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<center><h1>Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary
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[<A HREF="MHC00000.HTM">Table of Contents</A>]<BR>
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Matthew Henry<BR><I>Commentary on the Whole Bible</I> (1708)
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<CENTER>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+3><B>E S T H E R</B></FONT>
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<BR>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+2>CHAP. IX.</FONT>
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<HR SIZE=1 WIDTH=50>
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<FONT SIZE=-1>
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<P>
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We left two royal edicts in force, both given at the court of Shushan,
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one bearing date the thirteenth day of the first month, appointing that
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on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month then next ensuing all the
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Jews should be killed; another bearing date the twenty-third day of the
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third month, empowering the Jews, on the day appointed for their
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slaughter, to draw the sword in their own defence and make their part
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good against their enemies as well as they could. Great expectation
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there was, no doubt, of this day, and the issue of it. The Jews' cause
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was to be tried by battle and the day was fixed for the combat by
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authority. Their enemies resolved not to lose the advantages given them
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by the first edict, in hope to overpower them by numbers; the Jews
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relied on the goodness of their God and the justice of their cause, and
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resolved to make their utmost efforts against their enemies. The day
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comes at length; and here we are told,
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I. What a glorious day it was, that year, to the Jews, and the two days
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following--a day of victory and triumph, both in the city Shushan and in
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all the rest of the king's provinces,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Es+9:1-19">ver. 1-19</A>.
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II. What a memorable day it was made to posterity, by an annual feast,
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in commemoration of this great deliverance, called "the feast of
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Purim,"
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Es+9:20-32">ver. 20-32</A>.</P>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>The Jews Avenged.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 509.</TD></TR>
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<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
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</TABLE>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>1 Now in the twelfth month, that <I>is,</I> the month Adar, on the
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thirteenth day of the same, when the king's commandment and his
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decree drew near to be put in execution, in the day that the
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enemies of the Jews hoped to have power over them, (though it was
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turned to the contrary, that the Jews had rule over them that
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hated them;)
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2 The Jews gathered themselves together in their cities
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throughout all the provinces of the king Ahasuerus, to lay hand
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on such as sought their hurt: and no man could withstand them;
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for the fear of them fell upon all people.
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3 And all the rulers of the provinces, and the lieutenants, and
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the deputies, and officers of the king, helped the Jews; because
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the fear of Mordecai fell upon them.
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4 For Mordecai <I>was</I> great in the king's house, and his fame
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went out throughout all the provinces: for this man Mordecai
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waxed greater and greater.
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5 Thus the Jews smote all their enemies with the stroke of the
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sword, and slaughter, and destruction, and did what they would
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unto those that hated them.
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6 And in Shushan the palace the Jews slew and destroyed five
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hundred men.
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7 And Parshandatha, and Dalphon, and Aspatha,
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8 And Poratha, and Adalia, and Aridatha,
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9 And Parmashta, and Arisai, and Aridai, and Vajezatha,
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10 The ten sons of Haman the son of Hammedatha, the enemy of
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the Jews, slew they; but on the spoil laid they not their hand.
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11 On that day the number of those that were slain in Shushan
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the palace was brought before the king.
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12 And the king said unto Esther the queen, The Jews have slain
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and destroyed five hundred men in Shushan the palace, and the ten
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sons of Haman; what have they done in the rest of the king's
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provinces? now what <I>is</I> thy petition? and it shall be granted
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thee: or what <I>is</I> thy request further? and it shall be done.
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13 Then said Esther, If it please the king, let it be granted
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to the Jews which <I>are</I> in Shushan to do to morrow also according
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unto this day's decree, and let Haman's ten sons be hanged upon
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the gallows.
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14 And the king commanded it so to be done: and the decree was
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given at Shushan; and they hanged Haman's ten sons.
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15 For the Jews that <I>were</I> in Shushan gathered themselves
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together on the fourteenth day also of the month Adar, and slew
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three hundred men at Shushan; but on the prey they laid not their
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hand.
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16 But the other Jews that <I>were</I> in the king's provinces
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gathered themselves together, and stood for their lives, and had
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rest from their enemies, and slew of their foes seventy and five
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thousand, but they laid not their hands on the prey,
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17 On the thirteenth day of the month Adar; and on the
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fourteenth day of the same rested they, and made it a day of
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feasting and gladness.
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18 But the Jews that <I>were</I> at Shushan assembled together on
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the thirteenth <I>day</I> thereof, and on the fourteenth thereof; and
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on the fifteenth <I>day</I> of the same they rested, and made it a day
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of feasting and gladness.
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19 Therefore the Jews of the villages, that dwelt in the
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unwalled towns, made the fourteenth day of the month Adar <I>a day
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of</I> gladness and feasting, and a good day, and of sending
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portions one to another.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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We have here a decisive battle fought between the Jews and their
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enemies, in which the Jews were victorious. Neither side was surprised;
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for both had notice of it long enough before, so that it was a fair
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trial of skill between them. Nor could either side call the other
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<I>rebels,</I> for they were both supported by the royal authority.</P>
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<P>
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I. The enemies of the Jews were the aggressors. They hoped,
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notwithstanding the latter edict, <I>to have power over them,</I> by
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virtue of the former
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Es+9:1"><I>v.</I> 1</A>),
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and made assaults upon them accordingly; they formed themselves into
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bodies, and joined in confederacy against them, to <I>seek their
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hurt,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Es+9:2"><I>v.</I> 2</A>.
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The Chaldee paraphrase says that none appeared against the Jews but
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Amalekites only, who were infatuated, and had their hearts hardened, as
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Pharaoh's against Israel, to take up arms to their own destruction.
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Some had such an inveterate implacable malice against the Jews that
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Haman's fall and Mordecai's advancement, instead of convincing them,
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did but exasperate them, and make them the more outrageous and resolute
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to cut all their throats. The sons of Haman, particularly, vowed to
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avenge their father's death, and pursue his designs, which they call
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<I>noble and brave,</I> whatever hazards they run; and a strong party
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they had formed both in Shushan and in the provinces in order hereunto.
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Fight they would, though they plainly saw Providence fight against
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them; and thus they were infatuated to their own destruction. If they
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would have sat still, and attempted nothing against the people of God,
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not a hair of their head would have fallen to the ground: but they
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cannot persuade themselves to do that; they must be meddling, though it
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prove to their own ruin, and roll a burdensome stone, which will return
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upon them.</P>
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<P>
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II. But the Jews were the conquerors. That very day when the king's
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decree for their destruction was to be put in execution, and which the
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enemies thought would have been <I>their</I> day, proved <I>God's</I>
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day,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+37:13">Ps. xxxvii. 13</A>.
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It was <I>turned to the contrary</I> of what was expected, and <I>the
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Jews had rule over those that hated them,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Es+9:1"><I>v.</I> 1</A>.
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We are here told,</P>
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<P>
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1. What the Jews did for themselves
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Es+9:2"><I>v.</I> 2</A>):
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<I>They gathered themselves together in their cities,</I> embodied, and
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stood upon their defence, offering violence to none, but bidding
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defiance to all. If they had not had an edict to warrant them, they
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durst not have done it, but, being so supported, they strove lawfully.
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Had they acted separately, each family apart, they would have been an
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easy prey to their enemies; but acting in concert, and gathering
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together in their cities, they strengthened one another, and durst face
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their enemies. <I>Vis unita fortior--forces act most powerfully when
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combined.</I> Those that write of the state of the Jews at this day
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give this as a reason why, though they are very numerous in many parts,
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and very rich, they are yet so despicable, because they are generally
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so selfish that they cannot incorporate, and, being under the curse of
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dispersion, they cannot unite, nor (as here) <I>gather together,</I>
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for, if they could, they might with their numbers and wealth threaten
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the most potent states.</P>
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<P>
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2. What the rulers of the provinces did for them, under the influence
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of Mordecai. All the officers of the king, who, by the bloody edict,
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were ordered to help forward their destruction
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Es+3:12,13"><I>ch.</I> iii. 12, 13</A>),
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conformed to the latter edict (which, being an estopel against an
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estopel, had set the matter at large, and left them at liberty to
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observe which they pleased) and <I>helped the Jews,</I> which turned
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the scale on their side,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Es+9:3"><I>v.</I> 3</A>.
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The provinces would generally do as the rulers of the provinces
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inclined, and therefore their favouring the Jews would greatly further
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them. But why did they help them? Not because they had any kindness for
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them, but because <I>the fear of Mordecai fell upon them,</I> he having
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manifestly the countenance both of God and the king. They all saw it
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their interest to help Mordecai's friends because he was not only great
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in the king's house, and caressed by the courtiers (as many are who
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have no intrinsic worth to support their reputation), but <I>his
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fame</I> for wisdom and virtue <I>went out</I> thence <I>throughout all
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the provinces:</I> in all places he was extolled as a great man. He was
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looked upon also as a thriving man, and one that <I>waxed greater and
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greater</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Es+9:4"><I>v.</I> 4</A>),
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and therefore for fear of him all the king's officers helped the Jews.
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Great men may, by their influence, do a great deal of good; many that
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fear not God will stand in awe of them.</P>
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<P>
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3. What God did for them: he struck <I>all people</I> with a <I>fear of
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them</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Es+9:2">(<I>v.</I> 2</A>),
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as the Canaanites were made afraid of Israel
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jos+2:9,5:1">Josh. ii. 9, v. 1</A>),
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so that, though they had so much hardiness as to assault them, yet they
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had not courage to prosecute the assault. Their hearts failed them when
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they came to engage, and <I>none of the men of might could find their
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hands.</I></P>
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<P>
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4. What execution they did hereupon: <I>No man could withstand them</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Es+9:2"><I>v.</I> 2</A>),
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but <I>they did what they would to those that hated them,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Es+9:5"><I>v.</I> 5</A>.
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So strangely were the Jews strengthened and animated, and their enemies
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weakened and dispirited, that none of those who had marked themselves
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for their destruction escaped, but they <I>smote them with the stroke
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of the sword.</I> Particularly,
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(1.) On the thirteenth day of the month Adar they slew in the city
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Shushan 500 men
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Es+9:6"><I>v.</I> 6</A>)
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and the ten sons of <I>Haman,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Es+9:10"><I>v.</I> 10</A>.
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The Jews, when on the feast of Purim they read this book of Esther,
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oblige themselves to read the names of Haman's ten sons all in one
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breath, without any pause, because they say that they were all killed
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together, and all gave up the ghost just in the same moment.--<I>Buxt.
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Synag. Jud.</I> c. 24. The Chaldee paraphrase says that, when these ten
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were slain, Zeresh, with seventy more of his children, escaped, and
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afterwards begged their bread from door to door.
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(2.) On the fourteenth day they slew in Shushan 300 more, who had
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escaped the sword on the former day of execution,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Es+9:15"><I>v.</I> 15</A>.
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This Esther obtained leave of the king for them to do, for the greater
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terror of their enemies, and the utter crushing of that malignant party
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of men. The king had taken account of the numbers that were put to the
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sword the first day
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Es+9:11"><I>v.</I> 11</A>),
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and told Esther
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Es+9:12"><I>v.</I> 12</A>),
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and asked her what more she desired. "Nothing," says she, "but
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commission to do such another day's work." Esther surely was none of
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the blood-thirsty, none of those that delight in slaughter, but she had
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some very good reasons that moved her to make this request. She also
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desired that the dead bodies of Haman's ten sons might be hanged up on
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the gallows on which their father was hanged, for the greater disgrace
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of the family and terror of the party
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Es+9:13"><I>v.</I> 13</A>),
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and it was done accordingly,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Es+9:14"><I>v.</I> 14</A>.
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It is supposed that they were hanged in chains and left hanging for
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some time.
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(3.) The Jews in the country kept to their orders, and slew no more of
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their enemies than what were slain the thirteenth day, which were in
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all, among all the provinces, 75,000,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Es+9:16"><I>v.</I> 16</A>.
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If all these were Amalekites (as the Jews say), surely now it was that
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the remembrance of Amalek was <I>utterly put out,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ex+17:14">Exod. xvii. 14</A>.
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However, that which justifies them in the execution of so many is that
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they did it in their own just and necessary defence; they <I>stood for
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their lives,</I> authorized to do so by the law of self-preservation,
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as well as by the king's decree.
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(4.) In these several executions it is taken notice of that on the prey
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they laid not their hand,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Es+9:10,15,16"><I>v.</I> 10, 15, 16</A>.
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The king's commission had warranted them to <I>take the spoil</I> of
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their enemies <I>for a prey</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Es+8:11"><I>ch.</I> viii. 11</A>),
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and a fair opportunity they had of enriching themselves with it; if
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Haman's party had prevailed, no doubt, they would have made use of
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their authority to seize the goods and estates of the Jews,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Es+3:13"><I>ch.</I> iii. 13</A>.
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But the Jews would not do so by them,
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[1.] That they might, to the honour of their religion, evidence a holy
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and generous contempt of worldly wealth, in imitation of their father
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Abraham, who scorned to enrich himself with the spoils of Sodom.
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[2.] That they might make it appear that they aimed at nothing but
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their own preservation, and used their interest at court for the saving
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of their lives, not for the raising of their estates.
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[3.] Their commission empowered them to destroy the families of their
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enemies, even the <I>little ones</I> and <I>the women,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Es+8:11"><I>ch.</I> viii. 11</A>.
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But their humanity forbade them to do that, though that was designed
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against them. They slew none but those they found in arms; and
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|
therefore they did not take the spoil, but left it to the women and
|
|
little ones, whom they spared, for their subsistence; otherwise as good
|
|
slay them as starve them, take away their lives as take away their
|
|
livelihoods. Herein they acted with a consideration and compassion well
|
|
worthy of imitation.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
5. What a satisfaction they had in their deliverance. The Jews in the
|
|
country cleared themselves of their enemies on the thirteenth day of
|
|
the month, and they rested on the fourteenth day
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Es+9:17"><I>v.</I> 17</A>),
|
|
|
|
and made that a thanksgiving day,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Es+9:19"><I>v.</I> 19</A>.
|
|
|
|
The Jews in Shushan, the royal city, took two days for their military
|
|
execution, so that they rested on the fifteenth day, and made that
|
|
their thanksgiving-day,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Es+9:18"><I>v.</I> 18</A>.
|
|
|
|
Both of them celebrated their festival the very day after they had
|
|
finished their work and gained their point. When we have received
|
|
signal mercies from God we ought to be quick and speedy in making our
|
|
thankful returns to him, while the mercy is fresh and the impressions
|
|
of it are most sensible.</P>
|
|
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|
<A NAME="Es9_20"> </A>
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<A NAME="Es9_21"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>The Feast of Purim.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 509.</TD></TR>
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<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
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</TABLE>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>20 And Mordecai wrote these things, and sent letters unto all
|
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the Jews that <I>were</I> in all the provinces of the king Ahasuerus,
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<I>both</I> nigh and far,
|
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21 To stablish <I>this</I> among them, that they should keep the
|
|
fourteenth day of the month Adar, and the fifteenth day of the
|
|
same, yearly,
|
|
22 As the days wherein the Jews rested from their enemies, and
|
|
the month which was turned unto them from sorrow to joy, and from
|
|
mourning into a good day: that they should make them days of
|
|
feasting and joy, and of sending portions one to another, and
|
|
gifts to the poor.
|
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23 And the Jews undertook to do as they had begun, and as
|
|
Mordecai had written unto them;
|
|
24 Because Haman the son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, the enemy
|
|
of all the Jews, had devised against the Jews to destroy them,
|
|
and had cast Pur, that <I>is,</I> the lot, to consume them, and to
|
|
destroy them;
|
|
25 But when <I>Esther</I> came before the king, he commanded by
|
|
letters that his wicked device, which he devised against the
|
|
Jews, should return upon his own head, and that he and his sons
|
|
should be hanged on the gallows.
|
|
26 Wherefore they called these days Purim after the name of
|
|
Pur. Therefore for all the words of this letter, and <I>of that</I>
|
|
which they had seen concerning this matter, and which had come
|
|
unto them,
|
|
27 The Jews ordained, and took upon them, and upon their seed,
|
|
and upon all such as joined themselves unto them, so as it should
|
|
not fail, that they would keep these two days according to their
|
|
writing, and according to their <I>appointed</I> time every year;
|
|
28 And <I>that</I> these days <I>should be</I> remembered and kept
|
|
throughout every generation, every family, every province, and
|
|
every city; and <I>that</I> these days of Purim should not fail from
|
|
among the Jews, nor the memorial of them perish from their seed.
|
|
29 Then Esther the queen, the daughter of Abihail, and Mordecai
|
|
the Jew, wrote with all authority, to confirm this second letter
|
|
of Purim.
|
|
30 And he sent the letters unto all the Jews, to the hundred
|
|
twenty and seven provinces of the kingdom of Ahasuerus, <I>with</I>
|
|
words of peace and truth,
|
|
31 To confirm these days of Purim in their times <I>appointed,</I>
|
|
according as Mordecai the Jew and Esther the queen had enjoined
|
|
them, and as they had decreed for themselves and for their seed,
|
|
the matters of the fastings and their cry.
|
|
32 And the decree of Esther confirmed these matters of Purim;
|
|
and it was written in the book.
|
|
</FONT></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
We may well imagine how much affected Mordecai and Esther were with the
|
|
triumphs of the Jews over their enemies, and how they saw the issue of
|
|
that decisive day with a satisfaction proportionable to the care and
|
|
concern with which they expected it. How were their hearts enlarged
|
|
with joy in God and his salvation, and what new songs of praise were
|
|
put into their mouths! But here we are told what course they took to
|
|
spread the knowledge of it among their people, and to perpetuate the
|
|
remembrance of it to posterity, for the honour of God and the
|
|
encouragement of his people to trust in him at all times.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
I. The history was written, and copies of it were dispersed among all
|
|
the Jews in all the provinces of the empire, <I>both nigh and far,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Es+9:20"><I>v.</I> 20</A>.
|
|
|
|
They all knew something of the story, being nearly concerned in
|
|
it--were by the first edict made sensible of their danger and by the
|
|
second of their deliverance; but how this amazing turn was given they
|
|
could not tell. Mordecai therefore <I>wrote all these things.</I> And
|
|
if this book be the same that he wrote, as many think it is, I cannot
|
|
but observe what a difference there is between Mordecai's style and
|
|
Nehemiah's. Nehemiah, at every turn, takes notice of divine Providence
|
|
and the <I>good hand of his God</I> upon him, which is very proper to
|
|
stir up devout affections in the minds of his readers; but Mordecai
|
|
never so much as mentions the name of God in the whole story. Nehemiah
|
|
wrote his book at Jerusalem, where religion was in fashion and an air
|
|
of it appeared in men's common conversation; Mordecai wrote his at
|
|
Shushan the palace, where policy reigned more then piety, and he wrote
|
|
according to the genius of the place. Even those that have the root of
|
|
the matter in them are apt to lose the savour of religion, and let
|
|
their leaf wither, when they converse wholly with those that have
|
|
little religion. Commend me to Nehemiah's way of writing; <I>that</I>
|
|
I would imitate, and yet learn from Mordecai's that men may be truly
|
|
devout though they do not abound in the shows and expressions of
|
|
devotion, and therefore that we must not judge nor despise our
|
|
brethren. But, because there is so little of the language of Canaan in
|
|
this book, many think it was not written by Mordecai, but was an
|
|
extract out of the journals of the kings of Persia, giving an account
|
|
of the matter of fact, which the Jews themselves knew how to comment
|
|
upon.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
II. A festival was instituted, to be observed yearly from generation to
|
|
generation by the Jews, in remembrance of this wonderful work which God
|
|
wrought for them, that <I>the children who should be born</I> might
|
|
know it, and <I>declare it to their children, that they might set their
|
|
hope in God,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+78:6,7">Ps. lxxviii. 6, 7</A>.
|
|
|
|
It would be for the honour of God as the protector of his people, and
|
|
the honour of Israel as the care of Heaven, a confirmation of the
|
|
fidelity of God's covenant, an invitation to strangers to come into the
|
|
bonds of it, and an encouragement to God's own people cheerfully to
|
|
depend upon his wisdom, power, and goodness, in the greatest straits.
|
|
Posterity would reap the benefit of this deliverance, and therefore
|
|
ought to celebrate the memorial of it. Now concerning this festival we
|
|
are here told,</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
1. When it was observed--every year on <I>the fourteenth and fifteenth
|
|
days of the twelfth month,</I> just a month before the passover,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Es+9:21"><I>v.</I> 21</A>.
|
|
|
|
Thus the first month and the last month of the year kept in remembrance
|
|
the months that were past, even <I>the days when God preserved
|
|
them.</I> They kept two days together as thanksgiving days, and did not
|
|
think them too much to spend in praising God. Let us not be niggardly
|
|
in our returns of praise to him who bestows his favours so liberally
|
|
upon us. Observe, They did not keep the day when they fought, but the
|
|
days when they rested, and on the fifteenth those in Shushan, and both
|
|
those days they kept. The sabbath was appointed not on the day that God
|
|
finished his work, but on the day that he <I>rested from it.</I> The
|
|
modern Jews observe the thirteenth day, the day appointed for their
|
|
destruction, as a fasting-day, grounding the practice on
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Es+9:31"><I>v.</I> 31</A>,
|
|
|
|
<I>the matters of their fastings and cry.</I> But that refers to what
|
|
was in the day of their distress
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Es+4:3,16"><I>ch.</I> iv. 3, 16</A>),
|
|
|
|
which was not to be continued when God had turned their fasts into
|
|
<I>joy and gladness,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Zec+8:19">Zech. viii. 19</A>.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
2. How it was called--<I>The feast of Purim</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Es+9:26">(<I>v.</I> 26</A>),
|
|
|
|
from <I>Pur,</I> a Persian word which signified <I>a lot,</I> because
|
|
Haman had by lot determined this to be the time of the Jews'
|
|
destruction, but the Lord, at whose disposal the lot is, had determined
|
|
it to be the time of their triumph. The name of this festival would
|
|
remind them of the sovereign dominion of the God of Israel, who served
|
|
his own purposes by the foolish superstitions of the heathen, and
|
|
outwitted the <I>monthly prognosticators</I> in their own craft
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+47:13">Isa. xlvii. 13</A>),
|
|
|
|
<I>frustrating the tokens of the liars and making the diviners mad,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+44:25,26">Isa. xliv. 25, 26</A>.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
3. By whom it was instituted and enacted. It was not a divine
|
|
institution, and therefore it is not called a <I>holy day,</I> but a
|
|
human appointment, by which it was made a <I>good day,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Es+9:19,22"><I>v.</I> 19, 22</A>.
|
|
|
|
(1.) The Jews ordained it, and took it upon themselves
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Es+9:27"><I>v.</I> 27</A>),
|
|
|
|
voluntarily <I>undertook to do as they had begun.</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Es+9:23"><I>v.</I> 23</A>.
|
|
|
|
They bound themselves to this by common consent.
|
|
|
|
(2.) Mordecai and Esther confirmed their resolve, that it might be the
|
|
more binding on posterity, and might come well recommended by those
|
|
great names. They <I>wrote,</I>
|
|
|
|
[1.] <I>With all authority</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Es+9:29"><I>v.</I> 29</A>),
|
|
|
|
as well they might, Esther being queen and Mordecai prime-minister of
|
|
state. It is well when those who are in authority use their authority
|
|
to authorize that which is good.
|
|
|
|
[2.] <I>With words of peace and truth.</I> Though they wrote with
|
|
authority, they wrote with tenderness, not imperious, not imposing, but
|
|
in such language as the council at Jerusalem use in their decree
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ac+15:29">Acts xv. 29</A>):
|
|
|
|
"If you do so and so, <I>you shall do well. Fare you well.</I>" Such
|
|
was the style of these letters, or such the salutation or valediction
|
|
of them: <I>Peace and truth be with you.</I></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
4. By whom it was to be observed--by <I>all the Jews,</I> and by
|
|
<I>their seed,</I> and by all such as <I>joined themselves to them,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Es+9:27"><I>v.</I> 27</A>.
|
|
|
|
The observance of this feast was to be both universal and perpetual;
|
|
the proselytes must observe it, in token of their sincere affection to
|
|
the Jewish nation and their having united interests with them. A
|
|
concurrence in joys and praises is one branch of the communion of
|
|
saints.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
5. Why it was to be observed--that the memorial of the great things God
|
|
had done for his church might never <I>perish from their seed,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Es+9:28"><I>v.</I> 28</A>.
|
|
|
|
God does not work wonders for a day, but to be had in everlasting
|
|
remembrance. <I>What he does shall be forever,</I> and therefore should
|
|
for ever be had in mind,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ec+3:14">Eccl. iii. 14</A>.
|
|
|
|
In this affair they would remember,
|
|
|
|
(1.) Haman's bad practices against the church, to his perpetual
|
|
reproach
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Es+9:24"><I>v.</I> 24</A>):
|
|
|
|
<I>Because he had devised against the Jews to destroy them.</I> Let
|
|
this be kept in mind, that God's people may never be secure, while they
|
|
have such malicious enemies, on whom they ought to have a jealous eye.
|
|
Their enemies aim at no less then their destruction; on God therefore
|
|
let them depend for salvation.
|
|
|
|
(2.) Esther's good services to the church, to her immortal honour. When
|
|
Esther, in peril of her life, <I>came before the king,</I> he repealed
|
|
the edict,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Es+9:25"><I>v.</I> 25</A>.
|
|
|
|
This also must be remembered, that wherever this feast should be kept,
|
|
and this history read in explication of it, this which she did might be
|
|
<I>told for a memorial of her.</I> Good deeds done for the Israel of
|
|
God ought to be remembered, for the encouragement of others to do the
|
|
like. God will not forget them, and therefore we must not.
|
|
|
|
(3.) Their own prayers, and the answers given to them
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Es+9:31"><I>v.</I> 31</A>):
|
|
|
|
<I>The matters of their fastings and their cry.</I> The more cries we
|
|
have offered up in our trouble, and the more prayers for deliverance,
|
|
the more we are obliged to be thankful to God for deliverance. <I>Call
|
|
upon me in the time of trouble,</I> and then <I>offer to God
|
|
thanksgiving.</I></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
6. How it was to be observed. And of this let us see,</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
(1.) What was here enjoined, which was very good, that they should make
|
|
it,
|
|
|
|
[1.] A day of cheerfulness, <I>a day of feasting and joy</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Es+9:22"><I>v.</I> 22</A>),
|
|
|
|
and <I>a feast was made for laughter,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ec+10:19">Eccl. x. 19</A>.
|
|
|
|
When God gives us cause to rejoice why should we not express our joy?
|
|
|
|
[2.] A day of generosity, <I>sending portions one to another,</I> in
|
|
token of their pleasantness and mutual respect, and their being knit by
|
|
this and other public common dangers and deliverances so much the
|
|
closer to each other in love. Friends have their goods in common.
|
|
|
|
[3.] A day of charity, sending <I>gifts to the poor.</I> It is not to
|
|
our kinsmen and rich neighbours only that we are to send tokens, but to
|
|
<I>the poor and the maimed,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Lu+14:12,13">Luke xiv. 12, 13</A>.
|
|
|
|
Those that have received mercy must, in token of their gratitude, show
|
|
mercy; and there never wants occasion, for the poor we have always with
|
|
us. Thanksgiving and almsgiving should go together, that, when we are
|
|
rejoicing and blessing God, the heart of the poor may rejoice with us
|
|
and their loins may bless us.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
(2.) What was added to this, which was much better. They always, at the
|
|
feast, read the whole story over in the synagogue each day, and put up
|
|
three prayers to God, in the first of which they praise God for
|
|
counting them worthy to attend this divine service; in the second they
|
|
thank him for the miraculous preservation of their ancestors; in the
|
|
third they praise him that they have lived to observe another festival
|
|
in memory of it. So bishop Patrick.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
(3.) What it has since degenerated to, which is much worse. Their own
|
|
writers acknowledge that this feast is commonly celebrated among them
|
|
with gluttony, and drunkenness, and excess of riot. Their Talmud says
|
|
expressly that, in the feast of Purim, a man should drink till he knows
|
|
not the difference between <I>Cursed be Haman,</I> and <I>Blessed be
|
|
Mordecai.</I> See what the corrupt and wicked nature of man often
|
|
brings that to which was at first well intended: here is a religious
|
|
feast turned into a carnival, a perfect revel, as wakes are among us.
|
|
Nothing more purifies the heart and adorns religion than holy joy;
|
|
nothing more pollutes the heart and reproaches religion than carnal
|
|
mirth and sensual pleasure. <I>Corruptio optimi est pessima--What is
|
|
best becomes when corrupted the worst.</I></P>
|
|
|
|
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