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 which [are] in all the king's provinces:
Ver. 5. And said, If it please the king] See Esther 5:8. Thus, when we pray to God, we must take unto us words, and speak in a low language, as broken men. The poor speaketh supplications, Proverbs 19:28 .
And the thing seem right before the king] She taketh not upon her to prescribe, but is willing to subscribe to the king's good pleasure. Let us do so to the only wise God. John 2:8, the mother of Christ doth not too earnestly in words press him to do that she desired, but only lays open the case, They have no wine, referring all to his discretion; so ought we in our prayers for temporal things. Socrates taught his scholars to ask no more of God but this, that he would do them good; but how, and how much, they should leave that to him, as best understanding what is best and fittest for us. Those in the Gospel that would needs be at a certainty, and bargain with the Master of the vineyard for a penny a day, when they had their penny, they went grumbling away, that it was but a penny, Matthew 20:10,12 .
And I be pleasing in his eyes] If my beauty please him, which is the best letter of recommendation to a prince, as the queen mother of France was wont to say.
Let it be written to reverse the letter] She did not request to rule the whole empire for three days, as Semiramis once did; nor to set Persepolis on fire, as Alexander the Great did, at the motion of his concubine; but that the king her husband would revoke and rescind the letters of Haman's device, that he would by new letters correct and over-rule (as the Vulgate Latin hath it) those formerly devised by Haman, that he would antiquate and abolish the plots and projects of that wicked man. And albeit this request of hers might seem to some uncivil and overly bold; yet in a case of such great consequence, wherein the glory of God, the preservation of his people, and the honour, of the king were so much concerned, she doubteth not to present and prosecute it. Hinc igitur satis est conspicua Esterae sancta audacia, therefore this is enough holy boldness in the eyes of Esther, saith an interpreter; such as was also that of Cranmer in the parliament house, when the Six Articles were in agitation; and that of George, marquis of Brandenburg, who professed at the imperial diet at Ausburg, Malle se flexis ibi coram Caesare genibus, speculatori cervicem feriendam statim praebere, that he would rather lose his head presently there in the presence of the emperor, than to yield his assent to the Popish Interim (Scultet. Annal.).