Ver. 1. Now it came to pass on the third day] That is, on the fifteenth day of the month Nisan, as the Hebrew annals say. Cum adhuc ferverent popularium suorum preces, whiles the prayers of her countrymen (like those of Cornelius, Acts 10:4), were come up for a memorial before God, she takes her opportunity and speeds accordingly. She knew that sweet passage, Psalms 145:18, “The Lord is nigh to all that call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth. He will fulfil the desire of them that fear him: he also will hear their cry, and will save them,” &c. This she could afterwards seal to and say, This poor soul cried, and the Lord heard her, and saved her out of all her troubles, Psalms 34:6. Luther’s widow confessed that she never understood many of David’s Psalms till she was in deep affliction. That Esther put on her royal apparel] She knew that Hanc homines decorant, quam vestimenta decorant, Men glorify her as than they glorify her clothes. People are usually regarded as they are habited, and good clothes conduce much to the setting forth of beauty to the best. Like a right daughter of Sarah, 1 Peter 3:3,5, she knew that the outward adorning, by plaiting the hair, wearing of gold, and putting on of apparel, would not at all commend her to God (in obedience to whom she had wanzed her face with fasting, and trusted that he would put upon her his comeliness), but considering that the king, her husband, looked much at such things, she laid aside her fasting weeds, and put on her best. Induit se regno (so the original runs), she clothed herself in rich and royal array; as Queen Mary of England did on her coronation day: her head was so laden with precious stones, that she could hardly hold it up, saith the story; and all things else were according. Whether Esther came to the king, leaning upon one maid, and having another to hold up her train, as Josephus hath it, is uncertain. It is likely she left her attendants outside, lest she should draw them into danger; and contented herself (when she went in to the king) with those faithful companions, Faith, Hope, and Charity, who brought her off also with safety, according to Proverbs 18:10 14:26. And stood in the inner court of the king’s house] A bold adventure questionless, but the fruit of the prayer of faith; this was it that put spirit and mettle into her. What if she were queen? so had Vashti been, and yet discarded for her disobedience. Besides, how could she tell, either, what the king’s mind towards her was; (he had not seen her of a month, and if Haman knew her to be a Jewess, what would not he suggest against her?) or, what was the mind of God, till he had signified it by the event. It was therefore a heroical courage in Esther, proceeding from her faith, which, when it is driven to work alone without sense, then God thinks it lieth upon his credit to show mercy. Over against the king’s house] Where she might see him, and be seen by him. This she did, Nec temere, nec timide, Neither rashly nor fearfully, which, saith one, is the Christian’s motto. And the king sat upon his royal throne] Royal indeed, as Athenaeus describeth it. But yet short of Solomon’s, 1 Kings 10:18, much more of the Lord Christ’s, supported aud surrounded with an innumerable company of angels. It should be our earnest desire to see this King of glory upon his throne; to see him and enjoy him. Austin wished that he might have seen three things: 1. Romam in flore; 2. Paulum in ore; 3. Christum in corpore. Rome in the flourish, Paul in the pulpit, Christ in the flesh. Venerable Bode cometh after, and correcting this last wish, saith, Imo vero Christum in solio sedentem, Let me see Christ upon his throne royal rather. Isaiah saw him so, Isaiah 6:1, and took far more delight therein than the merry Greeks did or could do at their Olympic games, celebrated at the same time, in 760-759 BC, 1590 years after the flood, in the 14th Jubilee, according to Ussher.
Ver. 2. And it was so] God, the great heart disposer, so ordered it. That when the king saw Esther the queen, &c.] Beautified by God in a special manner, as was Moses, αστειος τω θεω, Acts 7:20, Stephen, Acts 6:15, &c. And some faces we know do appear most orientally fair when they are most instamped with sorrow. That she obtained favour in his sight] Josephus saith, that at first the king frowned upon her, so that she fell into a swoon before him. Rex autem, voluntate arbitror Dei, mentem mutavit, i.e. but the king, as God would have it, changed his mind, and cheered her up. How true this is I know not; but this I know, that the wrath of a king is as the roaring of a lion, which is so terrible, that it astonieth all that hear it, and that omne trahit secum Caesaris ira malum. All drag the evil wrath with Caesar himself. Sir Christopher Hatton, being checked and threatened by Queen Elizabeth, died soon after; neither could the queen, having once cast him down with her word only, raise him up again, though she visited him, and comforted him. Esther here was soon raised and relieved. Deiecit ut relevet, premit ut solaria praestet; Enecat, ut possit vivificare Deus. And the king held out to Esther the golden sceptre] He did not kick her out of his presence, as some Cambyses would have done, neither did he command her to the block, as Henry VIII did his Anne Bullen upon a mere pretence of disloyalty; neither yet did he cashier her, as he had done Vashti for a less offence: but, by holding out his sceptre, shows his gracious respects unto her. This was the Lord’s own work, as was likewise that of old, that Laban should leave Jacob with a kiss, Genesis 31:55 Esau meet him with a kiss, Genesis 33:4, where the word kissed hath a prick over each letter in the original, to show the wonder of God’s work in changing Esau’s heart from his former hatred. [Hebrew Text Note] Let a man’s ways please the Lord, and men shall quickly befriend him. This is compendiosissima hominum gratiam consequendi via, saith Lavater here, the readiest way to win favour with all others. When David was once a man after God’s heart, whatsoever he did pleased the people. So Esther drew near, and touched the top of his sceptre] With her hand, saith the Chaldee; with her mouth, saith the Vulgate translation. This she did, either in token of submission, or for the avoiding of danger; for, as Josephus saith, He that touched the king’s sceptre was out of the reach of evil, Ο απτομενος, ακινδυνος. Wives should submit themselves to their own husbands, as it is fit in the Lord. Submission includeth reverence (in heart, speeches, gestures) and obedience to all their husband’s lawful commands and restraints. This is no more than is meet, saith the apostle, Colossians 3:19.