IV. IT IS AN UNDISPUTED CASE OF THAT PARTICULAR KIND OF ANNOYANCE OALLED AFFRONT. No appreciable harm had been done to the person, or to the business or to ~he place, or to the _pro~pects of H~man .. Nor had he been injured in the least degree m the person of his wife, or of his family, or of any one dear to him. But affront had been_ offered him, or he suppose~ such was intended. That is, harm, though light a~d fa_nciful as any b~tterfl.y, had a~ighted upon the_ finery of his dignity, his vanity, !11s pn~e. The abras10n. of the p_ohsh of self was m~ee~ so slight, so marvellously mconsp1cuous, that he lumself did not at all know 1t till those envious mischief- makers, the "king's servants," told him (eh. iii. 4), in order, forsooth "to see whether Mordecai's account of the reason" of this infinitesimal deduction' from the incensP- due to Haman (to whom indeed he owed none at all) would hold him absolved. An angry man, a revengeful man, a madman, a " bear robbed of her whelps '' (Prov. xvii. 12), "the lion out of the forest" (Jer. v. 6), are surely all safe company to meet compared with the vain man affronted. And this was the lot of Mordecai now. V. IT IS AN INDISPUTABLE CASE OF THE INSATIABLENESS OF CERTAIN COMBINATIONS OF SINFUL ELEMENTS IN A CHARACTER. There is no bottom to pride, there is no height to haughtiness, there is no measure to swelling vanity, there is no temperate- ness to contempt, there is not " the bit or rein" that can be reckoned so.fe to hold in the uncertain, nettled temper of scorn and disdain. Approach any one of these with but the appearance of affront, though the reality may be your own principle and religion unfeigned, and there is no longer room for either explanation or even expia- tion. Revenge alone can meet the case. We have need to fear the first symptoms of such dispositions. They belong to the godless heart. They spread pestilence. They make the lives that own to them resemble volcanoes, which ever and anon throw up and spread all around the torrents of their destroying lava. Those who answer to this type so mournfully exhibited by Haman, miserable and uncertain them- selves, are they who make misery all around. They " think scorn " to be patient; they "think scorn " to give to others the liberty they demand for themselves ; they "think scorn " to ask or accept an explanation ; they "think scorn" to credit any man's religion and conscience, except their own travesty of the genuine and true ; they "think scorn " to show any kindness, or to make only a little misery. The heart of goodness, of justice, of mercy, nay, even the heart of reason, is cankered from within them. They must destroy all who in the slightest degree, real or apprehended, stand in their light, if only they can see their way to do it without present injury to themselves. And among all the worst foes a man can have, none can exceed this disposition, if it dwell in his heart.-B. Ver. 6.-Revenge. I. THE WRATH OF THE WICKED IS REVENGEFUL. The feeling is natural that prompts to retaliation. All human history is blurred by its activity. A Haman could not be offended without seeking to do the offender hurt. In the light of Christian truth it is mean and contemptible, but it is natural, and therefore almost universal. II. THE SPIRIT OF REVENGE IS NECESSARILY UNJUST, It does not measure the evil it contemplates by the injury that has excited it; its fierce tide flows over, and drowns every thought of balanced equity; it throws away the scales, and only wields the sword. III. THE SPIRIT OF REVENGE IS NECESSARILY UNMERCIFUL. Every feeling of pity is quenched in its fire. Its savage aim is to cause what suffering it can. The ex- termination of a whole people could only satisfy the vengeful lust of Haman. IV. THE SPIRIT OF REVENGE, WHEN ONCE KINDLED, EASILY FINDS FUEL TO FEED IT. While blind to all considerations that should moderate or slay it, it is sharp- sighted with respect to everything that is fitted to stimulate it. It w~s bad enough that Mordecai refused to do homage to Haman ; but when the favourite learned the real ground of his refusal, then a fiercer fire entered into his soul. All the anti- pathies of race were stirred into flame. Henceforth " he thought scorn to lay hands on Mordecai alone ; " Mordecai's people shall suffer with himself. V. THE SPIRIT OF REVENGE IS ENCOURAGED DY THE POSSESSION OF POWER. A conscious inability to give it exercise has often a sobering effect ; but the power to OH. III. 1-6.] THE BOOK OF ESTHER. 71
gratify it only incre11sea its resolution in evil minds. He.man's pride was inflated by the favour of the king. He could brook no slight. The might of the empire was in bis hand, 11nd that might should be exerted to its fullest extent to avenge the affront of the audacious Jew. His sense of power quickened his desire, and enlarged his project of revenge. VI. THE SPinlT OF REVENGE EXHIBITS ITSELF IN ALL PERIODS, AND IN ALL GRADES OF SOCIETY. Appalling as He.man's plan of vengeance was, it is not solitary. Under some of the Roman Cresars the Christiana were treated as Haman intended to treat the Jews. Later on, and under a so-called Christian authority, whole communities were sacrificed to a vengeance which could not tolerate any sign of independent belief or action, such as the "\Valdenses, the Albigenses, and the Protestants in France. Our criminal records in the present day also illustrate the lengths to which an uncontrolled passion for revenge is willing to go. Yet the widest field on which this spirit produces suffering and misery is not public. Many families live on, in unknown but utter wretchedness, under the stupid fury of revenge- ful feeling excited by real or imaginary wrongs. Even in circles where everything like passion is avoided, men and women often cherish supposed slights and fancied insults. Reputations are often very calmly destroyed. The influence of good people is often neutralised, if not turned into evil, by the quiet maliciousness of enemies in the guise of friends. The spirit of revenge works in a myriad ways, and on every existing field of human life. VII. THE SPIRIT OF REVENGE IN MAN IS NOT GODLY, BUT DEMONIACAL. Wherever seen, or however clothed, it is hateful to God, hateful to Christ, hateful to every true man. It is our part not to II return evil for evil," but to "overcome evil with good" (Rom. xii. 21 ). The prerogative of judging and punishing belongs not to us, but to God. 11 Vengeance is mine, I will repay, saith the Lord " (Rom. xii. 19, 20). The Christian law is not "hate," but "love your enemies" (Matt. v. ~ 8 ) . This law was Divinely illustrated when Jesus on the cross prayed for the forgiveness of those who had in their mad fury of revenge inflicted on him such shame and pain: "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do" (Luke xxiii. 34).-D.