queen, jealousy suggesting that he had some base design on her, he cried out in a rage, "Will he force the queen "before my face?"

No sooner had the words passed his lips than Haman's face was covered, which was a sure token of death to him, and Harbonah the eunuch, having notice of Haman's design upon Mordecai, told the king that Haman had prepared a gibbet fifty cubits high to hang Mordecai upon; which the king hearing, commanded them to hang Haman upon it. Execution thus done on Haman, the king gave his estate to the queen, which she resigned to Mordecai; to whom the king, in consideration of his former services, and relation to the queen, gave his ring, as he had before done to Haman.

But notwithstanding Haman was removed, the decree against the Jews remained in force, wherefore the queen desired the king to recall it; which he not only granted, but published another edict, giving leave to the Jews to take revenge on their enemies the same day. Pursuant to that order, the Jews slew their enemies and persecutors in Shushan, in which number fell Haman's ten sons, and throughout all the other cities of Assyria. Ever since the Jews have kept a solemn festival in memory of this signal deliverance on the fourteenth and fifteenth of the month Adar, which was called the feast of lots.*

Lots. See Esth. iii. 7. It was called the feast of Purim, from the Persian word Pur, which signifies a lot. It was instituted by Mordecai in remembrance of the delivery of the Jews from Haman. by whom lots were cast day by day, and month by month, for their destruction. It was ordered to be kept two days for this reason: the Jews at Shushan had two days allowed them to revenge themselves of their enemies, but the rest of the Jews, in other places, had but one. This caused at first some difference in their time of feasting. For the Jews, in all other parts of the kingdom, having done execution on their enemies the thirteenth day, kept their festival on the fourteenth. But the Jews at Shushan being engaged both on the thirteenth and fourteenth days in defending themselves, kept the festival for their deliverance on the fifteenth day. But afterwards, when Mordecai had made a record of this great deliverance, he sent letters to all the Jews throughout the dominions of Ahasuerus, to establish it as a standing ordi

In this very remarkable and interesting portion of history, we have a wonderful display of the divine power and goodness, in the protection of his ancient people the Jews, and in baffling the crafty and cruel projects of their enemies. The numerous Jews who resided in the provinces were threatened with immediate destruction. The folly of the king; the obstinacy of the queen; the advancement of Esther; the office of Mordecai; the ambition of Haman; the restlessness of the monarch; were all links in that chain of Providence, by which the Jews were to be preserved from utter ruin. The whole is an encouragement to the church of God, when oppressed and persecuted, to trust in the Lord, who "knows how "to deliver the godly out of temptation," and to effect for his people, in the darkest seasons of danger and distress, exceedingly and abundantly above all that they ask or think. Let us now return to the affairs of Jerusalem.

The building of the city and temple of Jerusalem having been delayed for many years, was at length recommenced in the second year of Darius,* at the insti

nance among them, that they should keep both the fourteenth and fifteenth days of the month Adar (which was the twelfth month with them; and takes in part of the twelfth, and part of the first month with us) yearly, as the days whereon the Jews rested from their enemies. This Mordecai established, and being next in place and power to the king, he wrote to the Jews about it; and queen Esther wrote also with all authority to confirm his letters. The Jews thereupon, in all places, took it as an obligation upon them and their posterity, that they would, without fail, keep these two days, at the appointed time every year; in every family, province, and city, to be a memorial of their deliverance, to them and their posterity forever. In these two days they read the history of Esther in their synagogues; and as often as they hear the name of Haman mentioned, they beat with their fists and hammers upon the benches and boards, as if they were knocking upon Haman's head.

Darius. This must be Darius Nothus, and not Darius Longimanus, whom some will have to be Esther's son; for the prophets Haggai and Zechariah are not mentioned till Darius Nothus's reign, in the second year of which,

gation of the two prophets, Haggai and Zechariah. For being discouraged by the Samaritans, and the prohibition from the court, they concluded that this was not the time* the Lord had decreed for the re-building his house though at the same time they took care to build convenient houses† for themselves. For this the prophet Haggai reproved them, assuring them that their want of success in other affairs was owing to their neglect in not proceeding with the Lord's house. This roused both the governor and people, who being sensible of their negligence, resolve to make amends by their future obedience, resuming their work with great alacrity; and to induce them to perseverance in this good temper, the prophet Haggai was again sent to them, to assure them that the Lord was with them in this undertaking: and that, notwithstanding the former temple far exceeded what this was likely to be, yet if they continued obedient, he would fill this house with greater glory than he had done the former.

the building of both city and temple went forward; and Darius Longimanus reigning thirty-nine or forty years, it is scarcely probable that it began to go forward in in his reign; besides, if Darius Longimanus was the son of Esther, it may give occasion of wonder, that so good a woman, and so zealous a Jew as Mordecai, hav ing such interest as they had with king Ahasuerus, should not have promoted that work.

*Time. See Hag. i. 2.

† Houses. Ibid. ver. 4.

Great. The prophet here means not any external pomp or worldly splendor; for in those the old temple, built by Solomon, far exceeded the new, at the best. But he means by the greater glory, that blessing of peace, Hag. ii. 10, which the world enjoyed at the birth of the Prince of peace, the Saviour of the world, and the actual presence of the king Messiah in this very house; for it cannot be supposed, that God by his prophet would speak so magnificently of any worldly splendor, when in ver. 7, 8, he said, he would "shake the heavens and earth, the sea and land, and that the desire of all nations should come." And undoubtedly by moving the nations, ver. 8, he meant the calling of the Gentiles, which by Isaiah, and other prophets, was always joined with the comi. g of the Messiah: and there fore nothing but this could be that greater glory.

Two months after Haggai had prophesied, and earnestly pressed the Jews to be zealous and diligent in building the temple, the Lord raised up another prophet, Zechariah, the son of Barachiah, to encourage them in their undertaking; in which neither governor, high-priest nor people were wanting, but every one in his station forwarded the building so much, that it was nearly finished, when Tatnai, king Darius's governor, and other enemies to the Jews, having notice of what they were doing, came and demanded by what authority they rebuilt the temple and the wall about it, and demanding the names of the undertakers.

Tatnai and his friends, expected by these inquiries, to have alarmed the Jews, and oblige them to desist from their enterprise, but the elders still persisted in the work, encouraged by the prayers and instructions of the prophets. These adversaries disappointed of their object, and seeing the Jews would not be frightened from their work, acquainted the king with the whole matter, in a letter to this purpose: That going to the province of Judea, to the house of the great God, we found the building in great forwardness. Then asking the elders of the people, who set them to work, and their names, "that we might certify to thee, O king, they returned "us answer; that they were the servants of the God of "heaven and earth; and were rebuilding the house, that "was many years ago built by a great king of Israel; "but that their fathers having provoked the Lord God "of Israel by their accumulated transgressions, he gave "them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, the Chaldean, who destroyed this building, and "carried the inhabitants captive to Babylon. But the great Cyrus made a decree in their favour, empowering them to return and rebuild their city and temple, "restoring to them all the sacred vessels and utensils. Upon this encouragement they laid the foundation of "this house of God, that is in Jerusalem; which is now

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* Letter. See Ezra v. 7.

"almost finished. If the king therefore please, let search "be made among the records, that we may know, whether any such decree was made by Cyrus; and let the king "direct us what to do in this affair."

Search accordingly was made; and in Ecbatane, the decree of Cyrus for rebuilding the temple and city of Jerusalem was found; which when king Darius had read, he gave a strict charge to Tatnai, and his other officers, not to molest or disturb the Jews in their work; and, to make them sensible of his good inclination to the Jews, he ordered Tatnai, and his other governors, to advance money out of the several tributes in their districts for that use, and to furnish them with materials for the same; and if they wanted beasts for sacrifice, or any provisions of corn, salt, wine, or oil, to distribute to them according to the direction of the priests that were at Jerusalem; and all this was ordered to be done, upon the penalty of having their houses pulled down and made a dunghill, and themselves hanged.

These men readily complied with the king's command, furnishing the Jews with all necessaries, and the work went on so prosperously and speedily, that in the sixth year of Darius it was finished. After which, those of the captivity, and those whom they had proselyted from the idolatry of the heathen, celebrated the feast of the dedi

After. Before this, viz. in the fourth year of Darius, the Jews in captivity had sent a message to Jerusalem, to know how they were to behave themselves in relation to their former fasts, now that the temple was rebuilding? (The several fasts they had kept were on certain mournful occasions; as particularly that fast in the fifth month, which was for the destruction of the temple; and that in the seventh month for the murder of Gedaliah their governor, Jer. li. 12, and xli. 1, 2.) To this the Lord returned answer by his prophet Zechariah, ch. vii. v. 5, &c. "That they had not in those fasts observed his will, (rather deploring their calamitous condition, than humbling themselves by repentance) and that it would please him better, to see them execute true judgment, and shew mercy and compassion one towards another, and abstain from oppressing the widow, the fatherless, the stranger and the poor, and from imagining evil one against another.