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to be wished that princes may have wisdom to see, and honesty to advance, real merit, and reward faithful services. This is a comfort to God's faithful servants, that there is no unjust or partial pro ceedings in the court of heaven; He is not unrighteous to forget any works or labours of love. There is, in allusion to the chronicles of kingdoms, a book of remembrance written by him; and though, when they have done all, they are unprofitable servants, yet they shall not by any means loose their reward.

3. See how wretchedly the pride of men's hearts deceives them. Observe the vanity of Haman, in v. 6. Now Haman thought in his heart, to whom would the king delight to do honour more than to myself? he thought much better of himself than he deserved, because the king esteemed him, and courtiers bowed to him: he thought himself some great one, and in a state of security. Thus it is through pride that many think themselves wise, and pious too; and because they meet with esteem and respect from others, imagine there is something uncommonly valuable in themselves, and that none are like them. We need to search and try, to watch over our hearts, and not be deceived by our own judgments, or even the judgments of others concerning us; but daily pray, that God, who cannot be deceived, would search and try us, and see if there be any evil way in us.

4. It is an admirable thing for a person to bear honour and adyancement humbly; Mordecai was a remarkable instance of this. It was as great a force upon him to march through the city with the state of a king, as upon Haman to conduct him, and be his lac quey. Honour is well bestowed on those who know how to bear it meekly, without growing proud and insolent in consequence of it. This is the character of the saints and angels in all their exaltation; they are eminently humble, and, amidst all the pomp of heaven, acknowledge themselves less than nothing, and vanity.

CHAP. VII.

Esther sues for her own life, and the lives of her people; and the king causeth Haman to be hanged on his own gallows.

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O the king and Haman came to banquet with Esther. the queen. And the king said again unto Esther on the 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 be performed, [even] to the half of the kingdom: the king by thus renewing his desire to know what her 3 request was, gave her greater courage to make it. Then Esther the queen answered and said, If I have found favour in thy sight, O king, and if it please the king, let my life be given me. 4 at my petition, and my people at my request:* For we are

The king no doubt expected some importunate petition for wealth or honour, or the advancement of seme of her friends, and must be much surprized when she only begged for her life, and the deliverance of her people; his rage against her enemies must rise in pro portion to her humility.

sold, I and my people, to be destroyed, to be slain, and to perish. But if we had been sold for bondmen and bondwomen, I had held my tongue, as we might some way or other have been redeemed, although the enemy could not countervail the king's damage; the king would not have gained so much by it, as he would 5 have lost. Then the king Ahasuerus answered and said unto Esther the queen, Who is he, and where is he, that durst presume in his heart to do so? It seemed incredible that any should entertain such a thought as to destroy a whole innocent nation. § And Esther said, The adversary and enemy [is] this wicked Haman. Then Haman was afraid before the king and the queen; and well he might be so when he saw his danger, when he found the queen was a Jewess, and the king was enraged.

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And the king arising from the banquet of wine in his wrath, [went] into the palace garden; no doubt in strong commotion, arising from love to his queen, from the conduct of Human, and that he should be so imposed upon as to be engaged in sa odious a design : and Haman stood up to make request for his life to Esther the queen; for he saw that there was evil determined against him by the king; he now became an humble petitioner to Esther, seeing by the king's countenance as he was going out, that he was violently 8 angry. Then the king returned out of the palace garden, into the place of the banquet of wine; and Haman was fallen upon the bed whereon Esther [was ;] he found Haman in the posture of a suppliant, fallen at the queen's feet as she reclined on her couch, and probably embracing them. Then said the king, Will he force the queen also before me in the house? As the word went out of the king's mouth, they covered Haman's face, because they looked upon him as a condemned person, whose sight was 9 offensive to the king, And Harbonah, one of the chamberlains, who had probably been to fetch Haman, and had seen the gallows, and been told who it was designed for, said before the king, 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; he was forward to tell the king this, for a person of so haughty a behaviour as Haman was, could not be be loved. This completed his crime, that he intended so shameful a 10 death for a man, to whom the king was so much obliged. Then the king said, Hang him thereon. So they hanged Haman on the gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai. Then was the king's wrath pacified; and in his cooler moments he could not but approve of what he had done,

Haman offered a great sum for them; if they were guilty, they should have been slain without it; if innocent, it was horribly wicked to devote them to destruction, and it was at the price of innocent blood.

+ Esther found no reason to fear speaking plainly; she therefore fixed her charge upon Haman. He used to be called high and mighty, noble, great, and magnificent; but she gave his true character in one word, this wicked Haman.

The king could hardly suppose that Haman had such an intention; but his passion had so blinded him that he put the worst construction upon every thing; and justly did Haman fall under a false pretence, who would have destroyed many thousands by a false accusation, In the East, persons are executed as soon as they are copdemned.

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T is common for men to startle at those evils which they may have been the authors of. The king asks, Who is he, and where is he, that durst presume in his heart to do so? but he forgot that he himself passed that decree a little before. He was shocked to think that any man could be so wicked, when he himself had been accessary to it. This is the case of some who lead others into sin by their ill advice or ill example; who corrupt their principles, or countenance their vices; they are accessary to all the mischief they do. This should make us very cautious how we abet or countenance any bad design; how we say or do any thing to encourage malignant and revengeful passions in others; for they may produce effects which will fill us with horror when they come to light, and bring an insupportable burden on our conscience.

2. See the justice of God in humbling and destroying a proud and revengeful persecutor. He who expected all men should reverence him, and had contrived the destruction of Mordecai and all the Jews, even he is brought to sudden destruction in a moment, and utterly consumed with terrors: his evil doings come upon his own head. The righteous is delivered out of trouble, and the wicked cometh in his stead; into the pit which he digged he is fallen himself, and in the snare which he laid is his own foot taken. God has often in like manner confounded and destroyed proud oppressors; and the enemies of his church have great reason to say, the Lord is known by the judgments that he executeth.

3. If the wrath of an earthly king is so dreadful, what a fearful thing is it to fall into the hands of the living God! The wrath of the king, says Solomon, is as messengers of death. It was so in the present case. The supreme, universal King judges and condemns no man, in a passion, for he cannot be tempted of evil; but when he maketh inquisition for blood, and riseth up to judge the earth, he will execute wrath upon all his enemies and who can abide the fierceness of his indignation? Who can stand before him when once he is angry? But we may say in this case, as the apostle says of the punishment which earthly rulers can inflict, Wilt thou not be afraid for the power? Do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same.

CHAP. VIII.

In the former chapter we had the execution of Haman; in this we are informed what became of his plot.

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N that day did the king Ahasuerus give the house, or forfeited estate, of Haman, the Jews' enemy, unto Esther the queen. And Mordecai came before the king; for Esther

had told what he [was] unto her, and of all his kindness which 2 was not known before, except by some of her confidants. And the king took off his ring which he had taken from Haman, and gave it unto Mordecai, and thus made him prime minister in Ha3 man's room. And Esther set Mordecai over the house of Ha man, made him steward of her estate. And as the danger was not yet over, Esther spake yet again before the king, without being called, and fell down at his feet, and besought him even with tears to put away the mischief of Haman the Agagite, and 4 his device that he had devised against the Jews. Then the king held out the golden sceptre toward Esther. So Esther 5 arose, and stood before the king, And said, If it please the king, and if I have found favour in his sight, and the thing [seem] right before the king, and I [be] pleasing in his eyes, let it be written to reverse the letters devised by Haman the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, which he wrote to destroy the Jews 6 which [are] in all the king's provinces: For how can I endure to see the evil that shall come unto my people? or how can I endure to see the destruction of my kindred, even should I myself be spared?

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Then the king Ahasuerus said unto Esther the queen and to Mordecai the Jew, who was now come in, Behold, I have given Esther the house of Haman, and him they have hanged upon the gallows, because he laid his hand upon the Jews; they might therefore conclude that he would deny them nothing that was neces8 sary for their preservation. Write ye also for the Jews, as it liketh you, in as particular and strong a manner as you please; in the king's name, and seal [it] with the king's ring: for the writing which is written in the king's name, and sealed with the king's ring, may no man reverse; giving Mordecai authority to do every thing he could to make the former decree of none effect. 9 Then were the king's scribes called at that time in the third month, that [is,] the month Sivan, about two months after the former decree passed, on the three and twentieth [day] thereof; and it was written according to all that Mordecai commanded unto the Jews, and to the lieutenants, and the deputies and rulers of the provinces which [are] from India unto Ethiopia, an hun-' dred twenty and seven provinces, unto every province according to the writing thereof, and unto every people after their language, and to the Jews according to their writing, and according to their 10 language. And he wrote in the king Ahasuerus' name, and sealed [it] with the king's ring, and sent letters by posts on horseback, [and] riders on mules, camels, [and] young dromedaries; in the most expeditious methods possible, that they might 11 have time to prepare for their defence: Wherein the king granted the Jews which [were] in every city to gather themselves together, and to stand for their life, to destroy, to slay, and to cause to perish, all the power of the people and province that would assault them, [both] little ones, and women, and [to take]

12 the spoil of them for a prey, Upon one day in all the provinces of king Ahasuerus, [namely,] upon the thirteenth [day] of the 13 twelfth month, which [is] the month Adar. The copy of the

writing for a commandment to be given in every province [was] published unto all people, and that the Jews should be ready 14 against that day to avenge themselves on their enemies. [So] the posts that rode upon mules [and] camels went out, being hastened, and pressed on by the king's commandment; orders suere sent forth, and a strict charge given from the king to be as expeditious as possible in conveying and dispersing them. And the decree was given at Shushan the palace; it was signed by the king's counsellors, as the former edict had been.

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And Mordecai went out from the presence of the king in royal apparel of blue and white, and with a great crown of gold, and with a garment of fine linen and purple, with the pomp and state of prime minister: and the city of Shushan rejoiced and was glad 16 at his advancement, and at Haman's fall. The Jews had light, and gladness, and joy, and honour; they had great joy among them17 selves, and were much respected by all the people. And in every province, and in every city, whithersoever the king's commandment and his decree came, the Jews had joy and gladness, a feast and a good day; they entertained themselves and one another upon this joyful occasion; thinking it would discourage many of their enemies, and that they should be able to deal with the rest. And many of the people of the land became Jews; for the fear of the Jews fell upon them, being now under the patronage of Esther and Mordecai; and one would hope that some became proselytes out of regard to their God, and in consequence of these wonderful appearances of his providence for his people.

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E here see how suddenly God can change men's circumstances. Haman, so lately in the highest honour, and possessed of the greatest wealth, is hanged, and his estate confiscated; Mordecai is advanced to his honour, and made manager of his fortune. So unstable is worldly grandeur, so uncertain the continuance of poverty and meanness. The wealth of the sinner is laid up for the just. May we labour to secure true riches, which cannot be taken away, and honour, that can never be lost.

2. Let us cultivate a tender concern for the happiness of our country and people. Esther expressed her concern to the king in a very moving manner. She did not weep when she petitioned for

The substance of this new edict was, That forasmuch as the Jews had been formerly condemned upon a misrepresentation, they were hereby empowered to rise up in their own defence against all that should assault them in consequence of the former decree. And secret orders were no doubt sent to all the governors of the provinces, to discourage any attempts upon them. This shows the absurdity of this law of the Persians, the king was now forced to allow of a civil war, and permit the Jews and their enemies to take up arms by his authority to combat against it. It is a rule in our constitution, that no law, by any word or sanction, become unrepealable; though, it I remember right, there is a clause in the act of settlement, which makes it high treason to propose the alteration of the succession in the present royal house. This comes nearest to the law of the Persians. N

VOL. IV.

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