Ver. 1.-Moments that flash. "And the king arising . . . went into the palace gar- den." Esther spoke plainly enough when she turned and charged as her "enemy this wicked Haman." Her words seemed almost incredible to the king. Haman watches to see how they are taken. The king rises in anger from the table and steps out into the garden. Here he paces to and fro meditating. He is wise to have a few quiet moments before deciding as to his action. Perhaps they were only moments of delay 'before announcing sentence. They were also moments in which would flash upon him-1. The reckless character of his own dealings with an innocent a.nd captive people. 2. His complicity in the designs of a murderous and greedy wretch. l. THERE ABE MOMENTS WHICH COME TO US AT DIFFERENT PERIODS WHICH FLASH LIKE THOSE IN THE PALACE GARDEN. We have had some problem to work out; or we have been going through a series of circumstances, the end of which we could not comprehend, when at one point all becomes clear. We are like men on board a vessel when the fog lifts and shows them to be near, unexpectedly, to some well- known headland. Or we have "tracked" through a dense forest, and have come to its edge at last, when a wide view opens out before us. These moments come to the youth when II friend or p11rent dies ; or whon he first finds out how faithless is 1!14 THE BOOK OF ESTHER. LCH, VII. 1-10.
1ome professed friend. Or they come when, later in life, we listen to some searching sermon ; or when affliction falls upon us. To some they come most unexpectedly when engaged in ordinary affai,;s. The Holy Spirit uses euch moments. Paul ltne~ what such moments mennt 'l'l'hen, outside Damascus, the light flashed from heaven 1 nnd he snw himself in his real state. II. IT IS WELL TO TAKE TIME FOR MEDITATION AFTER ANY SUDDEN REVELATION, When nngry we should pause. He that ruleth his spirit is greater than he that !aketh a city. On the meditntion of a few moments how much may depend. Here 1t was the deposition and execution of a prime minister, and the salvation of a whole nation.-H. Ver. 8.-The C()Vered countenance. "As the word went out of the king's mouth they covered Haman 's face." A hint is sufficient for the king's servants. It is to them a matter of little import whether they robe Haman for exaltation or cover his face for execution; whether they lead him to a banquet or to a gallows. Their duty is to obey their king. So with the angels ; they minister for joy or punishment. I. To BE IN DISGRACE WAS TO BE UNWORTHY TO SEE THE KING. Nathaniel Hawthorne represented, in one tale, a man as wearing ever a crape veil, and in death wishing it to be kept over his face, because he felt his own unworthiness. II. To BE CONDEMNED OF Goo WOULD RENDER us UNABLE TO SEE HIM•. As light dazzles, so God's purity alone would blind us. Our own sin will be the covering. When death shall throw his black pall over us, unless mercy lifts it, our own hands will never tear it away. We should examine our hearts, and see whether there is any cherished sin which may eventually lead to our rejection and condemnation. Let there be no " veil " on our hearts as on those of Israel, that there may be no covering our faces as Haman's was covered.-H. Ver. 9.-Ri,gliteous retributwn. "Hang him thereon." Sho:-t time elapsed be- tween the discovery of Haman's crime and his su1fering for it. He had observant enemies around. Those who had been willing to fawn upon him while he was ~n power are ready to turn against him on his fall. They let the king know of.the gallows he had prepared for Mordecai. "Hang him thereon," says the king, with respect to the builder. I. WE Cil'NOT FAIL TO BE STRUCK WITH THE SUITABil.ITY OF THE PUNISHMENT TO THE CRIME. Haman "hoisted with his own petard." Into the trap he !iigged for another he fell. See another fitting illustration of this in Adoni-bezek, who, having disabled seventy-two by the excisions of thumbs and great toes, was himself served in the same way, and confessed, "As I have done, so God hath requited me" ( Judges i. 7). lL IN THE FUTURE THE SUITABil.ITY OF THE PUNISHMENT TO THE SI~ OF THE LIFE Wn.L BE CLEARLY SEEN. It will be the outgrowth naturally of our sin, and not an arbitrary infliction on the part of God. Despisers of parents, oppressors of the weak, the intemperate and sensual, will find how fitting is the retribution to the sin, and will have to confess, as Haman must have done in his heart, that it is just.-H. Ver. 10.-The terrible co1iswnmatwn of a wicked life. Our first impulse on read- ing these words is to praise Ahasuerus for his faithful administration of justice ; for if ever a man deserved summary vengeance at the hands of the law, it was Haman. But a little reflection must correct our judgment. The whole transaction reveals the fickle, passionate, unscrupulous disposition of the tyrant. Without any apparent reason or at least without any regard to his merits, he had. made a special favourite of Ha~an, and had lavished upon him all the honours at his command; and now, in a fit of uncontrollable rage, he hurries him, without any pretence of a trial, to a felon's death. Flatterers are the most unreliable of men. Those who lick the dust at your feet in prosperity are the most likely to tread upon your neck in adversity. There is but one step between "Hosanna to the Son of David," and "Away with nim I crucify him I ' The king's servants, who vied with each other in their obse- quiousness to Haman while he enjoyed their master's favour, were now so eager to execute him that they could scarcely wait for the sentence. The text is in many respects one of the most striking in the whole Bible, and is fraught with weighty and permanent lessons. Note- - OH. VII. 1-10.) Tnm BOOK OF ESTHER.