have a proof of the felt inconvenience of that law, which despotism itself could not set aside. Gladly would the king be a party to the practical defeating of the object of it; but in its literal acceptation it must stand.

It is said that something like the principle of the unchangeableness of the purposes of the kings of Persia has been preserved in that country even till recent times. And a circumstance may be here alluded to in illustration of this, which although somewhat strange and almost ludicrous, yet does bear some resemblance to the difficulty in which Artaxerxes felt himself placed between the unalterable law, and the willingness which he displayed at the same time to get quit of the obligation to observe it literally. A Persian king, who reigned not very many years ago (Aga Mahmed Khan), having set out upon a military

expedition, and encamped in a place convenient
for his purpose, gave forth his edict that the
encampment should not be removed until the
snow had disappeared from the neighbouring
mountains. The season was severe.
The snow

clung to the mountains longer than usual, and
in the mean time the army became straitened for
supplies. Here was an unexpected difficulty.
The king's appointment must stand, but the
result was likely to be ruinous. To avert the
difficulty, then, a vast multitude of labourers
were despatched to clear away as far as they
could the snow that was visible from the camp;
and with their aid, and the help of a few days
of sunshine, the snow disappeared, and then
immediately the army was put in motion.--
Davidson.

CHAPTER IX.

CRITICAL NOTES.] The Jews destroy their enemies, and at Mordecai's request establish the festival of Purim. 1. In the twelfth month, on the thirteenth day of the same, the Jews gathered themselves together in their cities, &c.] Several parenthetical clauses succeed this definition of time, so that the statement of what then took place does not follow till ver. 2.-Keil. These clases state the meaning of the day just named, and give a general notice of the conflict between the Jews and their enemies. The word translated "when" may be here taken as the accusative of time, in which, or where, the king's commandment and his decree drew near to be put into execution, i. e. in which the king's word and law should be carried out. The day was changed from a day of misfortune to a day of prosperity for the Jews. "On the day that the enemies of the Jews hoped to have the mastery over them, and it was changed (.e. the contrary occurred), that the Jews had the mastery over them that hated them." 2. For the fear of them fell upon all the people] A general terror spread from a feeling that the Jews were the special favourites of the most high God; and while this feeling disheartened and unnerved their enemies, it gave inspiration and power to the Jews. We may naturally suppose that Jewish antipathy and anger would, at least in some cases, lead them to assault their foes, and that the Jews would not remain wholly on the defensive. 3.] All the princes, the satraps, and governors, and also other persons of rank whom it is unnecessary here to name (comp. chap. iii. 9), assisted the Jews. Rawlinson says this is very important. It has been stated that, according to the narrative of Esther, the Jews were allowed to kill 75,000 Persians, and this (supposed) feature of the narrative has been pronounced incredible. The present verse shows that the real Persians, who formed the standing army which kept the empire in subjection, and were at the disposal of the various governors of the provinces, took the Jews' side. Their enemies were almost entirely to be found among the idolatrous people of the subject nations, for whose lives neither the Persians generally nor their monarchs cared greatly. 4. For Mordecai was great in the king's house (was much esteemed by the king), and his fame went through all the provinces: for this man Mordecai became continually greater.] 6. In Shushan the palace the Jews slew five hundred] Shushan the palace is here evidently to be taken in the sense of the place or city of the palace, equivalent to in or at Shushan, as in ver. 15. It is not to be supposed that the work of slaughter was carried on within the palace itself. -Whedon's Com. 7-9.] These names of Haman's ten sons are written in Hebrew MSS. in perpendicular columns, and it is said that the reader in the synagogue is required to pronounce them all at one breath. The Targum says they were all suspended, one above another, upon one cross, fifty cubits high, which Mordecai had prepared for the purpose. Most of these names are of Persian origin, a fact which has great weight in showing the genuineness of the Book of Esther.-Whedon's Com. Jewish rabbis have found these names indicative of a representative importance, and have taken the individual traits to mean something prophetic. 10. On the spoil laid they not their hand] To show that they only sought the safety of their own lives, and had no desire to enrich themselves by the goods of their fallen foes. 12.] If the Jews had killed five hundred men in Susa, how many may they not have slain in other parts of the kingdom? The king recognizes the fact that, if the Jews had to do with so many opponents, they could hardly have mastered them,

and even now great danger threatened them on the part of those remaining, if they could not hunt down such in their hiding-places, and destroy them utterly. 13. To do to-morrow also according unto this day's decree] This request of Esther has been pronounced the offspring of a blood-thirsty vengeance, and desire to have another day for the butchery of enemies. But what was "this day's decree" which the queen desired to be continued another day? Merely "to stand for their life" against all that would assault them. Hence we infer that the queen believed, or had reason to suspect, that the enemies of the Jews in Shushan would renew the attack upon the following day. So fearfully enraged were these enemies that they were likely to retaliate for their losses by an unauthorized continuance of the fight, and it was to secure her people against such an event Esther wisely made this request. This extension of the decree was to have effect only in Shushan, not in the provinces.—Whedon's Com. Let Haman's ten sons be hanged upon the gallows] i. e. crucify the dead bodies in order to increase the disgrace of their execution, but more in order to augment the fear of the Jews. This was the Hebrew and Persian custom.-Lange. 16. And had rest from their enemies] The position of these words in the middle of the verse is noticeably strange. There may be here some disarrangement of the text, or it may be, as Keil suggests, "that the narrator desired at once to point out how the matter ended." Such apparent disorder of the text is not always to be regarded as evidence of corruption by transcribers. The Hebrew writers are not always the best models of accuracy and perfection of literary style. Seventy and five thousand] "The slaughter of these seventy-five thousand shows," says Wordsworth," that a very large number of their heathen enemies, who had been exasperated against the Jews, had prepared themselves for an attack upon them; and that, presuming upon their own numbers and forces as compared with the Jews, they assaulted them in order to destroy and despoil them, and to enrich themselves with their property; and that the Jews made a vigorous resistance, and by the help of God, routed their assailants with a great discomfiture. The slaughter was not the consequence of a vindictive spirit in the Jews, but of the bitter animosity of their enemies; and it proves that the Jews would have been extinguished (as Haman's decree intended that they should be) if God had not interfered to rescue them from destruction." 17-19. Therefore . the fourteenth day] Because the Jews outside of Shushan did all their fighting on the thirteenth, and rested on the fourteenth, as stated in ver. 17, Therefore] they made the latter day their day of feasting and joy; but the Jews in Shushan, having fought both on the thirteenth and fourteenth, made the fifteenth their feast day (ver. 18). Jews of the villages] Rather of the country places, that is, as distinguished from those that dwell in cities and the country (not unwalled towns, as our version has it, for some of these country towns may have had walls). The writer of this was evidently a citizen of Shushan, and seems to have regarded the whole Persian empire outside of this capital city as country.-Whedon's Com. And of sending portions one to another] According to ver. 22, one made presents in these feasts, similar to the sacrificial feasts, to those less wealthy, but also to others to whom one desired to signify a joyous mind.-Lange. 20-32.] The feast of Purim instituted by letters from Mordecai and Esther. 20. Mordecai wrote these things] Namely, the things or occurrences that transpired throughout the Persian empire on the thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth of Adar. He wrote a report of the matter as of something worthy to be chronicled for everlasting remembrance, and with this record he also sent letters unto all the Jews throughout the empire of Ahasuerus, proposing to them what is stated in the next two verses. Mordecai's official position in the Persian court enabled him to establish this festival as no other Jew could have done. He could issue orders with royal authority, and use the posts and agents of the empire to facilitate his plans. The statement here made, that Mordecai chronicled these events and wrote letters to all the Jews, will not warrant the conclusion that he was the author of this Book of Esther, but is sufficient to show that such a conclusion is not therefore improbable.- Whedon's Com. 21.] To establish a matter, to authorize it. 23. The Jews undertook to do as they had begun, and as Mordecai had written to them] They had begun, as ver. 22 tells us, by keeping both days, and Mordecai wrote to them that they should make this an annual custom. This they agreed to do, in consequence of Mordecai's letters. The reason for their so doing is given in vers. 24 and 25, and the name of this festival is explained in ver. 26, by a brief recapitulation of the events which gave rise to it.-Keil. 25. When Esther came before the king] As the word Esther is not in the Hebrew text, and is not mentioned in the context, it is better to translate "when it came before the king," that is, when Haman's wicked device came before the king.-Whedon's Com. 26.] They evidently chose the name Purim in ironical reference to the fact that Haman's lucky day (designated by lot) was so fortunate for his enemies, and so unlucky for himself. 27.] The Jews established and took upon themselves, their descendants, and all who should join themselves unto them (proselytes), so that it should not fail (i. e. inviolably), to keep (to celebrate) these two days according to the writing concerning them and the time appointed thereby year by year.-Keil. 28. And that these days should be remembered and kept throughout every generation, every family, every province, and every city; and these days of Purim are not to pass away among the Jews, nor their remembrance to cease among their seed] The continued observance of Purim to this day is a monumental proof of the truth of this history. 29-32.] A second letter from queen Esther and Mordecai to appoint fasting and lamentation on the days of Purim. 29.] And Esther the queen and Mordecai the Jew wrote with all strength, that is, very forcibly, to appoint this second letter concerning Purim, i. e. to give to the contents of this second letter the force of laws.-Keil. 31. The matters of the fastings and their cry] Here it incidentally comes out that fasting and lamentation were also to be

connected with the observance of Purim. The modern Jews observe the thirteenth of Adar, the anniversary of the day of slaughter, as a day of fasting, and call it the fast of Esther. This day of fasting and supplication is preliminary to the two days' feast that follows. It is not improbable that Esther herself may have proposed this fast, as a memorial of the grief that preceded their joy, and that the people approved and sanctioned it, and called it Esther's fast. 32. The decree of Esther] This is to be understood as the same with the letter of authority respecting Purim which is mentioned in ver. 29, and was issued by both Esther and Mordecai. It was written in the book] The decree of Esther was recorded, and doubtless with it, also, an account of the institution of the feast of Purim. The book referred to here is somewhat uncertain. Some have thought the Book of Esther is intended; but the author of that book would hardly have designated his own work in this way. Bertheau and Keil think it was a book or treatise on the feast of Purim, which our author used in preparing his work, but which has not come down to us. This, however, is purely conjectural. It seems most natural, since we have in several other passages of this history a mention of the book of the chronicles of Media and Persia (chap. ii. 23; vi. 1; x. 2), to understand the book of this verse as that same book of State annals. The documents issued by Esther and Mordecai, establishing the feast of Purim, and perhaps, also, describing its origin and mode of observance, may well have been registered among the national chronicles. The following account of the manner in which the feast of Purim is observed by the Jews of the present day is substantially from Smith's 'Dictionary of the Bible' :-The observance commences with the fast of Esther (see note above on ver. 31) on the thirteenth of Adar. If the thirteenth falls upon a sabbath, the fast is placed upon the Thursday preceding. As soon as the evening preceding the fourteenth of the month arrives, candles are lighted in token of rejoicing, and the people assemble at the synagogue. The Book of Esther, written on a roll called the Megillah, is produced, and, after a short prayer, the reader proceeds to read it in a histrionic manner, aiming to suit his tones and gestures to the sense. When he pronounces the name of Haman the congregation exclaim, " May his name be blotted out," or, "Let the name of the ungodly perish," and at the same time the children present make a great noise with their hands, or with pieces of wood and stone. The names of Haman's ten sons are read with one breath, to signify that they were all hung at once. (Comp. note on chap. ix. 7-9.) When the roll is read through the whole congregation exclaim, "Cursed be Haman; blessed be Mordecai; cursed be Zeresh, the wife of Haman; blessed be Esther; cursed be all idolaters; blessed be all Israelites, and blessed be Harbonah, who hanged Haman." When this evening service is over all go home and partake of a simple repast. On the morning of the fourteenth all resort to the synagogue again; prayer is offered, and the passage of the law (Exod. xvii. 8—16) relating the destruction of the Amalekites is read, for the Jews regard Haman as a descendant of Agag the Amalekite. (See note on chap. iii. 1.) The roll of Esther is again read, as on the preceding evening. When the synagogue service is ended, all give themselves over to feasting and joy. Presents are sent to and fro among friends and relations, and liberal gifts are bestowed upon the poor. Games, dramatical entertainments, dancing, and music are resorted to, and every effort is made to promote general merriment and joy. Such festivities and joy are continued through the fifteenth also, but any Jews who desire may carry on their usual business during the days of this festival. Josephus attests the observance of Purim in his day: "Even now all the Jews in the world celebrate these days with feasting (oprálovo), sending portions to one another. They celebrate the fore-mentioned days, calling them Phrouraim (povpaiovç).”—Ant. xi. 13. A number of Jewish proverbs also attest the high esteem in which this feast was held: "The temple may fail, but Purim never." "The Prophets may fail, but not the Megillah." It was even said that no books would survive in the Messiah's kingdom but the Law and the Megillah.— Whedon's Com.

MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.

HOPE AND FOREBODING.

VERSE 1.

WE often hear that it is darkest just before the dawn, darkest in the natural world, darkest in the moral world, darkest in the world of God's providential arrangements. Often has this been illustrated and proved in the history, both of individuals and of nations. The laws of nature are typical of the laws of God's kingdom; essentially they are the same, as coming from the same ruler. In the natural world the deeper darkness is the herald of coming day; so it often has been in all histories, whether individual or national. The darkness was now deepening about the Jews; the month Adar was now close at hand. The fatal day drew near when the king's commandment and his decree were to be put into execution; but the fatal day was turned into the festal day. The light afar off was sending forth its beautiful and cheering rays; but the Jews had not the power to catch the oncoming gladness, for their eyes were too dull to see: so it may be

with us. Let us trust in God through the storm, and through the darkness. Let us pray-Open our eyes that we may see when all around appears dark and dismal. On the other hand, it must be remembered that there is a real darkness thickening around the sinner, while he fondly dreams of glorious light. It was so with these "enemies of the Jews.' They vainly thought that the thirteenth day of the month Adar was to be the day of their victory. On that day the sun was to shine upon their pathway of triumph. Alas! on that day the sun was but to shine as a funeral taper on their gloomy pathway to the everlasting darkness. Let evil-doers beware; let them seek to be wise in time; let them strive to have understanding of the times; let them not dream of coming light, when all the signs indicate that the darkness is only growing more intense.

I. Hope blighted. In the day that the enemies of the Jews hoped to have. power over them." From a human point of view it was natural that these enemies of the Jews should entertain such a hope. The human reasonableness of this hope may be shown—(a) From their own numbers. The population was undoubtedly large as seen from the immense numbers slain by the Jews. It was natural then, as it is natural now, to rely upon numbers. We expect success on the side of that army that can bring the largest forces into the field, other things being equal. (b) From the insignificance of the Jews. A few people scattered up and down that vast country in a state of captivity, could have no chance against their numerous and powerful enemies. These Persians calculated as we calculate to-day, and they found, as we moderns too often find to our cost, that they reckoned without their host. There is a true, broad sense in which the battle is the Lord's, and He can save by few as well as by many. (c) From the known unchangeableness of Persian law. There did not seem the slightest chance for the Jews. The hope of these enemies of the Jews rested on as good ground as any hope could do. But after all it was blighted, for the hope was changed. In a short time there was a marvellous vicissitude. Their sun of expectation suddenly shot into darkness just as they were fancying that it was nearing the meridian of splendour. Thus, the hope of the unjust must perish sooner or later. There can be no escape. The goodly houses built upon the sand of human reasoning must be swept away, even though the sand may appear to possess the solidity of the rock.

II. Foreboding reproved. The same human reasoning which led these enemies of the Jews to entertain hope would induce the Jews to give way to dark and injurious forebodings. If the faithful and valorous Esther had her great fears, how much more is it to be supposed that the rest of the Jews would look forward to the month Adar in a spirit of agonizing dread. How often we look forward to a month Adar, and see it shrouded with ominous darkness. There is such a month in the lives of most. Yea, there are gloomy temperaments to whom every year has its month Adar, rising gloomily, and yet grand in its gloom, like some lofty mountain. But the month Adar may, after all, be the month of rejoicing. As the traveller rejoices when he reaches the mountain top, and feasts upon the grand panorama of nature, so these Jews might rejoice when they reached the thirteenth day of the month Adar. The very day we feared has been the day of Divine deliverance and of Divine blessing. It is a day of rejoicing, but it is a day of humiliation. God's grant of success may be God's reproof of our unbelief and our forebodings. However darkly the month Adar may loom in the distance, let us move on towards it, encouraging ourselves in the Lord our God. Give to the winds thy fears; hope, and be undismayed. Hope on, hope always. Above all things, do not indulge in forebodings. It is injurious to thy own nature. It saps thy vital energies. It undermines thy physical strength and thy mental power. It can mend nothing, and is the result, in part, of a want of faith in God. It is sinful if there be no effort to overcome.

III. True hope rewarded. "It was turned to the contrary that the Jews had rule over them that hated them." Those amongst the Jews who looked above the