1. A fact disclosed. That the Jews while in exile, under judgment, and without vision, were remembered and cared for by God. Outcast, they were not cast off, they were still the children of promise; God was still faithful to them.

2. From this fact an inference may be drawn. There is a Divine providence in the world; no supernatural exercises of power are needed to enable God to effect his will; all laws and things are his creatures, and therefore under his control; human dramas and tragedies take place every day in which acutest plans are foiled, and, by seemingly natural processes, truth and right vindicated. Our introduction to this king is in connection with a great FEAST. Its barbaric magnificence - prodigality and waste. All the princes and governors were invited - not together, but in companies, so that the revelry continued for the long period of six months (a hundred and fourscore days). What its motive? If we take the king to have been Xerxes, it may have preceded his expedition into Greece, as a boastful anticipation of triumph, or as a means of uniting in the monarch's resolve all the governing forces of the empire. But our story says nothing of any special purpose; that was beside the object for which it was written. The feast itself was described only because, in connection with it, a thing occurred which had a direct influence on the subsequent rescue of the Jews from a conspiracy against their life. The lines are in God's hands. He sees the end from the beginning. Every point in the narrative is necessary to the great issue, and to the general and abiding lesson. Yet enough is said to indicate that, so far as the king was concerned, the chief motive was vanity - a childish love of display, a vainglorious desire to witness the effect of the splendours of his person and palace on the magnates of his empire. During all the days of the feast "he showed the riches of his glorious kingdom, and the honour of his excellent majesty." His mind was puffed up by the conceit of his high-mightiness; he thirsted for the admiring homage of the world - not an homage attracted by mental greatness or moral worth, by elevation of character or heroism of conduct, but that low and degrading homage which fawns and flatters in presence of the vulgar ostentations of material pomp and power. This king of Persia was no Solomon, who could draw to his capital princes from all quarters by a wisdom and worth which were not overshadowed even by an unrivalled material splendour. Let us learn -

I. THAT PERSONAL VANITY IS NOT ONLY FOOLISH AND CONTEMPTIBLE IN ITSELF, BUT AN INLET ALSO OF MUCH HUMILIATION AND SIN (see Proverbs 29:23; Matthew 23:12; James 4:6).

II. THAT HOMAGE TO RICHES AND THE LUXURIES THEY PURCHASE IS UNWORTHY OF A HUMAN SOUL. Not confined to any condition, place, or age. As readily exacted and given now as at any time. Wealth too often goes before worth. The material receives more respect than the moral or spiritual. The unspoken language is common-better be rich than good; better be surrounded with the showy emblems of worldly prosperity than have our character and homes adorned with the Christian virtues of truth, uprightness, and charity. The power to form right estimates as between the seen and the unseen, the material and the spiritual, much needed. How acquire such a power? Only by looking and listening to Jesus Christ, by having conscience, mind, and heart enlightened at the feet of him who said, "Learn of me, for I am meek and lowly in heart." Best gifts and possessions, and truest springs of honour and happiness, in Jesus. Study his truth, his spirit, his life, and our idolatries of earthly good will shame us, and make us wonder how men with a Christ before them can sacrifice the benefits of a higher and nobler life for the material and perishing things of the present world. Our Lord himself presents the true test in Matthew 16:26.

III. THAT MEN ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE USE THEY MAKE OF THEIR WEALTH. Hospitality is a Christian virtue; but it is often sadly abused - a feeder of vanity and an incentive to sin. While showing a liberal and kindly spirit, it should avoid all extravagance. How much of the money that is spent on rich, showy, and self-glorifying banquets might be put to better use! A deep spirit underlies the words of our Lord in Luke 14:12-14.

IV. THAT MUCH POWER IN ONE HAND IS A DANGEROUS THING. Nothing tries a man more than a flood of prosperity. Ahasuerus was to be pitied, and the empire which he governed still more. Few heads or hearts can stand strong and erect under the burden of anything approaching an absolute authority. How terribly is this taught by history! It is well for the happiness of nations that improved ideas of government are now the rule. But the individual man, whatever be his rank, is to be put on his guard against the intoxications of what may seem to him good fortune, and against the temptation to abuse whatever power he possesses. Many who have acted worthily in adversity have been carried off their feet by a tide of prosperity.

V. THAT GOVERNMENTS OR EMPIRES ARE STABLE OR THE REVERSE ACCORDING TO THE PRINCIPLES AND LAWS THAT GOVERN THEM. It is hardly credible that the miserable nation whose Shah we have seen could ever have occupied a position like that described in our narrative. How great the contrast between then and now! Not alone, however; other and greater empires have gone the same way. In all edifices the foundation is the main thing. No empire, however strong, can last unless founded on Divine truth and righteousness. "Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord." As with nations, so with men. A living trust in God, a true fellowship with God's Son, is the only safeguard that will give victory to a human life over all the evils that assail it, and enable it to enter at last into full possession of the life everlasting. - D.

I. THE FEAST OF THE KING OF PERSIA. "It came to pass in the days of Ahasuerus" (ver. 1),... "in the third year of his reign, he made a feast unto all his princes and his servants" (ver. 3). A "great monarch" was this king, ruling "from India to Ethiopia, over a hundred and seven and twenty provinces" (ver. 1). His palace at Susa (Shushan, ver. 2), surrounded with beautiful gardens, was a place where labour and art had furnished everything that could minister to bodily gratification. Here he entertained "the power of Persia and Media (ver. 3) for 180 days (ver. 4), the guests probably coming and going, for all the satraps could hardly have been absent from their provinces at the same time. Then, after these days were expired (ver. 5), the king gave a banquet of a more indiscriminate kind - "a feast unto all the people that were present in Shushan the palace, both unto great and small" (ver. 5). Every possible preparation was made for the guests, a beautiful "awning of fine white cotton and violet" (ver. 6; 'Speaker's Com.') being spread, the couches being of gold and silver, and placed on pavement of variously-coloured stones (ver. 6); wine from the king's own cellar being served in golden goblets, with liberty for the guests to drink as they pleased (vers. 7, 8). It was a feast -

1. In which regal bounty was lavishly poured forth; no pains or expenses were spared, as these particulars show, to make the guests joyous.

2. In which there was more of selfish ostentation than genuine kindness. The spirit of it is seen in the fact that by so doing "he showed the riches of his glorious kingdom, and the honour of his excellent majesty" (ver. 4).

3. In which there was more of short-lived gratification than lasting joy. There was, no doubt, much exhilaration expressing itself in revelry; and revelry soon ended, as it always must, in satiety and suffering. We are reminded, partly by contrast, of -

II. THE FEAST OF THE LORD OF NATURE. God, our King, who is in deed and truth the "King of kings," and not in name only, like these Persian monarchs, spreads a regal feast for his subjects. It is one that

(1) lasts all the year through: not for even "a hundred and eighty days," but "daily he loadeth us with benefits" (Psalm 68:19);

(2) extends to all his creatures: there is "food for man and beast." In this Divine provision is

(3) every needful thing for the senses: "food for all flesh" (Psalm 136:25), beauty for the eye, odours for the smell, delicacies for the palate, melodies for the ear;

(4) truth and fact for the mind: "Wisdom hath builded her house," etc. (Proverbs 9.);

(5) love for the heart of man: the love of kindred and of friends, the feast of pure affection. Of this feast of the Lord of nature we may say that, like that in the text, it is one of regal bounty; it is the constant and lavish kindness of a King; that, unlike that in the text, there is more of kindness than ostentation in it - a "hiding of power" (Habakkuk 3:4) rather than a display; and that it is one in which those who wisely accept the King's invitation may find a continual and life-long enjoyment. They who eat and drink at his table, as he invites them to do, go not through an exciting intoxication followed by a remorseful misery and ennui? but find in the gifts of his hand a perennial spring of pure and lasting pleasure.

III. THE FEAST OF THE PRINCE OF PEACE. Jesus Christ, the" King's Son," has made for us a spiritual feast (Matthew 22:1-14): "royal wine in abundance" (ver. 7); "bread enough and to spare" at his princely table for all thirsting and hungering souls (Isaiah 55:1; John 6:35). In this gospel feast there is

(1) no ostentation, but marvellous love; the marked absence of all stately pomp and material splendour (Isaiah 53.), but the presence of all generosity and self-sacrificing goodness.

(2) Provision, without distinction of rank (contrast vers. 3, 4, 5) or sex (contrast ver. 9), for all subjects, in whatever part of his kingdom they dwell (contrast ver. 5); and

(3) provision which lasts not for a number of days (contrast vers. 4, 5), but so long as the heart hungers for the bread of life, as the soul thirsts for the waters of salvation. - C.

1. It was confessedly an Eastern feast, and as such it would have been considered essentially wanting if it had been wanting in the matter of display.

2. It was not a feast given by one of those people who had "received the oracles;" who had been long time under a course of higher instruction; who had heard, ]earned, pondered "the Proverbs of Solomon," or "the words of the Preacher, son of David, king of Jerusalem." Much less was it possible in the nature of things to have been the feast of one, who had had the opportunity of knowing the doctrine of Christ in such a matter.

3. Yet nevertheless it answered in one respect to one of the prescriptions of Jesus Christ himself; for it was a feast which could not be returned to its giver - not in kind, at all events. The feast of a great king, who drew on enormous wealth, - "made to" a whole multitude of princes, subordinate to him, and prolonged over months, - this could not be returned to him.

4. It was a feast of unstinted plenty - the thought of a nature that had some sort of largeness about it, and the distributing of a hand that dropt more than the uncared-for crumbs of its own table. On the other hand -

I. IT IS INCONTESTABLE THAT THIS FEAST VISITS UPON ITS GIVER THE CONDEMNATION OF VAINGLORIOUS DISPLAY AS REGARDS HIS "KINGDOM," AND SELF-SEEKING DISPLAY AS REGARDS HIS OWN "EXCELLENT MAJESTY." The greater the scale on which it was made, the more profuse its abundance, the longer its continuance, so much the more impressive and convincing evidence does it furnish of vanity insatiable, of selfishness deep-seated, of the presence of the hand of one who not only sought the praise of men rather than that of God, but who sought to influence even those men by the lower kinds of appeal - those of sense and the eye, rather than by any of a higher kind.

II. THERE WAS BEYOND DOUBT A DISTINCTLY AND DECIDEDLY UTILITARIAN DESIGN ABOUT THE FEAST. Though it could not be returned in kind, it could be recompensed. At recompense it aimed, and without the prospect of such recompense it would never have been "made." It was pre-eminently a banquet of policy, unwarmed by one simple genuine feeling of the heart, unhonoured by any noble object for its motive, fragrant with no philanthropic beneficence. It was simply a device of an inferior type, first, for flashing to all the extremities of the kingdom the envious tidings of the central wealth, luxury, splendour, and power, and thereby riveting the tyrannous hold and the ghastly fascination of an Eastern arbitrary despot; and, secondly, for ingratiating that central authority with the numerous helpless, subordinate powers who were to send contingents and contributions to a disastrous expedition into Greece. It was very different from an English banquet in celebration of some accomplished fact, or in honour of some worthy hero or distinguished benefactor of the people, though oftentimes it is not very much that can be justly said in commendation of even these.

III. THE GIVING ITSELF - WHAT WAS IT? It happens to be well termed "making" a feast, in the undesigned idiom of the language. Did it cost much to make? It cost lavish silver and gold very likely; but whence were these drawn? Were they not already drawn from those for whom the feast was "made"? and probably absolutely wrung by these again from the oppressed subjects of their grinding rule. Did it cost Ahasuerus himself much? Did it cost him anything at all? Was it drawn from the honourably-earned and diligently-acquired results of his own past labour? No; it speaks plenty without bounty, liberality without generosity, profuse bestow-ment the fruit of no kindliness of soul, a lavish hand moving to the dictate of a selfish heart.

Conclusion. -

1. These are just some of the hard facts of human nature, tried in such a position as that of this king.

2. There is a great deal to explain and account for such exhibitions of human nature in Ahasuerus, to be found in his time of day, in his antecedents, etc., but these things do not justify them. They do impressively help illustrate to what human nature's time of day and antecedents bring us.

3. We could plead no extenuations whatever if our own conduct or our own principles were detected sinking to the level of those before us, and all the less for the beacon of this very history. - B.

I. WRONG AMBITION. The most common forms of this are -

1. An immoderate love of fame. We have instances of this in every walk of life; some of the most brilliant characters in history have been victims of it. There have been authors who prostrated their divine gifts to gain the admiration of the world. There have been orators whose chief aim was to secure the applause of the multitude. And there are men now who will face danger, endure hardship, sacrifice property, for the sake of world-wide renown - or even a paltry distinction in the narrow sphere in which they move.

2. An immoderate love of power. Men hasten to be rich not because of the inherent value of riches themselves, but because rather of the power which riches enable them to command; for at the word of the rich luxury, gratification, service spring up as if at the touch of a magic wand. The thirst for power is insatiable. The amount enjoyed, however great, only begets a craving for more. It has led to the most sanguinary wars that have defiled the earth in ancient and modern times. Alexander, Caesar, Buonaparte, whom Christian enlightenment has taught us to regard with horror, are but types of all conquerors, however exalted their professed aims.

3. An immoderate love of display. This is the most contemptible form of all, and to this King Ahasuerus became a willing victim. Think of the sumptuousness of this feast, the number of the guests, the magnificence of the palace, the costliness of the furniture, the gorgeousness of the drapery, by which he sought to impress the world with the "honour of his excellent majesty" on this occasion. The morbid desire among the well-to-do classes of outshining each other in the grandeur of their mansions, and the splendour of their entertainments, is a standing reproach upon modern civilisation. In spite of the gigantic frauds and disastrous bankruptcies - the natural results of this spirit - which occasionally startle society, the evil seems as flagrant as ever.

II. RIGHT AMBITION. It does not follow that a feeling is essentially wrong because it is sometimes allowed to flow in wrong directions. Thus ambition, however uncomely in certain connections, may be in itself healthy, and conducive to our highest welfare. Ambition, then, is commendable when it is -

1. A desire to cultivate the powers with which we are endowed. These powers are various: physical, mental, spiritual. A man cannot lay claim to the highest virtue simply because he strives to have strong nerves and well-developed muscles; still perfect manhood is not independent of these things. The struggle for intellectual distinction is certainly more dignified, and has a more ennobling influence upon those who are engaged in it. The chief glory of man, however, is his spiritual nature, his ability to hold communion with the unseen; hence spiritual pursuits are the most exalted. However strong man may be physically, or great intellectually, if his spiritual powers be dwarfed, he comes miserably short of the true ideal.

2. A desire to make the most of our outward circumstances. No man's circumstances have been so adverse as to make all excellence unattainable to him. The most barren and desolate life has some spots which, by cultivation, may yield glorious results. In the majority of cases unfruitfulness is due to culpable negligence rather than external difficulties. Just think of the numerous instances in which formidable disadvantages have been conquered. Poor boys have worked their way up into the presence of kings, blind men have mastered the intricacies of optics, the children of profane parents have been renowned for their saintliness. All honour to those who have wrestled with fortune and defied her opposition! The circumstances of most men, however, are more or less favourable to their advancement, and to make the most of them is not only allowable, but a positive duty.

3. A desire to benefit the world. The best ambition is that which is furthest removed from self. The men who will be held in everlasting remembrance are those who have contributed their quota to the progress of their kind. When the names of the most potent warriors shall have perished, the names of philosophers like Newton, inventors like Stephenson, and reformers like Luther, shall live in the affections of a grateful world. But usefulness does not depend upon eminence; every man in his own sphere may do something for the common good. - R.

I. SELF-COMPLACENCY AND SINFUL INDULGENCE. It is not always the difficulties we encounter which are severest tests of character; smooth prosperity is at times a fiercer crucible. Ahasuerus may hold his own against his enemies; will he be able to gain victories over himself? From all we can learn of him, from the sacred book, and from contemporary history, he appears to have manifested much pride, vainglory, self-indulgence, and extravagance. "He showed the riches of his glorious kingdom and honour of his excellent majesty many days, even an hundred and fourscore days" (Esther 1:4). For the space of six months he spread before the numerous guests every delicacy his kingdom could produce. It would have seemed probable that at the end of that time the king would have been wearied both with the excesses in which he must have indulged, and the adulation he must have received. If he became weary, he evidently resolved to overcome the fatigue, and to bear with the festivities other seven days, during which not only all officials, but all the people of the capital were to be invited. Oriental ideas of festivity and of pomp are to this day very extravagant. Illustrations of this might have been seen at the Durbar held on the occasion of the proclamation of our Queen as Empress of India, or at the opening of the Suez Canal. The writer, having been present at the latter event, was staggered at the lavish expenditure in festivities, and at the number of guests, from all countries, who, like himself, were feasted at the Khedive's cost, not one day only, but as long as they cared to remain. The feast of the Persian king was most luxurious. The palace was not large enough to contain the guests. They overflowed to the court-yard, which had been fitted up for their reception. The walls had been hung with rich stuffs, and with a canopy, of white, green, and blue, fastened with cords of fine linen and purple to "silver rings and pillars of marble." The couches on which they reclined were covered with cloth of gold, interwoven with "gold and silver." Crowds trod the tesselated pavement, or lounged on silken divans, quaffing wines and sherbet from the silver cups of diverse pattern and rich chasing, or inhaling the scent of the roses, so dear to the heart of a Persian. Endless was the service of viands, fruits, and wines. None, however, "did compel" in drinking. The arbiter bibendi, chosen by lot to preside, usually compelled the guests to drink as much as he drank; but this custom was by command of the king set aside. He provided that by temperance the feast should be prolonged, and that by refraining from taking too great a quantity at one time they might be able to continue the longer at their cups.

II. INDIFFERENCE TO THE WASTE OF WEALTH. Some defend luxury and waste on the ground that it is good for a country and for commerce. They say that it is the duty of the rich to be extravagant for the sake of the poor. The notion is widely spread, and there are numbers who "better the instruction." It is quite right that wealth should in some way be distributed, and that possessors of wealth should surround themselves with those things which cultivate their better natures, and lead to a higher appreciation of the beautiful; but it is not right to squander wealth in that which merely ministers to pomp and pride. For each one living in luxury and pride, many have to toil the harder. For all the extravagance practised greater exactions have by the poor to be endured. Think of how hard must have been the lot of the poor labourers on the plains of Persia, from whom was wrung the money which paid for those splendid festivities of the king. Possibly also the money was extorted in harsh ways, practised usually by the farmers of taxes. Think of the bitterness of the many, as contrasted with the brightness of the few. What were the mass the better, that a few tickled their palates, lolled in luxury, or flaunted in pride? The object of the whole waste was to flatter the vanity of the king. He ought to have been more thoughtful for the interests of his subjects than to permit or foster such waste. By moderating pomp, and lessening the expenses of government, he might have lessened the burdens on his poor subjects and slaves; but security of position only leads to an indifference to the waste of wealth.

III. AN ABUSE OF ABSOLUTE POWER. We see this in the ready consent given to the slaughter of thousands of defenceless, captive, and inoffensive people. He gave this consent simply to please an inhuman courtier. This is perhaps only one among many harsh decrees of which we are ignorant, but it is sufficient to indicate the abuse of absolute power. It is easy to condemn this act of Ahasuerus, but it is possible that many of us are guilty of something akin to it in spirit. There is power which comes to a man by custom, or acquisition, or accumulation, or marriage, or by law. A man may withhold wages on slight excuse, extract excessive work; if married, may make his wife miserable by his tyranny, or his children fearful by outbursts of passion or cruelty. In many a home there is more absolutism and imperiousness than was ever manifested by a modern Czar of Russia or ancient king of Persia. Few are unselfish enough to wield absolute power; and many, like Ahasuerus, forget that there is an equality of obligations on the part of the ruler and the ruled, superiors and inferiors. The life of Ahasuerus teaches us that neither possessions nor position, pomp nor power, pride nor pelf, can satisfy a human sou]. God has not intended they should. He has reserved to himself the power to make us really happy. Ahasuerus, with all his magnificence, was doubtless a dissatisfied man. The determination to prolong the feast is rather an indication of satiety than of satisfaction. The past had not fully answered his expectations. He knew not him whose service is perfect freedom, and the knowledge of whose love once possessed becomes the most cherished possession. He knew not clearly of that loftiness of character which is a crown that never fades, and of that hope in the future where treasure never corrupts. He could not say, in prospect of meeting his God, "I shall be satisfied when I awake with thy likeness." - H.

1. It was given to the inhabitants of Shushan, both great and small, and it lasted seven days. The close of the six months' feasting with the nobles and governors, at which imperial affairs were probably discussed, was to be celebrated by a great flourish of kingly magnificence. The banquet to the capital was evidently the climax and crown of the rejoicings.

2. Special arrangements had to be made for the accommodation of so vast a crowd. These arrangements were on a most extravagant scale. We are dazzled by columns of marble, variously-coloured hanging's, couches and vessels of gold, and wine usually reserved for the king's use. Everything was done "according to the state of the king." From these things we may learn -

I. THAT VANITY WHEN INDULGED GROWS QUICKLY. Nothing will satisfy it. It ever cries for more. The sight of the king's "excellent majesty" by the governors of 127 provinces was something to remember, but it was not enough; a whole city must be gathered to view and to be impressed by the royal grandeurs.

II. THAT VANITY, AS IT GROWS, GETS WONDERFULLY BLIND. It loses all perception of its own folly, and it commits its follies as if others also were equally blind. It thus virtually loses the end on which its greed fastens. There are always eyes about it keen enough to penetrate its illusions, and hearts that form, if they do not express, a true judgment.

III. THAT VANITY IS COSTLY. No expenditure was too great for the king to lavish in indulging and feeding his weakness. No thought of the sin of such waste entered his mind. No fear of possible straits in the future stayed his hand. It is likely that he possessed far more than sufficient treasure to meet the demands of the festival. But suppose it were so, that would not diminish the sin of perverting to vain uses a wealth which, if wisely applied, might have been helpful to beneficent ends. Money is a great power in the world either for good or for evil, and men are responsible to God for the use they make of it. Think of the good that may be done by it: -

1. In assisting the poor.

2. In encouraging sound institutions of an educational and benevolent character.

3. In supporting Christian Churches with their attendant machineries.

4. In contributing to gospel missions among the heathen.

IV. THAT VANITY IS BURDENSOME. The physical and mental toil of the king must have been very trying during the long feast and its closing banquet. Yet what will not vanity endure to attain its object? In this it is like every other ungoverned lust - greed of gain, fleshly appetite, worldly ambition. If not under the grace of God, men will submit to greater hardships and burdens in pursuit of things that are sinful and disappointing than in the pursuit of what is necessary to true honour and happiness.

1. If the main burden of this great festival did not fall on the king, then it would fall on the king's servants. These would have a hard time of it. They would be held responsible for every failing or mishap. Despotic lords have little consideration for their servants, and despotic mistresses too. Vanity is another name for self-love, which always makes those who are in bondage to it indifferent to the claims of inferiors.

2. Apart from the king and his servants, a heavy burden would fall on the empire. Not immediately, perhaps, but soon. The attack of Greece involved the loss of myriads of lives and untold treasure. Families everywhere were plunged into mourning and desolation. The provinces were impoverished; and as the king's exchequer had to be supplied, the people were ground down by heavy imposts. Vanity, when inordinately indulged, and especially by persons in power, becomes burdensome in numerous ways to many.

V. THAT VANITY, apart from its consequences, IS A SIN AGAINST CONSCIENCE AND AGAINST GOD; or, in other words, a violation of natural and revealed law.

1. Against conscience, or the law of nature. The moral sentiment of all ages, and the common verdict of living men, condemn a vain-glorying or self-conceited spirit as opposed to a just estimate of self. Even the vain are quick to discover and condemn vanity in others. Humility is taught by the law of the natural conscience to be the proper habit of man in all circumstances.

2. Against God, or the law of God's word. The upliftings of the heart under vanity are at variance with that Divine revelation of righteousness and love by which all men are condemned as sinners, and made dependent on the mercy that is offered in Christ. All self-glorying manifests ignorance or forgetfulness of the true relation which the gospel reveals as subsisting between man, the transgressor, and God, the Redeemer. The faith which submits all to God in Christ is an emptying of self, and a putting on of the "Holy and Just One," who was "meek and lowly in heart." God is therefore dishonoured, his truth resisted, and his mercy despised, when men who confess his name become "high-minded" or "puffed up" in self-conceit. "God forbid that I should glory," said Paul, "save in the cross of Jesus Christ. Humility before God and men is Christlike, and the rightful clothing of the followers of the Lamb. - D.

I. THE LAW. It was laid on the officers not to compel or urge any of the guests to take wine. All were to be left free to drink or not drink as they pleased.

II. THE AUTHORITY. It was at the express command of the king that the law was put in force on this occasion. We learn from this

(1) that the royal command was needed, and

(2) that the king, thoughtless as he was in many things, exerted a direct influence on the orderly arrangement and conduct of the banquet. The great lose no dignity by attending personally to little duties. What seems little may contain the seeds of, or have a close connection with, great issues.

III. THE MOTIVES. These are not stated. But the fact that the king issued a special command to enforce a law that was contrary to the usual practice may be taken as proof that he had special reasons for making known his will. The following are suggested: -

1. Self-dignity. Any excess on the part of the citizens would have been unbecoming in his presence, and might have led to the serious humiliation of his imperial majesty.

2. Policy. It would have been an awkward thing if the close of the prolonged and so far triumphant festival had been signalised by a popular riot, whether good-humoured or the reverse. The noise of it would have spread throughout the empire, and its real character might have been lost in the misrepresentations of rumour and report. And such a result was not improbable, supposing that the servants and the mixed multitude had been left guideless as to their obligations in presence of the king and his boundless hospitality.

3. Sympathy. There would be many in such assemblies as now filled the king's tables who were unaccustomed to the use of wine, and more perhaps whose "small" condition would only enable them to use it sparingly. - Young men also would be present to whom the indulgences of the older society about them would be yet strange. It would have been, therefore, a hardship and a wrong, as well as a danger, if the city guests had been allowed to act on the natural belief that at the king's table they were expected to take wine whenever it was presented. Whatever the motive or motives of the king, it goes to his credit that when the young and old, the small and great, were his guests, he enforced a law that favoured temperance. Temperance is not always studied, either on great festive occasions, or in social gatherings of a more private kind. Thus this old Persian law becomes our teacher -

1. As to the relative duties of host and guest. In countries where social life is highly developed, and where the men and women of different families mix much in free and lively intercourse, these duties are of great importance.

(1) The host.

(a) He should be kindly considerate of all whom he invites to share the hospitalities of his house - avoiding all tyrannical rules that make no allowance for differences of age, habit, and taste.

(b) He should invite none whose manners are offensive to the temperate, or whose example and influence would place an undue constraint on the consciences of others.

(c) He should be careful to put no temptations to excess before the weak, and to give no countenance to what may favour intemperate habits.

(2) The guest. While showing a full appreciation of the good intent of his host, and a suitable amiability to his fellow-guests, he should claim and exercise the right to guide himself in the matters of eating and drinking by the dictates of the Christian conscience. Whether he abstain from wine or not, a regard for himself, for his host, and for his companions should bind him to be temperate in all things.

2. As to the duty of all men to the law of moderation. Not long ago, to abstain or even to be temperate at social meetings was considered the mark of a sour and ungenerous nature. But since then a great improvement in manners has taken place. Little courage is now required to abstain altogether from wine. It is said that Queen Victoria sets a good example in this respect. To the expressed desire of a sovereign the authority of a command is attached, and to refuse wine when presented at a sovereign's table is regarded as an act of disobedience. But our queen has abolished this law at her own table, and substituted the law of Ahasuerus at his great banquet - that all guests shall be free to take or refuse wine - that none shall compel. The change for the better in social customs is a matter for thankfulness, but there is still much room for amendment. Let us remember that to indulge in excess is -

(1) A sin against society.

(2) A sin against one's self.

(a) It injures the body

(b) It weakens the mind.

(c) It enervates the will.

(d) It deadens the conscience.

(e) It impoverishes and embitters the life.

(f) It destroys the soul.

(3) A sin against God.

(a) It is a transgression of his law.

(b) It is a despising of his love.

(c) It is opposed to the spirit and example of his Son.

(d) It is a braving of his judgment.

Christian men and women should live under the power of the Christian law, and strive in all things to be "living epistles" of the Master whom they serve. All such will give earnest heed to the injunction of Paul, "Let your moderation be known among all men; the Lord is at hand." - D.

I. A PICTURE OF QUEENLY DUTY. As queen, Vashti entered into the king's mind, and gave his projects such support as she could in her own circle of duty and influence.

II. A PICTURE OF WIFELY DUTY. AS wife, Vashti was mistress of the female portion of the king's household. She took charge of the women, and ruled them to the advantage and comfort of her husband.

III. A PICTURE OF ORIENTAL CUSTOM WITH RESPECT TO WOMEN. The two sexes are rigidly separated in public and social life. Women rarely travel beyond the narrow limits of the house or the apartments assigned to them. They live together in mysterious seclusion, and are carefully guarded against intercourse with the outside world.

IV. THE INFLUENCE OF WOMAN.

1. On the field of governmental policies and national events. It has often been dominant, even though unseen, both in civilised and in uncivilised countries. A beautiful and clever woman may easily make a weak prince her slave, and through him affect the current of history either for good or evil. There are not a few instances of the exercise of the feminine power in the region of politics both in sacred and secular history, both in ancient and modern times.

2. On the field of domestic, social, and religious life.

(1) Mothers. To a large extent mothers give the mould of thought and character to each generation. The early years, the formative periods, of men and women alike, are in their hands. The early home, whatever its character, is never forgotten.

(2) Wives. The power of a trusted and loved wife over her husband cannot be estimated. It will, as a rule, work its way gradually and surely, either to his well-being or to his detriment. The effect of so close, and tender, and constant a companionship will inevitably show itself, somehow, in his character, his happiness, and his work. The spirit that rules his wife will come in some real measure to rule him; it will strengthen or weaken his character, brighten or darken his home, benefit or blast his life. Is there anything more beautiful, and strong, and good in human society than the influence of the modest, loving, virtuous, and Christian wife?

(3) Women generally. In societies which allow free intercourse in the family and world between men and women of all ages, feminine influence touches human life at every point. When it is pure it is always purifying. When it is impure it has a terrible power to corrupt. Intercourse with a high-minded and good-hearted Christian woman is a lift heavenward. Willing intercourse with an unprincipled or unsexed woman is a plunge hellward. In all circles, and in all directions, the influence of women powerfully tells. It is at once the best and the worst element in all grades of society.

V. THE IMPORTANCE OF A FULL RECOGNITION OF THE JUST CLAIMS OF WOMEN. The effect of secluding women, and treating them as the chattels and toys of men, has been to degrade them, and to deprive society of their proper influence. It is undoubtedly true that the position assigned to women in Eastern nations has been one of the chief causes of their decay, and is now one of the chief obstacles to all civilising or Christianising movements.

VI. THE BENIGN POWER OF CHRISTIANITY IN RELATION TO WOMEN. Wherever the gospel of Jesus is allowed to govern families or communities, the gentler sex is raised by it into its true relative position. We think of the holy women to whom Jesus gave such a mingled respect and affection, and of those who were associated with the apostles in their work, and of whom such honourable mention is made. The Christian religion ever brings with it the emancipation of women from the thraldom of man's tyrannical lust, and secures to them their rightful share of work and influence. It makes them mistress in their own sphere. It clothes them with a new responsibility and power, and, by surrounding them with high duties and ministries, draws into beneficent activity the best qualities of their nature. Nations that degrade their women are doomed; nations that cherish a Christian respect for them have a spring of life that will make them strong and enduring. The greatest trial of gospel missionaries arises from the utter ignorance of heathen women and the difficulty of reaching them with the Divine truth they teach. - D.

I. AN ABSOLUTE TYRANT. He occupied a position of unlimited authority, and exercised his authority in an arbitrary manner. Note -

1. That the possession of absolute power is in itself a great wrong. It is a violation of the inalienable rights of communities that any man through the mere accident of birth - or even through his own superior abilities - should become an irresponsible ruler over them; and history shows that this violation has always been fraught with disastrous consequences.

(1) It subordinates the common weal to individual interest. The well-being of society is possible only on the supposition that the good of the greatest number should be of the first importance, and that individuals should be willing to sacrifice everything if necessary for its attainment. Despots, however, proceed on the supposition that everything exists for their private benefit - extensive territories, the wealth of nations, and even the lives of their subjects.

(2) It tends to make the ruler himself capricious. To expect a man to be moderate, reasonable, and just at all times in such a position is to make too great a demand on human nature; the temptations to which he is exposed are more than an ordinary mortal can withstand.

(3) It tends to make the people servile and unprincipled. Where one will is supreme there is nothing certain: law, justice, rectitude become meaningless; duty resolves itself into pleasing the potentate, who holds the power of life and death in his own hands. The natural outcome of this is the spread of meanness, duplicity, dishonesty among all classes, from the highest to the lowest. The apologists of despotism sometimes refer to the position of a father in his family in justification of the institution. But a father is not absolute in the widest sense; and even if he were, the danger inseparable from the possession of so much power is neutralised by the love he bears for his own flesh and blood.

2. The use made of absolute power in the case before us. This is a most ignoble passage in the life of a king of such high pretensions.

(1) He seemed to assume that no consideration was due to anybody but himself. The sole purpose of the prolonged festivities was to gratify his own vanity. And when he thought that the presence of the queen would add to his own pleasure, he never paused to consider whether it might not be painful to the queen herself. Selfishness makes men thoughtless, unjust, and cruel, even to those who have the strongest claims upon their tenderness.

(2) He commanded what was unlawful according to the accepted notions of the time. Eastern women led a secluded life, and were not permitted to expose their countenances to the gaze of strangers. Besides, for a modest woman to display her charms in the presence of drunken revellers was a degradation from which she must have recoiled with unutterable aversion.

(3) He afterwards punished as disobedience what was really obedience to a higher law of duty. The queen was deposed simply for daring to protect her honour. In this respect she takes her place among, a noble band - the glorious army of martyrs, who, rather than violating their consciences at the bidding of bloodthirsty tyrants, submitted to imprisonment, torture: and death. Wrong can never really flourish. It may appear prosperous to superficial observers, but a deeper knowledge of the state of things must reveal the penalty which it entails. This king, amidst the dazzling splendours with which he surrounded himself, might have imposed upon his fellow-men, and made them gaze with longing eyes upon the elevated position which he occupied; but after all there are unmistakable indications here that the absolute tyrant was -

II. AN ABSOLUTE SLAVE. We find that -

1. He was a slave of his appetite. "The king's heart was merry with wine;" he had taken more drink than was good for him, and was beginning to feel the effects of it. A sorry spectacle! He who ought to have set a pattern of dignified demeanour to those beneath him, degrading himself below the level of the brute creation. Millions have done and are doing the same thing. Alexander conquered the world, but a lawless appetite conquered Alexander.

2. He was a slave of his passions. "The king was very wroth, and his anger burned within him." Accustomed as he was to be implicitly obeyed, he could not endure his will to be thwarted. The demon within him was roused, and he was no longer master of himself; he must obey the promptings of unreasoning rage, however much he might regret it in calmer moments. Truly, "he that is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city."

3. He was a slave of his pride. He was induced to depose the queen because he imagined that his dignity had been compromised. No doubt he loved her, and it must have cost him a pang to be separated from her, but pride would not allow him to revoke his decree. Like King Herod, who preferred to behead John the Baptist rather than confess that he had made a foolish oath. He may have called it courage to himself, but it was in reality the most contemptible cowardice. - R.

I. AN OUTWARD RESPECTFULNESS OF MANNER DOES NOT MAKE AMENDS FOR ANY DISHONOURABLE INTENT. In sending to Vashti the seven chamberlains who waited on himself, the king showed some respect for her dignity. He perhaps hoped by this parade to overcome any objection she might have to obey his strange command. But the quality of evil is not affected by the garnishings with which men clothe and try to conceal it. Sin is often so disguised as to be made attractive to the unwary, but it is still sin; and the "pure in heart" who "see God" are not deceived.

II. WRONG-DOING BREEDS FEAR IN THE MOST RECKLESS MOMENTS OF SELF-CONFIDENCE. The emphatic way in which the number and names of the chamberlains are given seems to indicate that there was some fear of the queen in the king's heart. He knew her character, and was not unconscious of the insult implied in his command. Having, under the excitements of wine and vanity, conceived and expressed the desire that her beauty should be publicly exhibited, he could not draw back, but he thought to convey his will to her with such accompaniments as would either flatter or overawe her into obedience. A dishonest heart has fears that are only known to itself. It is most timid and craven when it assumes the loudest bravery. Its bristling feathers of authority are often the signs of an inward distrust. Conscious rectitude of purpose and action is the true spring of courage. A heart that is pure in its affections and intents is bold and strong in all circumstances. It is an evil conscience that "makes cowards of us all." A good conscience will make heroes of the humblest.

III. WHEN UNJUST TO OURSELVES WE ARE IN GREAT DANGER OF BEING UNJUST TO OTHERS. If the king had been himself true to the law which he had promulgated, he would never have thought of subjecting Vashti to a humiliating exposure. When men recognise their own obligations to righteous law, and submit themselves unto God, they are careful to observe the duties they owe to their friends and neighbours. Indifference to the feelings and rights of others implies a want of self-subordination to holy and honourable rule. It is only the unregulated, whose moral and spiritual nature is not braced by habitual subjection to principle, who are willing to trample on the sensibilities of those over whom natural or social ties give them power.

IV. THE EXCITEMENTS PRODUCED BY UNGOVERNED PASSIONS OR ARTIFICIAL STIMULATION DO NOT EXCUSE THE EVILS OR CRIMES TO WHICH THEY MAY LEAD. An unbridled temper, a blinding lust, or vinous intoxication, has often been pled in mitigation of the gravest offences. But one sin cannot justify or excuse another and consequent sin. If a man allows, his. reason and. conscience to. be unseated, whether by anger, or lust, or strong drink, he is responsible for every evil result that may follow. There is no sin which does not carry within it the seeds of other sins. This is a solemn thought, and one which should put all men on their guard against the first beginnings of sin. - D.

I. Drunkenness leads to further FOLLY. "When the wine is in the wit is out," is always true. The Persian monarch yielded to the allurements of the cup, and was betrayed into a stupid act. He desired to exhibit the beauty of his queen to a miscellaneous crowd. He had already shown nearly all he possessed. Anything and everything that could call forth admiration from his numerous guests had been laid under tribute. The festivities are closing, and the king, with muddled brain, bethinks himself of one more device for extorting more flattery and adulation. On his Sultana only the eyes of his eunuchs and himself, of mankind, had rested. He is proud of her somewhat after the same manner in which a man might at this day be proud of having on his walls the finest painting, in his cabinet the rarest jewel, or in his stables the swiftest horse.

II. Drunkenness induces a violation of MARITAL OBLIGATIONS. Had Ahasuerus loved Vashti as he ought, he would have been considerate as to her feelings. Whatever consideration he might have had when sober, he has none now. He imagines that his drunken whim is to be law. Vashti then was to him nothing more than a mere harem ornament, a slave for whom a goodly price had been paid out of his coffers. An indulgence in a like habit to that of Ahasuerus has led many to act with the same foolishness, harshness, and injustice. Known only to themselves has been the shuddering dread of many a wife lest the knowledge of a husband's secret failings should be bruited abroad. Known only to themselves the many shifts to make up for deficiencies for necessary household expenditure, deficiencies caused by a husband's folly and extravagance. Known only to themselves, the number of weary hours during which they sit watching or lie waking, waiting for the return of their dissolute lords. Known only to themselves also the many insults, the ill-usage to which they are subjected, the inflamed passions and embittered spirits they have to withstand. God have mercy on the thousands of sad women who have had to taste, like Vashti, the bitter results of a husband's drunken stupidity! God have mercy, for men have little.

III. Drunkenness often brings painful REBUFFS. Impatiently the king awaits the arrival of Vashti. Little dreams he of a rebuff. Excited as he is at the close of the festivities, and elated, both by the flattery he has received as well as the wine he has drunk, he is in no mood to brook any opposition to his will, or even delay in carrying out his drunken devices. He has sent the chamberlains for Vashti. At length they reappear. The king looks up from his cups. "What! and is not the queen coming?" He soon hears the explanation of her absence. Bowing low, and in the hesitating tones of one who has a disagreeable task to perform, the chief chamberlain tells "that the queen refuseth to come at the king's commandment."

IV. Drunkenness fosters unreasoning PASSION. How in a moment is overcast the face of the king, hitherto so complacent, the throne even of dignity still. A lowering, threatening scowl sits on his brow. More swift than any hurricane that ever swept over devoted and unsuspecting voyagers is the storm of anger that sweeps over the countenance of Ahasuerus. Shall a mere woman cross him? Shall all his glory, power, majesty be by that one woman checked? "The king was very wroth, and his anger burned in him" (ver. 12).

V. Drunkenness always covers a man with SHAME. The king was put to shame by his own act before others. Most annoying was the thought that the refusal of the queen was known to the princes and nobles. They would say, "The king cannot bear rule in his own house, and how shall he govern rightly the great dominion of Persia?" The king could better endure the obstinate conduct of his queen were it known only to himself. To have his domestic affairs known abroad, the common subject of conversation in every street, the gossip in every bazaar, and the butt of ridicule in every harem of his vast dominion, this is unbearable. The king is ashamed. Even drink does not banish that feeling from him.

VI. Drunkenness constantly creates vain REGRETS. There are regrets for folly, for expenditure, and for consequences. Ahasuerus, when he recovered from the effect of his inebriety, would begin to regret that he had acted so unwisely. He knew he had lowered himself in the eyes of others, and he had lost the one to whom he was attached, as far as such a man under such a system could be attached. The evidence of his regret is seen in the first verse of the second chapter. Many have to regret even worse consequences. Sometimes under the effect of drink men have crippled and even killed children and wives. The very gallows have shaken with the quivering regrets of those who have had to expiate the crimes they bad committed under the influence of drink. But the most overwhelming regret of all will be that which will take possession of the soul when it discovers the terrible truthfulness of the words, "No drunkard shall inherit the kingdom of God" (1 Corinthians 6:10). - H.

I. THIS WAS A NOBLE REFUSAL BECAUSE OF WHAT IT COST. That "cost" may be reckoned in several ways. For instance, there was present

(1) the cost of effort, and effort of the most severely trying kind. There are many who stand at no cost except this. They will be liberal, and even wasteful in expenditure, i.e. in any other expenditure than that of effort. The prices of ease, luxury, they do not object to, but the price of effort frightens them at once. There were several dements also in the effort made by Vashti. There was the effort of resisting a husband's familiar authority. There was the effort of resisting an Eastern husband's peremptory command. There was the effort of breaking through the national custom of centuries ingrained in the race, and which made the wife a slave to passion and despotic rule. The severity of such effort must have been heightened by the consideration of the struggle being with a potentate of dominion unparalleled and of notorious unscrupulousness, sustained on the part of that woman single-handed. We read of those who backed up the insulting and licentious order of the king, but we do not read of one solitary voice according help and sympathy to the refusing queen. Now there are senses in which effort compels our admiration, even when the object of it fails to command our approval. Great is the inertia of human nature, held enmeshed in the toils of habit, of custom, of conventionality, of apprehended consequences, of jealous misconstruction, of envious detraction, of artificial forebodings that magnify themselves alike so monstrously and so successfully. Correspondingly noble and impressive was this woman's effort, whose "NO," though she sank because of it, crashed through all the forces that environed her, and its report resounded through a kingdom. The effort, then, the severity of it in relation to its kind, and the object of it, do in this case all command our approval and our strong admiration. Then

(2) the cost of this refusal is to be judged from the consequences which ensued. As against conscience, the right, and Divine law, consequences ought to decide nothing, that is to say, they are not to be put in the balance to weigh down one side or the other. These all are to be obeyed in and of themselves. So soon as their voice is heard, understood, and not misconceived, that voice is to be followed, let it lead whither it will. Their command is sovereign, and they may be well trusted to vindicate it sooner or later. There is indeed a sense in which it is of the highest importance to observe consequences, and to put them into the balance, viz., when we are studying the entire structure of our moral nature. A just observing of consequences therein is then equivalent to a scrutiny of tendencies, and the moral argument from tendencies in this sense is most legitimate, and should be irresistible. To them, when fairly tracked from beginning to end, reverent regard is due, and, once ascertained, the greatest weight should be accorded to them. A partial and broken study of consequences is what is unreliable and proportionately dangerous. Sidelong glances at immediate, or early, or merely present life consequences are what betoken inherent weakness or ignoble timidity of principle. Yet while the consideration of consequences should count nothing against the demands of right, and the commands of conscience and the Divine law, the kind of attention paid to them measures for us conveniently and justly the force or weakness of principle. The temporal consequences which one foresaw or reckoned upon (even if he deceived himself) will often sufficiently explain what buoyed him up - it was a vision of earthly grandeur, wealth, success, nothing higher. And the temporal, the threatening, the immediately impending consequences which another saw, rather than foresaw, are the significant tell-tale of the high-strung principle, the determined purpose, the noble force, which without a rival reigned within him. The weight of suffering in the hand is vastly greater than that in some undefined distance of prospect. The storm of grief and of sorrow that is now ready to burst on the very head looms terrific. The deposing of a queen, the divorcing of a wife, the disgracing of a woman in the eyes of all men, and of her own sex in particular, vain or not vain - these are consequences that overwhelm! Reckon we so then the cost of consequences to the queen, wife, woman who "refused to come at the king's commandment." Was this not a noble womanly refusal?

II. THIS WAS a NOBLE REFUSAL BECAUSE OF THE GROUND OF IT. It can perhaps scarcely be said that there were grounds for it. There were a multitude of (what very many would have considered) reasons why Vashti should not have refused to come, and there might truly have been reasons more than one, had she been differently situated, why she should have done as she actually did. Had she lived, for instance, at a different time of day, had she lived in a different country, had she belonged to a different race, there might have been some variety of reasons why she should have taken up the position she did, and adhered to it. But in point of fact there was probably great singleness of reason for this her great boldness of utterance and of action. Under certain circumstances one would have been glad to suppose that other considerations also played their part, and had their influence in Vashti's peremptory negative decision. But we should be artificial, ungenuine, and guilty of an anachronism if we supposed these now. And that we cannot bring these lesser lights to throw their fainter rays on the scene leaves it in the undivided glory of God's light. Here was his purity shedding its unflickering light on the thick darkness of that showy, sensual feast. The less we can justly set Vashti's refusal down to the higher conscious reflex acts of our nature, and moral effects resulting from them, the more is it attributable to the calm light of that lamp which God has hung in the retired and sacred cabinet of the bosom of woman, to decorate it, and to bless with its religious glimmering through the windows all that come near enough, but not too near! It is the lamp of sweet purity, of nature's own modesty, burning ever still with shame! That it is nature's modesty means that God's own hand hung it, lighted it. That it was burning in so unlikely a place, in such unfavourable conditions, at such a time, is all comfort and joy to our faith, for it means that God's hand had been round it, and shielded it so that it was not puffed out by the untoward gusts around. And that "frail woman" - borne upon now by every present-time influence, literally thronged with inducements to sink all shame for an hour that she might reign still for years, besieged with earthly motives to succumb and yield obedience to a coarse command - did refuse to succumb, ran the gauntlet of all consequences whatsoever, and, with an aroused indignation that would sleep no more, flung back the brutal mandate in the face of him who sent it, is fitted to show us how "in weakness" certain "strength is made perfect," and how the things amazing and "impossible with man, are possible with God;" yes, even facile to his Spirit's breath. - B.

I. CONSIDERATIONS UNFAVOURABLE TO VASHTI.

1. She knew the absolute authority with which the king was invested. In this knowledge she had become his wife and queen. Ought she not, therefore, to have obeyed him, even at personal sacrifice, when he commanded her, with befitting circumstance, to come to him, that her beauty might be seen and admired?

2. She knew the importance of the occasion, and the disappointment and humiliation that would fall on the king, her husband, if she ventured to disobey his command. Should she not have been willing to suffer pain herself in order to save the king from the pain of a public manifestation of revolt against his declared will? Such self-denial is sometimes good, and, whenever good, is praiseworthy.

3. She may have been influenced merely by the wilfulness of pride. All reflection on the claims of duty, on the requirements of the occasion, and on the effects of her conduct on the king's dignity and peace, may have been rendered impossible by the flushings of a resentful pride. Nothing more easily drowns reflection, nothing is more unreasoning and unreasonable, than a haughty and self-exalting disposition. Pride is a bad helm for the guidance of life.

4. Whatever the queen's motive, her answer to the chamberlains may have been given in an abrupt and defiant manner. It is a good quality, and a proof either of self-discipline or of a kindly and sympathetic nature, to be able to express even strong feelings in ways that will not kindle wrath or breed discord. "A soft answer turneth away wrath." We must observe, however, that nothing is said of the manner in which the queen responded to the king's messengers. All we are told is that she refused.

II. CONSIDERATIONS FAVOURABLE TO VASHTI.

1. The king's command showed a want of sympathy with her in her faithful diligence as entertainer of the women. Inside the palace she was doing the work which the king' was doing in the garden court. Why should she be called away from this real and appropriate work to pose herself as the central figure of an idle and foolish pageant? The command was inconsiderate and frivolous. Honest work, however secretly performed, is to be preferred at all times to showy ostentations which minister only to the gratification of self. A humble mind and a diligent hand are better in a woman than the most lauded beauty that courts the gaze of the world.

2. The king's command was a violation of custom. We know the seclusion in which Eastern women then, as now, lived. It was a shame to a woman to appear unveiled before any man except her husband. Vashti would be staggered when she received the message of the chamberlains. National or social customs may be bad, but they cannot be safely or wisely departed from except under the force of enlightened and conscientious reasons. Especially are they binding when any breach of them implies a conscious self-degradation.

3. The king's command was the result of partial drunkenness. Vashti could hardly fail to perceive its cause. She would know that the king could not have issued it if he had been in possession of his sober senses. It is said of one that he appealed from Alexander drunk to Alexander sober. So may have been the thought of Vashti. Rather than subject herself to insult, she would risk the immediate displeasure of the king, in the hope that when he came to his right mind he would perceive the wisdom and propriety of her conduct.

4. The king's command was an outrage on Vashti, as queen, as wife, and as woman.

(1) As sole and acknowledged queen of the empire, she could not, without utter loss of dignity, stoop to expose herself, as a royal puppet, to the excited multitude.

(2) As the true and legitimate wife of the king, she could not, consistently with wifely honour, allow her beauty to be made a public plaything and gazing-stock at the whim of a wine-flushed and self-forgetting husband.

(3) As a woman (apart altogether from outward position), every true instinct would make her shrink from exhibiting herself as a mere wanton to eyes that were inflamed with wine. If she had been of a soft nature she might have yielded, at the cost of much suffering'. If she had been proud of her beauty, and shameless, she might have gladly obeyed. But she was neither so soft as to submit to outrage, nor so unprincipled as to welcome it. A modest spirit is the most precious jewel which nature grants to women, and when it is sanctified by the fear of God and the love of Jesus, its power as an instrument of good is wonderfully increased.

5. The king's command threatened the reputation of Vashti. It was given to the chamberlains in presence of the princes and nobles, and it was delivered to Vashti in presence of the women. Thus all were informed of it, and all understood its meaning. If Vashti had obeyed it, she would have lost caste in the estimation of her own sex, and she would have imperilled, if not sacrificed altogether, the respect and reverence of the "princes and people," and even of the king himself. The praise of men may, and often does, cost too much. It should never be allowed to enter into rivalry with the praise of God, or the approbation of a good conscience. At the same time, the esteem of the good - a high reputation for integrity of heart and life - is of exceeding price, and is usually but the reflection of the Divine favour. All who play fast and loose with their reputed character, as honourable or godly men and women, give evidence that they are loosely attached to the sacred principles of truth and virtue (see 1 Peter 2:2). Vashti may be taken as an example of devotion to just thought and pure feeling. At all hazards she did what her true mind and heart would only allow her to do. She risked much, and in the event she suffered much. But we do not pity her. Whatever were the motives that inspired her, our sympathies go with her in her refusal to obey the king's command. We give her honour as a woman who, in very trying circumstances, was true to herself and her position. The one act by which she is known has made her name honourable in all time. Her firmness in a critical moment may also be regarded as an illustration of the Divine providence. It produced results which she could not anticipate. It paved the way for that great deliverance of the Jews from the devices of the wicked of which this book is the record. Honest action, whatever troubles it may bring, never goes without its ultimate reward. The lines of self-denying allegiance to truth stretch far; eternity only will realise their full issue. - D.

(1) a strong resentment - he "was very wroth."

(2) An abiding resentment - "his anger burned in him." Considering the man and the circumstances, this should not surprise us.

1. It was a case of rebellion. The worst crime in the view of a despot is to dispute his will. Nothing so easily inflames anger in a man who is used to power and unused to self-control as any want of submission to his authority.

2. The rebellion was in the king's own household. It was the queen, his wife, who ventured to disobey him. Men naturally expect a special readiness of sympathy and co-operation from those who are united to them by blood or family ties. And resentment caused by opposition from such relations as wife or children often assumes a peculiar intensity. But weak and self-willed minds are apt to abuse these ties by exacting more than is just. We should be especially considerate in our demands on the obedience or service of those who have the highest claims on our respect and love.

3. The rebellion was made public. A private humiliation is much more easily borne than one suffered in presence of many. Vashti's refusal to appear was announced before the princes and the assembled citizens. This circumstance would add a sting to the affront, and supply fuel to the flame of the king's wrath. One of the penalties of wrong-doing is that it cannot be kept secret. In its effects at least it is sure to become known, and to bring confusion and shame on the evil-doer.

4. The rebellion occurred at an unfortunate time. It was just before the close of the prolonged festival that the queen failed in submission to her husband's command. So far all had gone well. All ranks had been obsequious and flattering. Not a jarring note had arisen to disturb the serenity of the vain king's heart. But now, when the triumph seemed complete, the glory of it was utterly despoiled by the disobedience of Vashti. A bitter sense of humiliation and a burning anger were the necessary results.

5. The rebellion was produced by the king's own act. He had been guilty of a folly that was full of risk. The consciousness that he had brought the dishonour on himself would be no salve to his mind. It would only aggravate the wound that had been inflicted on his pride, and the helpless rage that unmanned him. Sufferings, however severe, that come on us from without are light compared with those that are hatched by our own follies and misdeeds. It has been often observed that the hatred of ungodly men is greater to those whom they have injured than to those from whom they have received injury. According to this law of the natural heart, the anger of the king against Vashti, instead of being allayed or softened, would be increased by the knowledge that she had been driven to rebellion by his own foolish conduct. It should be remarked, however, that though the king's anger can be understood and explained, it cannot be approved. For -

I. ANGER IS NEVER DIGNIFIED. It shows a want of self-command. The king lost dignity when he became "very wroth" in presence of his guests. He was no longer king, but a suffering subject under the will or caprice of Vashti. Anger always makes a man look inferior to the occasion that gives birth to it.

II. ANGER INVARIABLY ADDS TO A SUPPOSED OR REAL HUMILIATION. If the king had received Vashti's refusal to obey him with a calm mind and a pleasant countenance, as a thing personal to himself and Vashti, and therefore above the observance of the crowd, the last hour of the banquet might have been in keeping with all the other hours that had preceded it. But his breaking into an ungovernable fury brought the festival to a miserable close. The princes and people separated in confusion and fear. The king's anger did not mend matters.

III. ANGER IS ALWAYS UNJUST. There can be no true judgment when the mind is perturbed by wrathful feelings. The angry man is shut up to one view of the conduct that has enraged him. He sees everything through the mist of his passion. The last man to judge or act truly is he who has given up the reins of temper, and yielded himself to the power of anger.

IV. ANGER IS ALWAYS SELFISH. It is violently selfish. Like the king of Persia, it has no consideration for the thoughts, influences, or circumstances which have actuated those against whom it is turned, or for the initiative or contributory wrong-doing of the heart in which it burns. While it lasts it is simply absorbed by the self that is pained, and has no regard for others. All the springs of charity are dried up when anger rules a soul.

V. ANGER IS A PROLIFIC CAUSE OF INJUSTICE AND CRUELTY. It led Ahasuerus, as we shall see, to be unjust and cruel to Vashti. But to what terrible and varied crimes does it give birth in ordinary life! What a place it occupies in our criminal records! How many injure others and ruin themselves by giving "place to wrath!" There is much in the every-day experience of the world to warn men against allowing themselves to yield to the power of anger.

VI. ANGER IS A SIN AGAINST THE CHRISTIAN RULE OF LIFE. There is an anger which is Christlike. "Be ye angry and sin not," said Paul. But that is an anger, or holy indignation, against sin and its temptations. It has reference to things that are evil, and not to persons. Jesus himself hated sin and all its works, but he loved sinners and died for them. We cannot cherish at the same time the forgiving spirit of Christ and the feeling of anger towards any man. It was at once a recognition of our weakness, and a desire that we should strive to overcome it, that led the apostle to write, "Let not the sun go down upon your wrath."

Additional lessons: - We have here an instance of -

1. A just punishment. The king's vanity, inflamed by wine, brought upon him a severe retribution. Nebuchadnezzar's madness, and David's grief under the pestilence, were heavy punishments of a vain presumption. But to such a man as Ahasuerus the rebellion of his queen, with all its attendant circumstances, was about as weighty an infliction as was possible. It was peculiarly fitting to the case.

2. A sandy foundation. No miracle was needed to bring down into humiliating collapse the edifice of vain-glory which the king had been laboriously rearing for himself throughout the festival. Many a showy fabric thus unexpectedly tumbles about the head of its builder. A little thing will destroy a false grandeur, an unprincipled reputation, or a selfish happiness. A building to stand must have a good foundation. There is only one foundation - that of God's truth and love in Jesus Christ - on which character, reputation, life-influence, happiness, and hope may safely build. Build there, and when all the storms of life have done their worst, you and your life-work will still abide. The kingdom of Christ is an everlasting kingdom. "They that trust in the Lord shall never be put to shame." - D.

I. AFFECTION. Vashti had both beauty of face and form, and nobility of character. That the king was fully sensible of the attractiveness of her presence is shown by his request that she should appear before his guests at the banquet. In spite of her disobedience and the anger it excited in his mind, it is very probable that a lingering affection curbed any desire he may have had to inflict on her an immediate and summary punishment. There are few greater treasures than the power to win such an esteem and love from relatives and friends as will not only be a fruitful pleasure in times of peace, but exercise a restraining influence on tempers that have become turbulent and unruly. Many qualities are needed to give a man or woman possession of it. Yet all, by a godly self-discipline, may acquire it in measure.

II. FEAR. It can hardly be doubted that Vashti's nature was a more powerful one than that of the king. The closing incident of the feast implies that the king was proud of his wife, and that the queen had some consciousness of power over her husband. From the little that is written - little, but telling - we gather that Vashti had been accustomed to a strong personal ascendancy in her intercourse with the king. And now, when anger burned in his heart against Vashti, the weak and self-indulgent king hesitated, and wavered, and sought the advice of others. He was still under the influence of a nature superior to his own. It is well to consider that there are forces in the world higher and mightier than the material. The grace and strength of character possessed by a single woman may be stronger than the wrathful will of a monarch who commands legions, and whose nod millions are ready to obey.

III. LAW. The unalterable character given to the laws of the Medes and Persians displayed, though in an unwise and awkward way, a more than usual respect for the claims of public law. King Ahasuerus inherited a sort of reverence for the fixed code of the empire, and it was "his manner," or habit, to consult legal experts in all matters of difficulty. This habitual regard for law asserted itself in his treatment of Vashti's rebellion, and assisted in preventing his wrath from wreaking itself at once in violent action. The king's recognition of the claims of law is commendable. Notice -

1. That law is the authoritative teaching of experience. It is the accumulated and embodied wisdom of a nation. As civilisation advances in communities, their laws become at the same time more just and more humane, and they acquire inherent force in proportion as they reflect the principles of truth and right. Bad laws imply a low moral and social condition, and can only secure obedience through the fear excited by cruel penalties. Good laws carry with them an authority of their own which has greater power for good than the heaviest penal sanctions.

2. That law is a guide and teacher of the ignorant. There are multitudes in every country to whom it becomes the chief practical educator as to what is right between man and man. The more deeply grounded it is in truth, the higher it will be in influence. The restraints which it imposes, the awards which it metes out, lead men to reflect on the principles and ends which underlie it. If it be based on Christian ideas of justice, those ideas will emerge in the thoughts and mould the character of the people who are governed by it. Law is a great educator.

3. That law is a restraint on the evil-disposed. Even criminals who set law at defiance have their power much crippled by its just punishments. But very many who in heart rebel against it are only kept orderly and reputable in their outward conduct by fear of its rightful authority. Thus society is guarded by it against an anarchy and confusion of wickedness which would make life unsafe and intolerable. On the ground of social order we should cherish and encourage respect for law.

4. That law is a protection to the innocent, the weak, and the right-minded. It throws a benign shield over the young and tender, and it affords an open and safe field for upright living, and for the efforts of holy Christian beneficence. Without law there could be no freedom for the righteous and law-loving. A lawless liberty is the direst of oppressions. As the voice of government, law, in the words of Peter (1 Peter 2:14) is "for the praise of them that do well." From these reflections on law we learn -

1. The duty of all citizens.

(1) To obey honestly and heartily the law under which they live. A solemn responsibility rests on them to give all honour to constituted authority.

(2) To use through legitimate means what power they possess to bring the law of their country into harmony with perfect justice and freedom. Christians are not released by their religion from civil obligations. On the contrary, the faith and life of Christ only sanctifies, and makes more binding on the conscience, the claims of natural, social, and political ties. We learn -

2. The immense value of the Christian revelation of righteous law. That law affects all the affairs and interests - the least as well as the greatest - of human life. Nothing lies beyond its sovereign reach. It affects -

(1) Nations. The more fully and regally it is admitted into the governments, and laws, and customs of corporate societies, the higher is the level which such societies attain with respect to all the elements that constitute true prosperity and happiness.

(2) Persons. Whatever be the outward conditions under which men live, their personal submission to the Christian law of life is an inestimable blessing both to themselves and to others. The Divine law which they recognise in faith and conduct makes them superior to all that is false and injurious in existing human laws; and their example of purity, humility, integrity, charity, and godly fear tells on many hearts that may be watching it in silence. We should be unfeignedly and deeply thankful for Christ's law; for his revelation of the mind of God in perfect holiness and perfect love; and we should strive earnestly to commend it to others, and to infuse it into the law and life of the nation to which we belong. "Oh, how love I thy law!" should be the life-note of individual men and women. "Great peace have they which love thy law," should express their inward comfort, and the incentive of their active labour for God and good. - D.

I. RESPECT FOR COUNSEL AND COUNSELLORS. This implies -

1. A proper humility. Some men are too proud to seek advice from others; they resent it as an impertinence when it is offered. Others place so much confidence in their own judgment that they fail to see the need of extraneous help. But the facts of life, as well as the verdicts of conscience and religion, condemn both pride and self-confidence as foolish and hurtful. How often are they brought low in presence of their own acts i

2. A proper sense of responsibility. We cannot estimate what may be the effect of any particular act. The well-being of others as well as ourselves may be deeply concerned in conduct which we treat lightly, and therefore heedlessly pursue. A thoughtful consideration of our responsibility to God and our neighbour for our actions and their results would make us welcome the light of a kindly counsel, by whomsoever given. Especially should those who occupy positions of great influence seek and value the aid of good counsellors.

II. QUALIFICATIONS OF COUNSELLORS. Few possess the peculiar gifts and acquirements needed to give them the character of good and trustworthy advisers. Such a character demands a combination of high qualities. This is true in connection not only with matters of grave importance, but with the affairs of ordinary life. In our passage we have certain qualifications indicated -

1. Wisdom, or knowledge. The men whom the king consulted on the case of Vashti are called "wise men who knew the times." They were learned in the wisdom of their day, and had studied the laws of the empire and the principles on which they were grounded. A special knowledge is required to grapple with, and throw light on, matters that are involved, perplexing, and attended by heavy risks. In presence of such matters ignorance is helpless or presuming, while imperfect knowledge is sure to mislead. Only a wisdom which is familiar with facts and principles can be trusted in cases where the counsellor is required.

2. Experience. A theoretical knowledge may be good and necessary, but it is not sufficient to guide in practical matters. Men may learn much from books and abstract meditation, but unless they are accustomed to apply what they have learned, or to study its applications, in the events of every-day life, their counsel in cases of difficulty will be of little value. The men whom it was "the king's manner" to consult were skilled both in "law" and in "judgment." Their knowledge was not only ideal or speculative, but practical and experimental. They had trained themselves to apply law in giving judgment. They had learned to discriminate, to weigh evidence, and to pronounce verdicts in the light of existing laws. Experience is the greatest of teachers, and those who have benefited most by its lessons are most capable of discharging the duty of counsellors. As in law, so also in all other human interests. In commerce, the best adviser will be the man who has passed through, in an honourable and successful way, all the vicissitudes of a commercial life. The same is true with respect to religious needs and anxieties. The true counsellor to the distressed soul will be the Christian who has himself experienced the struggles with sin, the renewing grace of God, and the redeeming love of Jesus Christ.

3. Reputation and standing. It is said that the king's advisers were "next" to himself; that they "saw the king's face," and that they "sat the first in the kingdom." Their wisdom had made them eminent, and the effect of their counsel would be in proportion to their eminence. They had much to gain or lose by the answer they might give to the king's proposition. Their reputation and standing were at stake. It is easy for men of small character and influence to offer flippant or heedless advice. But those whose acknowledged wisdom has raised them to a position which gives power to their judgments are usually careful as to the opinions they express. At any rate they stand out before others as possessing a special claim on the confidence of those who require the guidance of enlightened counsel. From this consideration let us learn -

(1) The value of a good social reputation. It should be cherished as a treasure beyond price.

(2) The influence of a good social reputation. It is incalculable. It tells on many. It works unseen. It goes far beyond the visible sphere of its action.

(3) The burden of a good social reputation. It is weighty. A great responsibility attaches to it.

III. A DIVINE COUNSELLOR IS MADE KNOWN. Christ never fails those who trust and follow him. Among his recorded names are "the Wisdom," "the Word," and "the Counsellor." He is interested in all that interests man for time and eternity. His voice may be heard in connection with all duties, all positions, all events - a voice of truth, righteousness, and love. If we listen to him we shall neither live nor die in vain. - D.

I. They had a PRIVILEGED SIGHT.

II. They had a PROMINENT POSITION.

I. It was the custom of the kings of Persia to seclude themselves as much as possible from their subjects. Only those who were appointed to come near might see his face. This reserve was assumed in order to foster reverence and awe of the great king among the people. When one who had been permitted to approach, and had gained the king's favour, lost it, the attendants immediately covered his face that he might not look on the king. "As the word went out of the king's mouth, they covered Haman's face" (Esther 7:8). The seven wise men here mentioned were permitted to see the king's face at any time. The rulers of Persia assumed the title of "king of kings." That which was assumed by them belongs only to God. Who can see his face? He dwells in light "unapproachable." When Jacob wrestled with the angel of the Lord, he carried a reminder thereof in the limp or lameness, the result of the touch of that supernatural Being. When Moses desired to see the Divine glory he was bidden in a cleft rock; when he communed with God his face glistened so that be had to hide it beneath a veil. When Manoah offered a sacrifice, and the angel whose name was "secret" did wondrously, he feared he would be slain because of the visit from another world. "No man hath seen God at any time." Man could not see the unutterable glory and live. But there is One, "the only begotten Son," who not only saw his face, but rested "in the bosom" of the Divine Father, and "hath declared him." He gives to us this privileged sight also. God was in Christ. The meaning- of the incarnation was this, that men looking at Christ looked on "God manifest in the flesh." Philip wanted a further view of the Father, and Christ told him, "He that hath seen me hath seen the Father." Intercourse was possible under the old dispensation; sight was made possible under the new. Faith in Christ sees God. "The pure in heart see God" not only hereafter, but here. This is a high privilege. The Queen of Sheba said to Solomon, "Happy are thy men, and happy are these thy servants which stand continually before thee and hear thy wisdom." The happiness of the true Christian is to stand ever in the presence of God. This privilege is the gift of God's grace. None could admit to the sight of his mercy and glory unless he had graciously permitted it. The sight is not for a few, but for all who will come unto him through Christ.

II. The PROMINENT POSITION occupied by the "wise men" of Persia may suggest the advance which comes through spiritual character. "To sit first" in the kingdom is not to be the one aim, but it will be given to those for whom it is prepared - those who are prepared for it. High spiritual qualities give pre-eminence. This pre-eminence is not to be sought for itself. There must be no ambition, or we are those unfitted for it. Spiritual character must be sought as its own reward, and because it pleases God. James and John made a great mistake when they asked, through their mother, Christ for a promise of prominent position. "The last will be first, and first last." Heaven is no place of pomp, but of discrimination of character. Mere questions of precedence, whether in court, ecclesiastical, or municipal affairs, are generally petty, because based on mere accident and opinion. In heaven character will decide precedence. Those nearest the throne will probably be those who felt themselves the most unworthy; men like Paul, who felt himself "less than the least of all saints." The great thing for us is not to seek pre-eminence, but inner spiritual power; by simple faith, humility, zeal, unselfishness, devoutness, living as in the presence of God, and having every thought and action in harmony with God's will. As the current of a river sets to the ocean, so the whole "set" of a life may be God-ward. The seven men who "sat first in the kingdom" were in their position that they might advise the king. When we are brought into God's kingdom it will be to drink in of his wisdom. These men also could be easily removed. Their position depended on the whim of the monarch, and therefore was insecure. When we are once brought into God's kingdom above we shall be safe for ever. No enemy shall dislodge, no storm trouble, no sin assail, but we shall be safe for ever. We read of Haman being "advanced," and of the king setting "his seat above all the princes that were with him" (Esther 3:1). This must have been gall and wormwood to the rest of the princes. No such jealousy will enter the hearts of those who are permitted to behold in heaven the King's face, and to sit in his kingdom. - H.

1. All wise and true. But this cannot be said of any human assembly, or parliament, or senate, or cabinet. If any body of counsellors could lay just claim to it, then the safety of a perfect wisdom and truth would be the necessary result. Nothing could resist its power. This condition, however, being impossible, we must resort to the alternative assumption, viz., that the counsellors are -

2. All free. In this case the conflict of opinion and aim must ultimately bring to the light what is just and good. It is the principle of free discussion that governs the proceedings of our modern parliaments. Prejudice and corrupt motive may find a place in the doings of such parliaments, but through the controversies which arise truth gradually emerges into power, and sooner or later shapes itself into irreversible laws. Circumstances, however, may elicit advice which is opposed to the better knowledge or free judgment of those who give it. A despotic king, or an infatuated people, may destroy counsel, or force it away from the lines of truth, "What to do with Vashti?" was the proposition of the king to his wise men. From the advice which was given and accepted we learn -

I. SOME OF THE MARKS OF GOOD COUNSEL.

1. It does not flatter. The words of Memucan were framed to please the king. They were very artful in their flattery. Vashti's sin against the king was expanded into a sin against all the husbands in the empire. Her punishment would confer a benefit on both "princes and people" in all the provinces. A soothing and solace to the king's wounded vanity! The desire to please and the desire to be pleased are both enemies to good counsel.

2. It is above fear. As the fear of disgrace or suffering is the greatest trial to honesty of counsel, so the conquering of such a fear, in circumstances that seemed to justify it, is its greatest triumph. Here Memucan and his companions failed. They knew the anger that burned in the king's heart, and their advice showed an anxiety to avert the effects of that anger from themselves. They valued their heads more than their virtue. Under fear, wisdom was willing to assume the guise of cunning. To get good counsel it is better to win confidence than to inspire fear. Fear is always false; love only is true.

3. It is unselfish. Whenever counsel is given, whether with or without asking, it should be entirely in the interest of those to whom it is given. Any underlying element of selfish thought is weakening, if not vitiating. It is clear that Memucan and his fellow wisdom-mongers had much regard to their own position in the advice which they gave.

4. It is just. It takes into view the interests of those whose character or position may be affected by it. Unfair or one-sided judgments arc opposed to it. In Vashti's case the counsel given assumed that she had been guilty of conduct that deserved the severest punishment, without so much as noticing the circumstances which led to it and which may have justified or palliated it. It was assumed that the queen had been disobedient, had set a bad example, and had injured not only the king, but the whole empire. Nothing was said of the folly of the king's command. Nothing was allowed for the womanly feelings that were outraged by it. Injustice in counsel deprives it of the quality of goodness or true wisdom.

5. It is reasonable. Any counsel which violates common sense, or bears a ludicrous aspect, is unworthy to he given or followed. Such counsel can only be offered to men who are known to lack a reasonable mind, or come from men who are swayed rather by policy than by principle. The advice given about Vashti is so foolish in its form as to suggest that the "wise men" were befooling their king.

II. HOW DIFFICULT IT IS FOR THE GREAT TO GET GOOD COUNSEL! To secure that advice shall be founded on truth, they must -

1. Be known to desire the truth. For the most part, a man possessing power will only receive counsel that is fashioned to suit his character and wishes. If he loves and seeks the truth, those who advise him will speak the truth. A wise and truthful counsel will grow up around him. But if he lives falsely and hates to be disturbed in his false living, the counsel that is given him will be after his liking.

2. Be able to discern the truth. Good instincts will not protect a weak man from the impositions of plausible cunning. A desire to learn and to do what is right may be defeated by a want of capacity to distinguish between competing counsels. This power of discernment, with respect to the quality of advice, greatly varies in men. Some possess it as a natural gift; some only acquire it after long experience; many never get hold of it; all have need to cultivate it with earnest care. It is a great power in the practical conduct of life.

3. Be resolute to learn the truth. For kings and other great people to get good counsel, it must be known that they will only listen to counsel that is good. A desire for the truth, and a capacity to discern it, may be accompanied by an utter want of active and determined will. Then counsel will become uncertain; honest thoughts will grow timorous in expression; dishonest thoughts will grow bold. An irresolute will favours the solicitude of bad guides. As there is a Divine Counsellor, so there is a Divine counsel - the word of the living God - holy, wise, true, just, loving, and safe. All who take and follow that counsel are made "wise unto salvation," and are "well instructed" in the things that are "unto holiness," and that "belong to peace." - D.

I. WHAT CONSTITUTES GREATNESS. By greatness we mean, in a general way, the position of a man who for certain well-defined reasons towers above the rest of his fellow-men. Evidently, therefore, it may be of various types.

1. The greatness of position. Some are born heirs to titles and kingdoms. Distinction is thrust upon them before their wishes are consulted. Their lives mingle with the web of history simply on account of their birth.

2. The greatness of wealth This differs from the preceding in that it is confined to no favoured class. A man may have a most humble origin, and yet through industry and perseverance may become a millionaire.

3. The greatness of genius. This is the gift of God. It resembles that of position, in that men are born into it; but it also resembles that of wealth, in that it is fully enjoyed only through labour. John Milton would have been a genius had he been "mute and inglorious;" but it was the effort he put forth in producing 'Paradise Lost' that made him immortal.

II. WHAT CONSTITUTES THIS RESPONSIBILITY.

1. The fact that the great are members of society. No member of society, however great or however humble, can be independent. His actions touch his fellows at so many points that they have a right to control his conduct to that extent.

2. The great determine their own actions. No man is a mere puppet of circumstances. A high position may involve conditions which hamper the will, but they cannot rob it altogether of its freedom. In so far then as actions are free the agent is responsible for them.

3. The great exert an influence. This is true of all, but especially of the great. And this was the point on which Memucan so emphatically insisted.

(1) Influence is independent of our will. We can shape our own conduct, but we cannot regulate its effects upon others. We cannot plead that we never desired it, when we are charged with ruining others by our example, for those who copy us as a rule do not ask our permission. Does the subject of a deadly fever desire to spread infection?

(2) The influence of the great is powerful in proportion to their greatness. They are the observed of all observers. They are cities set on a hill which cannot be hid. Jeroboam son of Nebat made Israel sin, and the wickedness of the people for several generations was attributed to the influence of his example.

(3) It is far easier to influence for evil than for good. The effect produced upon an object is as much due to the object itself as to the power exerted. A blow that would leave iron uninjured might shatter glass to atoms. The original bias of the human heart is toward evil, so that it needs little help in that direction. No great eloquence is required to persuade the miser to hoard his money, or the spendthrift to squander his substance. This subject has a practical application. What is true of the great with regard to influence is true of all to some extent. It is true that a taper is unspeakably less than the sun, but it produces the same effect in its own sphere as the larger luminary does in his.

1. Ministers of religion exert an influence. Not merely in the pulpit, but in their intercourse with the world.

2. Parents exert an influence. Their actions will generally produce a deeper impression than their words.

3. Associates exert an influence. Men are constantly brought together in the various pursuits of life. In the workshops in the market-place, in the transactions of business, each man is unconsciously contributing his share to the making or the marring of the characters of those with whom he comes in contact. - R.

I. NOTICE HOW THE HUMAN HEART, HUMAN LIFE IN ITS TENDEREST MAKE, IN ITS MOST YIELDING MOOD, RESENTS IN THE LONG RUN ARBITRARY FORCE. Even the feminine character knows despotism to be an unnatural thing, a discreditable violation of its own rights. The less obtrusive the claims of that feminine character, the more should they be studied by anticipation. Even that yielding' disposition craves reason before force, right before might, considerateness before compulsion. The husband, the father, the social temper, the national temper, that forgets and sins against this has only to forget it and sin against it long enough to reap whirlwind and the most real of ruin. To what a pass had the treatment long meted out to women of the country and the age in question now come! What a humiliating confession from head-quarters when the king himself, who reigned from India unto Ethiopia," and these elder "seven wise men of the east," are found thrown into a pitiable panic, a paroxysm of apprehension, lest there should happen a moral and social insurrection of their women, "great and small," throughout the vast extent of the country and its "one hundred and twenty-seven provinces," against, forsooth, "their husbands;" and in the sense, forsooth, of "despising" them and disputing their rule!

II. NOTICE TWO POLITICAL ALTERNATIVES. What must be either the degenerate social state of a nation, or its ripened state in any individual direction for some very radical alterative, when the spark that is feared is such a thing as this, anything analogous to this - the one word "no" of one woman! The one resisting act of a wife, who is a queen, to the rude and licentious command of her husband, who is a king! The country of which this is true, the constitution of which this is true, in any part of it, must be dry indeed for a conflagration!

III. NOTICE THE INDESCRIBABLE INANITY OF THE MERE MAKING AND PROCLAMATION OF A DECREE ON A MORAL AND SOCIAL SUBJECT WHEN IT IS NOT BASED ON REASON, ON NATURAL RELIGION, ON EDUCATION, to say nothing of other religious sanction; or when the just utterances of these authorities are rendered utterly indistinct, are stifled by the improper conduct of one half of the people, towards the other half, who may be aimed at by the decree. No number of decrees, no severity of sanctions attached to them, could possibly bring all the women of a vast country to honour and obey from the heart their husbands, while these should continue to act towards them in a manner contrary to the Divine voice and to the charter of creation! The illustration which this history offers is patent and bold. The case appears a violent one; the position one to which modern days offer no sufficient parallel. It is a call for unbounded gratitude on the part of England, if it be so. But the lesson for other lands is still wanted in its most alphabetic form; and who can deny that all nations need the delicate guidance of the same principle in outline, though in a less visible, less common form?

IV. LASTLY, WHEN THE LAST COMES TO THE LAST, COURTIERS AND THE MOST OBSEQUIOUS OF THEM DO NOT THINK SO MUCH OF THEIR ROYAL MASTERS AS THEY DO OF THEMSELVES AND THEIR FELLOWS. Kingdoms are not made for kings, the ruled for rulers, but the reverse. And, probably without a thought of it himself, Memucan in his answer (ver. 16) shows himself keeping by no means to the view of the position which the king had set forth and enlarged upon in his question. Supposing there to have been (what there was not) advantage obtainable in the decree, the insult (so interpreted) that had been offered to the king is almost thrust on one side, while the wily counsellors seem forthwith to scent the opportunity of an advantage to themselves and the widespread people! So the magnified affronts of the great are turned by Providence to a very different use from the vindication of their individual pride or vanity. Conclusion. - While there is perhaps not a little in these verses which invites and almost provokes our modern satire, there is certainly one great impression resulting from the whole, and deserving of the fullest attention and most constant memory namely, that great moral, social, religious effects must not be sought primarily by mere legislative enactment. They must be sought by a diligent use of corresponding methods, and then even will be found only in God's blessing upon them. - B.

I. THE INFLUENCE OF EXAMPLE IS PECULIARLY SUBTLE AND DEEP. This arises from the fact that it is not an abstract, but a living thing. It is the embodiment of principles, good or bad, in an active human life. It touches and lays hold of, more or less, the actuating spirit of those who come within its circle. Fine professions go for little when personal character and conduct belie them. Nor has precept much power when not conjoined with a harmonious example. "Example is better than precept," in the sense that it is the action of soul on soul, and will therefore tell on those who see it, when precept will only fall heedlessly on the ear.

II. THE INFLUENCE OF EXAMPLE TRAVELS FAR AND WIDE. It is seen and felt beyond the knowledge or the immediate circle of the man who gives it. Men are observed and their actions weighed when they do not suspect it. When one life is impressed by the example of another, the impression does not stop there, but is conveyed to other lives, and is thus extended indefinitely. This is true of negative as well as of positive qualities, and of ordinary conduct as well as of particular acts.

III. THE INFLUENCE OF EXAMPLE IS CONTINUOUS. Special conduct on special occasions is but a vivid expression of the spirit that animates the daily life. A man's example continues with his life, and being continuous, its influence is accumulative. Even after his death it may long continue to exert power, either through the written record, or through descendants whose character has been affected by it.

IV. THE INFLUENCE OF EXAMPLE IS INCREASED BY HIGH POSITION. The higher a man stands in social rank, the more widely will he be observed, and the more readily imitated. There is an instinctive reverence for rank in the human heart which should make royal, noble, or wealthy persons very careful as to the example they set. But all positions are relative. Thus a parent is as great in the eye of a child as a monarch is in view of the subject. The Christian minister in relation to his flock; the teacher to his pupil; the master to his servant; the cultivated to the ignorant - all these also occupy a position of eminence, and their example exerts a corresponding influence.

V. THE INFLUENCE AND TRUE QUALITY OF EXAMPLE ARE NOT ALWAYS TO BE JUDGED BY PREVAILING HABITS OR POPULAR NOTIONS. It may run counter to these and be condemned by them, and yet be good. Passing fashions of thought and life afford no fixed standard of example. Vashti's disobedience was accounted bad as an example because it was a violation of the custom which laid on wives a slavish submission to their husbands. But judged by a higher law than that of custom, her example was good both to the king and to his subjects. Whatever conduct recognises the claims of truth, conscience, purity, and modest self-respect must be allowed to be good; whatever conduct tramples on or is indifferent to such things must be adjudged evil.

VI. THE INFLUENCE AND TRUE QUALITY OF EXAMPLE CANNOT BE FAIRLY JUDGED BY THOSE WHOM IT HAS AFFRONTED and filled with malice or wrath How could the king in his burning anger, or his advisers under the flame of that anger, do justice to the conduct of Vashti? Wrath is a bad judge.

VII. THE INFLUENCE AND TRUE QUALITY OF EXAMPLE ARE OFTEN MORE JUSTLY ESTIMATED IN AFTER TIMES THAN AT THE TIME IN WHICH THE EXAMPLE WAS GIVEN. As between the king and Vashti judgment now would go against the king. Many a character and many an action, when time has scattered the mists of passion, have appeared in a new light, and received a tardy justice by the reversal of contemporary verdicts.

VIII. THE ONLY PERFECT EXAMPLE KNOWN AMONGST MEN IS THAT OF JESUS, THE SON OF GOD. The more fully we regulate our conduct by the spirit of his life, the more influential for good will be our own life-example (see Matthew 16:24; John 13:15; 1 Peter 2:21). - D.

I. PENALTIES ARE INTENDED TO ENFORCE LAWS, or, in other words, to deter men from crime. With many law would have little power apart from the penalties attached to the transgression of it. Those who are not governed by virtue, or the love of God and truth, may be commanded by fear.

II. PENALTIES OUGHT TO BE EQUITABLE. As the servants of justice, they should have some real proportion to the trespass committed. Even supposing Vashti to have failed in temper or in wisdom, her punishment was out of all proportion to her fault - most cruel and unjust. Excessive penalties are themselves an injustice, and, as all experience testifies, rather encourage than repress crime.

III. PENALTIES, while being adequate to the offence, SHOULD CONTEMPLATE THE IMPROVEMENT OF THE OFFENDER. The king's decree against Vashti gave no room for explanation, repentance, or amendment, When penalties do nothing more than inflict pain and privation, they are likely to harden transgressors in evil, and thus to prepare new and weightier scourges for the society which they are designed to protect.

IV. PENALTIES SHOULD NEVER BE THE INSTRUMENTS OF VENGEANCE OR WRATH. They should be the award of impartial and unimpassioned justice. Of the punishment of Vashti a burning anger was the spring.

V. PENALTIES SHOULD NEVER BE INFLICTED EXCEPT WHEN GUILT HAS BEEN CLEARLY PROVED. In the action of our law courts the maxim is recognised that it is better to let the guilty escape than to allow punishment to fall on the innocent. The benefit of any doubt is given to the accused.

VI. PENALTIES FURNISH A MOTIVE FOR THE AVOIDANCE OF CRIME ONLY TO THE EVIL-DISPOSED. The good honour and love the principles on which just laws are founded, and freely live by them. If all men were governed by a pure conscience and the love of God there would be no need for penal codes.

VII. PENALTIES ARE ATTACHED TO DIVINE AS WELL AS TO HUMAN LEGISLATION. No law of God can be broken with impunity. In the cross of Jesus Christ mercy and justice meet, and through that sacrifice an infinite mercy is justly offered to all men. As to the future punishment of the impenitent we can say little, because little is revealed; that we must leave trustfully with him whose judgments are truth and whose ways are righteous. It should be the prayerful aim of all Christians so to enter into the love of God in Christ as to be raised above the fear of the law. "Fear hath torment;" "but perfect love casteth out fear" (1 John 4:18). - D.