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Yet, as we have had occasion to remark already in these lectures, as cruel, and if possible, more unreasonable measures have been pursued in kingdoms called Christian. When the king of Persia, sensible of the error he had committed, but unable to remedy it, permitted the Jews to stand upon their own defence, he at least gave them power to fight for their lives, and withdrew the sanction of his authority from any assault that might be made upon them by their enemies. But some kings professing to be Christians, have let loose their murderous bands against their most inoffensive and peaceful subjects, without any warning of the evil that had been devised. These kindled the flame of civil war to exterminate a party. Artaxerxes only permitted a brief conflict, leaving the issue to the combatants themselves. We do not speak thus in excuse of his conduct. But to meet the objection of those who say, as some have said, that it is beyond probability that any prince should have acted as he did, we point to history, comparatively modern, and reply, that there are things recorded there as improbable, and still more revolting.

The only other topic suggested for remark by these verses, has reference to the free and speedy communication which seems to have existed between the several parts of the vast Persian empire at this early period. It is usually ascribed to the policy and sagacity of the great Cyrus, the friend of the Jews, that there were means provided for carrying intelligence with great rapidity throughout his dominions. Public roads were made, and at certain distances there were stages, as we

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would call them, where the couriers of the king could obtain fresh horses for their journeys, so that in a space remarkably brief, what was done in the capital could be published in the most distant provinces. When the messages had to be carried through the desert, the animals appropriate for such service were ready, and hence we read, in verse 10: "The letters were sent by posts on horseback, and riders on mules, camels, and young dromedaries;" and in verse 14: "So the posts that rode upon mules and camels went out, being hastened and pressed on by the king's commandment."

The path of war and conquest, in the first instance, invariably leaves behind it traces of misery on every side. Yet it is not without counter-balancing, although certainly undesigned advantages. The immense empire of Cyrus, which could not be ruled without ready communication between its several provinces, made the forming of highways necessary, that means might be used for the preservation of peace and order. And long afterwards the same sagacious procedure was followed by the Romans. The rough paths which at first were trodden by their ambitious and sanguinary legions, became, in due time, the pathways of commerce, and more than this, the openings through which the heralds of the gospel might penetrate with their message of peace to the nations, the inlets for conveying to savage tribes the truth which brings civilization and all other blessings in its train. And if we at the present day, marking the marvellous facilities of rapid intercourse which are now enjoyed from land to land, can smile at what was called rapidity in former days, let us

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remember that it is for high purposes that we enjoy our privilege, even for the bringing about of the consummation referred to by the prophet Daniel, when he says, "many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased."

Now in conclusion, the lesson which I would leave with you is suggested by Esther's supplications for her people. In the midst of her own elevation, she thought of the daughters of Judah and their children doomed to die, and she wept and entreated for them. This reminds us of Christ's sympathy with His people. True there are no tears in heaven. He who in the days of His flesh made supplication to the Father with strong crying and tears, supplicates in this way no longer. But in His exalted state He is still touched with the feeling of His people's infirmities. And the weakest and poorest who believe in Him have His sympathy. Wherefore be not discouraged, believers, but in the midst of all your trouble look up to Him who looks down upon you in love, and who is able to save unto the uttermost all that come unto God by Him. Amen.

LECTURE XIV.

CHAPTER VIII. 15-17, IX. 1-19.

THE subject of our last lecture was Esther's interces

sion for her people, and the favourable result of it. The king could not, indeed, formally revoke the edict which had gone forth for the extermination of the Jews. To have attempted to do this, would have been so contrary to established usage, that it could not even be thought of "The writing which was written in the king's name, and sealed with the king's ring, no man might reverse." But then, although the edict must remain, something might be done virtually to break the force of it. And accordingly, as we saw, leave was given to the Jews, by a second edict, issued by Mordecai, to stand up in self-defence, and make what provision they best could to resist the attempts of those who might assail them. This, in the circumstances, was a vast boon. It implied that the Jews might regard themselves safe from any violence on the part of the officers of the king; and not only so, but that they might even get assistance from them. At the same time, however, we perceive that by these two enactments the king of Persia authorised, to a certain extent at least, the outbreaking of a civil war in his dominions, which, in whatever way it

terminated, could only be productive of much bloodshed and misery, and which must diminish the strength and resources of his kingdom. No war, indeed, whether civil or foreign, even when it is undertaken on just and necessary grounds, can be prosecuted without immediate consequences so disastrous that the heart of the Christian shrinks from the contemplation of them. The excitement of victory, and the false halo of glory which encircles the conquerors, may for a season dazzle their eyes, and make them insensible of the fearful price which has been paid for their triumph. But when the field of battle is surveyed, and all the other accompaniments of the conflict are noted, which are sometimes as revolting as the carnage of the battle-field itself; then the victors as well as the vanquished have reason to acknowledge that war cannot be waged without tremendous penalties. In no circumstances, indeed, can it be justified, except when it is undertaken in defence of liberty, or for the protection of rights and possessions which lawless ambition would otherwise make a spoil of. Yet, when we glance at the blood-stained pages of history, we perceive that of all the great wars which are there chronicled, very few can be referred to the class which may be vindicated, most of them having originated in guilty ambition, or in the caprice of despotic rulers, who, like Artaxerxes in the instance before us, sported with men's lives and fortunes, as if they themselves had been free from every kind of responsibility. But we must not enlarge upon this point, important although it be; we must proceed to consider the verses which form the subject of the pre