eion, pntient endurnnco on the very border of despair, they had been wonderfully brought out to the light, joy, honour of thnt time. VI. l'r WAB A 0LADNESB WHICH MAKES us THINK OF ANOTHER. It mnkes UR feel for 11nother, Ion~ for another. Thnt wne of 11 nature that must be rare in occurrence, nor would we wish it other. And, 11fter 1111, the duration of it could only be temporary. But it may well bear our thought onward and upward. The gladnesB of the people of God in heaven will fill out every part of the description of this gladness. It will fill out every part of it worthily. There all will be glad. There all varieties of purified spirits will be glad. There the light and gladness and joy and honour will nil be to perfection. How glorious the reaction that will then be felt for us, with the doom, and the law's decree, and the despair, and the sorrow, and the tear all and for ever gone. And when we shall all admit to what it is owing-to the most marvellous interposition of nll; and to whom it is owing-to him who "with strong groaning and tears'' pleaded for us and saved us.-B. Ver. 5.-Repairing mischief. "Let it be written to reverse the letters devised by Haman." I. WHAT A LEGACY OF EVIL IS LEFT BY THE WICKED. E. g. By Voltaire, Paine, Napoleon I., and others. II. WHAT EFFORTS ARE NECESSARY TO REPAIR EVIL ONCE WROUGHT. It is BO much easier to destroy than to build up. III. GREAT EVILS MAY BE REMOVED, on AT LEAST OVERRULED, BY PROVIDENCE. If this were not believed, the arm of the Christian would be paralysed. We have to beware of that phase of belief which would lead to the postponement of spiritual effort because Christ is to come again. We must not let it be supposed that the work of Christ, the word of God, and the gift of the Spirit are all failures. The mischief wroug lit by evil is to be repaired by Christ's gospel and healed by his love. 1. What are we doing to repair the mischief others have wrought? What are we doing to undo our own wrong-doing ?-H. Vere. 16, 11.-Brightened life. 11 And the Jews had light, and gladness, and joy, and honour," &c. When the tide of evil turned, great advantages flowed to the Jews. So when a man forsakes his evil way he will find certain results follow. I. LIGHT. He will see the meaning of God's word and of life. II. GLADNESS. He will not be afraid to rejoice, but will see that the Christian has the truest right to be glad, seeing he is delivered from the bondage of sin and death. III. HONOUR. People respect a true Christian, but they despise the hypocrite. Every man's character is rendered of greater worth by his Christianity. IV. USEFULNESS. Others will be won to the same good way. 11 Many of the people of the land became Jews." Influence will constantly spread. V. SAFETY. The former enemies of the Jews were afraid to touch them or speak against them. The evil powers that oppose man's spiritual welfare will not be able to injure him, because God will protect, and the habit of watchfulness will be fixed.-H.
Vere. 3-14.-Consecration, kindred, law, andfolly. In these words we have- I. THE MANIFOLDNESS OF HUMAN CONSECRATION. II And Esther spake yet again before the king, and fell down at his feet, and besought him with tears," &c. (ver. 3). Emboldened by her first success, Esther goes in again to the king, again endangering her own position, and, indeed, her own life, on behalf of her people. The former time she may have been influenced by Mordecai's reminder that her own death was :letermined by the king's decree. Now, however, she had no reason to be apprehen- sive on that ground. Her second act of intercession was purely unselfish. It is a beautiful instance of goodness. The lovely queen risking her dignity, her wealth, her happiness, her very life on behalf of others ; pleading with the capricious and uncertain sovereign ; shedding for others, as she had not for herself, tears of tender compassion ; bringing her beauty and her charms wherewith to insure the safety of the people of God. In how many ways mny we serve the cause of goodness and of God. What varied offerings mny we lov on the altar of the Lord I Each 1mm must l'iO THE BOOK OF ESTHER. [cB. \'III, 1-17,