given me at my petition, and my people at my request; for we are sold, I and my people, to be destroyed, to be slain, and to perish." When the king heard these words he was greatly astonished, for he did not know, till now, that his beautiful Esther, whom he loved above all other women, belonged to the Jewish nation; and he said to the queen, "Who, where is he that durst presume in his heart to do so?" Then Esther told him that the adversary of herself and her people was that wicked Haman who then sat at meat with him.

E. And what did the king do then?

M. He rose from the table in great haste, and hearing at that moment of the gallows which that cruel man had set up for Mordecai, he desired that Haman might be hanged upon it instead ; " So they hanged Haman on the gallows he had prepared for Mordecai." Thus did Haman reap the fruits of his own iniquity; thus did he fall into the pit which he had so maliciously dug for another! leaving an awful lesson behind him for the instruction of all who read his melancholy story. All that he had done to injure Mordecai had only served to bring himself low, and to raise Mordecai very high, for all his possessions did the king give to Queen Esther, who bestowed them all upon Mordecai.

E. How happy the queen must have been now. M. She was, no doubt, very thankful to God, who had so far blessed her undertaking, but her heart was still sad, for she did not yet know what was to be become of her unhappy people. The king's decree for their destruction had gone forth

into all parts of his kingdom, and she was not sure that he would like to change it. She threw herself, however, once more upon the king's mercy, and besought him to have pity upon her poor unhappy people. The king listened very graciously to her request; and although he could not alter his decree against the Jews, because the law of Persia did not allow him to do so, yet he wrote other letters to all parts of his kingdom, which were despatched with all possible speed, desiring that the Jews in every city might be allowed to gather themselves together, and defend themselves against their enemies.

And now the good Esther was quite happy, and great reason had she to be so, for she felt that God had heard her prayers; that he had given her courage to endanger her own life for the sake of theirs, and that he had given her such influence with the king as she could never have expected. The delightful satisfaction of thinking that she had done right must have been hers, and believe me, my child, there is no happiness to be compared with such a feeling.

Not long after the day arrived which was to have been so fatal to the Jews. But they gathered themselves together and defended themselves, and the governors and rulers, knowing the king's pleasure, helped the Jews, so that the people were afraid of the Jews, and could not stand against them; and many of these heathen people were so astonished at all that had happened, and saw so plainly how powerful the God of the Jews was to help them, that they left their false religion, and began to wor

VOL. III.-T

ship the true God themselves. Thus did Divine Providence bring good out of evil, overruling the hatred of a bad man against his people, not only to their good, but to the great benefit of those nations among whom they dwelt.

How much encouragement does this story, Edward, hold out to those who serve God faithfully! We see how tenderly he watches over his people! in how surprising a manner he sometimes interferes by his providence to help them in their distresses. God is an ever watchful protector: he has himself assured us that he will help the righteous and defend him with his loving-kindness as with a shield.

On the other hand, see the just punishment which awaits the wicked. Often when they least expect, in the very height of their pride and rejoicing, calamity overtakes them. True it is, that the ungodly often prosper in the world and increase in riches; so much so, that even the Psalmist allows that he was troubled for a time, being envious of the foolish, when he saw the prosperity of the wicked: until he went into the house of God; then understood he the end of these men. For he perceived that their greatness was to them but a slippery place, from which they were cast down into destruction; brought into desolation as it were in a moment, and after revelling in wickedness one hour, the next, perhaps, utterly consumed with terrors. This, as you have seen, was exactly the case with Haman; and such lessons should teach us never to be led away, by circumstances or appearances, to do any thing dis

pleasing in the sight of God, who is the great governor of the world. When Haman laid his wicked plans, how unlikely was it that they should be defeated. Yet God brought it to pass most unexpectedly that Mordecai and his people were saved, while he was destroyed; teaching the wicked that no worldly greatness can protect them from the anger of the Almighty, and at the same time encouraging his pious servants to trust in him at all times, even in their greatest difficulties,

SIXTY-NINTH SUNDAY EVENING.

THE CONCLUSION.

M. WE have now, my dear Edward, finished the story of Esther, and must go back again to that of Nehemiah, who was cup-bearer, you may remember, to King Ahasuerus, at the very time, probably, that Esther was sitting with him on the throne as queen of Persia. I told you how Nehemiah obtained leave to go to Jerusalem, through the kindness, most likely, of this good princess, who did not in her high station forget either her God or her country.

E. Did Nehemiah wish very much to go to Jerusalem, mother?

M. He did, my son, for he had heard that his

people were in great distress, and that the wall of Jerusalem was still broken down, and he was very anxious to go and comfort them, and to remove, if possible, this reproach from them, for their enemies triumphed over them now on account of the ruined state of their once glorious city. This good man loved his country greatly, and though rich, and in a high station, and enjoying largely the favour of the king of Persia, when he heard in what a sad state Jerusalem still continued, he could be happy no longer, but sat down and wept, and mourned many days, and fasted, and prayed before the God of heaven, beseeching the Lord to incline the heart of the king of Persia to grant his petition: for he was much afraid that his master would be unwilling to part with him.

After having thus earnestly sought for the blessing of God upon his undertaking, Nehemiah went into the presence of the king, and took up wine to give unto him. Then his royal master observed that Nehemiah looked unhappy, and he said unto him, "Why is thy countenance sad, seeing thou art not sick? This is nothing else but sorrow of heart." Then Nehemiah told the king how much he grieved to think of the miserable condition of his country; and when the king listened kindly to his words, and encouraged him to say what he would wish, he humbly entreated permission to visit Jerusalem, and readily obtained it. Thus, as God had put it into the heart of Cyrus, to decree the building of the temple, and of Ezra, to restore the law to the Jews, and to call them back to their observance of it,