Homilist Esther 5:13 Yet all this avails me nothing, so long as I see Mordecai the Jew sitting at the king's gate. This confession is calculated to impress two things upon us. I. THAT MATERIAL THINGS CANNOT MAKE US HAPPY. II. THAT HUMAN HAPPINESS IS ALL TOO EASILY DESTROYED. The work of destruction is, in general, easy. What is a flower worth after you roughly plant your foot upon it? What damage is done to a fair picture by throwing a bottle of ink against it! A servant can by mistake burn in a few minutes a MS. on which years of study were expended by her master. A succession of strokes with a hammer soon disfigure the most skilful and costly piece of furniture that ever was made; and it cannot have escaped the notice of any thoughtful man that human happiness is a flower of amazing delicacy. It takes but little to lay it low. A headache or the scratch of a pin unfits us for enjoying ourselves. An unkind remark renders us miserable for days. A disappointment does the same; and so with scores of other things. Mordecai's want of respect was in itself a small matter; but it sadly interfered with Haman's enjoyment. It had the effect of neutralising, and more than neutralising, all the felicities of his office and condition. He may be compared to the owner of s mansion sitting at a blind window seeing nothing, and all the while there are windows in every room from which excellent views of the surrounding scenery can be obtained if he would only place himself at them and look through them. Haman made the mistake — 1. Of thinking too much about Mordecai's refusal to pay him the honour to which he considered he was entitled. 2. Of setting too high a value on the respect of Mordecai. (Homilist.) Parallel Verses KJV: Yet all this availeth me nothing, so long as I see Mordecai the Jew sitting at the king's gate.WEB: Yet all this avails me nothing, so long as I see Mordecai the Jew sitting at the king's gate." |
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