St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1898-07-09
HANGING OF HAMAN.

, Dr.. Talmage Draws Lessons from
, the Story Of Hannah.
Sin Desires the Homage OF Righteousness
The Punishment Of Pride-wrongs
Prepared for Others Return
Upon Ourselves.
In the following sermon Rev. T. De-
Witt Talmage portrays the doom of
arrogance and the reward of fidelity.
The text is:
So they hanged Haman on the gallows that
| he had prepared for Moriecai-E>ther vii, 10
I'll ere is an oriental courtier, about
the most offensive man in Hebrew his
tory, Haman by name. lie plotted for
the destruction of the Israelitish ma
ton, and wonder not that in some OF
the Hebrew synagogues to this day
when Humans name is mentioned the
congregation clench their fists and
stamp their feet and cry: Let his
name be blotted out" Haman was
prime minister in the magnificent court
of Persia. Thoroughly appreciative of
the honor conferred, he expects every
body that he passes to be obsequious.
Coming in one day at the gate of the
palace, the servants drop their heads in
| honor of his Office; but q Hebrew,
named Mordecai. gazes upon the pass
ing dignitary without bending his
head or taking off his hat. He was q
negligent of the ordinary courtesies of
life. but he felt no respect for Haman
or the nation from which he had come.
So he could not be hypocritical; and
while others made oriental salaam.
getting clear down before this prime
minister when he passed, Mordecai, the
Hebrew, relaxed not a muscle of his
neck. and kept his chin clear up. Be
cause OF that affront Hannah gets q de-
cree from Ahasuerus. the dastardly
king, for the massacre of all the Israel
ties, and that, of course, will include
Mordecai.
To make a long story short, through
Queen Esther this whole plot was re-
vealed to her husband, Ahasuerus.
One night Ahasuerus, who was affi icted
with insomnia, in his sleepless hours
calls for his secretary to read him
few passages of Persian history, and
SO while away the night In the book
read that night to the king an account
was gwen of a conspiracy, from which
Mordecai, the Hebrew. had saved the
kings life, and for which kindness
Mordecai had never received any re-
ward. Haman, who had been fixing
up a nice gallows to hang Mordecai on,
was walking outside the door of the
kings sleeping apartment, and was
called in. The king told him that he
had just had read to him the account of
some one who had saved his (the kings
life, and he asked what reward ought
to DE given to such a one. Self-con-
ceited Hannah, supposing that he him
self was to get the honor, and not i'm
agining for a moment that the de-
liverer of the kings life was Mordecai.
says: why, your majesty ought to
make a triumph for him, and put a
crown on him, and set him on a
splendid horse, housekeeping and full
blooded, and then have one of your
streets,t wing: Bow the knee; here
comes a man who has saved the kings
life!" Then said Ahasuerus in severe
tones to Hannah: II know all about
your scoundrelism. Now you go out
and make triumph for Mordecai, the
Hebrew, whom you hate Put the
best saddle on the finest horse, and
you, the prince, hold the stirrup while
Mordecai gets on, and then lead his
horse through the Streets
What spectacle. A comedy aud
tragedy at one and the same time.
There they go! Mordecai, who had
been despised, now starred and
rohed, in the stirrups. Hannah, the
chancellor, afoot, holding the prancing,
rearing, champing stallion. Mordscai
bends his neck at last, but it is to look
down at the degraded prime minister
walking beneath him. Huzza for Mer-
decai! Alas for Hannah. But wkaK
pity to have the gallows, recently built.
entirely wasted! 1t is 50 cubits high,
and built with care. And Hannah had
erected it for Mordecai, by whose STIR
rups he now walks as groom. Stranger |
and more startling than any romance,
there go up the steps of the scaffold- |
ing, side by side, the hangman and |
Hannah. the ex-chancellor. $50 they |
hanged Haman on the gallows he had |
prepared for Mordecai."
Although 20 many years have passed
since cowardly@ ~Ahasuerus reigned, |
and the beautiful Esther answered to |
l., nj
from the life and death of Haman we
may draw living lessons If WARNING.
ll,fc Instruction. And, first, we come
to the practical suggestion that, when
the heart is wrong, things very insig-
nificant will destroy our comfort. Who
would have thought that great prime
admired and applauded by
millions of Persians, would have been
SO nettled and harrassed by anything
trivial? What more could the great
dignitary have wanted than his chari-
ots and attendants, and palaces and
banquets? IT afflucnce of circum-
can make man contented and
happy, surely Hannah should have
been contented and happy. No; Nor
decai's refusal of q bow takes the gilt
ter from tbs gold, and the richness
from the purple, and the speed from
the chariots. With q heart pulled with
every imitation of vanity aud revenge,
it was impossible for him to be happy.
The silence of Mordecai at the gate
was louder than the braying of the
trumpets in the palace. Thus shall it
always be if the heart is not right.
the most trivial will
disturb the spi:it-
1t is not the great calamities Of life
that create the most worriment. l have
seen men, felled by repeated blows of
arising from the dust,
never Responding. But the most Of the
aisquiet which men suffer from is from
causes; as lion attacked
by some beast of pray turns easily
around Stays him. yet runs roaring
the forests at the alighting on his
brawny neck of few insects. You
meet some great loss in business with