Изображения страниц
PDF
EPUB

reasonable requests. He would be a greater oppressor than his father, and would shew that his dominion was greater; and, my Lords, this new king was surrounded with ministers, that gave both foolish and dangerous advice. His new ministry prompted his pride, and made him despise the humble petitions of his dutiful subjects. Truly, my Lords, they had much to answer for: they were the instruments of losing, not thirteen tribes, but there were ten lost for ever to the family of David. And had not the Almighty over-ruled this headstrong prince, he would have run the risk of losing all his dominions; for he was preparing to reduce his revolted subjects to obedience by waging war against them. He had his army ready, and his troops in order, to vindicate his claim of dominion; but the Lord forbade and restrained him. Thus, you see, that in seeking dominion he lost what he had; as all men ought to do, when their ambitign grows exorbitant.

There is a memorable instance of the lust of power in the civil war between Cæsar and Pompey; the one could not endure an equal, and the other could not suffer a superior; so to gratify the lust of those ambitious men, two cut-throats, legions of Romans were slain, and the blood of the noblest citizens made to run like water.

The lust of power will not suffer men to flee from its influence; if a person happens to be born within its reach, it will never lose sight of him. He will not be permitted, when be is oppressed, to leave his country, and choose another. If he flee to the wilderness, it will pursue him, and in the midst of thickets it will find him out. It is a strange idea, my Lords, that because a man is born in a nation, which is not his own doing, he must always belong to it, let him be ever so ill used by the arbitrary domination of unreasonable men. And if he should happen to travel a thousand leagues, and find a country that belongs to nobody, the power he was under will claim it, on account of his being there, as soon as they hear where he is. And shall he insist upon the rights of nature, and refuse to give away his property to the power that asked it, however unreasonable the demand may be, he will soon find himself surrounded with fleets, and invaded with legions, which will make no scruple to take away his life, because he is declared to be a rebel by men who are actuated by the lust of dominion. Do you not think, my Lords, that this is very unreasonable, cruel, and wicked. This is certainly contrary to all the ideas of reason and religion that nature and the word of God teach us. Has not the apostle James fairly investigated the true cause of all wars? all the politicians in the world cannot give a more true and just one. I hope, my Lords, you will agree with him, and hate it as much as he did: but, whether you do or not, I must conclude. I should have proceeded to the last point, but this I defer. SERMON

1

SERMON VII.

ESTHER, iii. 2.

And all the king's servants bowed to Haman; but Mordecai bowed not, nor did him reverence.

HE

E had well nigh suffered for his obstinacy. Such men as Haman will not easily put up with an affront; a small matter in such a case as this is often construed to have a very deep meaning. Many things would be said on this occasion by the friends of Haman. They would be ready to tell, over all Shusan, that this Mordecai was one of the king's enemies, because he did not bow to the nod of his prime-minister; that he was of a people that were different from all other nations, and could not endure monarchy, nor were willing to be subject to kings; that he and his people were a race of Puritans, inclined to republican principles, and would, if they had power, sap the foundation of the empire; that they were hypocrites, and made use of religion, and that apparent strictness of conduct which they pursued, only to cover over rebellious and insidious designs. You know, my Lords, that in courts many things are said, to serve the ends of politicians, that are very far from having any foundation in truth. Nor is this ever accounted any reproach to men of rank, or persons in high life.

But where could the ground of offence lie in Mordecai's not bowing to Haman? It was contrary to those ideas of religion which Mordecai had learned from his ancestors, or rather from the God of Israel, to pay such an homage to a sinful and mortal creature; and the want of it could do Haman no ill. According to the Hebrew original, the word used here signifies the highest degree of worship and subjection, and what the Jews paid to God alone, and to no human creature. It was unreasonable in Haman to expect such an homage to be paid to him from a man who worshipped the true God. But what has pride and ambition to do with reason and religion? A proud man knows nothing of either of them; all that he considers is to make every man bend to his will, and bow at his nod.

It was easy for Haman to impute Mordecai's behaviour to obstinacy or enmity to the government of the country. You know, my Lords, that Bishop Laud, and the ministry in that time, accounted it obstinacy in the Puritans, because they would not bow to the altar with their faces towards the east, and fulfil some other pieces of pageantry then in fashion; they played several of Haman's tricks, and ended much in the same manner

H

that

that he did. The ministry and the clergy in the reigns of Charles II. and James II. put many thousands to death, because they would not bow to the image of tyranny which had been set up. But what was the consequence? the blood of these martyrs at last brought Heaven's vengeance upon the throne, and those that supported it, and made them turn vagabonds upon the earth.

But let us pursue Haman a little in his progress, and see how he behaved and finished his career. This minister was an Amalekite, a nation in no wise friendly to the children of Israel; for when the seed of Jacob came out of the house of bondage, Amalek was the first that attacked them, when they were in the wilderness, and very unable to defend themselves. It must also be remembered that Amalek was descended of Esau, for he was the son of Eliphaz, the eldest son of Esau by Timna his concubine. It is thought that the family of Esau never forgot the old story concerning the loss of the birth-right, and for that reason took every opportunity to distress Israel either by fraud or violence: it was a malicious disposition to remember an offence so long; and it would appear that the Almighty suffered the Amalekites to be destroyed in the days of Saul, on account of their malice and wickedness. They were now no more a nation, though many of them were scattered, as the Jews are at present, up and down all the earth; but they still retained their old enmity. Agag was the king of the Amalekites; so Haman was a descendant, or some relation, of the ancient royal family, who had wormed himself into the court of the King of Persia, and, retaining the arbitrary principles of his ancestor's house, wanted to practise them in the Persian empire. He does not appear to have been long in office before he discovered his principles; his pride and ambition soon began to discover themselves in what one would be ready to call a very trifling circumstance, which a person of any sagacity would not have thought worth his while to have taken the least notice of. Because a poor captive Jew would not bow the knee, or prostrate himself before him, he could not enjoy all the favours which the king of Persia had conferred upon him. This was the only thing that picqued his pride, and rendered him uneasy. All his honours were nothing as long as Mordecai the Jew did not cringe to him. My Lords, pride and ambition will discover itself in small, as well as in great things. 'Tis not the value of the things themselves, but the opinion men have of them, that makes. the having or wanting of them create pleasure or uneasiness. Little souls are vexed with very trifling matters, while great minds will endure much without shewing the least uneasiness. This Haman was now at the height of all his expectations; he was the second man in the empire, and highly in favour both with the king and the queen; he feasted with them, and drank with them, when others were kept at a distance, and had every

favour

favour shewn him that he could expect. But nothing would serve him unless poor Mordecai was brought to his feet. He could expect no advantage by having a poor Jew lying prostrate before him; this could put but small matters into the treasury. But, my Lords, what think ye of a man shewing his power and authority? Ah! the lust of power is a strong passion! It is a sweet thing to ambitious men to see all the world cringing as their humble servants; they would risk an empire, rather than lose this gratification. Ask experience concerning this point, and you will not be able to deny it. What profit could arise to the empire of Persia from all the tribes of Israel being brought to the feet of Haman? It would not have brought one shilling into the treasury. But then the authority of the senate, if there were any, and the power of the crown, would be supported with all their true dignity. A poor dignity, my Lords, where there is neither a physical nor moral advantage gained!

But Haman goes on; he wants all the race of the Jews extirpated from the face of the earth. Horrid resolution! He has them first outlawed, and then he appoints the time of their destruction. Letters are written, and sealed with the king's seal, which the minister prostituted for the purpose of shedding blood. This prime-minister, my Lords, deceived his master by a false representation of the captive Jews. Hear how he tells his story: "There is a certain people scattered abroad, and dispersed among the people in all the provinces of thy kingdom, and their laws are diverse from all people, neither keep they the king's laws; therefore it is not fit for the king's profit to suffer them. If it please thee, let it be written that they may be destroyed." Do you think that this was a fair state of the case? It is true, they were scattered abroad through the provinces; but how could they help that? It was not choice, but necessity, that brought them into that situation. But that they did not keep the king's laws, was mere slander, for which there was no proof but Haman's word. But it was not for the king's profit to suffer them. Certainly it was; for the more subjects a king has, the richer and stronger he is. A king's wealth depends upon the multitude of his subjects, and not the extent of his dominions. Desolate valleys and wild mountains, without inhabitants, will enrich no sovereign. But the true secret was, Haman was offended, and he wanted them destroyed. Ah! cursed ambition, what ruin hast thou brought upon mankind! no degree of inno❤ cence is a defence against thy inveterate influence.

All things were now ready for the destruction of the Jews, except the permission of Heaven: this Haman never thought of. The money was raised to pay the expences of the war, and all things were in the greatest forwardness for the ruin of the whole scattered tribes of Israel; when, lo! on a sudden, matters take another turn. Mark, my Lords, how Providence interposed! how the God of heaven counteracted the schemes

of

of a wicked and proud minister of state! The king could get no sleep, and called for the book of records; an happy circumstance for the devoted Jews, and poor Mordecai, who to all appearance had no long time to live. It was found that Mordecai had saved the king's life. This was a palpable contradiction to Haman's charge. Falsehood and villainy, my Lords, will, some time or other, be detected. The very man that was accused of having principles inimical to the king and his government had detected a conspiracy against the king's life. When courtiers have private ends to serve, and are not under the government of virtue, they will affirm any thing to serve their own purposes, at the expence of every principle of justice and morality. The searching of the records opened a speedy deliverance for Mordecai and the Jews. How happy a circumstance was it that this good deed was recorded! it might for ever have been neglected, had it not been posted in the book of records. But let us take a view of the scene which goes before the opening of this, now hinted. Haman had been at the banquet of wine with the king and queen, and returned elated with pride and ambition, because none of the nobles were called except himself; but in returning he sees Mordecai at the king's gate, who did him no reverence: this threw a damp upon his spirits, and filled him with melancholy. When he had told his wife and family all his glory, and the high favour he was exalted to, he could not help mentioning this mortifying anecdote concerning Mordecai. "Yet all this availeth me nothing, so long as I see Mordecai sitting at the king's gate." May shame and a thousand worse things befal thee, Haman! who in the midst of so much glory could not be happy because a poor Jew was permitted to sit at the king's gate. Had he been invited to the feast, and set at the table above thee, what couldst thou have said more? If he gave thee no homage, he did thee no evil; and it was mean, very mean in thee, to be so discomposed about a trifle. But it was no trifle to Haman. His whole heart was set upon this one object; and all his glory could not ease his melancholy, while this rub was in his way.

" Then

His wife and his friends soon devise an expedient. said Zeresh his wife, and all his friends, unto him, Let a gallows be made fifty cubits high, and to-morrow speak thou to the king, that Mordecai may be hanged thereon; then go thou merrily with the king unto the banquet." Ah! Zeresh, what an hellish advice is this you give your husband! Can he not be great without murder? Can no scheme be devised to satisfy his pride, without shedding of blood? Ah! cursed passion! but to morrow will find other employment for your husband, and open a new and unexpected scene. How wonderfully do the wheels of Providence turn round! and how rapidly! Haman was come into the outer court to speak to the king about banging Mordecai. But, instead of gaining his purpose, he devises the highest preferment

to

« ПредыдущаяПродолжить »