safety, 
 to make the most public exhibition of 
 his grief, to go straight towards the 
 supreme earthly power. No doubt he 
 had already gone to the supreme power 
 in heaven ; but those who have done 
 that are not found folding their hands 
 in the time of trouble. Moses erred 
 when he said to the people, " Stand 
 still," in front of the Eed Sea : God 
 told him that up to even such a barrier 
 and through it his people must march. 
 " Wherefore criest thou unto me 1 Speak 
 unto the children of Israel that they go 
 forward." Mordecai had learned this 
 lesson, and now taught it to Esther. — 
 A. M. Symington. 
 
 And weeping and wailing. — This was 
 the way to get in with God, though they 
 might not come crying to the court. Oh, 
 the Divine rhetoric and omnipotent 
 efficacy of penitent tears ! Weeping hath 
 a voice. Christ turned to the weeping 
 women when going to his cross and com- 
 forted them. He showed great respects to 
 Mary Magdalene, that weeping vine ; she 
 had the first sight of the revived phoenix 
 (though so bleared that she could scarce 
 discern him), ami held him fast by those 
 
cn.vr. iv.] 
 
 HOMILETIC COMMENTARY : ESTHER. 
 
 113 
 
 feet which she had once washed with 
 her tears, and wherewith he had lately 
 trod upon the lion and adder. — Trapp. 
 
 In sad thoughts did Mordecai spend 
 his heart, while he walked mournfully 
 in sackcloth hefore that gate wherein he 
 was wont to sit ; now his habit bars his 
 approach ; no sackcloth might come 
 within the court. Lo ! that which is 
 welcomest in the court of heaven is here 
 excluded from the presence of this earthly 
 royalty : " A broken and a contrite heart, 
 God, thou wilt not despise." — Bishop 
 Hall. 
 
 It is well remarked by Henry, in his 
 commentary upon this passage, that 
 " although nothing but what was gay 
 and pleasant must appear at court, and 
 everything that was melancholy must be 
 banished thence, yet it was vain thus to 
 keep out the badges of sorrow unless 
 they could withal have kept out the 
 causes of sorrow, and to forbid sackcloth 
 to enter unless they could have for- 
 bidden sickness and trouble and death 
 to enter." We are reminded by these 
 words of the well-known saying of John 
 Knox to the ladies of Queen Mary's 
 court, when he had been dismissed from 
 her presence with marks of high dis- 
 pleasure, and was waiting to hear the 
 result of his interview with her : " 0, 
 fair ladies, how pleasing were this life 
 of yours if it should ever abide, and 
 then in the end that we may pass to 
 heaven with all this gay gear. But fie 
 upon that knave, death, that will come 
 whether we will or not." But it is not 
 to those only who dwell in palaces that 
 our application of the text may be made. 
 People in exalted stations among our- 
 selves, people who might be expected to 
 act more rationally than heathen poten- 
 tates and nobles were accustomed to do, 
 often exhihit the same desire to have re- 
 moved out of their sight everything that 
 would remind them of their frailty and 
 mortality, as if in this way they could put 
 trouble and mortality away from them. 
 But this is unavailing. The unwelcome 
 heralds of death, in the varied forms of 
 disease, will find their way into the 
 mansions of the great as well as into 
 the humble dwellings of the poor ; and 
 at length the enemy himself will appear 
 
 all unceremoniously to drag away from 
 their luxuries ami their selfish enjoy- 
 ments those who have no portion but in 
 the present life. What I would say here 
 then is, would it not be the best course 
 for all to have their minds directed 
 towards the reality which must overtake 
 them whether they will or not ; ami to 
 avail themselves of the means which 
 God has provided in the gospel to strip 
 death of its terrors 1 — Davidson. 
 
 Could Mordecai have been permitted 
 to redeem his countrymen from the 
 avenging sword, he would have rejoiced 
 in " offering himself upon the sacrifice 
 of their faith," and have gone to the 
 scaffold, or the furnace, or the lions' den, 
 clothed in white, with garlands bound 
 round his temples, and with the song of 
 triumph in his mouth. But he knew 
 that his enemy would have refined this 
 as a " kindness and a precious oil," 
 which, instead of breaking his head, 
 would have refreshed and exhilarated 
 his wounded spirit. His grief was that 
 not only he, but his people were sold 
 "to be destroyed, to be slain, and to 
 perish." But, besides, Mordecai had to 
 reflect that he had been instrumental in 
 bringing this calamity upon his people 
 by refusing the honours claimed by 
 Hainan. This could not fail to give him 
 pain, and to aggravate the evil which he 
 deplored. Not that he repented of 
 what he had done, for we find him 
 afterwards persisting in the same line of 
 conduct, and refusing to propitiate the 
 haughty favourite by giving him the 
 marks of reverence. We may inno- 
 cently, or in the discharge of what we 
 owe to God, do what may be the means 
 of injuring both ourselves and others 
 whom we love. It does not follow from 
 this that we ought to have acted other- 
 wise. But still it is a painful reflection. 
 And it was a great addition to the af- 
 fliction of Mordecai that the Jews were 
 to be saciiticed in consequence of his 
 having incurred the hatred of a wicked 
 but powerful individual. This also 
 accounts for his grief being more poign- 
 ant than that of Esther. — McCrie. 
 
 Poor Mordecai had it not in his power 
 to confine his anguish to his own bosom, 
 or to his own house. He published it 
 
114 1I0MILET1C COMMENTARY : ESTHER. [ciiap. iv. 
 
 through all the city of Shushan. You Shushan. There might be some corn- 
 need not ask for what reasons persons passionate hearts amongst the people that 
 overwhelmed with grief do not inquire would be interested by such a dire 
 what purpose the publication of their calamity ; and though the people had 
 grief may serve. The strong impulse of no direct access to the king, yet they 
 sorrow often makes them publish their could present their supplications to the 
 complaints to the winds or the trees. Yet counsellors who saw his face; or if 
 who knows what good end it might serve nothing could be gained, nothing could 
 to announce the unmerited calamity of be lost by men already doomed to death, 
 the Jews through the whole city of — Lawson. 
 
 MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH. Verse 4. 
 
 The Action of Sympathy rejected. 
 
 Change of place is not necessarily change of state. Wherever we travel we remain 
 essentially the same. We cannot lose our identity. Foreign travel, change of 
 scene, alteration of position, may do much to benefit the man or the woman both 
 physically, intellectually, and morally. But these changes cannot radically change 
 the nature. The benefit is often only temporary, and we soon relapse into our old 
 condition. Esther the orphan had her troubles, but she did not become superior 
 to trouble when she became Esther the queen. The royal Esther had troubles 
 which were not possible to the uncrowned Esther. Let us seek, not to be free 
 from trouble by change of place, or by alteration of outward condition, but to be 
 fortified in the inward condition so that we may bear trouble in Christlike fashion. 
 
 I. Bad news. " So Esther's maids and her chamberlains came and told it her." 
 Bad news travels fast and far. Esther was soon told of Mordecai's great trouble. 
 The bearers of evil tidings cannot be Avelcome messengers. Some gladly carry evil 
 tidings through the promptings of a depraved nature. Such ought not to be received. 
 Their mouths ought to be shut by tokens of disapproval. The listeners to evil 
 stories are almost as much to blame as the tellers. In this case, however, we have 
 no just reason to suppose that there was any evil design ; yea, we may rather and 
 legitimately suppose a good purpose. Esther's maids must have known of the 
 relationship that existed between her and Mordecai ; and we may well imagine that 
 they carried the evil tidings to see if anything could be done to alleviate Mordecai's 
 distress. Let us be slow to be the bearers of bad news. See to it that our inform- 
 ation is correct. Examine our purpose in telling the dismal tale. And then, when 
 we see that the tale must be told, pray for grace and wisdom that it may be told 
 in the best possible manner. 
 
 II. Consequent grief. " Then was the queen exceedingly grieved." The poet 
 tells us, " And he who meditates on others' woes shall in that meditation lose his 
 own." He may lose his own, but he gets fresh trouble by entering sympathetically 
 into the woes of the other. We can only bear another's burdens of trouble by 
 becoming troubled ourselves. How can we weep with those that weep unless we 
 share their sorrows? To attend to the troubles of others is both to lessen and to 
 increase our own troubles. Shall we then shut our ears to the cries of sorrow ? No ; 
 for the consideration of the troubles of others may reconcile us to the pains of our 
 own condition. There is to the (rue heart a sweet luxury in tasting the bitter cup of 
 other people's sorrows. And benevolence, not inordinate self-love, should be the 
 rule of life. The outward and the inward are closely and marvellously connected. 
 Place together the words " told it her," " exceedingly grieved." The words of the 
 maids acted powerfully on Esther's sensitive and loving nature. So it was with 
 Job. Alter the messengers had told him of the slaughter of his cattle, his servants, 
 and his children, then he rent his nuuitle, and shaved his head, and fell down upon 
 
cn.vr. iv.] nOMILETIO COMMENTARY: ESTHER. 11*5 
 
 the ground, and worshipped. Esther, however, did u< it know that Mordecai's calamity 
 was her own, and yet she was exceedingly grieved. Oh, these words ! One is 
 ready to say, Would that I had not been endowed with the power of speech ! These 
 words carry untold joy on their wings. What treasures they embody ! But oh, 
 what sorrows they produce ! A word may change a destiny. Guilty or not guilty 
 may mean life or death. These maids were no eloquent orators. They told a 
 simple tale, and the queen was exceedingly grieved. They might well recoil from 
 the effects of their own speech. It was not the style of the composition, but the 
 subject matter of the discourse that produced the effect. Let preachers and speakers 
 look to the matter as well as the manner. There was preparedness on the part of 
 Esther. She loved Mordecai, and so was exceedingly grieved when the maids 
 told her the story. Preparedness on the part of the hearer tends to make the 
 speaker eloquent and successful. A Demosthenes could not have made Hainan feel 
 for Mordecai's great trouble. A simple maid can send Esther into paroxysms of 
 convulsive grief. 
 
 III. The resulting sympathetic action. " She sent raiment to clothe Mordecai, 
 and to take away his sackcloth from him." Eoyalty weeps ; that is interesting 
 and commendable. Eoyalty weeps on hearing the account of the sorrows of one 
 of the subjects ; that is still more commendable. Eoyalty bends itself to try and 
 remove the trouble, and that is most commendable. A queen should be the mother 
 of her people. Esther was a motherly queen, and sought by gentle nursing to 
 remove the pains of the sick and troubled Mordecai. Sympathy should be practical. 
 Tears are good, but tears that do not now to water and nourish noble purposes, and 
 practical efforts for the good of others, will be like the streams that flow to deaden life, 
 and to produce miserable petrifactions. These maids were successful preachers. 
 The bearers went forth to do good. Many preachers preach for years and not one 
 Esther is found to go forth and remore the sackcloth from the Mordecais. Practical- 
 ness is the want of the age. A little more of wise utilitarianism is needed in the 
 present day. Preachers to tell the story simply of the world's troubles ; Esthers 
 to hear the story sympathetically, and then not to gc home to their play, their 
 luxuries, and their pleasures, but to visit the Mordecais, and if this be not possible, 
 to send goodly raiment to those clothed in sackcloth. Sympathy should be guided 
 hy vise discretion. Esther did not understand all the case, and she committed an 
 error. But while we condemn, let us remember that she did what she could. And 
 even mistaken workers will not lose their reward if the work is done from a right 
 motive. A new raiment cannot remove sorrow. The tailor cannot minister to a 
 mind diseased. The dressmaker cannot root out the deep-seated sorrow of the 
 brain, that is, not as a mere dressmaker. Harm may then be done by acting 
 according to mere sympathetic impulses. In benevolent enterprises there must be 
 the exercise of the judgment. A new raiment may be a disastrous gift as well as 
 useless. And the receiver of the gift may not be as wise as Mordecai. The latter 
 rejected the offer, but the former may clutch at the present to his own damage. 
 
 IV. The strange but wise rejection. " But he received it not." There 
 are circumstances under which gifts may be wisely refused, and this was one of 
 those occasions. Strange at first sight that Mordecai should refuse Esther's loving 
 offer of help. If he felt that sorrow w r as better than laughter, he might have taken 
 the raiment of joy to show his grateful appreciation of Esther's consideration. 
 What an ungrateful and unseemly course of conduct ! would Hainan have exclaimed 
 had he heard of the case. Just like that surly dog Mordecai, who would not bow 
 to me as I passed. But Mordecai had a wise reason for his course. He had a 
 purpose in view. The true cause of his sorrow must be made known to Esther. He 
 was grateful to Esther, but he must still be stern in order to bring her up to the 
 point of self-sacrifice and heroic daring. Self-interest and the feeling of affection 
 must not be allowed to stand in the way of duty. We have seen that Mordecai 
 loved Esther, but we now see that he would forego her love and even treat her 
 
116 
 
 IWMILETIC COMMENTARY: ESTHER. 
 
 [CHAP. IV. 
 
 rudely at the call of patriotism, 
 love of duty. 
 
 Love of kindred must be subordinated to the 
 
 Suggestive Comments on Verse 4. 
 
 The perpetual intelligences that were 
 closely held betwixt Esther and Mor- 
 decai could not suffer his public sorrows 
 to be long concealed from her. The 
 news of his sackcloth afflicts her ere 
 she can suspect the cause ; her crown 
 doth but clog her head while she hears 
 of his ashes. True friendship transforms 
 us into the condition of those we love ; 
 and, if we cannot raise them to our 
 cheerfulness, draws us down to their 
 dejection. Fain would she uncase her 
 foster father of these mournful weeds, 
 and change his sackcloth for tissue ; 
 that yet, at least, his clothes might not 
 hinder his access to her presence for the 
 free opening of his griefs. It is but a 
 slight sorrow that abides to take in out- 
 ward comforts ; Mordecai refuses that 
 hind offer, and would have Esther see 
 that his affliction was such as that he 
 might w r ell resolve to put off his sack- 
 cloth and his skin at once ; that he must 
 nn mm to death, rather than see her face 
 to live. — Bishop Hall. 
 
 Ignorant as yet of the evil that was 
 purposed against her nation, and sup- 
 posing that it was some private sorrow 
 that pressed upon the spirit of her friend, 
 Esther sent a change of raiment to him, 
 thus expressing her desire that, what- 
 ever the cause of his trouble was, she 
 was anxious that he should be comforted. 
 This was one of the ways in which, in 
 those times and countries, sympathy and 
 affection were manifested. And so we 
 learn that when the prodigal returned, 
 the father said to his servants, " Bring 
 forth the best robe and put it on him, 
 and put a ring on his hand, and shoes 
 on his feet." And it is in allusion to 
 the same custom that the Saviour says, 
 li The Lord hath sent me to appoint 
 unto them that mourn in Zion ; to give 
 unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of 
 joy for mourning, and the garment of 
 praise for the spirit of heaviness." It 
 is a very pleasing trait in the character 
 of Esther, that her advancement, and 
 the grandeur and luxury of the palace, 
 
 had not made her forget the friend of 
 her childhood. His grief touched her 
 heart, and she would have him know 
 this. But his sorrow was too deeply- 
 seated to be assuaged even by her kind- 
 ness. Mordecai refused the raiment 
 which she sent, and persisted in wear- 
 ing his sackcloth. The rejection of such 
 a present would have been accounted 
 highly offensive in ordinary circum- 
 stances, but it only made Esther appre- 
 hend that Mordecai's trouble must be 
 of no usual kind. — Davidson. 
 
 Esther, in her elevation, and in separ- 
 ation from her friends, was far from 
 forgetting them. She was deeply afflicted 
 when she heard of the mourning habit 
 and sore affliction of Mordecai. She 
 was vexed that he should appear at the 
 king's gate in a dress in which he could 
 not enter it, and therefore sent to him a 
 change of raiment. But she knew not 
 the sources of his distress. Grief so 
 firmly rooted and so well founded could 
 not be removed without a removal of its 
 cause. To send him change of raiment 
 was like singing songs to a heavy heart. 
 Mordecai was doubtless pleased with 
 her kind attention; but she must do 
 something of a very different nature to 
 banish his sorrows. — Laieson. 
 
 The character of Esther is greatly 
 enhanced in our view from this little 
 incidental circumstance. It shows that 
 her feelings had not been blunted by 
 her exaltation and the influences of 
 the court life of Shushan ; that she 
 was not self-contained, but had an 
 admirable tenderness and consideration 
 for others, and that she was willing to 
 relieve their burdens by becoming her- 
 self a sharer in and a mutual bearer of 
 them. Never does woman appear more 
 noble, and we might almost say resplen- 
 dent in moral beauty, than when be- 
 coming a true " Sister of Mercy " to our 
 fallen humanity. The New Testament 
 Scriptures sparkle and glitter with such 
 characters as this. Mary anointing the 
 feet of Jesus with pure spikenard of 
 
ciiap. rv.] 
 
 HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: ESTHER. 
 
 11' 
 
 great price, and wiping them, with the 
 hairs of her head, as if she could not 
 find a token sufficiently tender of her 
 respect and love. Martha actively en- 
 gaged in benefitting a beloved brother, 
 and unweariedly serving in every-day 
 life the Saviour whom she adored. 
 Dorcas " full of good works and alms- 
 deeds," seeking to help the poor and 
 comfort the widows at Joppa, and leav- 
 ing behind a blank when she died, the 
 greatness of which was evinced by the 
 tears of a bereaved multitude. Phoebe, 
 the deaconess of Cenchrea, a " succourer 
 of many." Priscilla, the true helpmate 
 of her devoted husband in the work of 
 the Lord. Lydia, and Joanna, and 
 Susanna, and Syntyche, and Salome, 
 and Tryphena, and Tryphosa, and many 
 others, whose names are in the book of 
 life. The ministry of woman may be 
 silent and noiseless as the light which 
 shines into the chamber in the morn- 
 ing without breaking the repose of the 
 sleeper ; but as the light, too, it is mighty 
 in diffusing around cheerfulness and 
 blessing. And never does she appear 
 more laudably than in the homes of the 
 suffering, like the angel who strengthened 
 our Lord in his agony. So do we honour 
 Esther the more because of this side- 
 light thrown on her character. Though 
 it was only a sorrowful kinsman wailing 
 at the gate, yet was there on this ac- 
 count one queenly heart in the palace 
 which was "exceedingly grieved." — 
 McEwan. 
 
 So Esther's maids came and told it 
 her. — She herself (say interpreters) was 
 kept in a closer place than they, not 
 having the liberty of going abroad, as 
 others had, because the Persians that 
 were of highest quality used so to keep 
 in their wives ; and if they went forth 
 at any time, they were carried in a close 
 chariot, so as that none could see them. 
 
 Then teas the queen exceedingly 
 grieved. — Dolens exhorruit. So Tre- 
 mellius. The Hebrew is, she grieved 
 herself, scil., for M ordecai's heaviness ; 
 as our Saviour, when he heard of the 
 death of his friend Lazarus, groaned in 
 spirit and troubled himself. And here 
 we see that of Plautus disproved — No 
 woman can grieve heartily for anything. 
 
 Holy Esther is here sick at heart of grief, 
 as the word importeth ; and yet (as one 
 saith of the Lady Jane Grey) she made 
 grief itself amiable — her night-clothes be- 
 coming her as well as her day-dressings, 
 by reason of her gracious deportment. 
 
 And she sent raiment to clothe Mor- 
 decai. — That he might be fit to come 
 unto her, and make known the cause of 
 his grief, for she yet knew nothing of 
 the public calamity. And although she 
 was so highly advanced above Mordecai, 
 yet she condoleth with him, and hon- 
 oureth him as much as ever. This was 
 true friendship. Ego aliter amare non 
 didici, said Basil to one that disliked 
 him for stooping so low to an old friend. 
 
 But he received it not. — Such was 
 the greatness of his grief which he could 
 not dissemble, such was his care of the 
 community, that he could not mind his 
 own private concernments while it went 
 ill with the public. Such also was his 
 patient continuance in well-doing, that 
 he would not give over asking of God 
 till he had received, seeking till he had 
 found, knocking till the gate of grace 
 was open. His clothes were good enough, 
 unless his condition were more comfort- 
 able. — Trapp. 
 
 Temporal fortunes and successes are 
 never so great as not to be subject to 
 sorrow, terror, and fear. God permits 
 his Church to be plunged into sorrow 
 at times ; he leads her even into hell ; 
 but he also takes her out again. Though 
 the Lord elevate us to high honours, we 
 should never be ashamed of our poor 
 relatives, but rather relieve their needs. 
 "We should never reject proper and suit- 
 able means to escape a danger, but 
 promptly use them. — Starke. 
 
 At first the lazy (i. e. Jews) do not 
 snore. For the Holy Spirit exhorts us 
 in all adversities to confide in the Lord ; 
 he does not exhort us to be indolent, 
 indifferent, and sleepy. For our con- 
 fidence in the Lord is a powerful and 
 efficacious means of stimulating in his 
 service all strength and limbs. Fur- 
 ther, the Jews, though in the greatest 
 peril, do not utter virulent words against 
 the king, nor do they fly to arms. Mor- 
 decai and the other Jews rend their gar- 
 ments, put on sackcloth, strew ashes 
 
H9 
 
 I/o.MlLETIC COMMENTARY: ESTHER. 
 
 [ciiAr. iv. 
 
 upon tlieii heads, wail, weep, and fast. 
 These manifestations signify not that 
 the Jews in Persia were turbulent, but 
 that they take refuge in God ; since help 
 could not be discovered upon earth, they 
 seek it from heaven. " The sacrifices of 
 ( J dd are a broken spirit : a broken and 
 a contrite heart, God, thou wilt not 
 despise." By this example Ave too are 
 taught, that when afflictions are sent 
 upon us we should reflect that God sets 
 before us the fat oxen and calves which 
 we may oiler to him. In this may we 
 offer to God in our prayers the afflictions 
 which we sustain, and call upon the 
 name of the Lord that he may help us. 
 Behold, however, the reverse of this 
 order of things. The palaces of princes 
 are Divinely instituted to be the places 
 of refuge for the miserable. On the 
 contrary, in the palaces of Persia nothing 
 is regarded as more odious and abomin- 
 able than men with the signs of afflic- 
 tion. Heaven is ever open to the cries 
 of mourners, and God is never unap- 
 proachable to those calling on his name 
 by faith. — Brenz. 
 
 Vers. 1, 6. 1. Mordecai rends his 
 clothing, and puts on sackcloth and 
 ashes. He enters the city thus, and 
 raises a great and bitter lamentation. 
 So also the Church of God, in its de- 
 velopment as regards the history of 
 humanity, should again and ever anew 
 put on the habiliments of mourning. 
 '• The world shall rejoice : and ye shall 
 be sorrowful." The then existing nation 
 of Jews could not manifest its loyalty to 
 law without coming into conflict with 
 heathendom. Nor can the Church 
 bring to development its inherent spirit- 
 ual powers without challenging all the 
 Hamans and their opposition in the 
 world. Even this present period is an 
 instance in proof. Following upon the 
 great progress of the things of the king- 
 dom of God since the time of Avars for 
 freedom, we must, naturally expect re- 
 actions, such as have been manifest in 
 the sphere of science and other relations. 
 Indeed, we must constantly look for 
 increasing opposition on the part- of the 
 world. But when the Church shall 
 have fully developed the gifts of grace 
 granted to it, then conflict and sorrow 
 
 will have reached its highest point at 
 the end of the days. The real cause of 
 sorrow on the part of the true members 
 of God's Church will not be, as was the 
 case with Mordecai, their own distress, 
 but that of the world. It will consist 
 in the fact that the world is still devoid 
 of the blessed society of the true God ; 
 that the kingdom of God is still rejected 
 and even persecuted. What joy it 
 would give if, instead of enmity, recog- 
 nition and submission, and, instead of 
 disdain, a participation in the gifts and 
 grace of our Lord, were to become the 
 universal experience. 
 
 2. The more difficult the position of 
 the Church as in contrast with the world, 
 the more favourable is her position for 
 bringing to view her glory. Her glory 
 is that of her Head. If in the Old 
 Testament times, and in the " disper- 
 sion " itself, there existed a Mordecai, 
 who for love of his people manifested 
 his firmness and strength in the hour of 
 tribulation ; and if there was found an 
 Esther, who, when called upon, will- 
 ingly came forward to bring about the 
 salvation of her countrymen ; how much 
 more in New Testament times and in 
 the modern Church will there arise in- 
 dividuals who, in following the Lord, 
 especially in evil days, will manifest a 
 watchful care for others and a self-sacri- 
 ficing spirit for them ; who will show 
 forth patience and meekness as well as 
 energy, fidelity, and tenacity, a spirit of 
 giving and an ability to make sacriflces ; 
 and withal will carry in their hearts joy 
 and peace as the seal of their kinship 
 with God. All these graces may be so 
 many illuminating rays of the glorious 
 life of their Lord and Saviour Jesus 
 Christ, who more and more attains in 
 them a full stature. May all seize the 
 special opportunity, recognize the par- 
 ticular duty, and know Avhen to perform 
 it, which the times of distress of the 
 Church place in the hand, of showing 
 forth the power that dwells in them by 
 their life and work ! 
 
 3. Mordecai took an especially great, 
 part in the universal grief that overcame 
 the Jews when the edict of their annihil- 
 ation Avas issued and promulgated. It 
 Avas not his personal danger that alarmed 
 
CHAP. IV.] 
 
 HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: ESTHER. 
 
 119 
 
 him, but, as may be expected of such a 
 faithful follower of Judaism, it was the 
 calamity threatening the whole Jewish 
 people. While, however, thought and 
 feeling were centred upon the event, he 
 was free from despair. With him it was a 
 settled conviction that the people of God, 
 as a whole, could not he destroyed, and 
 that deliverance must come from some 
 source. Instead of giving way to de- 
 spondency, he turned his distress into a 
 poAver that urged him to still greater 
 endeavours. There was no more a fear of 
 appearing as a Jew, nor did he hesitate 
 because his loud lamentations would 
 attract general attention, and therein 
 expose him to the derision and disdain 
 of many. However reluctant he might 
 have been to expose his beloved Esther, 
 whose welfare had ever been a matter of 
 great concern to him, to extreme danger, 
 still he persisted with the greatest deter- 
 mination that she should run the whole 
 risk, and only rested when she gave her 
 assent. It is barely possible that he 
 attributed some blame to himself because 
 of his firmness against Hainan, or thought 
 that on that account he more than any 
 other was under obligation to remove the 
 threatened danger. The sole moving 
 impulse was doubtless his love for his 
 people. But this should not be less in 
 any member of the Church. It should 
 rather, in proportion as there are more 
 members in the body of Christ, be 
 stronger than it was in him. Would that 
 no one among us were behind him as 
 regards energy, self-denial, and a willing- 
 ness to make sacrifice ! There are doubt- 
 less many who are able to endure all 
 this in their own person. But — if no 
 lighter consideration — the thought that 
 their relatives, yea, even wife and chil- 
 dren, may suffer on account of their 
 confession bows them down. Would, 
 
 if necessary, that we too may stand equal 
 to Mordecai in willingness to surrender 
 our dearest kin! 
 
 4. Mordecai manifests a remarkable 
 tenacity as opposed to Esther. He 
 keeps his position at the gate of the 
 king until she sends him not only her 
 maids with garments, but also Hatach 
 to transmit his message. He departs 
 not thence until she has resolved to 
 stand before Ahasuerus as a Jew plead- 
 ing for the Jews. Under other circum- 
 stances he might have been thought to 
 be tiresome by his persistency and 
 demands ; but his relation to her now 
 justified it. When he had been accus- 
 tomed to inquire concerning her health 
 and well-being, to give her counsel, to 
 care for her, he had shown no less per- 
 sistency ; and his demand that now she 
 should reveal her Jewish descent, and 
 as such should venture all, was equally 
 in keeping with his character. So long 
 as no danger threatened he counselled 
 her to keep silence respecting her Jewish 
 parentage ; but now he had himself 
 taken the lead in an open confession of 
 the fact. Although it had before been 
 difficult for him to approach Esther as 
 the queen, or request any favour at her 
 hand now he hesitated no longer to im- 
 plore her help, not so much for himself, 
 as for the whole people. There was no 
 motive for him to be selfish, or to con- 
 duct himself in a heartless or severe 
 manner towards her. Hence there was 
 no question but that his undertaking 
 would succeed, that Esther would be 
 willing to comply with his request. It 
 is eminently desirable that those who, 
 like him, must move and induce others 
 to make sacrifices of self and possessions 
 in the service of the kingdom of God, 
 should stand on a level with him in 
 this respect. — Lange. 
 
 MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH. Verses 5, 6. 
 
 A Ministerial Appointment. 
 
 " Hatach, one of the eunuchs in the court of Ahasuerus, in immediate attendance 
 on Esther." This is the short and simple biography of Hatach given in the secular 
 chronicles, and the account given in the sacred chronicle is not much longer. How- 
 ever, the best men have not the longest biographies. Indeed, it may be safely 
 
120 IIOMILETIC COMMENTARY: ESTHER. [chap. iv. 
 
 asserted that some of earth's noblest sons have not had their virtues either recorded 
 by the historian or celebrated by the poet. Modest goodness blooms in the shade, 
 and passes away without a grand funeral oration. Not the merely useful, but the 
 brilliant life is that which commands attention and receives applause. Hatach's 
 life does not seem to have been of the brilliant character. His position precluded 
 the possibility of startling adventure. He moved along in a quiet sphere ; but he 
 is commended now as being a pleasing contrast to the character given of othei 
 eunuchs. Fryer and Chardin describe the eunuchs as being the base and ready 
 tools of licentiousness, as tyrannical in humour, and pertinacious in the authority 
 which they exercise; as eluded and ridiculed by those whom it is their office to 
 guard. Hatach evidently did not take a mean advantage arising from his position. 
 Instead of being tyrannical in humour, and pertinacious in authority, he appears 
 to have been amenable to the authority of Esther, and to have done her bidding 
 most readily. It may be that Hatach felt the salutary influence of Esther's loveli- 
 ness and Esther's virtuous nature. As she exercised a wise influence over her 
 maids, so she may have exercised a similar influence over Hatach. A good life is 
 not without its influential power. A good woman's influence is especially radiating 
 and subduing and elevating. This eunuch must have received moral as well as 
 material advantages from this ministerial appointment. In serving Ahasuerus he 
 served one of the mightiest of earthly kings at that period ; but in serving Esther 
 he was waiting upon one who was the servant of the King of all worlds. God can 
 so order it that the servants of kings shall be the servants of his chosen ; so that 
 earthly kings become indirectly, and sometimes directly, the servants of heaven's 
 royal children. Earthly ambition is to minister to the royalties of earth; but the 
 noblest ambition is to minister to the royalties of heaven. This ministry is satis- 
 factory, and is sure to meet with its appropriate reward. And if Hatach served 
 with a view to this higher ministry, he may claim a distant kinship with that other 
 eunuch, who served Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, and who said, "I believe that 
 Jesus Christ is the Son of God." Why may not Esther have her converted eunuch 
 as well as Philip 1 Heaven is larger than we think. Time is peopling eternity. 
 Heaven's children may come from heathen palaces as well as from Christian homes. l 
 But we may safely leave Hatach and his kind to the mercy of that God who is 
 larger than the dogmatists. 
 
 I. A ministerial appointment suggested by self-love. Hatach was appointed 
 by King Ahasuerus to attend upon Esther. And it must be plain that Ahasuerus 
 made this appointment not to subserve the interests of his subjects, not to consolidate 
 his kingdom, not to make his people virtuous and happy, but to minister either to 
 his own vanity or to his love of pleasure. Such an appointment finds its counter- 
 part in other times and in far different states of society. How many appointments 
 all through life are made in consequence of the working of self-love ! We have 
 often heard the phrase court favourites. The minions of the court are found not 
 only in the palace, but in the house of legislature, on the seat of justice, and at 
 the head of the army. The ablest men are not always selected, but the men who 
 can bring the most influence to bear. The men who can successfully appeal to the 
 selfishness of the riding powers will rise above the heads of those superior men who 
 either cannot or will not use such base means for elevation. It is a happy thing 
 in our times that commoners — men not noble by birth, but noble by sterling worth 
 and by brilliant characters — are taking their place in the front ranks. But still 
 the men who can fawn and cringe and not be true to principle are in high places. 
 In the ecclesiastical kingdom too ministerial appointments are made through the 
 working of this low principle of self-love. Sometimes unconscious, it may be, but 
 nevertheless operative. There is nepotism in the Church. The son or the nephew 
 gets the good Living, while the superior man remains a curate still. The man, in 
 other Churches, of showy qualities secures the votes of the congregation, while the 
 man of more solid but less brilliant character is left in obscurity. It is what we 
 
CHAP, it.] HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: ESTHER. 121 
 
 may call a happy chance when the working of self-love hrings the best man to the 
 front. We have no reason to suppose that the appointment of Hatach was not a 
 good one. 
 
 II. A ministerial appointment suggested by unselfish, love. Ahasuerus 
 made a ministerial appointment, and Esther also made a ministerial appointment. 
 Ahasuerus appointed Hatach to attend upon Esther, and Esther gave Hatach a 
 commandment to Mordecai. The latter appointment arose out of the working of 
 unselfish love. Esther's affection for her foster father would not let her rest, and 
 she sent the chamberlain to minister to Mordecai in his distress. The best appoint- 
 ments are those which are made through the working of unselfish love. Selfishness 
 blinds the mind and dwarfs the judgment. Benevolence is a truer guide in affairs 
 than great intellect if perverted by the working of selfishness. The king who 
 through true love to his subjects seeks their highest welfare will make the best 
 appointments in his kingdom. The Church that has a true love for humanity, that 
 is most desirous of blessing the race, of instructing the ignorant, of raising the fallen, 
 and of giving the oil of joy to the mourners, will secure the services of the truest 
 servants in her courts. Shall we not here think of the highest ministerial appoint- 
 ment made at the suggestion of infinite love 1 ? "God so loved the world, that he 
 gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but 
 have everlasting life." " The Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to 
 minister, and to give his life a ransom for many." 
 
 III. A ministerial appointment to the young and the joyful. We can well 
 imagine that there was great gladness to Hatach when he "received a call" to serve 
 in the palace of Ahasuerus, and had to " attend upon " the young, the beautiful, and 
 the joyful Esther. In one sense it would be a pleasant life., and comparatively free 
 from irksome duties. To wait upon other court beauties might be painful, for the 
 mere beauty is often exacting and difficult to please. The more her demands are 
 met, and the more numerous do they become. The very monotony of her life may 
 render it difficult to soothe her ill humours, and to find the means of relieving the 
 duhiess of her existence. But this difficulty would not obtain in the case of Esther, 
 for she had beauty of mind as well as beauty of person. She would be able to fall 
 back upon herself. As the good man is satisfied from himself, so Esther the go >d 
 woman would be satisfied from herself. It is well said that she required nothing. 
 The smallness of her requirements rendered it an easy task for Hatach to perforin 
 the duties of his post. How delightful to wait upon this young and joyful maiden ! 
 Instead of Hatach being required to charm away her griefs, we may easily and 
 reasonably suppose that she would be a wise charmer to Hatach. His sorrows 
 would be forgotten in her presence, and his joys would be increased by the influ- 
 ence of her joyful nature. Happy the man who has to wait upon the young and 
 the joyful ! As we think of the condition, we shrink from acknowledging the truth 
 of the wise man's statement. Sorrow is better than laughter. Men long for 
 appointments where life is rendered pleasant. To serve in the palace is more an 
 object of ambition than to serve in the abodes of misery. The house of feasting is 
 desired rather than the house of mourning. To preach in the well-arranged and 
 tastefully-built and decorated place of worship to a crowded and fashionable audience 
 is the fond desire of the large majority. 
 
 IV. A ministerial appointment to the old and the mournful. Hatach, we 
 find, was willing to go to Mordecai, the poor Jew, clothed in his hairy garment and 
 having ashes on his head. He passes from Esther to Mordecai with no signs of 
 unwillingness. He would willingly find out the means of lessening the anxiety of 
 Esther, while at the same time he seeks to lessen the grief of Mordecai. This is the 
 true ministry, to seek to comfort the aged, and to console the mourners. The highest 
 Minister set himself to this glorious work. "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, 
 because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor ; he hath sent me to 
 heal the broken-hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of 
 
122 II0M1LETIC COMMENTARY: ESTHER. [chap. iv. 
 
 sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable 
 year of the Lord." How slow most men are to follow this sublime example ! This 
 world is full of mourners ; but the cries of the mourners would be hushed in greater 
 measure if there were men with sympathetic and benevolent natures going forth with 
 words of gospel sweetness in their hearts, and the oil of gospel consolations in their 
 hands. 
 
 V. An undesigned connection arising from this ministerial appointment. 
 Here there is a wonderful chain of unexpected links. Ahasuerus, the mighty monarch, 
 ruling over the largest empire of the world, at one end of the chain ; and Mordecai, 
 the despised and captive Jew, at the other end of the chain — the joining links being 
 Esther the queen and Hatach the king's chamberlain. From a human point of view, 
 how mysterious are the ways by which men are linked together. The monarch is 
 bound to the captive by an invisible bond, and is nearer than he thinks. We are 
 indeed members one of another. There is a communistic principle working in 
 societies. But let there not be communistic violence. Let not Ahasuerus forget 
 the just claims of Mordecai. Let the monarch remember that manhood has its 
 rights. And let not the Mordecais seek their rights by violence, but betake them- 
 selves to fasting and prayer, as did this Mordecai, and deliverance must come sooner 
 or later. But these undesigned connections of earth are the designed connections 
 of heaven. It was evidently so in this case, and it is so in a greater number of 
 cases than we suppose. A greater number of cases ! If we believe in a great supreme 
 Power ruling over all, must we not behold his guiding and selecting power and 
 wisdom in all cases, or at least making use of earth's selections for the advancement 
 of his heneficent and all-wise purposes ] And God's direct ministerial appointments 
 do establish an extended connection. "Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth 
 to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation ! " The angels form a blessed 
 connection between the poor souls, enslaved by sin, but enfranchised by Divine 
 grace, and the eternal God. Wonderful the connection between Mordecai and 
 Ahasuerus, but surely more wonderful still the connection between the sinful but 
 redeemed creature and the glorious Creator. The gospel ministry speaks to us in 
 visible fashion of this connection. Redeemed men speak to men still in their sins. 
 Christ's true ambassadors stand between and join together the Saviour and the 
 believing sinner. The undesigned coincidences and connections of life are coincidences 
 and connections because God is working. The undesigned may be the product of 
 Divine purpose. The human has its undesigned movements, the Divine has no 
 purposeless motions. All is harmonious. The very discords of earth shall work to 
 the production of final and eternal concords. Chaos itself will give birth to Divine 
 order. Confusion is Avorking to the evolution of method. There are links of 
 connection binding all things together, both in the material and in the moral world. 
 
 VI. The unintentional benefit conferred by this ministerial appointment. 
 Ahasuerus had not the slightest idea of helping those Jews against whom he had 
 issued the murderous edict at the instigation of Haman. But here he is. Strange to 
 himself would his conduct have appeared if he had known all. At one time he is 
 working for the destruction of the Jews, and at another working for their deliverance. 
 Working for their deliverance not only in his selection of Esther to be queen, but 
 in the appointment of Hatach to be her minister. Esther herself could not hold 
 conference with Mordecai, and so Hatach the king's chamberlain becomes the 
 medium of communication. The very vices of kings have tended to the welfare of 
 their subjects ; but no excuse this for the vices. The blunders of sovereigns have 
 worked out to the vindication of the truth ; but this does not condone the blunders. 
 Kings by their weakness, by their love of display, by their fondness for pleasure 
 have unintentionally conferred benefits upon their people. They have sometimes 
 made wise appointments, and the nation lias rejoiced because the righteous are in 
 authority. By way of pleasant contrast, notice that the benefits conferred by 
 heaven's ministerial appointments are intentional. God's material ministers move 
 
chap, iv.] HOMILETIC COMMENTARY : ESTHER. 123 
 
 and work for the bestowal of benefits in answer to his merciful intention. God's 
 intellectual and moral ministers think, and speak, and write, and act for the 
 bestowal of benefits, for they have been raised up for this very purpose by his 
 benevolence. God's benevolence is not the working of a kind feeling only, but is 
 the expression of his infinite mind designing the welfare of his creatures. What- 
 ever benefits we receive from the ministry of others, while we practically show our 
 appreciation of such a beneficial ministry, let us above all manifest our sense of 
 indebtedness to God, from whom and by whom all true ministerial appointments 
 proceed and are made. 
 
 Notice that — (a) A true ministry is tico-sided. It is quite true that a ministry of 
 any importance must be many-sided. In these modern times the ministry as that 
 word has come to be used in an ecclesiastical sense, has upon it many claims. The 
 modern minister, if he is to meet the demands of the time, if he is to reach, half 
 way even, the standard set up by lecturers on preaching and preachers, must be 
 more than human ; he should indeed have eyes behind and before. But the ministry 
 of which we now speak is one not treated of in books on homiletics. Hatach is 
 not considered in the " letters ad clerum." There is a ministry where no eloquence 
 of tongue is required. The eloquence of the life is that which is required in every 
 ministry. Thus the true ministry is two-sided. It looks to heaven and it looks to 
 earth. It waits upon the joyful and goes with messages of comfort to the 
 mourners. Hatach waited in the palace and then went to the palace gates. 
 Let us use the case as a figurative teaching. "Wait in the palace of heaven, by 
 prayer and meditation, that we may minister to those standing without, (b) The 
 highest ministry is impelled by unselfish love. We are not in a position to 
 declare the motives which operated in the mind of Hatach ; but this we know, 
 that the pure womanly love of Esther impelled Hatach to go and speak to the 
 mourning Mordecai. Hatach may after all have been a mere servile menial in the 
 hands of Esther; still his ministry was the result of love in Esther, and was 
 therefore of the highest order. A base minister may perform the useful ami 
 beneficial acts of the ministry of love. But where love operates in the mind, love 
 from without and from above co-operating with love from within, and moving to 
 noblest action, there must be the highest ministry, (c) The noblest ministry 
 is that ichich seelis lowly spheres. " Hatach went forth to Mordecai unto 
 the street of the city, which was before the king's gate." Hatach may not 
 have relished the errand on which he was sent, but still he went. Esther 
 commanded, and Hatach obeyed. Lowly spheres may not always be desired ; 
 but if the command is given, the command ought to be obeyed. The streets of 
 modern cities are in a neglected condition. The mourners tread the pavements with 
 heavy hearts, and no Hatach asks what is the cause of the sorrow, no Hatach comes 
 from royal abodes to inquire if nothing can be done to remove the burden of grief. 
 Divine love gives a commandment for the poor outcasts — " Go into the highways 
 and hedges," but few are found ready to obey. Those who do go are not always 
 judicious. They have not heart sympathy with the distressed. They raise dismal 
 noises, and become a nuisance ; instead of quietly and lovingly asking " what it 
 was, and why it was," as did Hatach. (d) The tests for all ministries. Is it uniting 
 earth and heaven ] Is it bringing together all classes 1 Every life ought to be a 
 ministry, and every life should be tested by these questions. Is it conferring both 
 material and moral benefits 1 There should be no unproductive classes. Every 
 life should be a ministry of good. Is it a ministry for the instruction of the ignorant, 
 for the restoration of the fallen, and for the consolation of the mourners'? Happy 
 the nation where the inmates of the palace consider and seek to promote the welfare 
 and happiness of those in the streets of the cities and outside the palace gates. 
 There are still Hamans about our palaces. There will be Mordecais with bleeding 
 hearts. And the Esthers and the Hatachs have still plenty of room to work. 
 
124 
 
 nOMlLETIC COMMENTARY: ESTHER. 
 
 [ciiAr. iv. 
 
 Suggestive Comments on Verses 5, 6. 
 
 If we weep in sincerity with those 
 who weep, it will be our desire, if pos- 
 sible, to remove their sorrows. But to 
 this end it is necessary to know their 
 cause. Physicians cannot administer 
 proper medicines to their patients unless 
 they know the cause of their diseases. 
 They may palliate the symptoms, hut 
 the root of the distemper remains if the 
 cause is not removed. So we may 
 soothe the minds of persons labouring 
 under grief; but if they are rooted in 
 the mind, they wdl soon recover their 
 force, and hold the soul in misery, unless 
 the causes are removed ; and these can- 
 not be removed but by a change in those 
 outward circumstances which occasioned 
 them, or by a change in the state of the 
 mind, when it is convinced that the 
 supposed causes do not exist, or that 
 they are not sufficient grounds for the 
 sorrows they occasioned, or that relief or 
 consolation may be found of virtue suffi- 
 cient to counteract their force. Esther 
 could not now visit Mordecai, or call 
 him to her palace, and therefore, con- 
 versing with him by means of a third 
 person, inquires into the causes of his 
 distress, with a sincere intention to do 
 everything in her power to set his heart 
 at ease. — Lawson. 
 
 The good queen is astonished with 
 this constant humiliation of so dear a 
 friend, and now sends Hatach, a trusty 
 though a pagan attendant, to inquire 
 into the occasion of this so irremediable 
 heaviness. It should seem Esther in- 
 quired not greatly into matters of state ; 
 that which perplexed all Shushan was 
 not yet known to her ; her followers, not 
 knowing her to be a Jewess, conceived 
 not how the news might concern her, 
 and therefore had forborne the relation. 
 Mordecai first informs her, by her mes- 
 senger, of the decree that was gone out 
 against all her nation, of the day wherein 
 they must all prepare to bleed, of the 
 sum which Hainan had proffered for 
 their heads, anil delivers the copy of 
 that bloody edict, charging her now, if 
 ever, to bestir herself, and to improve 
 all her love, all her power, with King 
 
 Ahasuerus, in a speedy and humble sup- 
 plication for the saving of the life not 
 of himself so much as of her people. — 
 Bishop Hall. 
 
 The lesson which I would give you is 
 founded on Mordecai's grief and Esther's 
 sympathy. Gladly would she have re- 
 moved the sorrow of her friend, and 
 willingly would she have mingled her 
 tears with his, had it been permitted. 
 Her sympathy he could not doubt ; but 
 there are griefs deeper than human 
 sympathy can reach, and Mordecai's 
 were beyond Esther's power to assuage. 
 She could only be helpful by speaking 
 to the king. It was the king alone that 
 could change the sorrow into joy. The 
 mourners in Zion have the sympathy of 
 their brethren, and that sympathy is 
 sweet. But still it cannot heal the 
 wounds of a spirit that is troubled by 
 the sense of sin, nor of a heart that is 
 sore pierced by God's afflictive dispensa- 
 tion. But the King of Zion can heal 
 these wounds ; and he is touched with 
 the feeling of his people's infirmities — he 
 breaketh not the bruised reed ; he will 
 heal them. Cast yourselves upon Jesus, 
 ye mourners, with simple-hearted faith, 
 and ask of him the comfort which ye 
 need, and you will receive the oil of joy 
 for mourning, and the garment of praise 
 for the spirit of heaviness. — Davidson. 
 
 So strictly did the laws of Persia 
 confine wives, especially the king's wives, 
 that it was not possible for Mordecai to 
 have a conference with Esther about this 
 important affair ; but divers messages are 
 here carried between them by Hatach, 
 whom the king had appointed to attend 
 her, and it seems he was one she could 
 confide in. She sent to Mordecai to 
 know more particularly and fully what the 
 trouble was which he was now lament- 
 ing, and why it was that he would not 
 put off his sackcloth. To inquire thus 
 after news, that we may know the 
 better how to direct our griefs and joys, 
 our prayers and praises, well becomes all 
 those that love Zion. If we must weep 
 with those that weep, we must know 
 why they weep. — Matthew Henry. 
 
CHAP. IV.] 
 
 HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: ESTHER. 
 
 \2o 
 
 Then called Esther for Hatach.—She 
 snufi'eth not at M'ordecai's refusal of her 
 courtesy. She saith not, Let him choose ; 
 the next offer shall be worse. Solomon 
 reckoneth among those four things that 
 the earth cannot hear, a handmaid ad- 
 vanced to the place and state of a mis- 
 tress. But Esther was none such. In 
 her you might have seen singular humility 
 in height of honours. She calleth there 
 for Hatach, a faithful servant, and per- 
 haps a Jew, a Jew inwardly. Honesty 
 flows from piety. 
 
 Whom he had appointed to attend 
 upon her. — Heb., whom he had set 
 before her, to be at her beck and obedi- 
 ence. Probably he was happy in such a 
 service, for goodness is communicative, 
 and of a spreading nature. Plutarch 
 saith of the neighbour villages of Eome 
 in Numa's time, that, sucking in the air 
 of that city, they breathed righteousness 
 and devotion. So it might very well be 
 here. It was so with Abraham's ser- 
 vants, and Solomon's, and Cornelius's. 
 Nero complained (and no wonder) that 
 he could never find a faithful servant. 
 What could they learn from him but 
 villany and cruelty 1 
 
 And gave him a commandment to 
 Mordecai, i. e. she commanded him to 
 deliver her mind to Mordecai. A ser- 
 vant is not to be inquisitive (John xv. 
 15 — he knoweth not what his lord doeth), 
 but executive, ready to do what is 
 required of him. He is the master's 
 instrument, and wholly his, o\wc iniivov, 
 saith Aristotle. The hands must take 
 counsel of the head, and bestir them. 
 
 To Tcnoio what it ivas, and why it ivas. 
 — Some great matter she well knew it 
 must needs be that put him to these 
 loud laments. Wise men cry not till 
 they are sorely hurt. Job's stroke was 
 heavier than his groaning. He was not 
 of those that are ever whining; like 
 some men's flesh, if their skin be but 
 razed with a pin, it presently rankleth 
 and festereth ; or, like rotten boughs, if 
 a light weight be but hung on them, 
 they presently creak and break. Mor- 
 decai she knew was none such. She 
 therefore sendeth to see what was the 
 matter, that she might help him, if 
 possible. The tears and moans of men 
 
 in misery are not to be slighted, as if 
 they were nothing to us. Who is af- 
 flicted, and I burn not ? saith Paul. 
 Weep with those that weep, else you 
 add to their misery, as the priest and 
 Levite did by passing by the wounded 
 man. Is it nothing to you, ye that 
 pass by the way 1 Are ye not also in 
 the body, that is, in the body of flesh and 
 frailty, subject to like afflictions 1 And 
 may not your sins procure their suffer- 
 ings, as a vein is opened in the arm to 
 ease the pain of the head. — Trapp. 
 
 A Christian is no libertine, no man of 
 freedom. He is a servant. Indeed, we 
 have changed our master. We are set 
 at liberty from the slavery of sin and 
 Satan ; but it is not that we should do 
 nothing, to be Belials without yoke ; 
 but it is to serve God. We are taken 
 from the service of Satan to be the 
 Lord's freemen ; and indeed it is to that 
 end. We are delivered that we might 
 serve God. Therefore all the actions of 
 our life should be a" service " to God. 
 The beasts and othp-r creatures and Ave 
 have common actions, such as we do in 
 common, as to eat, and to drink, and to 
 move. The beast doth this, and man 
 doth it. When a man doth them they 
 are reasonable actions, because they are 
 guided by reason, and moderated by 
 reason ; but when the beast doth them 
 they are the actions of a beast, because 
 he hath no better faculty to guide him. 
 So common actions, they are not a ser- 
 vice of God as they come from common 
 men, that have not grace and the Spirit 
 of God in their hearts ; they are mere 
 buying and selling, and going about the 
 actions of their callings, as the actions of 
 a beast are the actions of a beast. But 
 let a Christian come to do them, he hath 
 a higher life and a higher spirit that 
 makes them spiritual actions that are 
 common in themsel ves. He raiseth them 
 to a higher order and rank. Therefore a 
 Christian "serveth" God. In all that 
 he doth he hath an eye to God ; that 
 which another man doth with no eye to 
 God, but merely in civil respects. The 
 knowledge of a commonwealth, it is a 
 building knowledge, acommanding know- 
 ledge ; for though a statesman doth not 
 build, he doth not buy and sell and 
 
126 
 
 HOMILETJO COMMENTARY: ESTHER. 
 
 [chap. iv. 
 
 commerce, but he useth all other trades 
 fol the good of the state. It is a know- 
 Ledge commanding all other inferior arts 
 and trades in a commonwealth to the 
 last end. They should all be serviceable 
 to the commonwealth; and if they be 
 not, away with them. So religion, and 
 the knowledge of Divine things, it is a 
 commanding knowledge; it commands 
 all other services in our callings, &c. It 
 doth not teach a man what he shall do 
 in particular in his calling ; but it 
 teacheth him how to direct that calling 
 to serve God, to be advantageous and 
 helpful to his general calling ; to further 
 him to heaven, to make everything 
 reductive to his last end, which he sets 
 before him ; that is, to honour and serve 
 God in all things, to whom lin desires to 
 approve himself in life and death. He 
 hath a principle, the Holy Ghost in him, 
 and he labours to reduce everything to 
 the main end. Oh that we were in this 
 temper ! 
 
 God will have his children serve out 
 their generation, to try the truth of 
 our graces before we come to heaven. 
 And he will have us perfect before we 
 come to so holy a place. He will have 
 us " grow in grace," as Ahasuerus his 
 wives were to be perfumed and prepared 
 before they came to him. It is a holy 
 place that we hope for, a holy condition ; 
 therefore he will have us by little and 
 little be fitted by the Spirit of God. 
 
 The Scripture values men by that that 
 God values them, and not as men do, by 
 their life, and reign, and nourishing in 
 the world, and their esteem with men, 
 but as his carriage hath been to God. 
 David " served the will of God " in his 
 generation. 
 
 Concerning the relation of servants, in 
 a word, some are so by office, as magis- 
 trates and ministers, but all are servants 
 as Christians. It was the best flower in 
 David's garland to be a servant to the 
 Lord ; and it is so for every one, be they 
 never so great in dignity, to serve God ; 
 for to serve him is to run into the most 
 noble service of all, for all God's servants 
 shall be kings, nay, thev are kings. And 
 then it is a rich and most beneficial 
 service; for we serve a Lord that will 
 reward to a cup of cold water. It is nob 
 
 such a service as Pharaoh's was, to 
 gather stubble ourselves ; but he will 
 enable us to do, and where we fail he 
 will pardon, and when we do anything 
 he will reward, and when our enemies 
 oppress us he will take our parts. 
 
 A child of God is the greatest free- 
 man, and the best servant, even as 
 Christ was the best servant, yet none so. 
 free ; and the greater portion any man 
 hath of his Spirit, the freer disposition he 
 hath to serve every one in love. Even 
 the basest works are a service of God 
 when they are done in obedience to 
 God. The poor servant " serves the 
 Lord Christ." When a poor servant is 
 at his work, employed in the business of 
 man, poor, common things, yet he serves 
 the Lord all the while. He serves those 
 that are his governors, with an eye to 
 the great Governor and Master that is 
 above all, that will reward them for their 
 poor service, however their master re- 
 ward them. — Sibbes. 
 
 Every man may be considered under 
 a double capacity or relation. As he is 
 a part or member of the body politic, 
 and so is not his own, but stands in- 
 cluded in and possessed by the com- 
 munity. In which capacity he is obliged 
 to contribute his proportion of help to 
 the public, as sharing from thence with 
 others the benefits of society, and so 
 being accountable to make it some retri- 
 bution in his particular station and con- 
 dition. A man may be considered as 
 he is a member and subject of a spirit- 
 ual and higher kingdom. And in this 
 capacity he is to pursue the personal 
 yet great interest of his own salvation. 
 He is sent into this world to make sure 
 of a better; to glorify his Maker by 
 studying to save himself ; and, in a 
 word, to aim at enjoyments Divine and 
 supernatural, and higher than this animal 
 life can aspire unto. Every man then 
 sustains a double capacity, according to 
 which he has a double work or calling. 
 A temporal one, by which he is to fill 
 up some place in the commonwealth by 
 the exercise of some useful profession, 
 whether as a divine, lawyer, or phy- 
 sician ; a merchant, soldier, mariner, or 
 any inferior handicraft ; by all which, as 
 by so many greater and less wheels, the 
 
CHAP. 1V.J 
 
 HOMILETIC COMMENTARY : ESTHER. 
 
 127 
 
 business of the vast body of the public 
 is carried on, its necessities served, and 
 its state upheld. And God, who has 
 ordained both society and order, accounts 
 himself so much served by each man's 
 diligent pursuit, though of the meanest 
 trade, that his stepping out of the bounds 
 of it to some other work (as he pre- 
 sumes) more excellent is but a bold and 
 thankless presumption, by which the 
 man puts himself out of the common 
 way and guard of Providence. For God 
 requires no man to be praying or reading 
 when the exigence of his profession calls 
 him to his hammer or his needle ; nor 
 commands any one from his shop to go 
 hear sermon in the church, much less to 
 preach one in the pulpit. God, as the 
 Lord and great Master of the family of 
 the universe, is still calling upon all his 
 servants to work and labour. A thing so 
 much disdained by the gallant and the 
 epicure is yet that general standing price 
 that God and nature has set upon every 
 
 enjoyment this side heaven ; and he that 
 invades the possession of anything, but 
 upon this claim, is an intruder and a 
 usurper. I have given order, says the 
 Apostle, " that if any refuse to labour, 
 neither should he eat." It is the active 
 arm and the busy hand that must both 
 purvey for the mouth and, withal, give it 
 a right to every morsel that is put into 
 it. Correspondent to a Christian's other, 
 that is, his spiritual capacity, he has 
 also a spiritual calling or profession ; 
 and the work that this engages him to 
 is that grand one of working out his 
 salvation ; a work that a life is too 
 little for, had a man anything more than 
 a life to bestow upon it; a work that 
 runs out into eternity, and upon which 
 depends the woe or welfare of an im- 
 mortal soul. Now this work is threefold 
 — to make our peace with God ; to get 
 our sins mortified ; to get our hearts 
 purified with the contrary graces. — 
 South. 
 
 MAIN" HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH. Verses 6—9. 
 
 A Strange Meeting. 
 
 The onlookers might very reasonably ask, Who are those two men standing 
 together, in close conference, in the street of the city before the king's gate, and 
 what is the meaning of their confidential interview 1 For it must have been an 
 unusual thing for the king's chamberlain to be seen talking to a despised Jew. The 
 wicked, those who took part with revengeful Haman, might well consider the 
 meeting with alarm. The wicked flee when no man pursueth ; but here is a man 
 pursuing — a man armed with Divine powers, as is evident from his history — a man 
 of strong purpose, of upright intentions, and of sagacious spirit — and the wicked 
 had every reason for alarm had they only known the situation. But those who 
 were not condemned in their own consciences might calmly pass these two men by, 
 and pursue without fear their appointed way. It is well so to conduct our lives 
 that we need not be suspicious of evil when we see others holding private interviews. 
 "Whispers can only disturb guilty consciences. Some might fancy that these two men 
 thus strangely meeting together were plotting mischief against the monarch. For 
 men are ever too prone to think evil. But we know better. Let us consider the 
 nature of this strange meeting. 
 
 I. An important interview. The importance of a conference is not always to 
 be measured by the number of persons gathered together. The meeting of two 
 people may be fraught with more important results than the meeting of two thousand. 
 Indeed, as too many cooks spoil the broth, so it often is that too many people at a 
 conference bring about confusion, and no practical results are produced. And, after 
 all, at large conferences the manipulation of measures is in the hands of a few, either 
 of the wisest or of the most pushing. The meeting of Hatach and of Mordecai was 
 one of the most important at that period in the dominion of Ahasuerus. The 
 importance of a conference is not to be measured by the magnificence of the place 
 
128 HOMILETIQ COMMENTARY: ESTHER. [ciiai>. iv. 
 
 of meeting. In the present day if any great philanthropic, political, or religious 
 measure is to be discussed, a large gathering must be summoned in the splendid 
 hall, in the gilded saloon, or in the .stately ecclesiastical edifice. There was once a 
 small gathering in an insignificant upper room which was productive of greater 
 results than any assemblysin.ee that time, llatach and Mordecai met in the street, 
 but they did more important work than the grandees meeting in Shushan the palace. 
 The importance of a conference is not always to be measured by the worldly position 
 — by the names of the men who meet together as renowned for rank, for prowess in 
 arms, for skill in strategy, for genius in oratory, or for excellence in debate — of 
 those who are assembled. Though this is the modern fashion, a fashion which ha-s 
 heen repeating itself through all time. The Times, the Daily Telegraph, and the 
 Daily News would have given as many lines to record the insignificant fact that 
 Ahasuerus had taken a walk, as they would to record the important interview 
 between Hatach and Mordecai in the streets of the city. But mighty issues were 
 depending upon this interview. That which is little noticed is often of most 
 importance. That which the superficial do not observe may be transcendently 
 significant. The meeting of two poor men may either destroy or save the city, but 
 it is unnoticed in earthly chronicles ; while the meetings of the rich and of the 
 great are described in glowing phrases, though their meetings may be of no conse- 
 quence to the world at large, beneficially considered. Notice the wisdom of the 
 sacred chronicles. They describe the meetings, whether of rich or of poor, whether 
 of kings or of subjects, whether of noble or of ignoble, that have far-reaching results. 
 These chronicles take no superficial views. They record for all time. The meeting 
 of Saul the persecutor and Christ the Saviour was not recorded by the scribes, but 
 it was the most important meeting of all time. 
 
 II. A full disclosure. " And Mordecai told him of all that had happened." A 
 sorrowful tale was that which Mordecai had to tell, and no doubt very painful to 
 him would be the relation. But he did not shrink from the painful task, for 
 patriotism laid upon him a stern necessity. Sometimes it is a mitigation of our 
 sorrows to unburden our minds fully, and to tell all the tale of the causes of our 
 grief to a friend ; at others, silence, or comparative reserve, is our safety. We may 
 well suppose, that here, in one aspect, Mordecai would not wish to tell all to this 
 eunuch. Still it must be told, and sternly he opens up his sores to one of a foreign 
 nation. Sometimes sin presses heavily upon the mind of the convinced sinner. But 
 he shrinks from a candid inspection of his sinfulness, and from full confession even 
 to that God who knows all. The sensitive mind naturally recoils from full confes- 
 sion of sinfulness to a fellow-creature ; ami yet, why should we shrink from full 
 confession to God 1 The truest wisdom is to make a full disclosure. " If we confess 
 our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all 
 unrighteousness." Mordecai made a full disclosure of the intensity if Hainan's 
 purpose. Money power was evidently as omnipotent in Persia as it is in England. 
 Hainan was so intent upon the accomplishment of his purpose that he promised to 
 pay a large sum of money into the king's treasuries. This is still a good test by 
 which to get to know whether or not a man is intense in his purpose. When a 
 man expresses an earnest desire to have some scheme carried out, just ask him how 
 much he is willing to give for its accomplishment ] Money may be given with the 
 sincere desire of doing good. This is the noblest method of disposing of wealth. 
 In fact, the only true method. In this way there is that scattereth earthly treasure 
 and yet increaseth ; sometimes earthly treasure, but at all times heavenly treasure. 
 We must see to it that our motive is pure in giving. Money may be given for the 
 purpose of making a name. Too many give at the dictate of an ostentatious spirit. 
 The printing of subscription-lists is a device of the wisdom of this world. Divine 
 wisdom says, Let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth. Money may 
 be promised and given in order to promote an evil purpose. It was so in the case 
 of Hainan. He knew it would help on his evil design. He probably knew that 
 
chap, iv.] HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: ESTHER. 129 
 
 lie would gain by the transaction if it were successful. Too many give even to a 
 good cause with the hope of getting their money back with a large, percentage for 
 the loan. For it is little more than a loan. It is a kind of speculative transaction. 
 Mordecai made a full disclosure of the malignity of Hainan's purpose. Hainan's 
 dark design was to destroy all the Jews. It is highly probable that Haman had 
 hatred for all the Jews, and that the offence of Mordecai was but the means of 
 calling out that hatred into active play. Haman might blame Mordecai, but he 
 had much more reason to blame his own ill-regulated nature. How often we blame 
 others, when we ought to blame ourselves ! The fancied, or even real, wrong-doings 
 of others can be no justification for wrong on our part. Even if Mordecai were 
 wrong in refusing to bow, Haman was not right in seeking revenge. Let us seek 
 the subjugation of inward evil, and then outward evil will not act upon us injuri- 
 ously, for it will find no kindred element on which to work. Mordecai would not 
 make a full disclosure unless he spoke of his own concern for the safety and welfare 
 of his -people. He told of all that happened to him, and what happened to the Jews 
 was a sorrow to the patriotic Mordecai. He would not in unseemly boastfulness 
 extol his patriotism. Yet he must show that he was most deeply interested in the 
 fate of his countrymen. For himself, he was ready to die if his death would secure 
 the deliverance of his people. But his heart was bleeding at the thought that all 
 his people were exposed to death. We want this spirit, to lose our own personal 
 sorrows in the sorrows of our people. 
 
 III. Witnessing credentials. The tale which Hatach had to tell to Esther 
 was one of a most marvellous character. It is an illustration of the statement that 
 fact is stranger than fiction. Esther might very well doubt the truth of this dark 
 design. But there could be no escape from the fact when Hatach placed in her 
 hands the copy of the writing of the decree that was given at Shushan. This 
 writing might be given to Esther not only to witness to the truth of Hatach's 
 narration, but that she might more fully understand all the bearings of the case. 
 When we have a tale to tell detrimental to the character of another let us be sure 
 that we are correct. Let us look out for the copy of the writing of the decree. 
 Some people in telling an evil tale about another think it is quite sufficient to say 
 he has a bad character. Haman was a bad character. Esther must have read his 
 nature. But Mordecai does not say Hainan's character is enough to make Esther 
 believe the story, but he sends along with the story a copy of the writing of the 
 decree. We must not condemn a man on mere hearsay. And again, some people 
 in telling an evil tale profess to be indignant if they are not at once believed. 
 Mordecai did not say, If Esther does not believe my story the matter must drop ; I 
 shall say no more ; she has no right to suppose that I should fabricate an evil story. 
 But, like a wise man, he backs up the story with a copy of the writing of the 
 decree. It might be a more unjust thing for me to believe a man capable of some 
 great crime than for me to doubt the man who speaks of such capability. There 
 should be credentials to every tale. If every evil accusation were to be believed 
 and acted upon, our prisons would have to be very considerably enlarged. 
 
 IV. A solemn charge. Esther was charged by Mordecai to go in unto the 
 king. The Persian queen was not as the English queen. The former was subject. 
 She had not the rights of an ordinary English wife. Slie could not go in and out 
 as she pleased. It was therefore a solemn charge which Mordecai now gave to 
 Esther. He knew the gravity of the work, and already his faith had fixed upon 
 Esther as God's chosen instrument. Esther was now charged to go on a perilous 
 errand. She was to go alone. It is easier to go with the multitude to face danger 
 than to go alone. Many a man who would be bold iu the company of a multitude, 
 would be a coward when standing alone. From time to time we receive solemn 
 charges to go alone, or to stand alone. Let us be faithful to the call and the post 
 of duty. This is our great encouragement ; there is never any danger in going- 
 alone, in a right spirit, unto the King Eternal. The danger is in not going alone 
 
 K 
 
130 HOM1LETIC COMMENTARY: ESTHER. [crrAr. iv. 
 
 sufficiently often. How often conscience charges us to go in unto the King, and 
 how often we disobey ! Tlie neglect of private prayer is ruinous to the soul. 
 
 V. An honourable office. The office to which Esthei was now appointed was 
 that of intercessor. How noble and glorious the work to intercede on behalf of 
 the people ! How noble the conduct of Bunyan's wife pleading with the judge for 
 her husband's liberty ! How noble the conduct of Queen Philippa pleading with 
 Edward for the pardon of the six burgesses of Calais ! But nobler still was that 
 office to which Esther was appointed to plead with the king for the salvation of her 
 people. There was neither selfishness prompting to, nor applause to be secured, by 
 Esther's course of conduct, so far as she then knew. The work of an intercessor is 
 ever glorious. What glory attaches to him who is the great High Priest of the 
 Christian religion ! That he might be a successful pleader he not merely exposed 
 himself to danger, but passed through suffering. Esther might be a successful 
 pleader without herself suffering. We know that she was. The very success of her 
 intercessions contributed to her greatness and her glory. But Jesus could only be 
 a successful intercessor as he endured suffering. He was made perfect through 
 suffering, that he might be a faithful High Priest. Let us confess our indebted- 
 ness to this glorious Intercessor. Let us not stint our meed of praise. Let us con- 
 secrate ourselves to his holy and ennobling service. 
 
 VI. A faithful messenger. It very often depends upon the nature of the 
 message as to whether or not we like faithfulness in the messenger. However, 
 the rule should be not what is liked, but what is right to be done. It was right 
 for Hatach to tell a true tale to Esther, though it might sorely grieve her heart. 
 Some messengers would have told Esther only half a tale, and have made 
 Mordecai's story amount to nothing. Some doctors never give a true statement of 
 the case to their patients, and thus sometimes do great harm. It perhaps would 
 not be wise always to tell all the truth. But it is never wise to tell an untruth, or to 
 bring a false report. " As the cold of snow in the time of harvest, so is a faithful 
 messenger to them that send him ; for he refresheth the soul of his masters." 
 Let us be faithful messengers. Speak the truth in love. Be refreshing powers in 
 this land of drought. 
 
 Suggestive Comments on Verses 6 — 9. 
 
 And Mordecai told him all that had she must bestir herself for the labouring 
 
 happened unto h tm. — Not by fate or blind Church. 
 
 fortune, but by the providence of God, That teas given at Shushan. — Which 
 
 which hath a hand in ordering the most if ever it were full of judgment, and 
 
 casual and fortuitous events, to the exe- white as a lily (according to the name), 
 
 cution of his righteous counsels ; neither is now stained with blood of innocents ; 
 
 is there a Providence but we shall once if ever righteousness did lodge in it, yet 
 
 see a wonder or a mercy wrapt up in it. now murderers. 
 
 And of the sum of money. — Money To show it unto Esther. — That her 
 
 is the monarch of this present world, eye might affect her heart, and her heart 
 
 Money is to many dearer than their set all awork for her people ; that is, 
 
 heart's blood, yet, to gratify their lusts, herself, according to that, "Physician, 
 
 they lavish silver out of the bag, and heal thyself ; " that is, thine own coun- 
 
 care not to purchase revenge or sensual trymen. 
 
 delights with misery, beggary, discredit, And to declare it unto her. — In the 
 
 damnation. cause, viz. his refusing to bow to Hainan 
 
 Also he gave him the copy of the writ- against his conscience (whereof it no 
 
 ing. — That she might see it, and rest whit repented him); and in the several 
 
 assured that itwaseven so, and no other- circumstances, laid forth in the liveliest 
 
 wise: and that therefore now or never colours, for her thorough information. 
 
CIIAP. IV.] 
 
 HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: ESTHER. 
 
 131 
 
 And to charge her that she should go 
 in unto the king. — This Mordecai knew 
 would hardly he done ; he, therefore, 
 makes use of his ancient authority, and 
 sets it on with greatest earnestness. So 
 St. Paul, " I charge you hy the Lord ; " 
 and again, " I charge thee before God, 
 and the Lord Jesus Christ." It is a 
 weakness to be hot in a cold matter, but 
 it is wickedness to be cold in a hot mat- 
 ter. He that is earnest in good, though 
 he may carry some things indiscreetly, 
 yet is he far better than a time-server 
 and a cold friend to the truth ; like as 
 in falling forward is nothing so much 
 danger as in falling backward. Eli was 
 to blame with his, Do no more so, my 
 sons. And so was Jehoshaphat with 
 his, Let not the king say so. And the 
 people in Ahab's time, who, when they 
 were pressed to express whom they were 
 for, God or Baal, they answered not a 
 word. And yet how many such cold 
 friends hath the truth now -a- days ! — 
 lukewarm Laodiceans ; neuter, passive 
 Christians, &c. When Callidus once 
 declared against Gallus with a faint and 
 languishing voice, Oh, saith Tully, In 
 nisi figeres, sic ageres ? Wouldest thou 
 plead in that manner if thou wert in 
 #ood earnest? Men's faint appearing 
 for God's cause shows they do but feign • 
 their coldness probably concludeth they 
 do but counterfeit. Mordecai plays the 
 man, and chargeth Esther to improve 
 her interest in the king, her husband, for 
 the Church's deliverance. See here how 
 he turneth every stone, tradeth every 
 talent, leaveth no means unused, no 
 course unattempted, for the saints' safety. 
 And this the Spirit of God hath pur- 
 posely recorded, that all may learn to 
 lay out themselves to the utmost for the 
 public ; to be most zealous for the con- 
 servation and defence of the Church, 
 when it is afflicted and opposed by 
 persecutors ; seeing they cannot be 
 saved unless she is in safety, neither 
 can they have God for their Father un- 
 less they love and observe this their dear 
 mother. Oh that these things were duly 
 considered by all sorts now-a-days ! 
 
 And Hatach came and told Esther. — 
 He acted the part of a faithful messen- 
 ger: so must ministers, those servants 
 
 of the Churches, declare unto the people 
 all the mind of God, and not steal God's 
 word every one from his neighbour ; not 
 deal deceitfully with it ; but as of sin- 
 cerity, but as of God, in the sight of 
 God, let them speak in Christ ; and let 
 them speak out not fearing any colours. 
 He that hath my word, let him speak 
 my word faithfully, saith God. Aaron's 
 bells were all of gold ; the trumpets of 
 the sanctuary were of pure silver ; they 
 did not sound a retreat when they should 
 have sounded an alarm; no more must 
 God's messengers. Whatsoever the Lord 
 saith unto me, that will I speak, saith 
 Micaiah. Paul, as he received what he 
 delivered, so he delivered whatsoever he 
 received. Moses was faithful in all 
 God's house. — Trapp. 
 
 It is unpleasant to be the messenger 
 of bad tidings. It is, however, often 
 useful. If a physician saw you labouring 
 under a mortal distemper, and insensible 
 to your danger, he is the preserver of 
 your life, when, by warning you of the 
 peril of your condition, he rouses your 
 diligence to apply the proper remedy. 
 Esther must have been shocked beyond 
 measure at hearing of a sentence of death 
 pronounced against her dearest friends, 
 against her whole people, against herself, 
 by the man who had raised her to a 
 share in his bed, and in his throne, 
 without a crime proved against any one 
 of them. But it was better to hear of it 
 at present, than ten or eleven months 
 afterwards, when it would be too late to 
 provide a remedy 
 
 There are some who cannot bear to 
 hear of any bad tidings, however true, 
 and think those men their enemies who 
 tell them the truth. They consider 
 those friends or preachers as their ene- 
 mies who speak to them of their sins, 
 and of the judgments of God denounced 
 against them. But was not Esther under 
 deep obligations to Mordecai for inform- 
 ing her of the danger of her people, and 
 urging her to exert her influence for 
 preserving them 1 Whether was Ahab 
 most indebted to those prophets who 
 told him that the Lord was with him, 
 and would give him victory at Ramoth- 
 Gilead, or to him who told him that he 
 would fall in the battle ] By following 
 
132 
 
 II0M1LETIC COMMENTARY: ESTHER. 
 
 [chap. IV. 
 
 the counsel of the former, he lost his 
 life. He might have preserved it, if he 
 had believed the latter. 
 
 It is indeed cruel to distress men by 
 false or doubtful intelligence of calamities 
 that have nut happened, or, if they have 
 happened, cannot be remedied. Mordecai 
 was far from wishing to disquiet the 
 mind of his royal friend by uncertain 
 rumours. But he had too good intelli- 
 gence to be mistaken, and puts into her 
 hands decisive proofs of the danger of 
 her people, and of Haman's activity in 
 procuring their ruin. Nor did he give 
 her this intelligence to torment her before 
 the time. If nothing could have been 
 done to avert the danger, he might have 
 permitted her to enjoy tranquillity till it 
 could be concealed no longer. But who 
 could tell what might be the result of 
 supplication to the king, especially from 
 a queen who was understood to be the 
 object of his warmest love ! He there- 
 fore desires, or rather requires, her to go 
 in and make intercession to the king for 
 the people, and for her own life. 
 
 Mordecai uses authority in his language 
 to the queen, and does her great honour 
 by using such language. He durst not 
 have charged her to do her duty, if he 
 had not known her humbleness of mind 
 in her greatness. She was as much dis- 
 posed as in her youngest days to give 
 
 him the authority of a father ; and this 
 he knew so well that he uses it without 
 scruple or apology. Happy are the men 
 on whom prosperity makes no change 
 but for the better ! 
 
 He charges her to make intercession 
 to the king. The knowledge of that 
 dreadful situation in which the Jews 
 were placed, was to be improved by all 
 the Jews as a call to fasting and inter- 
 cession with the God of heaven, on 
 whom their hope was to rest. But it 
 was to be improved by the queen in 
 particular, as a motive to the exertion of 
 all her influence with the king. All, 
 according to their places and stations, 
 are bound to do what they can to avert 
 threatened miseries from their nation. 
 But some are bound to do much more 
 than others, because they have peculiar 
 opportunities, which, if they are not 
 improved, must render them in some 
 degree accountable for the mischiefs con- 
 sequent on their neglect. Those who 
 can do nothing by their own power, may 
 do much by their influence with others. 
 In the reign of the bloody Jehoiakim, 
 the princes of Judah saved Jeremiah 
 from his hands. If these princes had 
 not used their influence for this purpose, 
 they must have shared in the guilt of 
 his blood. — Lawson. 
 
 MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PAEAGEAPH. Verses 10—12. 
 
 Prudential Considerations. 
 
 Objections may be raised against any enterprise simply by way of shielding the 
 unwillingness of the objectors. They object merely for the sake of objecting. They 
 are unwilling to come out boldly and say that they do not intend to take any part 
 in the scheme. They hide themselves behind the false plea of the difficulties in 
 the way of bringing the scheme to a successful issue. They may see both the 
 necessity and the propriety of the work being done, and are too cowardly to 
 profess themselves unwilling to do their duty. They would show themselves as 
 adding to do the work, and yet keep affirming that the work cannot be done. Now 
 the after conduct of Esther cannot justify us in supposing that she raised objections 
 on this principle. She is not here to be hastily condemned. Again, some raise 
 objections through the working of a prudential spirit. They eari estly desire to 
 further the enterprise, but are appalled by the presence of real difficulties. Such 
 deserve our sympathy. Surely Esther in this trying period of her history will 
 command our sympathy. The objections she here raises are of no fictitious 
 character. They were real. They were well known to Mordecai, and to all those 
 acquainted with the customs of a Persian court. Poor Esther ! — how well thou dost 
 
chap. IV.] HOMILETW COMMENTARY: ESTHER. 133 
 
 deserve our sympathy ! A beautiful queen loved by all, and till very lately adored 
 by the monarch, thou dost now stand alone and apparently forsaken of all. Yet 
 not alone, for thy God is with thee, and will appear to thy glory. Even when we 
 seem to be most forsaken, then it may be that the good Lord is most near. His help 
 is sure to be near when most we need his helping hand. 
 
 The first objection raised by Esther referred to a state arrangement of the 
 Persian court. None could unbidden approach the monarch unless by incurring 
 the penalty of death. Even the loved wife was not excluded from this barbarous 
 arrangement. What, then, was Esther to do under the circumstances 1 How was 
 it likely that she could become a successful pleader ! Here there was the prospect 
 of death. Who likes to rush on death, especially when life is opening out new 
 attractions ! Esther was not now a disappointed jade ; her heart was not yet 
 broken. The little neglect she now experienced would soon pass away. It could 
 not have been an unknown event in such a state of things as prevailed in a Persian 
 court. She had then still bright prospects, and was she by mere rashness to 
 imperil her position, and to imperil that position for no good purpose? Death can 
 only be welcomed by those whose life is but a living death. To most death is feared. 
 To the young and the beautiful death is a fearsome enemy. Well may Esther be 
 appalled by the difficulty of that enterprise to which Mordecai would summon her 
 in the intense ardour of his patriotism. 
 
 The second objection raised by Esther referred to a fact of a domestic 
 character. She had not been called to go in unto the king for thirty days. Here 
 is a strange anomaly — strange if received in the light of Christian teaching and the 
 customs of modern life. But not very peculiar if viewed in connection with the 
 customs of those barbaric days. The ardour of this fickle monarch had for the time 
 cooled. The beauty of the toy pleased him for a while, and now he flung it from 
 him, and suffered it to lie neglected. A poor soul was Ahasuerus to prefer the 
 company of the wicked Hainan before the company of the beautiful and virtuous 
 Esther. However, this fact made a greater difficulty in the way of Esther's success. 
 It presented the prospect not only of death but of failure. If she had lost her 
 influence with the monarch for herself, how could she hope to influence him for the 
 salvation of a despised race 1 We cannot wonder that Esther shrank from obeying 
 the summons of Mordecai. Our wonder is that she was ever able to nerve herself 
 up to go in unto the king. The greatness of her heroism comes out in this fact, 
 that she fully saw all the difficulty of her position, all the hazard of the enterprise, 
 and yet she ventured. She calmly estimated the danger, and bravely made the 
 venture. 
 
 Here learn (1) That it is well to look before we leap. "For which of you, 
 intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether 
 he have sufficient to finish it ? Lest haply, after he hath laid the foundation, and 
 is not able to finish it, all that behold it begin to mock him, saying, This man began 
 to build, and was not able to finish. Or what king, going to make war against 
 another king, sitteth not down first, and consulteth whether he be able with ten 
 thousand to meet him that cometh against him with twenty thousand 1 Or else, 
 while the other is yet a great way off, he sendeth an ambassage, and desireth 
 conditions of peace." 2. That he who looks well may be expected to leap well. To 
 look well is not to look so as to render the nature powerless by reason of the 
 hazard. To look well is to estimate the difficulties at their true measure, and to 
 understand the nature of the leap which is required, and to gather up all strength — ■ 
 strength from every quarter — strength from earth and strength from heaven — in 
 order to make a successful leap. Esther looked well and then leaped well. The 
 world's heroes have been men of true vision. They have seen all. They have looked 
 at ill sides. They have considered the for and the against. 3. That the difficult 
 leap may be the Divine pathway. Human pathways are not as the Divine. God's 
 pathways are nol all well paved — smooth and level. We can only travel along 
 
134 
 
 HOMILETJO COMMENTARY: ESTHER. 
 
 [cn.vr. iv. 
 
 fchem by leaps ; yea, the very leap itself is the Divine way. Rough was Esther's 
 path just now, but it was her Divinely-appointed way. 4. That those who take the 
 difficult leap at the call of duty may expect Divine support. This is what Mordecai 
 implies in his reply to Esther's objections, and this is what we shall find that she 
 afterwards experienced. Divine support is given to every faithful worker. Divine 
 support is the guarantee of ultimate success. In our goings Ave may get battered 
 and bruised ; but a Divine hand can heal the bruises, and restore the battered part 
 to soundness. Our very bruises maybe our salvation, and contribute to the success 
 of our cause. The cause may rise by and upon the fall of its supporters. It is 
 not every worker who has the good fortune of Esther. She contributed both to 
 the success of her cause, and worked out greater glory for herself. However, that 
 servant is glorious who triumphs in his fall if it secures the success of his cause. 
 Jesus died, that by his death men might have life. The blood of the martyrs is 
 the seed of the Church. 
 
 Suggestive Comments on Verses 10 — 12. 
 
 There are two kinds of courage — the 
 mere animal courage, which results from 
 well-strung nerves, and is exerted by 
 impulse rather than by reflection ; and 
 the moral courage, which, on a calm 
 calculation of difficulties, and of the 
 path of duty, will face the difficulties 
 and prosecute the path of duty at any 
 hazard, even at the risk of life itself. 
 It will often be found that men are 
 deficient in the latter of these qualities, 
 while they are remarkable for the for- 
 mer. It will be found, for example, 
 that soldiers who will rush fearlessly 
 upon an enemy, braving death without 
 one symptom of alarm, are incapable of 
 submitting to the calm endurance of 
 trouble, and are like others alarmed 
 when they have to meet death quietly 
 after lingering illness. It is courage of 
 the highest and noblest order, then, we 
 say, which braves danger and death 
 upon cool reflection. Such was the 
 courage of the martyrs, and such was 
 the courage of Esther. As a timid 
 female, she drew back at first from the 
 hazardous enterprise to which Mordecai 
 called her; but when she had fully 
 weighed the matter, and perceived the 
 real path of duty, although the danger 
 was not in the least degree diminished, 
 she resolved, in the strength of God, to 
 encounter it. — Davidson. 
 
 But why was Esther so afraid of her 
 life if she should make intercession to 
 the king for the life of her people ? 
 Was it so criminal in the court of Persia 
 to present a supplication to the king] 
 
 Or, if it was a crime in others, was it a 
 crime even in the queen ? Yes ; it was 
 universally known, says Esther, and 
 Mordecai could not well be ignorant of 
 it, that if any person should venture, 
 uncalled, to approach the king in the 
 inner court of his palace, he must be 
 put to death, unless the king was pleased 
 graciously to pardon him ; nor was the 
 queen herself excepted from the penalties 
 of this law. The laws of the Persians 
 were strange indeed ! No man was 
 allowed in a mourning -habit to enter 
 into the king's gate; and no man in any 
 apparel was allowed to come near the 
 king in the inner court. Did these 
 kings ever consider for what end they 
 were elevated above their fellow -men? 
 Was it not to defend the poor and the 
 afflicted, and to do judgment and justice 
 to all their people ? How could they do 
 the duties of princes, if they were inac- 
 cessible to their people? But if it was 
 a crime to intrude into the private apart- 
 ments of the palace, and to disturb 
 the privacy of the prince, was it one of 
 those atrocious crimes that can be justly 
 punished with death? Could no easier 
 punishment assuage the wrath of a 
 proud mortal, who wished to make 
 himself invisible like his Maker? Surely 
 it may be said of a law that punished 
 an offence like this with death, that it 
 was written in blood ; and of a govern- 
 ment which would establish such laws, 
 that Daniel had too good reason to 
 represent it by the emblem of a bear.* 
 * Dan. vii. 5. 
 
CHAP. IV.] 
 
 IIOMILETIC COMMENTARY : ESTHER. 
 
 135 
 
 Blessed be God, the laws of heaven 
 are not like those of the Persians ! Our 
 King who dwells on high is at all times 
 accessible to the afflicted mourner. The 
 poor and the afflicted had ready access 
 to Jesus while he was upon the earth ; 
 nor is he less accessible in his state of 
 glory. At all times we may come near 
 to God, even to his throne of grace, that 
 Ave may obtain mercy, and find grace to 
 help in time of need. 
 
 Esther Avas believed by Mordecai to 
 be a great favourite with the king ; and 
 doubtless there Avas a time when she 
 Avas very dear to him. But Esther was 
 afraid that this time Avas past, and 
 questioned Avhether Mordecai would 
 insist upon the charge he had given her, 
 Avhen he was informed, that for thirty 
 days past she had not been called to go 
 in unto the king. This she considered 
 as a sign that his affection Avas alienated, 
 and that it Avas questionable Avhether 
 the golden sceptre Avould be held out to 
 her, if she should presume to enter the 
 king's apartment. What reason the 
 king had for this coldness to his virtuous 
 
 queen, Ave knoAv not. This is plain, that 
 it was a providential trial appointed for 
 Esther, by which it would be known 
 Avhether she had the courage to serve 
 her people and her God at the risk of 
 her life. It was a severe trial of her 
 faith and charity. She felt the force of 
 the discouragement, and expressed her 
 sense of it to Mordecai, that she might 
 receive further directions from him. 
 
 To whatever difficult duty we are 
 called, we may lay our account with 
 trials. If thou desirest to serve the 
 Lord, look for temptation. But remem- 
 ber, that "the man is blessed who en- 
 dureth temptation ; for when he is tried, 
 he shall receive of the Lord the crown 
 of life which he hath promised to them 
 that love him." Those Avho have held 
 on in the path of duty, under sore 
 temptation, shall at last " stand before 
 the throne of God with Avhite robes, and 
 palms in their hands." " But the fear- 
 ful and unbelieving shall have their 
 portion in the lake of fire burning with 
 brimstone, which is the second death." 
 — Lawson. 
 
 MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH. Verses 13, 14. 
 
 A Human Voice speaks Divine Lessons for Human Lives. 
 
 God has not left himself Avithout Avitness in the material creation. Through all 
 time he has been, and is still, speaking to the children of men by the visible 
 tilings of the lower Avorld, which he hath made. On all hands Ave may find testi- 
 monies to his poAver, his Avisdom, and even in some measure to his goodness. A 
 clearer Avitness he gives of himself in revelation. By its aid we learn to read 
 aright the lessons of nature. By its teachings Ave are taught truths nature could 
 not teach. There the voices of patriarch, of prophet, of apostle, and of the Great 
 Teacher, speak to us Divine lessons. But there Ave find other voices speaking in 
 an undertone, but none the less inculcating Divine lessons, and laying down the 
 true rules for noble living. Mordecai is not to be numbered amongst either the 
 patriarchs, the prophets, or the apostles, still his voice is morally significant. 
 Esther, on the first hearing of Mordecai's answer, might only hear the voice of a man ; 
 but afterwards she evidently heard in that voice a Divine tone. Whatever she 
 did or did not discern in the voice of Mordecai it is for us to hear it speaking to 
 us Divine lessons. If Ave rightly judge that Mordecai was a Divine agent, then Ave 
 shall rightly conclude that an important utterance like the one contained in this 
 solemn declaration is not to be allowed to fall to the ground as meaningless. And 
 perhaps it may be Avell to observe, that if Ave Avere in a proper frame of mind, if Ave 
 Avere more receptive of Divine impressions, many voices that are now alloAved to 
 pass away as unimportant would become to us as true Divine utterances. What 
 are the Divine lessons which this human voice speaks, not only to Esther but to 
 every true soul 1 
 
 I. That great advantages are conferred for a Divine purpose. By far too 
 
1:36 II0M1LETIC COMMENTARY : ESTHER. [cn.vr. iv. 
 
 large <a majority of men and of women receive the advantages of talents, of position, 
 of influence, and of wealth, witli unreflecting minds as well as unthankful hearts. 
 Like the lower animals, they receive blessings without thinking that they ought to 
 be turned to good account. They forget that privilege implies responsibility ; that 
 talents are given that they may be put to Divine uses. That receiving is in order 
 to giving. This is the law of nature. This is the law of morals. This is the law 
 for individuals, for communities, for nations, and for Churches. Esther had con- 
 ferred upon her the great worldly advantage of being made queen in the mightiest 
 empire of the then known world; and Mordecai would show her that such an 
 advantage was not without its Divine purpose. She had come to the kingdom for 
 such a time as that — a time of trouble and perplexity to her people, a time when 
 she might use the advantages of her position for the people's deliverance. And 
 have we not all conferred upon us great advantages'? Some are blessed with 
 advantages of an earthly nature. Most are blessed with the advantage of hearing 
 the sweet sound of the gospel. Many are blessed with the advantage of being 
 members of the Church which is the bride of Heaven's Eternal King. Here is an 
 advantage, if we could only rightly see it, before which the advantage of Esther in 
 being made the queen of Ahasuerus pales its splendours. If Mordecai could see 
 that Esther's advantages Avere conferred for a Divine purpose, what would he say, 
 what shall we conclude, with reference to our advantages 1 Now these advantages 
 are only rightly considered as they are viewed in the light of Divine purposes. 
 What shall I say of my money? Is it given merely for the purpose of self- 
 aggrandisement I Sliall I not use it as the wise steward, feeling that it is the 
 Lord's property ? What shall I say of my talents'? Are they given merely that I 
 may become famous amongst men ? Shall I not feel that they are to be employed 
 for the good of men and for the glory of God 1 ? What shall I say of the gospel by 
 which 1 am saved 1 Am I merely to try and keep it to myself? Am I not saved 
 myself that I may help to save others'? Thus to look at all our blessings in the 
 light of a Divine benevolent purpose, is the way to bring about a more intense 
 appreciation of those blessings, as well as to ennoble and glorify our lives. This 
 is the true light which can enlighten the murky days of our earthly existence. 
 The most brilliant — most brilliant from an earthly point of view — of earthly lives 
 can be made more brilliant by causing them consciously and intentionally to sub- 
 serve and to promote Divine purposes. And the poorest of earthly lives may be 
 lifted out of the darkness of their poverty by being consecrated to the great end of 
 glorifying God our Maker. This is the light which cheered the patriarchs in their 
 long pilgrimages, which sustained the prophets in their trying careers, which sup- 
 ported the apostles in their self-denying labours, and which made radiant the dark 
 pathway of the martyrs. And this is a light which, by Divine grace, can turn for 
 every man the gloom of earth into the glad lightsomeness of heaven. 
 
 II. That God requires that such advantages should be faithfully used for 
 the promotion of his purposes. Mordecai's voice to Esther was a Divine sum- 
 mons. It was God's call, telling her to make use of the advantages of her position 
 tor the deliverance of the oppressed. It seemed to say, Thou hast been raised to a 
 high position for the good of others. This is a great crisis in the history of pro- 
 vidential movements, and thou hast come to the kingdom by Divine appointment. 
 And here learn one of the lessons of God's providential dealings fur the support of 
 our faith — that in times of great trial God has his delivering agents in prepared 
 readiness. Esther was ready when Hainan's plot was culminating. David was 
 ready when Goliath threatened the armies of Israel. Elijah was ready when the 
 prophets of Baal were triumphing. The true prophets were ready when the need 
 was great. Jesus was ready when the fulness of the time was come. Stephen 
 was ready when a martyr was required, and Saul was to be converted. Peter was 
 ready when the gospel was to be given to the Gentiles. Paul was ready when 
 argumentative skill was demanded. Luther was ready when Romanism was rite 
 
chap, it.] H0M1LETIC COMMENTARY : ESTHER. 137 
 
 with darkest heresy. The 2000 confes-ors were ready when a protesting testimony 
 was to be delivered. Whitefield and Wesley were ready when religion in this 
 land was declining. And we may still believe that God has his agents ready. 
 This is our consolation, and this is also to stimulate to greater energy. Advan- 
 tages are to be faithfully used for the promotion of Divine purposes. Is it 
 objected that we do not know what are the purposes of God ? It may be replied 
 that we shall not fail in serving Divine purposes if we sincerely seek to promote 
 his glory. Our efforts may be blundering and imperfect, yet if sincere our 
 imperfect doings will be wrought into, and made to form an important part of, the 
 great Divine plan. Upward, then, Church of the living God, to a faithful dis- 
 charge of thy duties ! Let all talents, all advantages, all opportunities, and all 
 seasonable occasions be quickly seized and ardently employed in the noblest 
 cause. Let the Mordecais at the gates and the Esthers in the palaces co-operate, 
 for a great crisis has been reached. And who knows but that a great crisis has 
 been reached in our own country's history ] Are we ready 1 Whether that be so 
 or not, in this world of sin there is always much work to do. It may be again 
 objected that we have no great advantages, — no specialty either of talents or of 
 position. Mordecai had no position, but he was a most important instrument in 
 Divine providence, because he was faithful. Esther at first seemed to plead that 
 she could do nothing. It may be, that, like Esther, we can do a great deal more 
 than we at first imagine. Yea, like Esther, we may be able to do that very thing 
 which God requires to be done. And this should be our great encouragement to 
 still more faithful and ardent endeavour — that God does not demand from any that 
 which they are not able to give. God condemns, not because there is only one 
 talent — for that might be to condemn his own appointment — but because the one 
 talent has not produced any interest. He does not require the impossible. A 
 Samson's strength is not expected from an infant's weakness. The hesitating Isaac 
 asks, " Where is the lamb for a burnt-offering 1 " The child's question was natural 
 and innocent. It required Abraham's faith to say : " My son, God will provide him- 
 self a lamb for the burnt-offering." God deals with the child Isaac according to one 
 method, and with the patriarch Abraham according to another. Divine methods 
 are methods of justice guided by wisdom, and tempered by mercy. There is one 
 power of the sun, and another very feeble of the glow-worm. There is the 
 majesty of the cedar-trees, and the weakness of the grass-blade. One star 
 dittereth from another star in glory. And one man differeth from another in 
 talents, in organization, in wealth, in favourable circumstances and surroundings. 
 There are differences of administration ; but the same spirit worketh all and in all. 
 The Infinite Ruler only requires that we reach out and up to the measure of our 
 ability. To Hatach is one service appointed ; to Mordecai another ; and to 
 Esther another. The voice of exhortation is : Art thou but a bruised reed 1 — put on 
 thy strength. Art thou but as a smoking taper 1 ? — shine as brightly as thou canst, 
 and the little spark will grow into a goodly flame, and send out its light far and 
 wide. Hast thou but one talent 1 — put it out to usury, and at the Lord's coming he 
 shall receive his own with interest. Hast thou but two mites ? — cast them both into 
 the treasury of the Lord, and thou shalt enrich the ages. 
 
 III. That such Divine purposes cannot be frustrated. Human purposes can 
 be thwarted, as we know very well. Man cannot foresee all the contingent circum- 
 stances which may form a barrier through which his purposes cannot pass, or which 
 they cannot overleap, and move onward to accomplishment. Man cannot always 
 watch over his purposes from their inception to a triumphant conclusion. Man is 
 not only short-sighted but short-lived. This is one sign of man's greatness and 
 man's littleness — that he can project purposes that may flourish over his tomb. 
 With God, however, purpose and fultilment are closely connected. The latter is 
 bound up in the former. Our finite minds cannot understand what is meant by 
 the purpose of God. There is a future to man, but what future can there be to 
 
138 HOMILETIG COMMENTARY: ESTHER. [cnAr. it. 
 
 the Omnipresent? Man looks forward to an object to be accomplished, but does 
 the Infinite One look either before or after ? Certainly not, in one sense. This, 
 however, we may most surely learn — that there is not purpose with God in a merely 
 human sense ; there can be to him no contingent future ; the march of human events 
 must be harmonious with Divine movements, whatever they may be. If then one 
 agent, through that wonderful gift of moral power, refuses to be God's instrument, 
 he can purpose another. If Esther determines to hold her peace, then shall there 
 deliverance arise from another place — by another agent. Notice the wonderful 
 manner of Divine operations. If the agent is at first unwilling, then God comes 
 forth and makes such agent willing for the day of his Divine power. Esther at 
 first unwilling, through the natural timidity of her sex, through the sense of her 
 incompetency to do any good, becomes in God's hand sweetly moulded and fitted 
 for the task, so that she becomes heroical in her complete self-abandonment to the 
 promotion of the Divine design. Moses at first says : " Who am I, that I should go 
 unto Pharaoh]" But Moses afterwards appears a God to Pharaoh ; and Aaron his 
 prophet. If we be the Lord's chosen he will prepare us to do his work. And yet 
 further — and sadly to be considered if not instructively — if we remain obdurate, if 
 we do not try to read aright Divine purposes, and the meaning of our present 
 position, God can use us against our will. He can force us to take part in the 
 promotion of the benevolent scheme. He could make an unwilling Esther hring 
 enlargement and deliverance to the Jews. How humiliating ! To be the bond- 
 slave of Divine purposes. To be like a galley-slave compelled to work the oars of 
 the vessel that is to enrich the one we oppose. How glorious, on the other hand, 
 to be a willing servant — a slave, yet free, because the slave of love. Esther's 
 praises are now sung not because she was the queen of Ahasuerus, but because she 
 was the delivering queen of her people, the royal agent to bring about Divine pur- 
 poses. God's purposes then must be accomplished, either by us, or by some 
 others ; either by us willingly, or by us unwillingly ; and we have in some measure 
 this awful power of choice. Which way do we decide 1 Let the response be, 
 " Here am I, Lord, but a broken vessel ; yet mend and prepare, so that I may 
 be a chosen vessel to bear abroad the sweet fragrance of the Saviour's name. " 
 
 IV. Those who seek to frustrate Divine purposes shall be injured. Mordecai 
 by the greatness of his faith becomes at once both heroic and prophetic. He is a 
 teaching prophet. He expounds the general principles of Divine operations. His 
 faith is both a production and a producer. It is the product of far-reaching views 
 of the purposes of God. And it begets in his soul still more extended views. It 
 lifts him to the heights of inspiration. He speaks like one inspired. He speaks 
 as one moved by the Holy Ghost. Strong faith is an inspiration. It enables a 
 man to do great things, and to speak noble truths. How strangely marvellous and 
 profound the utterance ; "Think not with thyself that thou shalt escape in the king's 
 house, more than all the Jews. If thou altogether holdest thy peace . . thou and 
 thy father's house shall be destroyed." Think not that thou canst fight against the 
 purposes of God and remain uninjured. The king's palace cannot protect those 
 who wage Avar with the King of heaven. These may seem hard things to utter. 
 Mordecai may be pronounced an unfeeling man. The doctor is not necessarily an 
 unfeeling man when he probes the wound in order to promote health. The speaker 
 is not necessarily an unfeeling man when he utters hard things in order to prevent 
 injury, and to rouse to healthy action. Mordecai is not unfeeling, for there was a 
 needs be that the whole truth should be spoken. And these things are largely and 
 broadly true.. The purposes of God are as the thick bosses of his bucklers, ami 
 tlmse who rush against those thick bosses will do so to their own damage. Those 
 who go contrary to the unwritten purposes of God in nature will do so to their own 
 injury. The laws of nature are the expressions of Divine purposes. These laws 
 must be obeyed. All men who are reasonable acknowledge this. They seek to tind 
 out these laws, aud work in harmony with nature's teachings. Break the natural 
 
chap, iv.] II0M1LETIC COMMENTARY: ESTHER. 139 
 
 law, and it will be avenged. Frustrate the purpose of the Creator, and damage and 
 suffering must ensue sooner or later. There is a purpose in providential movements. 
 We may not always be able to see clearly that purpose, hut if we desire to he faith- 
 ful God will reveal so much of that purpose as is needful for our guidance. Woe 
 he to the man who opposes the purposes of God in providence. There is a gracious 
 purpose in the gospel. Resist that purpose, and destruction follows. "And who- 
 soever shall fall on this stone shall be broken ; but on whomsoever it shall fall, it 
 will grind him to powder." 
 
 Finally, Learn that a faithful discharge of duty must bring rich results. It 
 was so in Esther's case, as we shall more fully see hereafter. Sne followed Mordecai's 
 leading, and was both blessed and the instrument of blessing. It will be so more 
 or less in all cases. The results of a faithful discharge of duty are far-reaching. 
 They stretch themselves through all time. They are fraught with eternal issues. 
 They act and react. Mercy blesses him that gives and him that takes. And so a 
 faithful discharge of duty blesses giver and receiver alike. Beware of the folly of 
 waiting for rare opportunities, for glorious openings, for great crises in human history. 
 Do not wait till a nation is threatened with destruction, and thou art raised to some 
 high position which will enable thee to deliver on a grand scale, and reap a harvest 
 of applause. All cannot be queens in the palace of Ahasuerus. Some must be as 
 Mordecai at the gate. The man who waits in idleness for some great work to do 
 will not be ready when the opportunity is presented, will most likely live a barren 
 life, and will leave behind no fragrant memories. There are rich rewards to faith- 
 ful workers. Rich rewards on earth and rich rewards in heaven. Crowns of glory 
 that fade not away. Our small doings will be wonderfully enlarged and glorified 
 by Divine grace. He that soweth to the glory of God on this earth shall reap a 
 golden harvest of Divine benedictions on the plains of the upper paradise. 
 
 God's Purpose and Man's Opportunity. Verse 14. 
 
 Great honours if suddenly achieved are often connected with great perils ; and 
 our text has reference to a peril of no common magnitude. The fate of a whole 
 people was, through the success of a wicked plot, trembling in the balance. 
 Humanly speaking, that fate would be settled this way or that according to the 
 impression which Mordecai might make upon Esther's mind. We know that the 
 right impression icas made, and that the right end was attained — the preservation 
 of the Jews, and the destruction of the remorseless man who had plotted theirs. 
 
 Now, without putting any pressure on this passage, it is thought that we may find 
 certain principles of Divine administration which are capable of easy and profitable 
 application to our present circumstances. I draw from the text the following 
 general truths : — 
 
 That running through the providence of this world, there is a gracious Divine 
 purpose for its ultimate salvation. 
 
 That rich and rare opportunities occur in the progress of things, by which 
 believing men are allowed to come effectually " to the help of the Lord against the 
 mighty." 
 
 That the neglect of such providential calls has a tendency to bring destruction. 
 
 That obedience will bring elevation and blessing. 
 
 T TV * 
 
 I. Divine purpose. It is very clear that Mordecai rested his faith on some 
 fundamental and changeless purpose of God, in reference to the Jewish people. 
 In fact, he believed in the indestructibility of the Jews ; and this with him was 
 evidently a religious faith. He believed this, because he believed in God and in 
 his revealed will. There was no natural ground for supposing that they would not 
 perish, according to the terms of the bloody edict which had gone forth. They were 
 a captive, a scattered, a feeble people, without mutual concert, without leaders, 
 without power of resistance. The fatal counsel had taken effect on the royal mind. 
 
HO HOMILETIC COMMENTARY : ESTHER. [CHAP. IV. 
 
 The ring had passed from the king's hand ; the deathdetters had been written ; the 
 royal seal impressed on each; the posts hastened out of the city away to the 
 different provinces, and the whole land was struck with fear and perplexity by the 
 suddenness and terrific character of the decree. Yet here is a man of the doomed 
 race whose faith lifts him above his fear ! — a man who, by simply grasping one 
 great truth, can smile serenely at the portents and terrors of the time. "My people 
 cannot perish ! " That is his unwavering faith. Now, that faith must have been 
 founded on one or more of the express promises of God. Thus the purpose of the 
 preservation of the Jews is but a branch and a sign of another and a grander 
 purpose — a purpose to gather and to save the whole world. Always to our severer 
 thought, and in our more perfect frames, this end has arisen to our view, like the 
 shining summits of inaccessible mountains which the traveller can never reach, 
 but by which he guides his way ; and we have seen and felt that it is wisest, holiest, 
 best, that neither man nor universe can ever come into the place of God ; that 
 neither human happiness, nor the universal harmony of things, can ever reach so 
 high, or shine so bright, as the glory of the all-perfect One. In the contemplation 
 of this end, our thought returns unto its rest in the stillness of truth ; our affections 
 are imbued most deeply with the harmonies of the everlasting love, and the forces 
 of our life spring up with most gigantic energy. Then we live indeed, for God 
 liveth in us that we may will and do of his good pleasure. The light of the glory 
 of God shines in the face of Jesus Christ. And this is the " glory of the Lord, 
 which shall cover the earth as the waters cover the sea." The purpose of God to 
 achieve this grand result is clearly recorded in many parts of his revealed will. 
 Expressed or implied, we find it in every book : it types itself in the kingly history ; 
 it gleams in the prophet's vision ; it breathes in the holy psalm ; speaks out in the 
 Acts of the Apostles ; runs through all the Epistles, and sighs up to heaven in that 
 last apocalyptic cry, " Even so, come, Lord Jesus." 
 
 II. Human opportunity. We pass now from Divine purpose to human 
 opportunity. There is no need to expound the general doctrine of opportunity. 
 "Our time is al way ready." "We are workers together with God." We must 
 spend the gospel, or lose it. But while, in a general sense, there is always oppor- 
 tunity to every one, God's providence is so cast that now and again opportunities 
 of a richer and rarer kind occur. We have a striking instance of this in the text. 
 No queen in the world but Esther had anv chance of doing what Mordecai asks at 
 her hand ; only once in her life was such a grand possibility and such a dread 
 alternative placed before her. A few moments, probably, settled all. In her quick 
 and grand resolve she made herself a queen indeed ! the heroine of a wondrous 
 stoiy ! a fountain of salvation to a whole people ! mistress and monarch, for the 
 time, of all the earth ! And such, often-times, in character and quickness, is our 
 opportunity too. Our moral opportunities, our seasonable times for action and 
 usefulness, are very precious, are very brief, and when they are gone they cannot 
 be renewed. God's great purpose will travel on, but our co-operation there is 
 impossible for ever. So, too, it is at times with Churches, with societies, and with 
 nations. A Church grows and prospers for a while, and then comes to a point of 
 spiritual potentiality where her state is tested and her history determined. She 
 must at that point either become the city on the hill, or sink back into the shades 
 of obscurity. A nation suffers, and struggles, and grows, and then comes a time — 
 it may be a time of war, or a time of peace, but it is a crucial time to her — and in 
 a few years, perhaps, the scale of the great balance in which she is being held and 
 weighed, rises, and she is too light to be further used for God's purposes; or falls, 
 and she is settled in her place as one of his great kingdoms on the earth. 
 
 III. The law of destruction. "Then Mordecai commanded to answer Esther, 
 Think not with thyself that thou shalt escape in the king's house, more than all 
 the Jews. For if thou altogether boldest thy peace at this time, then shall there 
 enlargement and deliverance arise to the Jews from another place ; but thou and 
 
chap, iv.] HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: ESTHER. 141 
 
 thy father's house shall be destroyed." " The Jews " — God's people — are not depend- 
 ent, as they seem to be, for their preservation, upon you ; there are " other places " 
 from which the deliverance so much needed will immediately spring if you are 
 unfaithful, or unequal in any way to the great occasion. But you are dependent 
 for your preservation on your loyalty and fealty to them. "Thou and thy father's 
 house shall be destroyed." We are not sure whether Mordecai himself knew in 
 what manner his prediction would be accomplished. It is probable that it stood 
 out in his view, and in the view of Esther, not so much in the light of a personal 
 and particular penalty which would overtake her and her father's house by what 
 Ave call a special providence, as in the light of a general principle of retribution, 
 acting at all times, but sure to act swiftly and terribly in a case like this. That 
 this principle of retribution is still in force cannot for a moment be doubted. It 
 has all the force and fixedness of law. It has its fullest application to the ungodly. 
 The way, the hope, the expectation, the works, the memory, and, saddest of all, 
 the soul of the wicked, sdiall all perish. But God is no respecter of persons, and 
 neither are his laws. Let a Christian man neglect opportunities, and hold truth in 
 \mrighteousness, and bind down his soul to commonness, and what will happen to 
 him ] Can that man he going on to joyous harvest-time as a Christian should ! 
 It is impossible. In fact, he is perishing as to the real power of his life. In the 
 main he is living so that this great law of destruction is fastening upon his whole 
 exterior life. More completely still does the principle apply to churches, and 
 societies, and nations. All associations of men, civil and sacred, Church and State 
 alike, are judged by the king now. JS r o Church, society, or nation can live, except 
 as they continue to be in harmony with the purpose and the providence of God. 
 The one Church cannot perish ; the gates of hell cannot prevail against it, but they 
 do prevail against every particular Church that is unfaithful. Where are the seven 
 Churches in Asia 1 All darkened and dead. The " lamps " have long since gone 
 out, and can never be relumed. It would be a waste of time to remind you at 
 length how this principle of judgment and destruction has been applied to nations. 
 The whole history of this world, rightly read, is but a commentary and a confirm- 
 ation of the doctrine of destruction which the text contains, No doubt this 
 principle is applied in this our native land. If we are "righteous" we shall be 
 exalted; if we are sinful we shall be disgraced. If we serve God in the line of his 
 purpose for the world's salvation, we shall flourish ; if we do not, we and our 
 father's house shall be destroyed. 
 
 IV. The law of life. There is a law of life in God's gracious providence as 
 well as a law of destruction, and following the beautiful turn given to the sentiment 
 of the text, we say now, " Who knoweth whether we are come to the kingdom for 
 such a time as this ] " It is possible, even very probable. God does not play 
 capriciously with signs and scenes of Providence. As Englishmen, we have come to 
 a kingdom such as never before was seen among men. The very thought of it is 
 almost overwhelming. To circumscribe the bounds of our empire we must traverse 
 every continent, and sail over every sea. The great Roman empire in its palmiest 
 days was nothing like it. The whole world waits for us — watches what we do, 
 listens to what we say. What a gigantic kingdom ! " Who knoweth whether we 
 are come to it for such a time as this 1 ?" But as Christians we have come to a 
 greater kingdom still, ruled by the " King of kings." Although not of this world, 
 this Kingdom is intensely and unconquerably in it. Its principles are rooted 
 beneath the uttermost foundations of society. Opportunity is so quick, possibilities 
 are so great, forces are so strong, and the prospects of the opening future are so 
 enrapturing, but yet so dependent on faithfulness in the present hour, that we must 
 be " ready for every good work," or lose our function and our peculiar place in the 
 great time on which we have fallen. It is a great, a glorious time — " such a time 
 as this ! " The gates are lifting up their heads. The everlasting doors are opening. 
 The King himself is coming soon. He gives us new commission to herald his 
 
142 
 
 HOMILETIO COMMENTARY: ESTHER. 
 
 [ctiap. rv. 
 
 advent, and prepare his way in every land. And looking up to his eternal purpose 
 of love and mercy, observing these rich and high opportunities, tearing the sweep 
 of that law of destruction which carries the wicked and the slothful away ; but 
 strong, through grace in the law of life, we venture now to say, not " who knoweth 1 " 
 but, Lord, Thou knowest, — Thou who knowest all things ; and Ave, by the humble 
 yet resolute purpose, which we renew before thy face, and in thy strength to-day. 
 Thou knowest, and we know, that we are "come to the kingdom for such a time 
 as this!" Amen. — Dr. Raleigh's Sermon for the London Missionary Society. 
 Abridged. 
 
 Suggestive Comments on Verses 13, 14. 
 
 Receiving is in order to giving. This 
 is the law of nature. The clouds receive 
 from the sea, and give back fertilizing 
 showers to the earth. The soil receives 
 from the clouds, and responds to the re- 
 freshing baptism by waving harvests of 
 golden beauty. We are told that nature 
 never disappoints, and that nothing pays 
 so well as the soil. In some of her 
 aspects nature appears to be hard and 
 unyielding, but in other aspects she 
 shows herself grateful for all kind atten- 
 tions. This is the law of nations, and 
 in so far as they answer to this law 
 is their continued prosperity secured. 
 When a nation fails to give out noble 
 exertions for the consolidation of vir 
 tuous manhood, for the suppression of 
 vice, and for the spread of right prin- 
 ciples, then it begiils to decline. The 
 youth of a nation is often the most 
 glorious. Then it produces the greatest 
 number of stalwart heroes. Then are 
 found those who are willing to sacrifice 
 themselves for the good of the State. 
 Even then are found the brightest orna- 
 ments in literature. The nation is giving. 
 The decline of a nation is marked by 
 this fact, that it is an absorbing power. 
 It rests idly upon former achievements, 
 and does not seek to prosecute further 
 enterprises. Wealth is in abundance. 
 The people absorb, and thus become 
 enervated. This is the law of individ- 
 uals, and in so far as they obey this law 
 can they hope to reach the true per- 
 fection of which they are capable. God 
 gives in order that man may give, and 
 man grows rich by giving. Much has 
 been received. The world itself, with 
 all its exquisite contrivances of infinite 
 wisdom, with all its manifestations of 
 Divine power, and with all its charming 
 
 displays of loveliness, is God's gift to 
 man. Life, with all its rare privileges, 
 and wonderful opportunities, and glori- 
 ous possibilities, has been given by the 
 Creator. Jesus Christ, the brightness of 
 the Father's glory, and the express image 
 of his person, the noblest ideal of our 
 manhood, the Redeemer of mankind, is 
 the gift of God's unspeakable love. 
 Mercy to pardon, grace to help, and love 
 to cheer, come to us from the loving 
 Father. Much has been received, and it 
 is rightly expected that much shall be 
 returned. " Freely ye have received, 
 freely give." What return shall be made 
 for love so vast 1 Adequate return can- 
 not be made ; but oh ! that return were 
 made equal to the ability of each reci- 
 pient. Oh ! what shall be the grateful 
 response to beneficence so unspeakably 
 glorious 1 
 
 That Divine Providence had an eye 
 to this in bringing her to be queen. 
 " "Who knows whether thou hast come 
 to the kingdom for such a time as this ? " 
 and therefore, " Thou art bound in grati- 
 tude to do this service for God and his 
 Church, else thou dost not answer the 
 end of thy elevation." "Thou needest 
 not fear miscarrying in the enterprise ; 
 if God designed thee for it, he will bear 
 thee out and give thee success." Now, 
 it appeared, by the event, that she did 
 come to the kingdom that she might be 
 an instrument of the Jews' deliverance, 
 so that Mordecai was right in the con- 
 jecture. Because the Lord loved his 
 people, therefore he made Esther queen. 
 There is a wise counsel and design in all 
 the providences of God, which is un- 
 known to us till it is accomplished, but 
 it will prove in the issue that tiny are 
 all intended for, and centre in, the good 
 
chap, iv.] 
 
 HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: ESTHER. 
 
 143 
 
 of the Church. The probability of this 
 was a good reason why she should bestir 
 herself, and do her utmost for her people. 
 We should every one of us consider for 
 what end God has put us in the place 
 where we are, and study to answer that 
 end ; and when any particular oppor- 
 tunity of serving God and our generation 
 offers itself, we must take care that we 
 do not let it slip ; for we were entrusted 
 with it that we might improve it. — 
 Matthew Henry. 
 
 We are apt to mistake our vocation by 
 looking out of the way for occasions to 
 exercise great and rare virtues, and by 
 stepping over the ordinary ones that lie 
 directly in the road before us. — Hannah 
 More. 
 
 There are not good things enough in 
 life to indemnify us for the neglect of a 
 single duty. — Mad. Swetchine. 
 
 But if thou altogether holdest thy 
 peace. In a storm at sea it is a shame 
 to sit still, or to be asleep, with Jonah, 
 in the sides of the ship when it is in 
 danger of drowning. Every man cannot 
 sit at the stern ; but then he may handle 
 the ropes, or manage the oars, &c. The 
 self-seeker, the private-spirited man, may 
 he be but warm in his own feathers, 
 regards not the danger of the house ; he 
 is tottis in se, like the snail still within- 
 doors and at home; like the squirrel, he 
 ever digs his hole towards the sun-rising ; 
 his care is to keep on the warm side of 
 the hedge, to sleep on a whole skin, to 
 save one, whatever become of the many. 
 From doing thus, Mordecai deterreth by 
 a heap of holy arguments ; discovering 
 an heroical faith and a well-knit reso- 
 lution. 
 
 At this time. — There is indeed a time 
 to keep silence, and a time to speak 
 (Eccles. iii. 7). But if ever a man will 
 speak, let him do it when the enemies 
 are ready to devour the Church : as 
 Croesus's dumb son burst out into, Kid 
 not King Croesus. " For Zion's sake will 
 I not hold my peace, and for Jerusalem's 
 sake I will not rest," &c. (Isa. lxii. 1). 
 " If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my 
 right hand forget her cunning. If I do 
 not remember thee, let my tongue cleave 
 to the roof of my mouth," &c. 
 
 That noble Terentius (general to Yalens, 
 
 the Emperor), being bidden to ask what 
 he would, asked nothing but that the 
 Church might be freed from Arians ; 
 and when the Emperor, upon a defeat by 
 the Goths, upbraided him with coward- 
 ice and sloth as the causes of the over- 
 throw, he boldly replied : " Yourself have 
 lost the day, by your warring against 
 God, and persecuting his people." 
 
 But thou and thy father's house shall 
 be destroyed. — Here he thundereth, and 
 threateneth her, if to save herself she 
 shall desert the Church. Mordecai's 
 message, like David's ditty, is composed 
 of discords. Sour and sweet make the 
 best sauce ; promises and menaces 
 mixed will soonest work. God told 
 Abraham that for the love he bare him 
 he would bless those that blessed him, 
 and curse such as cursed him. Their 
 sin should find them out, and they 
 should rue it in their posterity. As 
 one fire, so one fear, should drive out 
 another. 
 
 And who knoweth whether thou art 
 come to the kingdom ? — There is often a 
 wheel within a wheel. God may have 
 an end and an aim in businesses that we 
 wot not of nor can see into till events 
 have explained it. Let us lay forth 
 ourselves for him, and labour to be 
 public-spirited, standing on tiptoes, as 
 St. Paul did, to see which way we 
 may most glorify God, and gratify our 
 brethren . — Trapp. 
 
 Mordecai manifests a precious sense 
 of trust : " For if thou altogether holdest 
 thy peace at this time, then shall there 
 enlargement and deliverance arise to the 
 Jews from another place." But he who 
 would save his soul shall lose it. The 
 risk which Mordecai called upon Esther 
 to assume, that she should come to the 
 king uninvited, and manifest herself as 
 a daughter of the people thus devoted to 
 destruction, was indeed great and im- 
 portant. Moreover, the hope that Xerxes 
 would recall his edict, thus, according to 
 Persian ideas, endangering the respect 
 due to his royal majesty, and likewise 
 abandoning his favourite minister, was 
 very uncertain of fulfilment. But Esther 
 had been elevated to a high position. 
 Mordecai, who in a doubting manner 
 sends her word : "Who knoweth whether 
 
114 
 
 II0M1LETIC COM.VEXT.inY: ESTHER. 
 
 [CJTAr. IV. 
 
 thou art come to the kingdom for such 
 a time as tins?" doubtless did it from a 
 conviction that she must now prove her- 
 self worthy of such distinction, if she 
 would retain it. He also conveys the 
 idea that the higher her position the 
 greater her responsibility, and conse- 
 quently, in case of failure because of 
 carelessness or fear fulness, the more in- 
 tense her guilt. In these convictions 
 of Mordecai are contained the most ear- 
 nest exhortations even for us. This is 
 especially true since we are all called to 
 be joint heirs of Jesus Christ to the 
 throne of the heavenly kingdom. In 
 the deportment of Esther a no less re- 
 minder is contained. It appears quite 
 natural that Esther shoidd order a fast, 
 not only to be observed by Mordecai 
 and the rest of the Jews, but she also 
 imposed on herself this fast of three 
 days' duration. Had she had a little 
 more of the common discretion of her 
 sex, she would have feared the effects of 
 the fast upon her appearance. Hence 
 she would have adopted quite a different 
 plan or preparation previous to her en- 
 trance into the king's presence. Here 
 also she reveals the same attractive 
 feature of mind and manner as when 
 she was first presented to the king. 
 Instead of placing reliance upon what 
 she shoidd externally put on or adorn 
 herself with, we find her trust placed 
 upon something higher. She well knows 
 that she will only succeed if the great 
 and exalted Lord be for her ; who, not- 
 withstanding his glorious majesty, yet 
 dwells among the most lowly of men. 
 It is in just such times as these, when 
 we are raised to the greatest endeavours 
 and self-sacrifices, that we must not ex- 
 pect to accomplish these things by our 
 own power, but only through him who 
 in our weakness is our strength. Other- 
 wise, despite our best intentions and 
 most successful beginnings, we shall 
 soon grow discouraged, and fail. Our 
 own weakness is but too often made 
 manifest to our eyes. It is only when 
 we consider and remember that the hand 
 of the Lord is in it all, that we will be 
 saved from a lack of courage. — Lange. 
 
 These were, indeed, times for the de- 
 velopment of character — times for the 
 
 birth of men. And the men were there' 
 — the wit, the poet, the divine, the hero 
 — as if genius had brought out her 
 jewels, and furnished them nobly for a 
 nation's need. Then Pym and Hampden 
 bearded tyranny, and Eussel and Sydney 
 dreamed of freedom. Then Blake se- 
 cured the empire of ocean, and the 
 chivalric Falkland fought and fell. In 
 those stirring times Charnock, and Owen, 
 and Howe, and Henry, and Baxter, wrote, 
 and preached, and prayed. " Cud worth 
 and Henry More were still living at 
 Cambridge ; South was at Oxford, Pri- 
 deaux in the Close at Norwich, and 
 Whitby in the Close of Salisbury. Sher- 
 lock preached at the Temple, Tillotson 
 at Lincoln's Inn, Burnet at the Eolls, 
 Stillingneet at St. Paul's Cathedral, 
 Beveridv;e at St. Peter's, Cornhdl. Men," 
 to continue the historian's eloquent 
 description, " who could set forth the 
 majesty and beauty of Christianity with 
 such justness of thought and such energy 
 of language that the indolent Charles 
 roused himself to listen, and the fastidi- 
 ous Buckingham forgot to sneer." But 
 twelve years before the birth of Bunyan, 
 all that was mortal of Shakespeare had 
 descended to the tomb. Waller still 
 nourished, an easy and graceful versi- 
 fier; Cowley yet presented his " perverse 
 metaphysics " to the world ; Butler, like 
 the parsons in Ids own ' Hudibras,' — 
 
 " Proved his doctrine orthodox 
 By apostolic blows and knocks." 
 
 Dry den wrote powerful satires and sorry 
 plays " with long-resounding march and 
 energy divine ; " George Herbert clad 
 his thoughts in quaint and quiet beauty ; 
 and, mid the groves of Chalfont, as if 
 blinded on purpose that the inner eye 
 might be flooded with the " light which 
 never was on sea or shore," our greater 
 Milton sang. — Panshon. 
 
 the admirable faith of Mordecai 
 that shines through all these clouds, and 
 in the thickest of these fogs descries a 
 cheerful glimpse of deliverance ! He 
 saw the day of their common destruction 
 enacted ; he knew the Persian decrees 
 to be unalterable ; but, withal, he knew 
 there was a Messiah to come ; he was so 
 well acquainted with God's covenanted 
 
CHAP. IV.] 
 
 HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: ESTHER. 
 
 145 
 
 assurances to his Church that he can, 
 through the midst of those bloody reso- 
 lutions, foresee indemnity to Israel, 
 rather trusting the promises of God 
 than the threats of men. This is the 
 victory that overcomes all the fears and 
 fury of the world, even our faith. — 
 Bishop Hall. 
 
 There shall enlargement and deliver- 
 ance arise to the Jews from another place. 
 — the power of faith ! What has it 
 not done ! — what can it not do ! It is 
 " the substance of things hoped for, the 
 evidence of things not seen." It lifts 
 the person above the level of his own 
 mind. It can not only see abundance 
 of rain in a cloud no bigger than a man's 
 hand, but it can prophesy of it, when 
 the heavens above are as burnished brass. 
 The faith of God's elect has removed 
 mountains — not literally — but moun- 
 tains of difficulties, and mountains of 
 guilt lying on the conscience, and cast 
 them into the sea; dissipated clouds — 
 not the visible clouds — but clouds of 
 despair which oppress the soul ; and 
 dried up fountains — not the fountains 
 of the deep — but the fountains of tears 
 in the heart, which flowed day and 
 night for the slain of the daughter of 
 Zion ! Witness its effects on Mordecai. 
 How changed is he from the figure in 
 which we saw him lately. He has 
 shaken the dust from his head, his filthy 
 garments he has exchanged for raiment 
 far surpassing that which the queen had 
 sent him ; and the wailings with which 
 he filled the streets of Shushan have 
 been converted into strains of hope and 
 triumph. It is faith — recovered faith — 
 which has set his feet upon a rock, and 
 placed him in a pavilion, from the top 
 of which he looks down with derision 
 on the malice and power and expectation 
 of his enemy, and with compassion on 
 his timid, distracted daughter, whom he 
 alternately chides and comforts. 
 
 But what is this faith which produces 
 such astonishing effects] Is it just 
 strong confidence, or a persuasion that 
 what we believe will take place 1 It has 
 a more solid foundation than this. There 
 is confidence in it, sometimes rising to 
 full assurance, but the word of the im- 
 mutable God is the base on which the 
 
 pillar of faith rests — confidence, the 
 spiral top with which it seeks the skies. 
 On what then did the faith of Mordecai 
 rest ? On the promises of God, who " is 
 not a man that he should lie, neither the 
 son of man that he should repent ; hath 
 he said and shall he not do it \ — or hath 
 he spoken, and shall he not make it 
 good 1 " 
 
 Thou art come to the kingdom — to a 
 crown, to a throne, and in what a won- 
 derful manner ! Surely it becomes you 
 to say, with greater reason than David, 
 " Who am I, Lord God, and what is 
 my house, that thou hast brought me 
 hitherto 1 ?" .And to add, with the same 
 godly king, " What shall I render unto 
 the Lord, for all his benefits towards 
 me 1 " Born a captive, early left an 
 orphan, lately the reputed daughter of a 
 porter, Providence hath raised thee be- 
 yond all men's expectation, and of none 
 more than your own, to be the second 
 person in the greatest monarchy of the 
 world. Art thou not then bound in 
 gratitude to do this service for God and 
 his Church 1 
 
 And who knoweth whether thou art 
 come to the kingdom for such a time 
 as this ? — It is possible ; it is highly 
 probable. The singular way of thy ele- 
 vation, and the striking conjunction of 
 circumstances, point to this, and seem to 
 say, Because the Lord loved his people, 
 therefore he made Esther queen, that by 
 her influence with the king she might 
 defeat the wicked plot for their destruc- 
 tion. The very probability of this was 
 a strong incitement to her to bestir her- 
 self; for if God had destined her to be 
 the deliverer of Israel, then he would be 
 with her, and give success to her exer- 
 tions, and this would be an honour 
 greater than the matrimonial crown of 
 Persia ; for " henceforth all generations 
 would call her blessed." 
 
 The event showed that Mordecai was 
 right in his conjecture, and that he had 
 correctly interpreted the ways of Provi- 
 dence. There is a wise counsel and 
 design in all the works of him who sees 
 the end from the beginning. It often 
 is unknown to us until it is carried into 
 effect, though we might know more of 
 it if we were more diligent students of 
 
 L 
 
14(5 
 
 II0M1LETI0 COMMENTARY: ESTHER. 
 
 [ciiap. rv. 
 
 Providence; and the issue proves, that 
 all was intended for, and conduces to, 
 the good of the Church. We should 
 seek to be " workers together with God," 
 and carefully consider for what end he 
 hath put us into the place which we 
 occupy. Have any rank, or authority, 
 or talents, or wealth, or friends ? These 
 are the gifts of God, and must he used 
 for his glory. When any special oppor- 
 tunity df serving God and our generation 
 presents itself, we should beware of let- 
 ting it slip, or excusing ourselves; for 
 an account will be exacted of us, and 
 exacted with impartiality. Of them to 
 whom much is given much shall be re- 
 quired. Every one hath it in his power 
 to do something. " What knowest thou, 
 wife, whether thou shalt save thy 
 husband ] or how knowest thou, man, 
 whether thou shalt save thy wife?" 
 And we should " provoke one another," 
 by our example and our advice, " to 
 love and to good works." — McCree. 
 
 This lesson may be drawn from his 
 conduct, — that a resolute will, when it 
 is exerted for the accomplishment of any 
 purpose, is usually successful in the end. 
 In the pursuit even of worldly good, 
 when a man keeps his eye steadily fixed 
 upon some one object, and makes that 
 the point towards which his efforts di- 
 rectly and indirectly tend, he commonly 
 succeeds. There are, indeed, providential 
 interpositions which overthrow the most 
 promising and best -laid schemes, and 
 show the insufficiency of human wisdom 
 and power to effect their ends, apart 
 from the blessing of God. "But gener- 
 ally, when there is no impious disregard 
 of the older of Providence — a resolute 
 will, combined with activity, sweeps all 
 difficulties out of its path, and succeeds 
 in accomplishing its aims. Some of the 
 greatest movements in worldly affairs 
 are, humanly speaking, to be traced up 
 to this. The triumphs of the Reform- 
 ation for example, in our own country 
 and in other lands, where it did triumph, 
 while they are really to be ascribed to 
 the overruling providence of God, are 
 instrumental^ to be attributed to this, 
 that God raised up and qualified for the 
 work certain men of determined will 
 and unflagging energy, who kept before 
 
 them the great purpose which they sought 
 to effect, and would be turned aside by 
 no danger or difficulty from working it 
 out. And I would remark, that in things 
 spiritual — in things affecting the eternal 
 salvation of man — resoluteness of will 
 and indomitable energy are as indispens- 
 able as in the pursuit of temporal good. 
 Nothing must be allowed to obscure the 
 great cardinal truth, that salvation is of 
 grace, and that " it is not of him that 
 willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of 
 God who showeth mercy." But still, it 
 is only when men, by the grace of God, 
 set themselves resolutely to contend with 
 their spiritual enemies — when, looking 
 to God for help, they will not be driven 
 from the path of well-doing by obstacles 
 which they meet with in pursuing it ; it 
 is only then that they are treading the 
 course which "will terminate in the re- 
 wards of a glorious victory. — Davidson. 
 Ver. 14. "For if thou altogether bold- 
 est thy peace at this time, then shall there 
 enlargement and deliverance arise to the 
 Jews from another place ; but thou and 
 thy father's house shall be destroyed : 
 and who knoweth whether thou art come 
 to the kingdom for such a time as this 1 " 
 Their great trouble, their deep distress, 
 and their most deadly danger you have 
 in that (Esther iii. 13). "And the let- 
 ters were sent by posts into all the king's 
 provinces, to destroy, to kill, and to cause 
 to perish, all Jews, both young and old, 
 little children and women, in one day, 
 even upon the thirteenth day of the 
 twelfth month, wdiich is the month 
 Adar, and to take the spoil of them for 
 a prey." Here are great aggravations of 
 his cruelty, in that neither sex nor age 
 are spared : rage and malice know no 
 bounds. Haman, that grand informer, 
 with his wicked crew, would have spoiled 
 them of their lives ami goods, but that 
 they were prevented by a miraculous 
 providence, as you know. Now in this 
 deep distress and most deadly danger, at 
 what rate doth Mordecai believe 1 For 
 if thou altogether boldest thy peace at 
 this time, then shall there enlargement 
 — (Heb. respiration) — and deliverance 
 arise — (Heb. stand up, as on its basis or 
 bottom, so as none shall be able to with- 
 stand it). This Mordecai speaketh nut 
 
CHAP. IV.] 
 
 HOMILETIC COMMENTARY : ESTHER. 
 
 147 
 
 by a spirit of prophecy, but by the power 
 and force of his faith, grounded upon the 
 precious promises of God's defending his 
 Church, hearing the cries of his people 
 arising for their relief and succour, and 
 grounded upon all the glorious attributes 
 of God, viz. his power, love, wisdom, 
 goodness, and all - sufficiency, &c. — all 
 which are engaged in the covenant of 
 grace, to save, protect, and secure his 
 people in their greatest troubles and 
 most deadly dangers. Mordecai's faith 
 in this black, dark, dismal day, was a 
 notable faith indeed, and worthy of 
 highest commendation. Faith can look 
 through the perspective of the promises, 
 and see deliverance at a great distance, 
 salvation at the door. What though 
 sense saith, Deliverance cannot come ; 
 yet a raised faith gets above all fears 
 and disputes, and says, Deliverance will 
 certainly come ; redemption is at hand. 
 The Rabbins put Makom, which sig- 
 nifies place, among the names of God. 
 Bythner brings them in expounding 
 that text in Esther, " Deliverance shall 
 arise from another place ; " that is, from 
 God. They called him Place, because 
 he is in every place, though in the as- 
 semblies of his saints more eminently 
 and gloriously. God is present with all 
 his creatures — (1) via product lunis, by 
 raising them up ; (2) via sustentationis, 
 by staying of them up ; they are his 
 family, and he feeds and clothes them ; 
 
 (3) via i?iclinationis, by giving unto them 
 power of motion ; man could neither live 
 nor move unless the Lord were with him ; 
 
 (4) via observatiotris, by taking notice of 
 them; he observeth and marks both their 
 persons and their actions — he sees who 
 they are and how they are employed ; 
 
 (5) via ordinationis, by governing and 
 ruling of them and all their actions, to 
 the service of his glory, and the good of 
 his poor people. — Brookes. 
 
 Consider all the capacities and abilities 
 we have to do good, this way and that 
 way, in this relation and that relation, 
 that we may be trees of righteousness, 
 that the more we bear the more we may 
 bear. God will mend his own trees. 
 He will purge them and prune them to 
 "bring forth more fruit." God cherish- 
 eth fruitful trees. In the law of Moses, 
 
 when they besieged any place, he com- 
 manded them to spare fruitful trees. 
 God spares a fruitful person till he have 
 done his work. We know not how much 
 good one man may do, though he be a 
 mean person. Sometimes one poor wise 
 man delivereth the city ; and the right- 
 eous delivereth the land. We see for 
 one servant, Joseph, Potiphar's house 
 was blessed. Naaman had a poor maid- 
 servant that was the occasion of his con- 
 version. Grace will set anybody a-work. 
 It puts a dexterity into any, though 
 never so mean. They carry God's bless- 
 ing wheresoever they go, and they be- 
 think themselves when they are in any 
 condition to do good, as he saith in 
 Esther iv. 14. "God hath called me 
 to this place, perhaps for this end." We 
 should often put this quaere to ourselves, 
 Why hath God called me to this place 1 
 — for such and such a purpose. — Sibbes. 
 
 As it is the most pleasing worship to 
 God to support the Church with all our 
 strength, so he execrates no one more 
 than him who withholds from the Church 
 when in danger that help which he is 
 able to render. ... If the cry of a single 
 poor man is so availing, that although 
 unheard by man it finds an avenging ear 
 in God, what must be the influence of 
 the cry of the whole Church in her afflic- 
 tion imploring assistance from him who 
 it hopes is able to help 1 . . . This 
 teaches us that God confers power upon 
 princes, riches upon the rich, wisdom 
 upon the wise, and other gifts upon 
 others, not that they may abuse them 
 for their own pleasure, but that they 
 may assist the Church of God, and pro- 
 tect it whatever way they can. For the 
 Church on earth is so great in the eyes 
 of God, that he requires of all men what- 
 ever may serve her. " The people," he 
 says, "and the king that will not serve 
 thee shall perish, and the nations shall 
 dwell in a solitary place." — Breiiz. 
 
 "Think not that because thou art in 
 the king's house, thou shalt be safe." — 
 It is vain to trust in kings, or in the sons 
 of men, in whom there is no confidence. 
 Kings die. In that day their breath 
 goes forth, and their thoughts perish. 
 Kings are changeable creatures, like other 
 men. The kings were not like the laws 
 
148 
 
 TIOMILETIC COMMENTARY: ESTHER. 
 
 [chap. it. 
 
 of the Merles and Persians, winch could 
 not he altered. He that was in the 
 morning their favourite, might, hefore 
 the evening, he hanged hy their orders. 
 Herod, king of Judea, dearly loved his 
 wife Mariamne, and yet he ordered her 
 to he put to death without any crime 
 l)ii t what was committed in his own dark 
 imagination. Monema was a heloved 
 wife of Mithridates the great King of 
 Pontus, and yet, when he lost a hattle 
 against the Romans, that she might not 
 fall into other hands than his own he 
 commanded her to die ; and the only 
 favour he showed her was to give her 
 the choice of her own death. Her choice 
 was, to strangle herself hy her royal tiara, 
 which had long heen hateful to her. But 
 even in this she was disappointed, and 
 her last, or nearly her last, words, were, 
 " Poor hauble ! canst thou not do me 
 • ■yen this mournful office?" 
 
 Jesus forbids us to fear them that have 
 power only to kill the body. Still less, 
 if possible, are we to trust them ; for 
 they have no power even to save the 
 body. God is to be trusted and feared. 
 He is the lawgiver who is able to save 
 and to destroy. 
 
 Enlargement and deliverance will arise 
 to the Jews, to the Israel of God, under 
 the gospel, as well as under the law. 
 Amidst all the distresses of the Church, 
 we may rest assured that she cannot 
 perish. Particular Churches may be 
 destroyed, but the Church universal is 
 built by Christ upon a rock, and the 
 gates of hell shall not prevail against it. 
 — Law8cm. 
 
 Ver. 14. When God vouchsafes his 
 children any outward privileges, he doth 
 it for the good and help of others. Paul 
 had these privileges, that he might beat 
 down the pride of the Jews more power- 
 fully. And Solomon had all abundance 
 of wisdom, riches, and the like. Why? 
 But only that he might without control 
 judge of all, as of " vanity and vexation 
 of spirit ; " and make it to be believed 
 more firmly. For had an ordinary man 
 said it, men would have thought it easy 
 for him to say so ; but if he had tried 
 them, he would have been otherwise 
 minded. In these later times, our best 
 teachers were at the first Papists, and 
 
 of the more zealous sort ; as Bucer and 
 Luther, being also learned men ; as also 
 Peter Martyr and Zanchius, were brought 
 up in Italy ; and all this, that they seeing 
 once their blindness, might be the more 
 able to confound them, as being not a 
 whit inferior to them in any outward 
 respect whatsoever, when they were of 
 their belief. — Sibbes. 
 
 God never yet suffered any Goliath to 
 defy him, but he raised up a David to 
 encounter him. " The same day Pelagius 
 was born here in Britain, Augustine was 
 born in Africa." Though error, like 
 Esau, hath come out first, yet truth, like 
 Jacob, hath caught it by the heel, and 
 wrestled with it. If God hath suffered 
 any horn to push at his Israel, he hath 
 presently raised a carpenter to knock it 
 off. — Simeon Ash. 
 
 Things all serve their uses, and never 
 break out of their place. They have no 
 power to do it. Not so with us. We 
 are able, as free beings, to refuse the place 
 and the duties God appoints ; which, if 
 Ave do, then we sink into something lower 
 and less worthy of us. That highest and 
 best condition for which God designed 
 us is no more possible. We are fallen 
 out of it, and it cannot be wholly re- 
 covered. And, yet, as that was the best 
 thing possible for us in the reach of God's 
 original counsel, so there is a place de- 
 signed for us now which is the next best 
 possible. God calls us now to the best 
 thing left, and will do so till all good 
 possibility is narrowed down and spent. 
 And then, when he cannot use us any 
 more for our own good, he will use us 
 for the good of others, — an example of 
 the misery and horrible desperation to 
 which any soul must come, when all the 
 good ends and all the holy callings of 
 God's friendly and fatherly purposes are 
 exhausted. Or, it may be now that, re- 
 mitting all other plans and purposes in 
 our behalf, he will henceforth use us, 
 wholly against our will, to be the demon- 
 stration of his justice and avenging power 
 before the eyes of mankind ; saying over 
 us, as he did over Pharaoh in the day of 
 his judgments, " Even for this same pur- 
 pose have I raised thee up, that I might 
 show my power in thee, and that my 
 name might be declared throughout all 
 
chap. iv.] H0M1LETIC COMMENTARY : ESTHER. 149 
 
 the earth." Doubtless, he had other and bates ; and descending, in that manner, 
 more genial plans to serve in this bad to a fate that painfully mimics his. God 
 man, if only he could have accepted such ; has, then, a definite life-plan set for every 
 but, knowing his certain rejection of man ; one that, being accepted and fol- 
 these, God turned his mighty counsel in lowed, will conduct him to the best and 
 him wholly on the use to be made of noblest end possible. No qualification 
 him as a reprobate. How many Pharaohs of this doctrine is needed, save the fear- 
 in common life refuse every other use ful one just named, that we, by our per- 
 God will make of them, choosing only versity, so often refuse to take the place 
 to figure, in their small way, as repro- and do the work he gives us. — Bushnell. 
 
 MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH. Verses 15, 16. 
 
 A Woman's Heroism. 
 
 A woman, through the delicacy of her constitution and the timidity appropriate 
 to her nature, at first shrinks from the performance of some difficult and dangerous 
 enterprise. Yet when the voice of stern duty calls, when the demands of affection 
 prompt, she shows herself the most heroic of beings. Much has been said, and not 
 too much, about the heroism of woman. A great deal has been sung and written 
 about her heroism. There are also unwritten records of womanly heroism. She 
 has suffered very much in the darkness, in silence, and in obscurity. Not the one 
 half has been told of her heroic glory. While we applaud the heroism of Esther 
 and others whose good deeds have been celebrated in song, let us not forget those 
 whose good deeds are unsung. Esther was no heartless beauty intent on her own 
 elevation, and regardless of the welfare of others. If there is anything repellant in 
 this world it is a beautiful woman that possesses either a heart of stone or a spirit 
 steeped in selfishness. If there is anything attractive in this world it is a maiden 
 the loveliness of whose outward form is but the beautiful casket of a still more 
 lovely soul. How touching to watch the fair maiden meditating with patriotic 
 heart upon the sorrows of her people, and the dangers that threaten her nationality. 
 There is refreshing fragrance in the very sighs that come from her heaving breast. 
 There is healing anodyne in the tears that fall like jewels from those eyes that rain 
 sweet influences. There is vast encouragement in the prayers that ascend from her 
 lips to heaven. The world is bright ; Ave may welcome danger itself, and be the 
 better prepared for calamity, as we see the Esthers of time nobly resolving to 
 step into the places of danger, and undertake the works of deliverance. Esther's 
 heroism then was of the noblest type. She was truly heroic. Let us examine her 
 claims to this character. 
 
 I. The greatness of Esther's heroism is shown by her wisdom. Wisdom has 
 been defined to be the use of the best means for attaining the best ends, and in 
 this sense implies the union of high mental and moral excellence. Such a glorious 
 union is manifested in the answer here returned by Esther to Mordecai, and also 
 in the conduct of Esther when she comes to put her well-concerted schemes into 
 operation. A woman's heroism is a grand elevating power. She becomes almost 
 supernatural by the sharpness of her vision, by the quickness of her judgment, by 
 the depth of her wisdom, by the far-reaching nature of her schemes, and by her 
 wondrous skill, and tact, and fertility in the devising of the best means for attain- 
 ing her ends. What a thrilling history is the history of the expedients devised by 
 heroic women ! Talk we of the diplomacy of statesmen, let us talk of the better 
 diplomacy of women devoted to the accomplishment of noble enterprises. Talk 
 we of the skilful arrangements of mighty conquerors, let us talk rather of the 
 arrangements of those women who conquer by the inspiration of heroic daring 
 and heroic consecration. Talk we of the far-reaching and well-devised methods of 
 
1,10 EOMILETIC COMMENTARY: ESTHER. [citap. rv. 
 
 scientific men. This we may do, and yet we must feel that great praise is due as 
 we consider the well-devised methods of unscientific but devoted and lofty -souled 
 women. 
 
 II. Esther's wisdom is here shown by her recognition of the fact that Divine 
 duties are superior to human laws. " I will go in unto the king, which is not 
 according to the laws." Law is a rule of action. It is the formulated expression 
 of one who has a right to command obedience. Kings have a right to command 
 obedience. Subjects however have their rights. And the first rights of a well- 
 regulated and conscientious subject are entitled to respect, and may well dispute 
 the so-called rights of kings ; rights that are not based on principles of moral 
 rectitude. There is a power more kingly than that of earthly kings. The Divine 
 law is superior to the human law, and is the true rule of action. All human laws 
 should be in harmony with Divine laws. The voice of conscience is supreme. 
 The voice of earthly legislators is subordinate. "We ought to obey God rather 
 than man." The voice, however, must be the clear, ringing, commanding voice of 
 an enlightened conscience. Cautions must be laid down for fear the rule obtains — 
 so many men so many consciences. The voice of caprice, of prejudice, or of mere 
 self-will may be takep for the voice of conscience. The supposed voice of conscience 
 may tell us to tithe the mint, the anise, and the cummin only ; while the true voice 
 commands the observance also of the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, 
 and faith. The voice of conscience may say, Follow the inner light. Sit in silence 
 and wait for the motions of the Holy Spirit. The true voice proclaims in high 
 places, " To the law and to the testimony : it they speak not according to this 
 word, it is because there is no light in them ] " If then the voice of conscience and 
 the voice of human institutions oppose one another, we must listen so as to catch 
 the deciding voice of the Divine words. If we cannot clearly discern the message 
 of that voice, we must, like Esther, give ourselves to fasting and to prayer, and 
 God will cause the voice of his own word to ring out more distinctly. Esther's 
 duty in this case was clear, and she showed herself equal to the occasion. There 
 are many cases in life when our duty is clear. Difficulties must not be created as 
 an excuse for cowardice. 
 
 III. Esther's heroism and wisdom are here shown by her recognition of the 
 truth that Divine duties must be undertaken in a spirit of self-abnegation. 
 No great work can be successfully accomplished without self-denial. The way to 
 riches, to fame, or to power is in some aspects the way of self-denial. If a man is 
 to be a successful orator he must have the power of self-forgetful ness in the presence 
 of his hearers. This self-forgetf ulness is to be obtained by self-denial, by thorough 
 absorption in the subject, and by earnest desire to do good. What is true then of 
 Divine duties is true of what may be called human duties. The one lies on the 
 same plane with the other in so far. Self-denial in the pathway of human duty 
 does not always meet with its appropriate reward. Self-denial in the pathway of 
 Divine duty is never without its harvest. Esther's self-denial was rewarded. It 
 is a very cheap way of getting glory to say " If I perish, I perish " when there is 
 not the slightest chance of perishing. Some people are remarkably heroic when 
 there is no apparent danger. There was danger in Esther's case. There is a sad 
 tone in the declaration " If I perish, I perish," and the sadness is not without its 
 warrant. These words however are not the words of despair. They are the words 
 of one resigned to the Divine will, of one willing to suffer, and yet the words of 
 one who still has hope in Divine protection. If Esther had lived in our day a 
 certain class of companions would have told her not to mind old Mbrdecai, and let 
 the Jews take their chance. She heeded not such seductive voices. E-ther doubt- 
 less valued her life ; she was not indifferent to the flattering nature of her prospects. 
 She would not wish to be typified by Moses who was taken up to the Mount of 
 Vision in order to see the promised land, and then die without entering into posses- 
 sion. Still she may also have felt that better than the treasure of a Persian palace 
 
chap, it.] HOMILETIC COMMENTARY : ESTHER. 151 
 
 is the treasure of a good conscience ; better than the life of the body is the life of 
 the soul ; better than the glory of a royal position is the glory of self-denial for the 
 good of others. In these words Ave may find, by no great stretch of imagination, a 
 foreshadowing of that spirit displayed by Christ Jesus, by his apostles, by the 
 martyrs, and by the noble workers of all time. The spirit of him who " pleased 
 not himself," who had a perfect self-surrender, and a complete submission to the 
 Divine will, who bare our sicknesses, and carried our sorrows, finds embodiment 
 and utterance in the words, "If I perish, I perish." The spirit of Esther in this 
 passage indicates the spirit of that noble apostle who counted not his life dear unto 
 him that he might finish his course with joy and the ministry which he had received 
 from the Lord Jesus. It was the spirit of those who rejoiced that they were counted 
 worthy to suffer such things for his name's sake. It is the spirit of all in every age 
 of the world who are willing to sutfer for the good of humanity. Are we prepared 
 at the call of duty and in obedience to the voice of conscience to suffer ? 
 
 IV. Esther's wisdom is shown in her recognition of the truth that Divine duties 
 may be undertaken in dependence upon human co-operation. We may be 
 workers together with God. We may be workers together with one another for 
 the promotion of Divine plans. Those who have to undertake a special Divine 
 mission may be helped by the sympathies and the prayers of others who are not so 
 directly and specially appointed. The minister by his people. The missionary 
 by those who stay at home. Esther by all the praying Jews in Shushan. Co- 
 operation is good in commercial matters. Co-operation is also good in Divine 
 commerce. Let us take the word that speaks of material affairs, that summons up 
 the laws of political econnmy, and so put its principle to use in things spiritual, 
 that it may become lifted into higher spheres, and clothed with a grander signifi- 
 cance. Some people have a one-sided idea of co-operation, especially when any 
 great work is to be done, and when any great sacrifice is to be made. They for- 
 get that Co. means two or more. Esther had the true idea of co-operation. She not 
 only asks Mordecai and all the Jews present in Shushan to fast, but she says, " I 
 also and my maidens will fast likewise." There were two sides to this co-operation. 
 Esther and her maids would join with all the Jews in Shushan, in order to bring 
 about a successful result. The Church of to-day needs more co-operation. The 
 minister, for instance, is to go on a difficult mission ; he is to fast, and to pray, and 
 to visit, and to be self-denying. All right if it can be secured. Something more 
 is rccpiired. True co-coperation is needed. The rich member must say, I also will 
 fast, and pray, and give, and work likewise. 
 
 V. Esther's wisdom is shown in the recognition of the truth that Divine duties 
 can only be successfully undertaken by Divine help. It is vain to make an 
 objection to the Book of Esther on the ground that there is not in it the religious 
 spirit. There can be no point in fasting if it is not connected with religion. 
 This request for a general fast, and this determination on her own part to fast, 
 must have meant an appeal to God for help. Fasting and prayer were very 
 generally joined in the Old Testament writings. In the Book of Joel it is said, 
 " Sanctify ye a fast, call a solemn assembly ; gather the elders, and all the 
 inhabitants of the land into the house of the Lord your God, and cry unto 
 the Lord ! " Mere abstinence from food can be of little service. We may reason- 
 ably picture Mordecai carrying out Esther's request, and calling the Jews together 
 to a solemn assembly, and proclaiming a general fast, and national humiliation 
 before God, and earnest prayer to God for success to Esther in her mission. In 
 these modern days we do nut believe in fasting. This may be a reaction. It 
 may be a consequence of our objection to those who carry the principle of tor- 
 turing the body to an extreme. It may, however, be a growth of the luxury of 
 the present times. There is not much disposition now-a-days to keep the body 
 under and bring it into subjection. We have need, however, of deep humiliation 
 before God. The disasters in the nation, the decline of spiritual life in the 
 
152 
 
 nOMILETIC COMMENTARY: ESTHER 
 
 [chap. rv. 
 
 Church, call for humiliation. There can he no success without Divine help. We 
 must call mightily unto God. Let us give him no rest until he make Jerusalem 
 a praise in the earth. Here learn the ennobling, transforming, and creating power 
 of love. Esther's love to her people Avas strong. This love was a growth from 
 the love she had to God. Let there be love to God, and this will increase all 
 lower loves. True love seeks the enlargement of opportunities ; and becomes 
 creative in its very intensity. The loyal and patriotic subject does not strive to 
 pare down the demands of his sovereign. The loving child does not endeavour to 
 strip the father's word of all binding force by skilful manipulations. And the 
 true heart does not inquire, How can I do the very least for my God 1 — but thinks 
 that the very greatest it can either do or offer is far too little. Oh for a love which, 
 though it has only two mites to give, yet casts them into the treasury of him unto 
 whom belongeth both the gold, the silver, and the copper ! Oh for a love which 
 takes the alabaster box of ointment — very precious, — and breaks it over the Saviour's 
 head in loving consecration to his predestined offering ! Oh for a love which, 
 though it has only tears to give, yet pours them in plentiful measure on the 
 Saviour's feet, and with the rich tresses of a head, full of grateful thoughts, wipes 
 the tear-bedeAved feet of Immanuel ! 
 
 Suggestive Comments on Verses 15, 16. 
 
 There is something well worthy of re- 
 mark in the concluding words of Esther : 
 " So will I go in unto the king, which 
 is not according to hvw ; and if I perish, 
 I perish." This is not the resolution of 
 a fatalist, who acts upon the principle, 
 that Avhat is destined to be must be, and 
 that therefore it is useless either to 
 attempt to ward off evils, or to complain 
 Avhen they have been inflicted. Neither 
 is it the resolution of a person wrought 
 up to a state of absolute desperation, and 
 acting under the impulse of the feeling 
 — "matters cannot be Avorse, and to have 
 done the utmost may bring relief, Avhile 
 it cannot possibly aggravate the evil." 
 Neither is it the resolution of a person 
 prostrated under difficulties, and yet, 
 Avith a vague hope of deliverance, say- 
 ing, " I Avill make one effort more, and 
 if that fail, and all is lost, I can. but die." 
 Esther's purpose Avas framed in a spirit 
 altogether different from that of any of 
 those persons, although her language ap- 
 pears to be almost the same as they 
 would have used. And there is an actual 
 case recorded in the Scriptures which 
 illustrates the difference. When Samaria 
 Avas besieged by the Syrians, and the 
 people Avere dying of famine Avithin the 
 Avails, four leprous men, that had their 
 dwelling without the Avail, said to one 
 another : " If Ave enter into the city, 
 famine is in the city, and Ave shall die 
 
 there; and if we sit still here, we die 
 also. Now, therefore, come and let us 
 fall unto the host of the Syrians ; if they 
 save us alive, Ave shall live : and if they 
 kill us, Ave shall but die." Here we have 
 men reduced to a state of utter reckless- 
 ness by suffering, from which, if they did 
 not obtain immediate relief, they must 
 inevitably perish in one Avay or other, 
 and so they adopted the only course 
 which presented the possibility of relief. 
 But in the case of Esther, we have 
 neither fatalism, nor desperation, nor the 
 listlessness of Avaning hope, which says, 
 "It matters not Avhat I do." Hers is 
 the heroism of true piety, Avhich, in Pro- 
 vidence shut up to one course, and that 
 full of danger, counts the cost, seeks help 
 of God, and calmly braves the danger, 
 saying : " He will deliver me if he hath 
 pleasure in me ; if not, I perish in the 
 path of duty." Her noble resolution 
 entitles her to a place among the most 
 eminent of those avIio Avrought out 
 deliverances for Israel. 
 
 And noAV, in conclusion, have not her 
 Avords peculiar sign iticance Avhen applied 
 to the case of those who, under the 
 burden of their sin, are afraid to come to 
 Christ lost he reject them ? Some such 
 Ave have known. There may be some of 
 them here. Do you feel that you are 
 lest? Do you acknowledge that Christ 
 might justly throAV you off, even were 
 
ciiap. it.] 
 
 HOMTLETIC COMMENT ART: ESTHER. 
 
 153 
 
 you to cast yourself upon his mercy? 
 Aud are you now almost without hope 1 
 Still we say, his invitations are addressed 
 to sinners, and none need them more 
 than you. You are lost without him : 
 then make the great effort to 1 iy hold of 
 him. Joh said : " Though he slay me I 
 will trust in him." You may say : " If 
 I perish I perish, but it shall he at the 
 foot of the cross, looking to Jesus." And 
 I can tell you, my friends, that none ever 
 perished there, putting all their trust in 
 the Lamb of God. Amen. — Davidson. 
 Gospel-consecration does not go farther 
 than this. Everything dear and valued 
 was left behind in order that she might 
 serve God. "All things were counted 
 but loss " that she might maintain " a 
 conscience void of offence towards God 
 and towards men." Ah ! how this be- 
 liever, in olden times, when as yet the 
 Saviour was only had in promise, puts 
 to shame many in these latter days who 
 are in possession of the finished salva- 
 tion ! Even the pleasures of sense, and 
 the wealth and rewards of the world, 
 keep them in a state of indecision and 
 vacillation, if not of absolute indiffer- 
 ence, to the call and claims of the gospel. 
 They will only go as far with God and 
 his people as it may serve their own self- 
 ish ends, and promote their own selfish 
 interests. Self-denial and self-surrender 
 are not words to be found in their vocabu- 
 lary. But let there be no mistake here. 
 The spirit displayed by Esther is the 
 spirit demanded by the Saviour, and 
 without which we cannot be his dis- 
 ciples. You may not be called upon 
 actually to make the sacrifice, but you 
 cannot dispense with the spirit of readi- 
 ness to do it. Yea, it must have been 
 already done in spirit, as though in pre- 
 paration for its actual execution. For 
 the love of Christ, the glory of his name, 
 and allegiance to his crown, we must 
 have laid the world at his feet, and con- 
 secrated our life to his service. "What 
 were the words which he addressed to 
 the multitudes who went after him 1 
 Are they not " hard sayings " when 
 spoken in the midst of his people still 1 
 " If any man come to me and hate not 
 his father, and mother, and wife, and 
 children, and brethren, and sisters, and 
 
 his own life also, he cannot be my dis- 
 ciple ; and whosoever doth not bear his 
 cross, and come after me, cannot be my 
 disciple." 
 
 It may be that you may fall at the 
 post of duty. You have no security 
 against this contingency. The graves of 
 many faithful servants of Christ, at home 
 and abroad, bear testimony to that. But 
 are not the men, who prefer rather to 
 perish at the post of duty than have 
 life prolonged, with a sense of desertion, 
 counted worthy of double honour 1 The 
 soldier who has kept a perilous position 
 in the field of battle, and has chosen 
 rather to fall than flee ; the captain who 
 has gone down with his ship in his 
 anxiety and efforts to save others ; and 
 the Christian who has regard to the 
 future rather than to the present, can 
 best afford to sink the life that now is 
 in the life which is to come. The 
 apostles, martyrs, and confessors, who 
 have fallen at the post of duty, shall 
 have no cause to regret their fidelity in 
 heaven. They shall, in consequence, 
 have a more richly jewelled crown, and 
 shine forth in the kingdom with a 
 brighter, fuller glory. And oh ! if there 
 should yet come upon the Church dark 
 and cloudy days, when the spirit of per- 
 secution and hostility to the people of 
 God, which is not dead but only slumber- 
 ing, shall again be awakened to try the 
 faith of men and prove their steadfast- 
 ness, whether in our own times or the 
 times of our children, or children's chil- 
 dren, the loss and shame will be theirs 
 who forsake the standard of the Cross, 
 but the honour and recompense be in 
 store for them who are " faithful unto 
 death " — loss and shame to those who 
 will only be able to say on that day "we 
 feared and fled," but honour and recom- 
 pense to such as will be able to declare 
 " we loved Thee, Lord, more than life ; 
 we fought and fell." So, in the spirit 
 of Esther, let us go forward in the path 
 of duty and religion through difficulty, 
 danger, and the fear of death. God will 
 shield us if it is for the good of his 
 Church and his own glory, and "if we 
 perish, we perish." 
 
 There is one other reference of the 
 words which, though obvious, we would 
 
lo4 
 
 IIOMILETIC COMMENTARY: ESTHER. 
 
 [chap. IV 
 
 not overlook. There are some who deem 
 themselves too sinful to be saved ; some 
 whose cup of iniquity is indeed well-nigh 
 full, and who, when aroused to a sense 
 of it, are overwhelmed with terror. 
 What must they do? Whither must 
 they betake themselves 1 We are not 
 surprised though they should try reform- 
 ation, for where there is true repentance 
 there will always be renunciation of sin. 
 But let the sinner be in the very agonies 
 of dying, pressed down under the tre- 
 mendous load of high-handed transgres- 
 sion, and having no time left for reform- 
 ation of life, what must he do 1 whither 
 betake himself 1 We have to announce 
 to him the great truth that " the blood 
 of Jesus CI) list, God's Son, cleanseth us 
 from all sin," and that " him that cometh 
 unto God through him shall in no wise 
 be cast out." And with these Scriptures 
 syllabled in his ears and lodged in his 
 heart, we have no difficulty in telling 
 him what he must do, and whither he 
 must betake himself. He must go in 
 unto the King — not one whose wrath he 
 has to dread, but in Avhose redeeming 
 love he has to confide ; not waiting till 
 he is better, but urged by the desperate- 
 ness of his case to instant action, and 
 throw himself in all his conscious help- 
 lessness on his m^rcy. no ! There 
 is no hope, no help, no remedy, no 
 refuge for you, but this. Look where 
 you will, try what experiment you may, 
 everything else will be in vain. Your 
 darkness and despair will only be deep- 
 ened apart from this. But go in unto 
 the King, and even though your dark- 
 ness be as midnight, there shall gleam 
 forth a star <>f hope; and though your 
 despair be even as death, there shall be 
 awakened in you the pulsations of a new 
 life. You must perish if you do not. 
 You can but perish if you do. So let 
 your resolve be that of Esther, and Jesus 
 will bid you a cordial and happy wel- 
 come. " 1 will go in unto the king, and 
 if I perish, I perish." — McEwan. 
 
 Go gather together all the Jews. — 
 Great is the power of joint prayer; it 
 stirs heaven and works wonders. Oh, 
 when a Church fidl of good people 
 shall set sides and shoulders to work, 
 when they shall rouse up themselves 
 
 and Avrestle with God, when the pillars 
 of incense shall come up into his pre- 
 sence, and their voices be heard as 
 the voices of many waters, and as the 
 voice of a great thunder (Rev. xiv. 2), 
 what may such thundering legions have 
 at God's hands ! Have it they will : 
 Ccelum tundimus, preces fundimus, 
 misericordiam extorquemus, said those 
 primitive prayer-makers (Rev. ix. 13); 
 the prayers of the saints from the four 
 corners of the earth sound, and do great 
 things in the world ; they make it ring. 
 It was the speech of a learned man, If 
 there but one sigh come from a gracious 
 heart (how much more, then, a volley of 
 sighs from many good hearts together !) 
 it tilleth the ears of God, so that God 
 heareth nothing else. 
 
 / also and my maids will fast. — She 
 herself would be at the head of them, as 
 Q.ueen Elizabeth also told her soldiers at 
 Tilbury camp for their comfort ; and a 
 Caesar used say to his soldiers, Go we, 
 and not Go ye — non ite, sed eamus ; and 
 as Joshua said, I and my house will 
 serve Jehovah (Josh. xxiv. 15). Esther's 
 maids must fast — must fast and pray — 
 or they are no maids for her. — Trapp. 
 
 " Every subject's duty is the king's ; but every 
 subject's soul is bis own."— Shakespeare. 
 
 Heroical thoughts do well befit great 
 actions. Life can never be better 
 adventured than when it shall be gain 
 to lose it. There can be no law against 
 the humble' deprecation of evils : where 
 the necessity of God's Church calls to 
 us, no danger should withhold us from 
 honest means of relief. Deep humilia- 
 tion must make way for the success of 
 great enterprises : We are most capable 
 of mercy wdien we are thoroughly 
 empty. A short hunger doth but whet 
 the appetite ; but so long an abstinence 
 meets death half way, to prevent it. 
 Well may they enjoin sharp penances 
 unto others who practise it upon them- 
 selves. It w T as the face of Esther that 
 must hope to win Ahasuerus ; yet that 
 shall be macerated with fasting that she 
 may prevail. A careful heart would 
 have pampered the flesh that it might 
 allure those wanton eyes ; she pines it 
 that she may please. God, and not she, 
 
CHAP. IV.] 
 
 HOMILETW COMMENTARY: ESTHER. 
 
 loo 
 
 must work the heart of the king. Faith 
 teaches her rather to trust her devotions 
 than her beauty. — Bishop Hall. 
 
 A well-known author once wrote a 
 very pretty essay on the power of educa- 
 tion to beautify. That it absolutely 
 chiselled the features ; that he had seen 
 many a clumsy nose and thick pair of 
 lips so modified by that awakening and 
 active sentiment as to be unrecognizable. 
 And he put it on that ground that we 
 so often see people, homely and un- 
 attractive in youth, bloom in middle life 
 into a softened Indian summer of good 
 looks and mellow tones. Secular educa- 
 tion may do a great deal; but sacred 
 education will do vastly more. The 
 true beautifying power for woman is 
 the gospel, is that principle of benevo- 
 lence which it ever infuses. How nobly 
 beautiful, as well as grandly heroic, 
 must Esther have now appeared as she 
 resolves to save her people at the ex- 
 pense of her own life if need be. 
 
 It is with him as with Esther in 
 her undertaking for the Jews. If she 
 should go, and the king not hold forth 
 the golden sceptre to her, she was but 
 a dead woman ; but then if she did not 
 go there was no other way to save her 
 and her nation from ruin, and therefore 
 she resolves, " I will go in unto the 
 king, and if I perish I perish : " so here, 
 if I go to Christ (thinks the trembling 
 sinner), and take sanctuary in him, it 
 may be justice may pursue me thither. 
 Oh ! but if I go not, then there is 
 nothing for me but certain destruction ; 
 thereupon he resolves, I will go to 
 Christ, I will lay hold on him, and if I 
 perish I will perish there ; if wrath seize 
 on me, it shall find me in the arms of 
 Christ ; if I die, I will die at his feet. 
 When Joab had fled for refnge to the 
 tabernacle, and caught hold of the horns 
 of the altar, Benaiah, sent to execute 
 him, bids him leave his sanctuary : 
 " Thus says the king, come forth." 
 " Nay," says Joab, " but I will die 
 here ; " if there be no mercy for me, no 
 remedy but I must die, I will die here. 
 Says also the believing soul, but if I 
 must die", I will die here ; if justice 
 smite me it shall smite me with Christ 
 in my arms ; though he kill me, yet will 
 
 I rely on him ; here will I live or here 
 will I die ; I will not quit my hold, 
 though I die for it. — Clarlcson. 
 
 The bloody plot being thus laid by 
 Hainan, the king's minion, behold the 
 footsteps of God's favourable signal, and 
 eminent presence for his people and with 
 his people in their deadly dangers, and 
 that in raising up in them a very great 
 spirit of faith, prayer, and mourning, 
 and by raising an undaunted courage 
 and resolution in Esther : " And so I will 
 go in unto the king, and if I perish, 
 I perish" (Esther iv. 16). This she 
 speaks not rashly or desperately, as pro- 
 digal of her life, but as one willing to 
 sacrifice the same for the honour of God, 
 his cause and people, saying, as that 
 martyr, " Can I die but once for Christ ] " 
 Esther had rather die than shrink from 
 her duty. She thought it better to do 
 worthily and perish for a kingdom, than 
 unworthily and perish with a kingdom. 
 Here was a mighty preference of God 
 in raising Esther's heroical courage and 
 resolution above all those visible dangers 
 that did attend her attempt of going 
 in to the king against the known law of 
 the land. — Brooks. 
 
 Behold us willing to suffer in this life 
 the worst it may please thee to bring 
 upon us ; here lay thy rod upon us ; con- 
 sume us here, cut us to pieces here, only 
 spare us in eternity ! — St. Augustine. 
 
 The heroic response of Esther might 
 well send her foster-father home content. 
 It was the full reward of all his care 
 in years gone by to have a daughter 
 worthy of Abigail, and Euth, and 
 Deborah, and Hannah. She would not 
 act on impulse, but came to a resolution 
 which was not to be put in force for 
 three days. It is an advantage to any 
 one, more to a woman than to a man, to 
 move forward rapidly on the wave of a 
 warm impulse ; but she relinquished 
 that advantage, and looked steadily at 
 the worst issue. " If I perish, I perish." 
 Her resolution was humble and prayer- 
 ful. Let those who will, despise prayer- 
 meetings and special requests ; remem- 
 bering the young men of Babylon, and 
 the company in the upper room before 
 Pentecost, believers can afford to sit 
 easy under the world's scorn. " Fast 
 
15G 
 
 II0M1LETIC COMMENTARY: ESTHER. 
 
 [chap. iv. 
 
 ye for me : I also and my maids will 
 fast likewise." 
 
 That was the secret of Esther's hero- 
 ism. When the third day came she put 
 on her royal apparel, and did not appear 
 unto men to fast ; but meanwhile there 
 was " another King " to whom she could 
 go without delay, with whom she could 
 remain longer, and to whom she conld 
 pour out all her heart. The mere force of 
 contrast with the exclusive monarch of 
 Persia brings up comforting and tender 
 thoughts of the Lord Jesus, who does 
 not debar from his presence the weary 
 and heavy-laden, but bids them come ; 
 who has chosen the contrite heart as his 
 earthly dwelling-place ; who proclaims 
 it as the glory of his home above that 
 there he shall wipe away all tears. 
 
 A seraglio is a sad enough place, with 
 its year-long monotony, its petty jea- 
 lousies, its gilded restraints ; but when, 
 as the curtain now falls, we see Esther, 
 with firm-set lips, going to arrange for a 
 long prayer-meeting with her maidens, 
 we feel that this queen has brought a 
 good thing into a sad place. The reli- 
 gion of the heart is never monotonous. 
 Mordecai also'moves homeward with a 
 new light in his strong face, to gather 
 such of his brethren as are within the 
 capital, that they may strengthen one 
 another in seeking "the God of Israel, 
 the Saviour who hideth himself." For 
 three days there is silence. After, we 
 shall see Esther and Mordecai again in 
 their place, acting with plenty of deci- 
 sion and vigour ; but let us not forget 
 this " pause more full than speech," 
 this " hush more sweet than song." — 
 A. M. Symington, B.A. 
 
 Woman's self-devotion. — Courage is a 
 noble feminine grace — courage and self- 
 devotion. We are so accustomed to 
 associate courage with physical strength 
 that we do not often think of it as pre- 
 eminently a feminine grace when the 
 feminine nature has been fully unfolded 
 and trained, but it is. The reckless 
 rapture of self-forgetfulness, that which 
 dominates and inspires persons and 
 nations, that which is sovereign over 
 obstacle and difficulty and peril and 
 resistance, it has belonged to woman's 
 heart from the beginning. In the early 
 
 Pagan time, in the Christian develop- 
 ment, in missions and in martyrdoms? 
 it has been shown ; in the mediaeval age 
 as well as in our own time ; in Harriet 
 Newel and Florence Nightingale ; in 
 Ann Haseltine as truly and as vividly 
 as in any Hebrew Hadassa or in any 
 French Joan of Arc. You remember 
 the Prussian women after the battle of 
 Jena, when Prussia seemed trampled 
 into the bloody mire under the cannon 
 of Napoleon and the feet of the horses 
 and men in his victorious armies, Prus- 
 sian women, never losing their courage, 
 flung their ornaments of gold and jewel- 
 lery into the treasury of the State, taking 
 back the simple cross of Berlin iron 
 which is now the precious heirloom in 
 so many Prussian families, bearing the 
 inscription, "I have gold for iron." That 
 is the glory of womanhood ; that pas- 
 sion, and self-forgetfulness, that supreme 
 self-devotion, with which she flings her- 
 self into the championship of a cause 
 that is dear and sacred and trampled 
 under foot. It is her crown of renown, 
 it is her staff of power. — Dr. Storrs. 
 
 " Fast ye for me, and neither eat nor 
 drink for three days." — They were not 
 called with Esther to go in unto the 
 king. A far less dangerous service was 
 required from them. But, what they 
 can do, and are called to do, they must 
 do as conscientiously as Esther. There 
 are many great works which are beyond 
 our strength, or out of the line of our 
 calling ; and yet we may and ought to 
 take a part in them, by strengthening 
 the hands of those who are called to 
 undertake them. Paul had many helpers 
 in his work of the gospel, even among 
 those who could not, or to whom it 
 would not, have been allowed to speak 
 in the Church. We all ought to be 
 fellow-helpers to the truth. When 
 many go abroad to spread the gospel 
 amongst heathens, w r e find it our duty to 
 continue in the land of our nativity ; 
 but, without removing from it, we may 
 promote the work in which they are 
 employed, by our contributions, or at 
 least by our prayers. 
 
 There are some who beg the prayers 
 of others, and yet pray little for them- 
 selves. Esther, who requested the Jews 
 
CHAP IV.] 
 
 HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: ESTHER. 
 
 157 
 
 to fast for her, told them that she also 
 would fast, and would abstain as strictly 
 from food as she desired them to do. 
 She had been accustomed to a well- 
 furnished table ; but she was not there- 
 by disqualified from afflicting her soul 
 by fasting when she saw it to be her 
 duty. She, no doubt, observed the an- 
 nual fasts prescribed to the Jews, and 
 she determined to observe this extra- 
 ordinary fast which she herself pre- 
 scribed. She hoped to obtain mercy 
 from the Lord, that she might escape 
 death by the laws of Persia, and might 
 be the instrument of the salvation of 
 her people. But, if she miscarried, her 
 fasting and prayer would be proper acts 
 of preparation for her latter end. 
 
 "I and m.y maids will fast" — Some, 
 it is probable, of Esther's maids were 
 heathens when they came into her ser- 
 vice. Yet, we find her promising that 
 they would fast. She can answer for 
 them, as Joshua for his household, that 
 they would serve the Lord. If mistresses 
 were as zealous as queen Esther for the 
 honour of God, and the conversion of 
 sinners, they would bestow pains upon 
 the instruction and religious improve- 
 ment of their female servants. If women 
 may gain to Christ their own husbands 
 by their good conversation, may they 
 not also gain the souls of their servants 1 
 and if they are gained to Christ, they 
 are gained to themselves also. Esther ex- 
 pected much benefit from the devotional 
 exercises of her maidens. Paid expected 
 much from the prayers of his converts. 
 Those whom we convert from the error 
 of their ways will be our joy and helpers 
 upon earth : they will be our joy and 
 crown of rejoicing in the day of Christ. 
 
 " i" and my maids will fast." — Esther 
 could not join in the public prayers of 
 the Jews, when they met together out 
 of many families, to strive together in 
 their prayers to God. But she will fast 
 at home, not only by herself, but with 
 her maidens. There are public fasts in 
 which all are expected to join. There 
 ought likewise to be secret and family 
 fasts observed by us, according to the 
 calls of providence, and the situation of 
 our affairs, or the condition of our souls. 
 
 "And then will I go in unto the king, 
 
 which is not according to the law." — 
 She would not go in unto the king till 
 she had made her supplication to the 
 Lord, and till the Jews had given her 
 the assistance of their prayers. She was 
 sensible, that though "all men will 
 intreat the ruler's favour, every man's 
 judgment comes from the Lord;" and 
 that the hearts of kings are turned by 
 him according to his pleasure. "What, 
 therefore, she desires in the first place is, 
 that she may obtain comfortable assur- 
 ance of the Divine favour. If the Lord 
 be on her side, she is safe. If the Lord 
 favour her suit, she need not fear the 
 coldness of Ahasuerus, or the mortal 
 enmity of Hainan. "The floods may 
 rage. They may lift up their voices and 
 make a mighty noise : but the Lord on 
 high is mightier than the waves of the 
 sea, or the voice of their roaring." 
 
 But when the fast is over, she will go 
 in unto the king. She will not think 
 that her duty is done when she has 
 prayed and fasted. She will seek, by 
 the use of proper means, to obtain that 
 blessing which she has been asking. 
 The insincerity of our prayers is too 
 often discovered by our sloth and 
 cowardice. "We ask blessings from 
 God, and, as if he were bound to confer 
 them, not according to his own will, but 
 according to ours ; we take no care to use 
 those means which he hath appointed 
 for obtaining them, or we do not use 
 them with requisite diligence. Esther 
 will go in unto the king, although she 
 could not go in without violating the 
 laws and risking her life. — Lawson. 
 
 " He that believeth doth not make 
 haste ; " but neither doth he linger like 
 the slothful. Fasting and prayer are 
 preparatives, not substitutes, for active 
 duties. " The Lord said unto Moses, 
 Wherefore criest thou unto me 1 speak 
 unto the children of Israel that they go 
 forward." Good resolutions, when diffi- 
 culties and dangers must be broken 
 through, should be speedily performed ; 
 and we should not damp them by pro- 
 longing religious exercises. Having 
 spent the time allotted to fasting, Esther 
 rose from the ground, laid aside her 
 sackcloth, and put on her royal apparel. 
 The apocryphal additions to this book 
 
158 
 
 1IOMILETIC COMMENTARY: ESTHER. 
 
 [chap. IV. 
 
 represent her as appealing to God, that 
 pin- always abhorred these signs of her 
 high estate. That her adorning was in 
 the hidden man of the heart, that she 
 did not glory in her crown and em- 
 broidered garments, and would have 
 been willing to have thrown them away 
 for the sake of conscience and the good 
 of her people, is all true. But why 
 should she have abhorred them in them- 
 selves 1 ? There was nothing sinful or 
 necessarily contaminating in their touch; 
 they were given her of God ; they were 
 the badge of the rank to which she had 
 been raised ; and had she appeared with- 
 out them, or worn them in an awkward, 
 slovenly manner, she would have dis- 
 honoured her hushand, and defeated her 
 laudable enterprise. Esther did not 
 adorn herself to attract the regards of 
 Ahasuerus, but because she felt it in- 
 cumbent on her to appear in a manner 
 becoming her station. There is no sin 
 in persons dressing according to their 
 rank. The king's daughter may be all 
 glorious within, though her garments 
 are of wrought gold ; and the plainest 
 and coarsest garb may conceal a proud 
 and haughty spirit. — Laicson. 
 
 Our flesh is always timid when it 
 has to encounter a hazard. My Christ, 
 in his Divine majesty, stands at the 
 entrance into the faith, and sounds the 
 free invitation to each and all, ever 
 
 frequent, ever dear, ever happy. < fne 
 should succour his neighbour in peril 
 and need, and especially the brethren in 
 tlie faith even at the peril of one's own 
 life. We are born for good not to 
 ourselves, but to others, and thus God 
 oftentimes shows us that through us 
 he aids our own country and the com- 
 munity. Faith is the victory that over- 
 comes the world. We may use ordinary 
 prayer for important blessings. Life 
 can never be spent better than when it 
 is the aim to lose it. — Starke. 
 
 A woman is sometimes wound up to 
 firm and determined action when the 
 lives of her kindred are at stake, which 
 surpasses the marvels of heroic story, 
 and sends a wild pulsation of startled 
 admiration to vibrate through all hearts 
 to the end of time. Who can read of 
 Deborah delivering Israel from ruin 
 without rapture ] or Margaret Roper 
 breaking through a London crowd to 
 kiss her father, Sir Thomas More, about 
 to be beheaded 1 or Joan of Arc — that 
 light of ancient France — who, a mere 
 girl, delivered her country from invaders, 
 and restored the crown to her sovereign 
 at the high altar of Rheims 1 or 
 
 "Her, who knew that love can vanquish death — 
 Who, kneeling with one arm about the king, 
 
 Drew forth the poison with her balmy breath, 
 Sweet as new buds in spring" ?— B. Kent, 
 
 MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH. Verse 17. 
 
 A Good Man's Characteristics. 
 
 I. Mordecai went his way pondering. Mordecai was a man of thought, as 
 
 is plainly seen from the whole course of this narrative. His course of conduct was 
 evidently the result of intense thought. And this was a special occasion for 
 thought. He would still require to ponder deeply, for we must think not only to 
 form our plans, but also after our plans are on their way to accomplishment. This 
 is characteristic of a good man, that he thinks. David often speaks of thinking. 
 " When I thought to know this." " I thought on my ways." The prophets were 
 men of thought. The question was asked, "How knoweth this man letters, or 
 learning, having never learned." The answer may be given — that Jesus was 
 supernaturally endowed, and he exercised himself to acquire knowledge. He 
 studied the Old Testament writings, and the ways of men. He thought. He 
 increased in wisdom. There was mental development in the man Christ Jesus. 
 The apostles thought. Goodness is helpful to, and is the provocative of, thought. 
 It enables the mind to see clearly. It stimulates the mind to think deeply. To 
 pray well is to study well. To live in the pure atmosphere of goodness is to 
 
chap, iv.] HOMILETIC COMMENTARY : ESTHER. 159 
 
 enlarge the nature. Professedly good men should seek to think more. There is a 
 want of strenuous thinking in the present day. We do not ponder. We muse. 
 We sentimentalize. We indulge in sentiment for the mere luxury of excitement. 
 There is further a want of thinking for others. Our thoughts are too much centred 
 on self. Mordecai thought for his people. 
 
 II. Mordecai went his way believing. The man of faith finds that the 
 occasions of life increase his faith. The movements of Providence tend to strengthen 
 his confidence. We have seen that Mordecai was a man of faith, and here in 
 Esther's answer he finds encouragement to keep on believing. His faith lived 
 through, and was not destroyed by, Esther's apparent refusal, and now his faith is 
 wonderfully enlarged by Esther's gracious answer of determination to make the 
 venture. He believed before that enlargement and deliverance would arise from 
 another place, and now he believes still more strongly that God will save his 
 anointed. God has given enlargement already by rewarding Mordecai's faith, and 
 giving him fresh reasons for confidence. The faith of the Christian is not killed 
 by the trials of life, and is developed by the occasional tokens of Divine inter- 
 position. Faith leads to more faith. It is strengthened by the storm. It ripens 
 in the calm. It surmounts discouragements. It finds encouragement where there 
 may be little to be seen by doubt. It gathers food in the most barren spots. It 
 turns the sterile rock into a garden of promise. It never sinks beneath the billows, 
 for it firmly grasps the hand of omnipotence. Lord, we believe, but our faith is 
 weak. Oh, help our unbelief ! Give signs and tokens of thy presence that doubt- 
 ing ones may become believing ones. Ruse up in these modern times heroes of 
 faith. Oh, let the mighty power of faith be again manifested! The world requires 
 a fresh race of heroes who shall through faith subdue kingdoms, work righteous- 
 ness, obtain promises, and wax valiant in moral fights. 
 
 III. Mordecai went his way obeying. Faith without works is dead. Mordecai 
 did according to all that Esther had commanded him. He saw that Esther's com- 
 mand was in harmony with the command of God, and therefore he obeyed. Two 
 things are to be taken into consideration with reference to earthly commands. 
 Who commands 1 What is the nature of the commandment 1 There is a primd 
 facie objection against the commands of some. They are not noted either for 
 wisdom or for piety. We very soon settle in our minds as to their utterances. 
 Esther possessed both wisdom and piety. Mordecai might therefore very properly 
 consider the nature of her requirements. However, it is human to err. The best 
 people make mistakes. We have, then, to examine all commands. It is to be pre- 
 sumed that Mordecai examined the command of Esther and saw its propriety. 
 There is no need to examine the propriety of the commandments of God. His 
 commandments are not grievous. All his laws are right. All his requirements 
 are the result of wisdom. Therefore let us obey promptly and persistently. Be- 
 hold, to obey is better than to sacrifice. Here note that God gives credit for an 
 action when the true purpose is found in the mind to do the commandment. 
 While Mordecai is on his way to gather together all the Jews that were present in 
 Shushan, he may be said to do according to that which Esther had commanded. 
 God takes notice of good intentions, of holy resolves, as well as of actual perform- 
 ances. Death may intervene between the resolve and its execution on earth ; but 
 death cannot prevent the holy resolution being developed in heaven, death cannot 
 rob the earnestly resolving soul of its Divine reward. Death may seem to kill the 
 noble purpose, but there is a sphere where death has no power and where the noble 
 purposes of earth may fructify. In this aspect heaven is the complement of earth. 
 It is man's to resolve and to do so far as possible. God will rightly perfect that 
 which concerneth his saints. 
 
 IV. Mordecai went his way praising. It is not a great stretch of imagination 
 to suppose Mordecai praising God for his goodness on his way from the palace- 
 gates. He would naturally praise God for the readiness with which Esther now 
 
100 
 
 IIO MI LET 10 COMMENTARY: ESTHER. 
 
 [CIIAP. IV. 
 
 entered upon the difficult enterprise. We must praise God not only for the 
 accomplished deliverance, hut when the deliverance is being accomplished. Prayer 
 must be joined with praise. Whoso offereth praise glorilieth God. Some cannot 
 see an opportunity for praise when it is a season of fasting and prayer. " Moreover, 
 win mi ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance, for they disfigure 
 their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast ; verdy, I say unto you, they 
 have their reward. But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy 
 face ; that thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in 
 secret ; and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly." " Be 
 careful for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanks- 
 giving let your requests be made known unto God." 
 
 Suggestive Comments on Verse 17. 
 
 So Mordecai went his way, and did 
 according, &c. — As he had put her upon 
 a dangerous, but, as the cause stood, 
 necessary, exploit (nature will venture 
 its own particular good for the general, 
 as heavy things will ascend to keep out 
 vacuity, and preserve the universe) ; so 
 he is ruled by her (though a woman, and 
 once his pupil) when he perceived her 
 counsel was good. Abraham must hear 
 Sarah, and David Abigail, and Apollos 
 Priscilla, when they speak reason. It 
 is foretold of a man in Christ, that a 
 little child shall lead him. — Trapp. 
 
 So Mordecai went his way, and did 
 according to all that Esther had com- 
 manded him. — Mordecai commanded 
 Esther, and she obeyed him. Esther 
 commanded Mordecai, and he obeyed 
 her. They served one another in love. 
 It would be happy for us if we knew 
 how to command and how to obey in 
 our turns, being subject one to another 
 in the fear of God. 
 
 Mordecai required the Jews to fast 
 three days according to Esther's orders ; 
 and we have no reason to doubt of their 
 ready and grateful compliance. They 
 would not think it hard, but necessary 
 and useful, to be called to afflict theii 
 souls to an extraordinary degree, when 
 their lives and the lives of all their 
 people were in question. And yet the 
 present life of all the many thousands 
 of Judah was not of equal importance 
 to the eternal life of one precious soul. 
 What, then, are we to think of ourselves, 
 if the sentence of eternal death denounced 
 against every sinner, has never induced 
 us to devote- as many hours to fervent 
 prayer, as these Jews employed days in 
 
 prayer and fasting to obtain deliverance 
 from temporal death? Is it not to be 
 feared that we do not really believe what 
 the Scripture tells us about that judg- 
 ment which is come upon all men to 
 condemnation, if we think it too much 
 trouble to spend some hours or days in 
 considering our condition, and pouring 
 out supplications for that mercy which 
 we so greatly need. The Jews fasted. 
 Esther went in to the king, uncertain 
 about the event, but pressed by hard 
 necessity. Necessity is laid upon sin- 
 ners, yea, woe unto them if they do not 
 obtain mercy ! But great encouragement 
 is given them to come to the throne of 
 grace to obtain mercy. God himself 
 puts words into their mouths, and will 
 he not hear those prayers which are 
 dictated by his own Spirit? (Hos. xiv. 2, 
 3; Jer. xxxi. 18 — 20.) — Lawson. 
 
 Ver. 17. That which belongs to us 
 in our calling is care of discharging our 
 duty ; that which God takes upon him 
 is assistance, and good success in it. Let 
 us do our work, and leave God to do his 
 own. Diligence and trust in him is only 
 ours, the rest of the burden is his. In 
 a family the father's and the master's 
 care is the greatest ; the child's care is 
 only to obey, and the servant's to do his 
 work ; care of provision and protection 
 doth not trouble them. Most of our 
 disquietuess in our calling is, that we 
 trouble ourselves about God's work. 
 Trust God and be doing, and let him 
 alone with the rest. He stands upon 
 his credit so much, that it shall appear 
 we have not trusted him in vain, even 
 when we see no appearance of doing any 
 good. Peter fished all night, and catched 
 
CHAP. IV.] 
 
 IIOMILETIC COMMENTARY: ESTHER. 
 
 1GI 
 
 nothing, yet upon Christ's word he casts 
 in his net again, and caught as many tisli 
 as brake his net. Covefousness, when 
 men will be richer than God would have 
 them, troubles all ; it troubles the house, 
 the whole family, and the house within 
 us, our precious soul, which should be a 
 quiet house for God's Spirit to dwell in, 
 whose seat is a quiet spirit. If men 
 would follow Christ's method, and " seek 
 first the kingdom of heaven," all other 
 things would be cast upon them. If 
 thoughts of insufficiency in our places 
 discourage us, remember what God saith 
 to Moses, when he pretended disability 
 to speak, " Who hath made man's mouth 1 ? 
 have not I, the Lord ! " All our suffici- 
 ency for every calling is from God. 
 
 God is never nearer his Church than 
 when trouble is near. Usually, after the 
 lowest ebb follows the highest spring- 
 tide. Christ stands upon Mount Zion. 
 
 There is a counsel in heaven that will 
 dash the mould of all contrary counsels 
 on earth ; and, which is more, God will 
 work the raising of the Church by that 
 very means by which his enemies s^ek 
 to ruin it. God gave too dear a price 
 for his Church to suffer it long in the 
 hands of merciless enemies. Take heed 
 therefore of fretting, because of the man 
 that bringeth wicked devices to pass, for 
 the arms of the wicked shall be broken. 
 The depths of misery are never beyond 
 the depths of mercy. God oft, for this 
 very end, strips his Church of all helps 
 below, that it may only rely upon him, 
 and that it may appear that the Church 
 is ruled by a higher power than it is 
 opposed by. And then is the time when 
 Ave may expect great deliverances in the 
 Church, when there is a great faith in 
 the great God. — Sibbes. 
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS TO CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Ver. 3. The patriotic Greek. Be like that 
 patriotic Greek, who with his little band of fol- 
 lowers had to check the great army of the Persians. 
 He knew that to go down into the open plain and 
 to expose himself there to all his enemies at once 
 would be speedy destruction. He therefore took 
 his stand in the narrow mountain pass, ana en- 
 countered his foes as they came one by one. So 
 be it with you. Keep to the narrow pass of to- 
 day. Face your troubles one by one as they arise. 
 Do not commit yourself to the open plain of to- 
 morrow. You are not equal to that. (Jod does 
 not require you to do that. — Spurgeon. 
 
 Hainan may not have the power to carry out 
 his bloody and revengeful decree. God will inter- 
 pose in a wonderful method to your deliverance. 
 Face for the present only the trouble caused by 
 the proclamation, and do not ask how will it be 
 when the time comes for the proclamation to take 
 effect. 
 
 Ver. 3. Unskilful persons in a boat. I have 
 seen young and unskilful persons sitting in a 
 boat, when every little wave sporting about the 
 sides of the vessel, and every motion and dancing 
 of the barge, seemed a danger, and made them 
 cling fast upon their fellows ; and yet all the 
 while they were as safe as if they sat in a tree, 
 while the gentle wind shook the leaves into re- 
 freshment and cooling shade. And so the unskil- 
 ful, inexperienced Christian shrieks out whenever 
 his vessel shakes, thinking it always danger that 
 the watery pavement is not stable and resident 
 like the rock ; and yet all his danger is in him- 
 self, none at all from without ; for he is indeed 
 moving upon the waters, but fastened to a rock ; 
 faith ii his foundation, and hope his anchor, and 
 
 death is his harbour, and Christ his port, and 
 heaven his country ; and all the evils of poverty, 
 or affronts of tribunals and evil judges, all fears 
 and sad anticipations, are bent like the loud wind 
 blowing from the rig-lit point ; they make a noise 
 and drive faster to the harbour. 
 
 Ver. 3. Sour milk and black bread. "We had 
 traversed the Great Aletsch Glacier, and were 
 very hungry when we reached the mountain tarn 
 half-way between the Bel Alps and the hotel at 
 the foot of the Aeggischorn ; there a peasant 
 undertook to descend the mountain, and bring us 
 bread and milk. It was a very Marah to us 
 when he brought us back milk too sour for us to 
 drink, and bread black as a coal, too hard to bite, 
 and sour as the curds. What then ? Why, we 
 longed the more eagerly to reach the hotel to- 
 wards which we were travelling. We mounted 
 our horses, and made no more halts till we reached 
 the hospitable table where our hunger was abund- 
 antly satisfied. Thus our disappointments on the 
 road to heaven whet our appetites for the better 
 country, and quicken the pace of our pilgrimage 
 to the celestial city. — Spurgeon. 
 
 Ver. 4. Hardening effects of sensibility. The 
 frequent repetition of that species of emotion 
 which fiction stimulates tends to prevent benevo- 
 lence, because it is out of proportion to correspond- 
 ing action ; it is like that frequent " going over 
 the theory of virtue in our thoughts," which, as 
 Butler says, so far from being auxiliary to it, may 
 be obstructive of it. As long as the balance is 
 maintained between the stimulus given to imagin- 
 ation with the consequent emotions, on the one 
 hand, and our practical habits, which those emo- 
 tions are chiefly designed to form and strengthen, 
 
1 G2 
 
 H0M1LETIC COMMENTARY: ESTHER. 
 
 [ciiai\ iv. 
 
 on the other, so long the stimulus of the imagin- 
 ation will not stand in the way of benevolence, 
 but aid it; and, therefore, if you "ill read a 
 Dove! extra now and then, impose upon yourself 
 the corrective of an extra visit or two to the poor, 
 the distressed, and afflicted ! Keep a sort of 
 dehtor and creditor account of sentimental in- 
 dulgence and practical benevolence. I do not 
 care if your pockefc-1 k contains some such me- 
 moranda as these : For the sweet tears I shed 
 over the romantic sorrows of Charlotte Devereux, 
 sent three basins of gruel and a flannel petticoat 
 to poor old Molly Brown; For sitting up three 
 hours beyond the time over the " Bandit's Bride," 
 gave half-a-crown to Betty Smith; My senti- 
 mental agonies over the pages of the " Broken 
 Heart" cost me three visits to the Orphan Asylum 
 and two extra hours of Dorcas Society work ; 
 Two quarts of caudle to poor Johnson's wife, and 
 some gaberdines for his ragged children, on ac- 
 count of a good cry over the pathetic story of the 
 " Forsaken One." If the luxury of sympathy and 
 mere benevolent feeling be separated from action, 
 then Butler's paradox becomes a terrible truth, 
 and the heart is not made better, but worse, by 
 it. Those who indulge in superfluous expression 
 of sentiment are always neophytes in virtue at the 
 best ; and, what is worse, they are very often 
 among the most heartless of mankind. Sterne 
 and Rousseau were types of this class, — perfect 
 incarnations of sensibility without benevolence, — 
 having, and having in perfection, the "form" of 
 virtue, but " denying the power thereof." — Grey- 
 son's Letters. 
 
 Ver. 5. Emiocia and Chrysostom. When 
 Queen Eudocia angrily threatened Chrysostom 
 with banishment, he calmly replied : " Go tell 
 her I fear nothing but sin. He who serves God 
 need fear nothing so much as sin." It is as 
 Christ Jesus is born in the heart that we are 
 made free from the slavery of sin, and become 
 the servants of God. This is the sign of the new 
 birth, that the man is afraid of sin. The man 
 who serves God may well be delivered from all 
 slavish fear. 
 
 Ver. 5. Saxon serfs. Just as the king's livery 
 frees the wearer of it from certain civil penalties 
 and taxes ; just as in our Saxon institutions the 
 serfs of the crown were noble; so it is with 
 Christians. The serfs of Jesus Christ are the 
 truest nobles. They rise above all other kind of 
 nobility. The wearers of heaven's livery, those 
 who bear in their bodies the marks of the Lord 
 Jesus, ought to be free from men. They are to 
 be free from men, free from the world, free from 
 cares, free from self and sin. What a liberty is 
 this ! The more we are enslaved the more we 
 are set free. The more serfdom the more liberty. 
 — Sfaclaren. 
 
 Ver. 5. Dead swim good. To do a few good 
 works at our death only, it is a swinish doing 
 good. The swine will do good when he is dead. 
 Then there is profit of his flesh, though all his 
 life he were noisome. Those men that put off 
 thus, they are rather swine than men, beastly 
 men. God seldom accepts the good they do then, 
 and it is a forced good. If they were not to die 
 then, no good at all would be done. That they 
 
 do is because they can keep it no longer. It 
 shows they have no grace nor faith at all ; lor if 
 there had been faith to depend uikhi God they 
 
 would have done good before. But we must 
 serve God in our generation if we will be saved. 
 — Sibbes. 
 
 Ver. 5. Church-door religion. That is no 
 religion that is left behind in the Church ; as 
 Lactantius saith, that is no religion that we leave 
 behind when we come to the Church door. But 
 that is religion when we leave our duty here, and 
 carry it in our breasts to practise it every day in 
 the week ; when we show it in our places. That 
 is the service of God. It is not the matter or 
 stuff, but the stamp, that makes the coin ; so it 
 is not the, work, but the stamp, that makes it a 
 service. Let the king set a stamp hut upon a 
 brass, yet it will go for current if it have the 
 king's stamp upon it. Let it be but an action 
 of our callings, if it have God's stamp upon it, it 
 is a "service " of God. Our whole life, not only 
 in the Church, but in our particular places, may 
 be a "service of God." — Sibbes. 
 
 Ver. 5. Cardinal Wulsey. The following was 
 his last charge : — " Cromwell, I charge thee, fling 
 away thy ambition. By that sin fell the angels. 
 How can man, then, the image of his Maker, hope 
 to win by it ? Love thyself last ; cherish those 
 hearts that hate thee ; still in thy right hand 
 carry gentle peace, to silence envious tongues. 
 Be just, and fear not. Let all the ends thou 
 aimest at be thy country's, thy God's, and truth's ; 
 then, if thou fallest, oh, Cromwell ! thou tallest 
 a blessed martyr. Serve the king ; and, pr'ythee, 
 lead me in. There take an inventory of all I 
 have, to the last penny : 'tis the king's ; my robe, 
 and my integrity to heaven, is all I dare now call 
 mine own. Oh, Cromwell, Cromwell ! had I but 
 served my God with half the zeal I served my 
 king, he would not in mine age have left me 
 naked to mine enemies." 
 
 Ver. 6. Sermon to one hearer. The well-known 
 American divine, Dr. Beeeher, once engaged to 
 preach for a country minister on exchange, and 
 the Sabbath proved to be one excessively stormy, 
 cold, and uncomfortable. It was in mid-winter, 
 and the snow was piled all along in the roads, -so 
 as to make the passage very difficult. Still the 
 minister urged his horse through the drifts, put 
 the animal into a shed, and went into the little 
 rural chapel. As yet there was no person in the 
 place, ami, after looking about, the preacher took 
 his seat in the pulpit. Soon the door opened, ami 
 a single individual walked up the aisle, looked 
 about, and took a seat. The hour came for com- 
 mencing service, but no more hearers appeared. 
 Whether to preach to such an audience was a 
 question, and it was one that Lyman Beeeher 
 was not long deciding. He went through all the 
 services, praying, singing, preaching, and the 
 benediction, with only one hearer. When all 
 was over, he hastened down from the desk to 
 speak to his "congregation," but he had departed. 
 Travelling in Ohio, twenty years afterwards, the 
 doctor alighted from the stage one day in a plea- 
 sant village, when a gentleman stepped up and 
 spoke to him, familiarly calling him by name. 
 " I do not remember you," said the Doctor. " I 
 
CIIAP. IV.] 
 
 H0M1LETW COMMENTARY: ESTHER. 
 
 163 
 
 suppose not," said the stranger ; " but we once 
 spent two hours together in a house alone in a 
 storm." " I do not recall it, sir," added the old 
 man ; " pray when was it ?" " Do you remem- 
 ber preaching, twenty years ago, in such a place, 
 to a single person ? " " Yes, yes," said the doc- 
 tor, grasping his hand, " I do, indeed ; and if 
 you are the man, 1 have been wishing to see you 
 ever since." " I am the man, sir; and that ser- 
 mon saved my soul, made a minister of me, and 
 yonder is my church. The converts of that 
 sernion, sir, are all over Ohio." 
 
 Ver. 7. Sidney Smith, Sidney Smith once 
 said there would he a great many more good 
 Samaritans in the world if it were not for the oil 
 and for the twopence. 
 
 Some one went to Theodore Hook, and told 
 him that a certain friend of theirs was in want of 
 money. " How much ? " he asked. "Well," said 
 the other, " I think a three and two noughts will 
 set him right." On this Hook remarked, "He 
 is a right good fellow; I tell you what I'll do, 
 I'll give him one of the noughts." 
 
 Ver. 8. Banyan's wife. Her heroic achieve- 
 ments on behalf of her husband are admirably 
 related by Bunyan. She travelled to London 
 with a petition to the House of Lords, and in- 
 trusted it to Lord Barkwood, who informed her 
 that they could not interfere, the king having 
 committed the release of the prisoners to the 
 judges. Several times she appeared before them : 
 love to her husband, a stern sense of duty, a con- 
 viction of the gross injustice practised upon one 
 to whom she was most tenderly attached, over- 
 came her delicate, modest, retiring habits, and 
 forced upon her this strange duty. This delicate, 
 courageous, high-minded woman appeared before 
 Judge Hale, who was most affected with her 
 earnest pleading. It was the triumph of love, 
 duty, and piety, over bashful timidity. Bunyan's 
 wife in pleading with the judge for his liberty, 
 said, " My lord, I have four small children that 
 cannot help themselves, of which one is blind, 
 and have nothing to live upon but the charity of 
 good people." Her energetic appeals were in 
 vain; and with bitter feelings she returned to 
 the prison, believing that it would be the tomb 
 of her beloved husband. 
 
 Ver. 8. Queen Philippa. After the surrender 
 of the town of Calais to King Edward III. he 
 granted to the inhabitants their lives, but expelled 
 them from the town, and demanded that six of 
 the richest burgesses should be delivered up to 
 his vengeance : Eustace de St. Pierre, John 
 Dacre, James and Peter Wisart, and two others 
 whose names history does not record, nobly vol- 
 unteered to resign their lives for the safety of 
 their fellow-citizens, and dressed only in their 
 shirts, went barefoot, with halters round their 
 necks, to present the keys of the town to Edward, 
 who ordered them to immediate execution ; but 
 the prayers and entreaties of the queen procured 
 their pardon. She then ordered clothes to be 
 brought them, entertained them in her tent, and 
 dismissed them with presents. 
 
 Ver. 14. Buonaparte's activity. It is noticed 
 by some writer concerning Buonaparte, that he 
 never went into town or city or country new to 
 
 him, but immediately he was examining and con- 
 sidering the best place for a castle or a camp, for 
 an ainbushment or an attack, for the means of 
 defence or annoyance. Thus he was not waiting, 
 but always seeking to be in preparation. Those 
 who profess to have nobler ends in view should 
 always be planning new methods bv which to 
 extend the kingdom of Jesus Christ. 
 Ver. 14. Not sick when duty calls. 
 
 "Brutus. 0, what a time have you chose out, 
 brave Caius, to wear a kerchief! "Would you 
 were not sick ! 
 
 Ligarius. I am not sick, if Brutus have in 
 hand any exploit worthy the name of honour. 
 
 Bra. Such an exploit have 1 in hand, Liga- 
 rius, had you a healthful ear to bear of it. 
 
 Lig. By all the gods that Romans bow before, 
 I here discard my sickness ! Soul of Rome ! 
 Brave son, deriv'd from honourable loins ! 
 Thou, like an exorcist, hast conjured up 
 My mortified spirit. Now bid me run, 
 And I will strive with things impossible ; 
 Yea, get the better of them. What's to do ? " 
 
 This is the spirit which the servant of God 
 should both possess and manifest. Not sick when 
 duty calls. Ready to run where danger thickens, 
 and where honourable exploits are to be performed 
 for God's glory. No need to wait long and ask 
 what's to do in this world of sin and of misery. 
 Oh, that the Holy Spirit, that Divine exorcist, 
 would conjure up the mortified spirits of men 
 morally sick, that they may be valiant to get the 
 better of things impossible ! 
 
 Ver. 14. The teaching of children. These 
 things Mordecai urges to Esther; and some of 
 the Jewish writers, who are fruitful in inven- 
 tion, add another thing which had happened to 
 him which he desired she might be told, " that 
 going home, the night before, in great heaviness, 
 upon the notice of Haman's plot, he met three 
 Jewish children coming from school, of whom he 
 inquired what they had learned that day. One 
 of them told him bis lesson was, Be not afraid of 
 sudden fear ; the second told him his was, Take 
 counsel together, and it shall come to nought ; 
 the third told him his was, I have made, and I 
 will bear, even I will carry and deliver you. 
 " the goodness of God," says Mordecai, "who 
 out of the mouth of babes and sucklings ordains 
 strength ! " — Matthew Henry. 
 
 Ver. 14. The shepherd crushed by the rock. I 
 remember, away up in a lonely Highland valley, 
 where beneath a tall black cliff, all weather-worn, 
 and cracked, and seamed, there lies at the foot, 
 resting on the greensward that creeps round its 
 base, a huge rock that has fallen from the face of 
 the cliff. A shepherd was passing beneath it ; 
 and suddenly, when the finger of God's will 
 touched it, and rent it from its ancient bed in 
 the everlasting rock, it came down, leaping and 
 bounding from pinnacle to pinnacle, and it fell, 
 and the man that was beneath it — is there now ! 
 Ground to powder ! Ah, my brethren, that is 
 not my illustration — that is Christ's. There- 
 for , I say to you, since all that stand against him 
 shall become " as the chaff of the summer thresh- 
 ing-floor," and be swept utterly away, make him 
 
104 
 
 IloMILETIC COMMENTARY: ESTHER. 
 
 [CIIAP. IV 
 
 Ihe foundation on which you build; and when 
 the rain sweeps away every " refuge of lies," you 
 will lie Bafe and serene, builded upon the Rock 
 ol' Aces. — A. McLaren. 
 
 CONSECRATION HYMN. 
 
 Take my life, and let it be 
 Consecrated, Lord, to thee. 
 Take my moments and my days ; 
 Let them flow in ceaseless praise. 
 Take my bands, and let them move 
 At the impulse of thy love. 
 Take my feet, and let them be 
 Swift ami " beautiful" for thee. 
 Take my voice, and let me sing 
 Always, only, tor my King. 
 'Lake my lips, ami let them be 
 Killed with messages from thee. 
 Take my silver and my gold ; 
 Not a mite would I withhold. 
 Take my intellect and use 
 Every power as thou shalt choose. 
 Take my will, and make it thine; 
 It shall be no longer mine. 
 Take my heart, it is thine own ; 
 H shall be thy royal throne. 
 Take my love ; my Lord, I pour 
 At thy feet its treasure-store. 
 Take myself, and I will be 
 Ever, only, all for thee. 
 
 F. li. llavergal. 
 
 Ver. 16. Knt necessary to live. Sibbes says: 
 "It is necessary we should be just; it is not 
 necessary we should live." This saying is 
 enforced and illustrated by one of the gems of 
 l)r. Samuel Johnson preserved by Boswell. A 
 man who was engaged in a disreputable business 
 was defending himself against the sarcasms of 
 Dr. Samuel Johnson, and pleaded, " he must 
 live." "Not at all, sir ; there is no necessity 
 for your living," was the memorable reprimand 
 by way of response. Esther felt that duty must 
 be done. It was not necessary for her to live, 
 hut it was necessary that an effort should be 
 made to thwart a cruel and vindictive edict. 
 
 Ver. 16. A true hero. The city of Marseilles 
 in France was once afflicted with the plague. 
 So terrible was it that it caused parents to desert 
 children, and children to forget the obligations 
 to their own parents. The city became as a 
 (lrsii't, and funerals were constantly passing 
 through its streets. Everybody was sad, for 
 nobody could stop the ravages of the plague. 
 The physicians could do nothing, and as they 
 met one day to talk over the matter and see if 
 something could not he done to prevent this 
 great destruction of life, it was decided that 
 nothing could be effected without, opening a 
 e trpsi in oiiler to find the mysterious character 
 of the disease. All agreed upon the plan, hut 
 who would he the victim, it being certain that 
 he should die soon alter ? There was a dead 
 pause. Suddenly one of the most celebrated 
 physicians, a man in the prime of life, arose from 
 bis seat ami said : "lie it so, I devote myself to 
 
 the safety of my country. Before this numerous 
 
 assembly I swear, in the name of humanity and 
 religion, that to-morrow at the break of day I 
 will dissect a corpse, and write down as I pro- 
 ceed what I observe." lie immediately left the 
 room, and as he was rich, made a will, and spent 
 that evening in religious exercises. During the 
 night a man died in his house of the plague, and 
 at daybreak the following morning, the physician, 
 whose name was Greyon, entered the room, and 
 critically made the examination. He then left 
 the room, threw the papers into a vase of vinegar, 
 so that they might not convey the disease to 
 another, and retired to a convenient place, where 
 he died in twelve hours. 
 
 Ver. 16. Devotion of Arminius to his work. 
 As James Arminius passed along one of the 
 poorer districts of the city, he heard a certain 
 lowly dwelling resound with the voice of wailing. 
 Immediately on perceiving that the whole of that 
 household had been seized with the plague, and 
 were in torment arising from the most burning 
 thirst, he not only gave money to the neighbours, 
 who were standing by, with which to purchase a 
 draught, but further, when not one of them 
 dared to enter that infected abode of poverty, he 
 himself, heedless of every danger to which by 
 this step he exposed himself and those dear to 
 him, intrepidly walked in, and imparted refresh- 
 ment, at once for the body and the soul, to every 
 single member of this afflicted family. — Brandt's 
 Life of Arminius. 
 
 The Findern flower. Sir Edmund Burke was 
 writing a book, and he went to the North, to 
 inquire particulars of a certain family named 
 Findern. Rut he could find no account of them 
 remaining — no memorial, no hall in ruins, lie 
 asked a working man if he could tell him any- 
 thing about the family, and he said he could 
 show him the Findern flower — a small blue 
 flower, said to have been imported into England 
 by Sir Joshua Findern on his return from the 
 Crusades. It springs up, and never dies. It 
 grows nowhere else in England, but here it can- 
 not be eradicated. Benevolence is a beautiful 
 flower; like the Findern flower it need never die; 
 unlike the Findern flower it can flourish any- 
 where. It may grow in palace or in cottage, in 
 the hot-house or in the cold night of an Arctic 
 winter. This flower flourished in the nature of 
 Esther, and how beautiful it looked, what sweet 
 fragrance it imparted, what glorious colours it 
 unfolded ! 
 
 Ver. 16. Everything to die for. A corre- 
 spondent relates this suggestive incident : — " We 
 recently called on a lady of culture and refine- 
 ment, who, having just taken possession of a new 
 house with elegant surroundings, had suddenly 
 been called to face the approach of a fearful 
 disease that seemed beyond human power to 
 avert. With a loving husband and winsome 
 daughter, with a home tilled with evidences of 
 wealth and taste, encircled by warm, true-hearted 
 friends, with everything earthly to make life 
 glad and joyous, we remarked : ' You have evei y- 
 thing to live for. Does it not depress you to 
 think that all this must be given up if this disease 
 is not stayed?' The reply, simple, earin-t. 
 truthful, ' Why, I have everything to die for,' 
 indicated the rich, abiding wealth of a soul 
 
ciiAr. iv.] 
 
 HOMILETIG COMMENTARY: ESTHER. 
 
 165 
 
 whose trust is stayed on God, and showed that 
 she was lifted up into a life of serenity and 
 peace that could never be shaken by storms and 
 tempests. Can any faith or any religion, save 
 that of the Christian, enable one thus to triumph 
 over pain, thus to look upon death, thus to con- 
 template separation from the dear ones linked by 
 the holiest of earthly ties ! All things to die 
 for ! Reunion with friends who long since left 
 us ; pain and suffering only memories of a former 
 past ; complete and eternal freedom from sin ; 
 complicity with unseen power of evil at an end ; 
 the presence of the pure and the holy ; com. 
 munion with him who shall wipe all tears from 
 our eyes ; at home and at rest for ever with the 
 Lord — was not the remark of our friend most 
 emphatically true? On the grandeur and the 
 beauty of that faith which sees through the rifted 
 clouds the glory beyond, which can say amid 
 deepest darkness, ' The morning cometh ; ' that 
 faith which with 'things seen and temporal,' 
 most beautiful and attractive, can raise up into a 
 full appreciation of ' the things that are unseen 
 and eternal ; ' that faith which bridges over the 
 dark river, enabling the believer to tread with 
 firm footstep and alone the way that leads to the 
 unknown land ; that faith which will lead one 
 encircled by richest earthly gifts, to say : " I 
 have everything to die for !' " 
 
 Esther had everything to live for according to 
 human estimates, yet she was willing to die. 
 
 Ver. 16. A young Illinois hero. An American 
 paper chronicles a bit of heroism by a Peoria 
 county boy which deserves recognition. A coal 
 shaft is being sunk just north of Hollis, Illinois, 
 and the other day a workman, by the name of 
 Harland, lighted a slow match leading to the 
 blast, and then signalled to be drawn up. The 
 
 depth of the shaft was seventy feet. "When he 
 had been raised fourteen feet he struck the bottom 
 of a board partition, and was thrown back to the 
 bottom. Thomas Crandall, a step-son of Harland, 
 was a witness to the accident, and promptly slid 
 down the rope, seventy feet, and tore the match 
 from the fuze in time to prevent an explosion. 
 The act was a brave one, scarcely to be paralleled. 
 The boy's hands were terribly lacerated by the 
 friction of the rope. The step-father was rescued 
 with a broken rib and other severe bruises. The 
 heroic act of this brave boy can be not only 
 " paralleled," but surpassed. Esther exposed 
 herself to equal risk to save a whole people to 
 whom she was bound by the ties of nationality. 
 
 Ver. 16. The Grace Barling of Berstead. The 
 sea-coast Sussex village of Berstead, adjacent to 
 Bognor, is justly proud of Mrs. Wheatland, a 
 brave and strong middle-aged matron, the mother 
 of a large family, who has saved thirteen lives 
 in the past twenty years, by swimming out to the 
 rescue of drowning bathers. So here are no less 
 than thirteen lives which our good, strong Mary 
 Wheatland has saved. How many more there 
 may have been " goodness knows ; " for she looks 
 on life-saving as part of her regular business — 
 and she found it hard to tax her memory even 
 with these examples. Thus her splendid con- 
 science is hung with immortal but immaterial 
 medals. She has never sought any from the 
 Humane Society, nor does she seem to think she 
 has done anything meritorious or worthy of 
 human distinction. How many lives Esther has 
 saved we cannot tell ; she saved them at the risk 
 of her own — " If I perish I perish." Surely her 
 splendid conscience was hung with immortal but 
 immaterial medals. Surely the Jews are right 
 in perpetuating the glory of her name. 
 
 CHAPTER V 
 
 Critical Notes.] 1. The third day] must be counted from the day of the transaction between 
 the queen and Mordecai ; the first day being that on which it took place. The fasting, then, would 
 not begin till midday ; and on the third day Esther went to the king to invite him on that day to a 
 banquet, which would surely take place in the forenoon. Thus the three days' fast would last from 
 the afternoon of the first to the forenoon of the third day, i. e. from 40 to 45 hours. — Keil. Put on 
 royal apparel] Lit. put on royalty; the expression signifies royal dignity; appeared as became the 
 great occasion. The inner court of the king's house] This must have been situated directly in 
 front of the royal audience chamber, or " throne room," where the monarch was wont to sit when 
 receiving ministers of state, and attending to the business of the empire. — Whedon's Com. 2.] The 
 king held out the golden sceptre as a token of his favourable disposition ; and Esther drew 
 near and touched the top of the sceptre ; probably kissed it, as the Yulgate renders the word. 
 3. What wilt thou, queen Esther?] Bather, what ails thee? According to Herodotus (ix. 109), 
 Xerxes, when pleased with one of his wives, offered to grant her any request whatever, without 
 hesitation. — Rawlinson. 4.] For the present she requests nothing further than that the king and 
 Hainan should come to the banquet she had prepared. She desired Haman to be present, in order, as 
 Calov remarks, that she might charge him by name in the presence of the king with the decree 
 surreptitiously obtained against the people, and to his very face cut off every possibility of cavil ; 
 perhaps also in order to make his confusion the more complete. 6. And the king said unto Esther 
 at the banquet of wine] After the meats were removed it was customary in Persia to continue the 
 
163 IIOMILETIC COMMENTARY: ESTHER. [cnAP. v. 
 
 banquet For a considerable time with fruits and wine (Herod. 1, 333). During this part of the feast the 
 king renewed his offer. — Rawlinson. The king understood that there was some request besides the 
 mere coming to her banquet. 7, 8. ] Esther answered, My petition and my request; If I have found 
 favour in the sight of the king, and if it please the king to grant my petition, and to perform my 
 request, let the king and Haman come to the banquet that I shall prepare for them, and I will do 
 to-morrow as the king hath said] i. c. make known my request. She did not esteem the time an appro- 
 priate one for expressing her request. 9.] Ilaman was joyful at the thought of receiving such honour 
 from the king ana queen ; but the greatness of his joy rendered him still more indignant at Mordecaifor 
 his stubborn refusal to show outward tokens of respect. 10.] However, Haman refrained himself till 
 he could consult his friends and his wife Zeresh. His friends — his intimate associates and companions 
 — diviners and wise men — with whom he met in councils and in festivities. — JVhedon's Com. 11. The 
 multitude of his children] From ix. 7 — 10 we learn that Haman had ten sons; and many sons 
 were not looked upon as a great blessing from God by the Israelites only, but were also esteemed a 
 signal prosperity among the Persians, the king annually sending presents to him who had the greatest 
 number of sons. — Kcil. 12.] Haman had also the honour of being invited to the banquet alone. 
 13.] And yet all his good fortune is embittered to him as often as he sees the hated Jew, Mordecai. 
 The fact that such a Jew may defy him unpunished seems to be a counter-proof against his dignity 
 and power. 14. Then said Zeresh his wife and all his friends unto him, &c] The name Zeresh is 
 probably connected with Zered Zara, "gold." Compare the Greek chrysis. — Rawlinson. Zeresh 
 led the counsel. Kings as well as their chief officers doubtless often allowed themselves to be directed 
 by their wives. Let a gallows] Heb. a tree, or wood : that is, a lofty beam or post for impalement ; 
 not a gallows, or gibbet, in the ordinary sense. Hanging with a rope by the neck seems not to have 
 been a Persian mode of punishment, but impalement was common. Haman's wife and friends 
 proposed to make the post of wood for Mordecai's execution fifty cubits high — seventy-five feet — so 
 as to make his impalement as conspicuous and as ignominious as possible. Feuardent well says : 
 " But why make it so high ? (». e. the tree, gallows). In order that his disgrace might be plainly observable 
 to the eyes of all, and the more striking. Wherefore should he be in such haste about it ? Lest there 
 should be danger in delay or procrastination. For what reason have it erected before his own house? 
 So that he and all his family, going in and out, seeing Mordecai hanging, might mock and feast their 
 cruel eyes and minds with so miserable and foul a spectacle." 
 
 MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PAEAGEAPH. Verses 1, 2. 
 
 The Eoyalty of Faith. 
 
 Watson says — "True faith is prolifical, it brings forth fruit; faith hath Rachel's 
 beauty and Leah's fruitfulness." Esther's faith in this instance gave to her more 
 than Rachel's beauty and Leah's fruitfulness. It enhanced the claims of her 
 natural beauty. It gave inexpressible sweetness to her sadness. It surrounded 
 her with an irresistible grace. Leah's fruitfulness was of a natural character; 
 Esther's fruitfulness was moral. Let us now consider the royalty of Esther's faith, 
 and may it stimulate us to seek more earnestly to be invested with this royal 
 apparel, and inwardly strengthened with this royal grace. 
 
 I. Royal apparel may cover a sad heart. Esther at this time must have had 
 a sad heart ; and however tastefully she may have been adorned, the sadness of her 
 heart could not be concealed. We may well suppose that this sadness gave 
 attractive sweetness to her countenance. Sad hearts beat and throb beneath costly 
 robes. We pity the beggar in his rags. We are superficial The outward affects 
 more than the inward. Oftentimes more pity should be evoked by the sight of 
 those clothed in purple and fine linen. Amid the splendours of royalty the 
 wretchedness of humanity is visible. Shakespeare says, "Uneasy lies the head 
 that wears a crown." No monarchs have risen up to refute the libel; yea, many 
 kings have borne witness to its truthfulness. In ancient history we read that the 
 sleep went from king Darius ; and many kings since then have tossed in sleepless 
 misery on beds of down, amid drapery of purple and of gold. King David cries, 
 "I am poor and needy;" poor in the midst of an abundance of wealth; needy 
 while thousands are ready to supply his wants. 
 
 II. The royalty of faith sustains in sadness. Some make too much of 
 Esther's sadness in the present instance. Sometimes she is represented as fainting. 
 ►Sad no doubt she was, but her sadness had not a paralyzing effect. Sad no doubt 
 
ciiap. v.] HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: ESTHER. 167 
 
 she might well be, considering the importance of the interests at stake and the 
 desperate nature of her venture ; but her sadness had not a killing effect upon her 
 nervous S3 r stem, for we may be well assured that her faith sustained her. The sacred 
 record says nothing about her fainting. That faith which led her to exclaim, " If I 
 perish I perish ; " which supported through the long fast, which led her to take wise 
 means for the success of her enterprise, which brought her to face the worst — would 
 not fail her now at this the most important point of her undertaking. We seem to 
 see the royalty of her faith eclipsing far the royalty of her apparel. The latter 
 could not prevent her sadness. The former sustained in her sadness, and made it 
 sweetly beautiful. Gloriously charming it is to see a sustaining faith overcoming 
 and smiling through the sadness of a beautiful woman. The royalty of faith is 
 the only power to sustain in sadness. It is a royal power that possesses the true 
 alchemy which can transmute the base metal of sadness into the celestial gold of 
 abiding gladness. Go to the chamber of the sick saint, and ask what inspires with 
 patience, and even with holy pleasure. Go to the cell where virtue is imprisoned, 
 and ask what enables the prisoner to sing songs of rapture, to see sights of beauty, 
 to feed on heavenly manna, to ascend the Delectable Mountains, to feel the light 
 of heaven around, and to catch the freshly-blowing breezes of Paradise. Go to the 
 missionary in far-off lands, exiled from his home, in loneliness pursuing his weary 
 but heavenly mission, standing bereft of wife and of child on account of the 
 unhealthiness of the country where he labours, and ask what sustains under such 
 trying circumstances. Go to the pastor labouring amongst an unresponsive people, 
 his heart well nigh broken by indifference and in some cases by actual cruelty, and 
 ask what stimulates to heroic perseverance. Go to the martyr chained to the 
 stake; see the faggots piled round about him ; already the flames lick and scorch his 
 body ; but lo ! his face is lighted up as if it had been the face of an angel, and now 
 he sings his own funeral hymn, not a sad dirge, but inspiriting strains ; and again 
 inquire whence this wonderful triumph. And all with one consent acknowledge 
 the sustaining power of faith. This is the victory that overcometh the world — even 
 our faith. 
 
 III. The royalty of faith leads to daring ventures. "We can scarcely either 
 understand or appreciate the daring nature of that venture which was made by 
 Esther. The words are to us often only as so many words — these words " And 
 Esther stood in the inner court of the king's house, over against the king's house." 
 It would be something to brave and to pass the sentinel, and all the court 
 attendants, and present ourselves before our gracious queen. But this would be as 
 nothing to what Esther did, though she was herself a queen. We understand the 
 heroic power of faith in the conduct of the three Hebrew children. We can admire 
 the splendid moral nobility of Daniel, who, in spite of edicts, in spite of threatened 
 lions, holds on to his purpose of prayer to the God of heaven. But let us try to 
 get a correct view of the greatness of Esther's faith, of the might of her heroism, 
 as she stands " in the inner court of the king's house," waiting for the word that 
 may mean life, but might very possibly mean death. She stands dressed in royal 
 apparel, but that royal apparel for aught she knew might be but the splendid yet 
 ghastly preparation for the doom of destruction. If we celebrate the faith of 
 Abraham who was ready to offer up his only-begotten son, shall we have no meed 
 of praise for Esther who was ready to offer up herself] Why Esther's name does 
 not appear among the list of those worthies whose faith is celebrated in the 
 Hebrews we cannot tell 1 Perhaps if time had not failed the writer he would have 
 used Esther's name as an illustration of the power of faith. Certainly we cannot 
 help feeling that Esther's faith was a Divine inspiration. This, however, we ought 
 surely to learn — that if we make no daring ventures it is because our faith is weak. 
 Faith, like other graces, is increased by exercise. What faith prompts us to do let 
 us at once decide to do. And the more we attempt the more we shall be disposed 
 to attempt. 
 
1G8 1IOMILETIC COMMENTARY: ESTHER. [chap, v 
 
 IV. The royalty of faith is greater than the royalty of mere circumstantials. 
 Here is a contrast — a suppliant woman standing in a helpless attitude, and in an 
 exposed condition. A mighty monarch sitting upon a royal throne in the royal 
 house whose wish is law, and whose word is either life or death. But the 
 suppliant woman masters the mighty monarch. Mere worldly considerations will 
 nut satisfactorily account for the victory. We know the power of women over men. 
 We are not unmindful of the great influence which female beauty has wielded over 
 the hearts of kings, over the counsels of courtiers, and over the destinies of nations. 
 It may he said that the weak monarch was captivated and overcome by the charm 
 of Esther's beauty. But this will not meet our view of the case. We believe that 
 Esther was victorious because she was royal by virtue of her faith in God, 
 Ahasuerus was conquered because he was merely royal in circumstantials. Faith 
 is a royal power ; it sits enthroned above the might of sceptred kings ; it is mightier 
 than the mightiest of the earthdjorn. Kings have killed the children of the faith, 
 but their royalty has not been overcome. The royalty of faith has subdued kings, 
 and conquered nations. Who are the men that rule to-day % The men of faith. 
 These are the true kings, not those the world calls kings. The Csesars and the Neros 
 do not now rule ; death has stripped them of the outward shoAV of royalty. The 
 Pauls and the Peters now rule. They rule in spheres where their authority is not 
 acknowledged. They overcame death. It gave them a larger kingdom. It granted 
 a nobler royalty. The men of faith sit on a throne that death cannot shake. They 
 wield a sceptre which death cannot touch with its icy hand. As time advances, and 
 as men become still wiser, the men of faith will rule in still larger measure. Faith 
 is better and mightier than weapons of war, than words of wisdom, than the gilded 
 trappings of earthly royalty. 
 
 V. The royalty of faith commands success. Esther obtained favour in the 
 sight of the king, and he held out to her the golden sceptre. What we may call 
 natural faith is essential to success. The man must have faith in himself who is 
 to succeed. The farmer must have faith in the abiding character of nature's laws 
 if he is to work with perseverance. The seaman must have faith in the safety of 
 his vessel, and in nautical arrangements, if he is to set forth on his voyage Avith 
 hope. The merchant must have faith in the promises of his fellows if he is to 
 trade with confidence. This natural faith is working all through society. In the 
 moral realm faith is essential ; faith is even of more importance. Faith is not the 
 cause of the favour of God, but the means whereby that favour is disclosed to our 
 hearts. The favour of God towards the believer is antecedent to the exercise of 
 faith, but the exercise of that faith it is which reveals to our souls the existence of 
 that favour. Esther's faith and Esther's beauty caused her to obtain that favour 
 in the sight of the king which she appeared to have lost. The faith of the sinner 
 discovers the favour of God which is waiting to manifest its goodness, and to 
 bestow its blessings. Faith is the condition, but not the cause, of salvation. " Thy 
 faith hath saved thee," saith our Lord to the woman who anointed his head with 
 oil, and his feet with ointment, because her faith laid hold of Christ's forgiving 
 love. That readiness to forgive was there prior to the woman's exercise of faith ; 
 but this faith was the means of finding out the greatness of that love. Faith 
 brought peace. Faith is the condition of salvation. Without faith it is impossible 
 to please God. Faith triumphs over moral difficulties, and obtains success with 
 heaven's king. 
 
 Finally, The royalty of faith sways the golden sceptre. " The king held out 
 to Esther the golden sceptre, that was in his hand. So Esther drew near, and 
 touched the top of the sceptre." Esther not only touched, not only kissed the top 
 of the sceptre, but swayed the golden sceptre. The golden sceptre was moved by 
 the hand of Ahasuerus; but Esther's faith moved the arm that moved the sceptre 
 father's power was invisible. The unseen is mightier than the seen. .Mind 
 triumphs over matter. Moral force compters brute force. Esther swayed the 
 
cnAP. v.] 
 
 HOMTLETIC COMMENTARY: ESTHER. 
 
 169 
 
 golden sceptre of material sovereignty and she also swayed the golden sceptre of 
 moral sovereignty. Tims Esther was queen in two spheres. She was enthroned 
 in both the material and the moral realms. Faith sways a golden sceptre that 
 exerts an influence reaching farther than the sovereignty of Ahasuerus. He ruled 
 over an hundred and seven and twenty provinces. A great kingdom, yet only one 
 kingdom. Faith rules in two kingdoms. It has to do for power in time and 
 for peace in eternity. Godliness is profitable unto all things ; having promise of 
 the life that now is, and of that which is to come. Godlikeness is the product of 
 living faith. This royal character is not possible without the working of a royal 
 faith. It is then a mighty power. It moves the arm that moves the world. It 
 touches the throne of God with wondrous effect. It makes all heaven listen to 
 the prayers of earth. Faith has an arm stronger than that which tore the gates of 
 Gaza from their fastenings, a sound more powerful than that which overthrew the 
 walls of Jericho, a wisdom superior to that which speaks in the Proverbs of King 
 Solomon, and visions more enrapturing than those which passed before the mind of 
 Ezekiel. Faith sways a golden sceptre which can never be wrested from the grasp. 
 It enables its possessor to ride triumphantly over the boiling waves of trouble, 
 and to pass through the fires unhurt. By the aid of this golden sceptre the man 
 is sovereign over death. He can ask in triumph, " death, where is thy sting? O 
 grave, where is thy victory 1 The sting of death is sin ; and the strength of sin is 
 the law." The glorious answer is given : " But thanks be to God, which giveth 
 us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." This golden sceptre knocks at 
 heaven's gate ; it flies open, and the redeemed spirit passes among the royalties of 
 the eternal world. 
 
 Suggestive Comments on Verses 1 — 2. 
 
 Of all the virgins presented to Ahasu- 
 erus, none was so pleasing as Esther. 
 "Let the maiden which pleaseth the king 
 be queen instead of Vashti." When that 
 decree was published, what strife, what 
 emulations (may we think) was among 
 the Persian damsels that either were, or 
 thought themselves to be, fair ! Every 
 one hopes to be a queen ; but so incom- 
 parable was the beauty of that Jewess, 
 that she is not only taken into the Persian 
 court, as one of the selected virgins, but 
 hath the most honourable place in the 
 seraglio allotted to her. The other virgins 
 pass their probation unregarded ; when 
 Esther's turn came, though she brought 
 the same face and demeanour that nature 
 had cast upon her, no eye sees her with- 
 out admiration. The king is so delighted 
 with her beauty, that, contemning all the 
 more vulgar forms, his choice is fully 
 fixed upon her. Our heavenly King is 
 pleased with all our graces ; hot zeal and 
 cool patience pleaseth him ; cheerful 
 thankfulness and weeping penitence 
 pleaseth him ; charity in the height and 
 humility in the dust pleaseth him ; but 
 none of them are welcome to him with- 
 
 out faith, as nothing can please him 
 without Christ. There is none that 
 dares venture into his presence without 
 faith ; she is that Esther to which God 
 holds out the golden sceptre. Adorn thy 
 soul with this grace ; " so shall the king 
 greatly desire thy beauty." — Adams. 
 
 The apocryphal author and Josephus 
 say that she took two maids with her, 
 on one of whom she leaned, while the 
 other bore up her train, — that her coun- 
 tenance was cheerful and very amiable, 
 but her heart was in anguish, — that the 
 king, lifting up his countenance that 
 shone with majesty, at first looked very 
 fiercely upon her, whereupon she grew 
 pale, and fainted, and bowed herself on 
 the head of her maid that went by her ; 
 but then God changed the spirit of the 
 king, and, in fear, he leaped from his 
 throne, took her in his arms till she came 
 to herself, and comforted her with loving 
 words. Here we are only told, that he 
 protected her from the law, and assured 
 her of safety by holding out to her the 
 golden sceptre, which she thankfully 
 touched the top of, thereby presenting 
 herself to him as a humble petitioner. 
 
170 
 
 IIOMl L ETIC COMMENT A R 7 : ES Til EH. 
 
 [chap. v. 
 
 Thus having bad power with God, and 
 prevailed, like Jacob, she had power with 
 men too. He that will lose his life for 
 God shall save it, or find it in a better 
 1 i IV. — Matthew Hen ry. 
 
 The unexpectedness of pleasing objects 
 makes them many times the more accept- 
 able ; the beautiful countenance, the 
 graceful demeanour, and goodly presence 
 of Esther have no sooner taken the eyes, 
 than they have ravished the heart, of king 
 Ahasuerus] love hath soon banished all 
 dreadfulness. " And the king held out 
 to Esther the golden sceptre that was in 
 his hand." Moderate intermission is so 
 far from cooling the affection, that it in- 
 flames it. Had Esther been seen every 
 day, perhaps that satiety had abated the 
 height of her welcome ; now, three and 
 thirty days' retiredness hath endeared her 
 more to the surfeited eyes of Ahasuerus. 
 Had not the golden sceptre been held 
 out, where had queen Esther been 1 The 
 Persian kings affected a stern awfulness 
 to their subjects ; it was death to solicit 
 them uncalled. How safe, how easy, 
 how happy a thing it is, to have to do 
 with the King of heaven, who is so pleased 
 with our access that he solicits suitors ! 
 who, as he is unweariable with our re- 
 quests, so he is infinite in his bene- 
 ficences ! 
 
 Commonly, when we fear most we 
 speed best ; God then most of all magni- 
 fies his bounty to us when we have most 
 afflicted ourselves. Over-confident ex- 
 pectations are seldom but disappointed, 
 while humble suspicions go laughing 
 away. It was the benefit and safety of 
 but one piece of the kingdom that Esther 
 comes to sue for ; and, behold, Ahasuerus 
 offers her the free power of the half ; he, 
 that gave Haman, at the first word, the 
 lives of all his Jewish subjects, is ready 
 to give Esther half his kingdom ere she 
 ask. Now she is no less amazed at the 
 loving munificence of Ahasuerus than 
 she was before afraid of his austerity. — 
 Bishop Hall. 
 
 It is likely that she left her attendants 
 without, lest she should draw them into 
 danger; and contented herself (when 
 she went in to the king) with those 
 faithful companions, Faith, Hope, and 
 Charity, who brought her off also with 
 safety. 
 
 And the, ling sat upon his royal 
 throne. Boyal indeed, as AthenaMis 
 describeth it. It should be our earnest 
 desire to see the King of Glory upon 
 his throne. Austin wished that he 
 might have seen three things : 1. Eomam 
 in flore ; 2. Paulum in ore ; 3. Christum 
 in corpore. Rome in the flourish, Paul 
 in the pulpit, Christ in the flesh. 
 Venerable Bede cometh after, and cor- 
 recting this last wish, saith, Imo vero 
 Christum in solio sedentem. Let me see 
 Christ upon his throne royal rather. 
 
 And the Icing held out to Esther the 
 golden sceptre. He did not kick her out 
 of his presence, as some Cambyses would 
 have done, neither did he command her 
 to the block, as Henry VIII. did his 
 Anne Bullen upon a mere misprision of 
 disloyalty ; neither yet did he cashier 
 her, as he had done Vashti for a less 
 offence ; but, by holding out his sceptre 
 shows his gracious respects unto her. 
 This was the Lord's own work, as was 
 likewise that of old, that Laban should 
 leave Jacob with a kiss. Let a man's 
 ways please the Lord, and men shall 
 quickly befriend him. — Bishop Hall. 
 
 This is truly heroic magnanimity, by 
 which Esther declares as great a faith 
 towards God as love towards his Church. 
 Her trust in him is such that she incurs 
 the peril of her life in obedience to his 
 call. For though all the circumstances 
 of the case threaten her destruction, still 
 she hangs by faith upon the Divine 
 promises. Eor whom God calls and 
 leads into danger, to him he has also 
 promised preservation and deliverance in 
 those dangers. To Abraham he said, 
 " Get thee out of thy country, and thy 
 father's house." This was a call to face 
 danger. But he also added the promise, 
 " I will make of thee a great nation." 
 It is love alone that exposes itself in 
 behalf of the Church of God, and would 
 rather risk its own life than leave the 
 Church of God in danger. — Brenz. 
 
 Esther was not one of those who re- 
 solve and promise well, but do not per- 
 form. How ready are we, like the dis- 
 obedient son in the parable, to say, We 
 will go and work in the vineyard, and 
 after all go not ! But what excuse shall 
 we have for breaking our promises 
 
CITAP. V.] 
 
 HOMILETIC COMMENTARY : ESTHER. 
 
 171 
 
 through the mere power of laziness, when 
 Esther kept her word at the risk of her 
 life 1 She deserves to he ranked with the 
 noble army of confessors, if not of martyrs. 
 She went in nnto the king when a law 
 faced her which declared it to be death 
 for any subject, not excepting the queen, 
 to go in unto the king's private apart- 
 ments without his leave. 
 
 JMor did she linger in doubt whether 
 she should go in unto the king or not. 
 If she had, new temptations, dangerous 
 to her virtue, might have assaulted her. 
 Her resolution had been already formed, 
 and she makes haste, and delays not to 
 do the commandment of Mordecai, which 
 she considers as a commandment from 
 God. On the third day, she went in 
 unto the king. Her fast did not, it 
 seems, consist of three complete days 
 and nights. In the language of the 
 Jews, " three days and three nights " 
 might mean one whole day and part of 
 two others. Jesus is said to have been 
 " three days and three nights in the 
 heart of the earth," and yet he is said to 
 have risen " on the third day." 
 
 She observed her fast, and it was no 
 sooner over than she went in unto the 
 king. It was wise in her, when she had 
 finished her supplication, to present her 
 petition to the king. When Hannah 
 prayed in the bitterness of her grief, her 
 heart was eased ; she was no more sorrow- 
 ful. We have reason to think that 
 Esther's anxieties, too, were banished by 
 her devotion. She had been lifting up 
 her soul to the Lord. She had been, 
 doubtless, remembering her song in the 
 night, and the wonderful works of former 
 times would inspire her with hope of a 
 happy event to her present enterprise. 
 Thus she was able to approach unto the 
 king with all that composure of mind, 
 and cheerfulness of countenance, which 
 were necessary for the occasion. 
 
 She put on her royal apparel when 
 she went in to the king. She cared not 
 for the distinction of her rank, and placed 
 not her delight in the outward adorning 
 of gold, and pearls, and costly array. 
 But it was necessary to lay aside her 
 mourning apparel, and to put on her 
 beautiful garments when she went in to 
 the king. Good wives will endeavour 
 
 to please their husbands by a decency in 
 dress, as well as other things that may 
 appear little when they are not considered 
 as means to gain an important end. The 
 married Avomen care, and ought to care, 
 how they may please their husbands ; 
 and those women do not act as becometh 
 saints, whose dress, or any part of their 
 behaviour, naturally tends to produce 
 disgust. Esther had a peculiar reason 
 for dressing herself with her beautiful 
 garments when she went into the king's 
 presence. But all women are bound to 
 please their husbands in things lawful 
 and consistent, because the law of Christ 
 binds them to reverence their husbands : 
 and their husbands, if they are not fools, 
 ■will not desire them to transgress the 
 laws concerning dress, which two apostles 
 have thought it necessary to record for 
 their direction.* 
 
 The countenance of Esther at this 
 critical moment was highly interesting 
 to the king, her husband. Grief, anxiety, 
 and pity, painted in her beauteous face, 
 awakened his pity and attracted his love. 
 She found favour in his eyes, and he 
 held out to her the golden sceptre, the 
 sign of grace and pardon, which Esther 
 touched, in thankful acceptance of the 
 offered mercy. 
 
 " As a prince," said God to Jacob, 
 " hast thou power with God ; and with 
 men also shalt thou prevail." Esther 
 had been weeping and making suppli- 
 cation, like her father Jacob, and had 
 prevailed, and saw the face of the king 
 as if it had been the face of God, and 
 her life was preserved ; and, what was 
 still better, she had the happy presage 
 of the preservation of the life of all her 
 people, in that favour which was ex- 
 tended to herself. What wonderful 
 favours from men may fervent supplica- 
 tion to God obtain ! " If He be for us, 
 who can be against us 1 " — Lawson. 
 
 Delays in matters of importance are 
 to be deeply censured, and the weightier 
 the matter the more censurable is pro- 
 crastination. Who then can estimate 
 the folly, the egregious folly, of delay in 
 the concerns of a never-ending futurity ! 
 — concerns compared with, which the 
 weightiest affairs of time are less than 
 * 2 Tim. ii. 1 Pet. iii. 
 
17 J 
 
 H0MILET1C COMMENTARY : ESTHER. 
 
 [chap. v. 
 
 nothing ! The next thing to delay is 
 total neglect — to putting off to another 
 opportunity, putting oil' altogether, and 
 delays too frequently thus terminate. 
 When a man is somewhat impressed with 
 his danger as a violator of the Divine 
 law, and a rebel against the Majesty of 
 heaven, hut seeks a more convenient 
 season to devote himself to the grand 
 work of salvation, he is as yet in the 
 enemy's hand ; the chain is not broken ; 
 he is in danger of wearing off his good 
 impressions, of falling hack to his former 
 inconsiderateness, and of increasing the 
 callousness of his heart. It is not 
 always that hesitating between God and 
 the world ends well — it is not always 
 that they who halt between two opinions 
 are led to say, The Lord, he is the God, 
 and after liim Ave will go. Oh, beware 
 of delay. 
 
 Fasting, and prayer, and communion 
 with God therein, are the true strength 
 of the soul. They lift it above temporary 
 danger, and fill it with holy fortitude. 
 They are likewise the parents of spiritual 
 activity and diligence. Esther is not 
 the only character whom we find gath- 
 ering holy boldness for perilous duties 
 (iv. 16) through earnest supplications. 
 AVhen Jacob was returning from Laban, 
 he prepared to meet his enraged brother, 
 by first imploring the guidance and pro- 
 tection of God. He knew it to be his 
 duty to go forward, and not to return to 
 Mesopotamia, yet he could not go for- 
 ward but at the peril of his life, and 
 that of his wives and children. lie 
 nerved his soul, however, with strength 
 suited to the emergency, by humbling 
 himself before the mercy -seat of his God, 
 and his fathers' God, and imploring his 
 heavenly interference. He prayed and 
 prospered. Jehoshaphat, surrounded by 
 multitudes of Moa bites, Ammonites, and 
 others, sought for courage to meet them 
 at the throne of grace. His eyes were 
 upon God, and his heart was not afraid. 
 Id prayed and conquered. He prayed, 
 and God made the battle his own, and 
 triumphed gloriously: he sent forth his 
 wrath, which consumed these uncircum- 
 cised hosts as stubble. And how did 
 our Divine .Master himself obtain that 
 fortitude, which was needful for the 
 
 mighty combat which was before him 1 
 How did he prepare for the most arduous 
 enterprise that was ever undertaken 1 
 In the same way as the pious queen be- 
 fore us. He repaired to the garden of 
 Gethsemane, and poured forth his soul 
 " with strong crying and tears," and be- 
 ing heard in that he feared, he presented 
 an undaunted face to his enemies, and 
 entered on the conflict with holy earnest- 
 ness and anxiety. " Rise," said lie to 
 his sleeping disciples, " let us be going, 
 behold, he is at hand," &c. (Let us 
 meet him : for I have prayed, and my 
 prayers have been heard ; I have prayed, 
 and heaven is on my side.) Brethren, 
 we know not what we lose — of what 
 rich blessings we deprive ourselves, by 
 not abounding in prayer. " We will 
 give ourselves continually unto prayer." 
 Abundant prayer brings joy to the heart, 
 and "the joy of the Lord is our strength." 
 What dangers should we deem too great 
 to face, were our souls but thus filled 
 with the presence of the Lord ! — -what 
 services should we deem too arduous and 
 self-denying! " Wait on the Lord, and 
 He shall strengthen thine heart." " The 
 love of Christ const rai net h us to live no 
 longer to ourselves, but," &c. 
 
 The goodness of God, in this case, to 
 his fasting and praying servants, demands 
 our attention. " And it was so when 
 the king saw Esther the queen, standing 
 in the court, that she obtained favour in 
 his sight : and the king held out to 
 Esther the golden sceptre that was in his 
 hand." God, in whose hands are all 
 hearts, on many of Avhich, however, he 
 works to ansAver his oavh wise purposes, 
 but not so as to change or sanctity them 
 — God, Ave say, disposed the king thus 
 courteously to treat the queen. She was 
 not killed (iv. 11), but kindly invited 
 to approach. The God, Avho made Esau 
 embrace Avith fraternal affection him, 
 whom a few hours before he designed to 
 murder, to fall on his neck and kiss him, 
 — made this selfish, capricious, and un- 
 reasonable monarch behave thus conde- 
 scendingly to the queen. " When a 
 man's ways please the Lord, he " often 
 "makes his enemies to be at peace with 
 him." " What time I am afraid, I will 
 trust in thee." 
 
CHAP. V.] 
 
 II0M1LETW COMMENTARY: ESTHER. 
 
 Now r , let us take occasion, from this 
 act of Ahasuerus, to consider the conduct 
 of another King — the blessed and only 
 Potentate, to whom be honour and power 
 everlasting. Ahasuerus held out the 
 sceptre to his queen, who had never 
 offended him, nor been unfaithful to 
 him ; but Jehovah holds out Ins sceptre 
 to the unfaithful. How wonderful the 
 language, in Jer. iii. 1, on this point. 
 " They say, If a man put away his wife, 
 and she go from him, and become another 
 man's, shall he return to her again 1 shall 
 not that land be greatly polluted 1 Lut 
 thou hast played the harlot with many 
 lovers ; yet return again to me, saith 
 the Lord." " Return, thou backsliding 
 Israel, saith the Lord, and I will not 
 cause mine anger to fall upon you ; for 
 I am merciful, saith the Lord, and I will 
 not keep anger for ever : only acknow- 
 ledge thine iniquity, that thou hast 
 transgressed against the Lord thy God, 
 and hast scattered thy ways to the 
 strangers under every green tree, and ye 
 have not obeyed my voice." — Hughes. 
 
 " Now it came to pass." These words 
 call for special notice in a book which 
 strikingly illustrates the providence of 
 God both in regard to nations and indi- 
 viduals. They remind us that there is 
 nothing stationary — that what comes is 
 moving on. Seasons of trial and per- 
 plexity would be overwhelming if they 
 had the character of fixedness. It is hap- 
 pily not so. As you have stood gazing 
 on a mountain, bathed in sunlight, you 
 may sometimes have observed a dark 
 shadow creeping along the side of it, as 
 though hastening to accomplish its mis- 
 sion, and quickly gliding away out of 
 sight, leaving the landscape all the more 
 beautiful because of your remembrance 
 of it. So is it with what is painful and 
 sad in providence. Events of this kind 
 have come at intervals, but it was only 
 to pass — not to abide — like the floating 
 of little clouds between us and the sun ; 
 and when past, giving to human life, as 
 to nature, a great richness and variety. 
 Biographies are but commentaries on 
 these familiar words. Indeed, men them- 
 selves but come to pass. " The workmen 
 die, the work goes on." While the river 
 is moving on, and we arc observing the 
 
 things which fringe its banks, and being 
 differently affected by them, we are our- 
 selves sailing on the surface of the waters, 
 and being swiftly borne along to the 
 great ocean of eternity. "Now it came 
 to pass." 
 
 Three days had been spent by Mordecai 
 and the Jews, Esther and her maids, in 
 fasting and prayer ; three days which 
 were, in the experience of all of them, 
 like the gathering up of spiritual strength, 
 and the marshalling of spiritual forces to 
 battle. It was not by carnal weapons 
 that they were to contend against the 
 cruel menace of the world, but by faith, 
 and in dependence on the Lord of Hosts. 
 — McEwan. 
 
 We all expect to see any gift we have 
 bestowed upon another applied to its 
 destined use, and the neglect of the gift 
 is regarded by us as equivalent to a con- 
 tempt of the donor. Now it -was in pre- 
 sents of dress, and ornaments connected 
 with it, that the Easterns displayed and 
 still display their munificence ; so that 
 Esther, arrayed in her royal robes, going 
 to cast herself upon the king's favour, 
 just went to him in the way that would 
 most vividly remind him that she was 
 the creature of his bounty, as she had 
 been the object of his love. 
 
 We may take an illustration here from 
 our Lord's parable of the Wedding Gar- 
 ment. There is something in that par- 
 able which at first appears inexplicable. 
 The persons who were brought in to the 
 marriage-supper were those whom the 
 king's servants had gathered together 
 from the highways ; and how, it may be 
 asked, could the man be found fault with 
 who had not on a wedding garment? 
 Here, then, lies the solution of the diffi- 
 culty. Dresses befitting the occasion 
 were furnished to the guests, according 
 to the custom of the time ; and he who 
 had not on the proper dress must have 
 supposed that his own clothing was good 
 enough, and must have rejected the offer 
 of a garment suitable, which was made 
 to him by the keeper of the king's ward- 
 robe. For this contempt, then, he was 
 righteously charged and condemned. 
 And so in the case before us, Esther 
 would have been subject to displeasure, 
 and righteously punishable according to 
 
174 
 
 HOMILETIG COMMENTARY : ESTHER. 
 
 [chap. v. 
 
 the established law, if, when the king 
 had furnished her with the apparel and 
 decorations suited to her exalted station, 
 
 she had appeared before him, as lie Rat 
 upon his throne, in attire more homely. 
 But she had too much wisdom, and too 
 strong a sense of what was becoming and 
 proper, to expose herself to challenge on 
 snch a ground ; and hence her careful- 
 ness to come forth in all the splendour 
 of her queenly dress and ornaments. 
 
 And now, with life or death depending 
 on every step, and with a timidity that 
 must have made her look more beautiful 
 than ever, she comes within reach of the 
 king's glance. He had not seen her for 
 more than thirty days. The sight of her 
 at that moment, and in that place, was 
 altogether unexpected. Without having 
 time for reflection, or for speaking to 
 Hainan, who no doubt was beside him, 
 of this strange disregard of the courtly 
 etiquette, his former love was rekindled 
 in his heart by the sight of the beautifid 
 vision. He smiled, and held out to 
 Esther the golden sceptre that was in 
 his hand. She felt that she was safe, 
 and so drew near and touched the top of 
 the sceptre. 
 
 Thus far the simple words of the his- 
 tory conduct us ; and those who were 
 spectators of this strange scene, would 
 see nothing more in it than a most daring 
 adventure on the part of the queen, with 
 a singular exhibition of good will on the 
 king's part. But with the help of what 
 is stated in the preceding chapter, we 
 get a clearer light upon the whole scene, 
 and can understand the real meaning of 
 the words : " Esther obtained favour in 
 the king's sight." The prayer and fast- 
 ing of the three previous days had not 
 been without fruit. A Divine influence 
 had been put forth to touch the heart of 
 the king ; and, without knowing it him- 
 self, by that influence he was led — not 
 only to forgive the queen's unwarrant- 
 able intrusion into his presence, but also, 
 as we shall see, to grant her any request 
 which she might make. Here, then, 
 there is the dawning of the day of de- 
 liverance for the Jews. 
 
 Now, let US, before going farther, make 
 some practical application of this part of 
 our subject. 1. In the first place, this 
 
 lesson is obviously to be taken from it, 
 that when we are to engage in any special 
 work or enterprise involving difficulty or 
 
 danger, the most effectual way to gain 
 the object we have in view is to seek 
 help and direction from on high. No 
 man, indeed, whose heart is really imbued 
 with the fear of God, will fail every day 
 to ask direction and a blessing in the 
 conducting of his ordinary affairs. And 
 this is one circumstance which makes a 
 difference between the pursuits of the 
 mere worldling and those of the Chris- 
 tian, although externally they may seem 
 to be engaged in the very same kind of 
 business. 
 
 But when there are momentous inter- 
 ests at stake, when things have to be 
 done out of the ordinary course, then, 
 Ave say, there ought to be a special appli- 
 cation made for Divine assistance and 
 guidance. This is not to supersede the 
 use of such means as prudence and ex- 
 perience may dictate for the accomplish- 
 ment of the end in view. On the con- 
 trary, one of the subjects of prayer in 
 such cases is, that the mind may be en- 
 lightened and strengthened so as to lead 
 to the selection of the best means. But 
 then, with all this, the committing of the 
 issue to the appointment of God is the 
 right procedure on the part of all who 
 believe in a Divine providence, and look 
 up to the God of providence as their 
 Eather in heaven. Esther, although she 
 fasted and prayed, did not neglect the 
 duty of arraying herself suitably to her 
 station, and as the honour of the king 
 required her to do. But we doubt not, 
 that as she put on her ornaments, and 
 as she went with throbbing heart across 
 the court which separated her apartments 
 from those in which the throne stood, 
 her thoughts were more in heaven than 
 on earth. And from her example Ave 
 learn, that the spirit in which we should 
 conduct our most important affairs is, 
 that of committing our way to God, while 
 Ave endeavour not to be awanting in per- 
 sonal activity, and in the employment, of 
 such lawful means as seem most likely to 
 promote our purpose. 
 
 2. In the second place, Ave learn from 
 this part of the narrative, that there may 
 be Divine influence at work upon the 
 
CIIAP. V.] 
 
 TIOMILETIC COMMENTARY: ESTHER. 
 
 heart and will even of those who have 
 no personal regard for religion, by which 
 they are unconsciously rendered instru- 
 mental in advancing the interests of 
 God's people and of his cause. As has 
 been already said, we cannot avoid con- 
 necting the sacred exercises in which 
 Esther and her friends were engaged, 
 with the turning of the king's heart to- 
 ward her. And many other examples 
 of the same kind might be selected from 
 the sacred record. There is the memor- 
 able one in the case of Cyrus, when he 
 was moved by the Lord to take compas- 
 sion on the captive Jews, and to permit 
 all of them who chose, to return to their 
 own land and rebuild the city of Jeru- 
 salem. There is another in the case of 
 the same Artaxerxes who showed favour 
 to Esther, to which reference is made in 
 the book of Neherniah. When this pa- 
 triotic and pious man was troubled on 
 account of the desolations of Jerusalem, 
 he prayed fervently that the heart of the 
 king might be affected so as to lead him 
 to grant assistance for remedying the 
 evils which were felt by the Jews who 
 had gone to repair the waste places of 
 the holy city. And the king was moved 
 accordingly. 
 
 It does not follow from those cases, 
 that the putting forth of Divine influence 
 to incline these heathen monarchs to do 
 what was for the good of God's people, 
 implied any gracious operation upon their 
 hearts in the way of delivering them from 
 their deadly errors. All that can be in- 
 ferred is, that God's creatures, high and 
 low, are as the clay in the hand of the 
 potter. But this conclusion is very mani- 
 fest, that as the settlement of numberless 
 affairs, in which the interests of God's 
 people are concerned, rests upon the will 
 of individuals who may not be naturally 
 well disposed towards their cause ; this 
 is one direction which their prayers may 
 well take, that God would overrule the 
 heart and will of those enemies, so that 
 the truth may prosper. In this way, in 
 answer to believing and persevering 
 prayer, the words of the Lord may still 
 be, as they often have been, verified, that 
 mountains of difficulty are removed : 
 " The crooked things are made straight, 
 and the rough places plain." 
 
 3. In the third place, from the verses 
 under review, compared with the previous 
 history, Ave may draw an illustration of 
 some important principles in the economy 
 of grace. I must, however, remind you 
 here of a distinction which requires to 
 be kept in view in all comments upon 
 the Old Testament history, and in the 
 illustration of Scripture generally — a dis- 
 tinction between truths evidently dedu- 
 cible from the historical narrative, and 
 directly bearing upon subjects of belief 
 and practice, which are applicable to all 
 times and circumstances ; and reflections 
 suggested by certain portions of the his- 
 tory, but suggested by them, rather than 
 manifestly designed to be taught by them. 
 There has often been a tendency exhibit- 
 ed by interpreters of Scripture to spiritu- 
 alize all the events recorded in it. And 
 in many cases, it must be acknowledged, 
 this has been so happily done, as to make 
 us feel as if we were refreshed by water 
 from the flinty rock. Yet we must never 
 overlook the difference between truth 
 directly revealed, and truth suggested 
 merely in the way of illustration. Now, 
 with these remarks, the point which I 
 would have you for a moment look at 
 here, as bearing upon the doctrines of 
 grace, is suggested by the contrast be- 
 tween Esther's first appearance before 
 the king and her appearance now in the 
 manner above described. In the first 
 instance, she sought not the aid of orna- 
 ment, but appeared in simple attire. And 
 just as she was she gained the king's 
 heart. But now, when she is about to 
 present an important request to him, a 
 request involving life or death to herself 
 and multitudes besides, she goes arrayed 
 in the dress, and ornaments, and jewels, 
 which were the king's gifts to her, that 
 he mijjht recognize his own love-tokens, 
 and be moved to show favour again by 
 the remembrance that he had shown 
 favour before. 
 
 You will easily perceive the application 
 we make of all this. The sinner at first 
 casts himself upon the mercy of God in 
 Christ, in all his natural worthlessness, 
 feeling that he has nothing to rely upon 
 for acceptance and favour but sovereign 
 grace. And God, in accepting him, is 
 moved solely by his own mercy ; for 
 
17G H0M1LETIC COMMENTARY: ESTHER. [chap. v. 
 
 many others, who are more highly gifted, them. They may be labouring under 
 
 and who have many qualities that might fears and doubts almost as depressing as 
 
 seem to give them a preference according those by which they were weighed down 
 
 to human judgment, are passed by. Our when they iirst threw themselves at his 
 
 heavenly King has no respect of persons, feet imploring mercy to pardon. But 
 
 so far as birth and the external circum- they stand now in a different relation to 
 
 stances and condition of men are con- him. He has been gracious toward them, 
 
 cerned ; but, at the same time, his love and in their distress, although it may be 
 
 is bestowed sovereignly. "He has mercy the distress which is the result of con- 
 
 upon whom he will have mercy." But scions backsliding, he perceives his own 
 
 when his believing people go to him in marks, or, as the Scripture expresses it, 
 
 their difficulties and troubles to implore "The spots of his own children," upon 
 
 his aid, then he recognizes in them, amid them, and as his own, he welcomes them, 
 
 all their deficiencies, something of his and graciously answers their requests. — 
 
 own comeliness which has been put upon Davidson. 
 
 MAIN" HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH Verses 3—5. 
 A Large Offer and some of its Consequences. 
 
 I. A sympathetic inquiry. The king's heart was touched by the aspect of 
 beauty saddened, and he asks, " What wilt thou, Queen Esther? What ails thee] 
 What has brought that sadness on to thy lovely countenance] What has given 
 thee that mournful look 1 Thou art more attractive in thy sadness ; but still I would 
 know the cause of thy grief, that I may remove it if possible." The young and the 
 beautiful in sadness are especially touching. Why should the young suffer 1 Why 
 should the beautiful have the glory of their loveliness eclipsed by sorrow 1 Why 
 the tears and groans of infant life 1 Why the merry laughter of youth so soon 
 turned iuto the wail of mourning t Why, because Hainan and others have sinned. 
 The curse of Human has visited and pained the innocent heart of Esther. Sin is 
 far-reaching. The first sin has reached from creation's dawn to the present hour, 
 and will go on working to creation's final doom. Oh ! we do not rightly consider 
 the mischief we do, the pain we may cause, when we sin. By sin pain and inj ury 
 are caused both to the sinner himself and to those who are seemingly far removed 
 from the sphere of bis influence. Esther's sorrow was the consequence of Hainan's 
 sin. Esther's sorrow touched the nature of Ahasuerus. Sympathy was evoked, 
 and this sympathy found vent in the gracious inquiry and in the large offer. In * 
 the presence of sorrow, silence may be profound sympathy. If the heart is moved 
 to utterance the words should be few and well-chosen. A truly sympathetic nature 
 will suggest the right words, if indeed the nature be not so overcharged with sym- 
 pathy as to be divested of the power of utterance. The better part of Ahasuerus 
 comes out in this inquiry which he put to Esther, and is an illustration of the 
 saying, There is good in all, while none are all good. 
 
 II. A large offer. Some people put the seemingly sympathetic inquiry, and 
 yet do not follow it up with promises of help. Ahasuerus felt, which was good. 
 Ahasuerus promised to help, which was better. "What is thy request 1 ? It shall be 
 even given thee to the half of the kingdom." A large oiler truly if it be only 
 regarded as a mere proverbial expression. Proverbs have their deep meaning. A 
 proverbial expression used as a promise must intend much on the part of the 
 promiser. (u) A large, oiler may be made at the prompting of mere feeling, and 
 when the feeling evaporates the promise is forgotten, or not considered binding. 
 However, if the promise be legitimate and capable of fulfilment it ought tv be per- 
 formed, though it was made at the dictate of feeling. Be careful not to let feeling 
 over-ride judgment. The man without feeling is not a properly developed man. 
 
chap, v.] HOMILETIC COMMENTARY : ESTHER. 177 
 
 The man all feeling loses the glory of his manhood, (b) A large offer maybe made 
 without a due consideration of the limiting nature of our circumstances. Ahasuerus 
 might promise the half of his kingdom, but could he have granted it] Esther could 
 not really have herself monopolized the half of that vast kingdom. We forget the 
 limits of our circumstances and of our capacities sometimes in the largeness of our 
 offers. Infinitude is not our attribute. Man is but a creature. There is truth in 
 one view of the statement that man is the creature of circumstances, (c) A large 
 offer may be made without a due consideration of the benefit of the promisee. It 
 any one was likely to be benefited by large material possessions that person was 
 Esther. Even she, however, might have suffered had she received what was thus 
 offered. The deceitfulness of riches might have choked the good seed. Earthly 
 love, as a mere sentiment, is sometimes blind both in its promises and in its 
 bestowals. The blind passion of a mother has done much injury to her offspring. 
 Heavenly love is never blind. Judgment and feeling shape the fashion of Divine 
 promises. There are no limitations to the heavenly promiser. What he has 
 promised he is able to perform. Divine promises always purpose ; are intended to 
 promote the highest welfare of the promisee. Let us receive Divine promises in all 
 their fulness. Let us judge him who has promised to be both faithful and all- 
 powerful. 
 
 III. A small request. For the present Esther simply contented herself with 
 the small request, " If it seem good unto the king, let the king and Hamaii come 
 this day unto the banquet that I have prepared for him." (a) Our requests should 
 be shaped with a view to the character and ability of the promiser. Esther was 
 wise. She had a woman's sharp wit, and a woman's keen penetrating power. She 
 saw that for the present this was all which she could likely secure from the hand 
 of Ahasuerus. She must wait for the perfecting of the good work already begun 
 in Ahasuerus. God's ability and willingness to give are large. But we too may 
 have to wait. His purpose for us may not be ripe. At first he may give small 
 blessings, the harbinger of yet greater blessings. His best things he gives last. 
 The ruler of the feast said more than he meant, ' Thou hast kept the good wine till 
 now." Let our askings be in harmony with Divine purposes, so far -as we can 
 understand them, (b) Our requests should be shaped with a view to our wants 
 and to our circumstances. This was how Esther shaped her request. This was all 
 she wanted for the present, and this was all that her circumstances would now 
 allow her to obtain. We do not always know our true wants. The complexity of 
 our circumstances baffle. Our first prayer is — " Lord, show us what we need ; teach 
 what our circumstances require. Adapt thy gifts to our necessities. Arrange thy 
 blessings to meet the exigencies of our circumstances." Definite requests may be 
 prompted by presumption as well as faith. 
 
 IV. A speedy fulfilment. Some promises are rashly made. After-consideration 
 may reveal their folly. Yea, after-consideration may show that they are neither 
 lawful nor binding. Herod made a foolish promise to the daughter of Herodias. 
 Had it been his own head that was required, he would at once have seen the folly 
 of his conduct, and refused the request. Neither the oath nor the company would 
 have induced him to yield. When the promise, however, is legitimate it ought to 
 be speedily performed even at the cost of the promiser. It was an easy thing for 
 Ahasuerus to grant Esther her small request. " Then the king said, Cause Hainan 
 to make haste, that he may do as Esther has said." The weak king was capable of 
 promptness. This is also a good trait in his character. Love induces zeal. Zeal 
 is prompt in its actions. What zeal should possess the lovers of Jesus ! And yet 
 what laggards we are in attending the banquets of heaven. Let us make haste to 
 the heavenly banquet. Let us earnestly bid others to the feast. 
 
 V. A consequent incongruous assembly. The king's great offer has a seem- 
 ingly insignificant result. The king and Hainan and Esther appeared together at 
 the banquet. So far this is illustrative of human proceedings. Pretentious begin- 
 
 N 
 
ITS 
 
 HOMILETIC ( 'OMMENTARF: ESTHER. 
 
 [chap. y. 
 
 nings, small results. Look a little further, and we shall see that this is one of 
 the links in the chain of circumstances Leading on to the iJivinely-purposed result. 
 Very small are the links in the chain of Divine purposes. Small, hut strong as 
 adamant. What an incongruous assembly ! The weak and mighty monarch. The 
 wily and wicked Hainan. The beautiful and virtuous and strong-souled Esther. 
 The intended victim entertaining the victimizer. The victim will soon become the 
 conqueror. She is now on the high road to victory. The victimizer will soon be 
 caught in his own toils. Thus the banquets of earth bring together very opposite 
 characters, and are fraught with unlooked-for results. There are not only social 
 and intellectual, hut moral, differences at earthly banquets. There is a banquet 
 coming where there will be no disunion. In heaven there will doubtless be intel- 
 lectual differences, but there will be no moral incongruities. The music of heaven 
 is harmonious. Moral natures in heaven will be rightly adjusted. Heart will 
 respond to heart in perfect unison, as harp answers to harp in the hands of angel 
 performers. The wicked Hamans will not be summoned to the great and final 
 feast. Whatsoever defileth shall not pass the pearly gates. Only the redeemed 
 shall there be allowed entrance. Let us seek to be justilied by faith in Jesus Christ, 
 and sanctified by the Divine Spirit, and keep in constant view the abundant entrance 
 to heaven's glorious banquet. 
 
 Suggestive Comments on Verses 3 — 5. 
 
 It is not good to swallow favours too 
 greedily, lest they either choke us in 
 the passage, or prove hard of digestion. 
 The wise queen, however she might 
 e. in to have a fair opportunity oll'ered 
 to her suit, finds it not good to appre- 
 hend it too suddenly, as desiring, by 
 this small dilation, to prepare the ear 
 and heart of the king for so important 
 a request. — Bishop Hall. 
 
 A nd what is tin/ request ? — q. d. "Fear 
 not to utter it ; I am very earnest to 
 know it, and fully resolved to giant it." 
 It was more troublesome to Severus the 
 emperor to be asked nothing than to 
 give much. When any of his courtiers 
 had not made bold with him, he would 
 call them and say, " What meanest thou 
 to ask me nothing]" " Hitherto ye have 
 asked me nothing (saith the King of 
 Saints to his beloved Esther) ; ask, that 
 your joy may he full." He is worthily 
 miserable that will not make himself 
 happy by asking. 
 
 It shall be given thee, to l/i<- half of the 
 kingdom. — A proverbial rather than a 
 prodigal speech, and much in this king's 
 mouth. If some ambitious Semiramis 
 had had such an oiler, what ill use 
 might she soon have made of it ! The 
 dancing damsel made uo good use of the 
 like from Herod. l>ut a bee can suck 
 honey out of a flower, that a fly can- 
 
 not skill to do. Esther prudently and 
 modestly improveth the immoderate 
 offer of the king, and conceiveth good 
 hope. How much more may we (upon 
 those exceeding great and precious pro- 
 mises given us by God), of an exuberancy 
 of love, and a confluence of all comforts 
 for this life and a better ; especially 
 since God doth not pay his promises 
 with words, as Sertorius is said to have 
 done ; neither is he off and on with his 
 people, but performeth all with the 
 better ; as Naaman pressed the prophet's 
 man to take two talents when he asked 
 but one. The widow of Sarepta had 
 more than she could tell what to do 
 with ; her cruse never ceased running 
 till she had no room. The Shunammite 
 would ask nothing of the prophet, nor 
 make use of his offered courtesy. He 
 sends for her again, and makes her a 
 free promise of that which she most 
 Avanted and desired — a son. God's kind- 
 ness is beyond all this. He giveth his 
 servants what they forget or presume not 
 to ask; and sends his Spirit to help them, 
 and to form their prayers for them, and 
 thereby to seal them up to the day of 
 redemption, to assure them of the king- 
 dom. 
 
 If it were policy in Esther to invite 
 Hainan whom she hated, was it likewise 
 piety 1 diil she not dissemble? li. Sulo- 
 
cir.vp. v.] 
 
 HO Ml LET '10 COMMENTARY: ESTHER. 
 
 179 
 
 niou saith, she invited Human alone 
 with the king, that other courtiers 
 might envy him, and so undermine him. 
 But that is but a sorry excuse, neither 
 doth Syra's allegation of her good inten- 
 tions mend the matter. They answer 
 better who say, that she invited him 
 that she might accuse him to his face ; 
 and so cut off all matter of his excuse or 
 escape. Hereby also she would show, 
 saith Lavater, that she aecused him, not 
 out of wrath or revenge ; but that she 
 was drawn to it, and, as it were, driven 
 by mere necessity. — Trapp. 
 
 To promise much is the universal 
 custom of great men, but those keeping 
 promises are few in number. It is far 
 easier to obtain favours by an humble 
 and modest behaviour than by sullen- 
 ness and a boasting manner. — Starke. 
 
 Those two great monarchs made great 
 grants and largesses, the one to Esther, 
 the other to Herodias's daughter; bit 
 yet they were limited only to the half 
 of their kingdoms ; ami the royal power 
 in their kingdoms they meant still to 
 retain and reserve wholly to themselves. 
 But God, having placed Christ on his 
 tlirone, bids him ask men to the whole 
 of his kingdom, for God hath made him 
 a king, sitting on his throne, with him, 
 not to share hdves, but to have all 
 power in heaven and earth. — Goodwin. 
 
 Oh the wonderful love of Christ ! the 
 wonderful bounty of his love ! It was 
 a royal offer of Ahasuerus to Esther, and 
 a sign of great love ! " What is thy 
 request 1 it shall be given thee to the 
 half of the kingdom." Ay ; but Christ 
 not only offers, but gives, not half, but 
 whole, kingdoms; yea, whole worlds. 
 But you will say, This is but a chimera, 
 an empty notion ; for we see there are 
 none enjoy less of the world than those 
 whom you say Christ loves. I answer, 
 Tiie world is not able to judge of true 
 enjoyments. T he re are none that have 
 a more real, ami advantageous, and a 
 less troublesome and dangerous enjoy- 
 ment of the world than saints. And I 
 prove it thus. We may be most truly 
 said to enjoy that which we reap the 
 greatest emolument from, and get the 
 greatest benefit by, that can be imagined; 
 but there are none that improve the 
 
 world to such a real advantage as the 
 saints ; for the love of Christ has so 
 ordered the world, and everything in it, 
 as it tends to their happiness. And 
 what greater benefit imaginable than 
 happiness ? — Clarkson. 
 
 In the country Carniensis of Spain, 
 there is a river that shows all the fish in 
 it to be like gold ; but take them into 
 your hand, they appear in their natural 
 kind and colour. Such are promises and 
 specious pretences of love in his mouth 
 that would obtain his purpose ; bring 
 them to the touch, and thou shalt find 
 all is not gold that glitters. Great 
 boast and small roast will never fill the 
 belly ; he therefore that will engage 
 himself into any great action, upon pro- 
 mise of great assistance, if he be not as 
 sure of his friend's ability in power as 
 readiness in will, he reckons without 
 his host, and sits down with the loss. — • 
 Spencer. 
 
 But let us now make a brief improve- 
 ment of the verses which have been 
 considered. And here the train of 
 thought suggested to us will have already 
 occurred to the minds of some. It em- 
 braces two particulars : the largeness of 
 the king's offer, and Esther's hesitancy 
 at once to avail herself of it. 
 
 1. With respect to the largeness of 
 the offer. " Even to the half of my 
 kingdom," the king said, " will thy 
 request be granted." This, we have 
 remarked, was the language of exaggera- 
 tion. But we have it declared, in 
 the words of truth addressed by our 
 heavenly Lord to his people : " Verily, 
 verily I say unto you, whatsoever ye 
 shall ask the Father in my name, he 
 will give it you. Hitherto have ye 
 asked nothing in my name : ask, and ye 
 shall receive, that your joy may be full." 
 Here there is no limitation, but what- 
 ever is needed to the completion of our 
 true spiritual joy we are invited to ask 
 in the name of Christ ; and if we ask in 
 faith, as we are elsewhere told, it will 
 be given, " that the Father may be 
 glorified in the Son." " All things are 
 yours," it is said to believers ; and it may 
 well be said, since Jehovah gives himself 
 to them as their God, and Christ is theirs, 
 and the Spirit dwells in them. 
 
ISO 
 
 // DM 1 1. E TIC CUAIM ENTA 11 7 : ESTHER. 
 
 [chap. 
 
 2. lint then, secondly, as Esther was 
 
 afraid all at once to ask what she most 
 desired, sii God's people are often slow 
 or afraid to avail themselves to the full 
 of their privilege of asking. Many are 
 contented to live from year to year, with 
 little more to uphold them than an 
 indistinct hope that they shall reach 
 heaven at last, when, if they would but 
 take home God's promises in all their 
 freeness and richness, they might be 
 able to rejoice in him as their portion. 
 Many even seem to think that it would 
 be presumptuous in them to expect such 
 comfort and enlargement of heart as 
 they read that others have enjoyed ; 
 whereas the Scripture tells them that 
 the Spirit of the Lord is not straitened, 
 and that they are only straitened in 
 themselves. 
 
 But perhaps it may be, that as Esther 
 did not feel herself in a condition all at 
 once to close with the king's most 
 liberal offer, so some among us, for 
 other reasons than the feeling that it 
 would be presumptuous, may be exer- 
 cised in the same way with respect to 
 spiritual privileges. This point deserves 
 a moment's notice. There are some 
 professed followers of Christ who are 
 not altogether prepared either to ask or 
 to receive the full measure of privilege 
 which he offers to his people. They 
 have still some lingering desires after the 
 world and its pleasures which they are 
 unwilling all at once to renounce ; and 
 though they seem to have cast in their 
 lot with the redeemed, they would 
 rather have the process of self-renuncia- 
 tion and of sanctification to be gradual 
 than summary. In a word, with their 
 present feelings, they would be, I must 
 say, unwilling, or at least afraid, to 
 receive the large communications of 
 grace, which Christ has promised to be- 
 stow. Now this is a most dangerous 
 state of mind, and cannot be otherwise 
 designated than as a grieving of the 
 Spirit of God. And if there be any 
 here to whom the above remarks are 
 applicable, I would beseech them no 
 longer to sport with offered blessings — 
 no longer to imagine that they can serve 
 Christ and the world together. Esther 
 only deferred craving all she wished, 
 
 because, that was the best way to obtain 
 it in the end. lint if you are unwilling 
 to take all that you might have, because 
 in that case you must bid adieu to cer- 
 tain pleasures which you desire to retain, 
 then you provoke the Lord to withdraw 
 from you altogether the sense of his 
 favour, and to leave you in utter dark- 
 ness. — Da rit Ison. 
 
 " What wilt thou, queen Esther ? 
 And what is thi/ request? It shall be 
 even given thee to the half of the king- 
 dom. 11 — What encouragement is here 
 presented to those who are called to 
 venture their lives, or their reputation, 
 or their substance, in the cause of God ! 
 They shall not only have these preserved, 
 but in one way or another increased. 
 How often has God prevented the fears, 
 and outdone the hopes, of his servants ! 
 It is the cowardice of Christians that 
 spoils their fortune. Their fears kill 
 them, and benumb, and palsy, and 
 deaden their exertions for God and his 
 Church. If we had more faith, and 
 "added to our faith fortitude," our 
 trials would be less, and our success 
 greater. " Said I not unto thee, that if 
 thou would st believe, thou shouldst t-te 
 the glory of God V * 
 
 From the story of the unjust judge 
 our Saviour took occasion to teach that 
 "men ought always to pray and not lo 
 faint ; " and, without wandering from 
 the subject, I may surely take oppor- 
 tunity from this portion of history to 
 inculcate the same duty. Did this 
 haughty monarch hold out the sceptre, 
 and say, What wilt thou, and what is 
 thy request 1 ? and shall not God hear 
 Lis own elect — his chosen spouse, crying 
 to him day and night 1 Esther had to 
 go into the presence of a proud im- 
 perious man, we to go into the presence 
 of a God of love and condescension. 
 She was not called; we are invited. 
 She went in against the law; we 
 have both precept and promise in 
 our favour — yea, precept upon precept, 
 and promise upon promise. "Ask, 
 and it shall be given you; seek, and 
 ye shall find ; knock, and it shall be 
 opened unto you." She had no friend 
 at court on whom she coul 1 rely, and 
 * Julm xi. 40. 
 
cn.\.r. v.] 
 
 HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: ESTHER. 
 
 181 
 
 the great favourite was the accuser 
 of her brethren, the mortal foe of her 
 name and race ; Ave, even when we have 
 sinned, and sinned after light and par- 
 don, have an advocate with the Father, 
 his beloved Son in whom he is well 
 pleased, who also is the propitiation for 
 our sins. Esther was encouraged to ask 
 to the extent of the half of the kingdom 
 of Persia ; we are encouraged to ask to 
 the whole of the kingdom of heaven, 
 witli a life-rent on earth of all that is 
 needful for us. Ought we not then to 
 " come boldly to the throne of grace " 1 
 —McCrle. 
 
 She would act with calmness and 
 deliberation, as one who Avaited and 
 relied upon the leading of providence. 
 The king broke the silence by encourag- 
 ing her to speak, and promising to grant 
 her petition whatever it was, even " to 
 the half of the kingdom." There seems 
 to be more implied in this promise than 
 the loose language of exaggeration. It 
 has been usual to interpret it in this way, 
 but inquiry into the custom of ancient 
 Persian kings presents it in a different 
 aspect. It was customary for them, we 
 are informed, to bestow grants or pen- 
 sions to their favourites, " not by pay- 
 ments from the treasury, but by charges 
 upon the revenues of particular provinces 
 or cities." One province or city was 
 charged with providing the particular 
 favourite's clothes, another his meat, 
 another his wine, another his jewellery, 
 and so on, thereby enabling the person 
 to live in great luxury and magnificence. 
 Because of this charge laid upon special 
 districts, they were called by the article 
 which they had to supply, such as " The 
 queen's girdle," " The queen's head- 
 dress," et csetera. And if we take into 
 account this old custom, it is probable 
 that the promise of the king to Esther 
 amounted to this, that he would even 
 lay the half of his kingdom under some 
 burden or tribute for her special benefit. 
 Perhaps this also was an exaggeration, 
 but it gives to the words a significance 
 which we should not otherwise have 
 understood. " Then said the king unto 
 her, What wilt thou, queen Esther ] 
 and what is thy request? it shall be 
 
 even given thee to the half of the kinsr- 
 dom." 
 
 Without branching out upon far- 
 fetched analogies, and remotely sug- 
 gested themes, we would, for the sake 
 of the comfort which it may afford, refer 
 to ourselves as suppliants in the presence 
 of our King. The Church is " the 
 Lamb's wife." She has free access to 
 the throne of the King of kings. 
 how timidly and doubtfully do believers 
 sometimes draw near to him ! It is as 
 though they feared his royal sceptre, 
 forgetting that it is the sceptre of mercy; 
 as though they were apprehensive that 
 he had taken away his love from them, 
 forgetting that " having loved his own 
 Avho Avere in the Avorld, he loves them 
 unto the end." He has no half-measures 
 — no half-kingdoms to offer. He pro- 
 mises you the kingdom — wholly, will- 
 ing, unreservedly, — and even chides you 
 for having " hitherto asked nothing in 
 his name," and encourages you to " ask, 
 and ye shall receive, that your joy may 
 be full." King Ahasuerus could not 
 anticipate the request of Esther ; after 
 his own carnal heart he thought that it 
 must be some additional temporal good. 
 But our King knoAvs all beforehand, and 
 has provided for, and is ready to bestow 
 upon, us all that we can need upon the 
 earth, and all that we can desire to pre- 
 pare us for heaven. And surely, if we 
 require to be stirred to earnestness and 
 importunity by the presence of a great 
 cause, Ave all have it in the condition of 
 our OAvn hearts, the souls of others, and 
 the salvation of the world. There are 
 spiritual as Avell as natural laAvs, accord- 
 ing to which God works— a law which 
 requires that the husbandman should 
 sow the seed if he Avould reap a harvest, 
 and a law which requires that Ave should 
 pray if Ave Avould obtain the blessing. 
 By our own large spiritual necessities 
 and the Avants of the Avorld around, as 
 well as by the unstinted genprosity and 
 beneficence of our King, are Ave urged 
 on all hands to abound more in prayer — ■ 
 " Then shall the earth yield her increase, 
 and God, even our own God, shall bless 
 us ; God shall bless us, and all the ends 
 of the earth shall fear Him." — McEwan. 
 
182 TI0M1LETIC COMMENTARY: ESTHER. [chap, v. 
 
 MAIN IIOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH. Verses 6—8. 
 
 Directions for Prayer. 
 
 If in the book of Esther only this one passage were found we ought to feel th.it 
 the hook had not heen written and preserved in vain ; for it is a passage that lias 
 served good purpose in the way of illustrating and enforcing theological lessons. 
 [I is one of the passages that readily presents itself to the mind of those who wish 
 to speak about prayer. In other passages it might appear as if the moral lessons 
 were brought to the text instead of being naturally and logically deduced; but in 
 this passage the mind at once seizes upon the subject, and reads from it a lesson or 
 prayer. Following the plan of textual division and exposition we find here laid 
 down ample directions for prayer. 
 
 I. There must be method in prayer. What is thy petition, and what is thy 
 request] These are questions which the praying soul may well put to itself as it 
 is about to approach the throne of grace. Self-examination is g< lod , and it is especially 
 beneficial as we are about to approach our God. Too many in these busy times 
 simply content themselves with the idea that prayer is to be offered. Prayer with 
 them is too much like the hurried salute given to a passing friend. Prayer with 
 them is like the quick march of an army past the royal standard. It is a kind of 
 oifering presented in order to propitiate Deity. It is oidy counting beads strung 
 on a cord. It is only as one turning a praying wheel. God does not require such 
 offerings. He inquires, What is thy petition 1 And we too should ask ourselves the 
 sani3 question. Self-examination and meditation before prayer will give speed to our 
 prayers, and enable us to derive benefit from the same. We go as beggars; let us 
 understand what we want, and shape our requests accordingly. We go as children ; 
 let us try to perceive that we need light, and love, and guidance, and earnestly 
 appeal to God for the required blessings. If at the close of closet prayer an angel 
 were to appear and'to ask, What is thy petition 1 how startled we should be, and we 
 should have to answer, I was not thinking very much about it, only I felt that I 
 should be uneasy if a few Avords were not said before I retired to rest. If God's 
 angels were to stand some Sunday morning beside the thirty or forty thousand 
 pulpits of our land, and say aloud to every minister, What is thy petition] — the 
 ministers and the congregations would be surprised out of their inane proprieties. 
 And if those angels had the power of making the true thoughts speak out, still 
 greater would be the surprise. The Church minister might say, I had i.o request, 
 1 only thought of reading the prayers, and I did not, even think much of the words 
 written in the Prayer book. In fact I was not conscious of being in a devotional 
 spirit. The dissenting ministers would have varying answers. Some were earnestly 
 pleading with God for a blessing, as some devout Church ministers do pray by means 
 of written and read prayers. But what of others? Some might say, I was trying 
 to be philosophical ; some, rhetorical ; some, beautifully simple ; some, I was trying to 
 reach my ideal of what prayer should be, ; and other some, a few it is hoped, I was 
 imitating this one or that one noted for the beautv of his prayers. Surely modern 
 < Christianity would be a greater power in the earth if all, or a vast majority, were 
 able to give a definite answer to the question, What is thy petition'? God pity our 
 weakness. He dors pity; he bears long; he remembers those who do pray, a larger 
 number than perhaps we sometimes think. Oh for more strength in prayer! — and 
 this is gained by more method. God graciously asks, What is thy petition] — shall we 
 not respondently inquire, What am I going to do? What blessings do I require] 
 What is the urgent requisite for the assembly for whom I pray] 
 
 II. There must be assurance in prayer. NTot merely the assurance that God 
 is ready to hear prayer, but the assurance that Ave " have found favour in the sight 
 of the King." Esther desired to feel her ground sure on this important point. How 
 
chap, v.] TIOMILETIC COMMENTARY: ESTHER. 1S3 
 
 shall we know that the King of heaven is favourable 1 "We may know by looking 
 to the unspeakable gift. "God commendeth his love towards us in that while we 
 were yet sinners Christ died for the ungodly." May the Holy Spirit teach each 
 one to know and to feel Christ died for me a sinner ! We need not doubt the 
 favour of God if we rest fully upon the Son of his love. In Christ we may know 
 that it will please the heavenly King to grant our petition. " He that spared not 
 his own Son, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things 1 " Here is 
 a large charter of blessings. God's great gift of Jesus implies the gift of all things 
 needful. It includes and surpasses every other charter of blessings. "We cannot 
 stand anywhere out of the reach of God's blessed " all things." The atmosphere 
 seems to be an all-pervading force ; but God's " all things " go even further, and are 
 more enduring than that life-giving atmosphere. Riches may take to themselves 
 wings and fly away ; a fair reputation may be blighted ; health may decline ; 
 friends may depart ; relatives may become indifferent ; even father and mother may 
 forsake ; death itself may come as if to complete the awful ruin ; but still God's 
 "all things" abide to the Christian amid every change, and in the midst of every 
 disaster. Assurance in prayer, why should we ever doubt 1 Let boasting scientists 
 talk ; we are not careful, even if we were able, to answer them in this matter. We 
 betake ourselves to prayer, and forget the babbling noise of opposing tongues. God's 
 " all things " are vaster than the scientist's few things imperfectly understood. God's 
 " all things " are deeper and higher, longer and broader, than philosophies falsely 
 so-called. 
 
 III. There may be hesitancy in prayer. Not the hesitancy of doubt, but of 
 deliberation. Preachers are sometimes exhorted to cultivate the pause in their 
 sermons. All may with great advantage be exhorted to cultivate the pause in their 
 prayers. The silent waiting of the Society of Friends is not Avithout its instructive 
 teaching to those who have too much fluency in prayer. Esther answered and said, 
 " My petition and my request is ;" then she stopped as if to think. The sentence is not 
 properly punctuated if we look into Esther's mind. A full stop would be appropriate. 
 There was doubtless a full stop in Esther's mind. " My petition and my request is." 
 Oh, is there not prayer, the truest prayer, when the heart is too full for utterance 1 
 Unspoken prayers make more noise in heaven than "the greatest prayers" ever 
 addressed to applauding audiences. " Now, let us have a few minutes' silent prayer," 
 says the revivalist, at the close of an exciting address ; and perhaps most of the people 
 are not in a state for prayer. Many do not know what to pray for. Well, the silence 
 will be beneficial after so much bluster. It can do no harm. The silence we desire 
 is not that which is produced at the command of another. There must be the deep 
 true silence of the soul. " Commune with your own heart, and be still." 
 
 IV. There must be submission to the Divine will in prayer. " I will do to- 
 morrow as the king hath said." Here Esther answers the king, but she also answers 
 the workings of her own devout mind. She is watching the leadings of providence; 
 she is waiting for the finger of God to point the way in which she is to walk ; she 
 is intently listening for the Divine voice to speak to her in the silence of her prayerful 
 waiting ; she is in no hurry. To-morrow will do, if to-day the purpose is not ripe. 
 To-morrow will do, if it is in God's hands. She will not limit the Divine to-morrow. 
 Certainly we must not. Human to-morrows are easily measured. Divine to- 
 morrows out-pass the petty measurements of time. The praying soul may desire 
 the blessing to-day, but God may say to-morrow is best. Delay is part of the 
 Divine plan in dealing with his people and his Church. The to-morrow sometimes 
 seems a long way off", and a long time in coming. Let patience have its perfect work. 
 The Divine silence will be broken. God is moving though we see him not, and though 
 we hear not the tread of his feet. There are times in the Church's history when 
 God seems to answer not a word, but ere long the Divine goings are heard. Let 
 faith, patience, and prayer be continued till the Divine silence is broken. God 
 sometimes in answering not a word to a prayer gives the best answer. He answers 
 
1S4 
 
 H0M1LETIC COMMENTARY: ESTHER. 
 
 [chat*, v. 
 
 not to the mere words but to the true purpose, and the lasting good, of him who 
 sincerely prays. Silence, then, is not denial, but encouragement. May the good 
 Lord increase our faith, strengthen our patience, enlarge our spirit of prayer, and 
 crown all with Divine benedictions. 
 
 Suggestive Comments on Verses 6 — 8. 
 
 To make prayer of any value, there 
 must be delinite objects for which to 
 plead. We often ramble in our prayers 
 after this, that, and the other, and we 
 get nothing, because in each we do not 
 really desire anything. We chatter 
 about many subjects, but the soul does 
 not concentrate itself upon any object. 
 Do you not sometimes fall on your 
 knees without thinking beforehand what 
 you mean to ask God for 1 You do, as a 
 matter of habit, Avithout any motion of 
 your heart. You are like a man who 
 would go to a shop and not know what 
 articles he would procure. He may, 
 perhaps, make a happy purchase Avhen 
 he is there, but certainly it is not a wise 
 plan to adopt. And so the Christian in 
 prayer may afterwards attain to a real 
 desire, and get his end ; but how much 
 better would he speed if, having prepared 
 his soul by consideration and self-ex- 
 amination, he came to God for an object 
 at which he was about to arrive, with a 
 real request. Did Ave ask an audience 
 at her Majesty's court, we should not 
 be expected to go into the presence of 
 royalty, and then to think of some peti- 
 tion after Ave came there. Even so Avith 
 the child of God. He Avould be able to 
 answer the great question: "What is 
 thy petition, and Avhat is thy request, 
 and it shall be done unto thee 1 ?" Im- 
 agine an archer shooting with his bow, 
 and not knowing Avhere the mark is ! 
 Would he be likely to have success 1 
 Conceive a ship, on a voyage of dis- 
 covery, putting to sea without the captain 
 having any idea of what he was looking 
 for ! Would you expect that he would 
 come back heavily laden either Avith the 
 discoveries of science or with treasures of 
 gold'? In everything else you have a 
 plan. You do not go to work without 
 knowing that there is something that 
 you designed to make; how is it that 
 you go to God without knowing what 
 blessing you design to have] — iSpunjcon. 
 
 And I will do to-morrow as the king 
 hath said. — She had learned to piefer 
 opportunity before time. There might 
 be some by at this first banquet Avhose 
 company she liked not ; or she might not 
 yet have so clear an ansAver in her own 
 heart to her former prayers, and therefore 
 desireth some further time that night to 
 seek God ; whatever the reason of her 
 putting it off till next day was, God's 
 holy hand Avas in it, that Mordecai might 
 be first so greatly honoured, and Hainan's 
 high gallows prepared : Ilium utiquemagis 
 securum, Regem autem magis benevolum 
 magisque fecit attentum, saith Rupertus. 
 Hereby she made Haman more secure, 
 and the king more kind and attent. — 
 Trapp. 
 
 We may recognize the picture of a 
 soul praying to God in the image of 
 Esther standing with humble and im- 
 ploring attitude before Ahasuerus. 
 Sacred poetry, especially, has made use 
 of single features or expressions of this 
 history in this regard. So Dressier in 
 his beautiful hymn, "My Jesus, to Avhom 
 seraphim," &c, causes the pious suppli- 
 cant to say : 
 
 " Reach thy sceptre to my soul, 
 Which like an Esther bows to thee, 
 .Ami shows herself thy bride to thee." 
 
 " Speak : 'Yea, thou art she whom I have 
 chosen.' " The representative significa- 
 tion of the persons in this history have, 
 as it Avere, brought Avith them their OAvn 
 recognition. The Christian may certainly 
 employ them in this sense. So Starke, 
 when he says : " If a heathen king can 
 willingly grant such grace, Iioav much 
 more Avilling is the most faithful Lord 
 to receive all poor destitute sinners 
 coming to him in faith, and in the good 
 time to come to place them upon his 
 throne ! " Ahasuerus paid no regard to 
 the fact that Esther had violated his 
 commandment, but received her very 
 graciously, although his irrevocable edict 
 stood in the way of granting her pet tion. 
 
CHAP. V.] 
 
 HOMTLETIC COMMENTARY: ESTHER. 
 
 185 
 
 The father heart of God, although we 
 violate all his laws, and though his un- 
 changeable holiness he against the sinner, 
 still yearns towards us in its great love 
 and grace. But just as Esther came 
 boldly and yet modestly, so we also 
 must combine with true humility a true 
 and elevated courage, a disheartened re- 
 pentance together with confiding faith. 
 ■ — Laiige. 
 
 He that would be little in temptation, 
 let him be much in prayer. Praying 
 only for carnal things shows a carnal 
 heart, and leaves it carnal. Prayer is a 
 key in the hand of faith to unlock God's 
 treasures. A family without prayer is 
 like a house without a roof — exposed to 
 every wind that blows, and every storm 
 that rages. Prayer will compel a man 
 to leave off sinning, or sinning will make 
 him leave off praying. The greatest and 
 hardest preparation for heaven is within; 
 but the spirit of prayer can effect this. 
 Do yo'i profess to love any one for whom 
 you have never prayed 1 Rhetoric cannot 
 pray, with all his words ; but Faith can 
 pray, even when she has no words. In 
 prayer it is better to have a heart with- 
 out words than words Avithout a heart. 
 Pray, not only in the name of Christ, 
 but in the faith of Christ. The gift of 
 prayer may have praise from men, but 
 the grace of prayer ha-? power with God. 
 — American Churchman's Almanac. 
 
 Let us need present help, and you 
 shall see that he is " a very present help 
 in time of trouble." Let the disciple be 
 sinking amid the waves of Galilee, cry- 
 ing, " I perish " — let the prophet be on 
 his knees in the depths of the sea and 
 the dark belly of the whale — let the 
 widow's last mite, and the barrel's last 
 handful, have come — let the confessor 
 be descending into the lions' roaring 
 den — ■ let the queen have her brave 
 hand upon the door, with these words of 
 high resolve upon her lips, " If I perish, 
 I perish " — let the trembling host have 
 the waters of the Red Sea roaring in 
 their front, and the chariots of Egypt 
 pressing on their rear — let God's people 
 have reached such a crisis ; let them 
 stand in any such predicament; — and his 
 answer anticipates their prayer. The 
 supply is on the road before the want is 
 
 expressed ; the door opens before the 
 hand has struck it ; while prayer is 
 travelling up the one line, the answer is 
 speeding down the other. Hear the 
 voice of the Lord: "It shall come to 
 pass ; before they call I will answer, and 
 while they are yet speaking, I will hear." 
 Child of God ! pray on. God's people 
 are more dear to him than our children 
 can be to us. He regards them with 
 more complacency than all the shining 
 orbs of that starry firmament. They 
 were bought at a price higher than would 
 purchase the dead matter of ten thousand 
 worlds. He cares more for his humblest, 
 weakest child than for all the crowned 
 heads of earth, and takes a deeper interest 
 in the daily fortunes of a pious cottage 
 than in the fall and rise of kingdoms. 
 Child of God ! pray on. By prayer 
 thy hand can touch the stars, thy arm 
 stretch up to heaven. Nor let thy holy 
 boldness be dashed by the thought that 
 prayer has no power to bend these skies, 
 and bring down thy G>>d. When I pull 
 on the rope which fastens my frail and 
 little boat to a distant and mighty ship, 
 if my strength cannot draw its vast bulk 
 to me, I draw myself to it — to ride in 
 safety under the protection of its guns ; 
 to enjoy in want the fulness of its stores. 
 And it equally serves my purpose, and 
 supplies my needs, that prayer, although 
 it were powerless to move God to me, 
 moves me to God. If he does not de- 
 scend to earth, I — as it were — ascend to 
 heaven. Child of God ! pray on. Were 
 it indispensable for thy safety that God 
 should rend these heavens, it should be 
 done — a wondering world should see it 
 done. I dare believe that ; and " I am 
 not mad, most noble Festus." Have not 
 these heavens been already rent 1 ? Eighteen 
 hundred years ago, robed in humanity, 
 God himself came down. These blue 
 skies, where larks sing and eagles sail, 
 were cleft with the wings and filled with 
 the songs of his angel train. Among the 
 ancient orbs of that very firmament, a 
 stranger star appeared, travelling the 
 heavens, and blazing on the banner 
 borne before the King, as he descended 
 on this dark and distant world. On 
 Canaan's dewy ground — the lowly bed 
 he had left — the eye of morning shone 
 
18G 
 
 1IOMILETIC COMM EN TA R V: EB THER. 
 
 [chap. v. 
 
 on the shape and form of the Son of 
 ( rod ; and dusty roads, and winter snows, 
 and desert sands, and the shores and 
 very waves of Galilee, were impressed 
 with the footprints of the Creator. By 
 this manger, where the babe lies cradled; 
 beside this cross, upon whose ignomini- 
 ous arms the glory of the universe is 
 hung; by this silent sepulchre, where 
 wrapped in bloody shroud, the body is 
 stretched out on its bed of spices, while 
 Roman sentinels walk their moonlit 
 round, and death — abound captive — sits 
 within, so soon as the sleeper wakes, to 
 be disarmed, uncrowned, and in himself 
 have death put to death — faith can be- 
 lieve all that God has revealed, and hope 
 for all that God has promised. She reads 
 on that manger, on that cross, deeply 
 lettered on that rocky sepulchre, these 
 glorious words : " He that spared not 
 his own Son, but delivered him up for us 
 all, how shall he not with him also freely 
 give us all things] " And there lifting 
 an eagle eye to heaven, she rises to the 
 boldest flights, and soars aloft on the 
 broad wings of prayer : 
 
 " Faith, bold faith, the promise sees, 
 And trusts to that alone, 
 Laughs at impossibilities, 
 
 And says it shall be done." — Dr. Guthrie. 
 
 Prayer may be supplication, or thanks- 
 giving, or confession. Or it may be 
 simple intercourse. He that muses to- 
 ward God prays. If you can conceive 
 of a child in the presence of a parent 
 most beloved that speaks, that is silent, 
 that speaks again, that is again silent; 
 now thought, now fancy, now feeling, in 
 turn, as it were, wheeling the orb of its 
 little mind round completely, so that on 
 every side it receives light or gives light 
 to the parent — the intercourse of that 
 child with the parent is the fittest symbol 
 of true prayer. 
 
 Prayer is the soul of a man moving in 
 tlie jiresence of God, for the purpose of 
 communicating its joy, or sorrow, or fear. 
 or hope, or any other conscious experi- 
 ence that it may have, to the bosom of a 
 parent. — Beecher. 
 
 It is right not to put off till to-morrow 
 the duty of to-day, but it may be wise 
 to defer to-day what can be done better 
 and more hopefully to-morrow. The 
 
 greenness of to-day may be, ripeness to- 
 morrow — the blossom of to-day may be 
 fruit to-morrow, — and it is the policy 
 of wisdom to know when to wait ami 
 when to act, not waiting too long nor 
 acting too hastily ; only to, but no far- 
 ther than, the ripeness and the fruiting 
 — " I will do to-morrow as the king hath 
 said." 
 
 To-morrow ! As little could Esther 
 as Hainan have divined what was to 
 happen before to-morrow. By faith the 
 Christian leaves to-morrow in the hand 
 of God ; but, confident in proud self, the 
 worldly man doubts not but that to- 
 morrow will be as this day, and yet more 
 abundant. There are shadows which 
 are thrown forward, losses and bereave- 
 ments which make the whole of life more 
 sombre and sad than it had been before ; 
 but if each to-morrow was to be known 
 beforehand there would be shadows 
 thrown backward as well as forward, 
 darkening our joys and intensifying our 
 sorrows. As the past has scarcely proved 
 what we could have anticipated, so can- 
 not we now antedate the future. It is 
 well that it should be so — well if, like 
 Esther, we are exercising faith in God, 
 and well too if, like Haman, we are 
 drawing near his signal judgment. Let 
 us advance upon each to-morrow as 
 though to-morrow may be our last, and 
 our last to-morrow will not take us by 
 surprise. " Go to now, ye that say, To- 
 day or to-morrow, we will go into such a 
 city, and continue there a year, and buy 
 and sell and get again. Whereas ye 
 know not what shall be on the morrow." 
 
 " Then went Haman forth that day 
 joyful and with a glad heart." Be not so 
 cruel as speak to him of to-morrow ! Let 
 the wicked enjoy their bright to-day — it 
 is the only bright to-day which they will 
 ever have. It was different with Lazarus 
 than with the rich man in the parable. 
 To the one the last to-morrow was a day 
 of comfort, but to the other a day of 
 dread decision and despair. And ah ! 
 how different the to-morrow of Mordecai 
 and his inveterate enemy Haman. The 
 sun is about to rise on the one, just as 
 it is setting on the other. Withoul 
 farther anticipating that tomorrow, we 
 know not whether to congratulate the 
 
chap, v.] HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: ESTHER. 187 
 
 pious Jew the most, or to pity and com- last to-morrow ! " He that heing often 
 
 miserate the haughty Agagite. They reproved hardeneth his neck shall sud- 
 
 meet to-day, and they shall meet again denly he destroyed, and that without 
 
 to-morrow. Yes, to-morrow! Let remedy." — McEwan. 
 worldly men fear and prepare for their 
 
 MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PAKAGEAPH. Verses 9, 10. 
 The Superficial Man. 
 
 We can readily picture Haman going forth from the royal hauquet with glad 
 heart, with elated step, and haughty mien. Not more proudly did Nebuchadnezzar 
 walk in the palace of the kingdom of Bahylon, and gaze upon the mighty city 
 with feelings of self-laudation, than did the wicked Haman go forth from the palace 
 that was in Shushan, and congratulate himself on his success. And not more 
 certainly did pride have a dreadful fall in the case of Nebuchadnezzar than it was 
 destined to have in the case of Haman. Now he is glad, hut soon his gladness is 
 turned into the wailing of discontent. Now he is proud, hut soon he will be 
 humbled. 
 
 I. Hainan's gladness. " Then went Haman forth that day joyful, and with a 
 glad heart." Hainan's gladness arose from a false estimation of himself. He vainly 
 fancied that the banquet was in his honour. He regarded all the costly and painful 
 preparation as a fitting homage to his own self-importance. These kinds of false 
 estimates are not peculiar to the Hamans. The poet may exhort, but the poet does 
 not give the power, to see ourselves as others see us. Perhaps after all the power 
 would not be so beneficial. Many a man would be less useful if he saw himself 
 through other people's spectacles. Still exaggerated views of self are harmful. A 
 true estimate of self, with firm dependence upon God, and an earnest desire to do 
 our duty, will furnish the most lasting satisfaction. Hainan's gladness arose from 
 a false estimate of his position. We are sometimes never less safe than when we 
 feel most secure. It is not to be supposed that a doubt crossed Hainan's mind as 
 he passed away from the royal presence. He did not perceive the dark shadow 
 dogging his steps. Many are glad instead of being sorry because they take false 
 estimates of their position. They build on the sand, and not on the rock. Happy 
 the man who builds on the rock Christ Jesus ! Here is abiding gladness. Here 
 is heavenly calm. Here is enduring safety. Thus Haman's gladness was super- 
 ficial, and consequently transitory. The rapturous gladness of earth is superficial 
 and transitory. The chastened gladness of the soul resting upon Christ is profound 
 and abiding. 
 
 II. Haman's use of his eyes. He saw, but he did not see deeply; he did not 
 see correctly. Pride had cast a film over his mental vision. He saw only Mordecai's 
 stubhornness. He did not see that the stubbornness rightly read meant integrity 
 of purpose. He did not see glorious heroism in that unbending form. Prejudice 
 lessens the power of vision. Green-eyed jealousy cannot possibly see correctly. 
 A vast deal of suffering would be saved if eyes were used in a right manner. Men 
 see and yet do not see. Seldom do men see one another justly. We either see 
 too much or see too little. Most see through other people's spectacles. We see 
 virtue and genius in the man who has a reputation. We see a repellent sight in 
 the Jew who sits unbendingly at the king's gate. Let eyes be allowed to do their 
 own proper work. 
 
 III. Haman's consequent change of state. The eyesatfect the heart. Haman 
 saw, and Haman became full of indignation. Had Haman seen correctly he would 
 have been full of admiration. A false use of the eyes has its penalties. No God- 
 given power or faculty, whether physical, intellectual, or moral, can be perverted 
 
188 E0MILET1C COMMENTARY: ESTHER. [cn.\r. v. 
 
 <ir misused without bringing retribution. There is an indignation which is 
 righteous, anil there is an indignation which is unrighteous. When we see tyranny, 
 oppression, and vice Haunting itself in high places, then we do well to be full 
 of indignation. But when we see integrity in low places; when we see a man 
 determined to be honest though it may mean poverty ; a man who resolves not to 
 cringe to wickedness, and not to fawn upon and to flatter even royal sinners, then 
 we do badly to be full of indignation. There is so much false propriety in the 
 present day that we are not allowed to be indignant. Zeal is rude. Zeal must 
 never violate the proprieties of polite life. A man's indignant feelings must never 
 get the better of his self-control. If a man can be zealous and not run counter to 
 (esthetic rules, and not hinder his success, well and good. But woe to the man 
 who lets zeal get the better of discretion ! 
 
 IV. Hainan's power of self-control. " ^Nevertheless, Haman refrained himself." 
 Hainan had evidently some of that power which would have fitted him to take his 
 place in modern polite society. He could keep his feelings in subjection when it 
 .served his purpose. Perhaps if Mordecai had met him at the banquet Hainan 
 could have carried on a conversation with the man whom he thoroughly hated. 
 Too many set Haman before them as an example. They refrain themselves. 
 Words smoother than butter are on their tongues ; war is in their hearts. With 
 the mouth they kiss ; the concealed dagger is in the hand. Hail, master ! is the 
 voice of the betrayer, but the meaning of that voice is too often only known to 
 the Divine. The power of self-control for the time being, however, is not to be 
 despised. But the power of perfect self-conquest is a noble achievement. Haman 
 should not only have refrained himself, but subdued himself. " He that is slow to 
 anger is better than the mighty ; and he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh 
 a city." 
 
 V. Hainan's resource in trouble. He went home, and consulted his friends 
 and his wife. Happy the man who can feel that his home is a place of refuge ; 
 who can go there and forget his sorrows. This is wonderful, that thoroughly bad 
 men have attached to themselves wives who have stuck to them in all calamities. 
 However, Hainan's home was not a safe place, for his wife was evidently a bad 
 woman. Only a good true wife can make a good home ; a safe place when troubles 
 come. Hainan's resource in trouble should not be ours, or at least not our only 
 one. A wife may be wicked ; if not wicked she may be weak. The best wife 
 may lead us wrong. Jesus Christ has love dearer than that of fondest wives. 
 Eaithly friends may be false, or if not false, unwise. There is a friend that 
 sticketh closer than a brother. There is a friend who knows how to help in, and 
 deliver from, trouble. Let prayer to the great High Priest be our resource in 
 trouble. And then when we pass away from the homes of earth we shall go to 
 the home of the blest, where Mordecais cannot trouble. 
 
 Suggestive Comments on Verses 9, 10. 
 
 And with a glad heart. — But he re- now the happiest man alive ; as having 
 
 joiced as many more do in a thing of the royalty, not of the king's ear only 
 
 nought. And the end of this his mirth but of the queen's too, as lie foolishly 
 
 was heaviness. It was risus sardonius, fancied. This wicked one boasted of 
 
 like that of those, who being stung with his heart's desire, and as for all his 
 
 the tarantula (a viper in Italy), die enemies, he puffed at them. He said 
 
 laughing and capering. Or as the dol- in his heart — I shall not be moved, 
 
 phin, that sporteth most before a storm. I shall never be in adversity. Hero- 
 
 Or as the little fishes, that swimming dotus saith of Apryes, king of Egypt, 
 
 merrily down the silver stream of that he conceited and bragged that 
 
 Jordan, fall shortly after into the Dead his kingdom was better settled to 
 
 ISea. Hainan doubtless held himself him than that any, either God or man, 
 
v.] 
 
 HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: ESTHER. 
 
 189 
 
 could remove him ; yet was lie after- 
 wards taken and hanged by his own 
 subjects. /Elian tells us, that Diony- 
 sius, the tyrant, thought it impossible 
 that he should have been cast out of 
 Italy, but it proved otherwise. How 
 suddenly were Alexander, the great con- 
 queror, and Julius Caesar, the perpetual 
 dictator, cut off, and quenched as the 
 lire of thorns. Sic transit gloria mundi. 
 The world's greatest dealings are in no 
 better condition than the bud that goes 
 to be sacrificed with garlands on his 
 head, and music before him, but sud- 
 denly feels the stroke of the murdering 
 axe. — Trapp. 
 
 Then went Human forth that day 
 joyful, and with a glad heart. — This is 
 true to human nature, to common fact. 
 A man's heart may be black as hell 
 with lying, treachery, and murder, yet 
 there are times when he is joyful ; 
 moments when everything goes accord- 
 ing to his wish; even when, as now, 
 unsought smiles are shed on him. The 
 future is hidden in the blaze of present 
 light ; vengeance, treading close behind, 
 is " shod with wool " and unheard. It 
 is a ghastly fact, profitable to be ob- 
 served, when it comes in our way. 
 " That d ly ! " Before the next, Hainan 
 will be hanged high on his own gibbet. 
 Hainan's gladness did not last him 
 home, for Mordecai, his sackcloth laid 
 aside, was again at his post. He had 
 fasted to good purpose, having regained 
 quietness of mind. 
 
 Haman strutted forth in all his mag- 
 nificence, drinking with greedy eyes 
 the obsequious homage of the menials ; 
 but in a moment a black scowl of rage 
 eclipsed the simper of gratified vanity. 
 How small this great man was ! It 
 would appear that he had expected 
 Mordecai to bow at last. But there 
 Mordecai sat unmoved, not pointing the 
 finger at Hainan, not calling him traitor 
 or murderer, but not standing up or 
 moving — a spectacle to men and angels. 
 Possibly he was pondering these words 
 of Zophar : " Knowest thou not this of 
 old, since man was placed upon earth, 
 that the triumphing of the wicked is 
 short 1 " — A. M. Symington, B. A. 
 
 God restrains men's lusts, either by 
 
 wisdom, as is said of Hunan, that In; 
 restrained himself. Yea, many times 
 one lust restrains another. " He restrains 
 himself " (speaking of a covetous man), 
 " and bereaves his soul of good." One 
 lust eats up another ; yea, sometimes 
 and often God doth restrain by the 
 immediate work of his own Spirit, by 
 the gift of continence ; for there is a 
 spirit put into every man by nature of 
 moral virtues, by which the Lord re- 
 strains the corruptions of na ure. And 
 though naturally men are tilled with all 
 unrighteousnes-*, and every lust is as a 
 hole to let it out, yet God oftentimes 
 stops and plugs up the holes as he 
 pleaseth, that they may not run out at 
 every hole. God doth not broach every 
 lust in every man, yet so as in some 
 man or other, all corruption is broached ; 
 some in one and some in another ; and 
 in all the barrel is no less full. And 
 though there be a sluice to keep in the 
 water, though there be a less stream, 
 yet there is nevertheless water ; even 
 so, though lusts be restrained, yet there 
 is nevertheless corruption within ; so 
 that God's restraining of men's lusts is 
 no argument to prove that therefore 
 they have not all sin in them. 
 
 Natural wisdom, which doth both 
 assist conscience, and help to strengthen 
 these moral dispositions, and assists 
 against many sins, so Haman, though 
 his revenge began to boil, and was ready 
 to break forth, and he was exceedingly 
 wrath with Mordecai, yet notwithstand- 
 ing he was kept by his wisdom from 
 present revenue, for he thought to take 
 a fitter opportunity for it afterwards ; 
 it is said, "he refrained himself." So 
 Saul, his natural wisdom moved him to 
 moderation, for though a band of men, 
 whose hearts God had touched, followed 
 him, yet there was a company of the 
 children of Belial, who said, " How 
 shall this man save us? And they 
 despised him, and brought him no 
 presents ; but he held his peace;" that 
 is, Saul winked at this, and did not go 
 about to revenge it, for his natural 
 Avisdom tol I him that it was best for 
 him to be silent until he had made his 
 party good. 
 
 Fleshly wisdom is a great princi- 
 
190 
 
 IIOMILETIC COMMENTARY: ESTHER. 
 
 [chap. v. 
 
 pie by which the world is guided. — 
 Goodwin. 
 
 It were a blessed tiling if, in matters 
 which affect the interests of religion and 
 practical godliness, the followers of 
 Christ would exhibit the same kind of 
 firm determination as we read of in the 
 case of Mordecai. There would then be 
 a more decided separation between the 
 Church and the world, and less of tha 
 tendency to combine the two services of 
 Christ and the world which prevails 
 among us so extensively. If men were 
 estimated according to their real char- 
 acter, and treated rather as their moral 
 worth merits, than with deference to 
 their wealth — if the true elements of 
 greatness, such as the fear of God, the 
 love of truth, and unbending adherence 
 to Christian principle, were honoured 
 by those who profess to follow Christ, 
 and the opposite qualities were visited 
 with the disapprobation they deserve, 
 then the Church would occupy her 
 proper ground, and her members, al- 
 though hated by the world, would be 
 the object of its secret respect. 
 
 " When the all-influential man of 
 power saw the Jew in the king's gate, 
 that he stood not up nor moved for 
 him, he was full of indignation against 
 Mordecai." He had come out from the 
 banquet, we are told, joyful and with a 
 glad heart. And no wonder ; for the 
 honour which had been conferred upon 
 him, of being invited to such an enter- 
 tainment, was higher than usually fell 
 to the lot of the most exalted subject. 
 He seemed now to be secure in the 
 possession of his dignities and influence, 
 when he stood so high in the favour 
 both of the king and of the queen. 
 Visions of still greater grandeur and 
 wealth than he had yet attained floated 
 before his mind; and as he passed 
 along, receiving the profound homage of 
 the servile crowd of attendants, who 
 knelt as he approached, and shaded 
 their eyes, as if it had been presump- 
 tuous to look upon the face of so great 
 a man, he was the more puffed up with a 
 sense of his own pre-eminence. But all 
 at once he comes to the spot where 
 Mordecai sits, and here his triumph 
 ends. The Jew takes no more notice of 
 
 him than if he were the humblest 
 officer about the court, excepting that 
 there is in his countenance an expression 
 of contempt, and perhaps of dislike. 
 This scorn is like a dagger in Haman's 
 heart. All the feelings of self-gratu- 
 lation which he had so pleasingly 
 cherished, and the visions of yet higher 
 honour which he was to attain, are at 
 once dissipated, and he retires to his 
 house, with the mingled passions of 
 anger, and hatred, and revenge burning 
 in his bosom. It is remarkable, and it 
 is profitable to notice, how completely 
 worldly men lie at the mercy of very 
 trilling incidents for the preservation of 
 their comfort and happiness. A circum- 
 stance in itself of no importance, falling 
 out unexpectedly, will have the effect 
 of disturbing and deranging the whole 
 train of their enjoyments. A little 
 matter, which you would think scarcely 
 worth their notice, is poison in the cup 
 of their pleasures, and converts their 
 satisfaction into exquisite misery. Ha- 
 man's case finds many parallels. We 
 have referred to the subject before : we 
 may allude to it again. From the 
 banquet and the gay assembly, from 
 which it might have been supposed that 
 all vexation, and care, and trouble 
 would be excluded, the votaries of 
 fashion frequently part with such bitter- 
 ness of spirit, as to make them the 
 objects rather of pity than of envy. A 
 supposed slight, a contemptuous glance, 
 a suspicious whisper, a preference shown 
 to some other party over them by those 
 whose favour and patronage are regarded 
 as of consequence, will throw a deep 
 cloud of disquietude and discontent 
 over the minds of those lovers of vanity, 
 which distresses them more than many 
 of the real ills of life would do. In 
 this way it is that the proud, and vain, 
 and frivolous are partly punished, even 
 in this life, for their sin and folly. 
 They carry about in their own breast 
 tin; materials which, by a just retribu- 
 tion, turn their sweetest enjoyments into 
 gall ami wormwood. 
 
 The chief lesson which is evidently 
 deducible from the verse before us is 
 founded upon the contrast between the 
 two individuals mentioned in it — Mor- 
 
CITAr. v.] 
 
 IIOMILETIC COMMENTARY : ESTHER. 
 
 191 
 
 decai and Hainan ; — "between the servant 
 of God and the wicked enemy of God's 
 people. Mordecai occupied the subordi- 
 nate place ; and not only so, but he was, 
 with all his countrymen, doomed to death 
 in consequence of the royal edict. He 
 had done good service to the king, even 
 to the preservation of his life, but for that 
 service he had received no reward. If 
 he had been of morbid temper, he would 
 have been dissatisfied on this account : 
 and more especially, with the prospect 
 before him of the coming evil, he would 
 have been unfitted for all his ordinary 
 duties. Only three days before he was 
 running about in sackcloth — wailing, 
 and refusing to be comforted. But now 
 he is in his ordinary dress, and in his 
 usual place, as calm and composed as if 
 all his affairs had been most prosperous, 
 and with as independent and manly a 
 spirit ami as unabashed countenance as 
 if he had had notliing to dread. We 
 may truly say of him, then, that in the 
 midst of his trials he was happy. There, 
 again, is Hainan, who is the next man 
 to the king, and who really possesses 
 more power, because he can mould the 
 king to his purposes. Rank, wealth, 
 and honour are his, sufficient, it might 
 be thought, to satisfy the most ambitious 
 mind. Thousands bow before him, — 
 his will is law, — the lives and destinies 
 of millions are in his hand, — he can 
 rule everything but his own spirit. 
 Here, however, he is a slave — a slave to 
 fiendish passions. And in consequence 
 of this, because Mordecai the Jew would 
 not do him reverence, he is frantic with 
 rage. He forgets all the real benefits 
 he enjoys by reason of the slight put 
 upon him by this one man. It needs 
 no argument to prove which of these 
 two persons is truly the greater char- 
 acter, and which of them is most entitled 
 to our respect. But how, it may be 
 asked, came Mordecai to be able to bear 
 with such equanimity the pressure of 
 real trouble, while his enemy was all 
 discomposed by an imaginary wrong, or 
 by that which, if it was a real injury, he 
 could so well afford to overlook ] The 
 answer to this question is easily given. 
 Mordecai's heart and mind were under 
 the influence of the word of God. He 
 
 had committed to him the whole issue 
 of that affair in which all the Jews were 
 so deeply interested. He could thus 
 look forward with good hope to a happy 
 deliverance from danger, through the 
 interposition of the God of Abraham, 
 who had told his people that he was 
 the shield and the reward of all who 
 trusted m him. Mordecai, therefore, 
 possessed his soul in patience, assured 
 that some outlet would be found from 
 the threatened danger. Hainan, on the 
 other hand, was destitute of all fear of 
 God, and unaccustomed to lay any re- 
 straint upon his passions, except when 
 self-interest prompted him so to do. 
 His success in life had only stimulated 
 the evil principles of his nature, and 
 rendered him haughty, imperious, and 
 revengeful, where he had power to 
 gratify his dispositions. He was there- 
 fore capable of any villany, and incapa- 
 ble of enjoying the blessings of his con- 
 dition, as all must be who are strangers 
 to self-government. — Davidson. 
 
 Human refrained liimself. — It is a 
 circumstance not unworthy of notice, 
 that even those persons who are habit- 
 ually self-willed, and destitute of the 
 power of self-government, can neverthe- 
 less, when occasion requires it, exercise 
 a wonderful control over both their 
 speech and their passions. Thus, for 
 example, a man who is addicted to the 
 sin of profane swearing, will be found 
 to put such guard upon his words in the 
 presence of a superior who detests that 
 sin, that not one oath will escape from 
 his lips. A man who has no command 
 of his temper at ordinary times, will 
 appear smooth and unruffled in his inter- 
 course with those on whom he is depend- 
 ent, or whose good opinion he desires 
 to gain. A man given to excess in the 
 indulgence of his appetites, will be care- 
 ful not to transgress in company where 
 it would be accounted shameful. Now 
 there is an important principle involved 
 in all this, deeply affecting the moral 
 responsibility of such men for all their 
 conduct. For if they can lay themselves 
 under such restraint — when it serves 
 their purpose — that long-formed habits 
 can be checked and mastered, then we 
 think that even they themselves must 
 
1!)2 
 
 HOMILETIG COMMENTARY: ESTHER. 
 
 [ciiAr. v. 
 
 admit that they are deprived of all 
 excuse when they Buffer themselves to 
 he usually governed hy these habits. 
 And if regard lor the opinions and 
 feelings of their fellow-men exerts a 
 power over them which the law of God 
 does not possess, then manifestly they 
 are ehargeahle with the guilt of standing 
 more in awe of men than of God. These 
 remarks have hcen suggested hy the 
 words of the text, that "Hainan refrained 
 himself." Sorely galled as he was hy 
 Mordecai's contemptuous look and atti- 
 tude, he did not openly give vent to his 
 passion. It must have been a hard 
 struggle ; hut he contrived to conceal 
 his wrath, so as to appear in the sight 
 of all the king's servants calm and 
 dignified, as became his exalted station. 
 And very probably it was this feeling, 
 that he had a character to sustain, and 
 that it would have been beneath his 
 dignity publicly to notice the affront 
 that he had received from a Jewish 
 slave : it was this that prevented him 
 from giving way to the rage that swelled 
 in his breast. 
 
 Then went Human forth that day 
 joyful, and with a glad heart. — The 
 wickedest of men may be not only 
 prosperous, but joyful ; though their 
 hands are stained with blood, though 
 their thoughts may have been " devising 
 inquity on their beds, that they may 
 practise it when the morning is light," * 
 yet they go forth with a glad heart and 
 a light step. With consciences as black 
 as hell, they are not afraid to look on 
 the unsullied orb of day, or to be seen 
 by the moon when she walks in bright- 
 ness. Such is the deceitfulncss of sin, 
 especially when it is cherished by pros- 
 perity. " They are corrupt, they speak 
 wickedly concerning oppression : they 
 apeak loftily. They set their mouth 
 against the heavens; and their tongue 
 walketb through the earth. They say, 
 The Lord shall not see, neither shall the 
 God of Jacob regard it." This has often 
 been a source of bitter distress to good 
 men, who have been " envious at the 
 foolish, when they saw the prosperity of 
 the wicked." But this is their infirmity, 
 and they are brought to confess it. \Y hy 
 * Micah ii. 1. 
 
 should they envy that joy which dwells 
 in a guilty heart — that prosperity which 
 betrays them to their ruin 1 ? There is 
 greater reason for deriding them ; for 
 " the triumphing of the wicked is short." 
 What a pitiable object would Hainan be 
 in the eyes of Esther that day, when 
 she viewed him from the lattice of her 
 window, as he left the palace ! " The 
 virgin, the daughter of Zion, hath de- 
 spised thee, and laughed thee to scorn ; 
 the daughter of Jerusalem hath shaken 
 her head at thee." f 
 
 Then went Human forth that day 
 "'oyful, and with a glad heart. — That 
 day was the last of his gladness ; next 
 morning's sun should not set before all 
 his glory was laid in the dust. Nay, 
 that very day, and that very moment 
 when it was most buoyant, his joy was 
 destined to suffer a dash from which it 
 would never completely recover. Before 
 he left the court of the palace, from 
 which he had come out with such up- 
 lifted spirits, a dart entered his liver, 
 and inflicted a wound, •which the zeal 
 and art of all his physicians could not 
 heal. Bat when Humun saw Mordecai 
 in the king's gate, that he stood not up, 
 nor moved for him, he was full of indig- 
 nation against Mordecai. 
 
 There's a picture ! standing out in 
 bold relief, and contrasted with that of 
 the proud but worthless premier. The 
 one haughty and enraged ; the other 
 humble, but composed and dignified. 
 It is not the port, the state, the pageant- 
 ry ; it is not the rank, riches, or power ; 
 the mind and spirit — thut is the man. 
 The person who occupies the place of a 
 common porter may have within him a 
 soul that towers in real greatness far 
 above that of the proudest and most 
 titled grandee. He may have that with- 
 in him, which, while it rouses the indig- 
 nation, quails the courage of him who 
 has armies at his beck. He who is con- 
 scious of acting rightty, has no reason to 
 grow pale at the sight of danger. He 
 who is embarked in the cause of God 
 and his people, and whose conscience 
 acquits him of having failed in his duty 
 to his prince, or of having done evil 
 to any man, feels himself clad in the 
 T 2 Kings xix. 21, 
 
C1I.VP. v.] 
 
 EOMILETLG COMMENTARY: ESTHER. 
 
 193 
 
 panoply of heaven, stands fearless and 
 scathless, is immovable in his purpose, 
 and will not Jo a mean or unworthy, far 
 less a sinful, thing, to save his own life, 
 or the lives of those whom he holds 
 dearest. 
 
 Such was Mordecai. He had had 
 ample leisure to reflect on his conduct in 
 refusing the homage claimed by Haman. 
 That refusal had drawn down the venge- 
 ance of the wicked favourite on himself 
 and his people. Bat still Hainan is 
 "contemned in his eyes as a vile person." 
 He exhibited no tokens of positive dis- 
 respect. He would not insult him, he 
 would not rail upon him as he passed, 
 or behind his back. But he would not 
 yield him any direct homage ; " he stood 
 not up, nor moved for him." An ordi- 
 nary patriot would have been disposed 
 to act in a different manner. He would 
 have said, " My daughter is employed 
 in using means for obtaining from her 
 royal husband a revocation of the decree 
 for the slaughter of the Jews ; but she 
 has to contend against powerful influence. 
 I will endeavour to smooth her diffi- 
 culties ; and much as I despise this 
 minion, I will for once abase myself 
 before him, and try to assuage his resent- 
 ment and propitiate his favour, by offer- 
 ing him that obeisance which is so grate- 
 ful to his pride." Moses did not act on 
 this principle, when Pharaoh, awed by 
 the plagues which he had suffered, 
 offered to allow the Israelites to go, pro- 
 vided they left their flocks and herds 
 behind them : " There shall not an hoof 
 be left behind ! " Our Saviour did not 
 act upon this principle, when the Phari- 
 sees said, " Get thee out and depart 
 hence, for Herod will kill thee." " Go, 
 tell that fox, behold, I cast out devils, 
 and do cures to-day and to-morrow, and 
 the third day I shall be perfected." Nor 
 would Mordecai act upon this principle. 
 Haman had devised a deed which created 
 horror both in heaven and earth ; the 
 devoted Jews were cast on the special 
 protection of Providence ; Mordecai was 
 persuaded that enlargement and deliver- 
 ance would arise to them from some 
 quarter, and he entertained sanguine 
 hopes that Esther had come to the 
 kingdom for this very end. He woul I 
 
 not, therefore, displease God, and dis- 
 honour himself, by having recourse to 
 the mean expedient of cringing to the 
 author of his country's wrongs, lest the 
 day of their deliverance should witness 
 his own destruction and that of his 
 father's house. 
 
 This conduct on the part of Mordecai 
 exceedingly enraged Haman. Perhaps 
 he had heard of the distress into which 
 the object of his hatred had been thrown 
 by the decree for exterminating the 
 Jews, and therefore expected, the next 
 time they met, to see him grovelling in 
 the dust. But when he found his in- 
 dependent spirit unbroken, and that he 
 neither rose up nor moved at his ap- 
 proach, he boiled with indignation, and 
 his wouuded pride demanded instant 
 revenge. " Oh that I had of his flesh ! 
 I cannot be satisfied." * 
 
 " Proud and haughty scorner is nis 
 name that dealeth in proud wrath." 
 Pride was the first sin that entered into 
 the universe. It was pride that turned 
 angels into devils. It was pride that, 
 after thinning heaven and peopling hell, 
 invaded our world, and drove man out 
 of paradise. It was pride that caused 
 the first-born on earth to embrue his 
 hands in the blood of an only brother. 
 Pride has broken the peace of families 
 and nations, and carried fire and sword 
 through the earth. It is equally the 
 parent of oppression and licentiousness, 
 setting the father against the son, and 
 the son against the father ; the master 
 against the servant, and the servant 
 against the master ; the sovereign against 
 his subjects, and the subjects against 
 th-ir sovereign. Pride has marred the 
 work of God, given birth to infidelity, 
 apostasy, impiety, blasphemy, and perse- 
 cution ; it is the mother of heresy, and 
 has fomented strife and contention, and 
 wrath, and swellings, and tumults, with- 
 in the sacred enclosures of the house of 
 God. beware of giving place to this 
 monster! The man that harbours pride 
 in his heart, harbours a murderer, a 
 fratricide, a parricide, a suicide, a deicide; 
 — for it crucified the Lord of glory, and 
 still crucifies him afresh in his doctrine 
 and in his members." — McCrie. 
 * Job xxxi. 31. 
 
191 IIOMILETIC COMMENTARY: EST II EH. [chap. v. 
 
 MAIN HOMELETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH. Verses 11 and 13. 
 
 The Discontented Man as a Reckoner. 
 
 The discontented man is a poor hand at accounts. He cannot reckon up correctly 
 either his own affaira or the affairs of other people. He is apt to give himself 
 credit fin' too few blessings, and other people credit for too many blessings. His 
 distorted imagination plays strange freaks. In looking at himself it is a diminish- 
 ing power, and in looking at other people it too often becomes a magnifying power. 
 The advantages of his own position are ignored, while the advantages of others 
 are brought into undue prominence. It is not merely that he thinks that he gets 
 less than In' deserves, and other people get more than they deserve; but putting 
 the, ma Iter of desert on one side, he sees himself destitute and forsaken, though 
 surrounded with many of this world's good things ; and others as rolling in affluence, 
 as clothed in purple and fine linen, and faring sumptuously every day, and as 
 having more than heart can wish. On close examination we shall find that this 
 was the case with poor Hainan. He does not here give us his views about other 
 people, but the view he gives of himself is in one aspect very incorrect, and may 
 warrant us in supposing that the view he would have given of other people would be 
 but equally incorrect. Let us, however, seek to take just views of ourselves, of God's 
 dealing-! with us, and of the world at large. Divine grace in the heart is the power 
 by which the balancing faculty will be able to work correctly. Subjection of the 
 human will to the Divine will must tend to give calmness and satisfaction in this, 
 after all, unsatisfactory world. 
 
 I. The discontented man is a good reckoner, up to a certain point. Here 
 Hainan reckons up the advantages of his position, and the sum is rightly laid 
 down. There are four leading items in the statement. Look at them : riches — 
 children — position — honour. What more would a man be, and what more could 
 a man desire 1 Certainly the man who looks for happiness to the material and the 
 sensible can scarcely mention anything else that is desirable in order to the per- 
 fection of human happiness. Why, these are the very things that represent the 
 ideal of happiness to a large majority of men. A man who is able to say as much 
 of himself as Hainan could say of himself would be the man to be regarded with 
 envious eyes not only in Hainan's days, but in Queen Victoria's days, and in this 
 Christian country. We talk about angels preferring to visit the cottage where 
 piety reigns, and where the sacred hymn of praise is devoutly sung; and yet the 
 song sung by Hainan in recording his greatness is the one to which the majority 
 the most devoutly listen, and the one they most desire to sing. We speak about 
 God's blessing resting upon the home of the pious poor, but the poor man is still 
 despised, and his words are not heard; while the man who can tell of the glory of 
 his riches, and his influence at Court, is honoured; his feeblest words are recorded as 
 if they were the utterances of a Solomon; he is sent to Parliament; he is made a 
 director of a railway company, and he is the chairman of a Christian assembly, if 
 he will condescend to patronize that which should not bow the knee to this world's 
 Rial. A small amount of goodness as well as of wisdom goes a long way when it, 
 is hacked up by the " glory of riches." However, we must not forget poor Hainan ; 
 poor, after all, like too many more, in the midst of his riches. We have every 
 reason to suppose that Hainan stated the case correctly. His riches must have been 
 great to be able to promise the sum he did to the king as a compensation for the 
 destruction of the, dews. We read of ten sons. His influence at Court was evidently 
 supreme, and it was true that, he only was invited to the banquet that Esther ha I 
 prepared for the king. Uptoa certain point, then, the discontented man can reckon 
 correctly. We may have, saeu him at the computation; the whole was stated 
 
chap, v.] HOMILETW COMMENTARY: ESTHER. 195 
 
 accurately; and yet the result is false How is this] How was it in Hauian's 
 case ? — -how is it in many cases from that day to the present time ? 
 
 II. The discontented man is a bad reckoner, for the following- reasons : (a) 
 He places too high an estimate uii the mere material. Wicked as Hainan was he 
 felt that these material blessings could not satisfy the cravings of his soul. Poor 
 fellow ! he blamed Mordecai, and did not seem to understand that he himself was 
 seeking for happiness and for satisfaction where they are not to be found. The 
 material was to till and to satisfy an immaterial nature. We all place too high an 
 estimate on the material. Not only our moral but our social reckonings will lead 
 us to false conclusions if we do not give to the material its proper value. What is 
 the meaning of the unrest and the discontent in our modern life 1 ? They are caused 
 by too high an estimate being placed on the material. The soul cannot feed on 
 money ; good and useful as it undoubtedly is in its place. The soul cannot rest 
 on the lap of worldly honours. The soul must rest in God if it is to obtain 
 perfect repose. The soul must find the true riches if it is to be delivered from 
 poverty, (b) He does not tnke into account the unknown quantity. There is 
 often an unknown quantity absent from human calculations, and by careful scrutiny 
 we might very possibly find it out, and thus it would be an unknown quantity 
 no longer. The unknown quantity in Hainan's case was the favour that he supposed 
 he possessed with Esther. " Yea, Esther the queen did let no man come in with 
 the king unto the banquet that she had prepared but myself." Surely Hainan 
 might have got to know that he was not likely to stand well with Esther. Had 
 he never heard of the relationship that existed between Esther and Mordecai 1 ? 
 Was he not shrewd enough to guess that the man who persecuted Mordecai also 
 persecuted Esther] It may be well supposed that success had blinded Hainan. 
 He did not use his eyes aright. It may be that a correct knowledge of this fact, 
 and a light use of the knowledge, might have saved him from destruction. Is 
 there an unknown quantity in our lives? — a something absent from our calculations 
 which spoils the correctness of our reckonings? We have not thought of it before. 
 It is just the very thing to give rounded perfection to existence. Look attentively 
 inside and outside, all round about, to find out that which prevents you living in 
 safety, or reaching that happiness which may be possible to you in the present 
 state. The absent quantity in most lives is the salvation of the gospel. Without 
 Christ Jesus in the heart, the hope of glory, a man cannot reckon up so as to come 
 to a satisfactory conclusion. This it is which is needful to make up the perfection 
 of our nature, (c) He over-estimates his own deserts. If it be true that there is 
 good in all, while none are all good, then there was good even in wicked Hainan. 
 Whether this be so or not, it is sufficient for our present purpose that Hainan acted 
 as if he thought he had deserts. The blessings he here enumerates he takes for 
 granted, as if they were no more than he deserved ; while the refusal of Mordecai 
 to render homage is considered not as arising from Haman's want of goodness, but 
 from Mordecai's stubbornness. If Hainan had rightly considered himself, he would 
 have bowed to Mordecai instead of being offended that Mordecai did not bow to 
 him. More humility on Haman's part would have saved his feelings, and might 
 very possibly have prevented his downfall. What a different picture Haman would 
 have made in history if he had asked himself, Who am I that all this has been done 
 to me ? Who hath made me to differ ? Haman's fault is the glaring fault of most. 
 We intone the words, " Have mercy upon us, miserable sinners," and then we go away 
 and whine and complain if the rod of correction be applied in order to make us 
 obedient children. Why should miserable sinners have riches, and children, and 
 position, and honours? Why should miserable sinners complain if it is not found 
 possible to make the best of this world ? Is it to be regarded as an uncharitable 
 statement if we affirm that those who neglect Jesus Christ, as Mediator over-estimate 
 their deserts? Certainly many fancy themselves whole who have urgent and 
 pressing need of the help of the good Physician, (d) He is bad at subtraction. 
 
196 II0M1LETIC COMMENTARY: ESTHER. [chap. v. 
 
 He enumerates his blessings as four, and his drawback as one. He subtracts one 
 from four, and makes not l hing the strange result. Mordecai sitting at the gate is 
 the one item that exceeds the other four in magnitude. Had Mordecai only known 
 the importance that he assumed in the estimation of Hainan, he might Avell have 
 plumed himself on his greatness, and said that " After all I am greater than Hainan ; " 
 which in fact he really was ; for any good man, however poor, is greater than any 
 wicked man, however exalted in this world. If Hainan had known how to balance 
 correctly he might have proceeded more sweetly in spite of his wickedness. Men 
 and women do not yet know how to subtract, even if they know how to reckon 
 up, their blessings correctly. Too often blessings are overlooked, or not rightly 
 enumerated. Where this fault is escaped, the mistake may be committed of 
 saying, My disadvantages cpiite overbalance my advantages ; the one crook in the 
 lot destroys the pleasure of the appointment. One ghost of the imagination fills 
 the soul with terror, and hides from view all delightful realities. Riches, children, 
 position, honours are destroyed by one frowning Mordecai. Haman speaks of one 
 man who destroys all the good in life; the Christian may speak of one man 
 who develops all the good in life, and brings the highest good into life. The 
 God-man brings the highest good. We may speak of riches, -children, position, 
 honours, and say, All this availeth nothing if Jesus is not my assured friend. We 
 may speak of riches, children, position, honours, and say, All these avail something, 
 a vast something, as they are viewed in the light of the Saviour's love, (e) He is 
 defective in multiplication. From Hainan's stand-point too much is made of the 
 insignificant fact that Mordecai refused to render homage. Haman made more of 
 the circumstance than it deserved. The imagination of the discontented man is 
 always an unreliable multiplier. Sometimes it is creative. It makes evils where 
 there are none. Always it makes more of the evils than it ought to do. When 
 we have passed through the ordinary troubles of life, and come to the other side, 
 we often wonder that we have thought so much about them. The advice of that 
 wise moralist, Dr. Johnson, to a friend under the discomfort of some sore annoyance 
 was — to bethink himself what a trifle it would appear that day twelvemonths. 1 f 
 we could thus get the power of looking at present troubles as Ave look at past 
 troubles we should be able to bear them with greater patience, and find them 
 perhaps smaller than Ave had supposed. Mordecai as Avell as Haman has his 
 troubles. Many are the afflictions of the righteous. Let us look fonvard to that 
 blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God, our Saviour, and then 
 backAvard, as it were, upon the sorrows and trials of life ; and then Ave shal I 
 consider them as light in comparison with the joy Avhich is before. Peacefully 
 should the Christian stand amid the storms of time. "As meets the rock a 
 thousand waves," so should the Christian meet the shocks of the present life. As 
 the oak gathers strength from the storm, so the Christian should gather strength 
 from his troubles. They should develop to nobler conditions. As the light shines 
 on, and sends its cheering rays through the billows that cast their spray over the 
 lighthouse top, so the Christian should let the light Avhich is within shine on, and 
 send its cheering rays through the billows that shake his whole nature. The hope of 
 the gospel is the true sustaining power. Men and women have tried this hope Avhen 
 disappointment has Avithered the heart, Avhen sickness has saddened the household, 
 Avhen trouble in many shapes has visited, Avhen death with muffled tread has 
 approached, and have found that it could strengthen amid the failings of flesh, 
 and comfort amid the misgivings of the mind, and sustain amid the sore bleedings 
 of a wounded heart. 
 
 III. The discontented man unknowingly makes a good computation. "Yet 
 all this availeth me nothing, so long as I see Mordecai the Jew sitting at the king's 
 gate." It is asserted that this is an exaggeration on the part of Hainan. Where 
 is the exaggeration 1 Was not poor Hainan at this moment as miserable as he 
 well could be] His good things availed him nothing except to intensify that 
 
chap, v.] HOMILETIG COMMENTARY: ESTHER. i:>7 
 
 discomfort which he felt at not receiving Mordecai's homage. However that may- 
 be, Haman's riches, children, position, and supposed honours availed nothing for 
 his salvation against Mordecai sitting at the king's gate, who was in Divine provi- 
 dence to become Haman's destroyer. Haman is here an unconscious prophet. He 
 foretells his own doom. Truly, Haman, all the glory of thy riches, all the strength 
 of thy children, all the pomp of thy position, all the tinsel of thy honours, will avad 
 thee nothing before the wondrous strength of the Jew sitting at the king's gate. 
 Should we not here learn the lesson we are all so slow to learn, — that all worldly 
 good avails nothing if God be not our friend, if God do not have the highest place 
 in our esteem 1 Riches, children, position, and honours are desirable possessions if 
 lightly employed. But they cannot satisfy the immortal nature. Mournful cries 
 reach our ears from the disappointed hearts of those who have sought the supreme 
 good in material possessions. " All is vanity and vexation of spirit," is the despairing 
 statement of those who have taken their fill of this world's good things, and have 
 forgotten God their Maker, — a statement repeated from age to age, — a statement 
 which never seems to hush its sad refrain. Whatever these blessings may do in 
 other circumstances of life, they "avail nothing" in the contest with death. Here 
 the man struggles alone. Death cannot be bribed. Earthly friends cannot soften 
 the grim conqueror. Honours laid at his feet are useless. Death's conqueror 
 alone is death's helper. The soul triumphs by reason of the possession of immortal 
 riches. Death cannot deprive of the honour that cometh from God. 
 
 Another lesson learn, perhaps a little more remote, but none the less salutary. 
 As all Haman's possessions and privileges availed him nothing for salvation so 
 long as Mordecai was not his friend ; so all our possessions, whether of fancied or 
 real good ; all our supposed moral possessions ; all the privileges we enjoy, will avail 
 us nothing for salvation so long as Jesus Christ is not our friend. We do not 
 know what was the appearance of Mordecai as Haman passed by. He may have 
 looked sour. Perhaps there was nothing on his part to invite Haman to terms 
 of reconciliation. But Jesus Christ attracts by the sweetness of his aspect. His 
 voice is very tender and very loving. In the days of his flesh he was the friend 
 of publicans and of sinners ; and he is still the same. He is not only waiting for, 
 but inviting, sinners to become reconciled. With Jesus against us all will avail 
 nothing for our safety and happiness. With Jesus on our side, and in our hearts, 
 all wdl avail nothing that may be arrayed against us for destruction. 
 
 Suggestive Comments on Verses 11 — 13. 
 
 Add unto this a great childish kind of are most vexed in their crosses. It is 
 peevishness ; when they have not what not for those to be wilful that have not 
 they would have, like children, they a great measure of wisdom to guide their 
 throw all away ; which, though it be wills ; for God delights to have his will 
 very offensive to God's spirit, yet it of those that are wedded to their own 
 seizeth upon men otherwise gracious, wills, as in Pharaoh. No men more sub- 
 Abraham himself, wanting children, un- ject to discontentments than those who 
 dervalued all other blessings ; Jonah, be- would have all things after their own 
 cause he was crossed of his gourd, was way. — Sibbes. 
 
 Aveary of his life; the like may be said of Let us, therefore, when any lawless 
 
 Elias fleeing from Jezebel. This peevish- passions begin to stir, deal with our 
 
 ness is increased by a too much nattering souls as God did with Jonah, " Doest 
 
 of their grief, so far as to justify it ; like thou well to be angry ] " to fret thus. 
 
 Jonas, " I do well to be angry even unto This will be a means to make us quiet ; 
 
 death ; " he woidd stand to it. Some, for, alas ! what weak reasons have we 
 
 like Rachel, are so peremptory that they often for strong motions : such a man 
 
 " will not be comforted," as if they were gave me no respect ; such another looked 
 
 in love with their grievances. Wdf ul men more kindly upon another man than upon 
 
10S 
 
 IfOMfLETfC COMMENTARY: ESTHER. 
 
 [citap. r. 
 
 li, e, coc. You have some of Iranian's 
 spirit, that for a little neglect would ruin 
 a whole nation. Passion presents men 
 that are innocent as guilty to us — facit 
 ira noeentes ; and because we will not 
 seem to be mad without reason, pride 
 commands the wit to justify anger, and 
 so one passion maintains and feeds an- 
 other. — Sibbes. 
 
 Look what comforts men have at 
 present in their possession and at com- 
 mand ! what excellencies or endowments ! 
 men love to be alone to study and think 
 of them ; anil when they are sequestered 
 from the present use of them, yet they 
 will then be again and again recounting 
 and casting of them up, taking a survey 
 of their happiness in them, applauding 
 their own hearts in their conditions; and 
 as rich men that love money, love to be 
 looking on it, and telling it over ; so do 
 men to be summing up their comforts 
 and privileges they enjoy, which others 
 want ; as how rich they are, how great, 
 how they excel others in parts and gifts, 
 &c. Oh, how much of that precious 
 sand of our thoughts runs out this way ! 
 Thus he in the Gospel ; he keeps up an 
 audit in his heart ; " Soul," saith he, 
 " thou hast goods laid up for many 
 years." So Hainan takes an inventory 
 of his honours and goods ; he talks of 
 " all the glory of his riches, and all the 
 things wherein the king had promoted 
 him." So Nebuchadnezzar, as it may 
 seem ; he was alone walking and talking 
 to himself like a fool, saying to himself, 
 " Is not this the great Babel which I 
 have built by the might of my power, 
 for the glory of my majesty ] 
 
 Then greediness appears, that if one 
 lust be not satisfied, nothing else can 
 please us as long as the fit lasts. Rachel, 
 when she could not have her longing, 
 she would in fact die in all haste, — 
 " Give me children, or else I die," — 
 though she had an husband was worth 
 ten children to her. And so was it with 
 Haman ; all the honour and riches which 
 he possessed would not content him, so 
 long as he was not revenged on a poor 
 porter that would not rise to him. So 
 Ahab, though a king, had his stomach 
 took away to all other delights, because 
 
 that he wanted one bit, Naboth's vine- 
 yard, which he coveted. — Goodwin. 
 
 A little sickness, or old age, or a 
 cross, make our lusts to vanish, though 
 the objects remained, health being the salt 
 to all blessings. In old age men come 
 to say, " I have no pleasure in them ; " 
 yea, a little affliction deadeneth a man's 
 lusts, as the toothache vexeth more than 
 the health of all the members doth de- 
 light. The affliction of an hour makes a 
 man forget all pleasure, takes a man's 
 h sart from all, that all avails him nothing, 
 as it did Hainan. Nay, if one wayward 
 lust be crossed (as his was), one ounce 
 of sorrow spoils a sea of pleasure; for, 
 se^nius bonam quam mala sentimus, we 
 have a slower and duller sense of good 
 than evil. — Goodwin. 
 
 Take some quiet, sober moments of 
 life, and add together the two ideas of 
 pride and man ; behold him, creature of 
 a span high, stalking through infinite 
 space in all the grandeur of littleness. 
 Perched on a speck of the universe, 
 every wind of heaven strikes into his 
 blood the coldness of death ; his soul 
 floats from his body like melody from 
 the string ; day and night, as dust on the 
 wheel, he is rolled along the heavens, 
 through a labyrinth of worlds, and all 
 the creations of God are flaring ahove 
 and beneath. Is this a creature to make 
 for himself a crown of glory, to deny his 
 own flesh, to mock at his fellow, sprung 
 from the dust to which both will soon 
 return'? Does the proud man not err] 
 Does he not suffer] Does he not die] 
 "When he reasons, is he never stopped by 
 difficulties] When he acts, is he never 
 tempted by pleasure? When he lives, 
 is he free from pain? When he dies, 
 can he escape the common grave ] Pride 
 is not the heritage of man ; humility 
 should dwell with frailty, ai.d atone for 
 ignorance, error, and imperfections. — 
 Sidney Smith. 
 
 Remark in Haman the stupendous and 
 wonderful judgment of God; for the 
 impious Haman is most exultant and 
 fearless as regards the preservation and 
 augmentation of his dignity and power ; 
 and he is most certain also of the de- 
 struction of M.ordecai, whom he prosecutes 
 
CHAP. V. 
 
 IIOMILETIO COMMENTARY: ESTHER. 
 
 19y 
 
 with hatred. But behold now the end 
 of the thing. The impious and secure 
 Hainan should perish with sudden de- 
 struction ; while the pious and afflicted 
 Mordecai is unexpectedly raised to the 
 highest dignity. Let us therefore cast 
 away all impious security, and fear God ; 
 so that, walking according to the calling 
 of God, you may be preserved though 
 the sky fall, and the earth be removed. — 
 Breuz. 
 
 Those that are disposed to be uneasy 
 will never want something or other to 
 be uneasy at ; and proud men, though 
 they have much to their mind, yet, if 
 they have not all to their mind, it is as 
 nothing to them. The thousandth part of 
 what Haman had would serve to make a 
 humble modest man as much of a happi- 
 ness as he expects from this world ; and 
 yet Haman complained as passionately 
 as if he had been sunk into the lowest 
 degree of poverty and disgrace. — Matthew 
 Henry. 
 
 " Yet all this availeth me nothing, so 
 long as I see Mordecai the Jew sitting 
 at the king's gate. 
 
 Haman's misery sprung from his most 
 prominent vice. The avenger did not so 
 much track his path, like an independent 
 retributive messenger, as that it was 
 secreted in his very sin. It is often so 
 in providence. God does not need to 
 stretch forth his hand against the sinner. 
 It is enough that he allows the working 
 of his sin to overtake him. Had there 
 been no pride in Haman's heart he 
 could never have been subjected to this 
 soul-torture because of a harmless affront 
 by an inferior in rank ; but forasmuch 
 as he had nursed and cherished his pride 
 to an ungovernable extent, the pain and 
 anguish which he had to endure when it 
 was thwarted and injured was crucifying 
 to all his prosperity and joy. He be- 
 came his own tormentor. The law is 
 universal, giving to all sin its entail of 
 evil. The sinner may suppose that his 
 sin is not known, and, because not known, 
 that it will escape punishment ; but the 
 sin will itself find out the man, and the 
 punishment will grow out of it as a 
 poisonous plant from a hidden seed. 
 Sceptics may theoretically deny the 
 
 Divine government, but practically it is 
 beyond dispute. By an inexorable law 
 " evil pursueth sinners, but to the right- 
 eous good shall be repaid." 
 
 Intimately connected with this thought, 
 there is another of equal importance — ■ 
 that Ave are not in a position to judge of 
 the relative amount of happiness or un- 
 happiness in the lot of man upon the 
 earth. Surveyed from without there 
 might not appear to be a more enviable 
 man than Haman. If earthly good could 
 make happiness there was no element 
 awanting in his case. From his own 
 admission he had everything — riches, 
 family, exaltation ; and all his surround- 
 ings were grand and delightful. There 
 was ostensibly no comparison between 
 his lot and that of some contented poor 
 man, who, besides meanness and ob- 
 scurity, has to bear the burden of bodily 
 suffering. Nevertheless you might never 
 get from the poor sufferer under the 
 influence of religion the same confession 
 of wasted happiness and blighted peace, 
 that we have from this lordly great man 
 in the high day of his abounding pros- 
 perity. Let the outward condition be 
 what it may, his spirit — the real man — 
 rises superior to it, and is not touched 
 by it. But in the other case it was the 
 spirit which was diseased, and which, 
 like the scorpion when surrounded by 
 fire, turned its sting in upon itself. So 
 that, before we could estimate relative 
 individual happiness or unhappiness, we 
 would require to go below the surface of 
 things and look upon the heart. The 
 most enviable might then be found to be 
 really the least, and the least the more 
 so. Injured pride, malice, jealousy, and 
 hatred, though all unseen, may yet have 
 rendered the heart inconceivably more 
 miserable, and the man's estate vastly 
 less desirable, than any amount of 
 poverty and merely physical suffering 
 could possibly have produced. Neither 
 his pride, the presence of friends, nor 
 the prospect of again banqueting with 
 the king and queen on the morrow, 
 could restrain Haman from making the 
 humiliatingconfession that, becauseof one 
 thing which was rankling in his soul, he 
 was truly an unenviable — miserable man. 
 
200 
 
 IIOMILETIC COMMENTARY: ESTHER. 
 
 [oriAr. v. 
 
 Moreover, we cannot fail to notice that 
 outward prosperity in an unsanctiftftd 
 heart, renders the man more susceptible 
 to trilling annoyances. He becomes so 
 accustomed to what is highly pleasing 
 that a very small thing occasions great 
 uneasiness. While he looks at his good 
 things through the large end of the 
 telescope he beholds what is troublesome 
 and vexatious through the small. What 
 a hardier nature Avould dash off as a 
 hot plate does water, the nature softened 
 to effeminacy by luxury receives as a 
 poisonous drug, and because of it can 
 find no rest. The more that it gets the 
 more does it crave ; and until the little 
 thing craved has been obtained — and 
 yet on the back of it there is always 
 another and another — the confession is, 
 and it is the confession of every vain, 
 worldly, wicked life, •* All this availeth 
 me nothing." 
 
 Whilst we now leave Hainan foment- 
 ing his rage and preparing for revenge 
 on the morrow, there is one great spiritual 
 truth which his lamentable confession 
 should press home upon our hearts. Let 
 a man have the whole world laid at his 
 feet, there shall yet be a void in the 
 soul, which cannot be reached by all its 
 pleasures and rewards — a void which, 
 until it has been supplied, the whole 
 world will avail him nothing. The 
 ■world's broad way is crowded with eager 
 seekers after happiness. "It is here," 
 cries one, and there is a rush in that 
 direction, only to be followed by dis- 
 appointed looks and h »nging hearts. " It 
 is there," cries another, and there is 
 anxious toiling and plodding for its attain- 
 ment ; but the cisterns are found at last 
 to be broken and empty. In the midst 
 of this thirsting, moiling, weary world, 
 Jesus has caused his voice to be heard, 
 pleading and saying : — " If any man 
 thirst, let him come unto me and drink." 
 " Come unto me, all ye that labour and 
 are heavy laden, and I will give you 
 rest." — McEwan. 
 
 1. In the first place, in the case of 
 men worldly-minded and destitute of the 
 fear of God, there is generally some 
 dominant principle or passion which 
 destroys their comfort, and precludes 
 them from reaping the full benefit of 
 
 the blessings which God has bestowed 
 upon them. Thus the man whose heart 
 is full of covetousness can never be 
 happy. What he has, although it is far 
 more than sufficient to supply his wants, 
 is yet so far beneath what he desires, 
 that he will not take full use of it, just 
 because it is not so much as he would 
 have. What Mordecai was to Hainan, 
 some imagined amount of wealth is to 
 him ; and thus his present acquisitions 
 avail nothing, so long as he cannot get 
 all he aims at. Again, the envious man 
 cannot be happy. Oh, with what ma- 
 lignant eye he looks upon his neighbour's 
 good, and marks his advancement, and 
 observes the success of his schemes, and 
 his growing prosperity ! He may be 
 thriving in the world himself beyond 
 what he could have anticipated, and may 
 have all the substantial comforts of life 
 in abundance ; but he cannot find enjoy- 
 ment in them, because this other man 
 stands so much higher than he. What 
 Mordecai was to Haman, his neighbour's 
 worldly advantages are to the man in 
 whose heart envy dwells ; for it eats out 
 all happiness. Again, the victim of pride 
 and vanity cannot be happy. The self- 
 importance to which these passions give 
 birth cannot escape unruffled in the 
 Avorld. Men are not always measured 
 by their own pretensions ; and when 
 any respect or honour is withheld from 
 them to which they think themselves 
 entitled, they are far more deeply troubled 
 than they would be by any temporal 
 loss. They deem themselves insulted 
 and degraded; they cannot look with 
 patience upon objects which formerly 
 pleased them ; and they long for an op- 
 portunity to make retaliation for the 
 wrong or slight they have received. This 
 is a case analogous to that of Haman ; 
 and those who are animated by these 
 feelings must, like him, he necessarily 
 wretched. I might protract these re- 
 marks, hut enough has been said to illus- 
 trate the principle, that whatever amount 
 of worldly good men who fear not God 
 may have, yet, by allowing some evil 
 passion or propensity to obtain the mas- 
 tery over them, they destroy their own 
 comfort, and pierce themselves through 
 with many sorrows. 
 
c:ivp. v.] 
 
 HOMILETIO COMMENTARY: ESTHER. 
 
 201 
 
 2. But now, in the second place, I 
 would advert for a moment to the danger 
 to which such people expose themselves. 
 That which the covetous spirit feels to 
 be lacking to satisfy its desires, it will 
 often strive to attain by most unwarrant- 
 able means. Hence the sins of dis- 
 honesty, deceit, falsehood, and, when 
 opportunity serves, violence and rapacity, 
 are superadded to the sin of covetousness, 
 and men, ere they are well aware, are 
 drawn into courses from which at one 
 time they would have shrunk back with 
 horror. So also the cherishing of the 
 spirit of envy leads to the sins of un- 
 charitable judging, malice, detraction, 
 slander, all of which are destructive of a 
 man's pe/sonal happiness, as well as of 
 the peace of society. In the same way 
 vanity and pride stand not alone, but 
 bring in their train hatred and revenge, 
 as we see in the text, and as all history 
 testifies. And thus, by the indulgence 
 of forhidden passions and desires, men 
 not only deprive themselves of the com- 
 fort which they might derive from the 
 blessings of a kind providence, but, as 
 one sinful propensity leads to another, 
 they lay themselves open on every side 
 to many positive evils, from which, with 
 better regulated hearts, they would have 
 been completely free. 
 
 3. But in the third place, there is 
 another and more general application 
 that may be made of the text to matters 
 bearing more directly upon the spiritual* 
 interests of men. Hainan, describing to 
 his friends his wealth, his grandeur, his 
 various possessions, and his vast influ- 
 ence, had to conclude by saying : " All 
 this uvaileth me nothing." There was 
 still a something needed to complete his 
 happiness. Now, we say this is a true 
 picture of the feelings of worldly men, 
 who are destitute of the fear of God, 
 even when it cannot be affirmed of them 
 that they are in any marked manner the 
 slaves of evil passions. There is always 
 some dissatisfaction with their present 
 lot which needs to be removed ; there is 
 a want — a something which the soul 
 requires to its full and thorough well- 
 being, which all the world's good cannot 
 supply. That want originated in man's 
 apostasy, when he ceased to have God 
 
 as his friend and his chief good. It 
 makes itself felt ofttimes in the midst of 
 such profusion of earthly enjoyment as 
 would lead one to think that there could 
 be no want there. It will make itself 
 be felt awfully when the soul hovers on 
 the brink of eternity. Now this want 
 the Gospel of Christ supplies. Through 
 the acceptance of him by faith as the 
 Redeemer of the lost, the light of God's 
 countenance shines upon the soul, and 
 God himself comes again to be enjoyed 
 as the soul's chief good and portion. 
 Then providential blessings, and chastise- 
 ments also, are felt to be good ; yea, all 
 things work together for goo 1 to them 
 that believe in the Son of God, for they 
 are heirs of God and joint heirs with 
 Jesus Christ. 
 
 Yet let me here, before concluding 
 the present lecture, remind you that the 
 feeling of dissatisfaction with earthly 
 good does not of itself indicate a spiritual 
 mind, although sometimes it is unhappily 
 mistaken for it. I have referred to the 
 soul's want as felt and expressed not 
 unfrequenlly when death approaches. 
 And so it is, that under deep suffering, 
 and after long-protracted illness, the 
 confession will be made that the world 
 caunot satisfy, and that the strength has 
 been spent for that which is not bread. 
 But, my friends, do not wait till that 
 time ere you make the confession an I 
 seek the better portion. Why should 
 you live under the pressure of a felt 
 want which can be at this moment sup- 
 plied 1 Why should you, under the 
 dominance of some evil principle, de- 
 prive yourselves of the right relish for 
 the good gifts of God, by saying : " All 
 this availeth me nothing, while the very 
 tiling I long for is not given me." Dots 
 not the Saviour declare, with reference 
 to earthly good : " He that drinketh of 
 this water shall thirst again, but he that 
 drinketh of the water ttiat I shall give 
 him shall never thirst." Trust his 
 word, then, and take himself, and your 
 soul will have substantial and imperish- 
 able realities to feast upon. Amen. — ■ 
 Davidson. 
 
 Ver. 13. — Yet all this availeth me 
 nothing, so long as I see Mordecai the 
 Jew sitting at the king's gate. 
 
2)1 
 
 HOMILETIO QOMMEXTA RY: E 3THER. 
 
 [chap. v. 
 
 Raman himself confesses the vanity of 
 his high-swelling words. Why docs he 
 talk of his riches, of his children, of the 
 favour of the king and queen, of the 
 grandeur of his condition] That his 
 friends might congratulate him as the 
 happiest man in the king's dominions. 
 Yet with the same breath he declares 
 himself unhappy. He confesses, that all 
 that coniluence of blessings which swelled 
 him with pride, were not blessings to 
 him, because a certain man whom he 
 despised did not bow the knee to him. 
 
 There are few who will confess so 
 plainly as Haman the weakness of their 
 own spirit. Men are ashamed to say 
 that trifles disturb their minds, and de- 
 prive them of self-enjoyment. But it is 
 certain, that numbers, like Haman, are 
 miserable amidst the means of happiness, 
 because they want a disposition for en- 
 joying happiness. They are so unreason- 
 able, that a thousand enjoyments lose 
 their relish, for the want of something 
 else which they cannot obtain. " A good 
 man is satisfied from himself ; " and he 
 that is not satisfied from himself, will 
 not be satisfied from anything without 
 him. He is like a sick man surrounded 
 with the richest dainties. He cannot 
 relish them. He starves in the midst of 
 plenty. 
 
 Give a whole world of pleasure to a 
 man who loves the world, and the things 
 of it, he will soon find that something 
 is wanted, though perhaps he does not 
 know, so well as Hainan thought he did, 
 what it is. lb; finds some gall and 
 wormwood that, spread poison over his 
 pleasures. All his abundance cannot 
 compensate for the loss of some one 
 thing or other that he deems essential to 
 his happiness. The fact is, that the 
 world cannot give a right constitution to 
 his disordered soul, or be a substitute 
 lor that Divine favour in which lies the 
 life of our souls. Habakkuk, Paul, and 
 other good men, could be happy in the 
 want of every earthly enjoyment; nor 
 could all the miseries which are abhorred 
 by the generality of mankind greatly 
 disturb their tranquillity; for God was 
 the portion of their inheritance, and in 
 him they had what a thousand worlds 
 could not srive. But those who know 
 
 not God, and his Son Jesus Christ, in 
 whom are the light and the life of men, 
 know not the way of peace. Whatever 
 they have, they want the one thing need- 
 ful, without which all things else are 
 vanity, and vexation of spirit. 
 
 " I have all things, and abound," said 
 an apostle, who was often in hunger, and 
 thirst, and nakedness, and who, at the 
 time when he wrote these words, was a 
 poor prisoner that had newly received a 
 temporary supply from his friends. This 
 man had nothing, and yet possessed all 
 things. Ten thousand talents were but 
 a small part of Hainan's wealth, and yet 
 he is miserably poor, for all that he had 
 could avail him nothing. The believer 
 in Christ must be rich in the midst 
 of poverty ; for he is possessed of gold 
 tried in the fire. The man who knows 
 not Christ, is poor though he be rich ; 
 because he is utterly destitute of the 
 true riches. — Lawson. 
 
 Suppose a man has a very fair house 
 to dwell in, and he has fair orchards and 
 gardens, and set about Avith tall brave 
 trees for ornament ; what a most unreason- 
 able thing were it for him to be weeping 
 and wringing his hands because the wind 
 blows off a few leaves of his trees, when 
 he has abundance of all kinds of fruit ! 
 Thus it is with many ; though they have 
 a great many comforts about them, yet 
 some little matter, the blowing off a few 
 leaves even, is enough to disquiet them. 
 — Burroughs. 
 
 Our base hearts are more discontent- 
 ed at one loss than thankful for a hun- 
 dred mercies. God hath plucked one 
 bunch of grapes for you ; but how many 
 precious clusters are left behind. — 
 Watson. 
 
 Discontent is a secret boasting of some 
 excellency in ourselves, as if God did not 
 govern well, or we could govern better ! 
 Should a silly passenger, that understands 
 not the use of the compass, be angry that 
 the skilful pilot will not steer the vessel 
 according to his pleasure ? Must we give 
 out our orders to God, as though the 
 counsels of infinite wisdom must roll 
 about according to the conceits of our 
 fancy. — Charnock. 
 
 To secure a contented spirit, measure 
 your desires by your fortunes, and not 
 
CIIAP. V.] 
 
 HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: ESTHER, 
 
 203 
 
 your fortunes by your desires. — Jeremy 
 Taylor. 
 
 Contentment is a pearl of great price, 
 and whoever procures it at the expense 
 of ten thousand desires makes a wise and 
 happy purchase. — Balguy. 
 
 Be content ; and the best way to be 
 contented is, believe that condition best 
 which God carves out to you by his 
 providence. If God had seen it tit for 
 us to have more, we should have had it ; 
 but his wisdom sees this best for u-j. 
 Perhaps we could not manage a great 
 estate; it is hard to carry a full cup with- 
 out spilling, and a full estate without 
 sinning. Great estates may be snares ; 
 a boat may be overturned by having too 
 great a sail. The believing that estate 
 best God carves for us makes us content. 
 — Watson. 
 
 " The noblest mind the best contentment has." 
 
 Spenser. 
 
 " All great souls still make their own content ; 
 We to ourselves may all our wishes grant ; 
 For, nothing coveting, we nothing want." 
 
 Dryden. 
 
 " My crown is in my heart, not on my bead ; 
 Not decked with diamonds and Indian stones, 
 
 Nor to be seen ; my crown is call'd content ; 
 A crown it is that seldom kings enjoy." 
 
 Shakespeare. 
 
 " Cellars and granaries in vain we fill 
 With all the bounteous summer's store, 
 If the mind thirst and hunger still ; 
 The poor rich man's emphatically poor. 
 Slaves to the things we too much prize, 
 We masters grow of all that we despise." 
 
 Cowley. 
 
 " Contentment gives a crown, 
 Where fortune hath denied it." — Ford. 
 
 The nature of true content, says an old 
 writer, is to fill all the chinks of our de- 
 sires, as the wax does the seal. Content 
 is the poor man's riches, and desire is 
 the rich man's poverty. Riches and 
 poverty are more in the heart than in 
 the hand; he is wealthy that is contented ; 
 he is poor that wants it. 0, poor Ahab, 
 that carest not for thine own large pos- 
 sessions, because thou may est not have 
 another's ! 0, rich JSTaboth, that carest 
 not for all the dominions of Ahab, so 
 thou mayest enjoy thine own ! Content 
 produces in some measure all those effects 
 Avhich the alchemist usually ascribed to 
 what he calls the philosopher's stone, and 
 if it does not bring riches, it does the 
 same thing by banishing the desire of 
 them. — A ddison . 
 
 MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH. Verse 14. 
 
 The Speech op a Foolish Wipe. 
 
 Job said unto his wife, "Thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh;" 
 and if Hainan had been as good and as wise as Job he might have said the same 
 unto his wife, Zeresh. But Haman was not like Job ; and it may be that his wife 
 and his friends spoke according to that which they knew would harmonize with 
 his depraved and wicked nature. Sometimes the wife is the salvation of her 
 husband, but too often by the natural delicacy of her nature she follows his 
 leadings. We know little about Zeresh, but her speech in this verse at least doe-* 
 not tend to give us an exalted view of her character. Here we find that the wicked 
 Haman is joined to, and backed up by, a wicked wife. We now refer to the wife, 
 and leave the friends alone, for she is evidently the mouth-piece of the company. 
 She leads the counsel; she lays down the diabolical plan by which Haman may seek 
 to satisfy his revenge. A good wife, who shall tell her value ] A bad wife, who 
 shall declare her power of mischief 1 ? Haman was now far gone in wickedness ; but 
 a good wife might still have done much for his restraint. 
 
 I. The speech of this foolish wife is vindictive. Here are none of those sweet 
 Avords which we naturally expect from a gentle woman. There is not the slightest 
 trace of that tenderness which should be the characteristic and the glory of the 
 female nature. There is rather the hard cruelty of Lady Macbeth inciting her 
 shrinking husband to the performance of the murderous deed. " Let a gallows be 
 
201 JIOM1LETIG COMMENTARY: ESTHER. [CITAP. V. 
 
 made of fifty cubits high." L"t the lofty gallows speak of the all-mastering force 
 of the revenge. Let the ignominious nature of the punishment set forth thy 
 determination to glut thy wicked feelings. Revenge is loathsome in any. Never 
 does revenge seem more loathsome than in a woman. The wife, the mother, 
 appears to view with a nature so hard that we can scarcely imagine hpr capable of 
 motherly feeling. Is it possible that the woman who speaks in this verse ever 
 gloated with motherly love and fondness over the infant beauty of her fir«t-born1 
 But what strange mixtures we are. Zeresh might have run to her child in distress, 
 and have gently nurtured the sick ones; and yet can say, "Let a gallows be made 
 of fifty cubits high." Strange inconsistency ! Our human love is too often of a 
 mere selfish character. Divine love is not self-considering. It flows out to the evil 
 and the good. Human love must be formed after the pattern of Divine love if it 
 is to work beneficially, and to be ennobling. 
 
 II. The speech of this foolish wife is flattering. " To-morrow speak thou 
 unto the king." Thou art all-powerful at Court; use thy power for the removal of 
 thy hated enemy sitting at the king's gate, and causing thee constant annoyance. 
 The pleasant words of a dear wife are encouraging. The busy world does not 
 sufficiently consider how much it owes to the stimulating words of good wives 
 living in retirement, living for those whom, they fondly love, living to strengthen 
 their husbands for the stern battle. The faith of a fond wife in her husband's power 
 has but the husband's salvation. Happy is it for the nervous and sensitive husband 
 that the wife considers him a hero, and loves to extol his virtues. A true wife has 
 large conceptions of her husband's abilities. Zeresh may still have believed in her 
 •wicked husband. But her flattery is ruinous. Let discretion rule in our loving 
 words. Let us beware lest we be led astray to our own destruction by flattering 
 "words. 
 
 III. The speech of this foolish wife is cruel. Bitterly cruel as coming from a 
 woman. Cruel if we consider the doom proposed for poor Mordecai ; and cruel if 
 we consider the repellent selfishness to be encouraged by the exhortation. " Then 
 go thou in merrily with the king to the banquet." What is Mordecai's crime that 
 lie should be impaled on the lofty tree? What has so hardened the delicate nature 
 of a woman that she can speak callously of that most awful form of human punish- 
 ment 1 How very hard a woman can be when she sets herself to be hard. The 
 hellish cruelty of a cruel woman is the most awful fact on God's sin-blighted earth. 
 Happy the man so far who has never had to experience the effects of such cruelty! 
 Oh, Zeresh, this is not the high road to merriment! The gallows on which the 
 Mordecais hang are not the means by which it is to be secured. Well, yes, perhaps 
 merriment, but not lasting happiness. The laughter of fools, but not the deep 
 joy of the righteous. Merriment ami hanging ! The banquet and the gallows ! 
 Extremes meet in this world of contradictions. Joy and sorrow tread upon each 
 other's heels. Tears and smiles are close together in this strangely disordered 
 universe. The gallows is raised by selfishness. Merriment is the outcome of 
 selfishness. Celestial joy is the outcome of benevolence. 
 
 IV. The speech of this foolish wife was pleasing. "The thing pleased 
 Hainan." It was intended to please, and the object was accomplished. Depraved 
 nature is pleased by that which ministers to its depravity. Had Zeresh set herself 
 to reform Hainan, the work would have been more difficult, less pleasing, but 
 perhaps more satisfactory in the long run. The work of the reformer is always 
 difficult, and not always satisfactory in this world. Some tell us that speaking the 
 truth always pays. That men at first may not like the truth, but that afterwards 
 they come to respect the speaker, and even give a testimonial. The only testimonial 
 that Stephen rece ved was stones, not curiously carved, not having inscribed upon 
 them his virtues, and not presented by a kid-gloved deputation. Stephen was not 
 likely to receive much benefit in this world from the report of his testimonial as 
 sent to the Christian newspapers of his time. Zeresh had evidently no high-souled 
 
c:ivp. v.] 
 
 113 MI LET 10 COMMENTARY : ESTHER. 
 
 2'Ja 
 
 views; she spoke of the present, like too many. She pleased Haman, and thought 
 of no dreadful future. 
 
 V. The speech of this foolish wife was ruinously successful. Haman caused 
 the gallows to be made in accordance with the suggestion of Zeresh and the friends. 
 There is a success which is ruinous, and this was one of the kind. Ruinous not 
 to Mordecai, but to Haman and to Zeresh. Our own words are sometimes our own 
 bitter and relentless destroyers. "By thy words thou shalt be justified, and by 
 thy words shalt thou be condemned." In lonely hours of bitter grief did the words 
 of Zeresh haunt her memory, and fill her soul with anguish. As she saw her poor 
 Haman impaled on the lofty gallows, how she would have liked to have recalled the 
 foolish words. But they cannot be recalled. Foolish words once spoken are spoken 
 beyond control. Be slow to speak. Be swift to hear. In consigning other people 
 to sorrow we must inflict sorrow on ourselves. Those who erect the gallows for 
 others should walk very carefully themselves. 
 
 Suggestive Comments on Verse 14. 
 
 An envious man cannot peacefully 
 enjoy the benefits which God gives him. 
 " Go not after thy lusts, but refrain thy- 
 self from thine appetites." It is very 
 grievous of wives to urge their husbands 
 to do wickedly. He who digs a pit for 
 others will fall in himself. We must 
 not of ourselves revenge ourselves on 
 our enemy, but first bring him before the 
 proper tribunal. "When the wicked are 
 busy to remove from their path what 
 will mar their earthly joy, then, on the 
 other hand, the godly should be diligent 
 to remove that which will embitter their 
 spiritual and heavenly joy. — Starke. 
 
 Observe how false and vain is the con- 
 fidence of impious and cruel men, who 
 seek and hope to oppress, and utterly 
 destroy, the servants of God. It is them- 
 selves that perish by the just judgment 
 of God, and they are often caught by 
 the very snares they lay for others ; 
 while God rescues his servants, and 
 magnificently vindicates them. Goliath 
 and Holofernes are slain with their own 
 swords, and the saints triumph with their 
 heads. The Babylonian satraps seemed 
 to themselves secure, when the flames 
 and the lions were about to devour 
 Daniel and his companions ; but the 
 latter were gloriously preserved, and the 
 former ignominously perished by their 
 own artifices and instruments. Pharaoh 
 boasted, " I will overtake (the Hebrews); 
 I will divide the spoil ; " but he imme- 
 diately became food for the fishes, and a 
 prey for the servants of the Lord. " The 
 Lord knoweth the thoughts of man tli it 
 
 they are foolishness." " He that sitteth 
 in the heavens shall laugh at them." 
 These are the effects of the judgment of 
 which the Holy Spirit speaks by the 
 prophets : "Evil-doers shall be cut off; 
 but those that wait upon the Lord, they 
 shall inherit the earth." Let us there- 
 fore cast away impious security, contempt 
 of God, and inhumanity towards others ; 
 but let us walk in the love and fear of 
 the Lord, that at length we may come 
 to His heavenly kingdom.- — Feuardent. 
 
 The wit of women hath wont to be 
 noted for more sudden, and more sharp. 
 Zeresh, the wife of Haman, sets on foot 
 the motion of speedy revenge, which is 
 applauded by the rest. I do not hear 
 them say : Be patient awhile ; thou hast 
 already set Mordecai his last day ; the 
 month Adar will not be long in coming ; 
 the determination of his death hath 
 made him desperate ; let him in the 
 mean time eat his own heart in envy at 
 thy greatness. But they rather advise 
 of a (piick despatch. Malice is a thing 
 full of impatience, and hates delay of 
 execution next unto mercy. While any 
 grudge lies at the heart, it cannot be 
 freely cheerful. Forced smiles are but 
 the hypocrisy of mirth. How happy 
 were it for us, if we would be zealously 
 careful to remove the hindrances of our 
 true spiritual joy, those stubborn corrup- 
 tions that will not stoop to the power of 
 grace. — Bishop Hall. 
 
 " Thou canst never prevail against 
 Mordecai by means which have already 
 been brought to bear against his people," 
 
203 
 
 I10MILETIC COMMENTARY: ESTHER. 
 
 [chap. v. 
 
 said Zeresh fco Hainan. "Thon canst 
 mil kill him with a knife or sword, for 
 Isaac was delivered from the same; 
 neither canst thou drown him, for Moses 
 and the people of Israel walked safely 
 through the sea. Fire will not burn 
 him, for with Chananyah and his com- 
 rades it failed ; wild beasts will not 
 tear him, for Daniel was rescued from 
 the lion's fangs; neither will a dungeon 
 contain him, for Joseph walked to honour 
 through a prison's gates. Even if we 
 deprive him of sight, we cannot prevail 
 against him, for Samson was made blind, 
 and yet destroyed thousands of the 
 Philistines. There is but one way left 
 us; we must hang him." It was in ac- 
 cordance with this advice that Haman 
 built the gallows fifty cubits high. 
 After he had erected this dread instru- 
 ment of death, he sought the presence 
 of Mordecai, to gloat over his coming 
 triumph, lie found the Jew in the 
 College, with his pupils gathered around 
 him. Their loins were girded in sack- 
 cloth, and they wept at the words which 
 their teacher was addressing to them. 
 " To-morrow," said Haman, " I will fir.^t 
 destroy these children, and I will then 
 hang Mordecai on the gallows I have pre- 
 pared." He remained in the school and 
 saw the mothers of the pupils bring them 
 their meals ; but they all refused to eat, 
 saying: "By the life of our teacher, 
 Mordecai, we will neither eat nor drink; 
 fasting will we die." 
 
 But Haman was to receive his punish- 
 ment. There is a saying of the Rabbis : 
 " If a stone falls upon a pitcher, the 
 pitcher breaks ; if the pitcher falls upon 
 the stone, the pitcher also breaks." Be 
 it as it may, it is bad for the pitcher, 
 am I bad similarly for the enemies of 
 Israel ; for even when Israel strays from 
 righteousness, the instruments of their 
 chastisement are also punished, as in 
 the instances of Nebuchadnezzar, Titus, 
 Hainan, &c. — Talmud. 
 
 Haman was pleased with the advice 
 of his friends, and began to put it in 
 execution. Hut he found too soon, that 
 "he who llaftereth a man spreadeth a 
 net for his feet." Hainan prepared f"i- 
 Mordecai in intention, but for himself 
 in reality, a gallows of fifty cubits high. 
 
 Remember and believe the instruction of 
 the wise man, "He that diggeth a pit 
 shall fall into it ; and whoso breaketh 
 an hedge a serpent shall bite him." — - 
 Lawson. 
 
 As Mordecai's offence had been pre- 
 sumptuous above measure in the view of 
 Haman and his friends, so the punish- 
 ment of it was to be conspicuous. The 
 gallows on which he was to be hanged 
 was to be upwards of forty feet (seventy- 
 five feet) in height, so that the victim 
 might be exposed to the view of the 
 Avhole city — so that all might learn that 
 it was no slight matter to provoke the 
 vengeance of the favourite of the king. 
 And mark how the thirst for vengeance 
 converts men into fiends. Far more grati- 
 fying than any of the luxuries which 
 he could taste at the table of the queen 
 would be the sight to Haman of Mor- 
 decai hanging on the gibbet. " Have 
 everything ready to feed your revenge," 
 his friends said to him, " and then go in 
 merrily with the king unto the banquet." 
 Generally a deed of cruelty and blood- 
 shed for a time destroys, even in Avicked 
 men, their relish for their usual plea- 
 sure. But there are monsters in human 
 form, as the recent massacres in India 
 show us ; indeed as all history shows 
 us ; and as we see here in the case of 
 Haman. There are human fiends who, 
 when their passions are inflamed, riot in 
 cruelty, and feel as if the exercise of it 
 gave a zest to all their other enjoyments. 
 Some philosophers talk of the innate 
 dignity and excellence of human nature, 
 but it may be safely said that there is no 
 enormity which men will not perpetrate 
 when they are left to themselves, and 
 destitute of the softening and elevating 
 influence of true religion. 
 
 But passing from this topic, Ave may 
 suppose now, Avhen Hainan Avas com- 
 forted by the suggestion of his friends, 
 that the two things which chierty occu- 
 pied his mind and pleased him, were the 
 preparation of the galloAvs for Mordecai, 
 and the thought of the interview with 
 the king on the morrow, Avhen he felt 
 sure he would obtain the request he was 
 to make. "Behold the wicked," says 
 the Psalmist, "he travaileth with in- 
 iquity, and hath conceived mischief : he' 
 
CHAP. V.] 
 
 HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: ESTHER. 
 
 207 
 
 made a pit and digged it, and is fallen 
 into the ditch which he made : his mis- 
 chief shall return upon his own head, 
 and his violent dealing shall come down 
 upon himself." That night was spent 
 in Hainan's house — -by his slaves in 
 making all ready for the murderous deed 
 of the morrow, and by himself, in joyous 
 anticipation of having his victim fully 
 within his power. 
 
 " Macbeth. If we should fail,- 
 
 Lady M. We fail. 
 
 But screw your courage to the sticking place, 
 And we'll not fail. When Duncan is asleep, 
 (Whereto the rather shall his day's hard journey 
 Soundly invite him,) his two chamberlains 
 Will I with wine and wassel so convince, 
 That memory, the warder of the brain, 
 Shall be a fume, and the receipt of reason 
 A limbeck only : When in swinish sleep 
 Their drenched natures lie, as in a death, 
 What cannot you and I perform upon 
 The unguarded Duncan ? what not put upon 
 His spongy officers : who shall bear the guiit 
 Of our great quell ? " 
 
 Shakespeare. 
 
 A good wife, says an old writer, is 
 heaven's last, best gift to man : his 
 angel of mercy ; minister of graces in- 
 numerable ; his gem of many virtues ; 
 his casket of jewels. Her voice, his 
 sweetest music; her smiles, his brightest 
 day ; her kiss, the guardian of innocence ; 
 her arms, the pall of his safety, the balm 
 of his health, the balsam of his life ; her 
 industry, his sweetest wealth ; her eco- 
 nomy, his safest steward ; her lips, his 
 faithful counsellors; her bosom, the softest 
 pillow of his cares ; and her prayers, the 
 ablest advocates of heaven's blessing on 
 his head. A married man falling into 
 misfortune is more apt to retrieve his 
 situation in the world than a single one, 
 chiefly because his spirits are soothed 
 and retrieved by domestic endearments, 
 and his self-respect kept alive by finding 
 that although all abroad be darkness 
 and humiliation, yet there is a little 
 world of love at home over which he is 
 monarch. 
 
 ILLUSTEATIOXS TO CHAPTER V. 
 
 Vers. 1, 2. Workmen in the tunnel. Not 
 many years since a number of workmen were 
 engaged in constructing a railway tunnel. In 
 the midst of their work there was a sudden fall 
 of earth, which completely closed the entrance, 
 and shut them up from the outer world. Their 
 comrades outside, as soon as they discovered 
 what had happened, began digging through the 
 mass of earth. It was many hours before the 
 task was accomplished. They found them quietly 
 pursuing their labour inside the tunnel. Their 
 work had never been interrupted. They had 
 eaten their dinner, and gone on digging and 
 boring. They knew, they said, that their fellow- 
 workmen would rescue them ; and so they went 
 on with their labour. Transfer their state of 
 mind to the Christian in his perplexities, and 
 we see exactly what practical faith is. Faith 
 teaches the believer, in the midst of the severest 
 difficulty, not to set about forcing a way out of 
 his trouble, but just to ply his pickaxe and spade 
 in the work which is straight before him, leaving 
 it to the Father above to make a way of escape 
 for him. In the right manner, and at the right 
 moment, the help comes, and the Christian goes 
 on his way more rejoicing. — Hooper. 
 
 Vers. 1,2. The spider's web. See the spider 
 casting out her film to the gale; she feels per- 
 suaded that somewhere or other it will adhere, 
 and form the commencement of her web. She 
 commits the slender filament to the breeze, be- 
 lieving that there is a place provided for it to fix 
 itself. In this fashion should we believingly 
 east forth our endeavours in this life, confident 
 
 that God will find a place for us. He who bids 
 us pray and work will aid our efforts, and guide 
 us in his Providence in a right way. Sit not 
 still in despair, son of toil, but again cast 
 out the floating thread of hopeful endeavour, and 
 the mind of love will bear it to its resting-place ! 
 — Spurgeon. 
 
 Vers. 1,2. Christopher Columbus. Christopher 
 Columbus, if we have a right understanding of 
 his character, was a man of a self-controlled and 
 quiet spirit. The foundation of this subdued 
 and immovable calmness of spirit, which sup- 
 ported him under immense labours, deprivations, 
 and sufferings, was faith, undoubtedly. And it 
 is very possible that it was, to a considerable 
 degree at least, natural faith. That is to say, 
 he had faith in his mathematical and geographical 
 deductions ; he had faith in his personal skill as a 
 navigator ; he had faith in his own personal in- 
 fluence over minds of less power ; he had faith 
 in his integrity of purpose. He felt, therefore, 
 that he stood on a strong foundation ; and this 
 inward conviction, strengthened perhaps in some 
 degree by religious sentiments, imparted, both 
 inwardly and outwardly, that self-possessed and 
 delightful calmness of spirit and manner which 
 is one of the surest indices of true greatness. — ■ 
 Upham. 
 
 Dr. Livingstone's tonic. — This certainly served 
 the great traveller well in the long comest with 
 obstacles of every kind. His work was conse- 
 crated to God, and the consciousness that he was 
 faithfully serving him gave strength in the midst 
 of weakness, and saved him from despair. One 
 
208 
 
 110M1LETIC COMMENTARY: ESTHER. 
 
 [CIIAP. Y. 
 
 month before his death lie wrote: "Nothing 
 earthly will make me give up my work in despair. 
 I encourage mvself in the Lord my God, and go 
 forward." It 'was this spirit that sustained him 
 from the first. He might be prostrated again 
 and again by bodily illness, but nothing could 
 make him an invalid Christian, even for a day. 
 
 Singing in prison.— On one occasion some 
 of the converts were apprehended, and unjustly 
 put in prison. One of the party was the native 
 preacher. They were kept in prison several days. 
 'I'll,. Sabbath came round, and though shut up, 
 like Paul and Silas, they determined to worship 
 God in the jail. They sang aloud the praises of 
 God. Their keepers came to forhid and scold 
 them ; the native preacher then began to preach 
 to them. At length the chief officer of the 
 Zemindhar was obliged to set them at liborty, 
 savin?, "What can we do with these people? 
 If' wc'imprison them they sing ; if we scold them, 
 they preach and argue." _ # 
 
 When Madame Guyon was imprisoned in the 
 Castle of Vincennes, in 1695, she not only sang, 
 but wrote songs of praise unto her God. 
 
 Vers. 1 2. Martyrs' heroism. "When the 
 executioner went behind Jerome of Prague to set 
 fire to the pile, " Come here," said the martyr, 
 •• and kindle it before my eyes ; for if I dreaded 
 such a sight, I should never have come to this 
 place when l had a free opportunity to escape." 
 The tire was kindled, and he then sang a hymn, 
 which was soon finished by the encircling flames. 
 Algerius, an Italian martyr, thus wrote from his 
 prison, a little before his death ■ " Who would 
 believe that in this dungeon I should find a para- 
 dise so pleasant ?— in a place of sorrow and death, 
 tranquillity, and hope, and life ; where others 
 ween, I rejoice." Wishart, when in the fire 
 which removed him from the world, exclaimed ; 
 " The flame doth torment my body, but no whit 
 abates my spirits."— New Cyclopedia of Anecdote. 
 Vers. 1 2. Faith the soul's venture. Faith is 
 nothing else but the soul's venture. It ventures 
 to Chnst, in opposition to all legal terrors; it 
 ventures on Christ, in opposition to our guilti- 
 ness ; it ventures for Christ, in opposition to all 
 difficulties and discouragements. — IV. Bridge. 
 
 Ver. 2. A bold petitioner. The Romans had 
 a law that no person should approach the em- 
 peror's tent in the night, upon pain of death ; but 
 it once happened that a soldier was found in that 
 situation, with a petition in his hand, waiting for 
 an opportunity of presenting it. He was appre- 
 hended, andgoing to be immediately executed; but 
 the emperor, having overheard the matter in his 
 pavilion, cried aloud, saying, " If the petition 
 be for himself, let him die; if for another, spare 
 his life." Upon inquiry, it was found that the 
 generous soldier prayed for the lives of his two 
 comrades who had been taken asleep on the watch. 
 The emperor nobly forgave them all. — Biblical 
 Museum. 
 
 Vers. 3, 5. Alexander the Great. Alexander 
 the Great had a famous but indigent philosopher 
 in his Court, who, on one occasion, being particu- 
 larly straitened in his circumstances, applied to 
 his patron for aid. Alexander at onee gave him 
 a commission to receive of his treasurer what- 
 
 ever he wanted. He immediately demanded, in 
 his sovereign's name, ten thousand pounds. The 
 treasurer, before complying, waited upon the 
 king, and told him how exorbitant he thought 
 the sum. Alexander heard him with patience, 
 and then replied : " Let the money be instantly 
 paid ; I am delighted with this philosopher's way 
 of thinking; by the largeness of his request, he 
 shows the high idea he bas conceived both of my 
 superior wealth and my royal munificence. 
 
 Vers. 3, 5. Theodosins and Sigismimd. Theo- 
 dosius, Archbishop of Cologne, when the Em- 
 peror Sigismund demanded of him the directest 
 and most compendious way how to obtain true 
 happiness, made answer in brief thus : " Perform 
 when thou art well what thou promisedst when 
 thou wast sick." David did so ; he made vows in 
 war, and paid them in peace. And thus should 
 all good men do, not like the cunning devil, of 
 whom the epigrammist thus writeth : 
 
 " jEgrotat daemon, monachus tunc esse volebat ; 
 Convaluit diemon, monachus tunc esse nolebat." 
 
 Well Englished— 
 
 " The devil was sick, the devil a monk would be ; 
 Tbe devil got well, the devil a monk was he." 
 
 Nor like unto many now-a-days, that if God's 
 hand do but lie somewhat heavy upon them, oh ! 
 what promises, what engagements are there for 
 amendment of life ! How like unto marble against 
 rain do they seem to sweat and melt, but still 
 retain their hardness ; let but the rod be taken 
 off their backs, or health restored, then as their 
 bodies live their vows die, all is forgotten ; nay, 
 many times it so falleth out, that they are far 
 worse than ever they were before. — Spencer. 
 
 Ingratitude to God. — The English proverb 
 says, " The river past and God forgotten," to 
 express with how mournful a frequency, he 
 whose assistance was invoked — it may have been 
 earnestly in the moment of peril— is remembered 
 no more so soon as by his help the danger has 
 been surmounted. And the Italian form of it 
 sounds a still sadder depth of ingratitude : "The 
 peril passed, the saint mocked," the vows made to 
 him in peril remaining unperformed in safety, 
 and he treated somewhat as in Greek story Juno 
 was treated by Mandrabulus the Samian, who 
 having, under her auspices and through her di- 
 rection, discovered a gold mine, in his instant 
 gratitude vowed to her a golden ram, which he 
 presently exchanged in intention for a silver one, 
 and again this for a very small brass one, and 
 this for nothing at all. — Trench. 
 
 Ver. 3. God's promises conditional. A pro- 
 clamation is read, wherein a Christian king giants 
 honour and wealth to certain of his subjects, with 
 assurance of donation on their just demand. One 
 amongst the multitude leaps at the news, springs 
 away, and stays not to hear it out ; there is a 
 condition following, provided first, that they put 
 on arms, and expel the Turk which infests some 
 part of his dominions. This man comes one of 
 the foremost to demand the promised honours; 
 he is asked for a testimony of his valour and 
 service in the wars. Alas, he never tarried to 
 hear that condition, and therefore lost the retri 
 
CHAP. V.] 
 
 nOMILETIC COMMENTARY : ESTHER. 
 
 209 
 
 bution. Thus it is that God promised) eternal 
 life to men ; withal chargeth them to believe in 
 Christ, and to do their faithful service against the 
 world, the flesh, and the devil ; but so it is, that 
 many are quite lost, for not staying to hear the 
 proclamation of the Gospel out, they run away 
 with opinion of sufficient belief, and never think 
 of obedience; whereas the promises of God are 
 conditional. As there is a reward promised, so 
 there is a condition promised; it must be our 
 obedience first, and then comes in God's reconi- 
 pence ; our devotion goes before, and his retri- 
 bution follows after. — Spencer. 
 
 Vers. 6, 8. Gossner. Standing by bis grave, 
 one said of him, that it was not hyperbole, " He 
 prayed up the walls of an hospital, and the hearts 
 of the nurses ; he prayed mission-stations into 
 being, and missionaries into faith; he prayed 
 open the hearts of the rich, and gold from the 
 most distant lands." And as for his sermons, 
 the power of the Word did not lie so much in the 
 thoughts, or in the art of the preacher, as in 
 prayer. Prayer was his atmosphere ; he could 
 not live without it. So soon as he came to 
 Berlin, he gathered a few round him for prayer. 
 They continued in prayer while he lived. He 
 could not be present where it was excluded. 
 The Bible Society had determined to open its 
 committee meetings only with silent prayer; he 
 protested, and the protest showed how deeply his 
 heart was sunk in the heart of Christ. " A 
 Bible society that does not begin with prayer is 
 to my mind a synagoga profanorum. I do not 
 despise a short silent prayer ; but it is too little 
 at a Bible Society, and no more than if a nurse 
 said to a child, ' Make a curtsey,' and it made 
 it, and that was all. If I went to the meeting 
 and sought prayer, and it was forbidden, I would 
 take my hat and stick and run out as if a mad 
 dog had bitten me. If I could raise the dead, I 
 would go to Wittenberg and call Luther out of 
 his grave, and Spener, and Arndt, and Andrea, 
 and bring them to the Bible Society at Berlin, 
 and let them decide." — Stevenson's Fraying and 
 Working. 
 
 Vers. 6, 8. Effective prayer. — God looks not 
 at the pomp of words and variety of expressions, 
 but at the sincerity and devotion of the heart. 
 The key opens the door, not because it is gilt, but 
 because it fits the lock. 
 
 Constant in prayer. — Felix Neff once made 
 the following comparison: "When a pump is 
 frequently used, but little pains are necessary to 
 have water; the water pours out at the first 
 stroke, because it is high. But if the pump has 
 not been used for a long while, the water gets 
 low, and when you want it you must pump a 
 long while, and the water comes only after great 
 efforts. It is so with prayer ; if we are instant 
 in prayer, every little circumstance awakens the 
 disposition to pray, and desires and words are 
 always ready. But if we neglect prayer it is 
 difficult for us to pray ; for the water in the well 
 gets low.'' 
 
 Vers. 6,8. Ansrcer to earnest prayer. — "At 
 the time the Diet of Nuremburg was held," says 
 Tholuck, " Luther was earnestly praying in his 
 own dwelling; and at the very hour when the 
 
 edict granting free toleration to all Protestants 
 was issued, he ran out of bis house, crying out, 
 ' We have gained the victory ! Do you under- 
 stand that?" - ' 
 
 Vers. 6, 8. Access to God. However early in 
 the morning you seek the gate of access, you find 
 it already open ; and however deep the midnight 
 moment when you find yourself in the sudden 
 arms of death, the winged prayer can bring an in- 
 stant Saviour, and this wherever you are. 1 1 needs 
 not. that you should enter some awful shrine, or 
 pull off your shoes on some holy ground. Could 
 a memento be reared on every spot from which 
 an acceptable prayer has passed away, and on 
 which a prompt answer has come down, we 
 should find Jehovah-shammah, "the Lord has 
 been here," inscribed on many a cottage hearth 
 and many a dungeon floor. — Dr. James Hamilton. 
 
 Vers. 6, 8. Christ presenting our prayers. — 
 " A child," says Ambrose, " that is willing to pre- 
 sent his father with a bouquet, goes into the 
 garden, and there gathers some flowers and some 
 weeds together ; but, coming to his mother, she 
 picks out the weeds and binds the flowers, and 
 so it is presented to the father." Thus, when we 
 have put up our prayers, Christ comes and picks 
 away the weeds, the sin of our prayers, and pre- 
 sents nothing but flowers to his Father, which are 
 a sweet-smelling savour. — T. Watson. 
 
 Ver. 6, 7. The late Dr. William Patton. 
 The story is told that Dr. Patton once met a 
 pious friend with a troubled face, who said ; 
 " Doctor, you are just the man I have been 
 wanting to see ; I wish to ask you a question." 
 "Well," said the Doctor, "what is it that is 
 troubling you to-day?" "Be quiet," said his 
 friend, " and I will tell you ! Now we read that 
 (>od is just, merciful, and kind," said the friend. 
 "That is what we preach," said Dr. Patton. 
 "The Bible further says: 'Ask, and ye shall 
 receive ; seek, and ye shall find ; knock, and it 
 shall he opened unto you.' ' ' " Correctly quoted," 
 said the Doctor. "Again," added his friend, 
 " the good Book says, 'not one jot or tittle of my 
 Word shall fail.' " " Very true," said the Doctor. 
 "Now," said the anxious friend, "if all that I 
 have quoted is correct, and the Bible be true, I 
 want to ask you bow it is, Doctor, that 1 have 
 been praying to God for the last thirty years that 
 he will do certain things for me, and, so far as I 
 know, not a single thing that I have asked for 
 has been granted ? Pray tell me why I have not 
 received answers to my prayers? " The Doctor 
 replied : " My friend, did it ever occur to you 
 that you were presenting bills to God and ask- 
 ing payment for the same before they were due?" 
 — Christian Age. 
 
 Ver. 6. Protection through pi-ayer. In a vil- 
 lage in Germany, a poor widow was lying sick m 
 bed, when suddenly a party of soldiers came into 
 the room. They said they had been sent to stay 
 at her house, and in a violent way they demanded 
 bread, and meat, and beer. The poor woman 
 said she had not bread enough in the house for 
 herself and her little ones to eat, and that for her 
 to feed them was impossible. This made the men 
 angry. They began to break and smash things 
 to pieces. They swore at her terribly, an I even 
 
210 
 
 JIOM1LETW COMMENTARY: ESTHER. 
 
 [chap. v. 
 
 threatened to beat her, unless she gave them what 
 they wanted at onre. Just then, a little hoy, 
 about four years old, who had ran into a corner 
 to hide himself, in terror, when the soldiers first 
 entered the house, came out from his hiding-place. 
 He kneeled down by his mother's bed, and offered 
 this simple prayer : " dear, kind Jesus, please 
 don't let them hurt mother ! make them good to 
 her, and bless them. Amen." One of the soldiers, 
 who had a little boy at home, of about the same 
 age, was very much moved by the dear child's 
 prayer. It brought the tears to his eyes, and in 
 a low voice he said : " Comrades, let's go some- 
 where else. In a house where a pious child like 
 this lives, God himself must dwell. This is no 
 place for us. Let's go." They did go ; but be- 
 fore going, the soldier put two pieces of money 
 in the hand of the child. — Rev. R. Newton. 
 
 Ver. 6. Family prayers. Family prayers 
 will be a secular advantage. A father went into 
 the war to serve his country. His children stayed 
 and cultured the farm. His wife prayed. One 
 of the sons said afterward, " Father is fighting, 
 and we are digging, and mother is praying." 
 " Ah ! " said some one, " praying, and digging, 
 and fighting, will bring us out of our national 
 troubles." We may say in the morning, " Give 
 me this day my daily bread," and sit down in 
 idleness and starve to death ; but prayer and 
 hard work will give a livelihood to any family. 
 Family religion pays for both worlds. Let us 
 have an altar in each one of our households. You 
 may not be able to formulate a prayer. Then 
 there are Philip Henry's prayers, and there 
 are McDufF's prayers, and there are Philip 
 Doddridge's prayers, and there are the Episcopal 
 Church prayers, and there are scores of books 
 with supplications just suited to the domestic 
 circle. I have been told that in the White 
 House at "Washington every day the President's 
 family kneel, and recite the Lord's prayer. 
 Family prayers in the White House have kept 
 the Administration cool and calm, while much 
 of the time Congress has been playing the fool. 
 — Tu Image. 
 
 Ver. 13. Selfishness. Haman as a type. We 
 are all too slow to learn the lesson, " Thou art 
 the man ; " so that, whilst one's thoughts centre 
 upon Haman, the victim of selfishness, we can 
 with difficulty realize the antitype in ourselves. 
 Nevertheless, the scene in Shushan the palace is 
 a scene in every-day life. The world is a palace 
 of vanity, and abounds with Hamans. " I would 
 have this or that," is the utterance of the soul 
 coveting some longed-for possession. It has it, 
 and it is not satisfied. How can it? An immortal 
 be satisfied with the painted, tinselled finery of 
 fading time ! It asks for some near object. "Oh 
 that I had but that!" It obtains it, and its 
 appetite is but'whetfed for more. Anothi r prize, 
 and another disappointment ; another tide of 
 
 h ge, fame, adulation, and another ebbing, 
 
 with only worthless weeds left on the forsaken 
 shore. Another freight of honour to Hainan, and 
 another unbending figure in the rear, whose dark 
 shadow lies outspread upon his pathway, so that 
 all he hath availeth him nothing, — "he is not 
 satisfied." If all this then availeth nothing, 
 
 what will avail ? Now " sin," says Bishop 
 Reynolds. " put bitterness into the soul, that it 
 cannot relish the creature, and it put vanity into 
 the creature that it cannot satisfy the soul ; 
 therefore the creature, so long as it is empty of 
 God, must needs he full of vanity and vexation." 
 Hence no one can be truly happy and contented, 
 he his possessions ever so large and splendid, till 
 he grasp by faith the "pearl of great price;" 
 then envy dies, and Mordecai vanishes. — New 
 Cyclopaedia of Anecdote. 
 
 Ver. 11. The ungodly Pope. A certain Pope 
 had engraved upon the gates of his new-built 
 college : " Utrecht (where he was born) planted 
 me ; Lovain (where he was bred) watered me ; 
 but Coesar (who promoted him to the Popedom) 
 gave increase ; " and a merry passenger under- 
 wrote : "Hie Dens nihil fecit" — lure God did 
 nothing. God had done much for him, but for a 
 misrhief to him ; as he once gave the Israelites 
 quails to choke them, and a king to vex them ; as 
 Saul gave Michal to David to be a snare to him ; 
 and as our Saviour gave Judas the bag, to discover 
 the rottenness of his heart. Haman telleth what 
 the king had done for him, but not a little what 
 God. God was not in all his thoughts. — Trapp. 
 
 Ver. 18. The danger of discontent. I recall 
 a picture I once saw in a public gallery. It was 
 a scene in the higher Alps. A noble eagle was 
 in flight, and scores of birds were pursuing him. 
 The hawks and other larger birds he could keep 
 at a distance, as whenever they came near he 
 tore them with his claws, or struck them with 
 his beak. Some humming-birds had joined the 
 others in an attack on the eagle ; one of them, 
 scarcely visible in the picture, so tiny a thing is 
 it in comparison with the king of birds, was 
 sitting on his head, pecking away, and scattering 
 the feathers as the eagle soared higher. Natural- 
 ists tell us that sometimes the humming-bird will 
 so peck the head and injure the brain of the 
 eagle as to cause his death, while seldom or 
 never in a fair fight with larger birds is he 
 injured. The humming-bird is small, and has a 
 small beak and but little strength ; but sitting 
 on the vital part, and constantly teasing, he 
 very frequently accomplishes his work of (hath. 
 The eagle cannot bite or claw him, and he has 
 not the presence of mind to dip his head in the 
 sea, and thus drown bis pursuer. 
 
 How often is it the case that we allow little 
 things to annoy us, to destroy our peace, and 
 our happiness, and health ? Great troubles we 
 manfully meet and conquer ; but little things — 
 humming-bird troubles -get near our heart, and 
 we know not how to shake them off. 
 
 It is related by a London physician, of a 
 patient whom he was attending, that he was a 
 great beauty. By some accident, one of his 
 hands was the victim of a malformation. The 
 thing troubled the man day and night, and his 
 health began to fail. He could not bear to have 
 fingers so white and graceful disfigured. "My 
 patient," says the doctor, ''was also suffering 
 from a disease that I knew, and he knew, would 
 ultimately be fatal. This, however, did not seem 
 to trouble him. It was his maimed left hand 
 that haunted him everywhere, and concerning 
 
CHAP. V.] 
 
 HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: ESTHER. 
 
 211 
 
 which lie made perpetual complaint to me. At 
 length he was taken with a fever, traceahle, in a 
 measure, to his unhappy frame of mind, and in a 
 few days died. — Preacher's Lantern. 
 
 Ver. 13. Literary Jeremiads. Goethe, the 
 greatest of German poets, whose long life was one 
 success, said, "They have called me a child of 
 fortune, nor have I any wish to complain of the 
 course of my life. Yet it has been nothing hut 
 labour and sorrow ; and I may truly say, that in 
 seventy-five years I have not had four weeks of 
 true comfort. It was the constant rolling of a 
 stone that was always to be lifted anew." A 
 mournful echo of the old patriarchal words, "Few 
 and evil have the days of the years of my pil- 
 grimage been." "Who can read the posthumous 
 memoirs of Chateaubriand without being struck 
 with the illusive nature of worldly honours and 
 worldly pleasures. Contemporary applause was 
 not wanting to cheer the craving spirit of this 
 scholar and statesman. The author of the 'Genius 
 of Christianity,' and the ambassador of France 
 at the court of London, could not complain that 
 what men call honourable and enviable was 
 denied to him. The following passage from the 
 great Frenchman's memoirs contains a sad and 
 home truth : — "I know not in history a reputa- 
 tion that would tempt me; and, were it neces- 
 sary to stoop to pick up from my feet, and fu- 
 my own advantage, the greatest glory the world 
 could offer, 1 would not give myself the trouble." 
 Are not these like the words of " the preacher, 
 the son of David, the king of Jerusalem ? " The 
 miserable lamentations of Lord Chesterfield, a 
 mere drudge of earthly pleasure, over the wretch- 
 ed inanity of a worldly and sensual life, may be 
 considered one of the best sermons unintentionally 
 preached against the inordinate love of this world, 
 coming, as the sentiment does, from one of its 
 successful votaries. Let his own words, penned 
 in the evening of life, tell what he had found 
 the result of his experience to be : " I am now 
 at the age of sixty years ; I have run the silly 
 rounds of pleasure, and have done with them all. 
 I have enjoyed all the pleasures of the world, 
 and consequently know their futility, and do not 
 regret their loss. I have been as wicked and as 
 vain as Solomon ; I have not been so wise ; but 
 this I know, I am wise enough to test the truth 
 of his refliction, that all is vanity and vexation 
 of spirit." Lord Byron gave a similar testimony 
 to Dr. Millingen, who attended him in his last 
 illness. " Do you suppose I wish for life ? I 
 have grown heartily sick of it, and shall welcome 
 the hour I depart. Why should I regret it? 
 Can it afford me any pleasure? Have I not 
 enjoyed it to a surfeit ? Few men can live 
 faster than I did ; I am, literally speaking, a 
 young old man. Pleasure I have known under 
 every form in which it can present itself to 
 mortals. I have travelled, satisfied my curiosity, 
 lost every illusion ; I have exhausted all the 
 nectar contained in the cup of life ; it is time to 
 throw the dregs away. He had sought his 
 happiness in the things of the world, the result 
 was dissatisfaction of spirit. — Preacher's Lantern. 
 
 Ver. 13. Worldly diynity renounced. Baron 
 von Buiow had been, during the earlier part of 
 
 this century, chiefly engaged in the sanguinary 
 scenes of war. He had signalized himself on 
 the field, and received every honourable testi- 
 mony to his skill and courage ; a special hand- 
 some gold medal also had been given him, the 
 inscription was, of course, in German, with the 
 royal cypher. Late in life he attended the 
 Continental Peace Confederation, at which he 
 said, he had endured many hardslr'ps through 
 life ; for more than forty years he had gone 
 through various scenes, often misled by worldly 
 pleasure, and frequently by infidelity ; but now, 
 without discussing the propriety of a military 
 life, he felt in his heart that the best service was 
 that of the Lord Jesus Christ, who had rescued 
 him from darkness and brought him to a know- 
 ledge of the gospel. He then, with deep feeling, 
 took from his breast the badge of honour which 
 he had received in foreign military service, 
 saying, as he handed it to the chairman, with 
 much emotion, '* This I bought with my blood, 
 but it is all over, sir ; I do not give it to you, or 
 to this Society, but I give it up to the Lord and 
 Saviour Jesus Christ." — Preacher's Lantern. 
 
 Ver. 13. Things temporal. Never, perhaps, 
 in any period of the world's history did literary 
 talent receive a homage so universal as that of 
 Sir Walter Scott. His reputation was co-ex- 
 tensive, not only with the English language, but 
 with the boundaries of civilization. The king 
 conferred on him a baronetcy; and wherever he 
 appeared, at home or abroad, he was the lion of 
 the day. All the good things of life were his. 
 His mansion at Abbotsford realized the highest 
 conceptions of a poet's imagination, and seemed 
 like a "poem in stone." His company was of 
 the most honourable of the land, and his domestic 
 enjoyments all that his heart could desire. Yet 
 he was not happy. Ambitious to found a family, 
 he got into debt, and in old age he was a ruined 
 man. "When about to leave Abbotsford for the 
 last time, lie said : "When I think of what this 
 place now is, with what it was not long ago, I 
 feel as if my heart would break. Lonely, aged, 
 deprived of all my family, I am an impoverished 
 and embarrassed man." At another time he 
 writes : " Death has closed the dark avenue of 
 love and friendships. I look at them as through 
 the grated door of a burial-place filled with the 
 monuments of those who once were dear to me, 
 and with no other wish than that it may open 
 for me at no distant period." And again : "Some 
 new objection or complaint comes every moment. 
 Sicknesses come thicker and thicker; friends are 
 fewer and fewer. The recollections of youth, 
 health, and powers of activity neither improved 
 nor enjoyed, is a poor ground of comfort. The 
 best is, the long halt will arrive at length and 
 close all." And the long halt did arrive. Not 
 long before he died, Sir Walter Scott requested 
 his daughter to wheel him to his desk. She 
 then put a pen into his hand, but his fingers 
 refused to do their office. Silent tears rolled 
 down his cheeks. " Take me back to my own 
 room," he said ; " there is no rest for Sir Walter 
 but in his grave." A few days after this he 
 died, realizing, in reference to all his fame, 
 honour, and renown, the truth of Solomon, 
 
212 
 
 II0MILKT1C <<>MM/;NTAI?F : ESTHER. 
 
 [chap. v. 
 
 "Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of 
 vanities ; all is vanity." 
 
 Campbell, the author of the • Pleasures of 
 Hope,' in his old age wrote : "1 am alone in 
 the world. My wife and the child of my hopes 
 are dead ; my surviving child is consigned to a 
 living tomb — a lunatic asylum ; my old friends, 
 brothers, sisters, are dead, all but one, and she 
 too is dying ; my last hopes are blighted. As 
 for lame, it is a babble that must soon burst. 
 Earned for others, shared with others, it was 
 sweet ; hut at my age, to my own solitary 
 experience, it is bitter. Left in my chamber 
 alone by myself, is it wonderful my philosophy 
 at times takes flight; that I rush into company, 
 resort to that which blunts but heals no pang ; 
 and then, sick of the world, and dissatisfied with 
 myself, shrink back into solitude ? " And in this 
 state of mind he died. 
 
 Richard Brinsley Sheridan, the great orator, 
 made an almost similar confession. He perished 
 in wretchedness and want. His last words were : 
 " I am absolutely undone.'' — Preacher's Lantern. 
 
 Ver. 13. Honour from man. The meaning 
 of the words, " In honour preferring one ano- 
 ther," appears to be this : Consider all your 
 brethren are more worthy than yourself; and let 
 neither grief nor envy affect your mind at seeing 
 another honoured and yourself neglected. This 
 is a hard lesson, and very few persons learn it 
 thoroughly. If we wish to see our brethren 
 honoured, still it is with the secret condition in 
 our own minds that we be honoured more than 
 they. "We have no objection to the elevation of 
 others, provided we may be at the head. But 
 who can bear to be even what he calls neglected? 
 I once heard the following conversation between 
 two persons, which the reader will pardon my 
 relating, as it appears to be rather in point, and 
 worthy of regard. "I know not,'' said one, 
 " that I neglect to do anything in my power to 
 promote the interests of true religion in this 
 place, and yet I seem to be held in very little 
 repute, scarcely one person even noticing me." 
 To which the other replied; "My good friend, 
 set yourself down for nothing, and if any person 
 takes yon for something, it will all be clear gain." 
 I thought this a queer saying ; but bow full of 
 meaning and common sense ! Whether the ob- 
 ject of this good counsel was profited by it I can- 
 not tell ; but I looked on it and received in- 
 struction. — J)r. Adam Clarke. 
 
 Ver. 13. The Caterpillar. An Allegory. 
 "Patience ! patience ! until 1 become a butterfly, 
 and then 1 shall laugh at all my enemies." This 
 was a common saying with a caterpillar, while 
 it was yet a caterpillar. At last the moment of 
 its transformation came. On a beautiful summer's 
 morning it arose out of its dark sepulchre, dressed 
 in a rich golden attire, and strong in the strength 
 of a new life. "Yes," said she, as she looked 
 upon herself, "now I am satisfied with nature! 
 now I am safe ! " Put alas ! she erred. A single 
 leaf could screen the dark-hued caterpillar from 
 many enemies, even from the sharp-sighted hunter 
 of ins, its. .Now, as a many-coloured butterfly, 
 
 she shone in radiant beauty, drew on her thee\es 
 of a hundred pursuers, audi saw only too soon the 
 
 impossibility of eluding them all. In vain she 
 plied her new-born wings with diligence, in vain 
 she flew fearfully from bough to bough, from 
 flower to flower. The craft of her enemies sur- 
 prised her after all, and on the third day she Was 
 impaled upon the murderous needle of an ento- 
 mologist. A dazzling glory is often the fore- 
 runner of destruction. — Meissner. 
 
 Ver. 13. The death of Saladin. About this 
 time (1193) died the great Sultan Saladin, the 
 greatest terror of the Christians, who, mindful 
 of man's fragility, and the vanity of worldly 
 honours, commanded at the time of Ids death 
 no solemnity to be used at his burial; but only 
 his shirt, in manner of an ensign, made fast unto 
 the point of a lance, to be carried before his dead 
 body as an ensign,' a plain priest going before, 
 and crying aloud unto the people in this sort : 
 " Saladin, Conqueror of the East, of all tho 
 greatness and riches he had in this life canieth 
 not with him anything more than his shirt." A 
 sight worthy so great a king, as wanted nothing 
 to his eternal condemnation more than the true 
 knowledge of his salvation in Christ Jesus. He 
 reigned about sixteen years with great honour. — 
 Cary's Dante. Notes. 
 
 Ver. 13. Alexander and the Cynic. Alexander, 
 the great monarch of the world, was discontented 
 because ivy would not grow in his gardens at 
 Babylon ; but the Cynic was herein more wise, 
 who finding a mouse in his satchel, said, he saw 
 that himself was not so poor but some were glad 
 of his leavings. Thus, had we but hearts to 
 improve higher providences, we might soon rock 
 our peevish spirits quiet by much stronger argu- 
 ments ; as to take notice of God's bountiful 
 dealing with us, that we are less than the 
 least of his mercies ; that though we be not set 
 in the highest form, yet there are many below 
 us ; that God is our good benefactor, — this 
 would bring us to that pass, as to conclude with 
 ourselves, having food and raiment, therewith to 
 be content ; and though we were many times 
 cut short of creature accommodations, yet this 
 would limit our desires after them, and make us 
 rest assured that nothing is withdrawn or with- 
 held from us which might be really advantageous 
 to us. — Spencer. 
 
 Ver. 13. Apologue of a Bird-catcher. There 
 is an old apologue of a bird-catcher, who baring 
 taken a nightingale, the poor bird pleaded for 
 herself as well as she could, and seeing divers go 
 to the pot before her, said, " Alas; 1 am not worth 
 the killing; I have little or no flesh on my back, 
 therefore you may well let me go." "No," says the 
 fowler, "one bird in the hand is worth two in the 
 bush." The bird replies, that her notes were 
 worth more than her corpse, and that she would 
 chant him out three songs, for which he should 
 fare the better all the days of bis life, if be kept 
 them, than if he killed her. The bargain was 
 made, and the bird let fly ; the songs were 
 these — 
 
 1. Strive not beyond thy strength. 
 
 2. Grieve not too much for the loss of that 
 
 which cannot be recovered. 
 
 3. Believe not that which is incredible. 
 Now, whilst the wise bird-catcher was conning 
 
CHAP. V.] 
 
 HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: ESTHER. 
 
 213 
 
 these lessons, the bird flying over his head told 
 him that he had lost a great treasure ; for she 
 had within her head a precious stone as big as an 
 ostrich egg. At this news the birder began to 
 ply the nightingale in fair words, and told her, 
 that if she would come again to his hand he 
 would spare the meat out of his own belly to feed 
 her. Then answered the bird : "Now I see thou 
 art a fool indeed ; thou canst make no good use 
 of my counsel ; for, first thou labourest for me 
 whom thou canst not reach ; secondly, thou 
 grievest for that which is irrecoverable ; and 
 thirdly, thou believest that which no wise man 
 will, that I have a pearl in my head as big as an 
 ostrich egg, whereas all my whole body is not so 
 big." Thus, surely, there are many of these fowlers, 
 or rather foolers, in the world, such as doat in 
 their reposals, setting up their rest in the things of 
 this world, where it is not to be found, and in 
 the mean time neglect to seek where it is ; for 
 the world hath no more sufficiency to man's 
 desire than the nightingale had the true pearl 
 within her to give him content; all the advantages 
 of outward things being to man's desire but as 
 sharp sauce to the appetite, which doth not satisfy 
 hunger, but provoke the stomach to hunger after 
 more. — Spencer. 
 
 Ver. 13. What Diogenes can do without. 
 Diogenes walked on a day with his friend to 
 see a country fair, where he saw ribands, and 
 looking-glasses, and nut-crackers, and fiddles, 
 and hobby-horses, and many other gimcracks; 
 and having observed them, and all the other 
 finnimbrums to make a complete country fair, he 
 said to his friend, " How many things there are 
 in this world, of which Diogenes hath no need ! " 
 And truly it is so, or might be so, with very 
 many who vex and toil themselves to get what 
 they have no need of. Can any man charge God 
 that he hath not given him enough to make his 
 life happy ? No, doubtless ; for nature is content 
 with a little ; and yet you shall hardly meet 
 with a man that complains not of some want ; 
 and thus, when we might be happy and quiet, we 
 create trouble to ourselves. I have heard of a 
 man that was angry with himself because he 
 Avas no taller, and of a woman who broke her 
 looking-glass because it would not show her face 
 to be as young and handsome as her next neigh- 
 bour's was. And I knew another, to whom God 
 had given health and plenty, but a wife that 
 nature had made peevish, and her husband's 
 riches had made purse-proud, and must, because 
 she was rich, and of no other virtue, sit in the 
 
 highest pew in the church ; which, being denied 
 her, she engaged her husband into a contention 
 for it ; and at last, into a lawsuit with a dogged 
 neighbour, who was as rich as he, and had a wife 
 as peevish and purse-proud as the other ; and 
 this lawsuit begot higher oppositions, and action- 
 able words, and more vexations and lawsuits ; 
 for you must remember that both were rich, and 
 must therefore have their wills. Well, t lis 
 wilful pu»-se-proud lawsuit lasted during the life 
 of the first husband; after which his wife vexed 
 and chid, and chid and vexed, till she also chid 
 and vexed herself into her grave ; and so the 
 wealth of these poor rich people was cursed into 
 a punishment, because they wanted meek and 
 thankful hearts; for those only can make us 
 happy. — Izaack Walton. 
 
 Ver. 13. Joseph Brotherton. In Peel Park, 
 Manchester, a monument is erected to Joseph 
 Brotherton, having on it this statement, " My 
 riches consist not in the extent of my possessions, 
 but in the fewness of my wants." How happv 
 most could be if their wants were not so manv. 
 The great majority want vastly more than is 
 actually needful. 
 
 Ver. 13. Byron's lameness. It was said of 
 Byron by Goethe, that he was inspired by the 
 Genius of Pain ; for, from the first to the last of 
 his agitated career, every fresh recruitment of 
 his faculties was imbibed from that bitter source. 
 His chief incentive, when a boy, to distinction 
 was the mark of deformity on his person, by an 
 acute sense of which he was first stung into the 
 ambition of being great. In one of his letters 
 to Mr. Hunt, he declares it to be his own opinion 
 that " an addiction to poetry is very generally the 
 result of ' an uneasy mind in an uneasy body ; ' 
 disease or deformity," he adds, "had been the 
 attendants of many of our best. Collins mad— 
 Chatterton, I think, mad — Cowper mad — Pope 
 crooked— Milton blind," &c. &c. His reverend 
 friend, Mr. Becher, finding him one day unusually 
 dejected, endeavoured to cheer and rouse him, by 
 representing, in their highest colours, all the 
 various advantages with which Providence had 
 endowed him— and among the greatest, that of 
 "a mind which placed him above the rest of 
 mankind." "Ah, my dear friend," said Byron 
 mournfully, "if this (laying his hand on his 
 forehead) places me above the rest of mankind, 
 that (pointing to his foot) places me far, far 
 below them." " Yet all this availeth me nothing, 
 so long as I see Mordecai the Jew sitting at the 
 king's gate." 
 
214 H0M1LETIC COMMENTARY: ESTHER. [chap. vr. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Critical Notes.] 1. On . . . sleep] Heb. the king's sleep fled away, an unusual thin?. 
 ''That night] which succeeded the events of the last chapter, settled with apparently a must 
 ominous cloud upon the future of Mordecai, but it was the harbinger of a most auspicious day for 
 him. God, who works in the darkness as in the light, caused sleep to flee from the king, and 
 disposed him to beguile the wakeful hours, not with music or song, but by having one to read to 
 him from the book of records of the chronicles] His mind was in a mood to ruminate on the 
 events of his own life, and the State annals were called for to assist his memory. Rawlinson thinks 
 that the Persian kings were in most cases unable to read," — Whedon'a Com. They were read 
 before the king] These were in the act of being called over. In the original there is a participle 
 which denotes the long continuance of this reading. 2.] The name Bigthana is in ii. 21 written 
 Bigthan. 3.] The king's question means what honour and reward has been assigned him? What 
 has been apportioned ? How has he been requited ? " It was a settled principle of the Persian 
 government that royal benefactors were to receive an adequate reward, the names of such persons 
 were placed on a special roll, and great care was taken that they should be properly recommended. 
 It is a mistake, however, to suppose (Davidson) that they were always rewarded at once. Tbe- 
 niistocles was inscribed on the list in B.C. 480, but did not obtain a reward till B.C. 465. Other 
 benefactors waited for months, or perhaps years, before they were recompensed. Sometimes a 
 benefactor received no reward at all." — Rawlinson. The king's servants answered : Nothing has 
 been shown him. No favour has been shown him. No greatness, i. e, no promotion to honour. 
 4.] The question, Who is in the court 1 ?] means what officer is now present. The king desires to 
 consult with him as to what distinction would be appropriate to Mordecai. It seems that those 
 desiring to be admitted to the king's presence had to wait in the outer court. — Lange. From this 
 question of the king it appears that it was already morning. 5.] Haman was waiting in the outer 
 court, till it should be announced that the king was ready to grant audiences. The king commands, 
 Let him come in] (a short order) namely, into the house of the king. 6.] When the king had asked 
 the question, Haman thought within himself, To whom would the king delight to do honour more 
 than to myself ?J Going beyond me, more than myself. — Lange. 7.] Haman was quickly prepared 
 to give answer, and without any difficulty called up one distinction or honour after another. 8, 9.] 
 The royal garment is one which the king has already worn. Hence not an ordinary state-robe, the 
 so-called Median apparel which the king himself, the chief princes among the Persians, and those 
 on whom the king bestowed such raiment were wont to appear in, but a costly garment the property 
 of the sovereign himself. The highest mark of honour to the subject. So too was the riding 
 upon a horse on which the king had ridden, and whose head was adorned with a royal crown. We 
 translate literally ; and a horse on which the king is wont to ride, and on whose head is set a royal 
 crown. We do not, indeed, find among the classical writers any testimony to such an adornment of 
 the royal steed; but the circumstance is not at all improbable, and seems to he corroborated by 
 ancient remains, certain Assyrian and ancient Persian sculptures representing the horses of the king, 
 and apparently those of princes, with ornaments on their heads, terminating in three points, which 
 may be regarded as a kind of crown. — Keil (abridged). 10, 11.] This honour, then, the haughty 
 Haman was now compelled to pay to the hated Jew. That Mordecai was a Jew and accustomed to sit 
 in the king's gate could be well known to him from the records of the chronicle of the empire or from 
 the courtiers, who read the history to him, and who had doubtless also given him still other 
 information respecting Mordecai. 12—14.] It is quite consonant with Oriental notions that 
 Mordecai, after receiving the extraordinary honours assigned him, should return to the palace and 
 resume his former humble employment, Ahasuerus regarding him as sufficiently rewarded, and not 
 yet intending to do anything more for him. — Raivlinnnn. Hainan, with covered head and sorrowful 
 heart, hastens home to his friends and wife only to hear the discouraging prophecy that the 
 unfortunate occurrence will be the beginning of his end. To cover the head was a sign of deep 
 shame and distress. His friends arc now called wise men] at least some of them, because they 
 undertook to forecast his future. — Lamje. His diviners now hesitate not to predict his fall. If his 
 enemy is of the seed of the Jews] a new and startling fact that seems suddenly to have impressed 
 these wise men; then it is certain that the providence which has ever been such a wondrous power 
 in the Jewish nation, and which has now so strangely elevated Mordecai at the very moment when 
 Haman thought to have slain him, will cause the Jew to triumph. Hasted to bring Haman] The 
 avenging Fates seem to hurry him to his doom. — Whedon'a Cum. 
 
chap. vi.J IIOMILETIG COMMENTARY : ESTHER. 215 
 
 MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH. Verse 1. 
 A Humiliated King. 
 
 It is not to be presumed that this was the only night on which the king found it 
 impossible to command the recuperating services of that sleep which is nature's 
 sweet restorer. Other nights there were, most likely, when the king could not 
 sleep. But on those other nights there might be found satisfactory explanations of 
 the sleeplessness. There may have been physical pain preventing the enjoyment 
 of sweet repose. There were visible or ascertainable causes to account for the 
 unusual restlessness. On this occasion the king could not sleep, and yet he could 
 not account for the restless condition. How is it that I cannot sleep % I have no 
 physical pain. I have no fears. I am not conscious of danger. All appears to be 
 much as it has been on other nights when I have enjoyed repose. The king was 
 now touched by a hand that he could not see. The king was now moved and 
 controlled by a power that he did not acknowledge. An unseen and irresistible 
 force now rendered uneasy the couch on which the mighty monarch in vain sought 
 for sleep. Kings have their master. Sleepy and sleepless kings have their 
 humiliating conditions. All are in a state of subjection. God can at all times 
 use us for his great purposes, but he has need of wakeful creatures. Even kings 
 must not sleep when the Great King has work to be performed. Here is a lesson 
 for all. We must be willing to sacrifice sleep when God's Church and God's 
 world has pressing claims upon our immediate service. 
 
 I. A king in need. Eastern monarchs sought by the pomp of circumstances to 
 separate themselves from their subjects, and thus to maintain a condition of 
 superiority. At all times monarchs have been regarded by the vast majority as 
 superior beings. Yet it is plain, and a truism to assert, that kings have their needs 
 as well as subjects. They too are human, and require those helps which are needful 
 to the rest of humanity. Ahasuerus, the monarch ruling over a hundred and 
 seven and twenty provinces, seeks for sleep just as the meanest peasant seeks for 
 sleep in his rude cot. Sleep is said to be the image of death. As the lattei", so the 
 former is a great leveller. They know no distinctions of rank. They do not 
 recognize the gorgeous trappings of royalty. A sleeping king is just as helpless as a 
 sleeping beggar. What becomes of our greatness when we are compelled to sleep 1 
 The beggar in his sleep may dream himself to be possessed of vast wealth. For a 
 beggar may have his pleasant dreams ; while kings may be haunted with the 
 nightmare. Kings must sleep, or kings must die. Kings too must sleep the final 
 sleep ; the sleep from which there is only one awakening. We all must sleep the 
 great sleep of death. How often have we laid ourselves down to sleep, and yet it 
 may be, that many of vis have never thought of this sleep prefiguring our last sleep ] 
 Death is near to us, not only by our liability to accident and to disease, but by its 
 image in our nightly sleep. When death comes will it find us ready 1 Shall we 
 lie down to sleep with the assured conviction that we shall awake in the resurrection 
 of the just 1 
 
 II. Thus a king in subjection. A king ruling and yet ruled. He is in 
 subjection to the law that sleep is a necessity of nature. Kings are under law. 
 They even cannot violate the laws of nature, which are the laws of God, with 
 impunity. Philosophers may assume kingly prerogatives. They may patronize 
 nature and nature's God. They may talk in grandiloqueut terms about how 
 the universe was framed, and how it ought to be framed. But philosophers must 
 sleep. Philosophers must humbly bow and submit themselves to this humiliating 
 condition. A philosopher snoring is a withering irony on a philosopher talking. 
 Why could believe that the philosopher recumbent, wrapped in the embraces of 
 
216 H0M1LETIQ COMMENTARY: ESTHER. [chap, vi. 
 
 sloop, is the same being as the philosopher erect, defying with 1 1 is tongue all the 
 powers in earth and in heaven % If the kings of men own no other kingly power, 
 they must place themselves in subjection to king sleep. This is one of the great 
 sovereigns that rules humanity. It will not be denied. It demands its offering of 
 time. If the offering he not constantly presented, it comes with awful vengeance. 
 Sleep is the messenger that death sends before to toll of his coming. Mighty sleep, 
 but mightier death ! Sleep is a king ruling gently and sweetly. Death is a king 
 ruling sternly and dreadfully. God is a king mightier than either sleep or death. 
 They rule only with delegated authority. They too are subject. God can take 
 away sleep, as he did on that night when Ahasuerus could not sleep. God can 
 Stay death as he did in the cases of Enoch and of Elijah. If we would sweetly 
 sleep and calmly die, we must sleep resting assured that He is our friend who 
 giveth to his beloved sleep ; we must die in Jesus Christ. " Blessed are the 
 (load that die in the Lord." When the day is drawing to a close, when night is 
 throwing the sable curtains about a bright and busy world, when the exhausted 
 system is seeking the help of its restorer, and is wooing the sweet embraces of 
 balmy sleep ; how delightful to feel that in seeking the earthly rest we get a type 
 of the heavenly rest, and to say to the body, Return to rest on that pillow which will 
 one day lose its power to soothe; to the soul, Return to rest on that bosom of Divine 
 love which will never fail in its comforting and recruiting influences. When life's 
 evening is drawing to its close, when earth can no more give rest, when with 
 trembling feet we are treading the darkest valley of all, how great the peace if we 
 can feel that we are going to rest for ever where no adverse forces will disturb the 
 divine repose. 
 
 III. A king in defeat. Kings have their defeats as well as common men ; not 
 only on the battle-field, not only in the national councils, but in the ordinary 
 circumstances of life. Here a king is defeated. Ahasuerus seeks sleep, and yet it 
 refuses to come at his request. He cannot now secure the boon which is obtained 
 by the meanest subject in his realm. All material appliances are at his command, 
 and yet sleep will not be compelled. Sweet music cannot lull to repose Avhere it is 
 denied. Soft couches and splendid drapery cannot always compel the embraces of 
 sleep. It is coy and fickle ; and sometimes when most earnestly sought, it appears 
 to fly the farthest away. At other times when not sought at all it comes readily. 
 On that night could not the king sleep. The king is defeated. Here is a lesson 
 for Ahasuerus if he had only been wise. What a lesson on our limitations ! Here 
 is a lesson for all. We may know our weakness, and yet we will not bow in lowly 
 reverence to the Great Supreme. How humble should all men be in the presence 
 of their limitations ! How little reason has a proud man to vaunt himself of his 
 greatness ! 
 
 IV. A king in subjection commands. He commanded to bring the book of 
 records of the chronicles. He commands because he is commanded. He was 
 commanded not to sleep. He was also commanded to turn his attention in sleepless 
 hours to the book of records of the chronicles. Here we have doubtless the case of 
 an ungodly man under Divine inspiration. It may be said that it was only a freak 
 on the part of the king. He was restless and did not know what to do with 
 himself, and so he turned to these royal records. Such a freak, however, is 
 unaccountable unless we suppose him unconsciously directed from heaven. It 
 would have been more natural for him to have commanded the presence of a 
 musician to bring forth dulcet strains to soothe the restless nature. Or to have 
 called for some calmly entertaining story. Or to have summoned the doctor to 
 administer, so as to settle the perturbation. Imagine the Queen on some sleepless 
 night calling for the Blue Book to be brought into her presence. Picture yourselves 
 asking for police statistics, for the records of crime, when sleep forsakes in the dark 
 and stilly night ; why it would be enough to drive sleep away. It may be 
 supposed that Ahasuerus asked for these chronicles as being dry reading and 
 
chap, yi.] IIOMILETIC COMMENTARY: ESTHER. 217 
 
 calculated to induce slumber, just as some people take a volume of old dry divinity 
 to bed to read : just as some people go to church in order to get slumber. Still 
 the case is not altered. However it came about in human working, it was settled 
 in Divine purpose that Ahasuerus must read in these records, and read at the 
 particular part of those records relating to Mordecai. Ungodly men may be under 
 Divine inspiration. God can use the wicked. But God will use the good for their 
 own greater good ; for the good of others, and for his own glory. Let us seek to 
 be good, and ready for Divine uses. When we cannot sleep, when an unusual 
 restlessness takes hold of our nature, what should we summon to our aid ] Should 
 we not ask for the book of the Divine records 1 Let us seek ever to God's word. 
 Let us find in it light in the darkest nights, repose in the most restless periods, and 
 help in our varied weaknesses. 
 
 V. A king in defeat listens. A king in defeat is more likely to listen than a 
 king triumphant. The records of the chronicles were read before the king. Dull 
 reading no doubt, but still he listened. AVhen the attention is properly engaged, 
 then the dullest reading becomes interesting. It would require a skilful reader to 
 make these chronicles attractive and lively. This king we may well imagine did 
 not look for the nicely modulated voice. He was Divinely directed to take a 
 special interest — an interest he had never felt previously ; yea, it is likely he had 
 never heard the records before — in these dull chronicles. Our times of humiliation 
 are mostly our best times of listening. Our times when we are under Divine 
 impulses are our times for receiving with meekness the engrafted word which is able 
 to save our souls. Let us be in earnest as the Divine records are read in our 
 hearing. Let the attention be thoroughly aroused and awake to the subject matter, 
 and then the manner of the speaker will be of comparatively small importance. 
 With some the voice of the messenger is the all-important concern. The message 
 should be that which commands and engages the supreme attention. This defeated 
 king listens with intelligent interest. He notes the very point which is requisite 
 for the working out of Divine purposes ; as we shall see more fully in the after- 
 part of this narrative. Let then the whole mind be engaged while the Divine 
 records are being proclaimed. The head as well as the heart must be employed. 
 Listen, for important interests are at stake. Listeu for your own benefit, and thus 
 you will become of benefit to others. Ahasuerus listened for himself, and in thus 
 listening he became a true service to Mordecai and all his people. Good listeners 
 help to make good readers and good doers. They benefit both themselves and the 
 community at large. 
 
 Suggestive Comments on Verse 1. 
 
 God has employed sleep for weighty to take Mary for his wife ; because that 
 purposes, in various ages of the world, which had been conceived in her was of 
 It was while Adam was in " deep sleep," the Holy Ghost. He was in the same 
 that " one of his ribs was taken," and condition, when he was warned from 
 made a living being, and an help meet above to take the Holy Child with his 
 for him. It was while Jacob was asleep, mother to Egypt, to avoid the death in- 
 that he was favoured with that wonder- tended him by Herod ; and when he was 
 ful vision, in which he beheld a ladder ordered to bring him back to Judea, after 
 set upon the earth, whose top reached death had taken that cruel tyrant from 
 to heaven — a striking representation of the earth. But here God carries his pur- 
 God's providential care for his people ; poses into execution by means of the ab- 
 and likewise of that Bedeemer, who is sence of sleep. He is never at a loss to 
 the way to the Bather — a way, in which bring his designs to pass. All things are 
 whosoever walketh, the angels of glory in his hand, and he maketh them all, 
 continually afford to him their friendly even those most contrary to each other, 
 ministrations. It was when Joseph was to work together for the good of his 
 asleep, that he was directed from heaven chosen. "He hath put all things under 
 
2:8 
 
 H0M1LETI0 COMMENTARY: ESTHER. 
 
 [chap. VI. 
 
 the feet " of Christ and given him to he 
 the head over all things to the Church, 
 for the henefit of his believing people. 
 
 Sleep, my brethren, is the gift of God, 
 and an invaluable mercy. Our feeble 
 frames require it frequently, and the 
 Lord frequently imparts it. It re-ani- 
 mates our drooping spirits, and re-invigor- 
 ates our wearied limbs : with grateful 
 hearts ought we then to say with David, 
 " 1 laid me down and slept. I awaked : 
 for the Lord sustained me." But precious 
 as is this gift, if we employ the bodies, 
 whose weakness demands these frequent 
 cessations from labour, in the service of 
 him that bought them, they shall be ere 
 long in a condition in which it will not 
 be needed. Our resurrection bodies will 
 be as active as our spirits, and with them 
 ■will serve God without fatigue, without 
 intermission, throughout eternity. " It is 
 sown in weakness, it is raised in power." 
 When Ahasuerus was thus supernatur- 
 ally robbed of his sleep, he commanded 
 the records of the empire to be brought 
 before him. He might have fixed upon 
 many other ways of beguiling the slowly 
 passing hours : but this tended to facili- 
 tate the object which Esther had in view : 
 therefore her God disposed the king to 
 adopt it. If he had ordered instruments 
 of music to be brought before him (which 
 was customary among the Eastern mon- 
 archs, Dan. vi. 18), he might have di- 
 verted his mind, and possibly rendered 
 his sleepless hours pleasurable; but, in 
 that case, Mordecai would not have come 
 to his mind : the fidelity of that subject, 
 which he had forgotten, and by which 
 his life had been preserved, had remained 
 still in forgetfulness, and nothing would 
 have been done towards the accomplish- 
 ment of Esther's design. Let our con- 
 templation of God's wisdom and over- 
 ruling power herein, constrain us to say, 
 '• I [leased be the Lord God of Israel, who 
 only doeth wondrous things: and blessed 
 be his glorious name for ever, and let 
 the whole earth be filled with his glory. 
 Amen ami Amen." — Hughes. 
 
 Ver. 1. On that night could not the 
 king sleep, and he commanded to bring 
 the book of records of th e chronicles; and 
 
 tlh'ij irerr rend hi'fora the king. 
 
 The king could not sleep, any more 
 
 than we, when he pleased. Of what use, 
 some will say, is royal dignity, if it can- 
 not procure sleep to the wearied eyelids? 
 A king, by the wise administration of 
 government, may procure sleep to his 
 people; on the contrary, by his oppres- 
 sion, he may cause many wearisome 
 nights to his subjects, in which their 
 sorrows will not suffer them to sleep. 
 But the regal dignity will not insure 
 sleep to him who enjoys it. It is more 
 likely to debar his eyes from rest by 
 those anxious cares which attend it ; or 
 by those uneasy reflections which attend 
 the abuse of power. Labour, and a good 
 conscience, will procure sweeter sleep 
 than all the riches in the world. 
 
 On that night could not the king 
 sleep. — On what night 1 ? The night 
 preceding the decisive day on which 
 Esther was to present her petition, and 
 the morning on which Haman had a pe- 
 tition of an opposite kind to be presented 
 to the king. Observe how Divine Pro- 
 vidence kept sleep from the eyes of Ahas- 
 uerus, to serve its own gracious purposes. 
 It is said that "God giveth his beloved 
 sleep." But he sometimes too withholds 
 sleep from them for good purposes ; and 
 he sometimes hath withheld sleep from 
 other persons, or disturbed it with strange 
 dreams, for their benefit. A dream was 
 sent to Pharaoh, that Joseph should be 
 delivered from his prison, and exalted to 
 power. Another dream was sent to 
 Nebuchadnezzar, to procure the exalta- 
 tion of Daniel and his friends. Ahas- 
 uerus was kept from sleep, that he might 
 not suffer Mordecai to be hanged. 
 
 It is of great use to know how to im- 
 prove those moments of the night in 
 which we are debarred from sleep. Ahas- 
 uerus, it seems, thought he could not 
 employ his waking moments better than 
 by hearing the chronicles of his reign. 
 Here too we may observe the superin- 
 tending care of Providence. Why did 
 not a prince, who delighted in pleasure, 
 rather call for the melody of the harp 
 and viol, than for the chronicles of his 
 reign 1 It was the will of God that he 
 slu mid be put in mind of what Mordecai 
 had dime for him, because now the fit 
 time was come that he should receive the 
 reward of his fidelity. 
 
CHAP. VI.] 
 
 HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: ESTHER. 
 
 219 
 
 " Blessings on him," says Sancho 
 Panza, "who invented sleep." This is 
 a sentiment in which all the world will 
 agree. Sleep is, indeed, as much the 
 true remedy for the trouhles and worries 
 of the mind, as it is for the fatigues of 
 the body. In every one's life there are 
 occasions when the gloom of the present 
 is only exceeded by the darkness of the 
 future. If there were no such thing as 
 sleep, a man would succumb either men- 
 tally or bodily ; he would die of exhausted 
 nervous power, or if it were possible for 
 him to live, would become a maniac. 
 
 After some hours of the deepest mental 
 distress, relief is usually brought by sleep, 
 and the sufferer feels his exhausted 
 powers revive. He wakes with the 
 memory of his troubles still present to 
 his mind, but also feeling that he is better 
 prepared to face them. The keenness 
 by which they wound him is somewhat 
 blunted ; and this gradual process of 
 blunting is nightly repeated. Thus, by 
 causing intermission in our troubles, it 
 is that "tired nature's sweet restorer" 
 reanimates our drooping spirits. Sleep 
 was supposed to be caused by accumula- 
 tion of blood in the head ; and in sup- 
 port of this view the facts have been 
 advanced, that full-blooded people are 
 usually the best sleepers, and that the 
 recumbent position which promotes the 
 flow of blood to the brain, induces sleep. 
 But it is now the most generally received 
 opinion, that sleep is caused by a with- 
 drawal of blood from the brain. In per- 
 fect sleep there is no consciousness. It 
 has been, therefore, called with truth the 
 image of death. It is a temporary death, 
 as far as concerns all action and motion 
 which lie under the power of the will. 
 But although the brain is at rest, the 
 heart and lungs continue their tasks, be- 
 cause they are presided over by a depart- 
 ment of the nervous system which acts 
 independently of the brain. The brain 
 is the seat of consciousness, and from it 
 all the nerves which originate and control 
 voluntary motions take their rise more or 
 less directly. The intellectual faculties 
 sometimes continue active during sleep. 
 La Fontaine made admirable verses in 
 his sleep. Alexander is said to have 
 planned battles. In the same way mathe- 
 
 maticians have solved problems, and 
 school-boys have accomplished tasks. — 
 Pin/si ology for Practical Use. 
 
 Earthly crowns often sit heavily on 
 the monarch's head : — 
 
 polished perturbation ! golden care, 
 That keeps the ports of slumber open wide 
 For many a watchful night. 
 
 Ver. 1. This is as it is written in the 
 Psalm : " He suffered no man to do them 
 wrong ; nay, he rebuked even kings for 
 their sake." For the pious are so great 
 a care to God, that in order to preserve 
 them he does not even spare kings, but 
 brings upon them various calamities. — 
 Brevz. 
 
 Let every one bear in mind day and 
 night that pious proposition of Augustine 
 concerning the solicitude of God for his 
 saints : so day and night dost thou watch 
 for my safeguard as if, forgetful of thy 
 whole creation in heaven and earth, thou 
 considerest me alone, and hadst no care 
 for others. — Feuardent. 
 
 Lord, it is good to trust in thee in 
 the expectation of thy help ! Thou dost 
 continually watch over the souls left in 
 thy care, and thou dost even wait until 
 things have come to extremities, in order 
 to cause the greater exercise of faith, so 
 that none may despair of thy assistance, 
 still at the right time thou art ever ready 
 to help. What indeed is more natural 
 than that a king could not sleep, and that 
 he should wish something read to him 1 
 It is this altogether natural, yet wonder- 
 ful, leading, which causes the hearts of 
 those who experience it to rejoice ! To 
 all other hearts this is dark. This wise, 
 Divine Providence is still unknown to 
 those who only live in and for themselves. 
 — Berl. Bible. 
 
 " He that keepeth Israel, and neither 
 slumbereth nor sleepeth," causeth sleep 
 that night to depart from him that had 
 decreed to root out Israel. Great Ahas- 
 uerus, that commanded a hundred and 
 seven and twenty provinces, cannot com- 
 mand an hour's sleep. Poverty is rather 
 blessed with the freedom of rest, than 
 wealth and poAver. Cares and surfeit 
 withhold that from the great, which 
 passeth upon the spare diet and labour 
 of the meanest. Nothing is more tedious 
 than an eager pursuit of denied deep, 
 
220 
 
 1IOMILETIO COMMENTARY : ESTHER. 
 
 [CHAP. VI. 
 
 which, like to a shadow, flies away so 
 much faster as it is more followed. — 
 Bishop I fall. 
 
 God gives sleep to the had, in order 
 that the good may he undisturbed. — 
 Sadi. 
 
 Oh, sleep, sweet sleep ! whatever form 
 thou takest, thou art fair, holding unto 
 our lips thy goblet fill'd out of oblivion's 
 well, a healing draught. — Longfellow. 
 
 Could not the king sleep.] Heb. the 
 king's sleep fled away, and, like a shadow, 
 it fled away so much the faster as it was 
 more followed. Sleep is best solicited 
 by neglect, and soonest found when we 
 have forgotten to seek it. They are 
 likeliest for it who together with their 
 clothes can put off their cares, and say 
 as Lord Burleigh did when he threw off 
 his gown, " Lie there, Lord Treasurer." 
 This great Ahasuerus cannot do at pre- 
 sent, for crowns also have their cares, 
 thistles in their arms and thorns in the 
 sides. Lo, he that commanded one 
 
 hundred and twenty-seven provinces 
 cannot command an hour's sleep. How 
 should he when sleep is God's gift? 
 And it was that at this time kept him 
 awake for excellent ends, and put small 
 thoughts in his heart for great purpose, 
 like as he did into our Henry VIII., 
 when the Bishop of Baion (the French 
 ambassador) coming to consult with him 
 about a marriage between the Lady Mary 
 and the Duke of Orleans, cast a scruple 
 into his mind which rendered him rest- 
 less, whether Mary were legitimate ('Life 
 and Death of Card. Wolsey,' 65). If it 
 were his surfeiting and drunkenness the 
 day before that hindered Ahasuerus from 
 sleeping, God's goodness appeareth the 
 more, in turning his sin to the good of 
 the Church. Venenum aliquando pro 
 remedio fuit, saith Seneca. He can make 
 poisonful viper a wholesome treacle; and 
 by an almighty alchemy draw good out 
 of evil. — Trajpp. 
 
 MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH. Verses 2, 3. 
 
 A King's Sorrow for an Unrewarded Subject. 
 
 The chronicles of earthly kings are concealing. The chronicles of the heavenly 
 King are revealing. In the former, events may be recorded and forgotten. In the 
 latter, events are recorded and remembered. For five or six years the conspiracy 
 discovered and exposed by Mordecai had been recorded in the book of records of 
 the chronicles. It must have remained thus for ever, had it not been, as men say, 
 revealed by accident ; but by what we ought to say, the direct interposition of 
 God. The records of the heavenly state are not managed in the same loose 
 fashion. All that is needful will be ultimately brought to light. Mordecai had to 
 wait because the Persian king was either ungrateful or unmindful. Saints may 
 have to wait, not because God is either unmindful or unwilling to reward faithful 
 service, but because the proper season has not come for the fulfilment of his 
 purposes. " The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count 
 slackness." Now consider the state of Ahasuerus after listening to the reading of 
 this account concerning the conspiracy of Bigthana and Teresh ; and its discovery 
 by Mordecai. 
 
 I. The working of remorse. And the king said, What honour and dignity 
 hath been done to Mordecai for this 1 The gloomy and sleepless night is a season 
 well calculated to bring about mournful reflections. Then the brain is busy, and 
 the memory works with unwonted activity. Thoughts come and go in quick 
 succession. As instantaneously there flashes before the drowning man his whole life, 
 so often on the sleepless bed there appears the ghostly army of our past deeds, and 
 especially misdeeds. It is a season for the working of remorse. And we can 
 easily suppose that Ahasuerus required no reading of the dull chronicles in order 
 to stir up grief for past deeds. His mind is not now diverted by the pomp and 
 
chap. VI.] HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: ESTHER. 221 
 
 circumstance of his great position. His mind was now ready to fix upon this one 
 fact, that a deserving man had been unrewarded. He at once wakes up to the fact 
 of his ingratitude, and asks the question about Mordecai's reward. The eagerness 
 with which he asks the question, the promptness with which he proceeds, and the 
 energy with which he resists the blandishments of his favourite minister, show that 
 his better nature was asserting itself ; for even Ahasuerus had a better nature. 
 The mighty monarch may welli say, How ungrateful have I been ! Here is a man 
 to whom I owe my life left pinng in obscurity. 
 
 II. The working 1 of repentance. Ahasuerus might have asked the question in a 
 penitent mood, and then have dismissed the subject from his mind. Too many, in 
 moments of remorse, utter a few well-coined phrases, and then let the affair pass 
 away. Even in such cases it is not fair to say that there was no true feeling for 
 the time being, for we are strange mixtures ; the subjects of fitful changes, good 
 this moment and bad the next. But the question of Ahasuerus taken in connection 
 with his after conduct, evinces that there was just then the working of a right 
 spirit. He desired, and set himself, to make the only reparation in his power. 
 He had been unmindful of great services, but he will be unmindful no longer.' 
 He seems to ask with noble resolve what honour and dignity hath been done to 
 Mordecai for this 1 Repentance is not merely to weep over a remediless past, but 
 to do justice to those who have suffered from our previous neglect, or to repair as 
 far as possible the injustice we have done them. One of the Divine requirements 
 is " to do justly." In order to carry out this precept, the man who has suffered 
 from our injustice must have his wrongs righted. Ahasuerus sets himself to do 
 justly to Mordecai. Already the purpose is being formed in his mind to heap 
 upon this man the highest honours, as if to make amends for past neglect. Well 
 was it for the king and for the subject that Mordecai had not passed away beyond the 
 reach of Ahasuerus. Then the king could simply have erected a monument to his 
 memory. This is the mode in which too many seek to still the voice of conscience 
 The hero starves in a garret. The benefactor pines in obscurity, and battles with 
 poverty, is worsted in the contest, and dies a victim on the altar of ingratitude. 
 Then the nation rouses itself to an appreciation of the good man's claims. A 
 costly monument celebrates his worth, but no line is written to tell of vile neglect, 
 and of a nation's base ingratitude. Even the luxurious and weak-minded 
 Ahasuerus may speak a lesson to those who build the tombs of the prophets, and 
 garnish the sepulchres of the righteous ; but who persecute the living prophets, and 
 are blind to the worth of the living righteous. 
 
 III. A voice from the guilty past. Then said the king's servants that 
 minister unto him, There is nothing done for him. The voices of the present are 
 too often but echoes of the past. Ahasuerus was too deaf during six years to hear 
 the still small voice which said there is nothing done for the deserving Mordecai. The 
 voice gathers force and volume, and now it comes like a thunder-clap to the soul 
 of Ahasuerus as the servants say there is nothing done for him. Neglected duty 
 has a voice ; if we hear and at once obey, much sorrow will be prevented. If we 
 are deaf, purposely deaf, the voice goes on speaking, and in the dreary night, 
 when all is stdl, when the sold is awake, it speaks with tremendous emphasis. If 
 then we listen and repent destruction may be prevented. If we still refuse to hear 
 the voice will speak once more, when the only response can be, It is now too late. 
 Let us listen to the voices of the present. Do they echo our past 1 Do they say 
 there is nothing done where much ought to have been done. Let us pray for 
 Divine mercy through Jesus Christ to blot out our past ; and for Divine grace to 
 remedy the past as far as possible, and to do nobler and better in the future. The 
 king listened eagerly and penitently to those preachers who had only a tale of 
 misdoing to tell ; for not-doing is in many cases misdoing. Wise are those hearers 
 who listen to the preacher who declares there is nothing done where much was 
 rightly expected. The king's servants proclaim their own guilt. There is nothing 
 
222 H0M1LETIC COMMENTARY: ESTHER. [chap. VI. 
 
 done for him. We have waited and never urged the claims of good Mordecai. 
 Sometimes in proclaiming the injustice of others we pronounce our own guilt. 
 Thou that reprovest Ahasuerus because he lias done nothing for Mordecai, what 
 hast thou done for the benefit of the neglected man] Thou that ravest about a 
 nation's neglected heroes, what hast thou done for the heroes round about thee, for 
 the heroes whose heroism is not on a large scale, for the heroes who tread the quiet 
 walks of life, but whose aggregated worth constitute a nation's safety. Neglected 
 heroes ! Unrecognized worth ! They seem to meet us everywhere. In the 
 present day it appears too much the case that the only heroism which receives 
 notice is the heroism of boasting. In the heathen kingdom of Persia modest 
 Mordecai meets at last with some reward. In the Christian kingdom of England 
 the modest Mordecais too often pass to the grave, and on their tomb-stones may 
 be written the epitaph : There has nothing been done for them. In the heathen 
 kingdom of Persia the boasting Hainan ends on the gallows. In the Christian 
 kingdom of England the boasting Hainan sadly often maintains a position of social 
 influence, and crowds follow his remains to the grave. Let the art of graceful 
 puffing be taught in our schools and colleges ; let its glories be proclaimed from 
 our pulpits and in our lecture-rooms. No more vainly talk about the virtues of 
 modest merit. The cry is now heard, He is too sensitive to make his way. 
 Solomon said, Put not forth thyself in the presence of the king, set not out thy 
 glory. The modern Solomon says, Put thy best foot foremost, set out thy glory, 
 have a good opinion of thyself if thou wouldest rise. Well, never mind, serve thy 
 God by serving thy fellows. God is always doing something for his faithful 
 servants. There is no neglected Mordecai in his kingdom. Let each so live and 
 so act, that pleasant memories may delight the spirit that cannot lose itself in the 
 sweet oblivion of sleep. However we may have neglected our fellows, let it never 
 be said that we have neglected the God-man. When the question is asked, What 
 honour and dignity hath been done by us to Jesus? — let not the reply be heard, 
 There is nothing done for him. Nothing done for Jesus ! Nothing done for him 
 who did infinitely much for mankind ! — and if we do much for Jesus we should do 
 much for our fellows. He who does not try to serve his race may hear the awful 
 reply: There is nothing done for Jesus. "Inasmuch as ye did it to one of the 
 least of these my brethren," &c. What room for grief when we hear the question, 
 "What honour and dignity hath been done to Jesus for this his great work of saving 
 men ] It is high time to repent. Much has been done. But when we consider 
 his claims and our indebtedness and our small sacrifices, we appear to hear a guUty 
 past shouting in thunder tones, There is nothing done for Jesus. 
 
 Suggestive Comments on Verses 2, 3. 
 
 The king inquired what honour and been kind to us, yet let us do them 
 
 dignity had been done to Mordecai for honour by acknowledging their kind- 
 
 this, suspecting that this good service ness and owning our obligations to them, 
 
 had gone unrewarded, and like Pha- 2. Letter late than never. If we have 
 
 raoh's butler remembering it as his fault long neglected to make grateful returns 
 
 this day. Note — The law of gratitude for good offices done us, let us at length 
 
 is the law of nature. We ought particu- bethink ourselves of our debt, 
 larly to be grateful to our inferiors, and The servants informed him that no- 
 
 not to think all their services such debts thing had been done to Mordecai for that 
 
 to us, but that they may make us in- eminent service ; in the king's gate he 
 
 debted to them. sat before, and there he sat still. Note 
 
 Two rules may be gathered from the — 1. It is common for great men to take 
 
 king's inquiry here: — 1. Letter honour little notice of their inferiors. The king 
 
 than nothing. If we cannot, or need not, knew not whether Mordecai was preferred 
 
 make a recompense to those who have or not till his servants informed him. 
 
CHAP. VI.] 
 
 HOMILETIC COMMENTARY : ESTHER. 
 
 223 
 
 High spirits take a pride in being careless 
 and. unconcerned about those that are 
 below them and ignorant of their state. 
 The great God takes cognizance of the 
 meanest of his servants, knows what dig- 
 nity is done them, and what disgrace. 
 2. Humility, modesty, and self-denial, 
 though in God's account of great price, 
 yet commonly hinder men's preferment 
 in the world. Mordecai rises no higher 
 than the king's gate, while the proud 
 ambitious Haman gets the king's ear and 
 heart; but, though the aspiring rise fast, 
 the humble stand fast. Honour makes 
 proud men giddy, but upholds the 
 humble in spirit. Honour and dignity 
 are rated high in the king's books. He 
 does not ask, What reward has been given 
 Mordecai] what money 1 ? what estate? 
 but only, what honour ? — a poor thing, 
 and which, if he had not wherewith t ) 
 support it, would be but a burden. 4. 
 The greatest merits and the best services 
 are often overlooked, and go unrewarded 
 among men. Little honour is done to 
 those who best deserve it, are fittest for 
 it, and would do most good with it. 
 The acquisition of wealth and honour is 
 usually a perfect lottery, in which those 
 who venture least commonly carry off the 
 best prize. Nay — 5. Good services are 
 sometimes so far from being a man's pre- 
 ferment that they will not be his protec- 
 tion. Mordecai is at this time, by the 
 king's edict, doomed to destruction, with 
 all the Jews, though it is owned that he 
 deserved a dignity. Those that faithfully 
 serve God need not fear being thus ill 
 paid. — Matthew Henry. 
 
 Princes should have diligent care that 
 none who have deserved well of the State 
 or of themselves are left to go unrewarded. 
 God knows our acts of kindness; and 
 though we may regard them as lost or 
 ignored, yet he can bring them to the 
 light at the proper time to receive even 
 a greater reward than if they had been 
 immediately rewarded. — Starke. 
 
 Although men are unmindful of bene- 
 fits received, and, as Pindar says, " Old 
 thanks sleep," still our Lord God is never 
 forgetful. When God's time for reward 
 has come, then even the zeal of enemies 
 must assist hiin. However watchful and 
 diligent our enemies may be in order 
 
 utterly to destroy the righteous, yet all 
 their acts and labours form only the 
 ground of the scene, which by the help 
 of God is made to serve in perfecting the 
 Aveb of his leadings. — Brenz. 
 
 He could not believe that he had been 
 so thoughtlessly ungrateful, as never to 
 requite for such a length of time a 
 service so eminent as that which Mor- 
 decai had performed ; and was astonished 
 to hear his servants say that nothing 
 had been done for him. 
 
 Let us take a review of our lives, and 
 consider what we have done, or not 
 done. If our memories are good, Ave 
 shall be surprised at many instances of 
 our conduct, or at our forgetf ulness. Have 
 we showed all that sense of gratitude to 
 our benefactors, to which we must ac- 
 knowledge them to be entitled ? Have 
 we not often intended to do what we 
 have never done, although we must 
 blush at the thought that we have not 
 done it? And can we forget, that 
 amongst our benefactors are to be reck- 
 oned our parents, and, most of all, God 
 our Maker? 
 
 We are taught likewise by this ques- 
 tion of Ahasuerus, not to impute to 
 intention what may be the effect merely 
 of inadvertence. We are apt to make 
 louder complaints than we have any 
 reason to make of the ingratitude of 
 those to whom we have performed good 
 offices. Perhaps they have forgotten 
 that they did not requite them. Perhaps 
 their neglects have not originated in 
 depravity of heart, or insensibility to 
 benefits, but in thoughtlessness, as it 
 were, occasioned by the many avocations 
 of other affairs. We cannot indeed 
 justify those who do not with the first 
 opportunity requite benefits received ; 
 but we must not aggravate real evils. 
 Who will say that David did not retain 
 a grateful remembrance of what Jona- 
 than had done for him? And yet 
 several years seem to have elapsed, after 
 he was advanced to the regal dignity, 
 before he inquired who were left of the 
 house of Saul, that he might show them 
 the kindness of God for Jonathan's 
 sake ; and several more years passed 
 away, before he brought the Jboues of 
 that beloved friend from Jabesh Gilead 
 
224 
 
 H0M1LETIC COMMENTARY: ESTHER. 
 
 [CHAP. VI. 
 
 to be interred in the sepulchre of his 
 father. 
 
 " There is nothing done for him," 
 said the servants of Ahasuerus. This 
 was a disagreeable truth which they 
 could not conceal from the king. But 
 the evil was not irreparable. Mordecai 
 was still alive, and the king could yet 
 testify his sense of the benefit received. — 
 Lawsan. 
 
 The king said, What honour and 
 dignity hath been done to Mordecai for 
 this ? Then said the king's servants that 
 ministered to him, There is nothing done 
 for him. ye smooth sycophants, 
 where were your tongues before 1 Ye 
 were not ignorant of the important 
 service performed by Mordecai. Ye 
 knew well the mean office Avhich he con- 
 tinued to discharge. Why did you not 
 embrace the opportunity which your 
 access to the king's person gave you to 
 remind him of the merits of a neglected 
 servant 1 You had too many favours to 
 ask for yourselves aud your friends. 
 Oh ! if Hainan had come a little earlier, 
 you would have abetted his plea, and 
 might have been found bearing witness 
 that Mordecai had blasphemed the king 
 and his favourite. 
 
 We should not, and good men will 
 not, look for their reward from creatures. 
 The world is full of ingratitude. It is 
 often seen that " the greatest merits and 
 the best services are forgotten, and go 
 unrewarded among men ; little honour 
 is done to those who best deserve it, are 
 fittest for it, and would do most good 
 with it." * Modest merit is overlooked, 
 while the aspiring, the ambitious, and 
 the time-serving rise to honour and 
 riches. Nor is ingratitude confined to 
 courts. It is the vice of the low as well 
 as the high — the sovereign 'people, as 
 well as sovereign princes. " There was 
 a little city, and few men within it; 
 and there came a great king against it, 
 and besieged it, and built great bulwarks 
 against it. Now there was found in it 
 a poor wise man, and he, by his wisdom, 
 delivered the city ; yet no man remem- 
 bered that same poor man. Wisdom is 
 better than strength; nevertheless the 
 poor man's wisdom is despised, and his 
 * Henry. 
 
 words arc. not heard." f Ingratitude to 
 ( S-od and to his servants are nearly allied. 
 "The children of Israel remembered not 
 the Lord their God, who had delivered 
 them out of the hands of all their 
 enemies on every side : neither showed 
 they kindness to the house of Jerubbaal, 
 namely, Gideon, according to all the 
 goodness which he had showed unto 
 Israel." J You know who it was that 
 " went about doing good ; " and yet, as 
 a reward, the Jews sought to stone, and 
 at last crucified him. 
 
 "Think upon me, my God, for good, 
 according to all that I have done for 
 this people." § The King of heaven has 
 his records — his " book of remembrance," 
 in which are entered not only the good 
 deeds which they have done in his 
 service, but also their dutiful words and 
 their gracious thoughts. This book is 
 not only written before him, but it is 
 always open before him. He whom you 
 serve slumbers not nor sleeps at any 
 time. He stands in no need of remem- 
 brancers, and no adversary can poison 
 his ear to their prejudice. He may 
 delay the reward, but he will not baulk 
 their expectations. He " is not unright- 
 eous, to forget your work and labour of 
 love, which ye have showed toward his 
 name." When the books are opened, 
 lie shall read, " I was an hungered, and 
 ye gave me meat ; I was thirsty, and ye 
 gave me drink ; I was a stranger, and 
 ye took me in ; naked, and ye clothed 
 me ; I was sick, and ye visited me ; I 
 was in prison, and ye came unto me." 
 
 If we are thoroughly convinced of our 
 neglect of duty, and sorry on account 
 of it, we will lose no time in repairing 
 the injury. Satan is always at hand to 
 divert us from a good purpose. Had 
 Ahasuerus delayed acting on his present 
 impressions, a temptation would have 
 assailed him which might have proved 
 too strong, and led him to add cruelty 
 to ingratitude, by taking away the life 
 of one who had preserved his own. 
 
 It teaches us how well a good man can 
 afford to wait for the due acknowledg 
 
 t Eccles. ix. 14, 15. 
 % Judges viii. 34. 35. § Neli. v. 19. 
 
CITAF. VI.] 
 
 HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: ESTHER. 
 
 225 
 
 ment of his uprightness, and for any 
 reward he may need for the good lie 
 has done. The conjecture is that six 
 long years had gone hy since Mordecai 
 revealed the plot of the chamberlains 
 and saved the king's life, and not even 
 a word of acknowledgment had come 
 to him during all that time. At first 
 he would naturally look for something 
 of the kind, for it was usual, it was 
 kingty, on such occasions to confer 
 honours and give rewards ; but as time 
 went on expectation would, of course, 
 diminish, and finally, in all probability, 
 die away, so that when acknowledgment 
 and reward come none is more surprised 
 than he who had ceased to expect them. 
 But what we most admire is his be- 
 haviour meantime. If he had been a 
 self-seeking man, he could easily have 
 found means to refresh the king's memory 
 as to his services ; but he kept silence. 
 If he had been a malignant man, he 
 might have sought what he would, in 
 that case, have called a just revenge for 
 the ungrateful neglect with which he 
 had heen treated, by hatching or falling 
 in with some other plot. But no ; he 
 keeps his place, and does his office at 
 the gate quietly and faithfully, and with- 
 out fail, expecting nothing, complaining 
 of nothing, faithful to duty, and fearing 
 God. And then, how well all turns out 
 in the end ! How much better than if 
 the reward had been given at the time ! 
 Suppose he had got some gift or office 
 at the time, the answer to the king's 
 question could not have been, " Nothing 
 has been done for him ; " and Hainan's 
 plot would not have been arrested, but 
 would have rolled on, on wheels of fire, 
 towards the destruction of a whole 
 people. " He that believeth shall not 
 make haste ; " God's time is always the 
 best. Six years are to the Lord as so 
 many moments. And God's method of 
 reward and acknowledgment is the best 
 too. Seldom, indeed, does it take in 
 the case of any of his servants a form so 
 dramatic as this. We misapprehend and 
 degrade the dramatic element in this 
 history if we crave the repetition of it. 
 It is brought out here in such tragic 
 splendour in order that the great moral 
 truth may be stamped deeply in human 
 
 memory, and may stand out vividly to 
 the human imagination. You have dune 
 some good things in your time which 
 have never been acknowledged, or never 
 adequately rewarded, even as such things 
 go among men. Even a few frank kindly 
 words from the proper quarter would 
 have been something. As it is you are 
 sometimes a little chilled and discouraged 
 by what you feel to be the complete and 
 unwonted neglect. Well, now, don't 
 expect Haman at your door some fine 
 morning with the king's horse, and the 
 royal apparel to make you all purple and 
 gold, and the blaring trumpets to tell all 
 the city what you have done ; he is not 
 likely to come ; you must do as you can 
 without him. Bighteousness is its own 
 reward, and we are never righteous as 
 God would have us be until we feel this 
 deeply and act accordingly. — Dr. Raleigh. 
 And the king said, What honour and 
 dignity hath been done to Mordecai for 
 this? Lyra saith that he had waited 
 six years for reward and had none. In 
 princes' courts men are sure to meet 
 with two evils, delay and change ; not 
 so in heaven. The butler forgat Joseph. 
 Solomon speaketh of a poor man, who 
 by his wisdom had saved the city, yet 
 no man remembered that same poor 
 man; this is the world's wages. Mor- 
 decai had saved the king's life and yet 
 is unrewarded. The kings of Bersia 
 used to be very bountiful to those that 
 had well deserved of them, or of the 
 commonwealth ; calling such Orosangoa, 
 and setting down both their, names and 
 their acts in the chronicles, as Herodotus 
 testifieth. Among the rest he mentioned 
 one Bhylacus, who was put upon record 
 for his good service to the king, and 
 rewarded with a great deal of land 
 given him. Others had great store of 
 gold and silver, and a gallant house, as 
 Democedes Crotoniales, the physician 
 who cured Darius, had at Susis. It is 
 well known out of Xenophon what 
 rich gifts Cyrus gave to his friends and 
 followers — chains of gold, armlets, bridles 
 bossed with gold, Bersian slools called 
 Dorophoricos. Herodotus telleth us 
 that this Ahasuerus, alias Xerxes, gave 
 Megnbyzus, for his good service at 
 Babylon, a golden mill weighing six 
 
226 IIOMILETIC COMMENTARY : ESTHER. [chap. vi. 
 
 talents. Plutarch writeth, that he gave should not have a present recompense, 
 
 Themistocles above two hundred talents, but that it should he deferred till a fitter 
 
 and three cities besides, viz. Magnesia, opportunity, when God might be more 
 
 Lampsacus, and Myuntis, to find him glorified in the preservation of his people 
 
 food, and lor clothing and furniture two and destruction of their enemies. Let 
 
 more, viz. Percos and Palsescepsis. How us not therefore be weary of well-doing; 
 
 came it then to pass that good Mordecai for (however men deal by us) Ave shall 
 
 was so forgot! en 1 Surely it was a great be sure to reap in due season if we faint 
 
 fault in this ungrateful king — hut God's not. God best seeth when a mercy will 
 
 holy hand was in it — that Mordecai be most sweet and seasonable. — Trapp, 
 
 MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH. Verses 4, 5. 
 
 The King's Inquiry and Concession. 
 
 From the conduct of Hainan on this occasion we learn that hate inspires a man 
 with energy. For anything we know to the contrary Haman may be but an active 
 man, one who is prompt in business, and who scarcely allows himself sufficient 
 leisure to take necessary sleep. But in this case the impelling motive is hate. 
 It will not allow him to sleep. At the first dawn of morning he rushes to carry 
 out his nefarious design. He is waiting with eagerness for the king's appearance. 
 He is all alert to set a-going his wily and dark scheme. He is ready to speak unto 
 the king to hang an innocent man. Thus there are too many Hamans. Alas ! 
 sadly too many to speak for the destruction of their fellows. Alas ! sadly too few 
 to speak for the salvation of their fellows. How this proclaims the depravity of 
 human nature ! It rushes to destroy ; it creeps to save. It is eager to listen to 
 the voice of hate ; it is deaf to the voice of love. Oh, love divine, supplant hate 
 by the sweet force of all-mastering love ! 
 
 I. The human inquiry. The king said, Who is in the court 1 It does not 
 appear to us likely that the king was aware that Haman was already in the court. 
 The king was evidently still in the bed-chamber, whence he would not see who 
 was waiting outside. He could scarcely have expected Haman at such an early 
 hour. He asks in ignorance. This is characteristic of human inquiries. We are 
 ignorant, and desire to know. We ask for enlightenment. But, further, the king 
 was in perplexity and desired some one to consult. What is to be done to remedy 
 this long neglect 1 ? Who is in the court to whom I may speak? This too is 
 characteristic of our humanity. Perplexity will come. In such trial we ask who 
 is in the court 1 ? Who will help me in this perplexity 1 Who is there to whom I 
 may successfully appeal 1 We seek to men, but they fail. Seek to the court of 
 heaven. If any man lack wisdom let him ask of God. 
 
 II. The Divine response. The king's servants said unto him, Behold, Hainan 
 standeth in the court. God speaks by human voices. Holy men are generally the 
 vehicles of Divine messages, but he can and does make use of unlikely vehicles. 
 These servants, heathen though they were, were God's instruments. They were 
 working out Divine laws. Why did they at once fix upon Haman 1 Were there 
 no others in the court 1 ? Doubtless there were. The true answer is, not that 
 Haman was the favoured minister, but that God directed them to announce 
 Hainan's presence. The king did not hear the Divine response in the answer of 
 his servants, but it was there, all the same. God is speaking even when we are 
 too deaf to hear. Be swift to hear the Divine response. 
 
 III. The disappointing concession. And the king said, Let him come in. 
 Earthly kings grant their audiences, but the privileged ones find that the concession 
 is disappointing. Hainan found it so to his cost. Better almost for him had the 
 king said, Let him stop out. Even when those who seek the king's presence have 
 
chap. vi.J HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: ESTHER. 227 
 
 no dark designs there is disappointment. The earthly monarch may say, Let the man 
 come in, and then the monarch lets the man go out as empty as he entered. High 
 hopes have often been raised by a monarch's summons to court, but it lias only been 
 a vain parade. No false hopes are raised by King Jesus. Does he say to a man, Let 
 him come inl then he means to enrich; and does he not say it to all? To each 
 the invitation is given, Let him come in, let him come to me. Him that cometh to 
 me I will in no-wise cast out. Even a proud, ambitious, and bloodthirsty Hainan 
 may come. How sweet the word — come ! Come not to further thy dark designs, 
 Hainan ; come not to seek help in the promotion of thy schemes of self-aggrandize- 
 ment ; but come to be taught a better way ; come to be endowed with a nobler 
 spirit ; come to learn, Blessed are the merciful : for they shall obtain mercy ; Blessed 
 are the meek : for they shall inherit the earth. 
 
 IV. The joyful but fatal obedience. So Haman came in. Haman did not go 
 in like one moving to the gallows, which in fact he was doing. He was now much 
 nearer that fatal structure than he knew. Had Haman lived in our days he might 
 have thought, This is now the tide in my affairs which should lead on to further 
 glory. But, oh ! it was the dark tide leading on to destruction. Hainan went in 
 joyful, but came out sorrowful. The rosy morning was bright and beautiful ; 
 clouds gather on the evening sky. The lightnings flash and thunder peals in 
 terrific grandeur. What a picture is presented to the mind by those simple words — ■ 
 So Haman came in. Hainan's mistake was not in obeying the permission of the 
 king, but in obeying the voice of an evil spirit. Had Haman repented during the 
 night, and gone in a right spirit and with wholesome counsel to the king, all 
 might still have been well. The motive, then, counts for much. Let us look to 
 our motives. A wrong motive Avill cast a blight on the obedient action. See to 
 it that good deeds arise out of faith in Jesus Christ, out of love for his glory. 
 
 Suggestive Comments on Verses 4, 5. 
 
 Haman came early, but too late. To special providence of God in this, that 
 us, knowing arrangements made on either Ahasuerus should take advice about 
 side, in the king's mind, and in his honouring Mordecai, and not of his ser- 
 favourite's, it is a neck-and-neck race, vants that attended upon his person, but 
 Who should have the first word ] The of Haman then present (though for 
 king has it ; Haman is lost ! " A single another purpose) ; and, concealing the 
 moment to tell Ahasuerus of the per- man he means, should Haman say what 
 severing insolence of one of his menials : was fit to be done, and then do it ac- 
 I need not name him ; enough to say cordingly. Neither the king nor his 
 that he is one of the race doomed all to servants, likely, would ever have thought 
 perish on the thirteenth of Adar, and of doing Mordecai so great honour as 
 that I am but anticipating the end or- Haman prescribed. See here, as in a' 
 dained for him a few months hence." mirror, how the Lord by a secret provid- 
 No, Haman ; not a single moment you ence bringeth about and overruleth the 
 have for that purpose now or ever, wiles of men, their affairs, times, counsels, 
 Ahasuerus had no wish to forestall his words, and speeches, to the fulfilling of 
 friend. Had he known that he had a his own will and decree ; and this when 
 request of his own to present he must they think least of doing God's will or 
 have given him permission to state it ; serving his providence, 
 and had Haman then only avoided nam- So Hainan came in, merry and 
 ing Mordecai, the king must have jocund, but went out sad and heavy- 
 granted his request. It is " another hearted. These hosts (profit, pleasure, 
 King" who is beforehand with the Jew's and preferment), though they welcome 
 enemy. — Symington. us into our inn with smiling counten- 
 
 And the king said, Lei him come in. ances, yet, if we watch them not, they 
 
 See here, saith Merlin, a sweet and will cut our throats in our beds. It is 
 
 Q 2 
 
228 H0M1LETIC COMMENTARY: ESTHER. [ciiaf. vt. 
 
 observed of Edward III., that he had for haste, — at least he was impatient of 
 
 always fair weather at his passage into delay ; and who was this, at early morn, 
 France and foul upon his return. Pha- pacing the outer court of the king's 
 rauh had fair weather till he was in the palace, as though also in haste a 1 unit 
 heart of the Red Sea. The sun shone some great work 1 Hainan. His night's 
 fair upon the earth that morning that rest had not pacified his thirst for revenge. 
 Lot came out of Sodom, but ere night There was to be the queen's banquet in 
 there was a dismal change. He that an after part of the day ; and if he was 
 lives in the height of the world's bland- to go in merrily to it he must first have 
 ishments is not far from destruction. — obtained authority for the execution, and 
 Trapp, had Mordecai hanged on the gallows 
 Who is in the court 1 The morning prepared for him. How fortunate* ! 
 light may have begun to fill his chamber thought Hainan ; the king is early astir, 
 when the king nervously addressed this and calleth for me. How fortunate ! 
 question to his attendants. He had thought the king ; my favourite courtier 
 spent a sleepless night ; and might it not and counsellor is early in the way this 
 be because another conspiracy was being morning, and is the best man to whom I 
 matured against him ] Might it not be can commit this business. Behind the 
 something of this kind which was troub- back of each of them there was the pro- 
 ling the queenl Did he not deserve vidence of God, secretly working out 
 that it should be concealed from him, his own purposes of mercy and judg- 
 since he had done nothing to reward his ment. " Anil the king said, Let Hainan 
 former preserver % There might be cause come in." — McEtoan. 
 
 MAIN" HOMtLETICS OP THE PARAGRAPH. Verses 6, 11. 
 
 Self-Flattery Leading to Selp-Humiliation. 
 
 Outwardly at least self-flattery does not always lead to self-humiliation. But 
 we cannot see and know all. We cannot perceive the bitter stings which must 
 be endured in silence by the conceited man. In his passage through time, in his 
 contact with his fellows, he receives many a stab which he must conceal. And 
 these hidden sores are often the most difficult to endure. After all the herb of 
 humility is a true heart's-ease. The modest man may not make a great position in 
 the world, but he is most likely to possess the invaluable treasure of contentment. 
 ( Jertainly he is not at all likely to find himself in the humiliating position to which 
 poor Hainan was reduced. Sooner or later, in some way or another, in time or in 
 eternity, pride goeth before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall. Better 
 is it surely to be of a humble spirit with the lowly. Better to sit with calm 
 resignation with Mordecai at the gate than to be the subject of those great inward 
 shocks, and of those outward humiliating changes, which were endured by the 
 conceited Hainan. 
 
 I. An artless question addressed to conceit. And the king said unto him, 
 What shall be done unto the man whom the king delighteth to honour? If wo 
 may so say there was either designed or undesigned artlessness in this question 
 on the part of king Ahasuerus. The form of the question was just that form 
 calculated to bring out Hainan's over-weening self-confidence. The question was 
 artlessly vague, and leaves room for Hainan to conclude that he himself was the 
 man whom the king delighted to honour. If the form of the question was 
 designed, if he purposely keeps the name of ' Mordecai in the background, it shews 
 a skill on the part of the king which the history does not prepare us to expect. 
 However, it was a natural form for the question to take; and simple straightfor- 
 wardness is often the most direct mode of defeating the schemes of the cunning 
 and of the conceited. It was so in this case. The luxurious monarch proved 
 himself more than a match for the wily politician. However, Ave may well suppose 
 
chap, vi.] HOMILETIC COMMENTARY : ESTHER. 229 
 
 that the monarch Avas moved hy the current of events. The form of the question 
 was not merely of the king's own shaping. There was a higher mind suggesting. 
 
 II. The reasoning of conceit. A conceited heart is a bad guide in critical 
 junctures. This was a crisis in Hainan's history, and, unfortunately for himself, he 
 listened to the hollow reasoning of a conceited heart. Hainan's conceit hindered 
 him drawing a correct conclusion. Some of the premises were hidden from Haman, 
 and therefore he was not in a position to construct a perfect syllogism. He should 
 have asked himself, are the premises that I have occupied a high place at court, 
 that I have secured an edict against the Jews, that Mordecai is still sitting at the 
 king's gate neglected, sufficient to warrant me in concluding that I am the man 
 whom the king will most delight to honour 1 A conceited nature may study all 
 the books on logic that has ever been written, but its reasonings for all that are 
 sure to be faulty. Logicians sometimes speak of vicious reasoning ; of this kind 
 of reasoning a conceited nature will be guilty. To be a correct reasoner there 
 must be a clear head, and also, and perhaps much more, a clear heart. Errors of 
 the head most frequently spring from faults of the heart. Take heed to thyself, 
 and then to the doctrine— as a man thinketh in his heart so is he. Haniin 
 thought in his heart, To whom would the king delight to do honour more than 
 to myself? Of course not. At this moment self was with Haman the sum-total of 
 the universe. Is poor Hainan the only one who raises self to a false position, from, 
 which it falls with hideous ruin 1 Alas, to too many men self is the world. There is 
 too much conceit in all. Let there be proper self-love, but let it not degenerate 
 into selfishness. 
 
 III. The answer of conceit. It is an unscrupulous and fool-hardy answer. 
 Haman here seems to aim at royal honours. Practically he was guilty of treason. 
 He now asks to have regal honours assigned to himself. Outwardly this could not 
 be charged against him, for he might have pleaded, I am yet in ignorance as to the 
 man whom the king will delight to honour. And it might not have been as plain 
 to the king, and to the listeners, whom Haman meant as it is to us who now read 
 the whole account with the calmness of unprejudiced investigators. If Haman had 
 thought of another self beside his own self as likely to receive these honours he 
 might not have been so lavish in his description of what should be done. How 
 lavish we are in expenditure when myself, ourselves, is the subject of consideration ! 
 How thrifty and parsimonious we become when we have to consider the claims of 
 other selves. Self says, Look every man on his own things. Self asks for itself 
 the royal apparel, the royal horse, the royal crown, the royal procession and 
 proclamation. Self practically says, All this for me and the gallows for Mordecai. 
 Is not this a solemn figure ] How difficult would it be for the judge to pass 
 sentence on the criminal if he could make his self take the place of the criminal's 
 self 1 The world would be much altered for the better if each man could consider 
 properly the claims of other selves. How long will it be before the world 
 practically acts out the injunction — Look not every man on his own things, but 
 every man also on the things of others 1 Here conceit aims at the subversion of 
 royal supremacy. There is much conceit at the bottom of republicanism. Conceit 
 does not believe in honouring all men and fearing the king. And is there not 
 much conceit in infidelity ! Is there not an effort to destroy Divine supremacy l 
 The pride and the daring of conceit are insufferable. It would overturn thrones. 
 It would if possible overtop the throne and monarchy of God himself. 
 
 IV. The fearful blow to conceit. We can easily suppose that the command 
 noAV given by the king to Haman was more galling than the rope placed round his 
 neck when he was hung on the gallows. How galling to have the honours I had 
 intended for myself given to another, and that other the man I most hate, the man 
 whose destruction I have most earnestly plotted ! The king told Haman to make 
 haste. What a hard command ! To make haste is a hard task when I have to 
 carry on my journey a broken heart, a disappointed nature, blasted hopes, blighted 
 
230 
 
 IIOMILKTIC COMMENT A HY: ESTHER. 
 
 [CHAP. VI 
 
 prospects; to make haste when in myself I must carry the hideous ruins of that 
 fail castle which L have just been building with so much skill and labour. Make 
 haste to honour the man I have most hated ! Love your enemies is the gospel 
 precept Where is the Christian that makes haste to heap honours on his enemy? 
 Have pity then on wretched Hainan if his heart-strings crack and break as he 
 strives to do the king's bidding. Oh ! to be emptied of self-seeking, to lie low at 
 the foot of the cross ! it will save us from many a hard knock. Stoop low if thou 
 wouldst not be hurt. Think not too much of thyself. 
 
 V. The humiliating condition of conceit. The most humiliating condition in 
 which Hainan was placed was, not when he hung on the gallows, but when he 
 marched through the streets of the city by the side of Mordecai, and proclaimed 
 before him, Thus shall it be done unto the man whom the king delighteth to 
 honour. The righteous one is now exalted, the wicked one is debased. The city 
 may well rejoice. The truth, like Mordecai, may lie long neglected ; falsehood, like 
 Hainan, may ride in triumph. But the condition must be reversed. Truth will he 
 lifted out of its degradation, clothed in its royal apparel, and even falsehood will 
 be compelled to minister to the honour of the truth and proclaim its glories. Also 
 the time must come when Jesus will ride forth in royal apparel, and his enemies 
 will join in the proclamation — This is the man whom the universe delights to 
 honour. Seek to be the friends of King Jesus now, and then in the day of his 
 glorious appearing we shall not be numbered among those humiliated by his 
 triumph. 
 
 Suggestive Comments on Verses G, 11. 
 
 Of all troubles the trouble of a proud 
 heart is the greatest. It was a great 
 trouble to Hainan to lead Mordecai's 
 horse, which another man would not 
 have thought so ; the moving of a straw 
 is troublesome to proud flesh. First or 
 last, self-denial ami victory over our- 
 selves is absolutely necessary ; otherwise 
 faith, which is a grace that requireth 
 self-denial, will never he brought into 
 the soul and bear ride there. — Sibbes. 
 
 Self-conceit, obstinacy, and selfishness 
 are three shameful and harmful evils 
 that have plunged many into ruin. 
 Worldly persons seek their highest 
 good in external pomp and appearance. 
 Self-love appropriates all things to itself, 
 and concedes nothing to its neighbour. 
 Men seek perishable honour ; would that 
 they strove diligently after the im- 
 perishable honour and glory of heaven! 
 The manner of wicked advisers is, when 
 the haughty fare too well, to goad them 
 on to vindictivencss ; hut if something 
 unforeseen checks them they drive 
 them to despair. Cod is the same al- 
 ways ; lie. can bring it about that 
 neither earth nor hell can prevail against 
 us. The wicked are nearest destruction 
 
 when they deem themselves farthest 
 from it. — Starke. 
 
 Ambition (as they say of the croco- 
 dile) groweth as long as it liveth ; and 
 self-love, like to a good stomach, draws 
 to itself what nourishment it liketh, 
 ami casts off that which offends it. It 
 maketh men inireasonable, and teacheth 
 them to turn the glass to see themselves 
 bigger, others lesser, than they are. 
 Herodotus reporteth, that after the 
 Greeks had got the better of Xerxes 
 and his Persians, and came together to 
 divide the spoil, when it was put to the 
 question who of all the commanders had 
 deserved the best reward, none would 
 yield to other, but every man thought 
 himself best deserving and second to 
 none. In the battle of Belgrade, where 
 Mahomet, the great Turk, was beaten 
 and driven out of the field, Capistranus 
 and Huniades were the chieftains there, 
 and whereas both of them wrote the 
 relation of that day's work, neither of 
 them so much as once mentioned the 
 other, hut each one took the whole 
 praise of it to himself. Hainan, though 
 altogether unworthy of the least respect, 
 yet holds himself best worthy of the 
 
CHAP. VI.] 
 
 IIOMILETIG COMMENTARY : ESTHER. 
 
 231 
 
 greatest honours, and therefore will be 
 sure to be no niggard in advising those 
 ceremonies of honour which he pre- 
 sumes meant to his own person. — 
 Trapp. 
 
 Ambition may rear turrets in emula- 
 tion of heaven, and vainglory build 
 castles in the air, but they should have 
 no roof, as the latter should have no 
 foundation. Philip threatened the 
 Lacedemonians, that as he entered their 
 country he would utterly extinguish 
 them. They wrote him no other answer 
 but si (if) ; meaning, it was a condition 
 well put in, for he was never like to 
 come there. — Adams. 
 
 Four distinct services did Haman 
 render Mordecai. First, he was his 
 hair-dresser, for he shaved and anointed 
 him ; secondly, he was his valet, for he 
 attended him in the bath ; thirdly, he 
 was his footman, for he led the horse 
 Mordecai rode; fourthly, he was his 
 trumpeter, for he proclaimed before 
 him : Thus shall be done to the man 
 whom the king desireth to honour. — 
 Talmud. 
 
 To thyself be it, Haman ! Albeit 
 what may please thyself may hardly be 
 so agreeable to another. Pity for the 
 " most noble prince " — and Haman may 
 have had some one in view whom he 
 wished to have laid at his feet — who 
 should be appointed to execute what 
 thou shouldst prescribe as the king's 
 commandment ! There was no honour 
 and distinction high enough for himself, 
 and no service too menial which he 
 would not have done to him by another. 
 "The royal apparel," by which was meant 
 the gorgeous outward garment of the 
 king, which, according to Persian law, 
 it was a capital crime to wear without 
 his consent — the horse which the king 
 Avas accustomed to " ride upon," well 
 known both by its excellency and its 
 peculiar trappings and ornaments, — "the 
 crown royal," probably such a lofty tiara 
 as an Oriental writer has described, "en- 
 tirely composed of thickly set diamonds, 
 pearls, rubies, and emeralds, so exquis- 
 itely disposed as to form a mixture of 
 the most beautiful colours in the brilliant 
 light reflected from its surface," — were 
 to be brought, and " one of the king's 
 
 most noble princes" was to act the part 
 of his servant, arraying him in his robe, 
 setting the crown upon his head, and 
 when he was mounted, to go — reins in 
 hand — through the city proclaiming 
 before him — " Thus shall it be done to 
 the man whom the king delighteth to 
 honour." 
 
 The intense vanity and parade of 
 Hainan's advice to the king may move 
 our contempt, but we must remember 
 that he was choosing for himself. There 
 are many others who, if they were only 
 to put their wishes into words, would 
 ask for things quite as foolish $ and 
 absurd. In every case they would reveal 
 the ruling passion of their hearts, and if 
 it proved to be worldly or sensual, what 
 was desired in large measure would only, 
 if granted, mature it and injure the 
 receiver. Sometimes there are secret 
 murmurings that God does not leave 
 every man to choose his own portion, but 
 if we only knew our own dispositions 
 better, and the evil principles within us 
 which require to be checked and over- 
 come, we should have much greater 
 reason for gratitude that God retains our 
 earthly portion in his own care and allot- 
 ment. Especially when we take into 
 account our discipline and preparation 
 for eternity, would we be the very worst 
 to advise regarding what would be best 
 for us. A Haman would choose what 
 would minister to his pride, a Demas to 
 his worldliness, another and another to 
 even baser lusts, and the soul would be 
 left, like a temple in ruins, more and 
 more desolate, and infested, in an ever- 
 increasing degree, with what was vile 
 and loathsome. For the sake of our 
 present peace and future hope, we should 
 rejoice rather in the choice of God — 
 " Commit thy way unto the Lord, trust 
 also in him, and he shall bring it to 
 pass." 
 
 "When a scheming self-seeking world- 
 ling is brought to poverty and punish- 
 ment, sympathy for him is apt to spring 
 up in some breasts. They put the man 
 in the foreground, and by his miserable 
 plight are moved to commiseration and 
 pity. But what of those whom it was 
 in his heart to have ruined 1 The widows 
 and children whose gains he would have 
 
2.32 
 
 H0M1LETIC COMMENTARY: ESTHER. 
 
 [chap. VI. 
 
 greedily grasped and used for his own 
 selfish ends] The bed winch he would 
 make for others is surely good enough 
 for him to lie upon. Simply to change 
 places with his intended victims is a 
 merciful dealing in providence, in so far 
 as it is calculated to convince of personal 
 wrong-doing, and to bring to repentance 
 if the man has not placed himself beyond 
 it. Hainan had this justice meted out 
 to him. He would have demeaned one 
 of " the king's most noble princes," by 
 making him his valet and public pro- 
 claimer of his own praise through the 
 streets of Shushan. His selfishness 
 blinded him to the suffering and mortifi- 
 cation which the procedure would inflict 
 upon another. But ah ! what a revulsion 
 of feeling must he have experienced 
 when he was commanded by the king 
 to change places with that other ; to be- 
 come himself the menial slave, putting 
 on him the royal robe ami crown ; and 
 whilst he rides on the king's horse, com- 
 pelled himself to walk at its head and 
 sound the other's praise. The greatest 
 grief was that the man who was declared 
 Avorthy to take the place which he had 
 pourtrayed for himself was "Mordecai the 
 Jew," — the man who had refused him 
 homage at the king's gate was to receive 
 homage from himself in the public 
 thoroughfares ; and the same for whom 
 he had provided a gallows was to have 
 a crown put upon his head by his own 
 hands. It, was pitiful. And as we now 
 see him executing the king's order, which 
 he knew it would be in vain to oppose, 
 commiseration and pity for him are liable 
 to bias our judgment. How downcast 
 and forlorn he must have looked. How 
 the words of the proclamation must have 
 gulped in his throat. How he must have 
 hung down his head and averted the 
 astonished looks of the people. Still, 
 he had only changed places with " the 
 most noble prince," whom he would have 
 callously subjected to the same ordeal. 
 For selfishness to reap what it had sown 
 for another is not by any means an un- 
 equal punishment. It, may be severe, 
 but not more so than this intense selfish- 
 ness would have accounted nothing if 
 prescribed for an equal. Oh, no, we 
 cannot even compassionate thee, Hainan! 
 
 If it had been thyself who had been 
 robed and crowned, and royally con- 
 ducted through the streets riding on the 
 king's horse, thou wouldest have made 
 sure that Mordecai had been hanged on 
 the gallows, and one of "the king's most 
 noble princes " would have been degraded 
 to minister to thy pride and selfishness. 
 — McEwan. 
 
 This is a great infelicity which attends 
 worldly pursuits, that there is no pro- 
 portion between the pleasure of success 
 and the pain of disappointment. How 
 imsatisfactory to Hainan would the wear- 
 ing of royal ornaments for a small part 
 of a day have been, and all the other 
 honours which he expected to enjoy only 
 for a few moments ! We can scarcely 
 suppose that the pleasure of this feast 
 to his vanity would have lasted longer 
 than a night, or a week. But how dread- 
 ful a stroke was given to him, by hearing 
 that the man whom he mortally hated 
 was the man whom the king delighted 
 to honour ; that he was to be invested 
 with that royal pomp to which Haman 
 himself looked, as the perfection of 
 felicity, and that he must become the 
 servant of that man for whom he had 
 erected a gallows fifty cubits high ! 
 What exquisite misery, if he had lived 
 to endure it, must have been his portion, 
 at the galling remembrance of his own 
 disgrace, when the erection of that lofty 
 gibbet published to the whole city the 
 height of his hopes and the bitterness 
 of his disappointment ! 
 
 "Let nothing fail," said the king, "of 
 all that thou hast spoken."— He counted 
 no honours too great for his benefactor. 
 He would compensate by his liberality 
 the time which Mordecai had lived un- 
 rewarded and unhonoured. If Ave have 
 neglected to do good when Ave should 
 have done it, let us use double diligence 
 in doing it, at least whilst time is still 
 left, us to repair our omissions. 
 
 Then took I Ionian the apparel and 
 the horse, ami arrayed Mordecai, ami 
 brought him on horseback through the 
 street of the city, ami proclaimed before 
 him, Thus shall it be done to the man 
 whom the king delighteth to honour. 
 Do you complain that you must deny 
 yourselves, and take up your cross in 
 
CHAP. 'VI. J 
 
 HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: ESTHER. 
 
 233 
 
 following Christ? But who is the man 
 that is exempted from trouble, or the 
 man that does not find it necessary to 
 deny himself on many occasions ? And 
 is it not better to deny ourselves for 
 Christ than to deny ourselves f >r the 
 sake of any earthly object 1 You see 
 that Hainan, great as he was in the court 
 of Ahasuerus, must serve Mordecai as 
 his lacquey, and perform to him those 
 services which to Hainan himself ap- 
 peared the most glorious of all others, 
 ivhen he would have given thousands of 
 gold and silver for a warrant to slay him. 
 The greatest earthly princes must often 
 do things displeasing, or omit things 
 pleasing, to themselves for temporary 
 advantage, or even without the prospect 
 of advantage. What could Hainan gain 
 from Mordecai, or from Ahasuerus, for 
 doing what he could not do without the 
 most extreme reluctance 1 But the least 
 instance of self-denial for the sake of 
 Christ shall be attended with a great 
 reward, worthy of the bounty of the 
 Giver. 
 
 Mordecai was too wise to value those 
 childish honours which appeared so glori- 
 ous to Haman. He was, undoubtedly, 
 struck with amazement when Hainan 
 brought to him the royal robes and the 
 royal horse. But it was necessary for 
 him to yield obedience to the king's 
 pleasure ; and doubtless he saw the 
 gracious hand of God in what was done 
 to him. Mordecai had more sagacity 
 than the friends of Haman, who saw the 
 fall of Haman before Mordecai the Jew, 
 presaged by this instance of his humilia- 
 tion. Jacob saw the love of God in the 
 face of his reconciled enemy. Mordecai 
 saw the favour of God in the reluctant 
 services performed by an enemy as full 
 of malice as ever, and was cheered by 
 the dawnings of that deliverance to his 
 nation for which he had been praying 
 and looking. — Lawson. 
 
 As I have said in a former lecture, I 
 am reluctant to offer any conjecture of 
 my own on a subject on which so many 
 learned men have bestowed their labour ; 
 but it does seem to me that this proposal 
 of Hainan's has a meaning which has 
 not been commonly observed. Ac- 
 quainted as he was with the dangerous 
 
 and slippery tenure of a favourite in an 
 Eastern court, what possible object could 
 he have in wishing to be allowed, for 
 one brief hour, to act the king, arrayed 
 in his master's robes of state, with the 
 crown of Persia on his head, and paraded 
 through the streets of the city upon the 
 royal horse 1 And this strange fancy 
 becomes stranger still when we remem- 
 ber that these honours were accounted 
 so divine and sacred by the Persians, 
 that to assume an imitation of any one 
 of them, without the king's express com- 
 mand, would have been an offence to be 
 expiated by instant death. 
 
 The true explanation of Hainan's pro- 
 posal appears to me to be this : that he 
 really was aspiring to the sovereignty of 
 Persia, and was meditating an attempt 
 on his master's throne. His wealth was 
 incalculable, and his power was already 
 all but boundless and supreme. All, it 
 appears, that was wanting to his happi- 
 ness was, that he should be decked in 
 the external badges and symbols of 
 royalty : — a very unlikely wish for any 
 man to entertain who did not aspire to 
 royalty itself. In those countries the 
 steps from a throne to a dungeon were 
 often but few, and the transfer of the 
 crown from the prince to one of his 
 nobles or favourites was sometimes but 
 the work of a few hours. Nor is it at 
 all improbable, that the incredible pre- 
 sumption and conceit of this vainglorious 
 man may so far have misconstrued the 
 extraordinary favours which Esther was 
 now showering upon him, as to lead him 
 to imagine that the queen herself would 
 not regret the change. Self-admirers 
 are generally self-deceivers. If these 
 suppositions are just they will throw 
 considerable light both on Hainan's 
 answer and on what soon after followed. 
 
 But, whatever were his motives, it is 
 almost impossible to conceive the horror 
 and amazement he must have felt at the 
 king's reply. If the ground had opened 
 under his feet he could scarcely have 
 been more dismayed than when the 
 clear and awful tones of that voice, which 
 few ever heard without trembling, issued 
 from the sanctuary in which the great 
 king sat enshrined, and the wretched 
 man listened to those memorable words 
 
234 
 
 IIOMILETIC COMMENTARY : ESTHER. 
 
 [chap. vr. 
 
 which rung out the knell of his ambition. 
 " Make haste, and take the apparel and 
 the horse, as thou hast said, and do even 
 so to Mordecai the Jew, that sitteth at 
 the king's gate : let nothing fail of all 
 that thou hast spoken." "Mordecai the 
 Jew" — "That sitteth at the king's gate" 
 — "As thou hast said."— It was agony. 
 It was madness. Every syllable left a 
 poisoned arrow rankling in his heart. 
 But he heard and obeyed without a 
 murmur : wonderful illustration of the 
 self-command which a man of such 
 passions could assume, as well as of the 
 abject submission by which he had won 
 the favour of his master. 
 
 But who can form any conception of 
 the tortures Haman must have endured 
 while executing such an order ] With 
 what bitter reproaches must he have 
 loaded himself for having given such 
 advice, without first taking the precau- 
 tion to ask the name of the person whom 
 the king designed to honour. Never 
 was folly more fitly punished. That he, 
 Hainan, should be obliged to single out, 
 from among the crowd of wondering 
 courtiers, the object of his loathing and 
 abhorrence for this unparalleled honour 
 and distinction ; that, publicly, and be- 
 fore the eyes of so many who, he well 
 knew, would exult over his humiliation, 
 he should be compelled, with his own 
 hands, to adorn the detssted Jew in all 
 the glories of that royal splendour which 
 he coveted for himself ; that he should 
 be forced to wait as a lacquey at his 
 horse's rein, and amid the sneers of 
 multitudes, who were perfectly aware 
 how much he hated Mordecai, and with 
 what scorn Mordecai had defied him, to 
 proclaim with his own lips that this was 
 the man whom the king delighted to 
 honour; and as he walked along, while 
 thousands bowed down and prostrated 
 themselves — not to him, but to Mordecai 
 — to know that he himself was the 
 contriver, and adviser, and doer of the 
 whole of this odious pageant, — this was 
 a punishment so exquisite, so just, so 
 utterly beyond the power of man to have 
 concocted, that it was scarcely possible 
 for any one to avoid seeing in it the 
 hand of Providence and the forewarning 
 of a coining fate. — Crusthtcaitc. 
 
 There is an increscent power in evil 
 (as indeed there is also in good), in view 
 of winch we cannot be too watchful ami 
 anxious, lest by any means we should 
 fall under the power of it. The power 
 of it, remember, is very silent and gentle 
 generally in its operations. The use 
 of strong metaphors to signify the growth 
 of evil is apt to mislead and deceive us ; 
 and the contemplation of very strong 
 human instances like this of Haman is 
 apt enough to have the same effect. The 
 growth of evil — Do not figure it by the 
 waters of Niagara hurrying down the 
 rapids and plunging over the brink in 
 ocean fulness. Take rather a plant or 
 slender tree in your garden, which has 
 just begun to grow : there it stands in 
 the morning sunlight; there it stands 
 in the evening dew. It never travels, 
 never plunges, never roars. It is groxo- 
 ing — and that is enough. So do not 
 look at Haman reeling on the giddy 
 eminence he is trying to scale, and fall- 
 ing thence, as Satan did from heaven. 
 But look at a man growing up in perfect 
 quietness, who has no care to grow up 
 in real goodness, no fear of growing up 
 in evil — and there you have the picture 
 which would be to us, if we could see 
 things as they are, as alarming as any 
 other. Anything may come out of that 
 — Haman, Ahitophel, Judas Iscariot. 
 
 Here is the strength, and here is the 
 fitness of the Gospel, and here its in- 
 estimable preciousness — that it goes to 
 the root of all evil in man. It is a re- 
 generation, a renewing, a quickening, a 
 redemption ; when it comes in power it 
 is death to the principle of evil within 
 — considered as the reigning power of 
 the life. "We are crucified with Christ ;" 
 and with Christ we attain to "the 
 resurrection of the dead." O happy 
 change that puts us for ever on the 
 winning side, that gives us the pledge 
 and assurance of eternal victory by the 
 attainment of eternal goodness. Is it 
 wonderful that we should exhort sinful 
 men to flee to him, and to trust him to 
 the uttermost 1 ? In him we are in the un- 
 decaying strength — in the perfect purity 
 — in the infinite love — and therefore 
 in the eternal blessedness. — Dr. Raleigh. 
 
c:iap. vi.] HOMILETIG COMMENTARY : ESTHER. 235 
 
 MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH. Verses 12—14. 
 
 A Small Man in Adversity. 
 
 Men are to he judged so as to form an estimate of their greatness or their 
 littleness, not by their surroundings, but by the manner in which they conduct 
 themselves in the trying changes, in the ups and downs, of life. We must 
 consider their conduct. "By their fruits shall ye know them." Does a man 
 carry himself with calmness in prosperity and with fortitude in adversity, then 
 we may pronounce him great. Is a man unduly elated by prosperity and broken- 
 hearted by adversity, then we pronounce him a small man. Tried thus the 
 despised Mordecai is the truly great man, and the haughty Hainan is the little 
 man. In one sense we are the creatures of circumstances. We cannot help 
 being more or less affected by them. In another sense we ought to be the masters 
 of circumstances. They must not be permitted to unman our natures. In the 
 day of prosperity be joyful, but in the day of adversity consider. Adversity so 
 acts upon some people that all power of consideration is removed. Oh, to be 
 masters of ourselves ! This can only be done by the help of Divine grace. " I 
 can do all things through Christ strengthening me." 
 
 I. A great man in prosperity. Are there no great men that meet with no 
 prosperity, as the world accounts prosperity 1 Has God no hidden heroes in quiet 
 walks ? We may believe - that he has. Up to this time Mordecai had been a 
 great man in obscurity. Eeally Mordecai was no greater when riding on the 
 king's horse in triumphal procession through the city than when sitting at the 
 king's gate. We are slow to learn and believe the truth, that not circumstances, 
 but character makes a man great. Mordecai's mind was so great that he rose 
 above the state of things and men. He dwelt in a higher sphere than that formed 
 by the pomp of circumstances, by the parade of royalty. We can imagine 
 Mordecai with calm majesty riding through the city Susa. He took the thing 
 naturally ; he penetrated to the heart of things. When the little show was over 
 he went calmly to his obscure place at the city gate. In some degree he is a type 
 of him who rode forth amid the hosannas of the multitude, and then listened, as 
 one not astonished, to the cry, Crucify him, crucify him. A great soul had 
 Mordecai. He had food to eat of which Haman had no conception. Seek high 
 conceptions of duty. Sit at thy post, even at the city gate, and wait only for 
 the opening of heaven's gate. 
 
 II. A small man in adversity. Oh, when adversity really comes are we not 
 all small men 1 The Bechuanas sit and talk as if they felt nothing when under- 
 going a painful surgical operation. But most men wince beneath the sharp knife 
 of adversity. Most are but bruised reeds when the blasts of sorrow blow keenly 
 and sharply, and they give forth dismal wailings. Therefore we must temper our 
 judgment with much mercy as we consider Haman in adversity. " Our grief is 
 but our grandeur in disguise ; " but our grief also tells of our littleness. Most are 
 brothers to Haman in the time of their adversity. The dreaded blow of trouble 
 sends them to their houses mourning. Adversity makes us acquainted with strange 
 bed-fellows. How many despise the guilty Haman, and yet are by trouble reduced 
 to his miserable level. Hainan was a small man. He was fretting like a little 
 child because the coveted toy had been grasped out of his hand. For we do not 
 suppose that Haman as yet knew that this honour rendered to Mordecai was 
 but the beginning of his own awful end. So far Hainan's troubles were in great 
 measure of an ideal character. A great many of our troubles are of this character. 
 But ideal troubles cause us real misery. If we could only act out the lesson, man 
 wants but little here below, nor wants that little long, we should not have many 
 troubles. Small are most men in the nature of their desires and their disappoint- 
 
236 nOMlLETW COMMENTARY: ESTHER. [chap. vi. 
 
 ments. They strive and fight for childish toys, ami when they get them they are 
 not satisfied, and ask for more. When these toys are wrested from them they 
 haste to their houses mourning, and have their heads covered for grief. 
 
 III. A small man in adversity seeks for counsellors. He went to his wife 
 and his friends. Where should a man go in the time of trouble if not to his wife 
 and his friends 1 A good wife should be a help-meet. Like the ivy plant, she 
 should cling the faster the greater the ruin, and be a helping support and a 
 graceful ornament even to that ruin. Where can a man in sorrow go if not to his 
 friends 1 where Haman little thought of going. Friends are not always glad to 
 see humiliated Hamans. Even the wife may turn round upon the husband and say, 
 Curse God and die. There is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother. When 
 my father and my mother forsake me, then the Lord will take me up. 
 
 IV. A man in adversity obtains poor consolation. One thing is certain, 
 Haman's wife and his friends told him the truth now, but they had not told him the 
 truth before. They had not warned him of his danger, nor showed him the way 
 out of his difficulty. Even now they have nothing in the way of really helpful 
 advice to offer. They simply predict his further downfall. Friends too often 
 have the fatal capacity of plunging a drowning man deeper into the water. Very 
 sad sometimes is the errand on which the man goes when he consults his friends 
 as to the best thing to be done in his trial. He comes back a sadder, but not 
 always a wiser, man from the visit. They glibly show him his faults ; they tell 
 him where he has made a slip ; they too often appear as if they were taking pleasure 
 in making him look contemptible. We compassionate Haman from the bottom of 
 our hearts. He has sown the wind, and is now reaping the whirlwind. He is 
 now deserted by all, left to his own bitter fate. Heaven's consolations even then 
 might have been obtained. Eich are the consolations that Jesus brings. He never 
 upbraids on account of our faults. If he does not deliver us from our distresses, he 
 gives us strength that we may bear them manfully. 
 
 V. A man in adversity receives an ominous summons. And while tney were 
 yet talking with him came the king's chamberlains. Trouble upon trouble ; but 
 Haman did not understand the worst. He did not foresee the future. He little 
 dreamt that Esther's banquet was but the way to the gallows. We sometimes say, 
 If I had only known ! Well, we all know, or might know, that wrong-doing will 
 lead to trouble, and yet we go on doing wrong things. Had Haman known, 
 perhaps, like too many, he would simply have done another wrong thing to prevent 
 the mischief likely to come from past wrong-doing. No need for prophetic sight. 
 We know that sin worketh death ; let us then forsake all evil. From all 
 blindness of heart ; from pride, vainglory, and hypocrisy ; from envy, hatred, and 
 malice, and all uncharitableness, Good Lord, deliver us. 
 
 Suggestive Comments on Verses 12 — 14. 
 
 In prosperity he is highly insolent and heinous sins toward God and his 
 
 and cruel, but in adversity he is so servants, of his duty of recognizing the 
 
 broken and dejected that he knows not inevitable judgment of God, of repent- 
 
 which way to turn. But his counsellors ance, of reconciliation, then perchance 
 
 are no better off than himself. His it may have turned out better with him. 
 
 friends do not console him, nor show The power and efficacy of truth is so 
 
 him any plan for escaping his danger, great that even its enemies and all the 
 
 which nevertheless was then the most ungodly bear testimony to it. So the 
 
 needful help for Haman ; but they throw magicians of Pharaoh are compelled to 
 
 him, just hesitating between hope and explain, This is the finger of. God ; and 
 
 fear, into despair. " Thou wilt surely the Egyptians' cry, Let us ilee hefore 
 
 fall in his sight," say they. Had they Israel, for the Lord fighteth for them. — 
 
 admouished him indeed of his many Feuardcnt. 
 
CHAP. VI.] 
 
 HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: ESTHER. 
 
 237 
 
 Men find no difference in themselves. 
 The face of a Jew looks so like other 
 men's that Esther and Mordecai were 
 not, for long, taken for what they were. 
 He that made them makes the distinction 
 betwixt them ; so as a Jew may fall 
 before a Persian and get up and pre- 
 vail ; but if a Persian, or whosoever of 
 the Gentiles, begin to fall before a Jew 
 he can neither stay nor rise. There is 
 an invisible hand of omnipotency that 
 strikes in from his own and confounds 
 their opposites. God, neither is thy 
 hand shortened, nor thy bowels straitened 
 in thee : thou art still and ever thyself. 
 If we be thy true spiritual Israel, neither 
 earth nor hell shall prevail against us ; 
 we shall either stand sure or surely rise, 
 while our enemies shall lick the dust. — 
 Bishop Hall. 
 
 The chief reason why the enemies of 
 the Church gnash their teeth at the sight 
 of God's gracious dealings is, that they 
 take the rising of the Church to be a 
 presage of their ruin : a lesson which 
 Hainan's wife had learned. 
 
 Haman's wife had learned this, that 
 if her husband began once to fall before 
 the Jews he should surely fall. Wicked 
 men have an hour, and they will be sure 
 to take it ; and God hath his hour too, 
 and will be as sure to take that. The 
 judgments of the wicked are mercies to 
 the Church. So saith David, " He slew 
 mighty kings, Og, king of Bashan, for 
 his mercy endure th for ever." — Sibbes. 
 
 In the narrative which follows we 
 have an example of that decency and 
 propriety with respect to circumstances 
 which is always observed in Scripture, 
 and which may be traced in what is 
 omitted as well as what is introduced. 
 Nothing is said of what passed between 
 Mordecai and Haman, either at the be- 
 ginning or close of the ceremony. The 
 inspired writer gives us no account of the 
 acclamations of the multitude whom the 
 spectacle drew together. They would no 
 doubt act, poor souls, as they are always 
 accustomed to do, hail the favourite of 
 the day, and echo back the voice of the 
 herald. Let them alone — they would 
 have done the same for Haman. We 
 are even left to conjecture what were 
 the thoughts of the judicious few, both 
 
 Jews and natives, who might be led by 
 this strange event to augur the approach- 
 ing fall of the arrogant prime minister, 
 and the rising fortunes of the object of 
 his hatred. The sacred narrative passes 
 over these things, and hastens to the 
 crisis. 
 
 The pageant is now over, and we see, 
 issuing from the dispersing crowd, the 
 two principal persons, moving in differ- 
 ent directions, and in opposite moods of 
 mind. 
 
 Mordecai came again to the king's 
 gate. But Hainan hasted to his house 
 mourning, and having his head covered. 
 There is a double portrait drawn with 
 one stroke, but it is by the hand of a 
 master ! We see the hearts of the two 
 men depicted in their looks and gait ; — 
 the composure and humility of the one, 
 and the confusion and bitter mortifica- 
 tion of the other. These two lines give 
 us a deeper insight into the characters 
 of the men than a would-be painter could 
 have conveyed by the most elaborate 
 representation. 
 
 Mordecai came again to the Icing's 
 gate. He did not remain to prolong 
 his triumph, and to drink in the incense 
 offered by the crowd. He did not go to 
 his own house, and gather together his 
 friends and countrymen to tell them of 
 his high honours, and to receive their 
 congratulations. He did not hurry back 
 to the palace in expectation of receiving 
 some more substantial mark of the royal 
 favour. He did not seek an audience of 
 the king to bring an accusation against 
 his mortal enemy. But he came again 
 to the king's gate from which he had 
 been taken, and resumed his former 
 place as a servant. He was not elated 
 — he was not even discomposed by his 
 honours. " He stood not up, nor moved," 
 for all that Haman had done to him. 
 
 " If the spirit of the ruler rise up 
 against thee" (saith the wise man), 
 "leave not thy place." But it is still 
 more difficult to keep our place when 
 we are visited with the favour of the 
 ruler. Few can bear honours and dig- 
 nities with equanimity, even when they 
 come upon them gradually ; but such 
 sudden and high advancement was 
 enough to make any ordinary person 
 
238 
 
 1IOM1LETIC COMMENTARY : ESTHER. 
 
 [CHAP. VI 
 
 giddy, bo cause him to forget himself, 
 and behave unseemly. What fatal 
 effects upon the head and heart do we 
 
 often witness in persons who have all at 
 once been raised from poverty to riches 
 and lank. Even good men are not 
 always proof against the intoxicating 
 inlluence of such transitions. How in- 
 coherently did the disciples talk on the 
 Mount of Transfiguration ! That vessel 
 needs to be well ballasted, which, after 
 being long becalmed, lias all its sails at 
 once filled with a favourable gust of 
 wind. 
 
 But Mordecai kept his place ; like a 
 gallant ship, firmly moored in a bay, 
 which during a flood-tide heaves, and 
 seems for a time borne along with the 
 lighter craft, but, obeying its anchor, 
 comes round and resumes its former 
 position. The pageantry of an hour 
 could not unsettle his mind; he regarded 
 it in its true light — a vain show. Had 
 he had a choice, he would have declined 
 it ; as it was, he suffered rather than 
 enjoyed it. It may be difficult to deter- 
 mine which of the two felt most awk- 
 ward and constrained — Hainan in con- 
 ferring or Mordecai in receiving the 
 extravagant honours. Not that the 
 latter was insensible or a stranger to 
 feeling on the occasion. But then he 
 viewed it, not as a prelude to his own 
 aggrandizement, but as an earnest of the 
 deliverance of his people; and as his 
 confidence of this event rested on surer 
 grounds than his own advancement or 
 the influence of his daughter, his heart 
 was idled with astonishment and with 
 gratitude at the prospect ; he possessed 
 his soul in patience — he stood still, and 
 waited for the salvation of God. 
 
 But let us now turn to Haman. He 
 had not confidence to return to the 
 palace to present the request for which 
 he had visited it in the morning. Nor 
 could he endure the sight of the people, 
 before whom he felt himself dishonoured. 
 But he "hasted to his house mourning, 
 and with his head covered." Had Ha- 
 inan been a man of virtue and true 
 dignity of mind, this occurrence could 
 not have disturbed his peace, far less 
 broken his heart. "Why? what harm 
 has it done to me ] I have been se- 
 
 lected as ' one of the Icing's most noble 
 
 princes,' to do this temporary honour to 
 a man who saved the royal life." At 
 most he would have regarded it as one 
 of those freaks which fortune delights to 
 play in arbitrary courts, and which break 
 the dull monotony of a palace. lie 
 would have said, "I have seen servants 
 riding upon horses, and princes, like 
 servants, walking on the earth." But 
 the man who could complain that all 
 his wealth and honours " availed him 
 nothing, so long as he saw Mordecai the 
 Jew sitting at the king's gate," could 
 not fail to be stung to the quick by the 
 recent transaction. Hatred, and disap- 
 pointment, and mortified pride, rankled 
 in his breast, and, to torment him still 
 more, awakened remorse for the past, 
 and fearful forebodings of the future. 
 Surely such a sight is sufficient to cure 
 those who have been smitten with pride 
 or with envy at worldly greatness. — 
 McCrie. 
 
 Then said his wise men and Zeresh 
 Ms wife unto him, If Mordecai be of the 
 seed of the Jens, before idiom thou, hod 
 begun to fall, thou shalt not prevail 
 against him, but shalt surely fall before 
 Iii in. Who were these wise men ? Either 
 sages whom Haman patronized, and 
 from whom he expected wise counsel 
 when he required it, or diviners, who 
 were believed to know more than men 
 could know, without some communica- 
 tion with superior beings. Many of 
 the heathens put much confidence in 
 diviners, but we have learned better 
 things from the word of God. By 
 making it our counsellor at all times of 
 perplexity we shall find peace to our 
 souls.* 
 
 " If Mordecai be of the seed of the 
 Jews, before whom thou hast begun to 
 fall, thou shalt not prevail against him, 
 but shalt surely fall." — If Mordecai be 
 of the seed of the Jews. Why do they 
 lay so much stress upon the stock from 
 which Mordecai sprung 1 ? If Mordecai 
 had been a native Persian, or a Baby- 
 lonian, or an Egyptian, would they not 
 have prognosticated equal success to him 
 against Hainan'? No; it plainly ap- 
 pears that the dispensations of Divine 
 * Isa. viii. 19, 20 ; Psal. cxix. 24, 
 
CHAP. VI.] 
 
 HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: ESTHER. 
 
 239 
 
 Providence in favour of the Jews were 
 so far known to tliem as to assure them 
 that Providence watched over their in- 
 terests in a manner peculiar to their 
 nation. Although most men are dis- 
 posed to think that their own country is 
 happy above others in the Divine favour, 
 and although the Persians at this time 
 seemed to have good reason to flatter 
 themselves Avith a special interest in the 
 favour of Heaven, yet these wise Per- 
 sians plainly confessed, that the Jews 
 scattered through the nations were the 
 special objects of the Divine care. The 
 wonders done in Babylon were known 
 to all the world, and could not fail to 
 impress all confederate princes with high 
 sentiments concerning the God of Israel. 
 Haman's wise men might have read the 
 sacred books of the Jews, in which they 
 would find that their God hail wrought 
 as great wonders for them in times past 
 as in the period of the Babylonian cap- 
 tivity. They learned instruction from 
 the works of God. They saw that the 
 same God who had preserved Daniel 
 and his companions watched over the 
 safety and fortune of Mordecai, and 
 they concluded that Haman, his irrecon- 
 cileable enemy, would fall under the 
 weight of his vengeance. 
 
 But it is strange that these wise men, 
 and even the wife of Haman, whatever 
 they thought, expressed to him their 
 mind so fully. If they did not choose 
 to flatter him, might they not at least 
 have concealed their dismal conjectures, 
 especially as he was led by their counsels 
 to that public disgrace in which he had 
 involved himself, by building a gallows 
 for the man who was appointed to be 
 the king's favourite 1 for although it 
 was built in the court of his own house, 
 yet the news of its erection was soon to 
 spread. It appears from the freedom 
 they used with Haman, that they already 
 considered him as a lost man, whom it 
 was useless to Matter. They were his 
 friends, as long as his friendship could 
 profit them, and now they seem to have 
 cared little whether he accounted them 
 as his friends or his enemies. Their 
 prophecy must have been as unpleasant 
 as the howling of a dog, or even a sen- 
 tence of death, to his ears. The rich 
 
 hath many friends ; but when poverty 
 is seen coining like an armed man, they 
 vanish away like snow in the days of 
 sunshine. 
 
 We may, however, learn useful in- 
 struction from a prophecy dictated by 
 reflection on the works of the Lord. 
 Blind heathens have been forced to see 
 that God takes care of his people, that 
 he often interposes wonderfully for their 
 deliverance, and that he leaves not his 
 gracious works in their behalf unfinished. 
 Why do not God's own people, in the 
 day of their distress, call to remembrance 
 his judgments for their consolation and 
 the support of their faith 1 When he N 
 begins to deliver them, why do they 
 indulge distrusting fears about the ac- 
 complishment of that work which he 
 hath taken into his own hand ? Why 
 are they not thankful for the day of 
 small things, as the beginnings of months 
 of joy? After Jesus undertook to heal 
 the daughter of Jairus strong tempta- 
 tions met the mourning parent, when 
 Jesus was on the road to complete his 
 work, and fears began to overwhelm his 
 soul. But what said Jesus? "Pear 
 not, only believe." He believed, and 
 received his daughter back from death. 
 — Lawson. 
 
 Still, although we may despise the 
 wife and the friends, we cannot say that 
 by their counsel now they do Haman any 
 injustice. They do not render him the 
 highest service. The highest service 
 would be to tell him the truth, and help 
 him to conform to it by confession, re- 
 pentance, and amendment. (If they 
 had been even worldly wise they would 
 have told him at once to take down the 
 gnllows.) But they do him no injustice. 
 The poor man (for now pity begins to 
 rise) has been sowing diligently, and he 
 is now to reap as he has sown. Black 
 harvest comes in a day. It begins to 
 come in his own house. There — where 
 he had plotted the mischief, begins to 
 fall the shadow of doom. 
 
 Yet, let us not overdraw the picture ; 
 possibly, if we knew all, there are softer 
 lines to put into it, and some lights of 
 human kindness. There is always much 
 untold and unknown in these histories. 
 Did they follow up their c mfident pre- 
 
240 
 
 IIOMILETIC COMMENTARY: ESTHER. 
 
 [chap. VI. 
 
 diction that he could not succeed against 
 Mordecai and the .Tews, by earnest 
 friendly counsel to Hainan to conceal 
 himself, or at once to take flight out of 
 the empire, or away to some distant 
 part of it 1 ? We know not. We know 
 only that they were still talking with 
 him — talking over the whole matter — 
 the gathering dangers, the possible 
 methods of relief — when the conference 
 is interrupted by the entrance of the 
 king's chamberlains, who have come, in 
 haste, to bring Hainan to the banquet 
 that Esther had again prepared. — Dr. 
 Huh iijlt. 
 
 When Hainan's wife heard her hus- 
 band say that Mordecai was against him, 
 because he was an Israelite, she said 
 that her husband should take the foil, 
 and Mordecai should prevail. What if 
 she had heard her husband say that the 
 Lord of Mordecai was against him ] If 
 the servant be so terrible, who dare en- 
 counter with his master 1 — H. Smith's 
 Sermons. 
 
 And Mordecai came again to the 
 king's gate. Was there ever a nobler 
 man than this 1 You will find ten 
 Christians who bear well the trial of 
 adversity for one who can bear well the 
 sharper trial of prosperity. Mordecai, 
 returned to his place, was wearing fairer 
 robes than the king's — that vesture of 
 humility wherein the Son of God walked 
 on earth, and which he has ordained 
 as the livery of his redeemed. Go tell 
 him that he has now a splendid oppor- 
 tunity to rise in the world, that his foot 
 is on the ladder, and he needs but to 
 climb ; and he will tell of another 
 ladder he is climbing, with angels for 
 his helpers, and that the show this 
 morning had almost cast him down. 
 His duty is at the king's gate, and there 
 he will wait upon God to show him the 
 end of this strange thing. 
 
 " The dew that never wets the flinty mountain 
 Falls on the valley free ; 
 Bright verdure fringes the small desert foun- 
 tain, 
 But barren sand the sea. 
 The white-robed saints the throne-steps singing 
 under, 
 Their state all meekly wear, 
 Their pauseless praise wells upfront hearts that 
 wonder 
 Thai ever they came there." 
 
 But Haman hastened to his house 
 mourning, and having his head covered. 
 
 The change was swift and ominous since 
 morning, when he had seen to the 
 gallows being ready, and gone forth 
 hopeful. Not a man in all the city 
 knew that two hours hence others 
 would cover his face and lead him out 
 to death ; but Haman felt that God 
 was fighting against him, and antici- 
 pated his doom. Is it wrong to mock 
 him now 1 Why not report yourself to 
 the king as having done his bidding, 
 and ask what you purposed to ask this 
 morning 1 On the showing of your own 
 words, the king has treated you as " one 
 of his most noble princes." Zeresh and 
 your friends are expecting you to bring 
 back your victim with you for the 
 gallows. Why so downcast ] But, 
 despicable as Haman is, pity is fitter 
 for us than scorn — pity, with a prayer 
 for ourselves that we may escape the 
 fatal madness of making self our god. 
 Hainan's friends had helped him last 
 night, and roused him to hope ; but 
 they failed him now. These were sum- 
 mer friends, and thought it not worth 
 Avhile even to lie to him any longer. 
 Besides, they were superstitious. " If 
 Mordecai be of the seed of the Jews." 
 Why this emphasis on Mordecai's race 1 
 The case would not have been so bad if 
 he had been an Ethiopian ; but there 
 were strange features about these Jews. 
 They sometimes stood out on ground of 
 high principle, and when they did so 
 they prospered against all probability. 
 The friends of Haman were Amalekites, 
 in all likelihood, and familiar, therefore, 
 with a history of warning. " Before 
 whom thou hast begun to fall." His 
 friends see no hope for Haman now 
 that he is started on the swift incline of 
 ruin. When great men of this sort 
 begin to go down their course is quick 
 in proportion to their greatness ; and it 
 is a serious aggravation of their misery 
 that the friends of their prosperity 
 hasten their unpitied fall. The tempt- 
 ers, in this world or the next, prove 
 the tormentors. — Symington. 
 
CHAP. VI.] 
 
 HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: ESTHER. 
 
 241 
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS TO CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Ver. 1. Safe sleeping. "When one asked 
 Alexander how he could sleep so soundly and 
 securely in the midst of danger, he told him 
 that Parmenio watched ; he might well sleep 
 when Parmenio watched. Oh how securely may 
 they sleep over whom he watches that never 
 slumbers nor sleeps ! " I will," said David, " lay 
 me down and sleep, for thou, Lord, makest me to 
 dwell in safety." — Venning. 
 
 A sleepless night. " Because God wouldn't 
 let him," was the answer given by a little boy 
 in one of our Sunday Schools of a large city in 
 the West of England to a question asked by the 
 teacher in reference to the Persian monarch not 
 being able to enjoy his accustomed slumbers. 
 It was a simple but sound reply, for God's 
 providence was watching over his ancient people, 
 and when they appeared to be in imminent danger 
 of falling by the hand or the sword he again 
 proved faithful to his promises, and made tran- 
 spiring events and circumstances subservient to 
 bis purpose. On that night the king could not 
 sleep because 
 
 " There's a divinity that shapes our ends, 
 Rough-hew them how we will." 
 
 Biblical Museum. 
 
 A sleepless night. A few years ago, a pious 
 man at Gravesend had retired to rest late on the 
 Saturday night, having first secured the doors 
 and windows of his house and shop. Weary, 
 however, as he was with the labours of the 
 week, he found it impossible to sleep ; and, 
 having tossed about in his bed for an hour or 
 two without rest, he resolved to rise and spend 
 an hour in the perusal of his Bible, as prepara- 
 tory to the engagements of the Sabbath. He 
 went downstairs with the Bible under his arm, 
 and advancing towards one of the outer doors, 
 he found several men who had broken into the 
 house, and who but for this singular interrup- 
 tion would probably, in a very short period, 
 have deprived him of the whole of his property. 
 — R. T. S. Anec. quoted in Biblical Museum. 
 
 Providence of God in withholding sleep. — The 
 late Sir Evan Nepean, when Under-Secretary of 
 State, related to a friend of his that one night 
 he had the most unaccountable wakefulness that 
 could be imagined. He was in perfect health, 
 had dined early and moderately, had no care — 
 nothing to brood over — and was perfectly self- 
 possessed. Still he could not sleep, and from 
 eleven till two in the morning had never closed 
 an eye. It was summer, and twilight had far 
 advanced ; and to dissipate the ennui of his 
 wakefulness, he resolved to rise and breathe the 
 morning air in the park. There he saw nothing 
 but sleepy sentinels, whom he rather envied. 
 He passed the Home Office several times, and at 
 last, without any particular objt ct, resolved to 
 let himself in with his pass key. The book of 
 entries of the day before lay open on the table, 
 and in sheer listlessness he began to read. The 
 
 B 
 
 first thing appalled him ! — " A reprieve to be 
 sent to York for the coiners ordered for execution 
 the next day." It struck him that he had no 
 return to his order to send the reprieve, and he 
 searched the minutes, but could not find it. In 
 alarm, he went to the house of the chief clerk, 
 who lived in Downing Street, knocked him up 
 (it was then long past three), and asked him if 
 he knew anything of the reprieve being sent. In 
 greater alarm, the chief clerk could not remem- 
 ber. " You are scarcely awake," said Sir 
 Evan ; " collect yourself : it must have been 
 sent." The chief clerk said he did now recol- 
 lect he had sent it to the Clerk of the Crown, 
 whose business it was to forward it. " Good ! " 
 said Sir Evan ; "but have you his receipt and 
 certificate that it is gone ? " "No!" "Then 
 come with me to his house. We must find him, 
 though it is so early ! " It was now four, and 
 the Clerk of the Crown lived in Chancery Lane. 
 There was no hackney coach, and they almost 
 ran. The Clerk of the Crown had a country 
 house, and meaning to have a long holiday, he 
 was at that moment stepping into his gig, to go 
 to his villa. Astonished at the visit of the 
 Under-Secretary at such an hour, he was still 
 more so at his business. With an exclamation 
 of horror, cried the Clerk of the Crown, " The 
 reprieve is locked up in my desk ! " It was 
 brought. Sir Evan sent to the Post Office for 
 the trustiest and fleetest express, and the reprieve 
 reached York at the moment the unhappy 
 people were ascending the cart. Surely this 
 was the finger of God. — Leisure Hour. 
 
 Ver. 3. Count Zinzendorf owed his religious 
 zeal to the accidental view of a picture of the 
 crucifixion, underneath which was this simple 
 inscription — 
 
 " All this for thee, how much for me ? " 
 What honour and dignity hath been done to 
 Jesus ? Bemember how much he has done for 
 thee, and then ask how much can I do, how 
 much ought I to do, for him ? 
 
 According to Thieisch Napoleon maintained 
 that a prince who followed his conscience would 
 be a good and noble governor, but not a great 
 man. However, Ahasuerus in this history only 
 appears a truly great man as he manifests some 
 uneasiness and regret on account of his neglect of 
 the great services of Mordecai. 
 
 Ver. 5. Come, a song-bird. In a lonely cot 
 there sat one night an aged widow, very poor 
 and nearly blind. The Christian lady had been 
 reading from the best of books. " Ah," said the 
 poor widow, " there is one word sweeter than all 
 the rest. It is a song for my darkness. Can 
 you guess what it is ?" The visitor thought, and 
 she said presently, "Yes, I think I know ; it is 
 Jesus, the name above all other names." " No," 
 said the widow ; " Jesus is a blessed word, but 
 that is not enough for me, unless I know him for 
 my Saviour. It is no comfort for me that he 
 died for sinners, unless I know he died for me." 
 
242 
 
 II0M1LETIC COMMENTARY : ESTHER. 
 
 [chap. vi. 
 
 '• Perhaps you mean heaven," said the visitor, 
 " for he is there." " No," said the widow ; "what 
 comfort would it be for me to know that Jesus 
 is in heaven, and others should see his face, and 
 love and serve him there, if I am not bound tor 
 heaven. No; it is just one word from his own 
 lips, I call it my little Bong-bird — come." Jesus 
 says come in a far different sense from that in 
 which Ahasuerus said, Let him come in. Ahasu- 
 erus said this for his own enlightment. Jesus 
 Bays " Come unto me " for our enrichment. 
 
 I'vnjal presents to an official. — The presenta- 
 tion as a gift from a royal personage of that 
 which had been worn on his own person was 
 a special mark of favour and condescension. 
 Morier, in his narrative of " A Second Journey 
 through Persia," thus illustrates this custom : — 
 " When a treaty between Russia and Persia was 
 concluded, some years since, in the commence- 
 ment, according to the usual form, the ranks of 
 the two principal persons who were deputed to 
 arrange it had to be specified. The Russian 
 general was found to have more titles than the 
 Persian plenipotentiary, who was therefore at a 
 loss how to make himself appear of equal import- 
 ance with the other negotiator ; but at length, 
 recollecting that, previous to his departure for 
 the place of conference, his sovereign had hon- 
 oured him by a present of one of his own 
 swords, and of a dagger set with precious stones, 
 to wear which is a peculiar distinction in Persia, 
 and besides had clothed him with one of his own 
 shawl robes, a distinction of still greater value, 
 he therefore designated himself as 'endowed 
 with the special gifts of the monarch, lord of 
 the dagger set in jewels, of the sword adorned 
 with gems, and of the shawl coat already worn.' " 
 Ver. 12. Fortitude of the Bechuanas. They 
 are excellent patients. There is no wincing ; 
 everything prescribed is done instanter. Their 
 only failing is that they become tired of a long 
 course. But in any operation even the women 
 sit unmoved. I have been quite astonished 
 again and again at their calmness. In cutting 
 out a tumour, an inch in diameter, they sit and 
 talk as if they felt nothing. "A man like me 
 never cries," they say ; "they are children that 
 cry." And it is a fact that the men never cry. 
 They stand in striking contrast to Hainan, who 
 hasted to his house mourning for what was 
 
 an imaginary evil in great measure ; yea, they 
 reprove a great many who profess to be sustained 
 by higher motives. It may lie a want of sensi- 
 tiveness on the part of the Bechuanas, but 
 with increased sensitiveness there should be an 
 increased power of self-control. It is wonder- 
 ful what power of self-control is possessed and 
 manifested by the members of the Society of 
 Friends. — Dr. Blaikie's Personal Life of David 
 Livinystone, LL.D. 
 
 Satan, a hard task-master. There was a man 
 in the town where I was born who used to steal 
 all his firewood. He would get up on cold 
 nights, and go and take it from his neighbours' 
 wood-piles. A computation was made, and it 
 was ascertained that he had spent more time, 
 and worked harder, to get bis fuel than he 
 would have been obliged to do if he had earned 
 it in an honest way, and at ordinary wages. 
 And this thief was a type of thousands of men 
 who work a great deal harder to please the devil 
 than they would have to work to please God. — 
 Bccchcr. 
 
 So Haman worked hard to please the devil of 
 an evil nature, and it ended in mourning. He 
 would have found more satisfaction in the long- 
 run if he could have set himself to serve a good 
 nature. 
 
 Circumstances. He is happy whose circum- 
 stances suit his temper ; but he is more excellent 
 who can suit his temper t3 his circumstances. — 
 Hume. 
 
 If you can't turn the wind you must turn the 
 mill-sails. Joseph was a beautiful example. 
 See him, in his changed positions, still the upright 
 saint ; and Jesus, his conduct at the marriage 
 and in the temple. William Pitt used to be 
 called the minister of existing circumstances. A 
 Christian shepherd, when a gentleman said, to 
 try him, " Suppose your master were to change, 
 or your flock to die ; what then ? " replied, " Sir, 
 1 look upon it that I do not depend upon circum- 
 stances, but upon the great God that directs 
 them." The Rev. H. W. Fox, when dying, had 
 constantly upon his lips the words of Baxter : — 
 " Lord, when thou wilt ; where thou wilt ; as 
 thou wilt." Mordecai, riding in the procession, 
 and then returning to sit at the gate, shows his 
 superiority to mere externals. — Bouts. 
 
chap. VII.] HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: ESTHER. 243 
 
 CHAPTEE VII. 
 
 Critical Notes.] 2. The king said again] Compare ch. v. 6. 3. My life, ... my people] 
 Esther has had time to carefully prepare her words, and her earnest language rises to the emotionality 
 of poetic parallelisms. We may throw her address into the following form : — 
 
 If I have found favour in thine eyes, king, 
 
 And if to the king it seem good, 
 
 Let my life be given me at my petition, 
 
 And my people at my request. 
 
 For we are sold, I and my people, 
 
 To be destroyed, to be slain, and to perish. 
 If, now, for slaves and for bondwomen we were sold, I had been silent, 
 For the enemy is not to be compared with the injury to the king. 
 
 4. We are sold] Allusion to Haman's offer to pay into the king's treasury ten thousand talents. 
 Destroyed, . . . slain, . . . perish] She quotes the very words of the fearful edict, and thus gives 
 a most telling point and emphasis to her plea. Although the enemy] This sentence is obscure, and 
 perhaps Esther meant that it should be ambiguous. The common version conveys the meaning that if 
 the Jews were all sold into slavery, their enemy, who brought this woe upon them, could not, by any 
 payment into the king's treasury, recompense him for the loss he would sustain. But the Hehrew 
 seems to make this last sentence give a reason for Esther's keeping silence ; namely, because she does 
 not consider the enemy worthy of the trouble and injury it must cost the king to punish him, and 
 counteract the decree of death that has gone forth against the Jews. The enemy] to whom she con- 
 temptuously refers is, of course, Haman. Countervail] The Kal participal— meaning, to be equal 
 with ; to be compared with. Damage] may be here taken in the sense of injurious trouble, annoyance, 
 vexation. — Whedon's Com. Thus Esther says (ver. 4), The enemy has determined upon the total 
 destruction of my people. If he only intended to bring upon them grievous oppression, even the most 
 grievous oppression of slavery, I would have been silent, for the enemy is not worthy that I should vex 
 or annoy the king by my accusation. — Eeil. 5. Who is he] Ahasuerus could not really have doubted ; 
 but he affects to doubt, that he may express his anger at the act, apart from all personal considerations. 
 — Rawlimon. Who ... is he that durst presume] Lit., as the margin, whose heart has filled 
 him to do this. The evil and ambitious man is tilled with fool thoughts and purposes from the corrupt 
 fountain of his own wicked heart. 6.] Esther replies, "The adversary and enemy is this wicked 
 Haman. Then was Haman afraid before the king and the queen." 7.] The king went into the 
 palace garden in order to recover from the first burst of anger, and to consider what was to be done 
 with Haman. He stood up and besought Esther to shield him from the king's fury. 8. Haman 
 was fallen upon the bed] In the wild emotion and alarm of the moment he had thrown himself 
 upon the couch or divan on which Esther reclined at the banquet, and was supplicating for his life 
 Will he force the queen] Of course the king did not believe his own words. But he meant to tax 
 Haman with a further offence in not sufficiently respecting the person of the queen, and he thereby 
 suggested to the attendants his instant execution. — Rawlinson. Covered Haman's face] The cover- 
 ing of the face was probably the beginning of the execution of the death sentence. (Compare Curtius : 
 They brought l'hiletas with covered head into the palace.) Even old interpreters remind us of the 
 sentence in Cicero: Lictor, bind his hands, veil his head, hang him on the hapless tree. However, 
 only mentioned here as a Persian custom. 9- Harbonah . . . said] This eunuch had been many 
 years in Xerxes' service. Behold also, the gallows fifty cubits high, which Haman had made 
 for Mordecai, &c] may not imply that the other servants, or even Harbonah himself, had already 
 brought accusations against Haman, and, in addition, would also reproach him with the erection of 
 this gallows ; but, from Harbonah' s views, it points out the most appropriate means at hand offered 
 by the prepared gallows for the fate of Haman. This is more significant against Haman. In giving 
 prominence to the fact that Mordecai was the one who spoke well for the king by revealing the plot 
 against the king's life, he intimates that it was more fit for Hainan to grace the gallows than the 
 one for whom it was originally erected. — Lanijc. In all the range of literature we find no more 
 signal display of righteous retribution than in the death of Hainan. 
 
244 110 MI LET IC COMMENTARY : ESTHER. [en at. vir. 
 
 MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH. Verses 1—4. 
 A Stkange Banquet. 
 
 I. The banquet was strange if we consider the incongruous nature of the 
 company. Things are not what they seem, and the three now meeting together 
 
 at the banquet are not what they might seem to casual observers. They were not 
 happy, could not be happy under the circumstances. Very different feelings now 
 took possession of their natures. Almsuerus was now stirred up to a sense of his 
 responsibility. Hainan must have felt the approach of his doom. The declaration 
 of the wise men and of his wife must have been ringing in his ears. And Esther 
 was roused up to the fact that an important crisis in her own and in her nation's 
 history was now at hand. A deep sense of uneasiness must have pervaded the 
 company which the wine could not allay. Thus, if we could only pierce the out- 
 ward Ave should find that the gatherings of this world are not at all in harmony. 
 Sometimes such gatherings end without any startling revelation; but it was not so in 
 this case. It came to a fatal end for Hainan at least The harmonizing spirit of 
 the gospel of love is the true power by which gatherings may be rendered pleasant 
 and profitable. At the gospel banquet all spirits should harmonize. At the 
 banquet of heaven we may expect complete harmony. 
 
 II. The banquet was strange if we consider the unaccustomed constancy of 
 the king. Ahasuerus was evidently a vacillating monarch, to one thing constant 
 never. But now he shows a strange exception. For the third time he asks Queen 
 Esther, " What is thy petition 1 " The king appears more willing to give than 
 Esther is to ask ; and in this he is a type of God. He is indeed more willing to 
 give than the sons of men are to ask. Yea, he gives before we ask; gives in spite 
 of our unwillingness to receive, and of our ingratitude. He is giving every day. Let 
 us be more constant and extensive in our askings. Ahasuerus proves his willing- 
 ness to give by a repetition of his question. In this he is a small type of the 
 great Giver. He repeats and repeats his assurances of his willingness to give. 
 His invitations and his promises to the children of men are plentifully scattered 
 throughout tlie sacred records. Ahasuerus showed his willingness to give by a 
 large promise. God shows his willingness to give not only by large promises, 
 but by large bestowals. How many are the bestowals of God ! How vast his 
 bounties ! What a proof of willinghood in the gift of his well-beloved Son ! 
 
 III. The banquet was strange if we consider the peculiar character of 
 Esther's petition. Notice — (a) The graceful modesty of the preface. "If I have 
 found favour in thy sight, king, and if it please the king." Could anything be 
 more graceful, more modest, and more artistic? Such words from such sweet lips 
 must have confirmed Ahasuerus in his determination to help the speaker in her 
 present difficulty. It is evident that Esther was a woman of skill as well as of 
 beauty. Modesty becomes the petitioner. Beauty is often arrogant. But beauty's 
 charms are increased by the presence of modesty. Morally we have no beauty to 
 plead as we come to God in prayer. Modesty is becoming. Yet boldness is 
 permitted because we come to God in the name of Jesus Christ, who always is well 
 beloved. Let us go to God not pleading our desertSj hut the merits of Jesus 
 Christ our Saviour. (/>) The natural and the benevolent request. She pleads for 
 her own life, and that was natural. "Skin for skin, yea, all that a man hath 
 will he give tor his life." Wonderful this intense love of life. Wise arrangement 
 of Divine providence. Through trial, and poverty, and pain, and sickness tin; 
 buman being clings to life. Esther might well ask for life with her propitious 
 surroundings. But Esther pleads for the life of her peojple, ami that was benevolent. 
 Most probably Esther might have secured the boon of her own life without 
 
chap, vii.] ROMILETIC COMMENTARY : ESTHER. 245 
 
 securing the salvation of her people. This, however, would not have satisfied her 
 benevolent nature. Hainan was very fearful when his own life was threatened. 
 He was very reckless about the lives of others. Esther was calm when her own 
 life was in danger, and was anxious for the salvation of the lives of her people. A 
 sweet type was she of the Son of man, who came to save the lost. He did not even 
 go so far as to plead for his own life. Yea, he gave his life a ransom for many. 
 He pleads for the life of his people. As Esther's, so the Saviour's intercession was 
 successful, and shall be to the end of time. How noble the office to plead for life! 
 Esther pleaded for physical life ; Jesus pleads for intellectual and moral life. Not 
 because God has issued a foolish and wicked decree, not because God is a stern 
 tyrant, a luxurious despot, but because the claims of justice must be met, and the 
 interests of God's moral government must be maintained. Esther asked little for 
 herself. She asked for her life, but that was a prelude to the further request of 
 the life of her people. The granting of one part of the petition was a pledge for 
 granting the rest. Jesus only asks to see the fruits of the travail of his soul. He 
 desires the salvation of men. Ahasuerus would be astonished at the nature of 
 Esther's request. God is not astonished at the nature of the Saviour's request. 
 Not like Ahasuerus, God saw the danger, and provided a remedy. Let us believe 
 that God Almighty willeth not the death of a sinner, (c) The timely confession. 
 She acknowledges her people. She confesses that she belongs to the persecuted 
 race. The time has come for confession, and she is ready to face the worst. The 
 queen talks of the outcast, despised, and death-decreed race as her people. A 
 period will come when a more wondrous confession than this will be made. Jesus 
 Christ will bring forth his people in the day of final reckoning. Very many poor 
 and despised ones of earth will then be spoken of by Jesus as "My people." Are we 
 now the people of God ] Let us not despise any in whom the smallest spark of 
 Divine grace is found, (d) The startling avowal. " For we are sold, I and my 
 people, to be destroyed, to be slain, and to perish." There is more harm done 
 through want of thought than through want of heart. The thoughtlessness of 
 Ahasuerus caused this declaration to come upon him in a startling manner. Very 
 many people are still sold to destruction through this very thoughtlessness. And 
 too often Esthers are not found to interpose between the thoughtlessness and its 
 bitter consequences. Let us think about our conduct, and especially as to its 
 bearing upon other people, (e) The gracious considerateness. " But if we had been 
 sold for bondmen and bondwomen, I had held my tongue, although the enemy 
 could not countervail the king's damage." How little consideration for others some 
 people possess 1 A little personal inconvenience soon sets their tongues working, 
 and they do not shrink from giving much trouble to those about them. Esther 
 would have held her tongue had it been a small thing she was called upon to 
 endure. She shrank from giving the king needless trouble. Let us learn to keep 
 the door of our lips, not for reasons of worldly policy, but because we do not desire 
 to give trouble that can lead to no beneficial results. " Let the words of my mouth 
 and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in thy sight, God, my strength 
 and my Redeemer." Thus shall our words be timely. Thus shall our words be 
 profitable to others. Thus our tongues will be silent even in suffering. 
 
 Suggestive Comments on Verses 1 — 4. 
 
 Ahasuerus is not more liberal in his had said ; yet he eats it not, as over 
 offer than firm in his resolutions, as if lavishly spoken, but doubles and triples 
 his first word had been, like his law, it, with hearty assurances of a real pro- 
 unalterable. I am ashamed to miss that sedition ; while those tongues which 
 steadiness in Christians which I find in profess the name of a true God say and 
 a pagan. It was a great word that he unsay at pleasure, recanting their good 
 
2 10 
 
 nOMir.KTTC COMMENTARY : ESTHER. 
 
 [chap, vii. 
 
 purposes, contradicting their own just 
 engagements, upon no canst; but their 
 own changeableness. — Bishop Hall. 
 
 Trembling soul, if this heathen king 
 is so trustworthy in his promises, then 
 your heavenly King is far more faithful. 
 The former promises only to give the half 
 of his kingdom, but he to give you the 
 whole kingdom. Truth may be crushed 
 to the earth, hut it dies not ; it can he 
 avoided or offended, yet it will finally 
 come to light and triumph. — Starke. 
 
 But in all this the first notable thing 
 is how far apart stand the judgments of 
 the Almighty and those of this world, 
 since those whom the world esteems 
 most happy and fortunate are truly most 
 unhappy and unfortunate before God. 
 Men, indeed, seeing only what appears, 
 and judging according to the outward 
 semblance, would have boldly pronounced 
 no man more fortunate than Hainan. 
 J Jut in fact, and in God's view, who' 
 sees the heart, he was of all men the 
 most miserable. For he was inflated 
 with ambition, he was hot with envy, 
 he was bursting with hate, and went to 
 the banquet in the most disturbed state 
 of mind. There rankled in the bottom 
 of his heart the thought of the fresh 
 honour which he had lately been forced 
 to confer upon his enemy; and he was, 
 moreover, goaded to desperation by what 
 his friends had told him to his face — ■ 
 that he himself, having once begun to 
 fall before the Jew, would for ever be 
 his inferior, and that Mordecai would in- 
 crease in glory and honour. — Feaardent. 
 
 " Let me make haste away to my 
 country ; there are my excellent ances- 
 tors, there dwell my noble relations, 
 there is the constant residence of my 
 dearest friends" (I 'lot inns). "Oh, happy 
 will that day lie when 1 shall come into 
 that glorious assembly, when I shall have 
 better company than Homer, Orpheus, 
 Socrates, Cato ; when I shall sit down 
 with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the 
 palace of their Friend and mine! Oh, 
 hiappy day, when I shall come to my 
 Father's house, to that general assembly, 
 the Church of the first-born, to an in- 
 numerable company of angels, to Jesus 
 the Mediator of the new covenant, and 
 to the spirits of just men made perfect !" 
 
 (ThI I). A man's knowledge of other 
 things may add to his fears, and make 
 his miseries greater ; but the more know- 
 ledge we have of God, the less our fears 
 and sorrows must be ; and when our 
 knowledge of God is perfsct, all our 
 fears and sorrows shall be for ever blown 
 over. I cannot omit a brave speech of 
 that noble Stoic which comes to my 
 mind : " If the acquaintance and favour 
 of Crcsar can keep you (as you are made 
 to believe) from some fears, »ow much 
 rather to have God for your Father and 
 Friend] How little cause have such to 
 be afraid at any time of anything ! Death 
 itself is not an evil to a friend of God ; 
 he may say, Come, let us go quickly to 
 our Father's house : our Father calls us " 
 (Epict. ). — Janewcoj's Quotations. 
 
 The concluding words were calculated 
 to draw his attention to the subject as 
 affecting the interests of his kingdom. 
 The Jews were an industrious race. Dis- 
 persed throughout the kingdom of Persia, 
 they had devoted themselves to the pur- 
 suits of agriculture and commerce. They 
 were captives, but not properly slaves, 
 having their settlements here and there, 
 for the cultivation of the soil or for mer- 
 chandise, as their inclination led ; and, 
 although foreigners, yet mixed up with 
 the general population of the country, 
 and in the character of quiet, peace- 
 ful subjects, contributing toward the 
 general wealth and prosperity. That 
 they were not burdensome for their 
 support, but, as to temporal matters, in 
 a nourishing condition, is very mani- 
 fest from Hainan's offer to pay out of 
 their spoil so large a sum into the 
 royal treasury. To have swept away, 
 then, by a wholesale slaughter, a race so 
 active and industrious as the Jews were, 
 would have been to inflict a heavy blow 
 upon the prosperity of the kingdom. 
 Their spoils might be a present benefit 
 to the royal exchequer, but the loss en- 
 tailed upon the national wealth would 
 be permanent and irreparable. Ami the 
 difference would not be great as to the 
 national loss, if they were not to be de- 
 stroyed, but merely reduced to the stale 
 of slavery. If sold as slaves, and carried 
 away into other countries by the slave- 
 merchants of Tyre and Sidon, the price 
 
CHAP. VII.] 
 
 IIOMILETIC COMMENTARY : ESTHER. 
 
 247 
 
 paid for them would be a poor return 
 for the fruit of their continued industry 
 as the subjects of the Persian king. And 
 if they were made slaves in his own 
 dominions, there would be the loss to 
 his revenue of so much active enterprise 
 on the part of a people who paid all the 
 public taxes, and increased the national 
 resources by the cultivation of the soil 
 and foreign trading. Esther seems to 
 have known better than the king did, 
 and better than some modern politicians 
 have done, or yet do, the secret of the 
 wealth of nations. To annihilate an 
 industrious and peaceful people she re- 
 presents as an act equally cruel and im- 
 politic. To substitute slave-labour for 
 the labour and vigorous and persevering 
 industry of freemen she speaks of as 
 also most opposed to the real interests 
 of the state. This is the meaning of 
 her words : " If we had been sold for 
 bondmen and bondwomen, I had held 
 my tongue, although the enemy could 
 not countervail the king's damage." The 
 sentiment here expressed is far in advance 
 of the age in which Esther lived, and 
 the truth and significance of it have 
 often been illustrated since her time, 
 although only illustrated so as to indi- 
 cate that its importance was not yet 
 estimated, nor the wisdom of it prac- 
 tically felt. Thus, for example, when 
 persecution against the friends of Pro- 
 testantism raged fiercely in France and 
 Belgium, and those who preferred the 
 religion of the Bible to Popery had to 
 choose between remaining at home to be 
 massacred, or seeking a refuge abroad, a 
 vast number of the most intelligent and 
 industrious of the population took refuge 
 in England and Scotland, bringing their 
 skill and industry with them to benefit 
 the land of their adoption. History 
 settles it as a fact beyond all question, 
 that these refugees for conscience' sake 
 contributed more largely to the industrial 
 and commercial advancement of this 
 country than it would be easy to calcu- 
 late. For in those days we were far 
 behind our continental neighbours in 
 the practice of the mechanical and useful 
 arts ; and thus the bigotry and cruelty 
 which drove multitudes to seek an asylum 
 in this island, dried up the sources of 
 
 the wealth of the countries from which 
 they came, while Britain, on the other 
 hand, was rewarded for opening her arms 
 to shelter the oppressed by obtaining 
 all the benefit of their intelligence and 
 labour, as not only skilful artisans, but 
 peaceful and religious citizens. 
 
 And then again, with respect to the 
 difference between the exertions and 
 enterprise of freemen for the real ad- 
 vantage of a country, as contrasted Avith 
 slaves, Esther's judgment was far more 
 correct, for instance, than that of the 
 Americans, who boast so much of their 
 liberty and their political wisdom ; and 
 her judgment is corroborated by the 
 sentiments of all intelligent travellers, 
 who have recorded their experience in 
 passing through those States of America 
 where slavery is legalized.* The labour 
 which is exacted by the lash is neither 
 so well performed nor so great in amount 
 as that which is paid for. There is no 
 inducement to the slave to cultivate his 
 intellect. When he sees that he cannot 
 better his condition, he naturally sinks 
 into a state of apathy, or-endeavours by 
 craft and cunning to over-reach his task- 
 masters. And thus, altogether, the just 
 law of Providence comes in to punish 
 the avarice and cruelty of those who 
 trample upon the rights of their fellow- 
 men. For while the strength of a coun- 
 try consists, humanly speaking, in the 
 amount of its industrious population, 
 with a full supply of the means of sub- 
 sistence — every man being free to employ 
 his mind and his labour in the field, 
 which he thinks will be most profitable 
 — the increase of a slave population is a 
 source of positive weakness, as well as a 
 growing cause of insecurity. Apart alto- 
 gether from the evils and sinf ulness of 
 the system of slavery, as opposed to the 
 great law of love which Christ came to 
 enforce and establish, and apart from the 
 danger which results from the preponder- 
 ance of a class between whom and those 
 above them there cannot be any real 
 good-will and sympathy, slavery is a 
 positive loss to a community in all re 
 spects, whether moral or social ; and 
 
 * Though slavery is abolished in America, 
 Davidson's remarks hold good and may be read 
 with profit. 
 
248 
 
 1I0M1LETIC COMMENTARY : ESTHER. 
 
 [CHAP. VII. 
 
 Esther spoke the truth when .she de- 
 nouBced it as calculated to work damage 
 to the king. — Davidson. 
 
 Vers. 1,2. So the Icing and Hainan 
 came to limn/net with Esther the queen. 
 Ami the king said again to Esther on 
 thr second day at the banquet of wine, 
 What is thy petition, queen Esther? and 
 it shall be granted thee : and what is 
 thy request ? and it shall he performed, 
 even to the half of the kingdom. 
 
 Hainan, honoured with the king's 
 society at the banquet of wine, might 
 expect to be consoled for his late disap- 
 pointment by new expressions of the 
 royal favour. But soon did his hope of 
 any remedy prove like the giving up of 
 the ghost. He was brought to the 
 banquet, not that he might enjoy the 
 queen's smiles, but that he might hear 
 an accusation against himself, which 
 touched his life, and to which he could 
 not answer. 
 
 The Icing persisted in his kind senti- 
 ments towards Esther. For the third 
 time, he promises, whatever her petition 
 was, to grant it, even to the half of the 
 kingdom. Who would not have been 
 emboldened by a promise so often given? 
 To have deferred the petition any longer 
 would have but argued an ungrateful 
 distrust of the king's sincerity. Let us 
 remember how much greater encourage- 
 ment we have to present our requests to 
 God, and what distrust we discover of 
 his faithfulness if we do not come be- 
 fore his throne of grace with boldness. 
 No less than six times, in the com- 
 pass of one sentence,* does our Lord 
 * Matt. vii. 7, 8. 
 
 Jesus assure us that our prayers shall be 
 heard. 
 
 Ver. 3. Then Esther the queen an- 
 stoered and said, If I have found favour 
 in thy sight, king, and if it please 
 the king, let my life be given at my 
 petition, and my people at my request. 
 
 Esther at last ventured to bring forth 
 her request. The nature of the case 
 pressed her. The king's solicitations 
 urged her. His kindness and his pro- 
 mises encouraged her. Unnecessary de- 
 lays are, dangerous, especially in matters 
 of great importance. 
 
 The request was for her life, and the 
 life of her people. The king was no 
 less surprised at this petition than Festus 
 was at hearing the accusation of the 
 Jews against Paul. It was certainly 
 not for any such thing as the king sup- 
 posed. It never came into his mind 
 that his beloved queen could have any 
 occasion to present a petition to him for 
 her life. Although by his own author- 
 ity (but without his knowledge) a sen- 
 tence of death had been pronounced 
 against her, it must have astonished him 
 to hear that she and her people were 
 doomed to destruction ; and it must 
 astonish the reader of this history that 
 the king, five years after his marriage 
 with the queen, should have passed a 
 sentence of death upon her whole nation 
 without knowing it. Into such absurd- 
 ities are princes led who are too indolent 
 to look into their own atfairs, and leave 
 them to be managed without control by 
 favourites, who have their own interests 
 to serve, and their own passions to 
 gratify. — Lawson. 
 
 MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH. Verses 5, 6. 
 The Doings op a Wicked Heart. 
 
 Ahasuerus was yet in the dark. He had signed the decree for the extermination 
 of the Jews at the instigation of Hainan, he had seen Hainan's great ambition, he 
 had heard Esther's piteous appeal, but still he is not sharp enough to fix upon 
 Hainan as the offender. Perhaps it is that he does know, but waits to have a clear 
 declaration from Esther's own lips, but waits to see the case plainly settled that 
 Hainan was the guilty one. 
 
 I. A wicked heart induces foolhardiness. There is wisdom apparent in the 
 renderings given by the translators of the Bible. They speak, for the most part, as 
 if inspired by the Holy Ghost. Very suggestive is their rendering of the question 
 uttered by Ahasuerus. "Who is he, and where is he, that durst presume in his 
 
chap, til] HOMTLETIC COMMENTARY: ESTHER. 249 
 
 heart to do so ? " The daring presumption of those impelled by wicked hearts is indeed 
 appalling. A wicked heart is both deceitful and deceiving. Hainan's wicked heart 
 must have deceived him as to the daring nature of the course he had been pur- 
 suing. He only thought of gratifying an evil nature, and did not calmly consider 
 the possible and very probable bitter consequences. This is characteristic of wicked 
 hearts through all time. The foolhardiness of the wicked is astonishing. They 
 appear as if bereft of their senses. When we see how clumsily they proceed to 
 work, we ask, How could they hope to escape detection 1 What induced them to 
 take the fatal step 1 How is it that they actually permit themselves to be caught 
 in their own toils 1 
 
 II. A wicked heart, sooner or later, meets with open condemnation. " And 
 Esther said, The adversary and enemy is this wicked Haman." It may be true that 
 the wicked heart does not always meet with a righteous and indignant Esther come 
 to judgment. Yet it cannot escape either here or hereafter. It will either discover 
 itself or be discovered. The wicked heart will discover itself by its wicked fruits. 
 For a long time it may work in secret, but ultimately all will be revealed. He 
 that doeth evil may avoid the light, but he cannot always escape its detecting rays. 
 There is only one way of escape, but there is one way, and it is all-sufficient. That 
 one way is repentance towards God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. If the 
 light shines upon the wicked heart, and the man sees with holy remorse the evil of 
 his nature, then there may be, and is, a way of escape. If we say the wicked heart 
 must meet with open condemnation, we mean if that wicked heart will not condemn 
 itself, but continues obdurate and impenitent. 
 
 III. A wicked heart leads to fearfulness. " Then Haman was afraid before the 
 king and the queen." The wicked flee when no man pursueth. If a man has not 
 his sensibilities all deadened, then he must be afraid in the midst of his wickedness. 
 All the annals of crime tell us that fearfulness surprises the wicked. They live in 
 constant terrors. Haman, however, had now outward reason for fear. How greatly 
 was he troubled at this crisis ! He had fears within. There were fightings against 
 him without. Easy it is for us to say that Haman was a coward. Who would 
 not have been a coward under the trying circumstances 1 A virtuous soul may be 
 calm and brave in the face of outward terrors ; but strange would it be if a vicious 
 soul did not give Avay to fear. Hardened sinners may pass through the terrors of 
 time with apparently unmoved natures ; but in the great day of Divine wrath they 
 will say to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him 
 that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb. 
 
 Suggestive Comments on Verses 5, 6. 
 
 Now Queen Esther musters up her all our momentary glory, our sins shall 
 
 inward forces, and, with an undaunted be ripped up, and our iniquities laid 
 
 courage, fixing her angry eyes upon the before us, to our utter confusion. With 
 
 hated Agagite, she says, " The adversary what consternation did Haman now 
 
 and enemy is this wicked Haman." stand ! How do we think he looked to 
 
 The word was loath to come forth, but hear himself thus enstyled, thus ac- 
 
 it strikes home at the last. Never till cused, yea, thus condemned 1 Certainly 
 
 now did Haman hear his true title ; death was in his face, and horror in every 
 
 before, some had styled him noble, one of his joints. No sense, no limb 
 
 others great, others magnificent, and knows his office. Fain would he speak ; 
 
 some, perhaps, virtuous ; only Esther but his tongue falters, and his lips 
 
 gave him his own, "Wicked Haman." tremble. Fain would he make apologies 
 
 111 - deserving greatness doth in vain upon his knees ; but his heart fails him, 
 
 promise to itself a perpetuity of applause, and tells him the evidence is too great. 
 
 If our ways be foul, the time shall Only guiltiness and fear look through 
 
 come when, after all vain flattery, after his eyes upon the enraged consonance 
 
250 
 
 nOMlLETIC COMMENTARY: ESTHER. 
 
 [cnAr. n. 
 
 of hia master, which now bodes nothing 
 
 to him hut revenge and death. — Bishop 
 Hall. 
 
 Ver. 5. Then the Icing Ahasuerus an- 
 swered and said unto Esther the queen, 
 Who is he, and where is he, that durst 
 ■presunw in his heart to do so ? 
 
 AVhat ! to compass the death of the 
 queen, and, as if that were too small a 
 wickedness, the destruction of all her 
 people also ! Was a man so wicked to 
 he found in any of the hundred and 
 twenty-seven provinces of the king's 
 dominions ? If there were such a daring 
 criminal to he found, no death was too 
 terrihle for him. 
 
 What, then, will our Lord do when 
 he rises up to revenge the wrongs done 
 to himself in the persons of his brethren ; 
 of those who are espoused to him in 
 righteousness, and in judgment, and in 
 loving-kindness, and in mercies ? Will 
 he not account the wrongs done to them 
 to have been done to himself? When 
 he maketh inquisition for blood, woe to 
 them that are stained with bloody crimes 
 against his people. The wrath of Ahas- 
 uerus against the enemies of the Jews 
 was a fruit of God's wrath against them. 
 He forgot not his promise to Abraham, 
 " I will bless him that blesseth thee, and 
 I will curse him that curseth thee." 
 
 " What and where is he that durst do 
 this thing'?" — What if Ahasuerus him- 
 self is the man, although it would have 
 been unwise in the queen to tell him 
 that he was. lie was certainly, though 
 unconscious of it, a partner in this 
 wickedness ; and yet he was filled with 
 horror at hearing that any person could 
 
 dare to load himself with such guilt. 
 Thus David was filled with anger against 
 a man who was only the emblem of 
 himself* Consider what abhorrence 
 you have of the sins of other men, and 
 consider how like your own sins are .to 
 theirs, and let your souls be humbled 
 within you. Take care how you speak 
 of the sins of other men, lest your 
 tongues condemn yourselves. Your sins 
 are probably much liter to theirs than 
 you imagine, till you have well con- 
 sidered the matter. Perhaps they are a 
 great deal worse, when every circum- 
 stance is considered. 
 
 Ver. 6. And Esther said, The adver- 
 sary ami enemy is this wicked Haman. 
 Then Hainan was afraid be/ore the king 
 and the queen. 
 
 Haman now finds for what reason he 
 was invited by the queen to her banquet. 
 It was, to be accused to his face of the 
 blackest crime. He had an opportunity 
 of saying Avhat could be said (if anything 
 could be said) in his own vindication, 
 or in mitigation of his offence. But if 
 he had nothing to say, it was to be 
 expected that the confusion of his face 
 would be a witness against him. 
 
 This was actually the case. " Then 
 Haman was afraid before the king and 
 the queen." He had too good reason to 
 tremble for his life. The queen had 
 brought a dreadful accusation against 
 him, and his guilt was too apparent to 
 be denied or to be extenuated. It was, 
 besides, of a nature fitted to excite the 
 king's fiercest indignation and bitterest 
 rage. — Lawson. 
 
 * 2 Sam. xii. 
 
 MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH. Verses 7, 10. 
 
 The Fear, the Folly, and the Doom of the Evil-Doer. 
 
 After Ahasuerus had heard Esther's accusation, he went out into the palace 
 garden. Wrath was in his countenance ; wrath in his hasty tread. The sweet 
 air of the palace garden, laden with rich odours, did not allay his anger. No soft 
 music was found strong enough to drive away the evil spirit. Angry he went forth, 
 and angry he returned. The offence was of too grave a character to be thus easily 
 forgotten. It is not for us here to conjecture how far Ahasuerus might have gone 
 on the line of forgiveness. Perhaps it was needful for the interests of his govern- 
 ment that this bad man (Haman) should be at once brought to judgment. In 
 human codes the boundary line of forgiveness is soon reached. In the Divine 
 
chap, vii.] HOMILETIG COMMENTARY : ESTHER. 251 
 
 administration there is the exercise of forgiveness on a vast scale. But even there 
 we seem to find a limit. If men reject all the Divinely -appointed means for 
 obtaining pardon, there only remaineth " a certain fearful looking for of judgment." 
 " How shall we escape if we neglect so great salvation 1 " Men must not trifle 
 with the Divine nature. God is merciful, but God is just. " Seek ye the Lord 
 while he may be found." 
 
 I. The evil-doer receives warning. " Hainan saw that there was evil deter- 
 mined against him by the king." At present Haman had not ascertained the extent 
 and the nature of the evil ; but he clearly heard the sound of the avenging deity, 
 though his feet might be shod with wool. The wrath on the king's countenance 
 and the guilt in Hainan's soul both tended to give him awful warning. Evil-doers 
 receive warning. Nature gives warning. She declares that evil-doing must bring 
 damage sooner or later. She is stern, and will not suffer her great laws to be 
 violated with impunity. Eevelation gives warning. " The soul that sinneth, it 
 shall die." "The wages of sin is death." History gives warning. The warnings 
 too are given long before it is too late. The evil-doer when meeting the doom of 
 his crimes will not be able justly to say, Had I known only in time ! had some voice 
 only spoken early enough to arrest me in the career of crime ! The voices do speak, 
 but the evil-doer turns a deaf ear. Oh, let us listen to every warning voice ; let 
 us be wise in time. Haman now heard the warning voice, but it was almost too 
 late. But it may not yet be too late for us. " Hear, and your soul shall live." 
 
 II. The foolish evil-doer works his own destruction. Perhaps anything that 
 Haman could have done at this crisis would not have been efficacious to avert his 
 awful doom. May we not suppose, however, that if Esther had seen the si^ns of 
 genuine repentance in Haman, and had heard from his lips a sincere confession of 
 his baseness and of his guilt, she would have done something for his pardon 1 But 
 he did not take this course. He was found by the king in a position that tended 
 to excite still more the king's wrath. The very means that Haman took to save 
 his life was the means of bringing about his speedy execution. All through this 
 history Haman is seen working for his own destruction, though he thought he was 
 working for the destruction of his enemies. Sinners work their own destruction, 
 and bring upon themselves their own awful doom. In this connection we mav 
 rightly speak of the inexorable nature of law. It is a dreadful thing to sin against 
 the great laws of nature and of revelation. " Our God is a consuming lire." We 
 bring upon ourselves our own punishment. In this sense we are the dread arbiters 
 of our own fearful fate. 
 
 III. The evil-doer raises striking evidence of his own guilt. " Behold also, 
 the gallows fifty cubits high, which Haman had made for Mordecai, who had spoken 
 good for the king, standeth in the house of Haman." Crafty as Hainan might be, 
 he was not crafty enough to keep his vile purpose a secret. It was evidently well 
 known for whom the gallows was intended. Haman in raising the gallows was 
 preparing a terrible and irresistible evidence against himself. Facts are stubborn 
 things, and whatever poor Haman might attempt to say in his own defence, he could 
 not talk down the gallows raised fifty cubits high. There it was to speak for itself, 
 and to condemn the guilty Haman. How often in life do we see the evil-doer 
 making a gallows fifty cubits high ! The sinner unwittingly writes bitter things 
 against himself, and the writing is brought forth in an evil hour to his condemn- 
 ation. " Out of thine own mouth will I judge thee, thou wicked servant. Thou 
 knewest that I was an austere man, taking up that I laid not down, and reaping that 
 I did not sow: wherefore then gavest not thou my money into the bank, that at my 
 coming I might have required mine own Avith usury 1 ?" 
 
 IV. The evil-doer is practically his own executioner. "So they hanged 
 Hainan on the gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai." We must pity Haman 
 in his direful doom ; still we feel as if there was a certain fitness in the case. Our 
 natures approve the law of retribution. We seem to feel that unblushing crime 
 
2,32 
 
 U0M1LETW COMMENTARY: ESTHER. 
 
 [CHAP. VII. 
 
 should not go unpunished. The course and the doom of Hainan may not be the 
 exact counterpart of every evil-doer's course and doom ; yet there is here portrayed 
 a great general law which we would do well to note with all seriousness. When 
 we come to harm on account of our sins, we are too apt to blame our fellows, to 
 blame our circumstances, to blame the devil. We ought to blame ourselves. We 
 only get hung on the gallows we ourselves have erected. " Be sure your sin will 
 find you out." Let us at once proceed, by repenting of our pride, our hate, and 
 our jealousy, to destroy the gallows. Let us look by faith to the cross, and all that 
 is signified thereby, and then any other cross raised by sinful folly will be diverted 
 of its power to do us lasting damage. 
 
 " Then was the king's wrath pacified." The flattering minion was removed out 
 of his sight. The projector of wholesale murder was himself destroyed. Ahasuerus 
 himself was not safe so long as Hainan was allowed to exist. Wrath, however, is 
 cruel, and nothing but Hainan's death could pacify the angry king. If it must 
 needs be that capital punishment be the portion of certain transgressors, the sentence 
 should not be carried out in order to pacify wrath, but to meet the demands of 
 justice, as a deterrent to crime, and to promote the public safety. Well were it if 
 we could dispense with the gallows. Well were it if strict justice tempered by 
 mercy always administered the law to transgressors. God's laws are always wisely 
 and righteously administered. Never yet can it be said that God's wrath was 
 pacified by the execution of any sinner. The crucifixion of Jesus Christ was not 
 an exhibition of Divine wrath, but of Divine love. It was the method by which 
 God could be just, and yet the Justitier of the believer. It may be a mystery, but 
 there is in the remedial scheme of the gospel more mercy than mystery. 
 
 Suggestive Comments on Verses 
 
 -10. 
 
 The king indeed is unjust in fixing 
 this calumny upon Haman ; but God is 
 just, who permits the righteous penalty 
 to fall upon him for his lies and calum- 
 nies, inasmuch as he would have brought 
 violence upon other virgins or matrons 
 and would have plunged the whole 
 people of God into ruin. Accordingly, 
 it is written, " By what one sinneth, 
 by that also shall he be punished ; " 
 and again, " With what measure ye mete, 
 it shall be measured unto you again." 
 — Feuardent. 
 
 It must also so happen in the just 
 judgment of God, that since the highest 
 minister of state had caused the highest 
 gallows to be erected, in accordance with 
 his greatness of feeling and state position 
 and honours, before which all bowed in 
 adoration to the earth, he should himself 
 be elevated above all other people that 
 were hung. — Starke. 
 
 Said before the king.] Not a man 
 opens his mouth to speak for Hainan, 
 but all against him. Had the cause 
 been better, thus it would have been. 
 Every cur is ready to fall upon the dog 
 that he seeth worried ; every man ready 
 
 to pull a branch from the tree that is 
 falling. Cromwell had experience of 
 this when once he fell into displeasure 
 by speaking against the king's match with 
 Lady Catherine Howard, in defence of 
 Queen Anne of Cleve, and discharge of 
 his conscience, for the which he suffered 
 death, Stephen Gardiner being the chief 
 engineer. Had Hainan's cause been like 
 his, albeit he had found as few friends 
 to intercede for him as Cromwell, yet he 
 might have died with as much comfort 
 as he did. But he died more like to 
 the Lord Hungerford, of Hatesby, who 
 was beheaded together with the noble 
 Cromwell ; but neither so Christianly 
 suffering nor so quietly dying for his 
 offence committed against nature, viz., 
 buggery. Cromwell exhorted him to 
 repent, and promised him mercy from 
 God ; but his heart was hardened, and 
 so was this wicked Hainan's. God, 
 therefore, justly set off all hearts from 
 him in his greatest necessity ; and now, 
 to add to his misery, brings another of 
 his foul sins to light, that he might bo 
 the more condignly cut off. — Trajyp. 
 It was an excellent saying of Ambrose, 
 
chap. vn.J 
 
 nOMILKTIC COMMENTARY : ESTHER. 
 
 253 
 
 " If thou canst not hide thyself from 
 the sun, which is God's minister of 
 light, how impossible will it be to hide 
 thyself from him, whose eyes are ten 
 thousand times brighter than the sun ! " 
 You know what Ahasuerus, that great 
 monarch, said concerning Haman : 
 " What," saith he, " will he force the 
 queen before me in the house 1 " There 
 was killing emphasis in the words " be- 
 fore me." Will he force the queen be- 
 fore me 1 What, will he dare to com- 
 mit such villany, and I stand and look 
 on 1 O sirs, to sin in the sight of God 
 is a thing that he looks upon as the 
 greatest affront, and as the highest in- 
 dignity that can possibly be done unto 
 him. — Brooks. 
 
 The thought which is at once sug- 
 gested to our minds in connection with 
 Hainan's execution on the gallows which 
 he had himself prepared for Mordecai, 
 is that of a righteous retribution in pro- 
 vidence, a subject which cannot be too 
 delicately handled, nor too cautiously 
 and reservedly applied. There are some 
 who are always ready to interpret calam- 
 ity as a retribution in providence, with 
 the greatest self-blindness as to their 
 own sins. Let a terrible accident happen 
 to a railway train travelling on sabbath 
 day, and some will be found to describe 
 it as a retribution in providence against 
 sabbath desecration. Alas ! Do they 
 never desecrate the sabbath, that they 
 should be so ready to give a stone for 
 bread to the wounded and mourning 1 ? 
 Let a theatre, or some other place of 
 public resort not generally approved of, 
 be destroyed by fire, and many lives 
 lost, and some will discourse upon it, in 
 like manner, as a retribution in provi- 
 dence. Do they not reflect that build- 
 ings devoted to useful manufacture, and 
 even to the worship of God, have been 
 destroyed in the same way, and with 
 similar disastrous results 1 If they would 
 not venture to apply the rule in the one 
 case, why should they do it in the other ] 
 Cowper has put the doctrine of a uni- 
 versal providence in two lines, with 
 which we must all agree : — ■ 
 
 " Happy the man who sees a God employed 
 In all the good and ill that chequer life." 
 
 But when men sit in judgment upon 
 
 God's judgments, and apply the law of 
 retribution in particular cases, according 
 to their own notions of things, they are 
 in danger, like Job's friends, of mistak- 
 ing the chastisement of God's children 
 for signal marks of his disapprobation, 
 or, like the barbarians on the island of 
 Melita, who conceived that Paul must 
 be a murderer when the viper had come 
 out of the fire and fastened on his hand, 
 but who, when he had shaken it off and 
 suffered no harm, changed their minds, 
 and said that he must be a god. Better 
 for us rather to make the personal appli- 
 cation of all the calamities which occur 
 in the providence of God recommended 
 in the Gospel by Luke, and read therein 
 these words of solemn warning : — " Nay ; 
 but except ye repent, ye shall all like- 
 wise perish." 
 
 But whilst we cannot consent to men 
 becoming the interpreters of God's judg- 
 ments in particular cases, we have a 
 great law of retribution clearly indicated 
 as well in the Bible as in profane his- 
 tory. We may call the illustrations of 
 it which might be adduced simply coin- 
 cidences ; but the sin is so conspicuously 
 stamped on the punishment that we can 
 hardly avoid connecting the one with 
 the other in providence. The guilty 
 Agagite takes the place of the unoffend- 
 ing Jew, and bears the punishment 
 which he had prepared for him. Joseph's 
 brethren sold Joseph into Egypt, and 
 by-and-by they were themselves carried 
 down into Egypt. Adoni-bezek had 
 the thumbs and great toes of threescore 
 and ten kings cut off, and when he him- 
 self was taken in battle Judah and 
 Simeon had his own thumbs and great 
 toes cut off, moving him to make this 
 confession : " As I have done, so God 
 hath requited me." Herod the Great 
 massacred the innocent little children of 
 Bethlehem, and he himself was over- 
 whelmed with agonizing physical disease, 
 and his numerous family was extinct in 
 a hundred years. Pontius Pilate, who 
 condemned Christ to death ; Judas, 
 who betrayed him ; and Nero, who 
 slew thousands of early believers, com- 
 mitted suicide, though the last had to 
 call in the aid of others to complete 
 what he had begun. Almost all the 
 
254 
 
 TIOMILETIQ COMMENTARY: ESTHER. 
 
 [chap. VII. 
 
 prominent persecutors of the Church 
 have died deaths of violence. Maxi- 
 mums put out the eyes of thousands of 
 Christians, and afterwards he himself 
 died of a fearful disease of the eyes, in 
 great agony. And Valens, who caused 
 fourscore presbyters to be sent to sea in 
 a ship and burnt alive, himself, defeated 
 by the Goths, fled to a cottage where he 
 was burnt alive. Still more compre- 
 hensively we have the Apostle Paul 
 dei -laving, with reference to those who 
 " received not the love of the truth that 
 they might be saved," that they would 
 be smitten with judicial blindness; 
 "and for this cause God shall send them 
 strong delusion, that they should believe 
 a lie." 
 
 Tn avoiding Scylla we must beware of 
 falling into Charybdis; in refusing to 
 become interpreters of particular calami- 
 tous providences, we must be on our 
 guard against denying a retributive pro- 
 vidence altogether. No doubt this spe- 
 cialty in providence comprehends both 
 nations and individuals, noiselessly over- 
 taking evil-doers and causing them to 
 reap as they had sown, according to the 
 proverb — "The feet of the avenging 
 deity are shod with wool." Without 
 commotion or tumult the punishment 
 grows out of the sin, and the transgressor 
 is visited according to his iniquity. In 
 most instances it requires no direct in- 
 terference of the Almighty, but fellows, 
 surely and directly, from the operation 
 of great natural and spiritual laws. 
 "Fret not thyself because of evil-doers, 
 neither be thou envious against the 
 workers of iniquity ; for they shall soon 
 be cut down like the grass, and wither 
 as the green herb." 
 
 Then a reflection of a different kind 
 is suggested by the feelings of the king 
 after the execution of Haman : " Then 
 was the king's wrath pacified." Modern 
 theology is apt to drift away into mere 
 sentimental views of the character of 
 God. It may be a reaction from the 
 harsh and terrible aspects in which the 
 Divine character was presented in a 
 former age, giving to childhood and 
 youth such an idea of God as was fitted 
 rather to excite terror than inspire with 
 reverence and love. From one extreme, 
 
 however, we must be careful not to dart 
 to another, equally false and dangerous. 
 We must not conceive of God as simply 
 all love and mercy. We cannot indeed 
 exalt too highly these perfections of his 
 nature, but we must not allow them to 
 shut out from view other attributes of 
 his being. Let these alone have pos- 
 session of our minds, and we might sup- 
 pose that there was no need for God 
 being reconciled to sinners, but only of 
 them being reconciled to him; that he 
 is all love and mercy toward them if they 
 would only return to him, and that he 
 will be their Father if they will only 
 submit to be his children. There is a 
 measure of truth in this kind of reason- 
 ing, but it is only a half-truth ; and a 
 half-truth is sometimes more perilous 
 than unmitigated error. He assures us 
 that he is " angry with the Avicked every 
 day ; " that he is a " consuming fire ; " 
 and that he will " by no means clear 
 the guilty." Though his wrath against 
 the wicked has nothing of vindictiveness 
 or revenge in it, yet is it none the less, 
 but the more, wrath — tremendous wrath. 
 If a king is merciful and loving, as well 
 as just and righteous, his wrath is all 
 the more to be dreaded; and whilst God 
 is infinitely loving and merciful, he 
 cannot allow his love and mercy to 
 overreach his justice, righteousness, and 
 truth. So long as we keep in view only 
 the paternal aspects of the Divine 
 character, we might see in the cross of 
 Christ nothing more than an exhibition 
 of love and mercy, to attract, if possible, 
 the regards of mankind sinners ; no real 
 satisfaction offered for sin — "the just 
 for the unjust" — but only a proof and 
 pledge that God was kindly disposed 
 toward them if they would only return 
 to him. How defective and misleading 
 would be such a contemplation of the 
 cross of Christ ! Besides the expression 
 of love, it is the endurance by One who 
 was aide to bear it, because he had no 
 sin, of the penalty and curse of sin in 
 the room of all who believe. So that 
 only when we come to God, presenting 
 in faith the atonement for sin which 
 Christ made on Calvary, is God's wrath 
 pacified, and the sinner not simply r con- 
 ciled to him, but he also to the sinner. 
 
CIIAP. VII.] 
 
 HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: ESTHER. 
 
 The claims of his law and the demands 
 of his righteous government are only 
 and fully satisfied in Christ. Accord- 
 ingly, we cannot tell the sinner that 
 God's wrath is pacified towards him so 
 long as he has not accepted Christ, and 
 is not to be found in him. It is true 
 that God is all loving and merciful ; but 
 his love and mercy cannot reach him 
 so long as he is outside of Christ. Apart 
 from Christ, through unbelief, he cannot 
 be otherwise surveyed than as exposed 
 to wrath — a wrath which shall find its 
 full manifestation in the decisions and 
 allotments of the final day. But in 
 Christ, received by faith, that wrath has 
 already emptied itself and been exhausted 
 in him, and for the true believer there 
 are only love and mercy — love and 
 mercy, the fulness of which can be 
 measured only by the greatness of the 
 sacrifice made, in order that they might 
 rest with him for ever. " He hath 
 made him to be sin for us Avho knew 
 no sin, that we might be made the right- 
 eousness of God in him." " Then was 
 the king's wrath pacified." — McEwan. 
 
 As of one crucified , whose visage spake 
 Fell rancour, malice deep, wherein he died; 
 And round him Ahasuerus the great king; 
 Esther his bride ; and Mordecai the just, 
 Blameless in word and deed. 
 
 Carey's Dante. 
 
 Thus Pharaoh drowns the Hebrew 
 males in a river ; therefore is drowned 
 himself with his army in a sea. He had 
 laid insupportable burdens on Israel; 
 God returns them with full weight, 
 number, measure. When Israel cut off 
 the thumbs and great toes of Adoni- 
 bezek, hear the maimed king confess 
 the equity of this judgment : " Three- 
 score and ten kings, having their thumbs 
 and great toes cut off, gathered their 
 meat under my table ; as I have done, 
 so God hath requited me." As proud 
 Bajazet threatened to serve Tamerlane, 
 being conquered, — to imprison him in a 
 cage of iron, and carry him about the 
 world in triumph, — so the Scythian, 
 having took the bragging Turk, put him 
 to the punishment himself had lessoned ; 
 carrying and carting him through Asia, 
 to be scorned of his own people. Thus 
 Haman is hanged on his own gallows. 
 
 Perillus tries the trick of his own 
 torment. — Adams. 
 
 When Haman desires the ruin of the 
 Jews, procures the king's commission, 
 sends despatches to all the governors of 
 the provinces, sets up a gibbet for Mor- 
 decai, and wants nothing but an oppor- 
 tunity to request the execution, he tum- 
 bles down to exchange his prince's favours 
 for an exaltation on the gallows. When 
 the serpent increased his malicious cruelty, 
 and cast out a flood against the Church, 
 God makes the earth, the carnal world, 
 to give her assistance, and repel the force 
 that Satan used against her. " The earth 
 helped the woman." When " multitudes 
 shall gather together in the valley of 
 decision," then shall " the Lord roar out 
 of Sion, and be the hope of his people, 
 and the strength of the children of Israel." 
 And when spiritual Egypt shall make 
 a war against Christ, who sits upon the 
 white horse, and combine all their force 
 for the destruction of his people, then 
 shall the beast and the false prophet be 
 taken, and brought to their final ruin, 
 and their force be broken in a lake of 
 fire, as that of Egypt was in a sea of 
 water. The time of their greatest fierce- 
 ness shall be the time of Christ's fury. 
 - — Cliarnoclc. 
 
 Haman missed of his plot ; he fell into 
 danger ; he fell into the same danger 
 which he contrived for Mordecai ; and 
 was the means of Mordecai's advance- 
 ment. It had been enough to have 
 woven a spider's web, which is dune 
 with a great deal of art, and yet comes 
 to nothing ; but to hatch a cockatrice's 
 egg, that brings forth a viper which 
 stings to death, this is a double vexation. 
 Yet thus God delighteth to catch the 
 " wise in the imagination of their own 
 hearts," and to pay them in their own 
 coin. The wicked carry a lie in their 
 right hand ; for they trust in man, who 
 is but a lie; and, being liars themselves 
 too, no marvel if their hopes prove de- 
 ceitful, so that, while they sow the wind, 
 they reap the whirlwind. 
 
 Mischievous attempts are successless 
 in the long run ; for did ever any harden 
 themselves against God and prosper long] 
 Let Cain speak, let Pharaoh, Haman, 
 Ahithophel, Herod ; let the persecutors 
 
251) 
 
 110 MI LET IG COMMENTARY : ESTHER. 
 
 [chap. vn. 
 
 of the Church for the first two hundred 
 years, let all that ever bore ill-will to- 
 wards Sinn, speak, and they will confess 
 they did but kick against the pricks, 
 and dash against the rocks. The great- 
 est torment of the damned spirit is, that 
 God turns all his plots for the good of 
 those he hates most. He tempted man 
 to desire to become like God, that so he 
 might ruin him ; but God became man, 
 and so restored him. God serveth him- 
 
 self of this arch-politician and all his in- 
 struments ; they are but executioners of 
 God's will while they rush against it. 
 Joseph's brethren sold him that they 
 might not worship him, and that was the 
 very means whereby they came at length 
 to worship him. God delights to take 
 the oppressed party's part. Wicked men 
 cannot do God's children a 'greater plea- 
 sure than to oppose them, for by this means 
 they help to advance them. — Sibbes. 
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS TO CHAPTER VII. 
 
 Vers. 3,4. Philosopher and enraged emperor. 
 
 Joseph charged his brethren that they should 
 cnnie no more in his sight, unless they brought 
 Benjamin with them. We come at our peril 
 into God's presence if we leave his beloved 
 Benjamin, our dear Jesus, behind us. When 
 the philosopher heard of the enraged emperor's 
 menace, that the next time he saw him he 
 would kill him, he took up the emperor's little 
 son in his arms, and saluted him with a Potesne, 
 Thou canst not now strike me. God is angry 
 with every man for his sins. Happy is he that 
 can catch up his Son Jesus ; for in whose arms 
 soever the Lord sees his Son, he will spare him. 
 The men of Tyre were fain to intercede to Herod 
 by Blastus. Our intercession to God is made 
 by a higher and surer way ; not by his servant, 
 but by his Son. — Adams. 
 
 There is a notable story which is commonly 
 by divines applied to our present purpose; it is 
 concerning a law among the Molossians, where 
 whosoever came to the king with his son in his 
 arms should be accepted with favour, let his fault 
 be what it might. So let a man be what he will 
 before, yet if he come to God in Christ he can- 
 not be thrust away. — Janeway. 
 
 The full chest hidden. In the very last year 
 of the Arctic expeditions, last year or the year 
 before, they found an ammunition chest that 
 Commander Parry had left there fifty years ago, 
 safe under a pile of stones, the provisions inside 
 being perfectly sweet and good, and eatable. 
 There it had lain all those years, and men bad 
 died of starvation within arm's length of it. It 
 was there all the same. And so, if I may 
 venture to vulgarize the great theme that I am 
 trying to speak about, God has given us his Son, 
 and in him all that pertains to life and all that 
 pertains to godliness. My brothers, take the 
 tilings that are freely given to men of God. — 
 McLaren. 
 
 The gipsy horsestealer. There was a time in 
 our country's history when, accordng to our 
 Draconic code, death was the penalty of horse- 
 stealing. Tins awful sentence was passed on a 
 poor gipsy who had been guilty of this crime, and 
 no hope of mercy was held out. The young man, 
 for he was but a youth, immediately fell on his 
 
 knees, and with uplifted hands and eyes addressed 
 the judge as follows : "Oh, my lord, save my 
 life ! " The judge replied, " No, you can have no- 
 mercy in this world; I and my brother judges 
 have come to the determination to execute horse- 
 stealers, especially gipsies, because of the increase 
 of the crime." The suppliant on his knees still 
 entreated, "Oh, my lord judge, save my life. 
 Do, for God's sake, for my wife's sake, for my 
 child's sake ! " "No," replied the judge ; "you 
 should have thought of your wife and child be- 
 fore ; " and the poor fellow was literally dragged 
 away from his earthly judge. Haman pleaded 
 for his life, but be was taken to the gallows. 
 Vast is the mercy of Heaven. At the eleventh 
 hour the sinner repenting and confessing and 
 believing may find mercy. 
 
 Ver. 7. The French king. By imploring 
 mercy perhaps you may be saved, but by justify- 
 ing the injury you cannot but be lost. As the 
 French king, Francis the First, said to a woman 
 kneeling and crying to him for justice, "Stand 
 up, woman, for justice I owe thee ; if thou beg- 
 gest anything, beg mercy." So if you request 
 anything of God, let it be mercy, for he owes you 
 justice ; and in this point, God be merciful to 
 you all. 
 
 Judge Jeffreys. Very cruel people are some- 
 times very cowardly. Judge Jeffreys could go 
 through his black assize iu the west of England, 
 the terror of the land, manifesting the fury of a 
 wild beast; but when the tide turned, and he saw 
 nothing before him but ignominy and disgrace, 
 be sank into a state of abject fear which was 
 pitiable to see. " Haman was afraid before the 
 king and the queen ? " As he well may be. It 
 is an awfid moment. His life trembles in the 
 balance. If the king keeps his couch he may be 
 spared. If he rises up abruptly, and withdraws, 
 he is doomed. The king's retirement is like 
 passing solemn judgment. The custom has de- 
 scended to our times, and the Shah of Persia, or, 
 if not he, certainly some of his immediate prede- 
 cessors, have condemned men to death in this 
 way. — Dr. Raleigh. 
 
 Case a/ retribution. Tamerlane the Great, 
 having made war on Bajazet, Fmperor of the 
 Turk.--, overthrew him in battle, and took him 
 
CHAP. VIII.] 
 
 HOMILETIC COMMENTARY : ESTHER. 
 
 257 
 
 prisoner. The victor gave the captive monarch 
 at first a very civil reception ; and, entering into 
 familiar conversation with him, said, " Now, 
 king, tell me freely and truly what thou wouldest 
 have done with me, had I fallen into thy power ? " 
 Bajazet, who was of a fierce and haughty spirit, 
 is said to have thus replied : " Had the gods 
 given unto me the victory, I would have enclosed 
 thee in an iron cage, and carried thee about with 
 me as a spectacle of derision to the world." 
 Tamerlane wrathfully replied, "Then, proud 
 man, as thou wouldest have done to me, even so 
 shall I do unto thee." A strong iron cage was 
 made, into which the fallen emperor was thrust ; 
 and thus exposed like a wild beast, he was carried 
 along in the train of his conqueror. Nearly three 
 years were passed by the once mighty Bajazet in 
 this cruel state of durance ; and at last, being 
 told that he must be carried into Tartary, despair- 
 ing of then obtaining his freedom, he struck his 
 head with such violence against the bars of his 
 cnge, as to put an end to his wretched life. — Dr. 
 Cheever. 
 
 Innocence vindicated. It is stated as a singular 
 
 circumstance in the history of the holy and de- 
 voted John Graham, of Ardclach, that he quoted 
 these words not long before his death : — " If these 
 men die the common death of all men, or if they 
 be visited after the visitation of all men, then 
 the Lord had not sent me." He had been a victim 
 to the foulest accusations, and driven from his 
 ministerial charge. The utterance was fulfilled 
 in mysterious ways. Those who had persecuted 
 and calumniated him died off long ere old age ; 
 by accident, by sudden and fatal sickness, or by 
 their own hands. Thus it has pleased God, on 
 some occasions, to vindicate the reputation of a 
 faithful servant by providences which none can 
 dispute. Mordecai's innocence was vindicated. 
 His triumph was complete. Poor Haman was 
 humiliated, defeated, and executed. If the history 
 of human lives could be rightly interpreted and 
 correctly written, startling and triumphant reve- 
 lations would be made. It would be seen that 
 the wicked do not always triumph. They cannot ; 
 for surely eternity will adjust the false measures 
 of time, if time itself does not so rectify. 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 Critical Notes.] 1.] The Targums understand by " house" all the people in it, and the entire 
 property belonging thereto. — Lange. The confiscation of the property of one publicly executed 
 followed as a matter of course. And to whom could the goods of the Jews' enemy be more appro- 
 priately transferred than to Esther the queen ? — Whedon. Came before the king] Was made one 
 of his officers. 2. Took off Ms ring] (See ch. iii. 10). By this act Mordecai was advanced to the 
 post of first minister of the king. The king's seal gave the force of law to royal edicts. — Keil. A 
 pleasure-seeking Persian king, like Xerxes, was glad to be relieved of the toil of governing, and 
 willingly committed to one favourite after another the task of issuing and sealing with the royal 
 signet the decrees by which the government was administered. — Rawlinson. 3.] Haman was dead, 
 but the edict which he had issued remained in force : therefore Esther " wept and made supplica- 
 tion'' to Ahasuerus. 5.] The introductory formula are in part similar to those used before, but 
 strengthened by the introduction of two new phrases. Let it be written to reverse the letters] 
 Perhaps Esther was not sufficiently acquainted with Persian law to know that no royal decree could 
 be reversed. — Whedon. 7.] The answer of Ahasuerus is a refusal, but one softened as much as 
 possible. He first dwells on the proofs he had just given of his friendly feeling towards the Jews ; 
 he then suggests that something may be done to help them without revoking the decree. Finally, he 
 excuses himself by appealing to the well-known immutability of Persian law. — Rawlinson. Sheltering 
 his imbecility behind the immutability of the law, the king commits the work of saving the Jews to 
 the wit of Mordecai ; but reminds him that his device shall stand. Thus Ahasuerus prepares the 
 way for a most fearful conflict of laws. " The suggestion of Ahasuerus quickened the inventive 
 powers of Esther and Mordecai. The scribes were at once summoned, and a decree issued, not 
 revoking the former one, but allowing the Jews to stand on their defence, and to kill all who 
 attacked them. It has been pronounced incredible that any king would thus have sanctioned civil 
 war in all the great cities of his empire ; but some even of the more sceptical critics have pronounced 
 that Xerxes might not improbably have done so." — Be Wette. Besides, there would be no 
 slaughter at all if their enemies did not first attack the Jews. The probability was, that, when the 
 Jews were permitted to arm themselves and stand on the defensive, there would be no conflict at all. 
 But the result showed, that, in many parts of the empire, the heathen attempted to destroy the Jews in 
 spite of the edict. — Whedon. 10.] Posts on horseback. On horseback, on coursers, government coursers, 
 the sons of the stud. — Keil. Sent letters by posts] This is one of many intimations in this book calcu- 
 lated to engage the attention of those who take interest in studying the progress of society in the arts of 
 convenience and civilization. The testimony of the Greek writers coincides with this, in directing out- 
 attention to Persia for the origin of posts and couriers. It is said, that, when the empire became so 
 
 S 
 
258 II0M1LETIC COMMENTARY : ESTHER. [chap, villi 
 
 vast, as in the time of Cyrus, that monarch thought of a plan for facilitating the exchange of communi- 
 cating between the court and provincial governments. After having ascertained how far a good bone 
 might go in a day with rase and expedition, he caused stahlea to be erected at the determined distances 
 throughout his dominions, each with a suitable establishment of horses, and men to take care of them. 
 There was also a post-master at each of these stages, whose duty it was to receive the packets as they 
 arrived, and immediately despatch them with fresh horses and couriers. Thus the posts travelled night 
 and day, without intermission ; and hence it was proverbially said that they flew faster than cranes. The 
 expedition with which the king was enabled by this process to obtain intelligence from, and forward 
 edicts to, the remotest parts of his empire, astonished the ancient world. Their admiration resembled 
 that with which European travellers regarded the posting establishments of the Mongol empire, 
 which seems to have been similar to that of the ancient Persians. There is a full and interesting 
 description of it in 'Marco Polo' (ii. 90), a few particulars of which may serve to complete the idea of 
 Oriental establishments of this class. From the capital (Kambalu) roads extended to every part of 
 the empire, having post-houses, with suitable furniture, at every twenty-five or thirty miles. There 
 were altogether ten thousand of these stations, with two hundred thousand horses. The post rode two 
 hundred, and sometimes two hundred and fifty, miles in a day, on occasions of rebellion in the pro- 
 vinces, or other urgent matters. There were other stations, consisting of a few dwellings, three or 
 four miles asunder, occupied by runners or foot-posts, who, being girded, ran as fast as horses (see the 
 note on 1 Sam. viii. 11). These, in dark nights, ran before the horsemen with links to light them 
 along ; they also carried letters, mandates, and parcels, to or from the khan, who thus received news 
 or fruit in two days from places ten stages distant, as from Kambalu to Shangtu. Similar establish- 
 ments are still kept up in China and Japan. — Eitto. 11.] Put would not the Jews have defended them- 
 selves without any such order from the king ? They could expect nothing but death in any case, and, 
 therefore, would have fought with the energy of despair. True, but this edict allowed them to arm 
 and prepare for self-defence. But for this edict, any movement towards self-defence would have been 
 crushed at the very outset. A spasmodic defence with empty hands would have accomplished nothing; 
 but the king's decree enabled the Jews to arm and gather into companies. — Whedon (abridged). 
 14. Being hastened] There were still eight months ; but the messengers were hastened that the 
 enemies might be warned not to make any attack, and that the Jews might everywhere have ample 
 time to prepare themselves for self-defence. — Whedon. 15. Crown of gold] Not a crown like the 
 king's, but a mere golden band or coronet — Atarah. — Rawlinson. Royal apparel of blue and white. 
 State garments such as became the grand vizier ; royal robes of royal colours. — Whedon. It is well 
 to compare this description of Mordeeai's appearance on leaving the palace with Xenophon's descrip- 
 tion of the attire in which Cyrus himself appeared in public. "Cyrus himself then appeared, wearing 
 u turban, which was raised high above his head, with a vest of a purple colour, half mixed with white ; 
 and this mixture of white none else is allowed to wear. On his legs he had yellow buskins; bis outer 
 robe was wholly of purple ; and about his turban was a diadem or wreath" (Cyrop. viii. 23). Every 
 one of these things occur in the description of Mordeeai's royal attire, except the yellow buskins. 
 Xenopbon, however, adds, that the diademed turban was not peculiar to the king, but was allowed to 
 his relations. This doubtless answers to the "great crown" which Mordecai wore. The 
 description does not correspond with the appearance of the cap which the king wears in the 
 sculptures of Persepolis. This difference, which has perplexed antiquarians, is probably 
 owing to the fact that the sculptures represented the king as he usually appeared in his palace ; 
 whereas the description refers to his appearance when he went abroad, or on occasions of high 
 state within-doors.— Kittn. The garments in which Mordecai left the king are evidently the State 
 garments of the first minister, which Mordecai received at his installation to his office ; and, as such, 
 no fresh token of royal favour, but only his induction in his new dignity, and a sign of his induction 
 to all who saw him issue from the palace so adorned. — Keil. City of Shushan rejoiced] That is, the 
 inhabitants as a whole. They had probably deprecated the massacre awaiting the Jews, and perhaps 
 apprehended with fear the great disorders and dangers that would ensue. — Lange. 16. The Jews 
 had light] Light (this particular form of the noun occurs only here and Ps. cix. 12) is a figurative 
 expression for prosperity. 17. And many of the people became Jews] This must not be explained 
 only, as by Clericus and Grotius, of a change of religion on the part of the heathen that they might 
 procure the favour of the queen, and avert the wrath of Mordecai. This may have induced some; 
 but the majority certainly acted from a conviction, forced upon them by the unexpected turn of affairs 
 in favour of the Jews, of the truth of the Jewish religion, and the power of that faith and trust in 
 God manifested by the Jews, and so evidently justified by the fall of Hainan, and the promotion of 
 Mordecai. — Keil. 
 
 MAIN HOMILETICS OP THE PARAGRArH. Verses 1, 2. 
 Sudden but Wise Changes. 
 
 In affairs of conscience first thoughts are hest. In affairs of prudence second 
 thoughts are hest. But even in affairs of conscience deliberation may he necessary, 
 because wo do not always know how far conscience may Le properly enlightened. 
 
chap, vill.] IIOMILETIC COMMENTARY: ESTHER. 259 
 
 We have to see to it that what we think is the voice of conscience be not some 
 other voice. Sudden movement, then, is very often dangerous and misleading. 
 Make haste slowly is a wise exhortation for the management of human affairs. 
 Many a man has taken a hurried step which has proved disastrous, and which no 
 after movements have been able to remedy. Perhaps the English nation may be 
 considered as moving too slowly. Certainly it takes a long time in this country to 
 repair old abuses. But this very slowness may help to give us our national stability. 
 In these two verses we have sudden changes ; but they will be seen to be wise in 
 every respect. There is no reason to suppose that Ahasuerus had any cause to repent 
 of the steps which he now took so suddenly. Without any long parliamentary 
 deliberations he made a prime minister, ami most important changes in the court, 
 and all tended to increase the national glory. 
 
 I. A sensible reversal. " On that day did the king Ahasuerus give the house 
 of Haman the Jews' enemy unto Esther the queen." Not only was Esther the 
 king's favoured queen, but she showed herself a virtuous and sensible woman — one 
 likely to make a wise disposal of the blessings of wealth. Haman only thought of 
 using wealth for selfish purposes. Esther thought of using her temporal advantages 
 for the good of others. That she so thought we judge by her conduct. She did 
 not talk great things only, but did them. How sadly often do we find in this world 
 that the " house " is possessed by the selfish Haman ! What a blessing to the 
 community when the " house " becomes the possession of a benevolent and patriotic 
 Esther ! Take the house here as emblematical of Hainan's wealth. When the 
 eternal King gives a " house " it becomes us to feel that our responsibility is thereby 
 increased. We must not close the house, but open its doors and its rooms for the 
 benefit of others. Still be careful as to the guests. God has given to each and to 
 all a soul-house. We are to be careful as to the mastership. Let not Satan rule ; 
 let Jesus rule, and then there will be light, and gladness, and joy, and honour in 
 the house. 
 
 II. A grateful confession. " And Mordecai came before the king ; for Esther 
 had told what he was unto her." The confession was not forced from Esther. She 
 did not utter it by reason of the terrors of the inquisitor ; she did not own the 
 relationship because she saw that Mordecai was about to make the declaration ; sire 
 was impelled to it by a sweet sense of gratitude. Here is one of those omissions in 
 the narrative that we could wish had not been made. A pleasant story was that 
 Avhich Esther had now to tell unto the king. We listen in pleasant fancy as Esther, 
 inspired by gratitude, told the king what Mordecai was unto her. She would tell of 
 the blocd relationship, but surely she would tell much more. Certainly she told 
 much more if she told all that Mordecai was unto her. Sometimes the words fail 
 us, when inspired by gratitude, as we try to tell all that a true-hearted one has been 
 to us. Some there are with whom we have no family connection who have been 
 more to us than the nearest relatives. Esther confers honour on Mordecai by 
 declaring all that he had been unto her. We confer honour by grateful confession, 
 of the services rendered to us by others. Let us not forget to acknowledge our 
 indebtedness. And shall we not bring honour to Jesus by the confession of what 
 he has been and is to us. Time will not suffice to tell the tale of the Saviour's 
 doings on our behalf. We have to tell what he is to us in the way of spiritual 
 relationship ; we have to tell what he is to us as prophet, priest, and king. The 
 sweet tale will last through eternity. 
 
 III. A reasonable token of honour. " And the king took off his ring, which 
 he had taken from Haman, and gave it unto Mordecai." It was just and fair that 
 this honour should be conferred upon Mordecai, for he had rendered important 
 services to the king, and was evidently a man that might be safely trusted with the 
 management of most important affairs. But it was not right that Mordecai had 
 been compelled to wait so long before his services were acknowledged. Time is on 
 the side of him who will but wait ; but sometimes we have to wait so long that our 
 
2G0 H0M1LETIC COMMENTARY: ESTHER. [chap. tiii. 
 
 time is over. We do not now live for centuries, and cannot afford to keep on wait- 
 ing too long. Many a man lias waited only for the grave. The only waiting which 
 cannot end in disappointment is that of quietly and hopefully and earnestly doing 
 the work of the Lord, and looking for the crown of glory that fadeth not away. 
 Then the great Master will give his tokens of approval and of honour. Oh, to bo 
 sealed bv heaven's eternal King ! 
 
 IV. A judicious arrangement. " And Esther set Mordecai over the house of 
 Haman." If Esther, having received the gift from the king, was not at liberty to 
 transfer it to Mordecai, the next best thing was to make Mordecai steAvard of the 
 property. She had received proof of Mordecai's sagacity, and could therefore securely 
 entrust to him the management of her property. He would turn it to the best 
 possible account, both for individual and collective advantage. Having shown 
 himself wise and faithful in small spheres, it was judicious to raise him now to fill 
 a higher sphere. All his recorded after-course declares that he was not unfaithful 
 to his many important trusts. If we want to rise, let it be by faithful service in that 
 sphere where we find ourselves placed. "Woe to the man who seeks to rise by 
 trickery ! The crash must come sooner or later. The deception must be found out. 
 The blown bladder will receive a prick, and then there will be the humiliating 
 collapse. Many instances of this in modern times. Better to remain always in 
 obscurity than to rise by false methods, for such rising is sure to end in a most 
 hideous down-fall. A high position is always perilous — perilous in England with 
 its stable institutions, as well as in the Persian empire with all its fickleness. But 
 a high position reached by falsehood and deceit is especially perilous. " He that 
 is down needs fear no fall." " Better it is to be of an humble spirit with the lowly 
 than to divide the spoil with the proud." Haman thus had not reached the gallows. 
 "We can even suppose that Mordecai was happier at the king's gate than when 
 ruling in the palace, and over Haman's house. 
 
 Suggestive Comments on Verses 1, 2. 
 
 We are taught by Mordecai's example vexation would Haman have thought of 
 
 that even pious men sometimes come to that wealth in which he gloried, if he 
 
 the head of affairs, and are safely en- had foreseen that it was to be possessed 
 
 trusted with the reins of government ; by a Jewess. Would he not rather have 
 
 and that God adorns with this glory chosen to live a beggar all his days than 
 
 on earth those whom he will afterwards leave his wealth to persons whom he so 
 
 crown in heaven likewise. They are mortally hated 1 
 
 promoted, however not so much for their The queen was enriched beyond her 
 
 own sake as that they may aid and expectations and wishes ; yet the wealth 
 
 promote the Church and people of God, bestowed upon her would enable her to 
 
 and may free and console those in perform important services to her beloved 
 
 affliction. — Feuardent. nation. The donation of it by the king, 
 
 Be not solicitous about treasuring up to whom it was forfeited, was a testi- 
 
 the riches of this world. What you can mony of his affection, to which she still 
 
 gain is to-day yours, to-morrow you know must have recourse, with new petitions 
 
 not whose it shall be. Should it fall for her people. Above all, this donation 
 
 into the hands of your children after Avas a remarkable testimony of the kind- 
 
 you, you know not whether they will be nessand justiceof the Divine providence, 
 
 wise men or fools, whether they will be which put into her hands that immense 
 
 losers or gainers by the possession of it. wealth of the enemy of her nation, by 
 
 But you know not whether it may not which he would have bribed the king, if 
 
 fall into the hands of your most abhorred a bribe had been necessary, to procure 
 
 enemies. This is often the fate of ill- their destruction. The Lord had already 
 
 gotten riches. '-The wealth of the sin- not only wrought deliverance for her, 
 
 ner is laid up for the just." "With what but had given her an accession of riches 
 
CHAP. VIII. ] 
 
 HOMILETIC COMMENTARY : ESTHER. 
 
 261 
 
 out of the shares that had been laid for 
 lier kinsman ; and she was thereby en- 
 courage I to hope that he would bring 
 to a happy conclusion that great work 
 that occupied her mind. 
 
 Her kinsman, too, was highly ad- 
 vanced, both on her account and his 
 own. The king had formerly caused 
 his favour for Mordecai to be proclaimed 
 through the city of Shushan ; but now 
 he loaded him with real and substantial 
 honours, which could put him into 
 a proper condition for protecting his 
 nation, exposed to danger for his sake. 
 
 It was now the fifth year since the 
 adopted daughter of Mordecai was seated 
 on an imperial throne, and hitherto it 
 was not known that he stood in any 
 relation to the queen, or had showed to 
 her the kindness of a father. 
 
 The king must surely at least have 
 condemned his own thoughtlessness in 
 impairing so little after Esther's friends. 
 He now discerned, that, besides his un- 
 requited obligations to Mordecai for 
 saving his life, he owed to him likewise 
 the graces and accomplishments of his 
 queen, and almost her life ; for he had 
 been to her a second father, without 
 whose kind care none knows what might 
 have befallen her in her tender years. 
 
 It would be likewise a powerful 
 recommendation of Mordecai, that he 
 had hitherto lived quietly in a low 
 station, without so much as mentioning 
 his claims to preferment. It appeared 
 plainly that he was more careful to 
 deserve the king's favour than to enjoy 
 it, and that greatness had no charms but 
 the opportunities it might give him of 
 doing good, or preventing evil. Those 
 are fittest for high stations that are best 
 satisfied with any station in which Pro- 
 vidence is pleased to put them. 
 
 The king put Mordecai into Haman's 
 place ; and the queen, who now thought 
 it highly expedient to inform the king 
 of Mordecai's kindness and relation to 
 her, did likewise make him her steward. 
 To her dying day she forgot not the 
 kindness showed to her in the days of 
 her youth, and behaved as the best of 
 daughters to the best of fathers. 
 
 Gratitude to benefactors is essential 
 to a virtuous character. If you call a 
 
 man ungrateful you need say nothing 
 more of him, you have already said 
 everything that is bad ; nor will the 
 highest elevation excuse forgetfulness of 
 benefits received in a lower condition. 
 The blessed Jesus, exalted above men 
 and angels, forgets none of the kindnesses 
 showed to him in the persons of his 
 brethren in a low condition upon earth ; 
 but what is done to the least of them is 
 rewarded as if it had been done to him- 
 self. We need not envy those women 
 who ministered to him of their substance 
 in the days of his humiliation the 
 glorious rewards bestowed upon them in 
 his state of exaltation. We still have it 
 in our power to feed him when he is 
 hungry, to give him drink when he is 
 thirsty, to clothe him when he is naked ; 
 and he will not be unrighteous to forget 
 our works and labours of love to his 
 name. Did Esther in her royal condition 
 retain such a kind remembrance of the 
 friends of her low estate, and shall Ave 
 doubt of the infinitely superior virtues 
 of him who is the fairest among the 
 children of men, to the operation of 
 whose Spirit we owe everything that is 
 lovely in our temper and conduct 1 
 
 Esther, on the throne, retained the 
 kindness of her youth, not only to 
 Mordecai, but to all her friends and all 
 her people. — Lawson. 
 
 1. In the first place, we see how, in 
 the providence of God, the wealth which 
 worldly men would use in opposition to 
 the interests of God's cause and people 
 may be wrested from them, and made 
 available for the advancement of these 
 interests. It was painful enough to the 
 proud spirit of Haman to be compelled 
 to conduct Mordecai, whom he hated, 
 through the city in triumph ; but it would 
 have been anguish intolerable to him if 
 he had been told that this man was forth- 
 with to be his heir, and to have all his 
 wealth placed at his disposal. So not 
 unfrequently it happens, that the riches 
 which have been accumulated by those 
 who would grudge the expenditure even 
 of a small part for any purpose purely 
 religious, pass into the hands of those 
 who feel their responsibility as stewards 
 of God's bounties, and who gladly employ 
 his gifts for the promotion of objects by 
 
262 
 
 110 Ml LET IC COMMENTARY: ESTHER 
 
 [OHAP. TUT. 
 
 which their fellow-men are really bene- 
 fited. The conclusion which we draw 
 from all this, and which, without further 
 remark, we leave with you, is, that the 
 best ami happiest arrangement which a 
 man can make with respect to the good 
 things which have been bestowed upon 
 him is, that in his lifetime he seek to 
 be personally the dispenser of good to 
 others. If he lives and acts in this 
 spirit, then he will have the less anxiety 
 as to the disposal of what he may be 
 able to leave behind him. 
 
 2. In the second place, the peculiar 
 providence which we see exercised in the 
 case of Mordecai teaches us that men 
 may be well content to wait, while they 
 are in the way of well-doing, until they 
 receive their recompense. It was with 
 no view to temporal reward, we most 
 fully helieve, that Mordecai assumed the 
 guardianship of his orphan cousin, and 
 brought her up tenderly in the knowledge 
 of the God of her fathers. But if he 
 had any expectation of reward, when he 
 discovered and made known the plot 
 against the life of the king, and such 
 expectation he might have reasonably 
 enough cherished, he had long to wait 
 for the realizing of it. But he waited 
 patiently, and at length his reward came, 
 in greater fulness than his most sanguine 
 hope could have anticipated. Now even 
 in worldly things, although not on the 
 same large scale, we often can mark simi- 
 lar movements of providence, Worth 
 and faithfulness and humility, after they 
 have been long neglected, are brought 
 into the light, and are honoured in pro- 
 portion to the neglect which they formerly 
 experienced. 
 
 But it is not with exclusive, or indeed 
 with special, reference to the administra- 
 
 tion of providence in this world that we 
 speak at present. History sets before us 
 the examples of many, who were the 
 excellent of the earth, persons of whom 
 the world was not worthy, whose deeds 
 of benevolence, and whose faithful ser- 
 vices to the Lord and the men of their 
 generation, were never openly acknow- 
 ledged during their lifetime. Against 
 reproach and oblocpuy, and opposition 
 the most crushing, many have had to 
 pursue their way, compelled to hear even 
 tbeir good evil spoken of. But this does 
 not alter the fact, that the reward of all 
 Christ's faithful servants is certain. It 
 is not for reward that they labour in his 
 service ; it is from love to him, and for 
 the glory of God. Yet as Christ himself 
 "looked forward to the joy that was set 
 before him," so his people are taught by 
 his word and his example to have respect 
 to the recompense of reward. Now as 
 Mordecai had to wait for a season before 
 he obtained what he was well entitled 
 to receive, would it have been a matter 
 of great consequence although he had to 
 wait for a few years longer] If he had 
 received at length, altera very protracted 
 season of delay, what he waited for, 
 while he had still full power left him to 
 enjoy it, would it not have been well ? 
 Then may we not say, that although 
 believers in Christ have to wait for their 
 reward until death come to carry them 
 away, or, as we may saj r , until this their 
 last enemy come to lead them in triumph 
 into the presence of the King, clad in 
 the glorious robe of his righteousness, 
 will it not be well, seeing that then they 
 shall be in condition to enjoy fully and 
 for ever the blessedness of being with him 
 and rejoicing in his smile? — Davidson. 
 
 MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH. Verses 3, 4. 
 
 Sin Survives the Sinner. 
 
 When Hainan was executed Ahasuerus doubtless expected to be left at peace. 
 He would suppose that by one strenuous effort he had delivered himself from the 
 encircling confusion ; and, unaccustomed to personal effort and responsibility, he 
 would overrate the good he had accomplished. So men are continually surprised if 
 a little virtuous effort is not considered a full compensation for a long course of sin. 
 But evil is not easily rooted out of a heart, ur out of a state. Bad habits once 
 
chap, vni.] HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: ESTHER. 2G3 
 
 formed in the heart soon become inveterate; and bad institutions once founded in 
 a state tend to perpetuate themselves for ever. It is written in the Psalms, " Thou 
 wast a God that forgavest them, though thou tookest vengeance of their inventions." 
 80, frequently, sin bears painful fruits long after the sinner himself has grievously 
 repented. Thus David received Divine forgiveness, and yet along with Uriah's life 
 the splendour and happiness of his reign faded away for ever. As he sinned with 
 Bathsheba, so Amnon sinned with Tamar; as he murdered Uriah, so Absalom 
 murdered Amnon; and as his pride numbered the people, so Adoni jab's pride, and 
 Absalom's pride, rebelled against his authority. Let no man fancy that by a little 
 repentance he can undo the effects of a great sin. As some weeds are hardly to be 
 eradicated from a favourable soil, so sin finds a congenial lodging in the heart, and 
 is slow to leave. Ahasuerus, who looked to spend his days in idle dalliance, now 
 learnt that Hainan's death had not delivered him from his troubles, for Esther came 
 to him to put away the mischief of Haman the Agagite. 
 
 I. Evil outlives its first contrivers, (a) Haman is dead, but the mischief he 
 devised still hangs over the Jews. The laws of Persia could not be reversed, and 
 therefore Hainan's edict had to stand ; the laws of nature will not be reversed, and 
 therefore a thing done once is done for ever. A passing stranger may loosen a stone 
 in an embankment, and go on his way ; but a whole province will bewail his folly. 
 An infidel father trains most carefully an infidel son ; the son becomes an eminent 
 and influential writer, and spreads through a whole generation the fatal poison he 
 imbibed on his father's knee. An English colonist, filled with pity for the Carib- 
 baeans, introduces negro slavery into the West Indies, — doing evil that good may 
 come, — and for centuries those fair islands are cursed by his device. Always men 
 perish, but their work remains. As he who scatters thistledown in a field of wheat 
 does an evil which years may be needed to cure ; so every sinner scatters bad seed 
 into a prolific soil, (h) Evil tends to permanency, because of the natural corruption 
 of the heart. As acids and alkalis have a mutual affinity, so that they rush together 
 with violence, and can only be separated by force ; so is there an affinity between 
 the heart and sin. Hence, when evil is once published there are many ready to 
 embrace it. Certain constitutions of body will take every infectious disease that they 
 approach ; and every form of evil finds somewhere a congenial home. This principle 
 is assisted by the solidarity of our race. The whole universe is bound into one 
 system, with a mutual interdependence among all its parts : the meanest and the 
 noblest parts of creation are indissolubly bound together. Especially is this true 
 of man. No man liveth to himself. We are all so closely locked and interlocked 
 together that what affects one affects all. Now if man were not liable to disease, or 
 if, being liable, he could live alone, there would be no epidemics ; so if man were 
 not liable to sin, or if, being liable, he could be set free from his fellow-sinners, 
 evil might soon cease. But as the case is, sin ever tends to spread widely, and 
 to stand permanently. 
 
 II. Evil yields before holy self-sacrifice. Esther, having had formerly so free 
 an access and so good success in her appeals, ventures to draw near again, (a) Esther 
 was intensely solicitous, for we read, " she wept and besought him." The welfare of 
 the people was dearer to her than her own. The mere dilettante accomplishes nothing, 
 for evil grows naturally ; while virtue is like those birds of song which come from 
 afar, are caught with difficulty, and are ever ready to depart. There must be strenuous 
 effort on the part of those who would do good. She wept over temporal ruin ; do 
 we weep over spiritual ruin ? (/3) Esther was persistent. She came again. As her 
 former success encouraged her to approach again to an earthly, so our former successes 
 should encourage us to approach the heavenly King. Like the poor widow, men 
 ought always to pray and not to faint, (y) Esther was boldly self-sacrificing. Un- 
 bidden she came to the king, bearing her life in her hands. A noble type of the 
 sacrifice and intercession of Christ is presented by this scene in the life of Esther. 
 In entire self-ibigetfulness and self-surrender she ventured her life in order to plead 
 
2G4 HOMILETIC COMMENTARY : ESTHER. [cttap. viii. 
 
 for her kindred ; and Christ gave his life that, now within the veil, he might make 
 intercession for his kinsmen after the flesh. (c) Esther succeeded. The king 
 stretched out the golden sceptre. Oh, Esther, thou hast won fur ever the gratitude 
 <>f every Jew. Moses delivered from slavery; thou hast delivered from death ! A 
 sword was about to destroy the whole race, and thy fair neck was stretched under 
 to avert the blow ! Our Intercessor has equal success. As the wishes of Mordecai 
 were presented by Esther, and she brought back assured safety ; so our petitions, 
 poor, babbling cries, are presented by Christ, sprinkled with his own blood, and 
 return to us in showers of blessing. 
 
 III. Evil crushed, but not killed. Ahasuerus could only allow Mordecai to invent 
 some contrivance to counteract the evil. To undo the wickedness of Hainan seemed 
 impossible, and, to avoid the results of it, the whole empire incurred the risk of civil 
 war. To destroy is always easier than to save ; and many a man, who has no hammer 
 for building, has a good torch for burning. As a madman may set on fire a cathedral 
 which a whole generation cannot rebuild, or as a child may tear a painting which 
 only a Iiaphael could reproduce ; so one sin may ruin a soul which only God could 
 save. Partially the effects of sin may be destroyed. The guilty conscience may be 
 set at rest, and the foul heart may be cleansed ; the gates of hope may be opened, 
 and those of despair may be shut ; but some of the effects endure for ever. A 
 prodigal wastes his estate by intemperance, and it is never restored ; a nation is 
 hurried by ambition into unjust war, and is maimed for ever ; a suicide takes poison, 
 and has no more opportunity of repentance on earth. The action may be temporary, 
 and the results eternal. 
 
 IV. Practical lessons, (a) The folly of infallibility. For either Pope or Kaiser 
 to say, " The thing is settled, and cannot be reconsidered," is to doom the Church 
 or the State to dire disaster. For the imperfect state of man on earth, " live and 
 learn " is a suitable motto. But, like the Bourbons, the kings of Persia learnt 
 nothing and forgot nothing. (/3) The power of intercession. Our Lord himself 
 takes a precisely parallel case to that of Esther to teach the efficacy of prayer. As she, 
 in the parable, won by her importunity a blessing from the unwilling, much more 
 may we by our pleading secure the mercy of the ever-willing. Esther's earnestness, 
 her humility, and her self-forgetfulness, teach how to draw near to God. (y) The 
 awful nature of sin. The actions that are performed the most thoughtlessly may 
 ruin the soul. As one frosty night when the bloom is on the trees may destroy the 
 hopes of spring, as one fierce gale may dash the gallant ship agaiust the rocks ; so 
 one sin may ruin the soul. Sickness does not weaken its hold, and death does not 
 destroy its venom. If once the venom is seated in the soul, there is only one healer, 
 and he Almighty, who can wash away the stain. 
 
 Suggestive Comments on Verses 3, 4. 
 
 Siu never dies of age. It is as when My friends, the old statement, " what- 
 
 a young man dies in the full fire and soever a man sovveth, that shall he also 
 
 strength of his youth by some vehement reap," is absolutely true, universally true, 
 
 distemper ; it, as it were, tears and forces The gospel is not its abrogation. It 
 
 and fires his soul out of his body. He modifies it, gives it a new aspect, in 
 
 that will come and fight it out with his some respects it gives it a new incidence; 
 
 corruption to the last shall find that it but be sure of this, that the harvest has 
 
 will sell its life at a dear rate; it will to be gathered. If you waste your 
 
 strive and light for it, and many a doubt- youth no repentance will send the 
 
 ful conflict will pass between that and the shallow back upon the dial, or recover 
 
 soul It may give a man many a wound, the ground lost by idleness, or restore 
 
 many a foil, and many a disheartening the constitution shattered by dissipation, 
 
 blow ; for, believe it, the strong man or give again the resources wasted upon 
 
 will fight for his possession. — South. \ice, or bring back fleeting opportunities. 
 
CHAP. VIII.] 
 
 HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: ESTHER. 
 
 265 
 
 If you forget God and live without him 
 in the world, fancying that it is time 
 enough to become " religious " when you 
 " have had your fling," — even were you 
 to come back at last, and remember 
 how few do, — you could not obliterate 
 the remembrance of misused years, nor 
 the deep marks which they had left upon 
 imagination, and thought, and taste, aud 
 habit. — Maclaren. 
 
 When the king " held out the golden 
 sceptre towards Esther" she was animated 
 with greater confidence, and " stood be- 
 fore him" with touching tenderness, and 
 hearty self-consecration to the cause which 
 she pleaded. She importuned him to 
 issue a new decree, reversing the edict 
 of Haman for the destruction of the Jews 
 — " For how," said she, " can I endure 
 to see the evil that shall come unto my 
 people 1 or how can I endure to see the 
 destruction of my kindred 1 " Her love 
 for her people was intense, self-sacrificing, 
 and disinterested. She hinged her inter- 
 cession upon that love. For her own 
 sake did she ask that the lives of her 
 kindred should be spared. In this 
 aspect of it her intercession reminds us 
 of the advocacy and intercession of the 
 Saviour. How vast was his love for 
 his people ! Not only did he imperil 
 his life for their sakes, but gave himself 
 "a ransom for many." He intercedes 
 for them in heaven, and is mighty and 
 all-prevailing because that intercession 
 is centred in himself. How could he 
 endure to see those perish for whom he 
 died? and whom, in his exaltation, he 
 ardently loves 1 If such a contingency 
 could be supposed possible the trial would 
 overwhelm him, and spoil his satisfac- 
 tion and joy. They are his kindred — 
 his brethren ; and in testimony of his 
 love for them, as well as in proof of his 
 ceaseless intercession in their behalf, he 
 appears in the midst of the throne, and 
 of the elders, and of the living ones, " a 
 lamb as it had been slain." How many 
 Jews were there in Persia who knew of 
 the sentence of death which had been 
 passed against them, but who knew not 
 the powerful, loving intercessor whom 
 they had before the king ! And there 
 are not a few, even within the enclosure 
 of the Church, who, whilst dreading the 
 
 condemnation under which they have 
 been laid by sin, take not home to their 
 hearts the consolation which arises from 
 the intercession of the Saviour. As the 
 appearance of Esther before the king, 
 with her tears and earnest love-pleading, 
 would have sent a thrill of hope through- 
 out millions of hearts in the Persian 
 empire, had it been everywhere visible, 
 so could the sight of Christ before the 
 throne of God be witnessed by faith by 
 all believers, the burden of fear which 
 oppresses many souls throughout the 
 earth would be removed, and there would 
 be the peace and tranquillity of resting 
 in his love. In the survey of our own 
 condition he could not discover any 
 arguments which he could successfully 
 use to secure our forgiveness and final 
 deliverance, but in himself he has all- 
 prevailing pleas. And whilst the be- 
 liever's prayers derive their power from 
 the concluding words — " For Jesus' 
 sake ; " these words receive their con- 
 firmation and response in heaven, where 
 Jesus pleads in our behalf for his own 
 name's sake. 
 
 " Fair is the lot that's cast for me, 
 I have an advocate with thee; 
 And he is safe, and must succeed, 
 For whom the Lord vouchsafes to pleiid." 
 M'Ewen. 
 
 Oh queen, thou art victor now ! Thou 
 art ascending a higher and a holier throne 
 than that on which thou wast crowned 
 on the day of thine espousals. Thy great 
 king was but now holding forth to thee 
 the golden sceptre on which thy very 
 life was hung, and thou didst arise and 
 stand as a weeping suppliant before him. 
 And lo ! now thou art waving a far more 
 powerful sceptre, albeit invisible, over 
 his head ! Thou art ruling him partly 
 by the power of womanly beauty and 
 accomplishment over a fitful but suscep- 
 tible nature, but still more by the irresist- 
 ible power of moral earnestness, by the 
 grandeur of patriotism, and by the holy 
 spell of self-sacrificing love ! And soon 
 the pens of the scribes will be busy for 
 thee, and the swift beasts will be carrying 
 thy message of life to distant provinces, 
 and thy poor people far and near will 
 gratefully bless thy name. — Raleigh. 
 
266 EOMILETIO COMMENTARY : ESTHER. [chat. viii. 
 
 MAIN HOMILETICS OF TIIE PARAGRAPH. Verses 5, 6. 
 The Pleading of a Great Passion. 
 
 Patriotism is among the noblest and strongest passions of the human heart. This 
 warm and self-forgetting devotion to the claims of our country often very closely 
 resembles the all-reaching love which is produced by Christianity. If, indeed, the 
 Church can boast of martyrs, men who have died rather than deny the truth, every 
 great nation can tell of patriots who chose death rather than the dishonour of their 
 country. In ancient Sparta this passion burned with so hot a flame that mothers 
 rejoiced when their dead but triumphant sons were carried home upon their shields ; 
 and a mother was, at least on one great occasion, known to slay her son who had 
 turned coward upon the field of battle. The patriotism of the Jews, being a 
 religious as well as a national sentiment, was peculiarly strong. With the glory 
 of the nation, the success and even the existence of the religion were inextricably 
 involved : if Israel were destroyed, the worship of Jehovah ceased from among 
 men ; and if David's line were cut off, the world's Eedeemer could never appear. 
 Now, if it was the proudest boast of ancient days to be able to say, " I am a Roman 
 citizen ; " and if so many of us would not sell for untold wealth our British birth- 
 right ; how much more noble is it to say, "lama citizen of heaven." The very 
 dust and stones of Zion should be precious in our sight. No sacrifices can be too 
 great which are made for Christ, and no work can be mean which tends toward the 
 extension of his kingdom. The noblest offices of the world are mean and poor 
 beside the humblest duties of the Church. We cannot refrain from a lofty emotion 
 when we remember the glories of our spiritual temple. The temple of Jerusalem 
 has passed away ; but the true Zion, of which that was but a type, is established 
 for ever. Now the whole of Esther's life shows that she was under the influence 
 of both the national and the religious sentiments. But perhaps in all the story, 
 her patriotism never shines so beautifully as in this paragraph. All the grace of a 
 tender woman, all the exquisite tact of a woman deeply in earnest, and all the 
 deep pathos of a woman's heart, are richly displayed. 
 
 I. A great passion inspires humility. If it please the king, and if the thing 
 seem right before the king. Pride is effaced in the presence of a lofty emotion. 
 That the thing was in itself right she does not venture to assert, but recognizes the 
 supreme power of the Oriental despot. As a mountain torrent, swollen by the 
 winter rains, sweeps away the feeble dykes which were intended to impede its 
 overwhelming progress ; so the lofty passion which inspired her heart made 
 Esther oblivious of her own claims upon the king. Lest she should injure her 
 plea, she does not stop to insist upon absolute right ; but asks as a favour what 
 might have been dsmanded as an act of justice. She was the wise counsellor, and 
 Ahasuerus was the fool ; and yet she descends even below his level. Yet if her 
 language was becoming in her lips when she addressed only an earthly monarch, 
 much more is such submission suitable on the lips of a Christian. Possibly many 
 an earnest prayer meets with no Divine " I -will " in answer, because what ought 
 to have been asked as a favour is demanded almost as a right. Our ignorance, 
 which knows not what is expedient, — our folly, which wishes for injurious comforts, 
 — and our guilt, which takes away all merit from our prayers, — are all arguments 
 for humility. Above all is the example of our Lord, who prayed " Thy will he 
 done." 
 
 II. A great passion consecrates personal gifts. " If I be pleasing in his 
 eyes." What treasures of wealth, genius, and affection have been laid on the altar 
 of patriotism ! Even for a shilling a day men will be found ready to die rather 
 than submit to the dishonour of their Hag. No need to travel back to either Jew- 
 ish or Roman history for illustrations of the text. The grand valour of the Dutch 
 
chap, viii.] HOMILETTO COMMENTARY : ESTHER. 2^7 
 
 in their wars against Spain, or the countless deeds of daring performed on many a 
 desperate field by British troops, show that every generous heart holds the country 
 dearer than the life. Equally wonderful the triumphs of faith! Elliott and 
 Brainard, Martyn and Schwartz, were animated by the same passion for the hea- 
 venly that inspired Esther for the earthly kingdom. So the Cobbler of Leicester- 
 shire conquered the difficulties of forty dialects in order that, beneath the shadow 
 of ancient temples or high on the slopes of swelling hills, he might preach Christ 
 to the people of India. So Howard, or Wilberforce, or Livingstone were equally 
 inspired by Christ with the grand enthusiasm of humanity. 
 
 III. A great passion creates a delicate tact. " Let it be written to reverse 
 the letters devised by Haman." Thus, with all a woman's subtle insight into the 
 heart, she does not remind the king of his share in the iniquity ; she only speaks of 
 the sin of Haman. A lower level of patriotism might have reproached the king 
 with his own folly ; but in her lofty zeal for her people she avoids all manner of 
 reproach. It will be time enough for reproaches when her petition has failed. If the 
 king will not undo the wrong that he has done, then she will cast in her lot with 
 her kindred, and fling the king's favours back in his face. Meanwhile she builds 
 for him a bridge of gold. Many seem more anxious to reprove the sinner than to 
 remove the sin. Accordingly they are full of invective, and the sinner "turns away 
 in a rage." Those who are pleading for Christ need, along with other noble gifts, 
 a delicate tact. It is easy to make the sinner cry, " What ! am I to beg and pray 
 like a beaten child 1 JS T o ! Let Divine vengeance fall. Terror shall not make me 
 afraid." And truly if hell were the only motive of the Gospel there woidd be some 
 reason in the bitter words. But as Esther pleaded delicately for her people, so the 
 preacher should plead wisely for his Master. Men are oftener to be led than 
 driven ; as flies are caught by honey rather than by vinegar. 
 
 IV. A great passion is called up by a great occasion. " How can I endure 
 to see the evil that shall come unto my people ] " It is sometimes said as an 
 objection to Christianity that the Bible does not teach the duty of patriotism. But 
 by example it does. The example of our Lord as he wept over the city is a supreme 
 instance. Here is the example of Esther, (a) Patriotism is a noble sentiment. It 
 arises above the natural selfishness that confines affection in narrow limits, and 
 extends to all the nation. It burns more brightly in a small brave nation than in 
 a vast empire ; so Athens, Judea, Montenegro were noted for this virtue. It feeds 
 upon the noble traditions of the past, so that the example of a Washington becomes 
 reproductive. It is injured by party faction, so that a nation torn in two by intes- 
 tine strife is open to the arts of any invader. Often it is altogether destroyed by 
 the vices of a ruler j thus, it is said that the Moors were introduced into Spain, 
 and the English into Ireland, in order that certain nobles might revenge themselves 
 upon their king. But this virtue never shines so brightly as in days of disaster. 
 Motley's ' History of the Dutch Bepublic ' is a magnificent illustration of this prin- 
 ciple. As Macaulay speaks of that stubborn British valour which never shines so 
 brightly as at the close of a long and doubtful day ; so true patriotism never flames 
 up so high as when an invader's foot is planted on our shores. Then a patriot may 
 use the language of Pitt — " I would never lay down my arms ; never ! never ! 
 never ! " (/3) This virtue has corresponding dangers. As humility tends to cow- 
 ardice, courage to recklessness, liberality to prodigality, so that Aristotle teaches 
 that virtue is always a mean between two extremes ; similarly patriotism tends to 
 ostentation, to self-confidence, and injustice. A Roman pardoned any wickedness 
 by which the territory or wealth of Rome was increased ; Englishmen condone 
 many a crime because it seems to be for the national advantage. Artifices which 
 would rouse the derision of the whole country if they were to he perpetrated by 
 the French, become sacred as soon as they are practised by statesmen of our own. 
 (y) Patriotism will some day be merged in a far wider sentiment. As the farmer 
 
268 
 
 1IOMILETIC COMMENTARY : ESTHER. 
 
 [ciiAr. viii. 
 
 bows two kinds of seed in the same field, and when the one which grows more 
 rapidly has ripened and is cut down, then the other more slowly comes to maturity; 
 so amid the thick growth of family and national affection there is slowly develop- 
 ing a far deeper and nobler passion, which will look forward to the day when, in 
 all the earth, there shall be but one nation, whose king is Christ. 
 
 V. A great passion does not overlook family affection. " Or how can I 
 endure to see the destruction of my kindred 1 " The national sentiment arises first 
 in the family ; and as the domestic affections are pure and strong, or corrupt and 
 weak, will be the growth or decline of the nation. In the great days of Borne 
 divorces were unknown for centuries together; and as the family ties relaxed the 
 whole empire became corrupt. As Moses refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's 
 daughter ; so Esther could not separate herself from her people. The vine which 
 hangs its rich clusters of grapes over some stately palace sends its roots far under 
 the ground to perennial springs of water ; and so, while Esther adorned the palace 
 with her beauty, she still felt that she grew up out of a despised race of Jews Avho 
 usually lived far away from the court. Humanly speaking, her whole virtue sprang 
 from her adherence to her people. Distrust the man who treats lightly the claims 
 of family and home. Family affection is essential to the State, is consecrated 
 by Christianity ; and here Esther becomes a type of Him who, though exalted 
 to a nobler throne than that of Shushan, still remembers his kinsmen after the 
 flesh. 
 
 Suggestive Comments on Verses 5, 6. 
 
 1 . This petition Esther presents with 
 much affection. She fell down at his 
 feet and besought him with tears : every 
 tear as precious as any of the pearls with 
 which she was adorned. It was time to 
 be earnest when the Church of God lay 
 at stake. Let none be so great as to be 
 unwilling to stoop, none so merry as to 
 be unwilling to weep, when thereby 
 they may do any service to God's 
 Church and people. Esther, though 
 safe herself, fell down and begged with 
 tears for the deliverance of her people. 
 
 2. She expresses it with great submis- 
 sion, and a profound deference to the 
 king, and his wisdom and will. If it 
 please the king, and if I have found 
 favour in his sight. Even then when 
 we have the clearest reason and justice 
 on our side, and have the clearest cause 
 to plead, yet it becomes us to speak to 
 our superiors with humility and modesty, 
 and not to talk like demandants when 
 we are supplicants. There is nothing 
 lost by decency and good breeding. As 
 soft answers turn away wrath, so soft 
 askings obtain favour. 
 
 3. She enforces her petition with a 
 pathetic plea : " For how can I endure 
 to see the evil that shall come upon my 
 
 people 1 " Little comfort can I have of 
 my own life if I cannot prevail for 
 theirs : as good share in the evil myself 
 as see it come upon them ; for how can 
 I endure to see the destruction of my 
 kindred that are dear to me 1 Esther, a 
 queen, owns her poor kindred, and 
 speaks of them Avith a very tender con- 
 cern. Now it M'as that she mingled her 
 tears with her words, that she wept and 
 made supplication. We read of no tears 
 when she begged for her own life; but 
 now that she is sure of that, she wept 
 for her people. Tears of pity and ten- 
 derness are the most Christ-like. They 
 that are truly concerned for the public 
 would rather die in the ditch than live 
 to see the desolations of the Church of 
 God and the ruin of their country. 
 Tender spirits cannot bear to hear of the 
 ruin of their people and kindred, and 
 therefore dare not omit any opportunity 
 of giving them relief. — M. Henri/. 
 
 We should have sympathy for the 
 oppressed brethren in the faith ( 1 Peter 
 iii. 8; Col. iii. 12; Gal. vi. 10). The 
 innocence of the guiltless should be 
 protected (1 Sam. xx. 32). He who 
 has no pity for the pious and innocent 
 when they are in danger is not worthy 
 
OHAP. VIII.] 
 
 HOMILETIO COMMENTARY: ESTHER. 
 
 269 
 
 of the name of a man, much less that of 
 a Christian ; for we are members of one 
 body (1 Cor. xii. 10). — Starke. 
 
 She had her life already given her at 
 her petition ; but unless she might have 
 her people at her request, who were sold 
 as well as herself, her life would be unto 
 her a joyless, that is, a lifeless, life. It 
 is rather a death than a life that is spent 
 in heaviness and horror. And this 
 would be Esther's case if her people 
 should be massacred, as was designed 
 and decreed. . . . How can I % and shall 
 I see ] how should I do otherwise than 
 sink at the sight 1 Melancthon said 
 that the good CEcolampadius died of 
 grief for the Church's calamities. Nehe- 
 miah was heart-sick for the breaches of 
 Joseph. Moses wished himself ex- 
 punged, and Paul accursed, rather than 
 it should go ill with God's people. — 
 Trapp. 
 
 Indeed there is no sublimity of human 
 character to equal that which is reached 
 in such a mood. Take the greatest men 
 who have lived, in their greatest 
 moments, you will find that either they 
 are in this mood or in one not far 
 removed from it. Morally, the grandest 
 act in the life of Moses, to our thinking, 
 is not to be found on the granite peaks 
 of Sinai amid the thunders, and the 
 darkness, and the flames ; nor on Pis- 
 gah, with the far-stretching land of pro- 
 mise lying in light before him ; but 
 when grieved, and humbled, and disap- 
 pointed with the idolatries of the people, 
 and yet clinging passionately to them 
 still, he threw himself before God as 
 their intercessor, crying, " Oh, this peo- 
 ple have sinned a great sin ; yet now, if 
 thou wilt forgive their sin, — and if not, 
 blot me, I pray Thee, out of Thy book 
 which Thou hast written." If I fail in 
 this I fail in everything. Life itself 
 will hardly be desirable any longer. If 
 this people for whom I have lived is to 
 die, let me die with them, and let us all 
 be forgotten together. 
 
 David could sing with loud voice to 
 the praise of God. He could cry to 
 him in the lonely wilderness by night 
 until his voice echoed among the rocks 
 and hills. He could fight at the head 
 of the bravest. He could sometimes 
 
 magnanimously spare the life of an 
 enemy, even when, by sacrificing that 
 life, his own advancement would bo 
 promoted. But among all the moods of 
 his life, none, probably, is really diviner 
 than that which is expressed in these 
 words, written apparently while his 
 heart was melted, while his tears were 
 flowing, — " Rivers of waters run down 
 mine eyes, because they keep not thy 
 law." 
 
 St. Paul, often great in this greatness, 
 is never more conspicuously so than 
 when he declares that he has "great 
 heaviness and continual sorrow in his 
 heart," and that he " could wish that 
 himself were accursed from Christ for 
 his brethren, his kinsmen according to 
 the flesh." Like Esther, his cry is, 
 " How can I endure to see the destruc- 
 tion of my kindred 1 ?" — only his mean- 
 ing covers the spiritual and the eternal, 
 Esther's only affecting this time-life. 
 
 But the really perfectly sublime of this 
 condition or state is found only in the 
 Master, who not only wished and desired 
 the good of all, and lived promoting it, 
 but actually died for us ; gave life for 
 life, the just for the unjust — redeemed 
 us from the curse of the law by being 
 made a curse for us. Oh for a love of 
 race-kindred like that of Esther ; for a 
 love of country like that of David ; fur 
 a love of souls like that of Christ ! — 
 Raleigh. 
 
 It was with great earnestness and 
 evident marks of affection that Esther 
 urged the king to interpose his authority 
 to prevent the execution of the bloody 
 decree. " She fell down at his feet, and 
 besought him with tears." We have 
 here a bright example of female patriot- 
 ism. At her first appearance we read of 
 nothing of this kind. Then she was a 
 party concerned, — and, with the dignity 
 which became a queen, and one of an 
 injured and innocent race, she pled her 
 cause, and boldly arraigned the enemy 
 and adversary. But now, her own life 
 having been secured, she appears as an 
 intercessor and advocate for others. Her 
 whole sold was embarked in the cause 
 which she had undertaken — very differ- 
 ent from a man of law, or one who 
 engages to act the part of his client for 
 
270 
 
 nOMlLETIC COMMENTARY: ESTHER. 
 
 [chap. VIII. 
 
 fee and reward. She " preferred Jeru- 
 salem above her chief joy." When her 
 own life was in danger she bent no knee, 
 
 she shed no tear; hut now she weeps 
 and makes supplication, and refuses to 
 rise from the ground unless her people 
 are given at her request. To obtain 
 this there is no humiliation to which she 
 ■will not submit, no entreaty that she 
 will not employ. .She will not separate 
 herself from her kindred, and, like the 
 ■wife of Phinehas,* cannot think of sur- 
 viving the destruction of her people. 
 " For how," she exclaims, " can I endure 
 to see the evil that shall come unto my 
 people, or how shall I endure to see the 
 destruction of my kindred % " 
 
 The true patriot is ready to sacrifice 
 everything for the puhlic weal ; he 
 prefers puhlic to personal interests, and 
 would rather die than witness the deso- 
 lations of the church of God and the 
 ruin of his country. Such was the 
 patriotism of Moses : — " Yet now, if 
 thou wilt forgive their sin ; and if not, 
 blot me, I pray thee, out of thy hook 
 which thou hast written." t And such 
 was the patriotism of the New Testa- 
 ment Moses, the Apostle Paul : " I say 
 the truth in Christ, I lie not, my con- 
 science also bearing me witness in the 
 Holy Ghost, that I have great heaviness 
 and continual sorrow in my heart. Por 
 I could wish that myself were accursed 
 from Christ for my brethren, my kins- 
 men according to the flesh ;" % — a pas- 
 sage, the beauty of which is not half 
 seen unless it is compared with the close 
 of the preceding chapter, in which we 
 find the Apostle exulting in the love of 
 God, and declaring his persuasion that 
 nothing could separate him from Christ. 
 " Who shall separate us from the love 
 of Christ'? Shall tribulation, or distress, 
 or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, 
 or peril, or sword? Nay, in all these 
 things we are more than conquerors, 
 through him that loved us." But what 
 all these things could not do, singly or 
 together, his love for his brethren would 
 have induced him to undergo. " Por I 
 could wish that myself were accursed 
 from Christ (separated from his love) 
 
 * 1 Sam. iv. 19. t Exod. xxxii. 32. 
 i Rom. ix. 1—3. 
 
 for my brethren, my kinsmen according 
 to the flesh." — McQrie. 
 
 At no time was Esther more beautiful 
 than when, with tearful eye, at the 
 king's feet, she besought him to pity her 
 brethren. And no prayer of yours will 
 be wafted more acceptably to the hea- 
 venly throne than that which, with 
 thankfulness for good you have your- 
 selves received, and pressing, tender 
 desire for the good of others, you pre- 
 sent for the salvation of those who will 
 not and cannot pray for themselves. — 
 Davidson. 
 
 It is a good sign, when we feel an 
 interest in the welfare of those related 
 to us, and when we can with importun- 
 ity invoke the blessings of God upon 
 them. Thus did Esther. She was not 
 more earnest for herself than for her 
 people. Thus did Jeremiah. " Oh that 
 mine eyes were fountains of tears, that 
 I might weep day and night for the 
 slain of my people." Thus felt Jesus. 
 " When he was come near, he beheld 
 the city, and wept over it." Thus felt 
 St. Paid. He poured out his very soul 
 for his people, the Jews, though they 
 persecuted him, and tried to effect his 
 destruction. He tells us, that he " had 
 great heaviness and continual sorrow in 
 his heart " at their folly and wickedness 
 in rejecting Christ, and that his " heart's 
 desire and prayer unto God for them 
 was, that they might be saved." 
 
 Brethren, are we thus minded? Esther 
 fell down at the king's feet for her peo- 
 ple. Have you done so for your rela- 
 tives and friends 1 She wept at the 
 temporal ruin which was coining upon 
 them. Have you wept at the eternal 
 ruin to which your unbelieving friends 
 are exposed 1 ? She said, "How can I 
 endure to see the destruction of my 
 kindred ? " Have you said, " My parents 
 are dark and careless, Oh what heaviness 
 I have in my heart on account of their 
 spiritual indifference ! My children 
 give no signs of grace. They 'remem- 
 ber not their Creator in the days of their 
 youth,' all remonstrances, admonitions, 
 and persuasions are lost upon them. 
 They will have their own way, — -'How 
 can I endure the destruction of my 
 children?' Lord, enlighten them; Lord, 
 
chap, viil] HOMILETIQ COMMENTARY: ESTHER. 271 
 
 arrest them in their career of sin and Bring them to the Saviour, that they 
 
 folly. Make them, like Obadiah, ' to may bo among thy ransomed ones for 
 
 fear God from their youth.' Deliver ever. ' Oh that ' my children ' might 
 
 them from youthful follies and vanities, live before thee ! ' " — Hughes. 
 
 MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH. Verses 7, 8. 
 
 A Monarch's Imbecility. 
 
 Weak men usually trust to cunning. The lion leaps straight upon its enemy, 
 but the fox has recourse to trick ; and so the strong man, who knows his own pur- 
 pose, boldly faces obstacles ; while the weak employ indirect courses. Even an 
 open lie may betray less feebleness of character than the mean evasions to which 
 some men have resort. The one bespeaks a bold bad man, the other reveals a 
 cowardly bad man. As a known enemy is always preferable to a treacherous ally ; 
 so the strong but wicked man is to be preferred to the weakling. The great quali- 
 ties which the former will be likely to possess may win admiration ; but the latter 
 will be only despised. The fact is, that the weaker man is at heart as false as the 
 other, but has not the courage to sin boldly. He therefore tries to cheat both God 
 and the devil. The weakness of a weak man is never seen so clearly as after he 
 has committed some palpable error. He does not manfully confess his mistake, 
 but twists and shuffles till he persuades himself that his error was, at worst, a mat- 
 ter of necessity. Always distrust the man who is the victim of circumstances. 
 Great men make their circumstances, and little men are made by them. Not unfre- 
 quently the path to heaven seems to lead only to a choice of difficulties. Our cor- 
 rupt hearts and emasculated wills declare that virtue is impossible, and that the 
 only path open to us is one that leads through transgression. When the trades- 
 man smooths over a palpable dishonesty by speaking of the necessities of trade ■ 
 or when, in times of persecution, the timid confessor throws the incense upon the 
 impious altars of idolatry ; they are always ready to excuse the enormity of their 
 sin by the force of the temptation : that is, they say they are tempted of God. But 
 no circumstances can make the good man sin, or the really strong man bend. If 
 then, we have done evil, let us take our own share of the blame, and not cast it 
 upon our circumstances. Yet circumstances usually make a second sin easier than 
 the first. In that downward path each step is accompanied by an increasing 
 impetus ; and thus sins of an enormity to shock the inexperienced become easily 
 possible when other sins have prepared the way. As an army that is once beaten 
 becomes by that very fact more likely to be defeated again, so a man who has once 
 been mastered by temptation will be all the more likely to yield when next he is 
 assailed. Thus Ahasuerus finds that his wicked compliance with Haman has 
 enwrapped him in difficulty. . A good man could never have fallen so low ; a wise 
 man could never have been so foolish ; and a strong man could never have descended 
 to such a monstrous device. He was unable to resist the pleading of Esther ; and 
 therefore his course was boldly to disavow his infallibility. Let him convene an 
 assembly of notables, manfully confess his error, and henceforth declare that the 
 laws of Persia could be altered. But this was too brave a course. To confess an 
 error would shake the national respect for authority. He therefore pleads his cir- 
 cumstances, and rather than acknowledge an error, plunges the whole empire in 
 danger of civil war. Even this responsibility he does not fully assume. The 
 weakling throws upon Mordecai the duty of contriving a remedy against his own 
 mistakes. 
 
 I. A weak man's self-defence. " I have given Esther the house of Haman, and 
 him they have hanged upon the gallows, because he laid his hands upon the Jews." 
 Even if the whole race of the Hehrews perish, the king had proved his affection 
 
272 H0M1LETIC COMMENTARY: ESTHER. [oiiap. viii. 
 
 for Esther by endowing her "with the wealth, and sacrificing to her the life, of her 
 enemy. Wonderful devotion ! He had given what cost him nothing ; he had 
 hanged a man of an alien race ! Surely these Oriental monarclis prove that "lust 
 dwells hard by hate." His love for Esther was simply a passion which had not 
 yet spent its novel force ; and her beauty was rewarded by the life of her foe. 
 Ahasuerus was unworthy of his queenly wife. She is inspired with profound ten- 
 derness for her people ; and he appeases her patriotism by the execution of a foe. 
 Yet what would the wealth of Haman benefit Esther when her heart was broken 
 for her murdered kinsmen 1 ? There are griefs which wealth cannot solace, ami 
 which vengeance cannot forget. Better a thousand Hamans alive than one Jew 
 murdered. Yet, clearly, the monarch fancies that Esther will pardon the edict 
 which he has signed because of the punishment which he has meted out. He sees 
 that he has exposed himself to the hatred and contempt of his fair wife by yield- 
 ing to the devices of Haman, and therefore lie offers her the life of her enemy as a 
 proof of his devotion. How much nobler had he said, " Oh, queen, I have weakly 
 allowed myself to be led to the verge of a great wickedness ; now that my eyes are 
 open to my folly, I must in some w r ay reverse the decree." But he was too weak. 
 With a maudlin tenderness, like that of a drunken man, while she is inspired with 
 an almost Divine passion of patriotism, he pleads his affection for her person. Surely 
 Esther despised him in her heart. As if it was so easy to forget that he had agreed 
 to murder all her race. Thus we have a great wickedness and a small propitiation. 
 As if the hero of one hundred swindles flung a copper to a beggar ; as if a cowardly 
 murderer gave a crust to his victim's orphan ; as if a life-long sinner offered to God 
 the compensation of a Sunday prayer ; so Ahasuerus hopes that Hainan's death will 
 make Esther unmindful of the wickedness devised against her kindred. 
 
 II. A weak man's " non possumus." "That which is written in the king's 
 name, and sealed with the king's seal, may no man reverse." What I have written 
 I have written. Rulers too often say, " Thus I order ; let my will stand instead of 
 a reason." Weakness and folly usually turn to obstinacy. He who is easily 
 imposed upon at last takes a determined stand, and usually takes it in the wrong 
 place. The determination of the wise is no way to be feared, for they will yield to 
 right reason ; but it requires a surgical operation to make an argument penetrate to 
 the brain of a fool : hence the fool is obstinate, because he cannot understand. 
 States also which take an immoveable stand upon the "wisdom of our ancestors" 
 are in a fair way to ruin. Time is the great innovator, and therefore lapse of time 
 brings vast changes into the body politic ; and hence " he that will not apply new 
 remedies, must expect new diseases." So science continually takes new depaitures ; 
 and he who rested in the discoveries of a previous generation, would be the laugh- 
 ing-stock of his own. There is but one unchanging truth, — the revelation of Jesus 
 Christ, — and even that assumes varying aspects. As the sun now draws near and 
 now departs, now is glorious in mid-day, and yet soon leaves us in darkness, while 
 still himself unchanged and, as far as our earth is concerned, unmoved, so our 
 holy religion is compelled to vary with the varying aspects of the times. (July the 
 fool never Learns wisdom. So Ahasuerus says, "Take it not amiss that I do not 
 reverse the decree of Haman, for the king's writing stands unaltered for ever." 
 
 III. A weak man's refusal of responsibility. " Write ye also for the Jews 
 as it liketh you in the king's name." Having done the mischief, he commits to 
 Mordecai the work of undoing it. Ahasuerus had already had proof of the folly of 
 committing his power to the hands of his minister ; but even experience "will not 
 make fools wise ; he now trusts equal power to Mordecai. Doubtless the king was 
 right in thus committing himself to the skill and loyalty of the new minister; 
 doubtless, also, this minister did the best possible for him to do in the circum- 
 stances ; but if the king had bestirred himself in a true kingly manner, as already 
 suggested, it would not have been necessary to deluge the land with blood. Few 
 evils are more ruinous to a State than the dread of responsibility. It leads speedily 
 
CHAT". VIII.J 
 
 HOMILETIC COMMENTARY : ESTHER. 
 
 273 
 
 to anarchy. A monarch who never decides, h general w j 10 f eai . s to take prompt 
 and vigorous action, a statesman who dares not step beyond the line of musty prece- 
 dent, are greater curses to a land than even open wickedness. In tins world folly 
 and weakness are often punished more severely than sin. 
 
 Suggestive Comments on Verses 7, 8.' 
 
 Ver. 7. Then the Jang Ahasuerus 
 said unto Estlier the queen and to Mor- 
 decai the Jew, Behold, I ham given 
 Esther the house of Hainan, and him 
 they have hanged upon the gallows, 
 because he laid his hand upon the Jews. 
 The king could not grant to Esther 
 everything that she recpiested. But he 
 assures her, that it was not for want of 
 good Avill either to herself or to her 
 people that he did cot in direct terms 
 reverse the decree procured by Haman. 
 His love to Esther appeared in the rich 
 present of the confiscated estate of 
 Haman. His good wishes to her people 
 appeared in the ignominious death of 
 their capital enemy. But kings cannot 
 do everything. The most, noble and 
 potent prince in the world had not the 
 power of rescinding his own decrees, 
 however desirous he might be of un- 
 doing foolish things done by himself. 
 
 Ver. 8. Write ye also for the Jeios, 
 as it likelh you, in the king's name, and 
 seal it with the ling's ring : for the 
 writing ivhich is written in the Icing's 
 name, and sealed with the king's ring, 
 may no man reverse. The king himself 
 could not reverse it ; and therefore we 
 find that Darius the Mede laboured in 
 vain till the going down of the sun to 
 save Daniel from the lions' den, and 
 passed a miserable sleepless night in the 
 anguish of a fruitless repentance for 
 passing a mischievous law, which he 
 could not abolish. The Persians thought 
 their kings highly honoured in that 
 their decrees were inviolable. But this 
 honour, like some others enjoyed by 
 absolute princes, was a burden too heavy 
 to be borne by mortals. It precluded 
 them from the comforts of repentance, 
 too often necessary for vain men, who, 
 though they would be wise, are born 
 like the wild ass's colt. 
 
 The king, therefore, could not give 
 Esther and Mordecai a warrant to pass 
 
 an act rescissory of his own decrees 
 against the Jews. But he allows them 
 to frame a decree in his name, and to 
 seal it with his ring, for counteracting 
 its effects. As the first decree retained 
 its force, the king could not legally 
 punish those wicked enemies of the 
 Jews, who might take the advantage of 
 it to gratify their malice. Their mur- 
 ders were already legalized by a decree 
 that could not be altered. But a law for 
 the protection of the Jews, which did 
 not rescind the former, might possibly 
 be devised by the wisdom of Mordecai ; 
 and to establish such a law the king 
 gave him his ring. He had been too 
 ready on the former occasion to lend his 
 authority ; but now he commits it to a 
 safe hand, and under necessary restric- 
 tions. He gave his ring to Haman to 
 seal a bloody decree ; he now gives it 
 to Mordecai to seal a just and necessary 
 decree for the preservation of many pre- 
 cious lives. The inviolability of the 
 king's decrees, which gave him so much 
 trouble by guarding the wicked laws 
 procured by Haman, would guard the 
 intended decree from violation. — Law- 
 son. 
 
 It was a fundamental article in the 
 constitution of Persia, that a law once 
 enacted was irrevocable. A most pre- 
 posterous provision ! and worse than pre- 
 posterous — irrational and unrighteous. 
 Of all the absurdities into which nations 
 have fallen in their systems of legisla- 
 tion, especially where the power is 
 entrusted to the arbitrary will and 
 caprice of a single individual, this is the 
 most absurd — giving perpetuity and 
 effect to every species of injustice and 
 oppression and cruelty, proceeding on 
 the presumptuous assumption of infalli- 
 bility, and arrogating the right which 
 belongs exclusively to the Supreme 
 Being, who cannot do wrong, all whose 
 enactments are necessarily founded in 
 
'274 
 
 HOMILETIQ COMMENTARF : ESTHER. 
 
 [chap. VIII. 
 
 truth and rectitude, and " the righteous- 
 ness of whose testimonies is everlasting." 
 This arrogance of the Persian despots 
 lias never heen equalled, except by the 
 claim to infallibility set up by " the 
 man of sin, the son of perdition, who 
 opposeth and exalteth himself above all 
 that is called God, or that is worshipped ; 
 so that he, as God, sitteth in the temple 
 of God, showing himself that he is God." 
 No human authority, civil or sacred, 
 whether exercised singly or collectively, 
 is free from error, and consequently its 
 decisions and enactments must always 
 be subject to review and reversal. Some 
 laws may be morally unalterable, in con- 
 sequence of their being founded on the 
 eternal principles of rectitude and just- 
 ice, so that the repeal of them would be 
 unjust and morally wrong; but this 
 does not belong to them simply as human 
 laws, with respect to all of which the 
 maxim of our law holds good — the legis- 
 lature which enacts can annul. — McCrie. 
 The absurdity of the Persian law, that 
 a decree once passed was unfepealable, 
 has been often commented upon. It 
 has been said that it was the assumption 
 of a prerogative which was to be exer- 
 cised by God only, and that it rests with 
 him alone to say what can never be 
 altered. But whilst this is true on the 
 side of the Divine infallibility, we have 
 instances in which God provides for the 
 reversal of his threatening and solemn 
 affirmation, when the people, against 
 whom these are made, change in their 
 relation and conduct towards himself. 
 Nineveh was to be destroyed in forty 
 days from the time that the prophet 
 uttered the proclamation in its streets ; 
 but when the inhabitants bowed them- 
 selves to the earth in deep penitence and 
 humility, the time was allowed to expire 
 without the judgment having been 
 inflicted. But the law of Persia would 
 not have permitted even of this sus- 
 pended action. It f ,ook no account of 
 altered circumstances. By his own act 
 
 the king rendered himself helpless to 
 defend those who might, as in the case 
 of the Jews, have been hastily and 
 rashly condemned to death. No allow- 
 ance was made for mistakes in judgment, 
 inadvertence, or what might turn out 
 to be bad legislation. Besides the pre- 
 sumption involved in such a law, as 
 though the king could do no wrong, it 
 must often have led to great injustice 
 and cruelty. "What, for example, was 
 Artaxerxes now to do] He would 
 gladly have yielded to Esther's plead- 
 ing. He clearly apprehended the un- 
 righteousness of the decree which had 
 been issued, and could not fail to look 
 with dismay on the consequences which 
 would result from its being carried into 
 effect. Nevertheless, all that he coidd 
 do in the face of this pretentious and 
 foolish law was to leave the matter in 
 the hands of Mordecai and Esther to 
 make another edict "as it liketh you," 
 which might not cancel the former one, 
 however much it should have this 
 design, and which, when passed, would 
 be equally irreversible. — McEwen. 
 
 For ill to man's nature, as it stands 
 perverted, hath a natural motion strong- 
 est in continuance ; but good, as a forced 
 motion strongest at first. Surely every 
 medicine is an innovation, and he that 
 will not apply new remedies must expect 
 new evils ; for time is the greatest inno- 
 vator ; and if time of course alter things 
 to the worse, and wisdom and counsel do 
 not alter them to the better, what shall 
 be the end 1 — Bacon. 
 
 The greatest tyranny that ever was 
 invented in the world is the pretence of 
 infallibility, for Dionysius and Phalaris 
 did leave the mind free, pretending only 
 to dispose of body and goods according 
 to their will ; but the Pope, not content 
 to make us do and say what he pleaseth, 
 will have us also to think so, denouncing 
 his imprecations and spiritual menaces 
 it we do not. — Isaac Barrow. 
 
chap, vni.l HOMILETIC COMMENTARY : ESTHER. 275 
 
 MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH. Verses 0—14 
 
 Evil Counteracted. 
 
 In the conduct of life wisdom is often as necessary as virtue ; hence our Lord 
 commands his followers to be wise as serpents, while they are harmless as doves. 
 Indeed folly will ruin an earthly career. as effectually as vice. Thus to have a 
 good cause, and to light manfully for it, are not sufficient in any conflict : the 
 general needs skill in the arrangement of his troops, and also a sharp eye to discern 
 his enemy's mistakes. Equally in the battle of life we need the open eye, as well 
 as the strong hand, or the brave heart. It is only folly which says, that, as God is 
 righteous, and must therefore be on the side of the righteous, righteousness alone 
 is necessary for success. This may be true on that large scale which takes eternity 
 into the account, but here upon earth it is not true. As our supreme Judge recpiires 
 at our hands the cultivation of the intellectual as well as of the moral attributes of 
 our nature, he Avisely makes much of our earthly success dependent on our skill. 
 Thus a righteous imbecile will often fail, where a skilful scoundrel succeeds. In 
 the case of nations this principle is even more conspicuous. Nations have no here- 
 after. They are judged here and now. An individual may be righteous and 
 miserable ; but a nation must be exalted by virtue. So manifestly is this prin- 
 ciple written on the pages of history, that one of the leading philosophers of our 
 century does not scruple to write, " The cause which succeeds is that which has 
 deserved to succeed." It follows, that in matters of legislation wisdom and right- 
 eousness are almost synonymous ; but if we could imagine a ruler who was himself 
 utterly immoral, while yet his large intellect guided him wisely in national affairs, 
 vsuch a monster would yet prove a blessing to his country. At times, however, the 
 folly and wickedness of the legislature are equally conspicuous. When most 
 European nations oppressed the Jews ; when Spain so cruelly drove out the indus- 
 trious Moors ; or wdien Erance expelled those Huguenots who were the very brain 
 and heart of her middle classes, it seems wonderful that no one propagated the 
 maxim, that " What is morally wrong can never be politically expedient." In 
 times like these a statesman who is both wise and righteous finds a noble oppor- 
 tunity. It is for him to resist the passions of the mob, to devise means whereby 
 the oppressed may be relieved, and to open a highway leading to the fair fields of 
 national greatness. Such was the work now committed to Mordecai. It was his 
 part to undo the folly of the monarch and the wickedness of the minister. Ahasu- 
 erus committed to him the task of reversing the mischief devised by Hainan the 
 Agagite. 
 
 I. A sudden decree. The right of self-defence, which in some aspects of it may 
 be called a sacred inheritance, is generally held in abeyance in civilized states. If 
 every man defended himself from attack, and was the avenger of his own wrongs, 
 society would become impossible. This right is usually yielded up to the govern- 
 ment ; yet there are always extreme cases, in which this right reverts back to the 
 original owner. So the laws allow of homicide when a burglar, within the house 
 at night, threatens the life of a peaceful inhabitant ; or if a traveller, assailed by a 
 garotter, with the first weapon which comes to hand inflicts a fatal wound, he 
 would usually be held guiltless. In England homicide is said to be justifiable : 
 (a) To prevent the commission of a crime which, when committed, would be 
 punishable with death ; and also (j3) In necessary endeavours to carry the law into 
 execution, as in suppressing riots, or apprehending malefactors. Probably, also, 
 the defence of chastity, which approaches nearest to the preservation of life, would 
 be held to justify the same extremities. Now with men of a western race, at least 
 with men of the brave Teutonic stock, there would be no need to say to those 
 
270 IIOM1LETIC COMMENTARY: ESTHER. [chap, vitt, 
 
 whose lives were assailed that they might defend their right to live. Possibly. 
 however, with sleepy Orientals, oppressed with a sense of the magnitude of the 
 empire, there might be some occasion for a stirring decree. Remembering how 
 cheaply men -will sell their lives in China, it seems not improbable that the sen- 
 tence of Haman would strike the Jews into a didl stupor, from which they needed 
 to be aroused. Yet the decree granted much more than this. It gave first the 
 right of association. When the Jews banded together in armed companies, no 
 heathen ruler of a province could compel them to disarm. Hence, when the fatal 
 day arrived they were ready for their foes. History records, that after the Hugue- 
 nots had met their foes in battle on many a hard-fought field, they fell a pre} to 
 secret and solitary assassination : thus the grand old Coligni, who had no equal on 
 the field, was ruthlessly murdered in his own chamber. From this danger the 
 Jews were delivered. Thanks to the decree, on the thirteenth day of Ad'ar the 
 Jews were able to say to their foes, the motto of the Napiers, "Ready, ay. Ready." 
 Then, secondly, the decree was an act of indemnification. No Jew, who slew his 
 foe in self-defence, need fear that he would have to give an account in the courts 
 of justice. Those who were killed were beforehand pronounced justly killed. 
 There was also a third result doubtless contemplated by Mordecai. No one would 
 die who did not deserve to die, because, after this decree, no one would attack the 
 Jews who was not niadly animated with the love of blood and plunder. Orderly 
 citizens woidd keep the peace ; but the sequel shows how terribly Haman had 
 aroused the passions of the mob. No foe so terrible as an excited mob ; it resem- 
 bles that herd of swine possessed by the unclean spirit. One passion, one soul,, one 
 wild spirit seems to animate the mass ; and the vile mobs of Persia rushed violently 
 upon their own ruin. 
 
 II. A royal sanction. Even in the records of Oriental imbecility, it may he 
 doubted whether ever monarch betrayed more besotted folly. How different the 
 records of the East, where one benevolent imbecile succeeds to another bloated sen- 
 sualist, from the picture painted by our poet Laureate. He tells how statesmen 
 knew how to make the bounds of freedom wider yet, by shaping some august 
 decree, and how freedom widened slowly down from precedent to precedent. Ori- 
 ental despotism is a pyramid on its apex. As if the monarch were some Epicurean 
 deity, who was wrapt up in selfishness, but could curse all mankind, the whole 
 multitude of the nation living for his glory or for his luxury. In a lively apologue, 
 a domestic bird moralizes on his own importance. For him suns rise and set ; for 
 him tides ebb and flow ; to provide for his comfort the race of men exist ; and thus 
 the whole universe is employed catering for the happiness of one exalted goose 
 So Oriental monarchs fancy that they are the world. But the theory that the 
 world is governed by kings and statesmen begins to fade away. The country 
 belongs to the people who have made it, and not to the monarch who has been 
 accidentally uplifted above his fellows. Every child has a right to happiness ; has 
 a right to an education ; has a right to that career which suits his talents ; and ^ as 
 a right to a voice in the affairs of state. The state is the private property, the 
 exclusive manor, of no class of men whatever ; and the world will not be at rest 
 till this principle is everywhere confessed. Again, also, we must raise our cry 
 against the folly which will not confess a mistake. Not to sin is the noblest lot ; 
 and next to that, whether for a nation or a man, is the bold virtue which dares to 
 make restitution. Having taken a wrong position, Christianity demands that we 
 retreat from it as soon as the mistake is discovered. 
 
 III. Swift messengers. Bad news proverbially travels fast ; and so it is related 
 that, after the Indian Mutiny, long before the tidings could possibly have reached 
 England, strange rumours were current in London — rumours, alas, far surpassed by 
 the real truth. Here good news travels fast, being hastened by the king's com- 
 mandment. The haste was demanded (a) in order to relieve the suspense of the 
 Jews. Suspense paralyzes all exertion, and indeed a stunning defeat may be less 
 
chap, viii.] HOUILETIO COMMENTARY : ESTHER. 277 
 
 injurious than long-continued anxiety. To the Jews these tidings would come like 
 coM waters to the thirsty soul. When a vessel has been long becalmed beneath a 
 sultry sky, when the slimy ocean has grown stagnant, and when no evening dews 
 moisten the cracking timbers ; or when the travellers of the desert have long been 
 lost, Avhen the cheeks are sunken, and the lips blackened by the continued thirst ; 
 let a cloud arise, and streams of rain descend, then men realize the sweetness of 
 good news from a far country. Now, over all that mighty empire the Jew would 
 see that God had not forgotten his covenant, but that he was still mindful of his 
 chosen people Israel. From the banks of India's mighty rivers, away across the 
 deserts as far as the mountains of Easselas, the cry would be heard, When the Lord 
 turned again the captivity of Israel, we were like them that dream. Then said they 
 among the heathen, The Lord hath done great things for them, whereof they are 
 glad. (j3) This haste was required in order that the Jews might have full time to 
 prepare. Lest the first decree should take effect, the people must have opportunitv 
 to concert schemes of self-defence. In the presence of so overwhelming a disaster 
 as that with which they were threatened, solitary effort availed nothing. Union 
 alone was strength, (y) This haste also was a merciful warning to all the heathen. 
 Before they were fairly aroused by the messengers of Haman they were admon- 
 ished by the decree of Mordecai. To the more distant provinces we can fancy the 
 messengers of mercy speeding onward, if haply they may overtake and pass by 
 the messengers of death. So England to-day in her right hand carries to China 
 the deadly opium, and then sends afterward swift messengers of mercy to preach 
 the Gospel. Possibly, in the eyes of the all-wise God the folly of Ahasuerus, 
 perched on his infallibility, is no greater than the folly of Britain murdering a 
 whole empire for the sake of revenue. At least we may pray that the messengers 
 of the modern Mordecai may undo the evil devised by the modern Haman. 
 
 Suggestive Comments on Verses 9 — 14. 
 
 Now in the change wrought in Pro- done for themselves, yet had they to 
 
 vidence on the condition of the Jews, confront and beat down all the enemies 
 
 as Avell as in the work which was yet who should rise up against them, and 
 
 imposed upon them before they could virtually gain a victory for themselves, 
 
 deliver themselves from their enemies They had to light in the king's name, 
 
 and establish themselves in the enjoy- and with the king's weapons, and under 
 
 ment of their own liberties and privi- the king's mandate. The conquest was 
 
 leges, we have an illustration of God's sure, but the battle might yet be severe, 
 
 working in grace. He accomplishes for In like manner has God done for us, in 
 
 us in his grace what we could not do Christ, what we could never have done 
 
 for ourselves. The Jews scattered for ourselves. We have in him pardon, 
 
 throughout the Persian empire had no reconciliation, and unmerited grace. We 
 
 part in securing this second decree of have in him the victory. But still have 
 
 the king. Though they had loudly we to "fight the good fight of faith," 
 
 protested against the cruel wrong which and to battle against every enemy who 
 
 was being done to themselves and their should seek our soul's ruin. If it had 
 
 families, yet would it all have gone for not been for our deed of emancipation 
 
 nothing ; and had not the second decree and salvation accomplished for us by 
 
 been passed, apart altogether from their Christ, when we were ignorant of it, 
 
 interference, they should all have perished and could have done nothing to forward 
 
 when the day fixed had arrived. It or finish it, we should never have striven 
 
 came to them not as an achievement of against our enemies, or had only struggled 
 
 their own, but simply as a gift. Whilst, in vain. But on account of what has 
 
 however, it threw around them the been done for us we have to be ready 
 
 favour and protection of the king, and against our evil day, to be equipped in 
 
 did for them what they could not have the armour of God, and to contend 
 
!78 
 
 H0M1LETIC COMMENTARY : ESTHER. 
 
 [chap. VIII. 
 
 against our enemies in the King's name 
 and by his authority. Thero is not an 
 evil passion or lust against which we 
 are not called upon to do battle, not a 
 temptation which Ave are not commanded 
 to resist, not a spiritual adversary which 
 we are not required to put forth all our 
 energies to overcome. In our "evil 
 clay " we are summoned by our King to 
 " stand for our lives," and be prepared 
 to war against our enemies as though 
 the victory lay with ourselves. God 
 helping us, we will do it ! The issues 
 are tremendous. The contention is not 
 simply for the life of the body, but of 
 the soul. Against our immortal life is 
 every fiery dart levelled. The spoil 
 which they would take from us is 
 nothing short of our faith and hope in 
 God, our security in Christ and pre- 
 paredness for heaven. Let the people 
 of God be always apprehensive of the 
 "evil day," and be ready on the instant 
 to " stand for their lives." The victory 
 is theirs if they will only earnestly con- 
 tend for it. Yield not an inch of 
 ground. " No mercy ! " is the war-cry 
 of the foe. Man, woman, little ones, 
 and spoil, must all be taken. "No 
 surrender ! " be our war-cry in reply. 
 Everything saved, nothing lost. " Where- 
 fore take unto you the whole armour of 
 God, that ye may be able to withstand 
 in the evil day, and having done all, to 
 stand. " — McEwen. 
 
 " The posts were hastened by the 
 king's commandment." — He was now 
 made sensible of the great wrong he had 
 done to the Jews, and made all possible 
 haste to undo, as far as he could undo, 
 what he had done. Are you sensible 
 you have done wrong 1 ? Make haste, 
 and delay not to repair the wrong, if it 
 is in your power. How can you say 
 that you repent of the evil that you 
 have done, if you hold it fast? The 
 light of nature teaches men that they 
 ought, with the first opportunity, to put 
 away the evil of their doings, and to 
 redress the injuries done by their hands, 
 or their tongues, or their pens. As soon 
 as Jesus brought salvation to the house 
 of Zaccheus, he said, " Lord, if I have 
 wronged any man by false accusation, I 
 
 restore him four-fold." Is it your in- 
 tention, in some future part of your life, 
 to compensate the wrongs you have done 
 in the former part of it % But are you 
 sure that you shall see another week, or 
 even another day? Boast not thyself 
 of to-morrow, unless a prophet of as 
 much credit as Isaiah has brought a 
 message from God, that some more yearn 
 of life are allotted you. — Lawson. 
 
 The decree was given in the month 
 Sevan, " the month of May," says an 
 old author, " when all things are in their 
 prime and pride, and the earth checpuered 
 and entrailed with variety of flowers, 
 and God is seen to be magnus in minimis 
 — great in the smallest creatures. Then 
 did the Sun of righteousness arise to 
 these afflicted exiles with healing in his 
 wings, like as the sunbeams did to the 
 dry and cold earth, calling out the herbs 
 and flowers, and healing those deform- 
 ities that winter had brought upon it." 
 — Quoted by Dr. Raleigh. 
 
 If such anxiety was manifested for 
 this newly-enacted law to be known 
 throughout the empire, how much more 
 anxious should we be to circulate the 
 word of God throughout the world ] If 
 it was deemed so important that the 
 Jews should know that they were 
 allowed to withstand their enemies, how 
 much more so is it that mankind should 
 be informed of the strength and crafti- 
 ness of their spiritual adversaries, of the 
 armour with which they are to be clothed, 
 and of the great Captain of salvation, 
 under whose banners they shall crush 
 them all, and enjoy the fruits of victory 
 in the kingdom of heaven for ever ! 
 And if it was deemed of such moment 
 that the decree should be " written unto 
 every people, after their language," how 
 should we rejoice that the great charter 
 of salvation has been translated into so 
 many of the languages of the earth, and 
 that a copy of the Scriptures goeth forth 
 into distant parts of the world for every 
 moment that passeth away ! May these 
 Divine writings be blessed to the hasten- 
 ing of the reign of Christ, " from the 
 rising of the sun to the going down of 
 the same ! " — Hughes. 
 
chap, viii.] HOMILETIG COMMENTARY : ESTHER. 279 
 
 MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH. Verses 15—17. 
 
 Days op Rejoicing. 
 
 After a dark and stormy night, when the clouds have hidden every star, and 
 the fierce winds have been howling over hill and dale, what gladness fills all 
 animated nature as the sun arises in the East. He floods the valleys with his 
 cheerful light, and kindles a blaze of glory upon the mountain-tops. Then the thief 
 and assassin, with every unclean and loathsome creature, seek their hiding-place ; 
 then the honest artisan goes forth to his task until the evening ; and then sweet 
 concerts are heard in every grove. So after the days of national gloom came the 
 morning of gladness to the Jews. Man's extremity once again proved to be God's 
 opportunity. As when the breath of heaven sweeps onward through the open 
 sky, and meets there with an easy reception, it creates little commotion ; but 
 when it meets the strength of a forest, the same wind grows mighty, and dwells 
 there till it compels the tall trees to bow, and yield a triumphant passage over the 
 top of all their glories. So in days of quiet, men pass easily along, and are barely 
 conscious of the presence of God ; but when affliction or persecution ariseth because 
 of the Word, then God wonderfully interferes to save his chosen people, and even 
 his foes are constrained to cry, " Galilean, thou hast conquered." So had Jehovah 
 vindicated the rights of his people, and compelled even the heathen to acknowledge 
 that his ways were wonderful. Days can never be so dark but that the sun may 
 burst through the cloud ; our difficulties can never be so great but that our Master 
 can lift us above them all ; and often " where sin has made a difficulty, grace has 
 made a triumph." Now Hainan's devices end in the exaltation of Mordecai, and 
 the threatened destruction of the Jews leads directly to the enlargement of their 
 nation. 
 
 I. Honour paid to a wise minister. The once despised Mordecai now issues 
 from the palace clothed in royal apparel, and wearing a crown of gold. It is not 
 always that a wise minister wins national honour. Every age has seen examples 
 of great statesmen hurled from power by the vices of the great, or by the folly of 
 the crowd. But happy is that country in which the poor wise man is not despised, 
 (a) Such a man, placed at the head of the state, will not be blinded by personal 
 vices. Frequently the dearest interests oi a nation have been sacrificed to the 
 luxury of the minister ; but a man of virtue will always be on the watch for 
 opportunities to serve his generation, (ft) A great statesman, again, will not be 
 biassed by selfish motives. To increase his own wealth or prestige, to promote 
 the prosperity of family or party, or to injure the power of a rival, are desires 
 never cherished in such a breast. It should be easier to turn the sun from his 
 path than a statesman from the path of duty, (y) A great statesman will recognize 
 the supremacy of virtue. The will of God is his supreme law, and his final reward 
 is the approval of that unseen Master. (3) A great minister, once more, will live 
 for the welfare of others. To raise the fallen, to vindicate the oppressed, to afford 
 an asylum to the slave, to increase the food of the poor, to care for the education 
 of the child, and to promote the glory of God — such is the noble vocation of a 
 truly wise minister of state. 
 
 II. A nation rejoicing under the good minister's shadow. " The Jews had 
 light and gladness, joy and honour." The Jews had (a) the joy of deliverance. 
 The poet Spenser writes : — 
 
 Ease after war, port after stormy seas, 
 
 Rest after toil, death after life, doth greatly please. 
 
 So there is always joy in a sudden change from danger to safety. As a gentle 
 mother prepares pleasant surprises for her child, so God's providence frequently 
 
280 TIOMILETIO COMMENTARY: ESTHER. [chap. vrn. 
 
 delights his people, with a sudden change of prospect ; an>l he who was in darkness 
 now finds the light doubly precious. There was also (ft) the joy of safety. The 
 danger was not only postponed, but removed. Hitherto they had lived as strangers 
 in a strange land, liable at any time to plots like those of Hainan. Such has been 
 the history of the Jews in every nation under heaven. Now, at least for a time, 
 they were sale under the shadow of Esther the queen, and Mordecai the statesman. 
 Every history tells how the liability to a crushing disaster unsettles the morals of 
 a people, and drives men headlong into vice. Every man knows, also, from his 
 own experience, how completely a sense of insecurity detracts from happiness. 
 Hitherto the Jews had been like a man stood on a narrow plank over a yawning 
 chasm. A false step, a sudden breeze, or a Aveak spot in the board, will precipitate 
 him into the abyss. But now the Jews were standing on a massive rock, and were 
 able to look back on the danger from which they were escaped, (y) They had 
 also the joy and honour of large accessions. A man's faith redoubles in intensity 
 when he can persuade others to believe it; and the Jews' confidence in their 
 national glory would wonderfully increase when they saw the heathen offering 
 themselves as converts to the true faith. 
 
 III. The triumph of religion. " Many of the people of the land became 
 Jews." So always wise rulers may be as nursing fathers to the Church. Multitudes 
 are led by the example of the great ; many may be only influenced by the desire 
 for worldly prosperity, and some will be genuine converts. Without the imputa- 
 tion of any sinister motives, two valid reasons can be assigned for this sudden 
 development of Judaism, (a) Many are influenced only by visible signs. Now 
 this wonderful interposition of providence on behalf of the Jews would be to many 
 a sufficient proof that God was on their side, (ft) Others, of a nobler sort, might 
 first hear of Judaism as a power in the State through the very tumults excited by 
 Hainan. They would then inquire into the history and claims of this strange 
 religion, aud become convinced of its truth. Thus the wrath of man is made to 
 praise God. 
 
 Suggestive Comments on Verses 15 — 17. 
 
 This narrative may teach us that in nities and individuals sitting hopelessly 
 
 the darkest and most unpromising cir- amid the gloom of their own failures, 
 
 cumstances there is nearly always some amid the consequences of their own 
 
 way of relief and improvement. How mistakes, amid the deepening unhappi- 
 
 seldoni are things so in human life that ness arising from the memory of their 
 
 literally nothing can be done ! There own sins — the strokes of penalty heard 
 
 is something unrepealable in all import- resounding on every side, the waters of 
 
 ant human action. But there is also misery rising silently and coldly within, 
 
 much that may be practically repealed, while the long night of despair is 
 
 I think we may say that never, at any deepening and settling without. Such 
 
 one time, in the history of a nation ; pictures aro not to be seen. There is 
 
 never, in the life of an individual, are indeed much suffering in the world ; 
 
 things so dark and bad that nothing can some of it penalty, and much of it not. 
 
 be done to amend and lighten them. And there are all kinds of calamities, 
 
 On the contrary, this world, and the and mischances, and unexpected and 
 
 social and individual spheres of it, this unsuspected griefs, and things that ought 
 
 whole mundane system, is constructed never to have happened, and things 
 
 on the plan, so to say, of admitting, which fill you with sympathy, and pain, 
 
 suggesting, prompting to, and furnishing, and profound regret, and perhaps indig- 
 
 the means of continual recovery. nation, as soon as you know them. 
 
 If this were not so, the world would And there are many mournful people 
 
 soon be full of the most pitiable spec- who make the worst of them ; or shall 
 
 tacles that could be conceived; conimu- we say the best of them, for they really 
 
CHAP. VIII.] 
 
 HOMILETIC COMMENTARY : ESTHER. 
 
 2S1 
 
 seem to find a kind of dismal enjoyment 
 in seeing how bad they are, and in 
 anticipating that they are going to be 
 still worse. 
 
 But who knows not, also, that calami- 
 ties and misfortunes are retrieved, that 
 injuries are redressed, that mistakes are 
 rectified 1 Who knows not that opj^res- 
 sions come to an end, and bloody wars, 
 and other evil works? Yes, and those 
 things are accomplished sometimes just 
 when everything appears almost hope- 
 less, and by means which do not seem 
 at all sufficient or equal to the end. — 
 Raleigh. 
 
 The joy felt by the Jews was greatly 
 enhanced by the distress into which 
 they had lately been plunged, and by 
 the suddenness and strangeness of the 
 transition. They felt like a sick man 
 at the point of death, when he hears the 
 voice, Deliver from going down to the 
 pit ; or like a criminal expecting the 
 hour of his execution, when a pardon is 
 put into his hand. They felt like their 
 fathers when the Lord turned back the 
 captivity of Zion ; " they were like them 
 that dream ; their mouth was filled with 
 laughter, and their tongue with singing." 
 And such, my friends, will be the feel- 
 ings of the ransomed of the Lord, when 
 they shall come to the heavenly Zion ; 
 the recollection of all that they have 
 suffered here shall only serve to accent 
 their happiness, and convert it into a 
 joy unspeakable and full of glory. 
 " Beloved, think it not strange concern- 
 ing the fiery trial which is to try you, as 
 though some strange thing happened 
 unto you ; but rejoice, inasmuch as ye 
 are partakers of Christ's sufferings ; that 
 when his glory shall be revealed, ye may 
 be glad also with exceeding joy." 
 
 The deliverances experienced in time 
 by the Church and people of Jehovah 
 are earnests of that felicity and glory 
 which shall be enjoyed in the future 
 Avorld. But they are also productive of 
 benefits in this life, Avhich make them 
 sources of joy and thanksgiving to all 
 Avell-affected minds. Besides confirming 
 weak disciples, and addiug alacrity to 
 the strong, they are often blessed for 
 making converts, and inducing strangers 
 to join themselves to the people of Cod. 
 
 Thus it is written, " The Lord will have 
 mercy on Jacob, and will yet choose 
 Israel, and set them in their own land ; 
 ami the strangers shall be joined with 
 them, and they shall cleave to the house 
 of Jacob."* 
 
 These promises were partly fulfilled in 
 consequence of the visible interposition 
 of Divine providence, on the occasion 
 referred to in the text. " Many of the 
 people of the land became Jews, for the 
 fear of the Jews fell upon them." They 
 became proselytes to the Jewish religion 
 (for no other meaning can be applied to 
 the words, when the Jews were foreign- 
 ers), renounced idolatry, and worshipped 
 the true God. " When the Church 
 prospers, and is smiled upon," says a 
 pious commentator, " many will come 
 into it that will be shy of it when it is 
 in trouble." But we must not altogether 
 despise such conversions. Though no- 
 thing but willing and cordial submission 
 will advantage the souls of individuals, 
 God can glorify himself, and Christ is 
 glorified in the " professed subjection " 
 of men. " Thou hast delivered me from 
 the strivings of the people ; and thou 
 hast made me the head of the heathen : 
 a people whom I have not known shall 
 serve me. As soon as they hear of me, 
 they shall obey me : the strangers shall 
 submit themselves unto me ; " or, as it 
 is in the margin, " shall yield feigned 
 obedience unto me."f Not fear, but 
 love, is the principle of genuine and 
 evangelical obedience. But the Spirit 
 of God makes use of the natural prin- 
 ciple of fear, in awakening persons to a 
 concern about salvation. " Save your- 
 selves from this untoward generation," 
 was an apostolical exhortation ; and 
 among the effects produced by the 
 preaching and miracles of the primitive 
 Church, this is particularly specified, 
 that " fear came upon every soul ; " and 
 again, "great fear came upon all the 
 Church, and upon as many as heard 
 these things ; " after which it follows, 
 " and believers were the more added to 
 the Lord, multitudes both of men and 
 women." Amen. — McCrie. 
 
 Who could have believed that the 
 
 * Isa. xiv. 1. 
 t Ps. xviii. 43, 44. 
 
282 
 
 II0M1LETIC COMMENTARY: ESTHER. 
 
 [chap. VIII. 
 
 contrivances of Hainan for the destruc- 
 tion of the Jews would have terminated 
 in the increase of their nation? The 
 lovers of the name of the God of Israel 
 would tremble at Hainan's devices, lest 
 the name of Israel should be put out, 
 and the worship of the God of Israel 
 should be extirpated from the earth. 
 But the revolution of a few weeks con- 
 vinced them that their God was the same 
 God that he had ever been ; and that 
 wherein his enemies dealt proudly, he 
 was still above them. Death and de- 
 struction are in the hand of the Lord, 
 and he can make them instrumental for 
 the life, and for bringing about the 
 safety, of his people. " Before him 
 darkness becomes light, and sorrow is 
 turned into joy. He taketh the wise in 
 their own craftiness, and carrieth the 
 devices of the froward headlong. So 
 the poor have hope, and iniquity stoppeth 
 her mouth." — Lawsnn. 
 
 And many of the people of the land 
 became Jetos. — That is, they were pro- 
 selyted, professing the Jewish religion, 
 and siding with them ; some in sincerity, 
 doubtless, and some out of sinisterity, 
 and for self-respects, because they saw 
 
 the king favoured them, the queen and 
 Mordecai were altogether with them and 
 for them. So that mixed multitude 
 (Exod. xii. 38), moved with miracles, 
 removed out of Egypt with the Israel- 
 ites, took hold of the skirts of these 
 Jews and said, " We will go with you." 
 So in David's days, whilst he dealt 
 prudently and prospered, so that he 
 became the head of the heathen, a people 
 whom he had not known submitted 
 themselves unto him. The like they 
 did in Solomon's days, as Josephus 
 relateth, as also that the people were 
 then very careful how they received 
 such prosperity-proselytes. So, many 
 strangers followed the captives returning 
 out of Babylon under the conduct of 
 Zerubbabel ; and many heathens joined 
 themselves to the Christian congrega- 
 tions under Constantino, the first Chris- 
 tian emperor. The Huns, well-beaten 
 by the Christians, concluded that their 
 God was the true God, and received the 
 gospel. Thus, whether it be in pretence 
 or in truth (as St. Paul hath it) that 
 people come in, God is glorified and his 
 Church amplified, and the saints therein 
 do rejoice, yea, and will rejoice. — Trapp, 
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS TO CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 Vers. 1, 2. Advantage of change. As Gott- 
 hold was examining with delight some double 
 pinks, which at the time were in full blossom, 
 he was told by the gardener that the same plants 
 had in former years borne oidy single (lowers, 
 but that they had been improved and beautified 
 by repeated transplantations, and that in the 
 same manner a change of soil increases the 
 growth and accelerates the bearing of a young tree. 
 This reminded Gotthold that the same happens to 
 men. Many a man who at home would scarcely 
 have borne single ilowers, when transplanted by 
 Divine Providence abroad, bears double ones; 
 another, who, if rooted in his native soil, would 
 never have been moi-e than a puny twig, is 
 removed to a foreign clime, and there spreads fat 
 and wide his luxuriant boughs, and bears fruit to 
 the delight of all. We may also notice that, as 
 the plant, so the man must have the capacity of 
 bearing fruits and flowers. Esther and Morde- 
 cai were fruit-hearing in lowly spheres, and then 
 being placed in high positions they brought forth 
 
 more fruit. Through them light and gladness 
 came to all the Jews. 
 
 Vers. 1, 2. Prosperity not suitable for every 
 man. Great skill is required to the governing 
 of a plentiful and prosperous estate, so as it may 
 be safe and comfortable to the owner, and bene- 
 ficial to others. Every corporal may know how 
 to order some few tiles, but to marshal many 
 troops in a regiment in a whole body of an 
 army requires the skill of an experienced gen- 
 eral. As for prosperity, every man thinks him- 
 self wise and able enough to know how to govern 
 it, and himself in it. A happy estate, we imagine, 
 will easily manage itself, without too much care. 
 Give me but sea-room, saith the confident mariner, 
 and let me alone, whatever tempests arise. Surely 
 the great Doctor of the Gentiles had never made 
 this holy boast of his divine skill, "I know how 
 to abound," if it had been so easy a matter as the 
 world conceives it. Mere ignorance and want 
 of self-experience is guilty of this error. 
 
 Mordecai had shown himself possessed of great 
 
CHAP. VIII.J 
 
 IIOMILETIG COMMENTARY: ESTHER. 
 
 
 skill in the management of small affairs, there- 
 fore it was fitting that he should be promoted 
 over the house of Haman, and to the principal 
 position in the kingdom of Ahasnerus. 
 
 Signet rings. On the little finger of the right 
 hand is worn a seal-ring, which is generally of 
 silver, with a cornelian, or other stone, upon 
 which is engraved the wearer's name : the name 
 is accompanied by the words, "His servant" 
 (signifying, the servant, or worshipper, of God), 
 and often by other words expressive of the per- 
 son's trust in God, etc. The seal-ring is used 
 for signing letters and other writings, and its 
 impression is considered more valid than the sign- 
 manual. (Therefore, giving the ring to another 
 person is the utmost sign of confidence.) A 
 little ink is dabbed upon it with one of the 
 fingers, and it is pressed upon the paper ; the 
 person who uses it having first touched his 
 tongue with another finger and moistened the 
 place in the paper which is to be stamped. 
 Almost every person who can afford it has a 
 seal-ring, even though he be a servant. — Biblical 
 Museum. 
 
 Ver. 3. Honesty in little things. One of 
 the kings of Persia, who is famous in history for 
 his exact justice, was once out hunting, when, 
 finding himself hungry, he ordered the people 
 to dress a deer that they had just taken. When 
 all was nearly ready, they found that they had 
 forgotten to bring any salt with them, so they 
 sent a lad off to fetch some from a village at a 
 little distance. The king overheard them, and, 
 calling to the boy, said, " And mind you take 
 money to pay for it. ; ' The attendants expressed 
 their surprise at his thinking of such trifles, and 
 asked what harm there could be in taking a 
 handful of salt. The king replied, " All the evil 
 that now troubles the earth first began in such 
 trifles, till by degrees it grew to its present 
 height; and if I take the salt, my officers will 
 perhaps seize the cow." 
 
 "To put away the mischief of Haman " as it 
 had now reached its climax was difficult. Great 
 evil would have been prevented had Haman in 
 the first instance put away the mischief that was 
 brooding in his heart. 
 
 Ver. 5. Ask and receive. Sir Walter Raleigh 
 one day asking a favour from Queen Elizabeth, 
 the latter said to him, " Raleigh, when will you 
 leave off begging ? " To which he answered, 
 "When your Majesty leaves off giving." Ask 
 great things of God ; expect great things from 
 God; let his past goodness make us "instant 
 in prayer." Esther kept on begging till she had 
 secured a position of security for her country- 
 men. So great was her earnestness that she 
 besought even in tears. Not for herself, but for 
 her country she now prayed to the king. She 
 was an earnest and powerful intercessor. Not 
 so powerful, however, as the great Intercessor; 
 he is a more powerful Pleader, and he approaches 
 a more powerful and more liberal King, even 
 the King of heaven. 
 
 Ver. 6. Patriotism. A Corsican gentleman, 
 who had been taken prisoner by the Genoese, 
 was thrown into a dark dungeon, wl.ere he was 
 chained to the ground. While he was in this 
 
 dismal situation, the Genoese sent a message to 
 him, that if he would accept a commission in 
 their service, he might have it. " No," said he ; 
 " were I to accept your offer, it would be with a 
 determined purpose to take the first opportunity 
 of returning to the service of my country. But 
 I would not have my countrymen even to suspect 
 that I could he one moment unfaithful." Esther 
 in the same spirit asks, How can I endure to see 
 the destruction of my kindred ? 
 
 Patriots duty. When Burnet first began to 
 grow eminent in his profession of the law, he 
 went down to visit his father in Wiltshire. One 
 day, as they were walking in the fields together, 
 the father observed to him that men of his pro- 
 fession were apt to stretch the prerogative of the 
 Crown too far, and injure liberty ; but charged 
 him, if he ever came to any eminence in his 
 profession, never to sacrifice the laws and liberty 
 of his country to his own interest or the will of 
 his prince. He repeated this twice, and imme- 
 diately fell into a fit of apoplexy, of which he 
 died in a few hours ; and this advice had so 
 lasting an influence upon the son that he ever 
 after observed and pursued it. Esther preferred 
 the interests of her country before her own 
 aggrandisement. 
 
 Spartan patriotism. A Lacedaemonian mother 
 had five sons in a battle that was fought near 
 Sparta, and, seeing a soldier that had left the 
 scene of action, eagerly inquired of him how 
 affairs went on. " All your five sons are slain," 
 said he. " Unhappy wretch ! " replied the woman ; 
 "I ask thee not of what concerns my children, 
 but of what concerns my country." " As to that, 
 all is well," said the soldier. " Then," said she, 
 " let them mourn that are miserable. My 
 country is prosperous, and I am happy." 
 
 Esther wept over the sorrows of her country, 
 and could not rest till she saw her countrymen 
 delivered from impending dangers. 
 
 Disinterested loyalty. After the battle of 
 Ivry, Henry IV. of France, being very much in 
 want of money, asked one of his most trusty 
 courtiers where he could procure some. The 
 courtier mentioned a rich merchant's wife, who 
 was a zealous royalist. The monarch in disguise 
 immediately accompanied his courtier on his visit 
 to the lady, Madame le Clerc, who received them 
 with great hospitality, and congratulated them 
 on the success of the king's arms. " Alas, 
 madam," replied the courtier, "to what purpose 
 are all our victories ? We are in the greatest 
 distress imaginable. His Majesty has no money 
 to pay his troops ; they threaten to revolt and 
 join the League. Mayenne will triumph at 
 last." " Is it possible ? " exclaimed Madame le 
 Clerc ; " but I hope that will not afflict our 
 sovereign, and that he will find new resources in 
 the loyalty of his subjects." She then quitted 
 the room, but soon returned with several bags of 
 gold, which she presented, saying, " This is all I 
 can do at present. Go and relieve the king from 
 his anxiety. I wish him all the success and 
 happiness he deserves. Tell him to be confident 
 that he reigns in the hearts of his subjects, and 
 that my life and fortune are, and ever will be, 
 at his disposal." The king could no longer 
 
2S4 
 
 IIuMILETIC COMMENTARY: ESTHER. 
 
 [' IIAl'. VUI. 
 
 conceal li is incognito. " Generous woman," he 
 cried, "my friend has no occasion to go far to 
 tell bis Majesty the excellence of your heart; 
 here he stands before you, and is a witness to it. 
 Be assured that the favour will be indelibly en- 
 graven on the heart of your prince." From that 
 time success attended the king, and when he was 
 master of the capital, and safely seated on the 
 throne, he sent for Madame le Clerc, and, pre- 
 senting her to a full and brilliant court, said, 
 " You see this lady, who is a true friend of mine. 
 To her I owe all the successes of my last cam- 
 paigns. It was she who lent me money to carry 
 on the war when the troops threatened to abandon 
 me." 
 
 Mordecai and Esther were loyal both to 
 King Ashasnerus and to the race of the Jews. 
 Hainan's fall was a blessing both to the king and 
 to the nation. The extermination of the Jews 
 would have been a great disaster. 
 
 Ver. 10. Scaling letters. The authenticity 
 of a merchant's letters, as of his bills, depends 
 entirely upon the seal. It is not usual to sign 
 either; and they are not often written in the 
 band of the person who sends them ; so that it 
 is the seal which is of importance. Engraven 
 upon it is the name and title, if he has one, of 
 the person it belongs to, and the date when it 
 was cut. The occupation of seal-cutter is one of 
 much trust and some danger: he keeps a register 
 of every seal he makes, and if one is stolen or 
 lost by the party to whom he sold it, his life 
 would answer for the crime of making another 
 exactly the same. The person to whom it be- 
 longs, if in business, is obliged to take the two 
 most respectable witnesses of the occurrence, and 
 to write to his correspondents, declaring all 
 accounts and business with his former seal null 
 from the day upon which it was lost. — Biblical 
 Museum. 
 
 Cheerful and beautiful for Christ. While your 
 religion is impressive by its consistency, let it 
 be attractive by its amiableness. Therefore, 
 think upon and pursue whatsoever things are 
 lovely and of good report. In excuse for the 
 disagreeable tempers and the repulsive manners 
 of some Christians, it is said that grace may be 
 grafted on a crab-stock. Be it so. But instead 
 of excusing the improprieties, the metaphor con- 
 demns. When a tree m grafted, it is always 
 expected to bear fruit according to the scion, and 
 not according to the stock : and " the fruit of 
 t lie Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, 
 gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temper- 
 ance : against such there is no law." Nothing 
 commenas godliness more than cheerfulness. All 
 men desire happiness ; and if, while every other 
 candidate for the prize fails, you succeed, your 
 success may determine others to follow your 
 envied course. Hence it is not very desirable 
 that religion should be so often expressed by the 
 word "seriousness." Among many people, as soon 
 us ever a man has become religious, it is said he 
 is becoming "serious." But does not religion 
 also make "him humble, and benevolent, and 
 hopeful, and blessed? Why, then, should we 
 select so exclusively for the designation of its 
 
 influence an attribute or an effect which is 
 common with many others, but vet the least in- 
 viting, and most liable to an injurious construc- 
 tion ? I never use it ; and if I were obliged to 
 use any other term than religion itself, I would 
 rather say the man was becoming happy. — Wm. 
 Jay. 
 
 The Jews here had joy and honour. The 
 Christian should always be in this condition. 
 
 Ver. 17. House of joy. 
 
 I see a forest, dark, dim, deep, and dread, 
 Whose solemn shades no human foot or eye 
 Can penetrate ; but now, oh, see ! a veil 
 Falls from my strengthened eyes ; and now 
 Even in its deepest centre I behold 
 A spot more beautiful than human heart 
 Can comprehend ; it is the home of joy ; 
 And there the blessed spirit broods for ever, 
 Making her dwelling-place a heaven ; there 
 The skies are pure as crystal, and the eye 
 Looks through their clear expanse direct to God. 
 No sun is there ; the air itself is light 
 And life ; a rainbow spans it like a crown 
 Of tearless glory, and the forest trees 
 Sweep round it in a belt of living green. 
 Colour, that wayward sprite of changeful mien, 
 Is here subdued to an intensity 
 Of burning lustre. Sound has but one voice, 
 And that is joyous song ; sight but one object, 
 And that is happiness ; mine eyes are strained 
 To catch the lineaments of the bright queen 
 Whose dwelling-place I see ; but 'tis in vain ; 
 Nowhere distinct, yet felt in all, she glides, 
 A shape of light and colour, through the air, 
 Making its pure transparency to thrill 
 With the soft music of her viewless step. 
 
 Reddal. 
 
 A feast and a good day. These Jews had a 
 feast and a good day, for they were delivered from 
 the fear of their enemies. But surely we may 
 go further, and picture them rejoicing because 
 the righteous are vindicated, and the holy ones 
 are now delivered from the hand of the oppressor. 
 The nation may well rejoice when the righteous 
 are exalted. God often gives to his people on 
 earth a feast and a good day. Every Sabbath 
 should be such a day. Every good day on earth 
 should be a type of the unending feast and unin- 
 terrupted good day of heaven. And how tran- 
 scendent the glory of that world where there 
 shall be no more sin or imperfection, where we 
 all unite in the song, "Worthy is the Lamb that 
 was slain ! " " The glory of the Lord doth lighten 
 it, and the Lamb is the light thereof." The 
 idolatrous temple of Liana was so bright and 
 splendid that the door-keeper always cried to 
 tuem that entered it, "Take heed to your eyes." 
 But what faculties of vision must we have to 
 behold the glory of the temple above! If it is 
 said that the righteous themselves shall shine 
 forth as the sun, what will be the splendour of 
 the Eternal Throne! What a delightful change 
 from this world of darkness and imperfection to 
 that where all shall be light and glory ! 
 
 Ver. 8. Snow and the king's edict. Here, a 
 second time in the history of Artaxerxes, we 
 
ciiap. ix.] HOMILETW COMMENTARY : ESTHER. 285 
 
 Lave a proof of the felt inconvenience of that expedition, and encamped in a place convenient 
 
 law, which despotism itself could not set aside. for his purpose, gave forth his edict that the 
 
 Gladly would the king be a party to the practical encampment should not be removed until the 
 
 defeating of the object of it; but in its literal snow had disappeared from the neighbouring 
 
 acceptation it must stand. mountains. The season was severe. The snow 
 
 It is said that something like the principle of clung to the mountains longer than usual, and 
 
 the unchangeableness of the purposes of the kings in the mean time the army became straitened for 
 
 of Persia has been preserved in that country even supplies. Here was an unexpected difficulty, 
 
 till recent times. And a circumstance may be The king's appointment must stand, but the 
 
 here alluded to in illustration of this, which result was likely to be ruinous. To avert the 
 
 although somewhat strange and almost ludicrous, difficulty, then, a vast multitude of labourers 
 
 yet does bear some resemblance to the difficulty were despatched to clear away as far as they 
 
 in which Artaxerxes felt himself placed between could the snow that was visible from the camp ; 
 
 the unalterable law, and the willingness which and with their aid, and the help of a few days 
 
 he displayed at the same time to get quit of the of sunshine, the snow disappeared, and then 
 
 obligation to observe it literally. A Persian immediately the army was put in motion.— 
 
 king, who reigned not very many years ago (Aga Davidson. 
 Mahmed Khan), having set out upon a military 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Critical Notes.] The Jews destroy their enemies, and at Mordecai's request establish the 
 festival of Purim. 1. In the twelfth, month, on the thirteenth day of the same, the Jews 
 gathered themselves together in their cities, &c] Several parenthetical clauses succeed this 
 definition of time, so that the statement of what then took place does not follow till ver. 2. — Keil. 
 These clauses state the meaning of the day just named, and give a general notice of the conflict 
 between the Jews and their enemies. The word translated "when" may be here taken as the 
 accusative of time, in which, or where, the king's commandment and his decree drew near to be put 
 into execution, i. e. in which the king's word and law should be carried out. The day was changed 
 from a day of misfortune to a day of prosperity for the Jews. " On the day that the enemies of the 
 Jews hoped to have the mastery over them, and it was changed (i. e. the contrary occurred), that the 
 Jews had the mastery over them that hated them." 2. For the fear of them fell upon all the 
 people] A general terror spread from a feeling that the Jews were the special favourites of the 
 most high God ; and while this feeling disheartened and unnerved their enemies, it gave inspiration 
 and power to the Jews. We may naturally suppose that Jewish antipathy and anger would, at 
 least in some cases, lead them to assault their foes, and that the Jews would not remain wholly on 
 the defensive. 3.] All the princes, the satraps, and governors, and also other persons of rank whom 
 it is unnecessary here to name (comp. chap. iii. 9), assisted the Jews. Kawlinson says this is very 
 important. It has been stated that, according to the narrative of Esther, the Jews were allowed to 
 kill 75,000 Persians, and this (supposed) feature of the narrative has been pronounced incredible. 
 The present verse shows that the real Persians, who formed the standing army which kept the 
 empire in subjection, and were at the disposal of the various governors of the provinces, took the 
 Jews' side. Their enemies were almost entirely to be found among the idolatrous people of the 
 subject nations, for whose lives neither the Persians generally nor their monarchs cared greatly. 
 4. For Mordecai was great in the king's house (was much esteemed by the king), and his fame 
 went through all the provinces: for this man Mordecai became continually greater.] 6. In 
 Shushan the palace the Jews slew . . . five hundred] Shushan the palace is here evidently to 
 be taken in the sense of the place or city of the palace, equivalent to in or at Shushan, as in ver. 
 15. It is not to be supposed that the work of slaughter was carried on within the palace itself. 
 — JFhedon's Com. 7 — 9.] These names of Hainan's ten sons are written in Hebrew MSS. in 
 perpendicular columns, and it is said that the reader in the synagogue is required to pronounce them 
 all at one breath. The Targum says they were all suspended, one above another, upon one cross, 
 fifty cubits high, which Mordecai had prepared for the purpose. Most of these names are of Persian 
 origin, a fact which has great weight in showing the genuineness of the Book of Esther. — W/iedim's 
 Com. Jewish rabbis have found these names indicative of a representative importance, and have 
 taken the individual traits to mean something prophetic. 10. On the spoil laid they not their 
 hand] To show that they only sought the safety of their own lives, and had no desire to enrich 
 themselves by the goods of their fallen foes. 12.] If the Jews had killed five hundred men in 
 Susa, how many may they not have slain in other parts of the kingdom ? The king recognizes 
 the fact that, if the Jews had to do with so many opponents, they could hardly have mastered them, 
 
286 H0M1LETIQ COMMENTARY : ESTHER. [chap, rx 
 
 and even now great danger threatened them on the part of those remaining, if they could not hunt, 
 down Buch in their hiding-places, and destroy them utterly. 13. To do to-morrow also according 
 unto this day's decree] This request of Esther has been pronounced the offspring of a blood-thirsty 
 vengeance, and desire to have another day for the butchery of enemies. But what was "this day's 
 deerce " which the queen desired to be continued another day? Merely "to stand for their life" 
 against all that would assault them. Hence we infer that the queen believed, or had reason to 
 Buspect, that the enemies of the Jews in Shushan would renew the attack upon the following day. 
 So fearfully enraged were these enemies that they were likely to retaliate for their losses by an 
 unauthorized continuance of the fight, and it was to secure her people against such an event Esther 
 wisely made this request. This extension of the decree was to have effect only in Shushan, not in 
 the provinces. — IVhedon's Com. Let Hainan's ten sons be hanged upon the gallows] i. e. crucify 
 the dead bodies in order to increase the disgrace of their execution, but more in order to augment 
 the fear of the Jews. This was the Hebrew and Persian custom. — Lange. 16. And had rest 
 from their enemies] The position of these words in the middle of the verse is noticeably strange. 
 There may be here some disarrangement of the text, or it may be, as Keil suggests, "that the 
 natrator desired at once to point out how the matter ended." Such apparent disorder of the text 
 is not always to be regarded as evidence of corruption by transcribers. The Hebrew writers are 
 not always the best models of accuracy and perfection of literary style. Seventy and five thousand] 
 " The slaughter of these seventy-five thousand shows," says Wordsworth, " that a very large number 
 of their heathen enemies, who had been exasperated against the Jews, had prepared themselves for 
 an attack upon them ; and that, presuming upon their own numbers and forces as compared with 
 the Jews, they assaulted them in order to destroy and despoil them, and to enrich themselves with 
 their property ; and that the Jews made a vigorous resistance, and by the help of God, routed their 
 assailants with a great discomfiture. The slaughter was not the consequence of a vindictive spirit 
 in the Jews, hut of the bitter animosity of their enemies; and it proves that the Jews would have 
 been extinguished (as Hainan's decree intended that they should be) if God had not interfered to 
 rescue them from destruction." 17 — 19. Therefore . . . the fourteenth day] Because the Jews 
 outside of Shushan did all their fighting on the thirteenth, and rested on the fourteenth, as stated in 
 ver. 17, Therefore] they made the latter day their day of feasting and joy ; hut the Jews in Shu- 
 shan, having fought both on the thirteenth and fourteenth, made the fifteenth their feast day (ver. 
 18). Jews of the villages] Bather of the country places, that is, as distinguished from those, that 
 dwell in cities and the country (not unwalled towns, as our version has it, for some of these 
 country towns may have had walls). The writer of this was evidently a citizen of Shushan, and 
 seems to have regarded the whole Persian empire outside of this capital city as country. — Whcdon's 
 Com. And of sending portions one to another] According to ver. 22, one made presents in these 
 feasts, similar to the sacrificial feasts, to those less wealthy, but also to others to whom one desired 
 to signify a joyous mind. — Lange. 20 — 32.] The feast of Purim instituted by letters from Mordecai 
 and Esther. 20. Mordecai wrote these things] Namely, the things or occurrences that transpired 
 throughout the Persian empire on the thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth of Adar. He wrote a 
 report of the matter as of something worthy to be chronicled for everlasting remembrance, and with 
 this record he also sent letters unto all the Jews throughout the empire of Ahasuerus, proposing to 
 them what is stated in the next two verses. Mordecai's official position in the Persian court enabled 
 him to establish this festival as no other Jew could have done. He could issue orders with royal 
 authority, and use the posts and agents of the empire to facilitate his plans. The statement here 
 made, that Mordecai chronicled these events and wrote letters to all the Jews, will not wan art 
 the conclusion that lie was the author of this Book of Esther, but is sufficient to show that sueh a 
 conclusion is not therefore improbable. — Whcdon's Com. 21.] To establish a matter, to authorize 
 it. 23. The Jews undertook to do as they had begun, and as Mordecai had written to 
 them] They had begun, as ver. 22 tells us, by keeping both days, and Mordecai wrote to them that 
 they should make tliis an annual custom. This they agreed to do, in consequence of Mordecai's 
 letters. The reason for their so doing is given in vers. 24 and 25, and the name of this festival is 
 explained in ver. 20, by a brief recapitulation of the events which gave rise to it. — Keil. 25. When 
 Esther came before the king] As the word Esther is not in the Hebrew text, and is not mentioned 
 in the context, it is better to translate " when it came before the king," that is, when Hainan's 
 wicked device came before the king. — M'hcdon's Com. 26.] They evidently chose the name Purim 
 in ironical reference to the fact that Hainan's lucky day (designated by lot) was bo fortunate for his 
 enemies, and so unlucky for himself. 27.] The Jews established and took upon themselves, their 
 ill BCendantR, and all who should join themselves unto them (proselytes), so that it should not fail 
 {i.e. inviolably), to keep (to celebrate) these two days according to the writing concerning them 
 and the time appointed thereby year by year. — Keil. 28. And that these days should be remem- 
 bered and kept throughout every generation, every family, every province, and every city; 
 and these days of Purim are not to pass away among the Jews, nor their remembrance to cease 
 among their seed] The continued observance of Purim to this day is a monumental proof of the 
 truth of tins history. 29 -32.] A second letter from queen Esther and Mordecai to appoint fasting 
 and lamentation on the days of Purim. 29.] And Esther the queen and .Mordecai the Jew wrote 
 with all strength, that is, very forcibly, to appoint this second letter concerning Purim, ;'. t. to gi*e 
 to the contents of this second letter the force of laws. — Keil. 31. The matters of the fastings 
 and their cry] Here it incidentally comes out that fasting and lamentation were also to lie 
 
2hav. ix.] nOMILETIG COMMENTARY: ESTHER. 287 
 
 connected with the observance of Purim. The modern Jews observe the thirteenth of Adar, the 
 anniversary of the day of slaughter, as a day of fasting, and call it the fast of Est Iter. This day of 
 fasting and supplication is preliminary to the two days' feast that follows. It is not improbable 
 that Esther herself may have proposed this fast, as a memorial of the grief that preceded their joy, 
 and that the people approved and sanctioned it, and called it Esther's fast. 32. The decree ot 
 Esther] This is to be understood as the same with the letter of authority respecting Purim which 
 is mentioned in ver. 29, and was issued by both Esther and Mordecai. It was written in the 
 hook] The decree of Esther was recorded, and doubtless with it, also, an account of the institution 
 of the feast of Purim. The book referred to here is somewhat uncertain. Some have thought the 
 Book of Esther is intended: but the author of that book would hardly have designated his own work 
 in this way. Bertheau and Keil think it was a book or treatise on the feast of Purim, which our 
 author used in preparing his work, but which has not come down to us. This, however, is purely 
 conjectural. It seems most natural, since we have in several other passages of this history a men- 
 tion of the book of the chronicles of Media and Persia (chap. ii. 23 ; vi. 1 ; x. 2), to understand 
 the book of this verse as that same book of State annals. The documents issued by Esther and 
 Mordecai, establishing the feast of Purim, and perhaps, also, describing its origin and mode of 
 observance, may well have been registered among the national chronicles. The following account 
 of the manner in which the feast of Purim is observed by the Jews of the present day is substantially 
 from Smith's 'Dictionary of the Bible' :— The observance commences with the fust of Esther (see 
 note above on ver. 31) on the thirteenth of Adar. If the thirteenth falls upon a sabbath, the fast 
 is placed upon the Thursday preceding. As soon as the evening preceding the fourteenth of the 
 month arrives, candles are lighted in token of rejoicing, and the people assemble at the synagogue. 
 The Book of Esther, written on a roll called the Megillah, is produced, and, after a short prayer, 
 the reader proceeds to read it in a histrionic manner, aiming to suit his tones and gestures to the 
 sense. When he pronounces the name of Hainan the congregation exclaim, " May his name be 
 blotted out/' or, " Let the name of the ungodly perish," and at the same time the children present 
 make a great noise with their hands, or with pieces of wood and stone. The names of Hainan's ten 
 sons are read with one breath, to signify that they were all hung at once. (Comp. note on chap. ix. 
 7 — 9.) When the roll is read through the whole congregation exclaim, "Cursed be Hainan; blessed 
 he Mordecai ; cursed be Zeresh, the wife of Haman ; blessed be Esther ; cursed be all idolaters ; 
 blessed be all Israelites, and blessed be Harbonah, who hanged Haman." When this evening 
 service is over all go home and partake of a simple repast. On the morning of the fourteenth all 
 resort to the synagogue again ; prayer is offered, and the passage of the law (Exod. xvii. 8 — 16) 
 relating the destruction of the Amalekites is read, for the Jews regard Haman as a descendant 
 of Agag the Amalekite. (See note on chap. iii. 1.) The roll of Esther is again read, as on the 
 preceding evening. When the synagogue service is ended, all give themselves over to feasting and 
 joy. Presents are sent to and fro among friends and relations, and liberal gifts are bestowed upon 
 the poor. Games, dramatical entertainments, dancing, and music are resorted to, and every effort 
 is made to promote general merriment and joy. Such festivities and joy are continued through 
 the fifteenth also, but any Jews who desire may carry on their usual business during the days of 
 this festival. Josephus attests the observance of Purim in his day : " Even now all the Jews in 
 the world celebrate these days with feasting (iopTctZ,uvai), sending portions to one another. . . . 
 They celebrate the fore-mentioned days, calling them Fhrouraim (Qpovpaiovo)." — Ant. xi. 13. 
 A number of Jewish proverbs also attest the high esteem in which this feast was held : " The 
 temple may fail, but Purim never." "The Prophets may fail, but not the Megillah." It was 
 even said that no books would survive in the Messiah's kingdom but the Law and the Megillah. — 
 Wheclon's Com. 
 
 MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH. Verse 1. 
 
 Hope and Foreboding. 
 
 We often hear that it is darkest just before the dawn, darkest in the natural 
 world, darkest in the moral world, darkest in the world of God's providential 
 arrangements. Often has this been illustrated and proved in the history, both of 
 individuals and of nations. The laws of nature are typical of the laws of God's 
 kingdom ; essentially they are the same, as coming from the same ruler. In the 
 natural world the deeper darkness is the herald of coming day ; so it often has 
 been in all histories, whether individual or national. The darkness was now 
 deepening about the Jews ; the month Adar was now close at hand. The fatal day 
 drew near when the king's commandment and his decree were to be put into 
 execution ; but the fatal day was turned into the festal day. The light afar off 
 was sending forth its beautiful and cheering rays ; but the Jews had not the power 
 to catch the oncoming gladness, for their eyes were too dull to see : so it may be 
 
288 IIOMILETW COMMENTARY: ESTHER. [chap ix. 
 
 with us. Let us trust in God through the storm, and through the darkness. Let 
 us pray — Open our eyes that we may see when all around appears dark and dismal. 
 On the other hand, it must he remembered that there is a real darkness thickening 
 an mud the sinner, while he fondly dreams of glorious light. It was so with these 
 " enemies of the Jews." They vainly thought that the thirteenth day of the 
 month Adar was to be the day of their victory. On that day the sun was to shine 
 upon their pathway of triumph. Alas ! on that day the sun was but to shine as a 
 funeral taper on their gloomy pathway to the everlasting darkness. Let evil-doers 
 beware; let them seek to be wise in time; let them strive to have understanding 
 of the times ; let them not dream of coming light, when all the signs indicate 
 that the darkness is only growing more intense. 
 
 I. Hope blighted. "In the day that the enemies of the Jews hoped to have 
 power over them." From a human point of view it was natural that these enemies 
 of the Jews should entertain such a hope. The human reasonableness of this 
 hope may be shown — (a) From their own numbers. The population was undoubtedly 
 large as seen from the immense numbers slain by the Jews. It was natural 
 then, as it is natural now, to rely upon numbers. We expect success on the side of 
 that army that can bring the largest forces into the field, other things being equal. 
 (b) From the insignificance of the Jews. A few people scattered up and down 
 that vast country in a state of captivity, could have no chance against their numerous 
 and powerful enemies. These Persians calculated as we calculate to-day, and they 
 found, as we moderns too often find to our cost, that they reckoned without their host. 
 There is a true, broad sense in which the battle is the Lord's, and He can save by 
 few as well as by many, (c) From the known unchangeableness of Persian law. 
 There did not seem the slightest chance for the Jews. The hope of these enemies 
 of the Jews rested on as good giound as any hope could do. But after all it was 
 blighted, for the hope was changed. In a short time there was a marvellous 
 vicissitude. Their sun of expectation suddenly shot into darkness just as they 
 were fancying that it was nearing the meridian of splendour. Thus, the hope of 
 the unjust must perish sooner or later. There can be no escape. The goodly 
 houses built upon the sand of human reasoning must be swept away, even though 
 the sand may appear to possess the solidity of the rock. 
 
 II. Foreboding reproved. The same human reasoning which led these enemies 
 of the Jews to entertain hope would induce the Jews to give way to dark and 
 injurious forebodings. If the faithful and valorous Esther had her great fears, 
 how much more is it to be supposed that the rest of the Jews would look forward 
 to the mouth Adar in a spirit of agonizing dread. How often we look forward to 
 a month Adar, and see it shrouded with ominous darkness. There is such a 
 month in the lives of most. Yea, there are gloomy temperaments to whom every 
 year has its month Adar, rising gloomily, and yet grand in its gloom, like some 
 lofty mountain. But the month Adar may, after all, be the month of rejoicing. 
 As the traveller rejoices when he reaches the mountain top, and feasts upon tlie 
 grand panorama of nature, so these Jews might rejoice when they reached the 
 thirteenth day of the month Adar. The very day we feared has been the day of 
 Divine deliverance and of Divine blessing. It is a day of rejoicing, but it is a 
 day of humiliation. God's grant of success may be God's reproof of our unbelief 
 and our forebodings. However darkly the month Adar may loom in the distance, 
 let us move on towards it, encouraging ourselves in the Lord our God. Give to 
 the winds thy fears ; hope, and be undismayed. Hope on, hope always. Above all 
 things, do not indulge in forebodings. It is injurious to thy own nature. It 
 saps thy vital energies. It undermines thy physical strength and thy mental 
 power. It can mend nothing, and is the result, in part, of a want of faith in God. 
 It is sinful if there be no etl'ort to overcome. 
 
 III. True hope rewarded. " It was turned to the contrary that the Jews had 
 rule over them that hated them." Those amongst the Jews who looked above the 
 
CTTAT\ IX.] 
 
 UOMTL ETIC COMMENT A R Y : E8 TTTER. 
 
 289 
 
 vain state of men and things to the great supreme, and entertained hope in spite 
 of all that seemed to make against hope, had their glorious reward in due season. 
 The Jews had the mastery over their enemies. God's people must finally triumph 
 over their real foes. Eeal foes, for there are foes in seeming which are true friends. 
 But no real foes, that is, foes that militate against highest interests, will be allowed 
 to reign in perpetual triumph. Every enemy must be destroyed ; even the last 
 enemy, death, must be put under the feet. The hope of the righteous cannot 
 perish. What happened unto the Jews, happened to them for ensamples to the 
 people of God in all ages. Our moral experiences will find their counterpart in 
 what we may call the material experiences of the Jewish people. They triumphed 
 in a more material point of view. Their successes were even in the present state. 
 God's people now must look to triumph in a moral point of view. Their true 
 success must be in the mighty future of God's eternity. The hope that is built 
 upon God's word cannot fail. The hope that springs from faith in Jesus Christ 
 must bloom into the flowers of paradise that never fade, and ripen into the fruits 
 of the celestial Eden that never decay. Have faith in God, and in Jesus Christ 
 his only Son. 
 
 Suggestive Comments on Verse 1. 
 
 He himself says once, with more just- 
 ness than originality : Man is, properly 
 speaking, based upon hope ; he has no 
 other possession than hope ; this world 
 of his is emphatically the place of hope. 
 What then was our professor's possession 1 ? 
 We see him, for the present, quite shut 
 out from hope ; not looking into the 
 golden orient, but vaguely all round in- 
 to a dim copper firmament, pregnant 
 with earthquake and tornado. — Sartor 
 Resartus. 
 
 In the day that the enemies of the 
 Jews hoped, &c. But their hope ran 
 aslope, as they say ; their lucky day 
 deceived them. Wicked men's hope, 
 when they most need it, will be as the 
 giving up of the ghost, and that is but 
 cold comfort ; and as the spider's web, 
 who gets to the top of the window as 
 high as she can, and then when she falls 
 she falls to the bottom, for nothing stays 
 her. From such high hopes fell our 
 English Papists ; first, when Queen Mary 
 died. You hope and hope (said Dale 
 the promoter to Julian Irving, whom 
 he had apprehended), but your hope 
 should end in a rope ; for though the 
 queen fail, she that you hope for should 
 never come to it ; for there is my Lord 
 Cardinal's grace and many more between 
 her and it. Secondly, at Queen Eliza- 
 beth's death, that long-looked for day, 
 as they called it, triumphing before the 
 victory, and selling the hide before they 
 
 had taken the beast. This they had 
 done before in 1588, when in assurance 
 of victory they had styled their forces 
 the Invincible Armada ; and also after- 
 wards at the powder-plot, when they had 
 presumptuously disposed of the chief 
 offices, holds, and revenues of the land ; 
 like as before the Pharsalian field was 
 fought, the Pompeians were in such 
 miserable security, that some of them 
 contended for the priesthood, which was 
 Caesar's office ; others disposed of the 
 consulships and offices in Pome. So at 
 the battle of Agincourt in France, where 
 our Henry V. won the day, the French 
 were so confident of a victory that they 
 sent to king Henry to know what ransom 
 he would give. A presumptuous con- 
 fidence goes commonly bleeding home, 
 when an humble fear returns in tri- 
 umph. — Trapp. 
 
 Though it was turned to the contrary. 
 — By a sweet and gracious providence 
 of God, whose glory it is to help at a 
 pinch, to alter the scene all on a sudden, 
 to begin where we have given over, and 
 to cause a strange turn of things, accord- 
 ing to that of the Psalmist ; God should 
 send from heaven and save me (when it 
 might seem to some that salvation itself 
 could not save me), he should send forth 
 his mercy and his truth, and then what 
 should hinder the Church's happiness] — 
 Trapp. 
 
 The day in which the enemies of the 
 
290 
 
 HOM1LETIC COMMENTARY: ESTHER. 
 
 [CTTAr. IX. 
 
 Jews expected to see the realization of 
 their hopes, became instead for the .lews 
 
 a day of victory, and for their enemies 
 a day of reverse and defeat. This, 
 under existing circumstances, seemed to 
 be a change which could only be brought 
 about, as it were, by a miracle. It was, 
 indeed, one of those providences by 
 means of which it has pleased God to 
 reveal himself from time to time in an 
 especially remarkable manner. At all 
 events, the prophets had foretold such 
 occurrences as a matter surely to be ex- 
 pected. When the captivity of Israel 
 should have reached its culmination, 
 when the people of God are on the point 
 of expiring under the rod of their drivers, 
 then, instead of really perishing, they 
 should become captors of their captors 
 and taskmasters of their drivers. What 
 is here shown in a small prelude, ac- 
 cording to such prophecy, should attain 
 a much larger circumference and a much 
 greater glory. Our book itself, accord- 
 ing to its deeper significance, points in 
 in a manner typical or prophetical to 
 this great and glorious final history. As 
 a matter of fact, this change of affairs 
 was itself deeply grounded in the nature 
 and circumstances of things. So certain 
 as the God of Israel was the only true 
 God, whose kingdom should not be de- 
 stroyed, but through all apparent reverses 
 should continually rise to new and 
 greater victories, so likewise to his 
 people, — so long as it is the sole bearer of 
 his sway, the grave, which threatens to 
 swallow it up, should ever be a place of 
 revivification and resurrection. And to- 
 day also his empire must continue ; and 
 that which thought to overcome its 
 power must itself be overcome, and 
 either be absorbed or consigned to de- 
 struction. All the days of persecution 
 of God's kingdom are days indeed in 
 which its enemies hope to overcome it, 
 but it always turns out that such enemies 
 are themselves conquered at last. — 
 Lange. 
 
 We have above such an example in 
 Haman, who was himself hung on the 
 cross which he had prepared for Mor- 
 decai; so the Egyptians were themselves 
 overwhelmed in the sea to which they 
 had driven the Israelites in order to 
 
 overwhelm them. So also Saul, who 
 had driven David over to the Philistines, 
 that they might destroy him, was him- 
 self destroyed by the Philistines. — 
 Brenz. 
 
 We learn from this passage the com- 
 fortable truth, that God's people obtain 
 the victory over their enemies. What- 
 ever hardships and troubles God's people 
 have to endure in the world, and how- 
 ever dark and lowering the cloud may 
 be which sometimes hangs over them, 
 yet, " at evening time it will be light to 
 them," and death's temporary triumph 
 over them will only lead to their eternal 
 triumph over it and all their foes. Be 
 not discouraged, ye that fear and serve 
 the Lord. Greater is he that is for you 
 than all that can be against you. Fight 
 the good fight of faith, the crown of life 
 is sure to all who are in Christ. — 
 Davidson. 
 
 Foresight and foreboding are two very 
 different things. It is not that the one 
 is the exaggeration of the other, but the 
 one is opposed to the other. The more 
 a man looks forward in the exercise of 
 foresight, the less he does so in the exer- 
 cise of foreboding ; and the more he is 
 tortured by anxious thoughts about a 
 possible future, the less clear vision has 
 he of a likely future, and the less power 
 to influence it. 
 
 What does your anxiety do? It does 
 not empty to-morrow of its sorrows, but 
 it empties to-day of its strength ; it 
 does not make you escape the evil, it 
 makes you unfit to cope with it when it 
 comes ; it does not bless to-morrow, and 
 it robs to-day. For every day has its 
 own burden. Sufficient for each day is 
 the evil which properly belongs to it. 
 Do not add to-morrow's to to-day's. Do 
 not drag the future into the present. 
 The present has enough to do with its 
 oavu proper concerns. We have always 
 strength to bear the evil when it comes. 
 We have not strength to bear the fore- 
 boding of it. As thy day, thy strength 
 shall be. In strict proportion to the 
 existing exigencies will be the God-given 
 power; but if you cram and condense 
 to-day's sorrows by experience, and to- 
 morrow's sorrows by anticipation, into 
 the narrow round of the one four-and 
 
chap, ix.] HOMILETIC COMMENTARY : ESTHER. 291 
 
 twenty hours, there is no promise thai mountains, and our hopes pierce within 
 
 as that day thy strength shall he. that veil and lay hold of the Rock of 
 
 God gives us power to bear all the Ages that towers above the flying 
 
 sorrows of his making ; but he does not vapours. Let us then be strong, for 
 
 give us power to bear the sorrows of our our future is not a dim peradventure, or 
 
 own making, which the anticipation of a vague dream, nor a fancy of our own, 
 
 sorrow most assuredly is. nor a wish turning itself into a vision ; 
 
 Our hope should make us buoyant, but it is made and certified by him who 
 and should keep us firm. It is an is God of all past and of all the present, 
 anchor of the soul. All men live by It is built upon his word, and the bright- 
 hope, even when it is fixed upon the est hope of all its brightness is the en- 
 changing and uncertain things of this joyment of more of his presence and the 
 world. But the hopes of men, who possession of more of his likeness. That 
 have not their hearts fixed upon God, hope is certain. Therefore let us live in 
 try to grapple themselves on the cloud- it. " Reach forth unto the things that 
 rack that rolls along the flanks of the are before." — Madaven. 
 
 MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH. Verses 2, 3. 
 
 Self- Help brings Help. 
 
 I. Divine help. In this narrative we see all along that the Jews were helped 
 by God. We find clear traces of a superior power delivering this people from the 
 power of their enemies. Mere human reasons cannot account for the fact that 
 these Jews — captive and dispersed — so marvellously triumphed over the many and 
 skilful foes arrayed against them. We are now brought to the point where the 
 Divine power is most manifestly revealed. All need Divine help, and all must 
 have it more or less in the journey of life if it is to be successful in the highest 
 point of view. 
 
 II. Divine help fosters and succeeds self-help. Some speak loudly in the 
 praise of self-help. It must not be undervalued. But to speak to bruised and 
 maimed humanity of self-help apart from any other help is a solemn mockery, is a 
 withering irony. Should we tell the drowning man to try self-help, and not throw 
 out to him the rope of help 1 Should we tell the bankrupt and ruined man to try 
 self-help, and give him no capital 1 Should we advise the poor outcast to try self- 
 help, and yet leave him without a character 1 Our ruined selves must be repaired 
 from above before we can effectually help ourselves. Divine help must first work, 
 and then there can be successful self-help. Jesus did not say to the man with the 
 withered arm, Trust to self-help. Power was conveyed in the word, Stretch forth 
 thy hand ; and then the man was able to help himself. This, too, be observed — 
 put forth all thy power, and God will not fail. Help thyself first by heartily 
 seeking help from heaven, and then by doing thy very utmost. These Jews helped 
 themselves by (a) co-operation. " The Jews gathered themselves together in their 
 cities throughout all the provinces of the king Ahasuerus." In these days of vast 
 co-operative societies — of the teachings of political economy — it may not be need- 
 ful to urge the advantages of co-operation. However, the Church still needs to 
 learn the important lesson that its members should be gathered together, not as so 
 many mere material bodies, but as being animated by one spirit. The members of 
 the spiritual Israel must be gathered together so as to make one compact body. 
 The day has not yet come when Christians are of one mind. Many men, many 
 minds ; many Christians, many minds. Members of the same branch of the Chris- 
 tian community do not co-operate. Let us gather ourselves together around the 
 Cross of Jesus Christ, and taste the outflowing and uniting power of the Saviour's 
 love, (b) By active agency. " To lay hand on such as sought their hurt." Never 
 
292 H0M1LETIC COMMENTARY: ESTEEM. [chap. ix. 
 
 mind the difficult questions suggested by the course of proceedings described in 
 this chapter; l>e practical. Learn the lesson that they co-operated for work. 
 
 They did not eo operate merely by assembling together at public meetings in order 
 to bo told, in eloquent language, how the thing was to be done, and then dispersing 
 without any well-timed effort to do the thing. There was no Exeter Hall in 
 Shushan ; there was no need of priestly eloquence. Patriotism stirred their 
 hearts ; a common danger impelled to united efforts at defence. Patriotism should 
 stir the hearts of Englishmen to-day. The common danger that threatens our holy 
 religion should impel all lovers of Jesus to united and mighty efforts. Let us lay 
 the hand of love on such as seek the hurt of all that is true, and noble, and virtu- 
 ous. There is a call, loud and long, to-day to every one, whether clergy or laity, 
 to active agency in order to repress evil, and to promote the best interests — that is, 
 the Christian interests — of our humanity, (c) By a name of power. The fear of 
 the Jews fell upon all the people, from the lowest to the highest, for the leaders of 
 the people felt this fear. Is there not a true sense in which the fear of the Chris- 
 tian should fall upon the wicked 1 ? Does not the sinner quake in the presence of 
 the pure and the holy? However, the Christian's name should be one of power, 
 not only to inspire fear, but to attract, (d) By aggressive measures. " No man 
 could withstand them." There was a time when it seemed to come near the truth 
 to say that no man could withstand the influence of Christianity. It went forth 
 an all-subduing force ; it went forth conquering and to conquer. Wonderful the 
 successes and the triumphs of the primitive Church ! But alas ! what shall we say 
 of these times'? Shall we take up our lament and say, How is the mighty fallen 1 ? 
 Shall we not be accused of pessimism if we declare that Christianity is now being 
 conquered by the world, instead of the world being conquered by Christianity ? 
 The world says that Christianity is effete. Does Christianity, by its modern suc- 
 cesses, disprove the accusations of the children of this world 1 ? Certainly much, 
 very much more requires to be done. Oh, arm of the Lord, awake ! 
 
 III. Self-help secures the help of others. That is, the self help that is suc- 
 cessful secures the help of others, for in this sense it often is that nothing succeeds 
 like success. At all events, all the rulers of the provinces, and the lieutenants, 
 and the deputies, and officers of the king helped the Jews — to what extent is not 
 stated. They probably facilitated the Jews in their preparations to defend them- 
 selves. These governors saw that the Jews were on the high road to victory, and 
 therefore they went in for the winning side. They were most likely politic men, 
 and the fear of losing their places would induce them to help the Jews. How many 
 helpers in this world are ready to help those who do not require help 1 ? Alas ! how 
 few are found to give help to the really helpless and forlorn. The poor and thirsty 
 still seek the water of help and of deliverance, but find none ; while the rich and 
 prosperous have much abundance poured into the lap. This world's helpers go to 
 the rich and the great ; Christ, the great helper of humanity, went to the publicans 
 and harlots. He gave help to the helpless, strength to the weak, water to the 
 thirsty, bread to the hungry, healing to the poor sick, and life to the dead. 
 
 Suggestive Comments on Verses 2, o. 
 
 The Jews were the conqueror's. "The ployed in winning it; and the first was, 
 
 day in which their enemies hoped to the valour and good conduct of the Jews 
 
 have power over them was turned to the themselves. They "stood for their 
 
 contrary, so that the Jews had rule over lives," and "remembering the Loid, 
 
 those that hated them." This was the who is great and terrible," " fought for 
 
 doing of the Lord, and ou^ht to be their brethren, their sons and their 
 
 wondrous in our eyes. But though the daughters, their wives and their houses." 
 
 victory was of God, means were em- And their prudence equalled their com- 
 
CIIAP. IX.] 
 
 H0M1LETIC COMMENTARY : ESTHER. 
 
 293 
 
 age. Had each endeavoured to protect 
 himself and his family, they would have 
 hecome an easy prey to their foes ; but 
 they " gathered themselves together in 
 their cities in all the provinces," and in 
 this way encouraged one another, and 
 presented a formidable front to their 
 adversaries. Secondly, their enemies 
 were struck with terror. Disappointed 
 of the hopes which they had cherished, 
 perceiving the boldness and wise con- 
 duct of the Jews, and convinced in 
 their own breasts that they were em- 
 barked in an unjust and criminal design, 
 they lost courage and yielded up the 
 day. Thirdly, the rulers in the differ- 
 ent provinces encouraged the Jews by 
 their countenance, being induced to 
 this by the awe in which they stood 
 of Mordecai, who not only retained 
 his high place, but rose daily in the 
 royal favour, and in his reputation 
 as an able and virtuous statesman. — 
 M'Crie. 
 
 The Jews gathered themselves together 
 in their cities throughout all the pro- 
 vinces of the king Ahasuerus, to lay 
 hand on such as sought their hurt : and 
 no man could withstand them; for the 
 fear of them fell upon all people. ' ' Thou 
 shalt not kill." This commandment, in 
 some cases, binds us to kill. It requires 
 us to use all lawful endeavours to pre- 
 serve our own life ; and in preserving 
 our own lives, we may be reduced to the 
 unpleasant necessity of taking away the 
 lives of other men. The Jews were 
 compelled on the thirteenth day of the 
 month Adar to take arms into their 
 hands to destroy all that might rise up 
 against them ; and they acted wisely in 
 uniting themselves in large bodies to 
 resist the power of their enemies. Had 
 they stood single in arms, they might all 
 have been destroyed with ease. But 
 their combination in the various cities 
 of the king's dominions made them ter- 
 rible and irresistible. Let us learn from 
 their example to stand fast in one spirit, 
 and Avith one mind, to strive against the 
 enemies of our souls, who endeavour to 
 rob us of our faith, more precious than 
 our lives. The Church is terrible, like 
 an army witli banners, when her rulers 
 and members are closely united, under 
 
 the captain of salvation, to oppose her 
 enemies. 
 
 No man could now withstand the 
 Jews, for the fear of them fell upon all 
 people. They had the king, the queen, 
 the prime minister, upon their side, and, 
 what was still more, they had the pro- 
 vidence of God upon their side. " He 
 caused judgment to be heard from hea- 
 ven," as audibly as if an angel had pro- 
 claimed his favour to the Jews, and his 
 indignation against their enemies. The 
 wonderful works of Providence have oft 
 struck terror into the hardiest enemies 
 of Zion. 
 
 And all the riders of the provinces, 
 and the lieutenants, and the deputies, 
 and officers of the king, helped the Jews; 
 because the fear of Mordecai fell upon 
 them. There were two decrees in equal 
 force which might have given them 
 a fair pretence for taking the part of the 
 Jews, or of their enemies, as they 
 pleased ; but it was plain that the 
 king's favour was towards the Jews, and 
 that if they expected any favour from 
 him, it was necessary to secure the good 
 will of Mordecai. They chose that side 
 in the contest which their own interest 
 prescribed. What a pity is it that all 
 princes do not favour the cause of reli- 
 gion ! If they did, iniquity would be 
 compelled to stop her mouth, and those 
 men who do not value religion would 
 treat it at least with respect. — Lawson. 
 
 They acted in unison. " They gather- 
 ed themselves together, and stood for 
 their lives." Union is power : concen 
 tration of strength is mighty for good 
 and for evil. How awful the extent of 
 the mischief perpetrated by the evil 
 spirits, because they act in concert — 
 unitedly : whereas disunion would cause 
 even their kingdom to fall. By virtue 
 of this perfect combination they succeed 
 in deceiving the nations, and leading 
 myriads captive at their will. Satan 
 thus maintains such a sway over man- 
 kind as to entitle him to the name of 
 " God of this world." " If Satan cast 
 out Satan, he is divided against himself; 
 how then can his kingdom stand 1 " 
 Union and co-operation are likewise 
 powerful for the production of good. 
 Hence copies of the Divine writings are 
 
204 
 
 IloMILETIC COMMENTARY: ESTHER. 
 
 [chai\ IX. 
 
 flying to all parts of the world ; and 
 missionaries to unfold their precious 
 contents to those who are perishing for 
 lack of knowledge. What would indi- 
 vidual efforts do in cases like these? 
 Hence arise hospitals for the bodies of 
 men, and places of instruction for their 
 souls. Amid the favourable signs of 
 our day, this is among the most cheer- 
 ing — the frequent formation of associa- 
 tions for the amelioration of the state of 
 man. May new plans of usefulness be 
 still devised, and may the blessed Spirit 
 of God stir up the people to support 
 them, so that at home and abroad truth 
 and holiness may flourish and abound. 
 
 They laid hands on all such as 
 sought their hurt, and no man could 
 withstand them. They were acting 
 legally ; for the royal law permitted 
 them to defend themselves : and when 
 we act legally, we may act boldly and 
 courageously. 
 
 Trust in God, in his power and faith- 
 fulness, is the only source of true mag- 
 nanimity. It is this alone that makes 
 man undaunted on rational grounds. 
 St. Paul tells us of the ancient believers, 
 that "out of weakness they were made 
 strong, waxed valiant in fight, and 
 turned to flight the armies of the aliens." 
 And this, he tells us, was the effect of 
 relying on God. 
 
 God filled the Persians with fear and 
 trembling, so that, when the battle took 
 place, they were so intimidated, that 
 they made but the feeblest resistance, 
 and fell an easy prey into the hands of 
 their enemies. " No man could with- 
 stand them" (the Jews), "for the fear 
 of them fell upon all people." This 
 was one way by which the Lord pro- 
 mised of old victory to the Israelites 
 over their enemies. If they would 
 regard his laws, he engaged to deprive 
 their adversaries of their courage and 
 fortitude " I will send my fear before 
 thee, and will destroy all the people to 
 whom thou shalt come, and I will make 
 all thine enemies turn their backs unto 
 thee." 
 
 Brethren, none ran injure whom God 
 is i csolved to protect. He has all hearts 
 in his hand. Though earth and hell 
 combine against his people, they shall 
 
 not prosper. He is a munition of rocks 
 — a strong tower, into which the right- 
 eous flee, and are in safety. What was 
 David compared with Goliath 1 Yet, 
 inasmuch as he went forth in the name 
 of the God of the armies of Israel, the 
 vaunting Philistine soon fell before him. 
 God is a man of Avar, and makes his 
 people more than conquerors over the 
 opponents of their salvation. " None 
 shall pluck them out of my Father's 
 hands." Trust in him, ye infirm and 
 feeble, and ye shall tread down your 
 enemies — one of you shall chase a thou- 
 sand, and two put ten thousand to flight. 
 Brethren, we have more formidable ene- 
 mies than these Jews had, — more crafty 
 and more inveterate, — even the principal- 
 ities and powers of hell ; and the conse- 
 quences of being vanquished are infi- 
 nitely more woeful. None can defeat 
 and destroy these enemies but he who 
 defeated the counsel and prevented the 
 evil designs of wicked Haman. Apply 
 to this great Being — this Omnipotent 
 Being — in the all-prevailing name of 
 Christ, and you shall triumph over every 
 foe : you shall have a day of feasting 
 and gladness — a good day — a day of 
 pure and holy and everlasting joy. 
 Trust in him, and heaven shall be your 
 dwelling-place for ever. " The Lord 
 will give strength to his people : the 
 Lord will bless his people with peace." 
 — Hughes. 
 
 And no man could withstand them. 
 A good cause, a good conscience, and a 
 good courage ; what cannot these three 
 do when they meet 1 ? How should any 
 stand before those who are strong in the 
 Lord, and in the power of his might 1 ? 
 Pilate's wife could warn him of meddling 
 with such ; and Hainan's wife could tell 
 him that a Jew might fall before a Per- 
 sian and get up again and prevail. But 
 if a Persian, or whosoever of the Gentiles, 
 begin to fall before a Jew, he can neither 
 stand nor rise. There is an invisible 
 hand of omnipotency that striketh in tor 
 his own, and confounds their opposite^. 
 
 For the fear of them fell upon all the 
 people. This was the work, not of some 
 Pan Deus Arcadia-, but of God, the sole 
 giver of victory, who, when he pleaseth, 
 allrighteth the Church's enemies, as he 
 
chap, ix.] HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: ESTHER. 295 
 
 promiseth to do in many places. And other whiles make their hearts heartless, 
 
 as accordingly he did it on the Egyp- their hands feeble, their eyes fail, and 
 
 tians, Midianites, Philistines, Syrians, their knees knock together, as Belshaz- 
 
 &c. And the like he did for Baldwin, zar's did. How else would they ever be 
 
 king of Jerusalem, against the great brought to bring presents unto him that 
 
 Caliph ; for the Hussites against all the ought to be feared 1 If Mordecai be 
 
 force of Germany ; for the Angrognians feared, it is because God hath put a 
 
 against the Pope's army that came majesty upon him, and made him dread- 
 
 against them. ful, as Abraham was likewise to Abime- 
 
 Because the fear of Mordecai fell upon lech, David to Saul, the Baptist to 
 
 them. But much more, because God Herod, our Saviour to the Pharisees, 
 
 himself over-awed them, and dispirited Paul and Silas to their persecutors. And 
 
 them. How else should he appear to this the Lord still doth, that he may 
 
 be the God of the spirits of all flesh, and dwell upon earth, in his faithful wor- 
 
 that in the thing wherein people deal shippers, which wicked men would not 
 
 proudly he was above them 1 ? How surfer, if not thus reined in and restrained, 
 
 should they come to know themselves to And, secondly, that praise may wait for 
 
 be but men, and not God ; and their him in Zion, and unto him may the vow 
 
 horses flesh, and not spirit; if he did not be performed. — Trapp. 
 
 MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH. Verse 4. 
 
 The Greatness of Goodness. 
 
 This verse is given as a reason why the fear of Mordecai fell upon all the people. 
 " For Mordecai was great in the king's house, and his fame went out throughout 
 all the provinces : for this man Mordecai waxed greater and greater." It is given 
 unto but few to attain unto that social and political greatness that was the posses- 
 sion of Mordecai : but many may become possessors of that goodness which was 
 the foundation of Mordecai's greatness, and therefore we must speak of his good- 
 ness in order to inspire if possible a reasonable ambition. Let us strive to be good 
 and noble, for this is true and lasting greatness. Let this mind be in you, which 
 was in Christ Jesus. 
 
 I. Goodness is greatness. This is a truth which many may profess but which 
 very few practise. The goodness of earth's great ones is admired ; but goodness in 
 earth's little ones is too often left unnoticed. However, goodness, wherever found 
 ■ — in cot or in palace — is not unnoticed by the good God. Mordecai was great 
 because he was good. On this very account he rose to the highest position in the 
 Persian empire. He was great in the king's house, not through political intrigue, 
 not through the carrying out of any wily schemes, not on account of his gifts as 
 an orator, but on account of his goodness. His faithfulness in a lowly sphere 
 when he discovered and exposed a wicked conspiracy, his benevolent attachment 
 to Esther, and his patriotic interest in his countrymen, were the reasons of his pro- 
 motion. He did not follow the rules of goodness as being the way to earthly 
 greatness. He did not act on the principle that gain is godliness. Let us aspire 
 after the greatness of goodness. In lowly walks of life, without any sinister objects 
 in view, without any thought that a virtuous course of conduct is the most prudent 
 and the most profitable, let us move on in the pathway of goodness. Let a deep 
 love of the Saviour be the all-compelling motive power. Let us have a supreme 
 respect unto the recompense of the heavenly reward. 
 
 II. The greatness of goodness extends. Mordecai's fame went out throughout 
 all the provinces. He was not little at home and great abroad, but hewas great 
 abroad because he was great at home. No man is a hero to his valet. But the 
 
296 HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: ESTHER. [chap. ix. 
 
 good man is a hero everywhere. Your earthly great ones are only great on large 
 occasions and in public. The spiritually great, are great in public, but their bright- 
 est glories shine out for the benefit of those who know them best. The common 
 people heard the Saviour gladly ; but that disciple whom Jesus loved saw the most 
 of his Divine greatness and glory. Mordecai's light shone in the palace, but it 
 could not be hid, and its clear rays shone out to the remotest provinces. " Let 
 your light so shine before men that they may see your good works, and glorify 
 your Father -which is in heaven." Oh for the light of that goodness which illumines 
 and gladdens the home, and then extends itself in ever-widening and ever-increas- 
 ing circles ! 
 
 III. The greatness of goodness developes. This man Mordecai waxed greater 
 and greater. Mordecai was a growing man. We see his noble manliness develop- 
 ing day by day, and week by week. Goodness is the one quality which may be 
 ever increasing and developing. Physical power can only be increased up to a 
 certain point and for a certain period. Samson at last reaches the climax of mere 
 physical prowess. Intellectual greatness has its limits. Even Solomon could only 
 compass a certain amount of knowledge. Mordecai socially and politically could 
 only wax greater and greater for a short period. But Mordecai morally and 
 spiritually could w^ax greater and greater in indefinite spheres and through eternity. 
 The path of the just is as the shining light that shineth more and more unto the 
 perfect day. We follow the just to the perfect day of the upper Paradise, but even 
 there we see them waxing greater and greater. There is, we believe, growth in 
 heaven — growth in knowledge and growth in holiness. However that may be, let 
 all seek to grow on earth. Grow in grace is the Divine command. We must 
 either, morally considered, go backward or forward. JS T ot to grow is to decay. To 
 decay is to die. Excelsior should be the Christian's watch-word. Onward and 
 upward to the heights of holiness, of a more perfect, mastery over self and the 
 world, and a more complete likeness to the blessed Saviour. 
 
 Suggestive Comments on Verse 4. 
 
 " He was great." Ah, how that word thirty of the population. He "sought 
 
 "greatness" is often misused and de- the wealth of his people." Jewish-like, 
 
 based! A man bears a certain name, no doubt, is this; but observe, it was 
 
 and therefore he is great ; or he wears a his people's wealth, not his own, he 
 
 certain robe, and therefore he is great; sought. And the last word concerning 
 
 or he succeeds in slaughtering an im- him on record is this, that " he spake 
 
 mense number of his fellow-creatures, peace to all his seed." He was access- 
 
 and there he is great; or by much ible, he was gentle, he was generous and 
 
 cunning, and audacity, and cleverness patriotic, promoting the well-being of 
 
 withal, he keeps himself in conspicuous his seed, but not at the expense of the 
 
 places and before the eyes of his fellow- country in which he was born. Would 
 
 countrymen, and therefore he is great ! that all who are in great place in our 
 
 Not such greatness as any of these was own country, and in this our own day, 
 
 that of Mordecai. It was a greatness would follow very literally Mordecai's 
 
 won, no doubt, by his splendid faculty example and speak "peace." — Raleigh. 
 of management, by his statesmanship, Mordecai was greatin the king's house. 
 
 but with real substance in it of truth He was known to be a Jew, and deeply 
 
 and goodness. He was great, not only interested in the protection of his own 
 
 as at the practical head of the govern- people. He had shown his wisdom as 
 
 ment of this great empire of Persia, but well as his power in the decree which 
 
 he was BO esteemed among "his own had been issued by him, and during the 
 
 people," who were despised and perse- intervening months his greatness had 
 
 cuted as they so often have been, and been steadily on the increase. What- 
 
 who numbered not more than one in ever may have been the means taken by 
 
CHAT. IX.] 
 
 HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: ESTHER. 
 
 297 
 
 him to exhibit this ever-augmenting 
 greatness to the people, they were deeply 
 impressed with it, not in Shushan only, 
 but also " throughout all the provinces." 
 No doubt his management of public 
 business would be of a very different 
 kind from that of his predecessor. 
 There would be no self-seeking, no 
 vacillation, no favouritism toward offend- 
 ers, but justice and equity, influenced 
 and dispensed with high religious prin- 
 ciple. Nothing else but this will, in the 
 long run, stand the scrutiny and verdict 
 of public opinion. By degrees there is 
 gathered around it a moral weight which 
 cannot fail to be respected by good, and 
 feared by wicked, men. It is a great- 
 ness which is at once the offspring and 
 reward of virtue. The fame of Mordecai 
 made the enemies of the Jews afraid, 
 and fear would weaken energy. On the 
 other side, the Jews had faith in him 
 who had raised up and given to Morde- 
 cai this power and greatness in their 
 emergency and peril ; and this faith in 
 God was the harbinger of victory, even 
 as the fear of those who were hostile to 
 them was the sure precursor of defeat. 
 Faith would give calmness and courage, 
 just as fear would occasion haste and 
 hesitation. In this we have the secret 
 how that, with lesser numbers, the Jews 
 yet commanded greater power, and had, 
 from the commencement of the conflict, 
 the promise of success. " The fear of 
 them fell upon all people." — McEwen. 
 
 The promotion of Mordecai must have 
 soon produced a most important change 
 in favour of the Jews. Mordecai was 
 universally beloved and respected, as 
 well by the Persians as by his own 
 countrymen. On that memorable day 
 when he went forth from the king's 
 presence, and appeared for the first time 
 in public, arrayed in the robes and 
 golden tiara which belonged to his office, 
 as chief minister of the Persian empire, 
 we are told, that " the city of Shushan 
 rejoiced and was glad : " — rejoiced, not 
 only at its deliverance from the terror 
 of the detested Hainan, but because his 
 successor was known to be a wise, and 
 good, and unselfish man ; a magistrate, 
 from whom all might expect justice ; a 
 ruler, from whom all honest and well- 
 
 disposed persons would receive favour 
 and protection. The advancement of 
 such a man to supreme power, added to 
 the surprising discovery that the queen 
 herself was a Jewess, and the nearest 
 relative of the new minister, must have 
 operated everywhere to the advantage 
 of the Jews. 
 
 That a wish to please and conciliate 
 the favour of any one in Mordecai's 
 station, would lead the provincial author- 
 ities to espouse the cause of the Jews, 
 and to help them, both in preparing for 
 their defence, and afterwards in resisting 
 their enemies, is only what might have 
 been expected. Mordecai had, in effect, 
 the absolute government of nearly the 
 whole civilized world in his hands. And 
 as his virtue, his moderation, and his 
 disinterested love of truth and goodness, 
 became known and understood, his moral 
 influence increased every hour. " Mor- 
 decai was great in the king's house, and 
 his fame went out throughout all the 
 provinces : for this man Mordecai waxed 
 greater and greater." Like Joseph and 
 Daniel, his illustrious countrymen, his 
 power was used for the good of others. 
 His authority was exerted in behalf of 
 truth and justice. And as the subordi- 
 nate officers of government would neces- 
 sarily take their tone from him, the 
 whole weight and influence of his office 
 and station would be sure to operate in 
 favour of the Jews, and raise up for 
 them powerful friends and protectors. 
 And so we are informed, that they all 
 " helped the Jews." 
 
 But besides ; all reflecting persons 
 must have felt, that the Jews were 
 protected by a higher power. A revo- 
 lution so sudden, so unlooked for, so 
 unparalleled in history ; a manifestation 
 of Providence, more wonderful than any 
 interposition, not absolutely miraculous, 
 which this mysterious people had ever 
 before experienced, coming, as it did, 
 immediately after the public fastings 
 and prayers with which they had cast 
 themselves and their families upon the 
 Divine mercy, — such a strange and sin- 
 gular combination of events must have 
 produced a great and widely-extended 
 conviction, that Heaven itself had inter- 
 fered to save them. And this persuasion 
 
29$ 
 
 nOMlLKTIQ COMMENTARY: ESTHER. 
 
 [CHAP. IX. 
 
 must likewise have disposed many of 
 the better and more thoughtful sort, to 
 consider more attentively than hereto- 
 fore, the claims of the religion of the 
 Jews to he a revelation from the supreme 
 God. Accordingly, we are informed by 
 the sacred historian, that " many of the 
 people of the land became Jews ; for 
 the fear of the Jews fell upon them." — 
 Crostkwaite. 
 
 At the time of the deliverance from 
 Egypt and the entrance into Canaan, 
 the Lord showed abundantly that he 
 was able to make his people a great 
 nation, despite the most powerful of 
 their enemies. Now in its exile he 
 again showed them, as for himself, he 
 now no longer had need of them as a 
 people, at least as a politically independ- 
 ent one. The great deeds that were 
 then done were edifying and elevating 
 in tendency ; what he now did was 
 momentous and instructive. It was 
 plainly evident that he could accomplish 
 his purpose aside from external means 
 or political circumstances. It is still 
 more manifest than it then was that 
 it has pleased him to be powerful in 
 those that are weak, and great in those 
 who have little influence. In those 
 
 days he prepared as his instruments the 
 chief persons and princes of his own 
 people, who were in a special manner 
 filled with the Spirit. Now, however, 
 he employs instead, the satraps and 
 governors of Persia, little as they were 
 willing or fit for such work. Together 
 with and among kings, such as Cyrus 
 and Ahasuerus, they must also further 
 God's purpose. There was a time when 
 the Lord had caused fear and terror 
 to fall upon the peoples before Israel, 
 especially those who stood opposed in 
 war, so that they fled from before them. 
 Now, however, the princes and govern- 
 ors, who had great fear, were obliged 
 to protect the rights of the subjects of 
 the king, and thus they protected Israel. 
 This corresponded entirely to his great- 
 ness. Therein is shown his claim as the 
 God of all men. This is itself further 
 evinced by the fact that if his people 
 will only become more spiritual, as is 
 his wish, and partake of his nature, he 
 will by no means leave them fatherless. 
 But the more spiritual his kingdom, i. e. 
 his people, will become, the more will 
 he assist them to arrive at truth, justice, 
 and security throughout the world while 
 in it. — Lcuuje. 
 
 MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH. Verses 5—11. 
 
 The Fate of Evil-doers. 
 
 Justice ought to be tempered by mercy. But there may be a danger of 
 degenerating into what we may call sentimentalism. We seem to see the working 
 of this feeling in the present day. We would not deal harshly, but we must deal 
 justly, with the criminal classes. We must have respect to the welfare of society 
 as a great whole. In reading some of the Old Testament accounts of slaughters 
 and battles, Ave must not follow our own modern feelings; and we must make 
 all due and proper allowance for the difference of times and of dispensations. 
 After all proper allowances have been made, there will still be about those 
 accounts that which is to us inexplicable on modern and even New Testament 
 principles. Here are great slaughters that may well appear to us very strange. 
 However, the narrative does not warrant the assumption that there was anything 
 vindictive on the part of Esther or Mordecai. The Jews slew in self-defence. 
 They killed only the men ; they did not kill for personal enrichment, for on the 
 spoil laid they not their hand. Let us seek to gather instruction from the Avhole 
 narrative. 
 
 I. The destruction of evil-doers. The enemies of the Lord and of the 
 Lord's Church must meet with retribution sooner or later. The haters of the 
 .lews were visited with slaughter and destruction. Even in the gospel dispensation 
 it is written, " It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God." It is a 
 
cttajp. ix.] HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: ESTHER. 299 
 
 fearful thing for the hardened and the finally impenitent thus to fall. He that 
 "being often reproved, and hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and 
 that without remedy. But Jesus Christ came to provide a way of escape from final 
 destruction. The Son of man is come to seek and to save that which is lost. 
 Thus, through Christ Jesus, the stroke of retribution may be averted. By his 
 stripes penitent and believing sinners may be healed and saved. If, then, we would 
 escape the ministers of vengeance, we must lay hold on the hope set before us in 
 the gospel. Let us at once lay hold on the blessed hope. Let us penitently bow 
 at the foot of the cross. Let us believingly apply to the one Mediator between 
 God and man, the man Christ Jesus. 
 
 II. The infamy of evil-doers. The ten sons of Haman receive an unenviable 
 notoriety. Their names are recorded and handed down to all the ages, and thus 
 branded, as it were, with undying infamy. Far better to go down to the grave 
 unknown than to occupy that place in history which is occupied by these ten men. 
 Better still to go down to the grave along the pathway of righteous endeavour to 
 keep God's commandments. Blessed are the dead that die in the Lord. These 
 ten men were damaged by parental influence, but we do not read that they made 
 any effort to rise superior to the evil influence of their circumstances. It is some- 
 times very convenient to blame parents, and to blame our circumstances. The 
 question will arise, Have we done the best we could in spite of our circumstances'? 
 Have we shown the noble sight of men bravely battling with and against adversity 1 
 Faithful endeavour cannot be altogether lost. Men will be judged according to 
 their light, their opportunities, their circumstances, and their talents. Be wise in 
 time. 
 
 III. The report of the fate of evil-doers. On that day the number of those 
 that were slain in Shushan the palace, was brought before the king. An account 
 was kept. The report has a solemn voice. If strict accounts are kept on earth, 
 strict accounts are kept in heaven. The dead, both small and great, must stand 
 before God, and the books will be opened. Oh, who shall be able to stand 
 when the books are opened 1 ? How very many would shrink from the exposure of 
 the outward acts and the inward thoughts and feelings of one year of their sinful 
 lives 1 What a dark scroll ! Let me not brave the opening of the books in that 
 great day. Let me, my Saviour, find in that day that thy precious blood has 
 been sprinkled upon the pages of the great book, and all the black record of my 
 misdoings has been wiped clean away, and nothing is to be seen but clear pages. 
 May I be found at last washed in the blood of the Lamb. 
 
 Suggestive Comments on Yeeses 5 — 11. 
 
 It is one thing to take revenge of joyed, of rejoicing in a victory over their 
 one's self, another to do so on the order enemies ; and it would be little to the 
 of authority ; not the latter, but the purpose, if instead of aiming at their 
 former, is forbidden. The simple com- conversion, we acquiesced in their de- 
 mand of a government will justify such struction. Instead of justifying the 
 an act only in so far as it is a guaranty complaint that we do not pay sufficient 
 against pure thirst for revenge. Every- regard to Old Testament national condi- 
 thing here depends upon the disposition tions, we must also remember that Old 
 of mind. But we would certainly mis- Testament saints could not well avoid 
 judge the temper of the then Jews, often taking a stand-point opposed to 
 were we to assume that because the their enemies, just as we are still allowed 
 people Avere but a religious community, to assume a position at variance with 
 we are at liberty to apply a Christian those in enmity against God. Besides, 
 standard to them. It would be unjust we are not to forget that, for those who 
 to deny them the privilege, which they will not join themselves to the kingdom 
 as an independent people formerly en- or people of God, whatever its form or 
 
300 
 
 UOM1LETIC COMMENTARY: ESTHER. 
 
 [chap. ix. 
 
 degree of development, this very hostility 
 
 is a ground of condemnation. All things 
 that cannot he employed for a good end 
 will finally issue in destruction and ex- 
 tinction. This is still true, and will he 
 true to the end of time. In the same 
 manner even the angels in heaven could 
 not have acted differently from Esther 
 with regard to those enemies in the city 
 of Shushan. We would he more just 
 to Esther, to the Jews spoken of in our 
 hook, and to the book itself, if, in what 
 was done in Shushan as well as in all 
 Persia, we would see an anticipation of 
 the judgments connected and paralleled 
 with the progress of the kingdom of 
 God on earth, and especially of the final 
 judgment. If the animus of the Old 
 Testament with respect to the destruc- 
 tion of enemies seems to us terribly vin- 
 dictive, rather than mild, yet this may 
 not only be excusable, but may even be 
 a prophetic intimation. The fact, sl 
 prominently and emphatically expressed, 
 in the present instance, that the Jews 
 did not stretch out their hands after the 
 goods (spoils) of their enemies, proves to 
 us that they meant to conduct this con- 
 test as a measure of self-protection, or 
 better, as a holy war, the sole purpose of 
 which was the removal of their enemies. 
 — Lange. 
 
 " This example, however, is set before 
 us not that we should take it upon our- 
 selves to avenge injuries, according to 
 our own judgment, but that we may 
 recognize the severity of the Divine 
 wrath against the impious persecutor of 
 the people of God, and that in persecu- 
 tion we might most confidently expect 
 deliverance through faith, and be obedi- 
 ent to the calls of God." — Brenz. 
 
 " This is written in admonition of 
 parents, in order that they may be in- 
 cited to cultivate piety, lest along with 
 themselves they may also drag their 
 children down into destruction. Such 
 severity of God is stated in the Deca- 
 logue : ' Visiting the iniquity of the 
 fathers upon the children to the third 
 and fourth generation of those that hate 
 me.' " — Brenz. 
 
 We may learn from this part of the 
 history how dangerous it is to enter on 
 a wicked course, especially in concert 
 
 with others. Persons go on from evil to 
 worse ; they encourage one another in 
 mischief. This is especially true as to 
 those practices which originate in malice, 
 as to which the devil, who was a mur- 
 derer from the beginning, exerts a pecu- 
 liar influence, in urging his children to 
 the most violent extremes. " This is the 
 message that ye heard from the begin- 
 ning, that we should love one another. 
 Not as Cain, who was of that wicked 
 one, and slew his brother. And Avhere- 
 fore slew he him ] Because his own 
 works were evil, and his brother's right- 
 eous." But in addition to the consider- 
 ations mentioned, Ave should stand in 
 awe of the righteous judgment of God, 
 who gives up wicked men to the uncon- 
 trolled corruption of their own hearts, 
 and to the suggestions of the evil one, 
 so that they often rush with their eyes 
 open upon ruin. " Whom God means 
 to destroy, he first infatuates." 
 
 This was remarkably exemplified in 
 the case before us. In spite of all the 
 discouragements thrown in their Avay, 
 and though heaven and earth both 
 frowned upon them, the enemies of the 
 Jews persisted in their hostile intentions, 
 and assumed an offensive posture on the 
 long looked-for day. — M'Crie. 
 
 It may appear strange that the JeAvs 
 now found any enemies bold enough to 
 contend with them in battle. The king 
 Avas their friend, God Avas their friend, 
 Avhat could those expect Avho sought 
 their lives, but destruction to them- 
 selves 1 It is indeed wonderful, but not 
 uncommon, for men to value the gratifi- 
 cation of their malignant passions above 
 their best interests, and above their 
 safety. At the destruction of Jerusalem 
 by the Romans, it is well known that 
 the Jews themselves did more mischief 
 to one another, than all the harm they 
 suffered from the fury of their conquer- 
 ors. The different parties, when they 
 found respite from the Eomans, destroyed 
 their provisions, and then brought upon 
 themselves a famine, which destroyed 
 them by thousands. But Ave need not 
 look seventeen hundred years back to 
 see the tyrannizing power of malice and 
 hatred over the minds of men. Are 
 there not many who subject themselves 
 
CHAP. IX.] 
 
 HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: ESTHER. 
 
 301 
 
 to bitter remorse, to ruinous fines, or to 
 an ignominious death 1 Are there not 
 many more who subject themselves to 
 the curse of God, merely to gratify their 
 accursed spite against their fellow-men 1 
 Many of the enemies of the Jews, 
 doubtless, were overawed by the power 
 of Mordecai, and either sat quiet in their 
 dwellings, or joined with the Jews. 
 Many chose rather to be quiet tlian to 
 venture their lives in battle with ene- 
 mies that were sure to be victorious. 
 But there were others, not in small 
 numbers, who chose to venture, or rather 
 to sell their lives, and the lives of all 
 that were dear to them, rather than lose 
 the opportunity given them by law, of 
 attempting to destroy a race of men 
 whom, though innocent, they hated with 
 a deadly hatred. These men combined 
 in the different cities to fight against the 
 Jews. But their confederacy was against 
 the God of heaven, who spoiled them of 
 their courage, and gave them into the 
 hands of the Jews, to do to them as 
 they would. They were so far from 
 gaining their malicious purposes at the 
 expense of their lives, that victory, and 
 triumph to their hated enemies, were 
 the fruit of their cruel attempt. Vain 
 it is to fight against God, or against 
 those whom he loves and protects. If 
 God be against us, who can be for us 1 
 If we harden ourselves against the Al- 
 mighty we cannot prosper. It were 
 better for us to dash our heads against 
 the craggy rock, than to rush upon the 
 thick bosses of the buckler of the 
 Almighty. 
 
 Why should men fight against God 1 
 And yet there are too many who fear 
 not to carry the weapons of an unright- 
 eous warfare against their Maker and 
 their Judge. " Whatever ye have done, 
 or not done, to one of the least of my 
 brethren," says Christ, "ye have done, 
 or not done, to me." Enmity against 
 God himself; and surely "all that are 
 incensed against him shall be ashamed." 
 Even in Shushan the royal city, under 
 the eye of the king, there were more 
 than five hundred men that combined, 
 in defiance of the king's known senti- 
 ments, to attack the Jews. But they 
 meddled to their own hurt. When we 
 
 consider the audacity of that behaviour, 
 to which their malice prompted them, 
 we see that Mordecai had too much 
 reason to tell Esther that she would not 
 be safe in the king's palace, if she did 
 not intercede with the king. The men 
 that could take the pretence of a law to 
 attack the Jews to their certain destruc- 
 tion, might have been prompted by the 
 same outrageous malice to attack Esther 
 in the palace, when they could plead the 
 king's authority for the enterprise. 
 
 Thpse five hundred men in Shushan, 
 who sold their lives in this desperate 
 cause, were doubtless some of Haman's 
 creatures, who had learned from him to 
 hate the Jews with a bloody hatred. 
 Haman's ten sons were at the head of 
 them, and shared in their fate. They 
 were doubtless trained up by their father 
 in the hatred of that nation, and his 
 miserable end, instead of opening their 
 eyes, irritated their resentment to their 
 own destruction. 
 
 It was natural, some will say, for 
 Haman's sons to account that people 
 their enemies, by the means of whom 
 their father suffered an ignominious 
 death. It was natural, it must be con- 
 fessed ; but it does not follow that it 
 was right. Children are to honour their 
 parents while they live, and venerate 
 their memory when they are dead, but 
 not to follow their example in anything 
 that is evil. The children of wicked 
 parents ought to remember, that their 
 Maker must have the precedency to all 
 other duties ; and that to rebel against 
 God, because their parents rebelled 
 against him, is not more excusable than 
 for a man to be a thief, or a traitor, or 
 an adulterer, because his father was so 
 before him. God commanded his people, 
 when they were carried away captives 
 for their transgression, to confess their 
 own iniquity, and the iniquity of their 
 fathers. The holy son of the wicked 
 Ahaz made a full confession of the sins 
 committed by his father, and by the 
 people under his influence, and deserved 
 high praise for reversing all his wicked 
 institutions. Jeroboam had only one 
 son in his house who discovered a dislike 
 of his father's conduct, aud was the only 
 member of the family who died in peace. 
 
302 
 
 IIOM1LETIC COMMENTARY: ESTHER. 
 
 [chap. IX 
 
 " Fill ye up the measure of your fathers," 
 said Jesus to the Jews; warning them 
 that their fathers' example would he so 
 far from justifying their wicked con- 
 duct, that the vengeance of Heaven was 
 brought the nearer them, that their sins 
 were but a continuation of the sins of 
 their progenitors. 
 
 Parents, pity your children, if you 
 will not pity yourselves. You know 
 what force the example and influence of 
 parents have. If you profess bad princi- 
 ples, you of course train up your children 
 in the profession of the same. If you 
 openly practise wickedness, you teach 
 your children to practise it likewise. 
 Thus you pull down vengeance, not only 
 upon yourselves, but upon your houses. 
 You see that Haman was the enemy of 
 the Jews, and of the God of the Jews, 
 and the punishment of his wickedness 
 fell heavy, not only on himself, but 
 upon all his family, which was probably 
 rooted out of the earth. His sons 
 might have been suffered to live in 
 obscurity, if they had been willing to 
 live peaceably. But they had drunk 
 deep of their father's spirit, and followed 
 his example, and ten (probably all of 
 them) perished on that fatal day, on 
 which their father, a few months before, 
 had hoped to feast his eyes with the 
 blood of those whom he chose to account 
 his enemies. — Lcncson. 
 
 But on the spoil laid they not their 
 hand. — Lest the king should be dam- 
 nified, or themselves justly taxed of 
 covetousness and cruelty. " Give none 
 offence, neither to the Jews, nor to the 
 Gentiles, nor to the Church of God." 
 This is oft-repeated in this chapter, to 
 their great commendation ; that, al- 
 though by the king's grant they might 
 have taken the spoil, yet they did it not. 
 1. To show that they were God's execu- 
 tioners, not thieves and robbers. 2. To 
 gratify the king for his courtesy towards 
 them by leaving the spoil wholly to his 
 treasury. 3. It is not unlikely, saith an 
 interpreter, that Mordecai and Esther 
 had admonished them how ill Saul had 
 Bped with the spoil of the Amalekites, 
 
 and Achan with his wedge of gold, 
 which served but to cleave his body and 
 soul asunder, and his Babylonish gar- 
 ment, which proved to be his winding- 
 sheet. — Trap p. 
 
 Notwithstanding, the worst passions 
 of some had been roused, and neither 
 the king's wish nor the awe of Mordecai 
 availed to restrain them. In the capital, 
 five hundred men, led by Hainan's ten 
 sons, threw away their lives in the 
 attempt to injure the Jews. It is not 
 easy to pity them. If they had ceased 
 from hating their neighbours and resist- 
 ing God they would have been safe ; 
 but when they would not, there was 
 nothing left but to kill them. In the 
 rest of the provinces seventy-five thou- 
 sand persons perished in the same w r ay. 
 An accurate report must have been 
 gathered by the prime minister, now 
 Mordecai, of the result in each city. 
 The victory was uniform and complete 
 from India to Ethiopia. The lesson of 
 God's care over his people was thus 
 taught over the known world in one 
 day, and with greatly more effect than 
 if an equal number of enemies had fallen 
 under the walls of Jerusalem. And 
 another lesson was taught by the un- 
 looked-for self-restraint of the peculiar 
 people. " But on the spoil laid they 
 not their hands." You can imagine the 
 widows and weak ones who were left in 
 the houses of the foolhardy, after cower- 
 ing in terror of massacre, or worse, all 
 through the thirteenth of Adar, and 
 perhaps the next day also, at length 
 beginning to breathe freely. " How 
 strange these Jews are ! They care not 
 for spoil, they insult us not, they rob 
 us not, they have no revenge ; they can 
 fight, — that is proved, — but they fight 
 only for liberty to live and worship their 
 God." Yes; the whole transaction was 
 ordained to vindicate the right of God's 
 people to live as such on his earth ; and 
 this was all the more effectively done 
 when the humane and unworldly cha- 
 racter of their religion was so strikingly 
 manifested. — Symington. 
 
chap, ix] HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: ESTHER. 303 
 
 MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH. Verses 12—16. 
 
 The Rigour of Justice. 
 
 Justice is stern, and in the course of justice none of us should see salvation. 
 This is one of the glories of the new dispensation, that we may live under the reign 
 of mercy, and not under the reign of justice. However, mercy must not be per- 
 mitted to induce the spirit of presumption. If mercy harden, justice will be 
 allowed to do its severe work. The prospect of mercy must lead to penitence, to 
 faith, to renewed consecration, in order that the stroke of justice may be averted. 
 In this paragraph let us see Esther as the personification of justice, and thus 
 notice — 
 
 I. Justice works by striking terror. The proceedings of the Jews on this 
 occasion were calculated to strike terror into the hearts of their enemies. Five 
 hundred men slain in Shushan the palace, Haman's ten sons destroyed, the leaders 
 of the movement against the Jews were all slaughtered. Thus a panic was spread 
 amongst all those who had shown themselves the Jews' enemies. Justice works 
 by terror. It is so under human rule. It is so under Divine rule. Society seeks 
 to restrain the criminal by fear. But this can never be a permanently renovating 
 power. It is by the indwelling force of Divine love that the evil must be extir- 
 pated. God's method of law and of justice in the old dispensation must give 
 place to the brighter and surer method of love and mercy in the new dispensation. 
 It is highly fitting that the dispensation which was to be permanent, which is for all 
 races, should be one of mercy, and of love, through Jesus Christ our Lord and 
 Saviour. 
 
 II. Justice pursues to the bitter end. Haman's ten sons are slain, and then 
 they are hanged upon the gallows. The Jews stood for their lives, and slew 
 seventy and five thousand. Justice demands the uttermost farthing. It says, 
 " Pay me what thou owest." It takes the penniless debtor and casts him into 
 prison, there to lie until all the debt be paid. Justice is an exact accountant. 
 Escape there cannot be from the stern grasp of justice except by the interposition 
 of a higher power. Justice and mercy are harmonized in the cross of the blessed 
 Saviour. 
 
 III. Justice makes a distinction. These Jews slew only their foes. They did 
 not proceed on the method of indiscriminate slaughter. They do not appear to 
 have touched inoffensive women and helpless children. They did not even confis- 
 cate to themselves the property of their foes. Divine justice will be exact in its 
 distinctions. It will judge between the good and the bad, and also between bad 
 and bad. One servant will receive many stripes, and another the few. 
 
 IV. The administrators of justice have rest when the appointed work is 
 accomplished. The Jews had rest from their enemies. The open enemies were 
 destroyed. The concealed enemies were afraid. There was security, if not 
 absolute safety, to the Jewish nation. How blessed that word rest to these once 
 persecuted, fighting, and now triumphant Jews. Eest, after all their fears and 
 forebodings ! Rest, after all their awful but necessary work of bloodshed ! The 
 warriors find rest. The statement implies that these Jews did not find supreme 
 delight in the butchery and blood-shedding of man. They were not warriors by 
 trade and by desire, but by the stern necessity which has no law. Sweet and 
 welcome to them the rest after long and bitter months of fear and anxiety. To 
 all those who fight against the enemies of the Lord there is the sure prospect of 
 rest. Every Christian has such enemies. " We wrestle not against flesh and 
 blood," &c. But rest will come ere long. Sweet rest in heaven ; Divine repose 
 in the Father's house. The soul of the believer pants for rest in this world of 
 
.°i()4 
 
 IIOMILETIC COMMENTARY: ESTHER. 
 
 [cnAP. ix. 
 
 Rtrife and turmoil. Rest from moral enemies. Rest from the strife of tongues. 
 Rest from foes without, and fears within. Lord God, give us to taste the pure rust 
 of heaven. 
 
 Suggestive Comments on Verses 12 — 16. 
 
 If she had been put upon her defence 
 for this act, she might have urged that 
 love for her countrymen and love for 
 her religion, prompted her to deal thus 
 toward the fierce enemies of both. And 
 we shall not question the fact, that it 
 was by these feelings she was chiefly 
 animated, and not by the desire of 
 revenge alone. Bat it must be remem- 
 bered, that although this furnishes a 
 sufficiently satisfactory explanation of 
 her conduct, it does not justify it. It 
 has ever been under the pretext of zeal 
 for truth, that the fires of religious per- 
 secution have been kindled. Under 
 this plea, for example, Popery has shed 
 the blood of the righteous like, water, 
 and even in Protestant countries pains 
 and penalties have been inflicted upon 
 those wdio refused to adopt the form of 
 religion patronized by the state. In- 
 tolerance has always had its arguments 
 in self-defence ; but these do not serve 
 for its vindication. And so iti the case 
 before us, we believe most assuredly 
 that Esther acted in all good conscience, 
 as also did Mordecai, by whom very 
 probably she was instructed what to do 
 on the occasion. Yet this hinders not 
 our regretting that she was hurried away 
 by the spirit of revenge, rather than 
 moved by wdiat would have become 
 her better — the mild and sweet influence 
 of a forgiving heart. In defence of her 
 religion and her people she suffered 
 herself to act with unbecoming zeal. 
 I would take occasion to observe here, 
 that the great principle of toleration in 
 religion is still imperfectly understood, 
 and in many parts of what is called 
 Christendom, as imperfectly practised. 
 The principle is utterly to be repudiated, 
 that man is not responsible to God for 
 unbelief. He is responsible, as Christ's 
 words imply, when he says that men 
 " love darkness rather than light, be- 
 cause their deeds are evil." But on the 
 other hand, this other principle is ever 
 to be maintained and urged, that man is 
 
 not responsible to his fellow-man, either 
 for his belief or unbelief, and that pains 
 and penalties to enforce religious con- 
 formity are altogether indefensible. That 
 there is a limit to be affixed to the 
 publication of opinions which are blas- 
 phemous, revoltingly immoral, or licenti- 
 ous, and subversive of all order and 
 government, is a proposition which very 
 few will call in question. The well- 
 being of society demands that care be 
 taken lest its very foundations be 
 undermined by men whose heart is set 
 in them to do evil. But to punish any 
 one for holding particular views of 
 Divine truth, or for refusing to conform 
 to the belief and practice of the majority, 
 is manifestly wrong. If no other argu- 
 ments could be advanced for the as- 
 sumption and exertion of a power to 
 compel uniformity, these two would be 
 sufficient : that the application of ex- 
 ternal force in matters of religion implies 
 that those who have recourse to it must 
 deem themselves infallible, which no 
 man, or class of men, can rightly do ; 
 and that it evidently supposos that the 
 claims and evidences of true religion are 
 not so powerful of themselves as to be 
 able without external or temporal aid to 
 secure the approval of those to whom 
 they are addressed. Let us hope that 
 the world and the Church also will 
 come to understand better than either 
 has done hitherto, the reverence which 
 is due to the inalienable rights of con- 
 science, when these are pled for. — 
 Davidson. 
 
 On the other side of the account 
 this — that with emphasis it is stated 
 that in Shushan the palace, in a great, 
 city, they slew 500 men. Twice it is 
 said they slew only men. They were 
 allowed to slay women and children. 
 But as this was not necessary to their 
 own preservation, they took the course 
 dictated by humanity and mercy. And 
 this stands well to their credit. 
 
 It might seem pm-haps to some that 
 
CHAP. IX J 
 
 HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: ESTHER. 
 
 305 
 
 Esther herself was lacking in this hu- 
 manity, when, using her great influence 
 over her uxorious husband, and in reply- 
 to his desire to know what now she 
 wished further done, assuring her that 
 her wish should immediately be royal 
 command — she asked not only that 
 Hainan's sons should be hanged — but 
 that there might be another day of 
 slaughter added to the first. One very 
 vigorous objector speaks of it as "an- 
 other day of butchery in the palace." 
 But that is mere excess and exaggera- 
 tion. The Avhole meaning of Esther's 
 prayer is that the Jews might be allowed 
 to continue the defence for another day, 
 since the assault had not yet ceased. 
 
 The request was wholly reasonable, 
 and it was at once granted. It was 
 only in the palace, i. e. in the capital 
 city, that this was necessary ; through- 
 out the provinces of the empire the 
 fighting began and ended on the same 
 day. — Raleigh. 
 
 We would give prominence to this 
 circumstance, because some have been 
 disposed to charge the Jews with a 
 vindictive and merciless spirit in the 
 conduct of this war — especially for the 
 purpose of lowering the estimate which 
 we have formed, and endeavoured to 
 present, of the character of Esther, in 
 not being satisfied with one day's 
 slaughter, but asking the king, when 
 the opportunity was given her, that it 
 should be continued on the following 
 day, and that the dead bodies of Hainan's 
 ten sons should be suspended on the 
 gallows. If there is the appearance of 
 severity in this, it is difficult to see that 
 it was not warranted and necessary for 
 the future peace of the Jews in Persia. 
 The Jews were simply acting on their 
 own defence. They were not the ag- 
 gressors. If their enemies had wished 
 to be let alone, they had nothing to do 
 but to let them alone ; and having risen 
 to exterminate them, they could hardly 
 complain if they should be themselves 
 exterminated. To have the war pro- 
 longed over another day, on which the 
 dead bodies of Haman's ten sons should 
 be seen hanging on the gallows, must 
 not Vie viewed in the light of pleasure 
 in bloodshed and cruelty, but rather 
 
 what was needful to protect the Jews 
 against future trouble and single-handed 
 resistance of assault, and, as has been 
 suggested, " to deter other councillors, 
 at any time, from abusing the king with 
 false representations." Many of the 
 ringleaders may have escaped on the 
 first day. They may have secreted 
 themselves in houses, or fled to the 
 suburbs, knowing that the decrees only 
 extended over one day. They would be 
 enraged more than ever against the Jews, 
 and might concert measures for private 
 revenge. Unprotected households would 
 not be free from invasion and spoliation. 
 The work was not completed. But let 
 there be a second day, accompanied with 
 the terrible spectacle of the scaffold with 
 its ten victims, and there would be less 
 likelihood of any future uprising against 
 the Jews. Moreover, we must look at 
 the retribution on the Divine as well as 
 the human side. If these enemies of 
 the JeAvs were chiefly Amalekites, they 
 lay under the righteous sentence of the 
 Almighty, whose word could not fail of 
 accomplishment. They were bitterly 
 opposed, not only to the people of God, 
 but to God himself, and would have 
 rooted out his name from the earth 
 along with those who feared and wor- 
 shipped him. Mordecai and Esther 
 were only instruments in his hand ; and 
 in the execution of the Divine purpose, 
 and the fulfilment of prophecy, we do 
 not find anything in their conduct which 
 can fairly be ascribed to personal vin- 
 dictiveness and vengeance, but only 
 necessary, though severe, expedients for 
 the protection and honour of an unjustly 
 persecuted and reproached people. Far 
 be it from us to ascribe the results of all 
 war, even of defence, to the judgment of 
 God ; but Avhen it is distinctly pointed 
 out, in the Word of God, and though 
 the causes should be veiled in mystery, 
 we can only bow before his throne, 
 saying : " Thou art righteous, Lord, 
 which art, and wast, and shalt be, be- 
 cause thou hast judged thus." 
 
 But whilst much may be urged on the 
 side of the Jews, Mordecai, and Esther, 
 to clear them from the charge of vindic- 
 tiveness and cruelty, we have a thrice- 
 recorded declaration with regard to their 
 
306 
 
 110 MI LET 10 COMMENTARY : ESTHER. 
 
 [chat. IX. 
 
 clemency. They had a right to take 
 the property of their enemies for a spoil, 
 The clause in Hainan's edict to this effect 
 had heen incorporated in Mordecai's ; 
 but both with reference to the live 
 hundred who were slain at Shushan on 
 the thirteenth of the month, and the 
 three hundred who were slain on the 
 following day, as well as the seventy- 
 five thousand who were slain in the 
 provinces, we have this declaration — a 
 declaration all the more praiseworthy 
 and remarkable when we consider the 
 proverbial love of gain ascribed to the 
 Jews, — that " they laid not their hands 
 on the prey." Just suppose that the 
 enemies of the Jews had been victorious, 
 and had carried out the letter of Haman's 
 decree on all those whom they destroyed, 
 what a sad record should we have had ! 
 Not the men only who were actually 
 engaged in the conflict were to have 
 been slain, but women and children 
 also, and their whole goods were to be 
 taken. If Hainan's ten sons had got 
 their own way, we may be sure that 
 they would not in any particular have 
 restricted their father's will. They 
 would have been deaf to the pleadings 
 of mothers and the frightened cries of 
 little children, and would not have 
 spared the property. In contrast with 
 this the conduct of the Jews, Mordecai, 
 and Esther, was merciful and humane. 
 They only slew those who had taken 
 arms against themselves ; and, as regards 
 the property, though they had authority 
 to take it, yet did they not appropriate 
 anything. The wives and children of 
 such as were slain would have need of 
 it. They would show that it was not a 
 war of self-aggrandisement, malice, or 
 covetousness, but a conflict forced upon 
 them for their own preservation. If it 
 had been vengeance which they sought 
 in the second day's conflict and the 
 hanging of Haman's sons, they had an 
 opportunity of taking it in a far more 
 etl'ectual and grievous manner ; but what 
 
 they wanted was simply present safety, 
 and smne guarantee for the future. They 
 stopped there, and by their conduct set 
 a notable example to contending na- 
 tions. All war is to be deplored ; but 
 more deplorable still, the reckless waste 
 of the property of the vanquished. In 
 certain cases it may be necessary in 
 order to obtain terms of peace, but when 
 it is wanton and revengeful it must 
 receive the just censure of every generous 
 heart. By letting alone the spoil, which 
 must have been great, and which they 
 might, easily have seized and legally 
 claimed, the Jews must have commended 
 themselves to the peaceable and right- 
 minded of the population of Persia, — 
 " but they laid not their hands on the 
 prey. " — McEwen. 
 
 Let it he granted to the Jems, &c. 
 The enemies at Shushan could not be 
 all caught the first day; lest those that 
 bilked should hereafter prove trouble- 
 some to the Church by hatching new 
 plots, she begs that they also may receive 
 condign punishment. And Haman's 
 sons are hanged up for example. This 
 she requested not out of any private and 
 personal spleen to any, but for the glory 
 of God and the Church's peace. Had 
 her aims been otherwise than good, her 
 good actions could not have showed her 
 a good woman. For, though a good 
 aim doth not make a bad action good, 
 as we see in Uzzah ; yet a bad aim 
 maketh a good action bad, as we see in 
 Jehu. Lavater's note may not here be 
 let slip : the diligence that Esther used 
 in rooting out her temporal enemies 
 should quicken us to do the like to our 
 spiiitual, viz. those evil affections, mo- 
 tions, and passions, that war against the 
 soul. These be our Medes and Persians, 
 with whom we must make no truce, but 
 maintain a constant deadly feud, till we 
 have mastered and mortified them all, 
 for till that be done effectually we must 
 never look to have true peace, either 
 within ourselves or with others. — Tr<i[>i>. 
 
CHAP, ix.] HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: ESTHER. 307 
 
 MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH. Verses 17—28. 
 A National Memorial. 
 
 There are some who appear to frown upon all national memorials, as savouring 
 of the Old Testament dispensation, and as belonging to the childhood of the race. 
 But all childishness has not been yet eliminated from humanity. And we do not 
 know that it would be well for us to put away all that belongs to the child-nature. 
 Our Saviour teaches that we must become as little children. If the custom of 
 observing national memorials belongs to primitive and less enlightened ages it is 
 certainly one that does not easily pass away. We see no reason why it should. 
 The family has its memorials, the nation has its memorials. All religions, the 
 simplest as well as the most elaborate, have their memorials. They are founded 
 upon the instincts of our humanity. They serve most useful purposes. They tend 
 to keep alive the memory of great public events in a way that could not be so 
 successfully accomplished by any other method. This national memorial of the 
 Purim has not been without its beneficial influences. 
 
 I. This national memorial was established by supreme authority. Mordecai 
 was now the prime minister, and he wrote these things and sent letters to stablish 
 this among them that they should keep the fourteenth day of the month Adar, 
 and the fifteenth day of the same, yearly. This was done on the concurrence of 
 Esther the queen and Ahasuerus the king. Those that are in high places in the 
 kingdom should set themselves to establish wise customs and salutary memorials. 
 Such a custom and such a memorial was that of the feast of Purim. Even modern 
 rulers are not always wise in this respect. They ought to be cautious in all their 
 proceedings. Let them not establish any memorial, nor sanction any custom, that 
 does not tend to the welfare of the people. Let them remember how the influence 
 of those in high places percolates through all classes of society, and acts either 
 injuriously or beneficially. How awfully responsible is the position of those who 
 are placed on high either in Church or in State ! Well may we earnestly pray for 
 God's guidance and blessing to and upon all the great ones of earth. 
 
 II. This national memorial was approved by a grateful people. The Jews 
 undertook to do as they had begun, and as Mordecai had written unto them. We 
 can easily understand and picture to ourselves the gratitude of these people on 
 account of their great deliverance, and how readily they would concur in the 
 establishment of this feast of Purim. Happy is it when rulers find a ready 
 response to a wise decision in the feelings of their subjects. Decrees and customs in 
 order to be permanently beneficial must be heartily received by an enlightened and 
 virtuous people. And if the people do not at first readily receive, and do not see 
 the propriety of any measure, they must be taught and educated up to the proper 
 standard. It may be correct that some few of the Jewish elders objected to this 
 memorial. But this is only what often occurs. Where was the good custom and 
 good doctrine yet that did not meet with opponents ? However, we must hold on 
 our way till all enemies are overcome. If the thing be good and true it must 
 finally stand and be victorious. Be sure you are right, and then stand to the 
 right in the face of all enemies, and triumph must ultimately arrive. 
 
 III. This national memorial was sanctioned by the marvellous nature of 
 the. events celebrated. These were the days when the Jews rested from their 
 enemies, and this was the month which was turned unto them from sorrow to joy, 
 and from mourning into a good day. Here was fitting reason for celebration. 
 Well might they feel grateful for the great benefits conferred. These events were 
 marvellous. The deliverance could only have been effected by Divine interposition. 
 They would not merely celebrate the fact that a month of expected sorrow was 
 
30S EOMILETIG COMMENTARY: ESTHER. [chap. ix. 
 
 turned into a month of joy, but also the marvellous manner by which it was 
 brought about. We too may celebrate the month which has been turned for us 
 from sorrow to joy, and from mourning to a good day, and the marvellous manner 
 by which it was accomplished. We have our Christmas memorial which rings its 
 joy bells through time, and tells the advent of our great Deliverer. We have our 
 Good Friday memorial which rings its mournful and yet hopeful sounds. We 
 have our Easter memorial which tells of the once crucified but now risen and 
 triumphant Redeemer. Let us penitently and believingly celebrate these great 
 events of Gospel history. 
 
 IV. This national memorial was hallowed by the manner of its celebration. 
 They were to be days of feasting and joy, but not we presume of gluttony and of 
 drunkenness. This is too often the modern notion of feasting, and modern fashion 
 of observing festal occasions. Very, very sad it is to see that our most sacred 
 religious festivals are desecrated by extravagant and sinful licentiousness. Religious 
 people must check this not by ascetic austerity but by joy. It was a month of 
 joy. Let us show that moderation and religious sobriety are helpful to a joy that 
 is lasting and that spreads itself through all life's trials and difficulties. But the 
 most attractive part of this celebration is found in the fact that it was a time ot 
 sending portions one to another, and gifts to the poor. What a wide diffusion ot 
 happiness ! What a season for the expansion of the spirit of benevolence ! What 
 a time for the holy enlargement of the nature ! Here is a blessed communism that 
 cannot be productive of evil results ! It is to all a celestial feast. The rich taste 
 the luxury of doing good. The poor taste the rich wine of benevolence. The rich 
 sent both to the rich and the poor, and thus the poor are not pauperized. They 
 do not lose a sense of their proper manhood. 
 
 V. This national memorial was preserved by a wise method. The Jews took 
 methods to have this feast of Purim made known and observed to and by every 
 family, every province, every city, and every generation. Here we have on this 
 subject home-missionary work. Let us teach our own people. The Jews may be 
 considered as too exclusive. However, while we look to the nations beyond we 
 must not neglect our own nation. In these days we may reasonably feel that our 
 own beloved nation is not growing more religious. How vast the heathenism of 
 our large towns and cities ! Yea, how much of ignorance in our rural districts ! 
 Here we have our duty towards the children enforced. The seed are to be 
 instructed. The institution is to be made known from generation to generation. 
 It is by the wise and prayerful training of children that we must hope to improve 
 the nation, and leave behind a better and more glorious England than that which 
 Ave found. Let us gird ourselves afresh to the holy and benevolent enterprise. 
 
 VI. This national memorial is perpetuated with a good result. These days 
 of Purim had not failed from among the Jews, nor has the memorial of them 
 perished from their seed. However much the Jews may be degenerated in the 
 manner in which they celebrate this memorial, yet the fact that it is celebrated 
 speaks to us of the antiquity and authenticity of these wonderful records. The 
 public observance of certain customs is a more convincing argument and a more 
 powerful and more easily understood demonstration than the ablest books on the 
 evidences. A memorial does not require much studying. A book requires much 
 studying, and sometimes in certain classes of minds raises more doubts than it 
 settles. We do not under-rate good books. Both books and memorials have their 
 place. Let us wisely perpetuate good institutions. Let each one raise the 
 irresistible memorial of a holy life. This can never be refuted. Ye are our 
 epistles. Oh that the Lord would write more and more of these glorious 
 epistles. 
 
chap, ix.] 
 
 HOMTLETIC COMMENTARY: ESTHER. 
 
 300 
 
 Suggestive Comments on Verses 17 — 28. 
 
 And of sending portions one to 
 another. To the rich they sent in 
 courtesy, to the poor in charity, and 
 both these to testify their thankfulness 
 to God for their lives, liberties, and 
 estates, so lately and graciously restored 
 unto them. — Trapp. 
 
 We can well receive or retain good 
 church ceremonies, if only they are not 
 opposed to the Word of God, in view of 
 our Christian freedom. Even the holi- 
 days ordered by the authorities of one's 
 country should be celebrated in a be- 
 coming manner. — Starke. 
 
 The festivals that the people of the 
 Lord as such celebrate, have quite a 
 different purpose from those of heathen- 
 dom. Alias uerus aimed to show the 
 riches of his glorious kingdom. God's 
 people desire first of all to praise God's 
 grace. They would give thanks for the 
 gifts bestowed upon them. They would 
 secure and keep what they already had 
 by rendering thanks and praise to God 
 as its author. Theirs are feasts of 
 gratitude. Hence these also have a 
 different character from the others. The 
 pious cannot manifest their spirit of 
 gratitude to God for all his benefits 
 without also proving this by benefaction 
 to their brethren in the faith. The love 
 of God has kindled love to their fellows 
 in their hearts ; this would prove itself 
 in deeds of kindness and benevolence. 
 They would confess their allegiance to 
 God as to one mild and kindly ; they 
 would else deny him were they not to 
 give way, on their part, to mildness and 
 kindliness. Their festivals, therefore, 
 are seasons of refreshing, but especially 
 so to the poorer brethren among them. 
 At the same time there is joined to 
 their spirit of rejoicing one of great 
 seriousness. They cannot enjoy their 
 deliverance without also looking back 
 upon the sorrows that preceded it. 
 They can only appreciate the former by 
 taking a full view of the latter. They 
 do not forget that though salvation is 
 theirs, still there are even yet abundant 
 cause for sorrow and grief. The chief 
 cause of this is the remains of sin in 
 
 them. As the Mazzoth (unleavened) 
 days are followed by the serious Paschal 
 sacrifice, and as the joy of the feast of 
 tabernacles is preceded by the repent- 
 ance of the fast of the day of atonement, 
 so also here the joyous feast of Purim is 
 connected in a preparation of fasting and 
 mourning. In eternity also will this 
 transition hold true. — Lange. 
 
 Now the feast of Purim was to be 
 observed. And of this let us see — 
 
 I. What was here enjoined, which 
 was very good, that they should make 
 it — 1. A day of cheerfulness, a day of 
 feasting and joy ; and a feast was made 
 for laughter. When God gives us 
 cause to rejoice, why should we not 
 express our joy ? 2. A day of generos- 
 ity, sending portions one to another, in 
 token of their pleasantness and mutual 
 respect, and their being knit by this and 
 other public common dangers and de- 
 liverances so much the closer to each 
 other in love. Friends have their goods 
 in common. 3. A day of charity, send- 
 ing gifts to the poor. It is not to our 
 kinsmen and rich neighbours only that 
 we are to send tokens, but to the poor 
 and the maimed. Those that have 
 received mercy must, in token of their 
 gratitude, show mercy ; and there never 
 wants occasion, for the poor we have 
 always with us. Thanksgiving and 
 almsgiving should go together, that, 
 when we are rejoicing and blessing God, 
 the heart of the poor may rejoice with 
 us, and their loins may bless us. 
 
 II. What was added to this, which 
 was much better. They always, at the 
 feast, read the whole story over in the 
 synagogue each day, and put up three 
 prayers to God : in the first of which 
 they praise God for counting them 
 worthy to attend this Divine service ; in 
 the second they thank him for the mi- 
 raculous preservation of their ancestors ; 
 in the third they praise him that they 
 have lived to observe another festival in 
 memory of it. So Bishop Patrick. 
 
 III. What it has since degenerated 
 to, which is much worse. Their own 
 writers acknowledge that this feast is 
 
310 
 
 1IOMILETIC COMMENTARY : ESTHER. 
 
 [chap. IX. 
 
 commonly celebrated among them in 
 gluttony, and drunkenness, and' excess 
 of riot. Their Talmud says expressly, 
 that in the feast of Purim a man should 
 drink till he knows not the difference 
 between Cursed be Haman and Blessed 
 be Mordecai. See what the corrupt and 
 wicked nature of man often brings that 
 to which was at first well-intended : here 
 is a religious feast turned into a carnival, 
 a perfect revel, as wakes are among us. 
 Nothing more purifies the heart and 
 adorns religion than holy joy ; nothing 
 more pollutes the heart and reproaches 
 religion than carnal mirth and sensual 
 pleasure. What is best becomes, when 
 corrupted, the worst. — Matthew Henry. 
 The celebration of the victory neces- 
 sarily took place on different days in 
 the city of Shushan and in the provinces. 
 As there were two days of slaughter in 
 Shushan, the triumph was not celebrated 
 till the fifteenth day ; but as in the 
 lesser cities and villages of the empire, 
 the permission granted by the king of a 
 second day was not known, it was cele- 
 brated on the fourteenth day of Adar. 
 They rested from labour. Some must 
 have been in mourning ; for, though no 
 mention is made of the losses of the 
 Jews in the fierce warfare, it is too 
 much to suppose that they could all 
 have escaped. But even those who had 
 suffered the loss of relatives and friends 
 would find compensation for it in the 
 great and general deliverance which had 
 been wrought, and would hardly refrain 
 from joining with their kinsfolk and 
 neighbours in their joy. They feasted 
 one with another, and gave expression 
 to the gladness which filled their hearts 
 in thanksgiving and praise. The day 
 Avas observed as "a good day," not in 
 the sense of mere worldly mirth and 
 jollity; but, along with "feasting and 
 gladness," there would he the remem- 
 brance of the Lord, who had so marvel- 
 lously and mightily interposed for their 
 own preservation and the destruction of 
 their enemies. The Jews were always 
 ready to give God the praise of their 
 success in war, and as, in this instance, 
 tiny had sought the Lord in their per- 
 plexity and sorrow, so would they now 
 yield to him the glory of their triumph. 
 
 In proof of their gratitude to him tliey 
 extended their generosity to the poor, 
 and such as were not in circumstances 
 to make a feast for themselves. They 
 sent " portions one to another " — meat 
 from their tables to such as were in 
 need, — that no one might be wanting in 
 the means of enjoyment. Even to the 
 present day, the Jews have a rule, that 
 a collection of money should be made, 
 at this time of the year, for the benefit 
 of the poor, that they may provide for 
 themselves the things necessary to make 
 a feast. Verily, that is " a good day " 
 on which the hearts of the people of 
 God are warmed with gratitude and 
 praise to him who is the dispenser of all 
 good, and feel themselves so bound 
 together as to be interested in the supply 
 of each other's wants and comforts. 
 After a different fashion from this the 
 world celebrates its victories. It may 
 expend large sums of money in the roar 
 of cannon and magnificent display, 
 whilst the poor are left struggling in 
 penury and want. But the Church of 
 God, through all her members, should 
 feel knit one to another by the ties of a 
 common kindred and fraternal affection, 
 prompting kindness to the poor and the 
 suffering, and an honest benevolence for 
 their relief. In our feasting and glad- 
 ness, because of some signal victory in 
 providence, we should remember those 
 who, on account of their need, cannot 
 rejoice with us in our joy. So are we 
 now presented with a scene which is 
 widely separated from the world — men 
 regarding themselves as members of the 
 same family, concerned for each other's 
 happiness, ministering to each other's 
 wants, and as though surrounding a 
 common table: — "A day of gladness 
 and feasting, and a good day, and of 
 sending portions one to another." 
 
 Now, it does appear strange that the 
 people of God should be represented here 
 and elsewhere in Scripture — notably 
 after the destruction of Pharaoh and 
 his hosts in the Bed Sea — rejoicing over 
 the slaughter and destruction of thou- 
 sands of their fellow-creatures. One 
 might have supposed that the scene 
 would rather have been contemplated 
 with subdued silence and regret. If the 
 
CHAP. IX.] 
 
 HOMILETIC COMMENTARY : ESTHER. 
 
 311 
 
 rejoicing was occasioned simply l>y the 
 satisfaction afforded by national and 
 personal revenge, it would only have 
 merited reproof ; hut when we reflect 
 that these same feelings of jubilation 
 and gladness are shared in and loudly 
 expressed by the redeemed in heaven, at 
 the overthrow of God's enemies, we 
 touch upon a very solemn and awful 
 aspect of the subject. The will of man 
 becomes so thoroughly harmonized and 
 identified with the will of God, as actu- 
 ally to rejoice in the darkest providences 
 and heaviest judgments. We cannot 
 now, indeed, venture to interpret all 
 events, which are beneficial to ourselves 
 and disastrous to others, as the judgment 
 of God upon them for our sakes. It 
 was different in the days of the prophets, 
 when a Divine intimation was given to 
 this effect. But the redeemed will have 
 such a clearness of apprehension in this 
 respect as shall prevent the possibility 
 of mistake. Accordingly, in the terrible 
 events of the latter days, and in the 
 final judgment itself, they are depicted 
 in the Book of Bevelation as bursting 
 forth into song and rejoicing in the God 
 of judgment. Most thoroughly do they 
 identify their own cause with God's 
 glory, and are constrained to rejoice over 
 all which promotes the exhibition of it. 
 As the judgments of God upon his ene- 
 mies, as well as his goodness toward his 
 people, are for the manifestation of his 
 glory, they are moved thereby to adoring 
 song. The tempest moves our adoration 
 of God as well as the calm ; the thunder, 
 roaring among the mountains, as well as 
 zephyr breezes gently shaking the leaves 
 of the forest ; the whirlwind, with its 
 terror, as well as the dew with its re- 
 freshing. And when Ave pass from the 
 physical to the moral, it is only our 
 present sympathy with sin which leads 
 us to rejoice more in God, in those deal- 
 ings which are smooth and pleasant, 
 than in those which are crushing and 
 retributive. 
 
 There is nothing which so fills the 
 believing soul with adoration as the 
 cross of Christ. There do Ave see the 
 flood-gates of Divine wrath opened wide, 
 that the penalty of sin may be exhausted 
 on our Divine Surety and Bedeemer. 
 
 And because that stupendous interpo- 
 sition was for the fullest display of the 
 Divine perfections and glory, we surround 
 that cross with our praises. 
 
 What we now see, however, only as 
 through a glass, darkly, the redeemed 
 see clearly in the light of immortality ; 
 so that, Avhen those who are at deadly war 
 Avith God upon the earth, Avho have 
 spurned at offered mercy, and turned a 
 deaf ear to all the entreaties of redeem- 
 ing love, and who Avould deny the name 
 of God, and bid defiance to his govern- 
 ment, are met by the Lord of Hosts on 
 their OAvn terms, and utterly discomfited, 
 it cannot be wondered at that the re- 
 deemed, who had pleaded for this very 
 thing upon the earth, and waited for it 
 in hope in heaven, should join their 
 hearts and voices in the praise of God. 
 There must have been something re- 
 splendent and mighty in the angels who 
 fell, and Avere cast out of heaven ; but 
 yet, on the putting down of this rebellion 
 in their ranks, there must have been joy 
 and gladness in the breasts of those who 
 stood firm in their allegiance to God and 
 holiness. And Avhen the Avicked are at 
 last destroyed, and consigned to their 
 own place, the regrets of the redeemed 
 at the absence of some whom they had 
 knoAvn upon the earth shall be silenced, 
 and more than counterbalanced, in the 
 maintenance of God's throne, and the 
 uneclipsed splendour of his glory. We 
 have our war-songs, recording our vic- 
 tories in battle, and delight in singing 
 them ; and shall it not be that the 
 folloAvers of the Lamb shall find delight 
 in singing those songs which shall record 
 the Bedeemer's triumph over sin and 
 Satan, and all his and our enemies 1 
 
 Ah ! the thought of that day does 
 involve contingencies and consequences 
 Avhich Ave cannot help noAV contemplat- 
 ing with fear and trembling. It shall 
 be the celebration of the grandest victory 
 Avhich perhaps the universe shall ever 
 have witnessed. But on which side 
 shall Ave individually stand % In every 
 Amalekite's and enemy's home through 
 the Bersian empire there would be 
 lamentation and mourning during those 
 days Avhen the JeAvs Avere jubilant ; and 
 whilst the redeemed are rejoicing in the 
 
312 
 
 II0M1LETIC COMMENTARY: ESTHER. 
 
 [CHAP. IX. 
 
 victory of their Lord, and their own 
 triumph through faith in his name, in 
 the ranks of the wicked and finally lost 
 there shall only be weeping and wailing, 
 remorse and despair. It is now left for 
 us to determine whether or no we are 
 on the Lord's side. The opportunity is 
 given to us, and according to the im- 
 provement which we make of it shall 
 be our place and portion on that great 
 and terrible day of the Lord. To be 
 numbered among the redeemed, and 
 have a part in the celebration of their 
 victory, should be enough to fire our 
 ambition, quicken our zeal, and call into 
 action all our energies. Then shall that 
 day, with all its terrors and partings, be 
 to us " a day of joy and gladness, and a 
 good day." — McEweu. 
 
 As the days wherein the Jews rested 
 from their enemies, and the month which 
 teas turned unto them from sorrow to 
 joy, and from mourning into a good 
 day : that they should make them days 
 of feasting and joy, and of sending ■por- 
 tions one to another, and gifts to the poor. 
 All things work together for good to 
 the people of God, by promoting their 
 happiness, as well as their holiness. 
 Their toils sweeten the rest which suc- 
 ceeds them. The sleep of the labouring 
 man is sweet, although he should sup 
 sparingly before he retires to rest. The 
 tears which the Christian must often 
 shed are remembered with joy, when 
 they are wiped away by returning pros- 
 perity. Mordecai wished the Jews to 
 be ever mindful of their sorrows, that 
 their joy might be full. 
 
 The days of Purim were intended to 
 be days of feasting and gladness. In 
 the season of their distress they would 
 scarcely be able to eat that bread which 
 was necessary to the preservation of 
 their life ; when they thought of their 
 deliverance, and of the mercy of God in 
 their deliverance, they would eat their 
 bread with gladness, and drink their 
 wine with a merry heart. 
 
 These days were to be " days of send- 
 ing portions one to another." Their 
 common danger and their common de- 
 liverance would endear them one to 
 another, and open their hearts to mutual 
 kindness. How much more ought our 
 
 common salvation by Christ from our 
 general misery bind the hearts of Chris- 
 tians to one another ! We were all in- 
 volved in guilt and ruin by sin, and the 
 same sin was the source of misery to us 
 all. We are all redeemed by the same 
 precious blood ; we are all saved by the 
 same Almighty arm. Let our common 
 joy in Christ's salvation overflow in 
 mutual love. If we are penetrated with 
 the love of Christ, will we not love all 
 those who are the objects of the same 
 exceeding riches of grace 1 
 
 " Sending of gifts to the poor," was 
 to be another of the duties of this happy 
 day. There might be many poor Jews 
 who were not able to afford an entertain- 
 ment for this day of joy. But Mordecai 
 would have the poor rejoice as well as 
 the rich. Although we find our circum- 
 stances unprosperous, we must not, on 
 that account, reckon that we have no 
 right, or that we are not bound, to re- 
 joice in public mercies. That the poor 
 may not be tempted to repine when 
 others rejoice, as if they were cut off 
 from the public happiness, we shoidd 
 be ready to communicate to them a 
 share of our blessings, especialty when our 
 hearts overflow with joy in God's good- 
 ness to ourselves. Why should the rich 
 eat their morsel alone, whilst others are 
 pining with hunger 1 If you desire the 
 continuance of your own happiness from 
 Divine mercy, endeavour to diffuse it 
 by wise liberality. Every expression of 
 Divine goodness to ourselves is a new 
 obligation laid upon us to do good, to 
 those especially who have most need of 
 our bounty. Above all, the redemption 
 by Christ binds us to be merciful.* 
 
 And the Jews undertook to do as they 
 had begun, and as Mordecai had written 
 unto them. They cheerfully promised to 
 comply with Mordecai's wishes, both from 
 a regard to his authority, and from a 
 lively sense of the mercy bestowed upon 
 them. It is a happy thing when superiors 
 require nothing from their inferiors but 
 what themselves see to be just and 
 reasonable. 
 
 Mordecai's letters could not but have 
 a mighty influence upon a nation who 
 were indebted to him for their lives. 
 * 2 Cor. viii. 9. 
 
CHAP. IX.] 
 
 EOMILETIC COMMENTARY : ESTHER. 
 
 313 
 
 He coiild not be blamed for bringing 
 them into the dangers which they had 
 escaped, because it was his steadfast 
 adherence to his duty which provoked 
 Haman's wrath. But he deserved no 
 less praise than Esther herself for their 
 preservation. Gratitude will induce us 
 to do many things for those who have 
 been the instruments of preserving our 
 lives. "What shall we render to the 
 Author of our lives, and to him who 
 hath redeemed our lives from destruc- 
 tion 1 
 
 Because Hainan, the son of Hamme- 
 datha, the Agagite, the enemy of all the 
 Jews, had devised against the Jews to 
 destroy them, and had cast Pur, that is, 
 the lot, to consume them, and to destroy 
 them. The remembrance of Haman's fear- 
 ful plot against all the Jews powerfully 
 instigated them to observe those days of 
 joy that were appointed by Mordecai. 
 When they considered how formidable 
 the enemy was, and how bent upon their 
 destruction, they could not think of 
 their deliverance without surprise, and 
 joy, and thankfulness. 
 
 It would be useful to us for increasing 
 our joy in the Lord, to think upon those 
 enemies of the Church that have often 
 brought her into extreme dangers, that 
 we may see the glory of that grace and 
 power to which she is indebted for 
 existence. If Ave think upon the Pha- 
 raohs, the Hamans, the Sennacheribs, 
 the Antiochuses, the Diocletians, the 
 beast with seven heads and ten horns, 
 that have opened their mouths like 
 dragons to swallow up the people of 
 God, will we not see good reason still to 
 sing that song of ancient times ] " Many 
 a time have they afflicted me from my 
 youth, may Israel now say ; many a 
 time have they afflicted me from my 
 youth, yet they have not prevailed 
 against me." 
 
 Hainan was the cause of much terror 
 to the Jews, but this terror ended in 
 triumphs and joyful feasts. Unhappy 
 are the enemies of the people of God. 
 They labour for the profit of those whom 
 they hate. Amongst those things that 
 are made subservient to the advantage 
 of the people of God, are to be ranked 
 all the devices of their most malicious 
 
 enemies, Satan himself, their greatest 
 enemy, not excepted. Sennacherib was 
 a tremendous enemy of Judah, and 
 struck terror into the minds of the most 
 valiant of the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 
 But what was the event of his formid- 
 able invasion ? Disgrace and ruin to 
 himself, gladness and joyful feasts to 
 the Jews ; as Isaiah foretold, when he 
 was marching along in all the pride of 
 his heart at the head of his innumerable 
 army, collected from his extended do- 
 minions : " They had a song, as in the 
 night, when an holy assembly is kept ; 
 and gladness of heart, as when one 
 goeth with a pipe to come into the 
 mountain of the Lord, to the mighty 
 One of Israel." 
 
 But when Esther came before the 
 Mng, he commanded by letters that his 
 wicked device, which he devised against 
 the Jews, shoidd return upon his own 
 head, and that he and his sons should 
 be hanged on the gallows. In Mordecai's 
 letters he puts the Jews in mind, 
 not only of Haman's plot against 
 them, but of the means also by 
 which it was disconcerted. Let us 
 observe and call to mind the proce- 
 dure of the providence of God in the 
 works which he accomplishes for his 
 Church, or for ourselves in particular. 
 Every step of his going of majesty 
 deserves to be remarked and admired. 
 They are all beautified with wisdom and 
 grace. 
 
 Who could have expected that Esther, 
 whom the king had not desired to see for 
 thirty days, shoidd obtain such favour in 
 his eyes as to turn his wrath against his 
 favourite Haman, whose face he saw 
 every day with smiles] Yet, when 
 Esther came before the king, the mis- 
 chief of Haman was turned upon him- 
 self, and he and his sons were hanged 
 on the gallows. Let us do our duty, 
 and leave the consequence to God. 
 Without the protection of his providence 
 Esther might have fallen under the 
 sentence of that cruel law, which made 
 the king inaccessible to his subjects. 
 But her life was preserved by that God 
 to whom she had poured out her soul in 
 fasting. She did great things and pre- 
 vailed ; and her name shall live to the 
 
314 
 
 IIOMILETIC COMMENTARY: ESTHER. 
 
 [chap. ix. 
 
 latest posterity in the records of tlui.se 
 heroes and heroines who "wrought 
 
 righteousness, escaped the edge of the 
 sword, out of weakness were made 
 strong, and turned to flight the armies 
 of the aliens." 
 
 " Wherever this gospel is preached," 
 said Jesus, " there shall also this that 
 this woman (who poured precious oint- 
 ment on his head) hath done he told for 
 a memorial of her." Mordecai hoped 
 that what Esther had done would be 
 told in every succeeding generation, to 
 her honour, and for the encouragement 
 of women, as well as men, to do every 
 thing in their power to promote the 
 interests of the Church. Women are too 
 ready to say, What can we do to serve 
 the public interest] our mode of life 
 con tines us to our own families. But 
 Esther is not the only woman that has 
 gained just praises by her public spirit. 
 Lemuel's mother taught her son to be 
 a blessing to his people, and has left 
 lessons behind her, by which women, to 
 the end of the world, will be taught 
 to excel in virtue. To Priscilla, as well 
 as to Aquila, all the Churches of the 
 < rentiles gave thanks for what she did 
 for Paul ; and many of them had reason 
 to thank her for what she did to Apollos 
 likewise. Males and females are one in 
 
 Christ Jesus. They are equally saved 
 
 by his grace ; they are equally obliged 
 to promote his interests in the exercise 
 of virtue, and the practice of duties 
 suited to their respective situations ; and 
 women, as well as men, have sometimes 
 found singular opportunities of service 
 to their generation, which they could 
 not safely neglect to improve. 
 
 Wherefore they called these days 
 Purim, after the name of Par. The 
 very name of these days afforded an 
 useful lesson to the people of God, and 
 might have afforded an useful lesson 
 to their enemies. It. appeared from the 
 event of the lots, which gave name to 
 this day, that although time and chance 
 happen to all men, yet nothing is con- 
 tingent to God. Chance is under his 
 management, and those things which to 
 us appear most accidental, are managed 
 by his providence to accomplish his 
 designs of mercy to them that love him, 
 and of vengeance to his enemies. Why, 
 then, should the friends of God give 
 themselves any anxious trouble about 
 the most uncertain events'? The Avhole 
 disposal of the lot is of him. Hainan's 
 lots directed his measure to his own 
 destruction, and the salvation of Judah. 
 — Lawson. 
 
 MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH. Verses 29—32. 
 
 Important Letters. 
 
 This is the day of writing many letters, but it is not the day for writing those 
 elaborate and important letters which were written in the days of our forefathers. 
 Those letters live as masterpieces of composition. It would be difficult to collect 
 letters now-a-days that would be worth printing. Here in these verses we have 
 the record of important letters written by Esther the queen and Mordecai 
 the Jew. 
 
 I. The importance of letters may he measured by the earnestness of the 
 writers. Esther and Mordecai wrote with all authority, or with all strength, viz. 
 of spirit and of speech, of affection and expression. We have so many letters to 
 write now that we cannot put all our strength into every letter ; but when letters 
 are important, then we should seek to put forth all strength. Earnestness will show 
 itself in writing as well as in speaking. If we desire people to read what we have 
 written we must write with earnestness. This will give power to our compositions 
 and distinctness to our utterances. 
 
 II. The importance of letters may be measured by the spirit of the 
 writing. Esther and Mordecai wrote with words of peace and truth. Fallow 
 peace with all men. Speak the words of peace and of truth in letters. Good may 
 
chap, ix.] HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: ESTHER. 315 
 
 be done by letter-writing. Sometimes we have neither power nor opportunity to 
 speak to a brother about his spiritual state. A letter affords a good vehicle for the 
 word of warning and of instruction. A letter may reach and bless him that could 
 not be reached hy word of mouth. A letter written with earnestness and with prayer 
 will often carry conviction to the soul. Much good has been thus accomplished, 
 and still is this method of usefulness available. "Words of peace and truth. Let 
 such be the nature of our communications. Sincere utterances, truthful words. 
 Our age wants such words. In this gabbling age words are too cheap. We ought 
 to be as careful not to circulate false words as we are not to circulate bad coin. 
 "When will the great importance of words be rightly understood and estimated 1 
 
 III. The importance of letters may be measured by the subject-matter 
 of the communication. These letters of Esther and of Mordecai confirmed the 
 days and the matters of Purim. They were on subjects of highest importance to 
 the Jewish nation. They decreed for their souls and for their seed the matters of 
 the fastings and their cry. The conflicts of the soul are subjects of the highest 
 importance ; but they are too often overlooked. In all ages materialism gains too 
 much the ascendancy. Soul concerns are put in the background ; the matters of 
 the fastings and their cry are not deemed matters worthy of supreme attention. 
 Still those letters that touch the essence of things are the most influential. The 
 letters of the apostles hold a supreme position on this very account. Their subject- 
 matter testifies to their divinity. They thus commend themselves as inspired to 
 the unprejudiced mind. Let us read these New Testament epistles, for they are 
 the most important of all letters. 
 
 IV. The essence of important letters will not be lost. These letters sent 
 nnto all the Jews, to the hundred twenty and seven provinces of the kingdom 
 of Ahasuerus, have not been handed down, but we may be assured that all which 
 is essential in those letters is preserved. The decree of Esther confirmed these 
 matters of Purim ; and it was written in the book. What book it is impossible 
 to say. Certainly it does not seem satisfactory to declare in the Book of Esther, 
 as forming part of the canonical books. If this be so, then this thirty-second verse 
 and the tenth chapter do not properly belong to the inspired books. The verses 
 are then a mere postscript, written by what hand and with what authority we 
 cannot determine. To make the expression, "it was written in the book," an 
 argument for the canonicity of Esther, is far-fetched. We may concur with Keil 
 when he says, " The book in which this decree was written cannot mean the 
 writing of Esther, mentioned in verse 29, but some written document concerning 
 Purim which has not come down to us, though used as an authority by the 
 author of the present book ; " or we may refer it to the book of the Chronicles 
 of Media and Persia, since it is mentioned in other passages. Though the written 
 document is lost, yet the essence of the document remains. We may then believe 
 that all which is worth preserving will be preserved and handed down from 
 generation to generation. Let us not weep over burnt libraries and destroyed 
 manuscripts. God watches over the truth. His Word cannot be destroyed. If all 
 that had been destroyed could be gathered up again, if there could be a resurrection 
 of dead boohs, and diligent inquiry made, we are persuaded that there would be 
 no substantial addition to the treasury of the truth. The fire burns, but the gold 
 and the silver of everlasting truth must outlast every conflagration. 
 
 Suggestive Comments on Verses 29 — 32. 
 
 And the decree of Esther confirmed, scribed. The like may be here said of 
 
 &c. Dux fcemina facti. Money was Queen Esther ; yea, Ave may add that in 
 
 coined in the year 1588 in honour of the Gospel, spoken concerning another : 
 
 Queen Elizabeth, with that posy in- Whenever this history should be read in 
 
316 
 
 nOMlLETIO COMMENTARY: ESTHER. 
 
 [CITA!', 
 
 all the world, this that she hath clone 
 should he spoken to her eternal com- 
 mendation. 
 
 And it was ivritten in the hook. 
 Tremellius rendereth it thus : " When, 
 therefore, the edict of Esther had con- 
 firmed these things, it was written in 
 this book." Lyra and others thus : " She 
 requested the wise men of that age, that 
 1 hey would reckon this history for Holy 
 Writ." If it he meant of any other 
 public record which the Jews then had, 
 it is lost, as are likewise some other 
 pieces which never were any part of the 
 Holy Scriptures ; for God, by his provi- 
 dence, ever took care and course that no 
 one hair of the sacred head should fall 
 to the ground. The unsound conceit of 
 Pelican here is by no means to be ad- 
 mitted, viz. that this latter part of the 
 chapter, from verse 25 to the end, came 
 from the pen of some other man, not 
 guided by the Spirit of God, and that 
 because here is no mention made of 
 praising God at this feast, or stirring up 
 one another to trust in him. For we 
 know that all Scripture is of Divine 
 inspiration, and it is to be presumed that 
 those things were done at such solemni- 
 ties, though it be not recorded in each 
 particular. — Trapp. 
 
 And he sent the letters unto all the 
 Jeios, to the hundred twenty and seven 
 ■provinces of the kingdom of Ahasuerus, 
 with words of peace and truth. When 
 we are exalted above our brethren, we 
 are too ready to forget them and our- 
 selves, as if the change of our condi- 
 tion had raised us to a higher rank of 
 creatures. Mordecai and his adoptive 
 daughter were not negligent in the exer- 
 cise of their authority for purposes that 
 appeared to them good and salutary to 
 the nation ; but they still retained their 
 humbleness of mind, and their kind 
 affections to their kindred. They sent 
 these letters to all the hundred and 
 twenty-seven provinces " with words of 
 truth and peace ; " with expressions of 
 the warmest benevolence. Nor were 
 these expressions, like many of our 
 mutual compliments, merely dictated by 
 a politeness which too often conceals a 
 perfect indifference to our neighbour's 
 welfare under good words and fair 
 
 speeches. Their words were words of 
 truth as well as of peace, when they ex- 
 pressed their desires and prayers, that 
 the Lord might bless his people with 
 peace. 
 
 Let men maintain that authority 
 which God hath given them, that they 
 may attain the ends for which it is given 
 them, but let it be always tempered 
 Avith charity and gentleness. Paul, in 
 his epistles, asserts his authority as an 
 apostle of Jesus Christ; but he writes 
 with words of peace and truth when he 
 prays for grace and peace to the churches 
 from God the Father, and from the Lord 
 Jesus Christ. 
 
 To confirm these days of Purim in 
 their times appointed, according as Mor- 
 decai the Jew and Esther the queen had 
 enjoined them, and as they had decreed 
 for themselves and for their seed, the 
 matters of the fastings and their cry. 
 At the motion of Mordecai, the Jews 
 were unanimously determined to observe 
 the festival, and to enjoin the observance 
 of it to their posterity. The Jews were 
 confirmed in their resolution by the 
 second letter of Mordecai, in conjunction 
 with Esther. And one consideration 
 which would dispose them to observe 
 the commemoration of this deliverance 
 with joy and exultation, was, that they 
 had fasted and cried for it under the 
 pressure of the danger. They could not 
 eat their ordinary food. They cried out 
 with exceeding loud and bitter cries. 
 They fasted and cried unto the Lord, 
 and he heard the voice of their suppli- 
 cations. 
 
 Spring is the pleasantest season of the 
 year, because it follows the dreary deso- 
 lations and the piercing cold of winter. 
 These days of health are especially de- 
 lightful which follow days of extreme 
 sickness, when we had the sentence of 
 death in ourselves. Kemember the 
 dismal thoughts that engrossed your 
 minds, the terrifying apprehensions that 
 embittered your troubles, and the exqui- 
 site felicity which you promised to your- 
 selves, if it should please God, be}'ond 
 your expectations, to send you relief. 
 Thus will the troubles you have endured 
 spread happiness in the retrospect, over 
 the remaining part of your life. You 
 
CHAP. IX.] 
 
 HOMILETIC COMMENTARY : ESTHER. 
 
 317 
 
 still must meet with trials ; but you will 
 be thankful that they are so light and 
 easy to be borne, when they are com- 
 pared with those which you have formerly 
 endured. 
 
 Have you fasted, and cried unto the 
 Lord, and has he graciously inclined his 
 ear to your complaints 1 With what 
 joy and peace ought you to recollect the 
 mercy which has preserved you from 
 going down to the chambers of the grave, 
 perhaps to the regions of destruction ! 
 David will teach you what improvement 
 to make of your fasting and cries, when 
 the Lord has been pleased to grant you 
 the deliverance which you supplicated. 
 " I love the Lord, because he heard my 
 voice and supplications. Because he 
 hath inclined his ear unto me, therefore 
 will I call upon him so long as I live. 
 The sorrows of death compassed me, and 
 the pains of hell gat hold upon me ; I 
 found trouble and sorrow. Then called 
 I upon the name of the Lord : Lord, 
 I beseech thee, deliver my soul. Gracious 
 is the Lord, and righteous ; yea, our 
 God is merciful. The Lord preserveth 
 the simple : I was brought low, and he 
 helped me : I will walk hefore the Lord 
 in the land of the living." 
 
 And the decree of Esther confirmed 
 these matters of Purim ; and it was 
 toritten in the book. The high and 
 beloved name of Esther was sufficient to 
 establish the decree of Purim. She 
 had been the saviour of the Jews. At 
 the risk of her life she had preserved 
 theirs. What do we not owe to him who, 
 not only by endangering his life, but by 
 giving up himself to an accursed death, 
 hath delivered us from the wrath to come] 
 
 " And it was written in the book " of 
 the Jewish institutions, or in the register 
 of their transactions. Books are neces- 
 sary for recording those things that are 
 intended for the use of posterity. Were 
 it not for books we would all be children 
 in understanding. Let us carefully im- 
 prove those things that were written 
 aforetimes for our learning, especially 
 those things which Divine wisdom hath 
 directed the holy men of God to record 
 for our benefit. 
 
 The feast of Purim is still observed, 
 though not in a manner agreeable to 
 Esther's intention. The observance of 
 this and other festivals of the Jews, 
 from the most ancient times, is attended 
 with this great advantage, that it affords 
 a convincing argument of the truth of 
 those facts which they were designed to 
 commemorate, when we take this into 
 the account, that these fasts were re- 
 corded in books at the time when they 
 were instituted, which are still extant. 
 The observance of the ancient Jewish 
 feasts is a public declaration of their 
 firm belief of the Old Testament Scrip- 
 tures. This is one of the most power- 
 fully rational arguments of the truth of 
 our holy religion. If the Old Testament 
 Scriptures are true, the Messiah expected 
 by the Jews is come long ago into the 
 world ; and none but Jesus of Nazareth 
 can be that Messiah. Thus the most 
 determined enemies of Jesus give a de- 
 cided, though indirect, testimony that 
 he is the Son of God, by attesting the 
 truth and Divine authority of those 
 ancient Scriptures that testify of him. 
 — Lawson. 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 Critical Notes ] And the king Ahasuerus laid a tribute upon the land, and upon the isles 
 of the sea] Tribute — a levy, tribute-service — means a tax levied, and for this reason that tribute- 
 service belonged to products or moneys which were rendered to the king. Keil thinks the author 
 wished briefly to indicate at the close whence Ahasuerus derived the means to support such magni- 
 ficent state as was described at the beginning of our book. But the only safe answer is given us 
 by the manner in which the author, in ver. 2, connects the power of Ahasuerus with the greatness 
 
818 I10MILETIC COMMENTARY: ESTHER. [chap. x. 
 
 o\' Mordecai: the greater the power of Ahasuerus, the more powerful the dignity of Mordecai. 
 The land and the isles of the sea shows the extent of the monarch's sway. 2.] The author does not 
 designate either the wealth or the power of Ahasuerus or of Mordecai more minutely, but rather 
 refers tor particulars on both to the archives of the empire of the Medcs and Persians. It is enough 
 for him to be able to refer to these, and it is especially honourable for Mordecai's cause, that even 
 the archives of heathen kings must remember him. 3.] Here the author must once more give pro- 
 minence to the fact that Mordecai, the Jew, who for him stands as the representative of Judaism, 
 stood next, to Kin? Ahasuerus, since therefrom it follows that the greatness of the one was also that 
 of the other. " The second" here means the first minister, and hence indicates that Mordecai was 
 great among the Jews, and favoured among the multitude of his brethren, i. e. that he really occu- 
 pied a representative position among them. The additional sentence also, seeking the wealth of 
 his people, and speaking peace to all his seed, is quite in place here, in so far as it indicates 
 that what came to Mordecai also redounded to the good of his entire people.— Lange, 
 
 MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH. Verses 1, 3. 
 
 A Good Government. 
 
 Happy the people that live under the government of Queen Victoria, for it is, 
 upon the whole, the best government that the world has ever seen. There is the 
 due balance of powers. There may be evils, but there are fewer evils than can be 
 found in any other government, past or present. It is not contended that it is 
 perfect, for perfection is not to be expected in this sinful, selfish, and imperfect 
 world. How good our government is may be seen by instituting a contrast between 
 it and some ancient forms. The Persian government was far from perfect. No 
 one would desire to see it repeated. It is not here to be placed before us as a 
 model. But it is possible for these verses to gather together some of the character- 
 istics of a good government. Let each subject strn r e to mend himself, and seek 
 the wealth of his people, and thus he will subserve the best interests of the state 
 at large. 
 
 I. A good government has a wise system of taxation. This is needful for 
 the purposes of government. Ahasuerus laid a tribute upon the land, and upon 
 the isles of the sea. He could not have managed without such a tribute. It may 
 have been oppressive. A larger tribute may have been exacted than was actually 
 needful, for he was luxurious, and had to support many retainers. A certain out- 
 ward state seems essential to royalty in order to maintain a proper position. The 
 incidence of taxation should fall equally and justly upon all classes, and upon all 
 parts of the empire. The rich can bear a proportionately larger tax than the poor. 
 The absolute necessaries of life should be free from taxation, as they are in Great 
 Britain. Taxes ought to bo freely paid, for this is the command of the New 
 Testament. " Render therefore unto Csesar the things that are Caesar's," &c. 
 ''Render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due; custom 
 to whom custom ; fear to whom fear ; honour to whom honour." 
 
 II. A good government makes its power felt. Weak and changeable as was 
 Ahasuerus, still it is found that he was capable of acts of power and of might. 
 Every good government is powerful, both at home and abroad. It must be, and 
 will be, a terror to evil-doers ; for to this end are all governments instituted. We 
 can easilv conceive that governments would not be required if there were no evil- 
 doers. How wonderful it is that this small island should be so powerful amongst 
 the nations of the earth. It may be taken as a sign of God's favour to our nation. 
 It becomes us to appreciate our blessings, and be careful not to abuse our privi- 
 leges. We must endeavour to use our power for the glory of God and for the high- 
 est welfare of the nations of the earth. May God in his mercy still preserve our 
 nation, and forgive our national wrong-doings, and make it a still greater power for 
 
 good. 
 
 III. A good government places good men in office. At last Ahasuerus has 
 a ,r ood man for prune minister. Ahasuerus advanced Mordecai to greatness. This 
 
chap, x.] H0M1LETIC COMMENTARY: ESTHER. 319 
 
 Jew became next unto the king. Mordecai was not a good man without capacity ; 
 his piety was not a cloak for imbecility. A mere outward profession of goodness 
 ought not to be the passport to high places, either in Church or in State. A pious 
 fool may be as injurious to the state as a wicked philosopher. A man, in order to 
 be prime minister, ought to be both intellectually and morally strong. From all 
 that we read in this record, Mordecai appears to be the right man in the right 
 place when he was placed next unto King Ahasuerus. Oh for truly good and 
 great men sitting at the helm of affairs, both civil and ecclesiastical ! Men of 
 commanding intellects, of noble hearts and true ; men that dare to be and to do 
 the right ; men that shrink with abhorrence from all meanness and wrong-doing. 
 
 IV. A good government promotes the welfare of the people. Mordecai, as 
 prime minister, sought and promoted the wealth or the welfare of his people, and 
 through them the welfare of the people at large. This word "wealth " indicates 
 a degenerating tendency. A man is now wealthy who possesses houses, lands, and 
 money. Certainly outward prosperity will be the outcome of a good government. 
 A country morally degenerate will not long remain prosperous. When vice increases, 
 then the country declines ; so that a government must seek the suppression of 
 vice and the development of virtue if it is successfully to promote the wealth of 
 the people. Godliness is after all great gain, both to the individual and to the com- 
 munity. A good government cannot be atheistic. Infidel rulers cannot increase 
 the wealth of the people in any respect. National safety must consist in national 
 acknowledgment of the Divine supremacy. Fear God; honour the king. 
 
 V. A good government strives to preserve peace. Mordecai, the prime 
 minister, spoke peace to all his seed. "We may be assured that the stern, repressive 
 measures related in this narrative were intended for the promotion of peace and of 
 the greater interests of the whole nation ; for Mordecai was not the man to speak 
 peace while war was in his heart. It may be sometimes necessary while speaking 
 peace to carry out those measures that appear contrary to pacific professions. 
 " Blessed are the peacemakers." " If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live 
 peaceably with all men." There are then limitations ; there are impossible men. 
 Still, better to suffer a little than to destroy peace. But never let a so-called love 
 of peace induce to the sacrifice of principle. The apostles were lovers of peace, but 
 they produced hatred and commotion. The gospel is a pacificator, and yet it is a 
 great divider. 
 
 VI. A good government is acceptable to a virtuous and enlightened people. 
 Mordecai, the chief power in this Persian kingdom, was great among the Jews, and 
 accepted of the multitude of his brethren. A government is firm as it is founded 
 upon the respect and affection of the well-conducted portion of the subjects. We 
 say well-conducted, for licentiousness spurns all government. Wickedness desires 
 lawlessness ; rebellion is for the most part wickedness. Blessed is the fact that our 
 throne is buttressed by so many faithful and attached subjects. God's government 
 rightly understood, will be acceptable to all people. It is a righteous government. 
 In serving God we serve the best and most glorious King. Christ Jesus our Kin" 
 is wise, judicious, and loving. Happy are those who serve him on earth, and who 
 shall be called to serve him when he shall have put down all opposing forces, and 
 shall sway the glorious and beneficent sceptre of universal empire. 
 
 Suggestive Comments on Verses 1, 2. 
 
 Mordecai was good, very good, for he people, the Jews, nor was he ashamed 
 
 did good. This goodness made him of his relation to them, though they 
 
 truly great, and then his greatness gave were strangers and captives, dispersed 
 
 him an opportunity of doing so much and despised. Still he wrote himself 
 
 the more good. When the king ad- Mordecai the Jew, and therefore no 
 
 vanced him — 1. He did not disown his doubt adhered to the Jew's religion, by 
 
320 
 
 IIOMILETIC COMMENTARY: ESTHER. 
 
 [on \r. x. 
 
 the observances of which he distinguished 
 himself, and yet it was no hindrance to 
 his preferment, nor looked upon as a 
 blemish to him. 2. He did not seek 
 his own wealth, or the raising of an 
 estate for himself and his family, which 
 is the chief most aim at when they get 
 into great places at court ; but he con- 
 sulted the welfare of his people, and 
 made it his business to advance that. 
 His power, his wealth, and all his 
 interests in the king and queen he 
 improved for the public good. 3. He 
 not only did good, but he did it in a 
 humble, condescending way ; was so easy 
 of access, courteous and affable in his 
 behaviour, and spoke peace to all that 
 made their application to him. Doing 
 good works is the best and chief thing 
 expected from those who have wealth 
 and power; but giving good Avords is 
 also commendable, and makes the good 
 deed more acceptable. 4. He did not 
 side with any one party of his people 
 against another, nor make some his 
 favourites, while the rest were neg- 
 lected and crushed ; but, whatever differ- 
 ences there were among them, he was a 
 common father to them all, recommended 
 himself to the multitude of his brethren, 
 not despising the crowd, and spoke peace 
 to all their seed, without distinction. 
 Thus making himself acceptable by 
 humility and beneficence, he was uni- 
 versally accepted, and gained the good 
 word of all his brethren. Thanks be to 
 God, such a government as this we are 
 Messed with, which seeks the welfare of 
 our people, speaking peace to all their 
 seed. God continue it long, very long, 
 and grant us, under the happy protection 
 and influence of it, to live tpaiet and 
 peaceable lives, in godliness, honesty, 
 and charity ! — Matthew Henry. 
 
 WJiereunto the king mini need him. 
 Whereunto the king greatened him ; 
 wherein he showed himself a wise and 
 politic prince; as did likewise Pharaoh 
 in advancing Joseph ; Darius, Daniel ; 
 Constantius Chlorus, Christian officers; 
 our Henry VIII., the Lord Cromwell, 
 whom lie made his vicar-generaL Jovi- 
 anus, the emperor, was wont to wish 
 that he might govern wise men, and 
 that wise men might govern him. 
 
 Justin Martyr praiseth this sentence of 
 divine Plato : Commonwealths will then 
 be happy when cither philosophers reign 
 or kings study philosophy. Jethro's 
 justiciary must be a wise man, fearing 
 God, &c. And that famous maxim of 
 Constantius Chlorus, recorded by Euse- 
 bius, is very memorable : He cannot 
 be faithful that is unfaithful to God, 
 religion being the foundation of all true 
 fidelity and loyalty to king and country. 
 — Trapp. 
 
 " Mordecai, in order to vindicate the 
 glory of God and his countrymen from 
 the Hamanites, endured the hatred of 
 many. He afflicted himself with fast- 
 ings, prayers, sackcloth, cryings, and 
 lamentations ; he constantly spurned 
 that impious man ; and was at last 
 adjudged to suffer on the ignominious 
 cross. Now, however, by the singular 
 favour of God, he is crowned beyond all 
 men (Ahasuerus alone excepted) with 
 glory and honour even in this world." — 
 Feuardent. 
 
 The concluding chapter of the Book 
 of Esther refers to the greatness of 
 Ahasuerus and his prime minister 
 Mordecai. The king laid a tax upon 
 every part of his dominions over Avhich 
 his power extended, both on the conti- 
 nent and on the islands under his 
 dominion, which were all in the iEgean 
 Sea. He did great things ; but as it 
 was not the design of the author of this 
 history to record " the acts of his power 
 and of his might," reference is made 
 by him to " the book of the chronicles 
 of the kings of Media and Persia." 
 Where is this written record now 1 It 
 has long since perished from the earth. 
 Vast as was the empire of Persia itself, 
 and apparently invincible, it fell, in 
 fulfilment of the prophecy of Daniel, 
 before the power of Greece. Is it not 
 strange that these chronicles should have 
 perished, and that this mighty empire 
 should have been overthrown, and yet 
 that the records of the kingdom of God 
 among men should have been preserved ; 
 and that kingdom itself should not only 
 have stood amidst the revolutions of 
 empires, but should now be spreading 
 over the whole earth 1 Have we not 
 another proof in this that God specially 
 
CHAP. X.] 
 
 HOMILETIC COMMENTARY : ESTHER. 
 
 321 
 
 guarded his own word from passing 
 away from the earth 1 How otherwise 
 should the Book of Esther not have 
 shared the fate of the chronicles of 
 Media and Persia? Have we not evi- 
 dence also that his kingdom is an 
 everlasting kingdom] How otherwise 
 should it have withstood the assaults of 
 its enemies, and not have suffered the 
 fate of other empires'? Books have 
 perished hy hundreds and thousands, 
 but the oldest book is indestructible. 
 The Babylonian, Persian, Grecian, and 
 Boman empires have all had their day, 
 and then been broken to pieces, but the 
 most ancient kingdom of God among 
 men is mightier than ever. As over 
 that book we can read the words of its 
 Divine Author, written, as though clasp- 
 ing it all, " Heaven and earth shall pass 
 away, but my Word shall not pass 
 away ; " so, in the contemplation of his 
 Church, we can sing in the language of 
 an old prediction — 
 
 " Its walls, defended by his grace, 
 No power shall e'er o'erthrow ; 
 Salvation is its bulwark sure 
 Against th' assailing foe." 
 
 There is next a high eulogy passed 
 upon Mordecai the Jew, especially in 
 relation to his own kindred and people. 
 He was "great amongst them." Not 
 the greatness merely of rank, station, 
 and wealth, but highly esteemed also 
 for those elements of character which 
 constitute true nobility. He was "ac- 
 cepted of the multitude of his brethren." 
 He did not despise them. He did not 
 disown his own relationship to them. 
 He set them an excellent example of 
 integrity and virtue. And because of 
 his goodness and humility, as well as 
 his greatness and power, they honoured 
 and loved him. He sought " the wealth 
 of his people ;" did not, like his prede- 
 cessor in office, enrich himself at the 
 public expense, but in all his acts con- 
 sulted their welfare. He did not look 
 upon his own things only, but also on 
 the things of others. He identified 
 himself and his own interests with them 
 and theirs, and generously helped for- 
 ward, and rejoiced in, their prosperity 
 and happiness. He " spake peace to all 
 his seed." He was accessible to all ; 
 
 kind and courteous ; not favouring one 
 party above another, but endeavouring 
 to unite all parties in the bonds of a 
 common faith and hope ; regarding with 
 equal solicitude and concern the rich 
 and the poor, and extending his sympa- 
 thies to all sections of the community. 
 We have surveyed him in different situa- 
 tions and circumstances — seated at the 
 king's gate, and conscientiously resisting 
 the king's commandment to pay religious 
 homage to a man ; rushing through the 
 streets of Shushan with sackcloth and 
 ashes, as though half frantic with vexa- 
 tion and fear, after Haman's iniquitous 
 decree had been published • bravely 
 counselling his cousin, and at her request 
 spending three days in fasting and 
 prayer ; conducted through Shushan on 
 the king's horse, led by his enemy, ar- 
 rayed in the king's robe, and having the 
 crown-royal upon his head ; and after- 
 wards formally installed in the office of 
 Haman, and possessed of the king's 
 signet-ring ; but throughout all these 
 changes in his outward circumstances he 
 seems to have maintained the same 
 character. It was not so much to find 
 him humble, kind, and dutiful, when his 
 position was less honourable and his 
 life imperilled. The danger lay in his 
 exaltation. There are not many who 
 could preserve themselves from becoming 
 vain, worldly, and inflated, when sud- 
 denly elevated from a comparatively 
 humble position, to a place in a great 
 empire, next to the king himself. But 
 in his elevation those admirable qualities, 
 which had formerly had but a limited 
 sphere for their exercise, were made to 
 shine forth conspicuously. Not only 
 were they matured and strengthened, 
 but took in the wide range of all his 
 people, making him honoured and loved 
 whilst he lived, for his humility, good- 
 ness, fear of God, and wise counsel ; 
 and, through Divine grace, fashioning 
 for himself a name worthy of veneration 
 by all subsequent generations. " Mark 
 the perfect man, and behold the upright : 
 for the end of that man is peace." — 
 McEiven. 
 
 Sir John Malcolm tells us that the 
 sepulchre of Esther and Mordecai stands 
 near the centre of the city of Hamadan. 
 
322 
 
 IIOMILETIC COMMENTARY: ESTHER. 
 
 [CHAP. X. 
 
 It is a square building, terminated by a 
 dome, with an inscription in Hebrew 
 upon it, translated and sent to hini by 
 Sir Gore Ouseley, late ambassador to 
 the court of Persia. It is as follows : — 
 Thursday, fifteenth of the month Adar, 
 in the year 4474 from the creation of 
 the world, was finished the building of 
 this temple over the graves of Esther 
 and Mordecai, by the hands of the 
 good-hearted brothers Eleas and Samuel, 
 the sons of the deceased Ishmael of 
 Kashon. The key of the tomb is always 
 
 in the possession of the head of the 
 Jews resident at Hamadan, and, doubt- 
 less, has been so preserved from the 
 interment of the holy pair, -when the 
 grateful sons of the captivity, whose 
 lives they had rescued from a universal 
 massacre, first erected a monument over 
 the remains of their benefactors, and 
 obeyed the ordinance of gratitude, in 
 making the anniversary of their preserv- 
 ation a lasting memorial of Heaven's 
 mercy, and the just faith of Esther and 
 Mordecai. — Bible Cyclqpcedia. 
 
 ILLUSTBATIONS TO CHAPTERS IX., X. 
 
 The Alpine Travellers. Three tourists were 
 ascending the Alps. After they had gone a con- 
 siderable distance, and were getting nearer to the 
 eternal snows, and thus the danger increased, it 
 was considered necessary to attach the company 
 by ropes to one another and to the guides. But 
 one of the tourists, an old traveller, was self- 
 confident and self-reliant. He carried the doc- 
 trine of self-help too far, and refused to help 
 his neighbours. He fell down the precipice and 
 lost his life. We often best help ourselves by 
 helping others. 
 
 Mutual help, need of. As an apple in the 
 hand of a child makes other children run after 
 and consort with him and share his sports, so 
 does he convert affliction, and the need we have 
 of each other's aid, into a girdle of love, with 
 which to bind us all together; just as no one 
 country produces all commodities, in order that 
 the different nations, by mutual traffic and com- 
 merce, may cultivate concord and friendship. 
 How foolish they are who imagine that all the 
 world stands in need of them, but they of nobody ; 
 that they know and understand all things, but 
 others nothing ; and that the wit of all man- 
 kind should be apprenticed to their wisdom.— 
 Gotthold. 
 
 Whitfield. An old woman relates, that when 
 she was a little girl Whitfield stayed at her 
 father's house. He was too much absorbed in 
 his work to take much notice of, and pay much 
 attention to, the little girl. She did not remem- 
 ber any of his eloquent utterances. She was, 
 however, observant, and noticed the great 
 preacher when he did not think that any one 
 was observing his conduct. And the impression 
 made upon her mind by his holy and cheerful 
 demeanour, bv his patience under trials and 
 difficulties, anil his evident consecration to his 
 work, was of a most lasting and salutary charac- 
 ter. Well were it if all great preachers would 
 preach at home ! We must be great in the 
 palace of home, and then let our influence work 
 
 outwards in all directions. Home religion is 
 powerful. 
 
 The young Switzer. There was a young man 
 among the Switzers that went about to usurp 
 the government and alter their free state. Him 
 they condemned to death, and appointed his 
 father for executioner, as the cause of his evil 
 education. But because Haman was hanged 
 before, his sons (though dead) should now hang 
 with him. If all fathers who had given an evil 
 education to their sons were punished there 
 would be a large increase of the criminal classes. 
 At the present time the State is doing much in 
 the way of educating ; but the State cannot do 
 that which is the proper duty of the parent. By 
 precept, and even by the fear of penalty, should 
 we enforce upon parents the duty of seeing faith- 
 fully to the true up-bringing of their children. 
 
 Faith of parents. An aged minister of Christ 
 had several sons, all of whom became preachers 
 of the Gospel but one. This one lived a life 
 of dissipation for many years. But the good 
 father's faith failed not. He trusted God that 
 his wicked son, trained up in the way he 
 should go, in old age should not depart from it. 
 In this sublime faith the aged father passed 
 away. Five years after, this son of many prayers 
 sat at the feet of Jesus. 
 
 Influence of parents. The last thing forgotten 
 in all the recklessness of dissolute profligacy is 
 the prayer or hymn taught by a mother's lips, 
 or uttered at a father's knee ; and where there 
 seems to have been any pains bestowed, even by 
 one parent, to train up a child aright, there is 
 in general more than ordinary ground for hope. 
 — The experience of a Prison Chaplain. 
 
 Says the venerable Dr Spring : " The first 
 afflicting thought to me on the death of my 
 parents was, that I had lout their prayers." 
 
 Great men Just as the traveller whom we 
 see on yonder mountain height began his ascent 
 from the plain, so the greatest man of whom the 
 world can boast is but one of ourselves standing 
 
CHAP. X.] 
 
 EOMILETIC COMMENTARY: ESTHER. 
 
 323 
 
 on higher ground, and in virtue of his wider 
 intelligence, his nobler thoughts, his loftier 
 character, his purer inspiration, or his more 
 manly daring, claiming the empire as his right. 
 — Hare. 
 
 True greatness. The truly great consider, 
 first, how they may gain the approbation of God; 
 and, secondly, that of their own consciences. 
 Having done this they would willingly conciliate 
 the good opinion of their fellow-men. — Cotton. 
 
 The greatest man is he who chooses the right 
 with invincible resolution ; who resists the sorest 
 temptations from within and without ; who bears 
 the heaviest burdens cheerfully ; who is the 
 calmest in storms, and whose reliance on truth, 
 on virtue, on God, is the most unfaltering. — 
 Dr. Chening. 
 
 Distinguishing great men. I think it is 
 Warburton who draws a very just distinction 
 between a man of true greatness and a medio- 
 crist. " If," says he, " you want to recommend 
 yourself to the former, take care that he quits 
 your society with a good opinion of you ; if your 
 object is to please the latter, take care that he 
 leaves you with a good opinion of himself." — 
 Cotton. 
 
 Thus Mordecai was truly great, considering, 
 first, how to gain the approbation of God ; and, 
 secondly, that of his own conscience. He rises 
 above others by virtue of his wider intelligence, 
 his nobler thoughts, his loftier character, and 
 his more manly daring. 
 
 A good name. A name truly good is the 
 aroma from character. It is a reputation of 
 whatsoever things are honest, and lovely, and of 
 good report. It is such a name as is not only 
 remembered on earth, but written in heaven. 
 Just as a box of spikenard is not only valuable 
 to its possessor, but pre-eminently precious in its 
 diffusion ; so, when a name is really good, it is 
 of unspeakable service to all who are capable of 
 feeling its aspiration. Mordecai's fame went out 
 throughout all the provinces. — Dr. J. Hamilton. 
 
 Eastern hospitality. Nehemiah charges the 
 people thus : " Go your way, eat the fat, and 
 drink the sweet, and send portions unto them 
 for whom nothing is prepared." Also in Esther: 
 "Therefore the Jews made the fourteenth day of 
 the month Adar a day of gladness and feasting, 
 and a good day, and of sending portions one to 
 another." An Oriental prince sometimes honours 
 a friend or a favourite servant, who cannot con- 
 veniently attend at his table, by sending a mess 
 to his own home. When the Grand Emir found 
 that it incommoded D'Arvieux to eat with him, 
 he politely desired him to take his own time for 
 eating, and sent him what he liked from his 
 kitchen at the time he chose. So that the above 
 statements must not be restricted to the poor. — 
 Paxton's ' Illustrations' 
 
 The heaviest taxes. " The taxes are indeed 
 heavy," said Dr. Franklin on one occasion, and 
 
 if those laid on by the Government were the 
 only ones we had to pay, we might more easily 
 discharge them ; but we have many others, and 
 much more grievous to some of us. We are 
 taxed twice as much by our idleness, three times 
 as much by our pride, and four times as much 
 by our folly ; and from these taxes the commis- 
 sioners cannot ease or deliver us by allowing 
 any abatement. 
 
 Safeguard of nations. France tried to go on 
 without a God in the time of her first revolution; 
 but Napoleon, for reasons of State, restored the 
 Catholic religion. M. Thiers gives this singular 
 passage in his history: "Napoleon said, ' For my 
 part, I never hear the sound of the church bell 
 in the neighbouring village without emotion.'" 
 He knew that the hearts of the people were stirred 
 by the same deep yearnings after God which filled 
 his own, and so he proposed to restore the wor- 
 ship of God to infidel France. Later, and with 
 deeper meaning, Perrier, successor to Lafayette 
 as prime minister to Louis Philippe, said on his 
 death-bed, "France must have religion" (C. 
 D. Fors). So we may say, the nations, if they 
 are to live, must have religion. 
 
 Punishment of nations. It was a sound 
 reply of an English captain at the loss of Calais, 
 when a proud Frenchman scornfully demanded, 
 " When will you fetch Calais again ? " " When 
 your sins shall weigh down ours." — Brooks. 
 
 Nations. In one sense the providence of God 
 is shown more clearly in nations than in individ- 
 uals. Retribution can follow individuals into 
 another state, but not so with nations ; they 
 have all their rewards and punishments in time. 
 — D. Custine. 
 
 England's privileges. — It's the observation of 
 a great politician, that Englandis a great animal 
 which can never die unless it kill itself; answer- 
 able whereunto was the speech of Lord Rich, to 
 the justices in the reign of king Edward VI. : 
 " Never foreign power," said he, " could yet 
 hurt, or in any part prevail, in this realm 
 but by disobedience and disorder among our- 
 selves ; that is the way wherewith the Lord 
 will plague us if he mind to punish us." Polydor 
 Virgil calls Regnum Angliae, Regnum Dei, the 
 kingdom of England, the kingdom of God, be- 
 cause God seems to take special care of it, as 
 having walled it about with the ocean, and 
 watered it with the upper and nether springs, 
 like that land which Caleb gave his daughter. 
 Hence it was called Albion, quasi Olbion, the 
 happy country; "whose valleys," saith Speed, 
 " are like Eden, whose hills are as Lebanon, 
 whose springs are as Pisgah, whose rivers are as 
 Jordan, whose wall is the ocean, and whose 
 defence is the Lord Jehovah." Foreign writers 
 have termed our country the Granary of the 
 Western World, the Fortunate Island, the Para- 
 dise of Pleasure, and Garden of God. — Clarke's 
 ' Examples.' 
 
 THE END. 
 
Richard Clay & Sons, Limited, 
 London & Rungay. 
 

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