Moray Club Sermon Esther 4:15-17 Then Esther bade them return Mordecai this answer,… I. WE NOTE THE FACT THAT EVERY ONE HAS SOME SPECIAL MISSION. Esther's special mission was to avert the destruction which threatened her people. Is it true that all have some such peculiar charge? We read of the decisive battles of the world and their commanders; of the dominating philosophies and their masters; of the ruling arts and their teachers; of the controlling religions and their high-priests; of the great reforms and their leaders. Yet these elect ones are but as a handful of sands to the grains which make the shore, For the rest, mere existence seems to be its own end and object. But it is not so. A persistent pressure is in and on every heart to enter into secret communication with God, and linking its weakness with His strength, exerts a blessed influence which, like the sound-waves, goes on endlessly. That hour of audience with its Maker is its greatest possibility. For that, at least, it has a special mission. From Him it receives what almost might be called "sealed orders." Saul of Tarsus was given his at Damascus, and so he went to Jerusalem, not knowing how they would read as he opened them there. So every Christian goes his way, till we find Henry Martyn preaching Christ to the Hindus, Isaac Newton solving the problem of the apple's fall, Leigh Richmond writing "The Dairyman's Daughter," George Muller erecting his orphanage, Mary Lyon opening collegiate doors to her sisters, and Abraham Lincoln issuing the emancipation proclamation. And though not yet widely observed, the prayers, counsels, and inspirations by which gifted souls have roused, led, and saved society originated in the closet, and kitchen, and field, where the godly parent or teacher has fulfilled a holy and particular mission. The successful general is feted and praised. Every soldier in the ranks is just as essential to the victory. Every individual, however insignificant, has his momentous obligation. The child's hand in the lighthouse tower may turn the helm of a whole navy, that it is not strewn along the reefs. II. NOTE THE FACT THAT LOVE FOR OTHERS IS WORTHY LOVE OF SELF. To lose one's love of life, comfort, and honour in the greater love of the life, comfort, and honour of his kin is counted the highest of human virtues. Mettus Curtius, in spurring his horse into the yawning chasm to save Rome, was not the first nor the last to hold the welfare of the many above that of the individual. "We have no religion to export," meanly argued a legislator against the Act of incorporation of the American Board. "Religion," was the profound reply, "is a commodity which the more we export the more we have." III. NOTE THE NEED OF TIMELY PREPARATION FOR OUR WORK. Then — always — the idea has prevailed that united petitions, like the volume of the sea, would be mighty, while the solitary plea, like the single drop, would be null. Jesus promised answer when two or three were agreed in their request. Spiritual momentum, like physical, seems to be proportioned to the quantity of soul multiplied by its eagerness. The Church has upborne its ministers, and made them speak with authority when it has been praying with them. Individual preparation must also be made. Esther must fast no less than her people. She does all she can to pave the way for a favourable reception of her cause. Jacob's present of flocks and herds, sent forward to placate Esau, with the greeting "and behold he is behind us," fitly represents the forethought and tact which oftenest gains its end. We may call it "policy"; but what harm, if it be not bribery? IV. NOTE THE REWARD OF VENTURING IN A GOOD CAUSE. The supreme hazard gains the supreme desire. The fearless champion of a full and free religious life oftenest triumphs. St. Patrick before the Druid chieftain; Wickliffe before the angry bishops, and Luther before the Diet, succeed, when others of as noble wish, but of less courage, must have failed. Into the densest heathenism the soldier of the Cross penetrates, and a redeemed people build their monument of thanksgiving, not for his piety simply, but for his bravery. Holy causes seem often to clothe their advocates in such shining dress, that assaulting powers are abashed at the sight. (Moray Club Sermon.) Parallel Verses KJV: Then Esther bade them return Mordecai this answer, |
    |