CRITICAL NOTES.]
Esther 1:3. The power of Persia] The king’s body-guard. The princes, the pashas, or governors of those provinces.
Esther 1:4. 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.—Rawlinson.
Esther 1:5. Garden of the king’s palace] The kingly palace, or series of houses, was situated, in Oriental manner, as is customary also to-day, in a large park.—Lange.
Esther 1:6. 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] Couches or sofas on which the guests reclined at meals. The cloths were woven with gold and silver threads.
MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH. Esther 1:3-5
THE 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 lowest as well as the highest in his festive arrangements. But greater still is the Divine benevolence; for Ahasuerus first entertained the magnates, and then condescended to the lowest, while to the poor is the gospel preached. Moral reforms seem 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 influences of Christianity beyond the circle of the respectable 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; but 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 great of this planet will look small, and the small of human reckoning appear great, when placed beneath the truer light of a sublimer sphere.
II. Human limitation. Ahasuerus gave a feast which lasted one hundred and eighty days at the most; and, according to some authorities, for only seven days. It is highly probable that the same guests did not continue for the whole period of 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 prolonged 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 banqueting-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 pleasures 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 splendours, 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; 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 offensive. 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? (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 Isaiah 25:6-7 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 we 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 (Isaiah 25:6). That means the Church of God on earth, composed of his penitent, believing, grateful, and obedient subjects. This collective body, or community of God’s people, is called by Moses “the mount of the Lord” (Numbers 10:33).
(1) The Church of God on earth, like a mountain, is generally conspicuous. It cannot be hid. It is seen by God with gracious 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 storms—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 drop 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 sometimes 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 be—
(1) Carefully selected.
(2) Dearly purchased.
(3) Supremely excellent and highly gratifying.
4. The guests for whom this feast is promised. “For all people.”
(1) This implies that all mankind need the blessings of the gospel.
(2) That those blessings are obtainable by all those who 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 suffering 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 deportment be answerable to your entertainment. Be humble, thankful, charitable.—Sketches of Sermons. 1838.
SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS ON Esther 1:3-5
Esther 1:3. Banquets on so grand a scale, and extending over so great a period, have not been unfrequently provided by the luxurious monarchs of Eastern countries, both in ancient and modern times. The early portion of this festive season, however, seems to have been dedicated to amusement, particularly an exhibition of the magnificence and treasures of the court.—Port. Commentary.
The description of this feast corresponds to the statement of ancient Persian luxury and magnificence which the Greek authors have sent down to us. The vast numbers entertained at their feasts, as well as the long continuance of these feasts, are points noticed by ancient writers.—Kitto.
Such a feast, as that all other feasts were but hunger to it, whether we regard the number of the guests, the largeness of the preparation, or the continuance of time; yet it had an end. But so hath not the feast of a good conscience.—Trapp.
A world of meat; every meal was so set on as if it should have been the last; yet all this long feast hath an end, and all this glory is shut up in forgetfulness.—Bishop Hall.
Epicurus himself, who placed happiness in pleasure, enjoined temperance as a necessary means of this pleasure. An author of our nation justly observes, that when a great multitude of alluring dishes are set upon a table, a wise man may see palsies, apoplexies, and other grievous or mortal distempers lurking amongst them.—Rev. Geo. Lawson.
It is said of the father of Louis XV., king of France, that when his preceptor one day was speaking of this feast of Ahasuerus, and wondered how the Prince of Persia could find patience for such a long feast, he replied, “That his wonder was how he could defray the expense of it.” He was afraid that the provinces would be compelled to observe a fast for it. On another occasion the same prince said, that he did not understand how a king should taste unmingled joy at a feast, unless he could invite all his subjects to partake; or unless he could be assured, at least, that none 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 quietness, 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.
Esther 1:5. As the king could not furnish a house for so many guests as were invited 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 off, 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 outlying 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 patriæ, fathers of their country and shepherds of their people?
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 days. 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 Richard 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 enlightenment of its people.—Rev. C. Leach, F.G.S.
MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH. Esther 1:4; Esther 1:6
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 has 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 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 pavement 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? No wonder that he was exalted with 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. (b) The narrowness of his view. Great as was the magnificence of this monarch, greater still, by far, is the Creator’s magnificence as seen even in this material universe; 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. (c) The 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 permits 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; for 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 stewardship? 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. Let the light of goodness shine out clearly, and then we shall not need to say, See how brightly we 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 Esther 1:4; Esther 1:6
Esther 1:4. What is greatness if it be not showed? And wherein can greatness be better shown than in the achievements of 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.—Trapp.
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 contributing 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? Do not these outward gauds and gaieties carry away the heart from the love of better things?—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? There will be unfading splendour, and pleasures 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 wedding 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 principle. 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. C. Leach, F.G.S.
An ancient father, when he first set his foot in Rome, at that time the mistress 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 pleasures 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 the poor: murmur not that prosperity has been denied you; wealth is the eternal ruin of many.—B. Thompson.
It is not your riches of this world, but your riches of grace, that shall do your souls good. “Not my wealth, nor my blood, but my Christianity makes me noble,” quoth that noble martyr Romanus. And though the philosopher merrily, when he was asked whether were better, wisdom or riches, answered, Riches: “for I have often,” said he, “seen poor wise men at rich fools’ doors, but never rich fools at poor wise men’s doors;” yet wealth may be joined with wisdom, goodness with greatness. Mary and Martha may be sisters; righteousness and riches may dwell together.—Adams.
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 consequences. We read of Belshazzar’s feast; we 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 remembrance, 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.
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 be the object of our ambition. Let our lives be continual sermons to those among 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.”—Hughes.
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 government in the East has from the earliest times been despotic, one man swaying 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 spending 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) Extravagancies and follies into which men are betrayed by intemperance.
(2) That which dethrones reason and destroys intellect should surely be avoided.
(3) All 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; (b) 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 impunity, it very frequently happened that the female influence was 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 abounds with illustrations of this fact, and in the sacred history we have examples of the same 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 Ahasuerus, 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 be 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 the narrative. At a season when sound counsel could scarcely have been expected, and when he who sought it was not in a fit condition 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 was not at once suggested. But the wrath of the king was so strongly exhibited that his compliant advisers did not venture to contradict him. “Memucan answered,” &c. Now, 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, while 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. But 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 insubordination, 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 authority of law and custom, and was to be made the victim both of the ungovernable 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 we must say that the mightiest sovereign of his time, with 127 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, where 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. How 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 continueth not in all things written in the book 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”?—Dr. Davidson.
ILLUSTRATIONS TO CHAPTER 1
Power. Pompey boasted, that, with one stamp of his foot, he could rouse all Italy to arms; with one scratch of his pen, Ahasuerus 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 heaven, 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 Nismes, 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 I 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 Worcester, 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 Gloucester. 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 countenance 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 book.—Seeker.
Abuse of wealth. I am no advocate for meanness of private habitation. I would fain introduce 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 experience: 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 emphatically, that a tenth part of the expense which is sacrificed in domestic vanities, if not absolutely and meaninglessly lost in domestic comforts and encumbrances, would, if collectively afforded and wisely employed, build a marble church for every town in England.—Ruskin.
Danger. “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.”
Danger of prosperity. When Crates threw his gold into the sea, he cried out, Ego perdam te, ne tu perdas me, that is, “I will destroy you, lest you should destroy me.” Thus, if the world be 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 abandoned 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.—Secker.
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 seasonable 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 appeared 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; afflictions 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 Ralston, 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 perform 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 stretched from shore to shore. Two days after he was found there rigid as an icicle, his knees embedded in a sheet 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 Despatch.
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. O 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 alehouse, 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.”—J. 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.—Powell.
Fulness of Christ. I have found it an interesting 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 generations, 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, sprang 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 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 stimulus to rouse 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.—J. G. Pilkington.
Pleasures. Pleasures, like the rose, are sweet, but prickly; the honey doth not countervail 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.—Henshaw.
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; but when I find anger, or passion, or any other evil temper, arise in my mind, immediately I go to my Redeemer, and, confessing my sins, I give myself up to be 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 astonishment 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!—Arvine.
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 are clasped together and held horizontally to his breast, his eyes meekly demissed 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 vanishes; 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!—Salter.
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 shalt have no other gods before me,” and hurls his resistless missiles of destruction. Either ourselves 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 in the swamp of animal vitality; false gods, more hideous, more awful than Moloch or Baal, worshipped 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 bitter 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 necklace 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 irrecoverably 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 intrepid judge. One of the favourites of Henry V., when Prince of Wales, having been indicted for some misdemeanour, was condemned, notwithstanding all the interest he could make in his 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 Gascoigne, 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 had 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 the 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 mankind is flattery: the only benefit of which is, that, by hearing what we are not, we may learn what we ought to be.
Whitfield, 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 hereafter. 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 complains of his tools.
Wicked counsel. A young man devoted himself to a religious life. His ungodly parents sent him 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 fire 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.—Swinnock.
Envy. 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 Naboth, and shed his blood to gain it. Yes; 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 delivered our Lord.—J. 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 rejoicing but in the misfortunes of others; ever unquiet and 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 Macedonian army was shipwrecked, and east upon the shore apparently lifeless. A hospitable Macedonian 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 benefactor. Instead, when he came before Philip, he related his own misfortunes, and asked to be rewarded by the lands and house of his rescuer. His 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 land, 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.
Guilty 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 than he?—
“The mind that broods o’er guilty woes
Is like the scorpion girt by fire;
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 God 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 struck another, and when he was about to be punished, the injured boy begged for his pardon. The master asked. “Why do you wish to keep him from being flogged?” The boy replied, “I have read in the New Testament that our Lord Jesus Christ said that we should forgive our enemies; and, therefore, I forgive him, and beg he may not be punished for my sake.”
At the present day the green turben which marks descent from Mahomet is often worn in the East by the very poor, and even by beggars. In our own history the glory of the once illustrious Plantagenets so completely waned, that the direct representative of Margaret Plantagenet, daughter and heiress of George, Duke of Clarence, followed the trade of a cobbler in Newport, Shropshire, in 1637. Among the lineal descendants of Edmund of Woodstock, sixth son of Edward I., and entitled to quarter the royal arms, were a village butcher and a keeper of a turnpike gate; and among the descendants of Thomas Plantagenet, Duke of Gloucester, fifth son of Edward III., was included the late sexton of a London church.—Geikie.