And what was it that Esther came to entreat, when the golden sceptre of Ahasuerus was stretched out towards her? In the first place, the presence of the king at her banquet, and, beyond this, the preservation from destruction of herself and her people. Much the same as hers is the petition of Christ's Church to her heavenly King, only with the loftier blessings implored their order is reversed. The Church prays first for salvation, deliverance from death eternal, and then for the presence of her Lord—not for an hour or a day—but even for ever and ever. If Esther, an orphan exile, born to bondage and sorrow, was able in royal garments to approach her lord, and invite him to a sumptuous banquet which she had prepared in a palace, the robes which she wore, the feast which she spread, were all the gifts of his love. She could but offer him of his own. How strikingly does this exemplify the position of the Church in regard to her Lord! By free grace He holds out to her the sceptre of pardoning mercy; by free grace He clothes her with the royal garments of righteousness; by free grace He enables her to welcome Him and minister unto Him. He is more ready to hear than she to pray, more ready to grant than she to implore. He has loved and will love her for ever, will save her from all her enemies, and crown her with joy everlasting. Such are some of the comforting thoughts suggested to us by the golden sceptre, thoughts of mercy, grace, and love. It is a "sceptre," the emblem of power and dominion; a "golden" sceptre, reminding us of the word spoken of Christ our King, "Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of Thy kingdom." It is a token of free salvation; they to whom it is extended shall live in the presence of God, shall stand accepted before Him; and it is a sceptre held out to every one who, in lowly faith, approaches Him who loved and gave Himself for us. [Illustration] [Illustration] XXXIV. A Vessel of the Temple. BITTER must have been the shame and grief of the Jews when Nebuchadnezzar, King of Assyria, plundered the glorious building which they had raised, the Temple which, eleven years later, was itself given to the flames. Well was it for the good King Hezekiah that he lived not to see that day when his precious things, his silver and his gold, with the consecrated gold of the Temple, were carried away to Babylon, according to the word of the Lord spoken by the Prophet Isaiah. Great was the quantity of sacred vessels taken from Jerusalem, even if Ezra's list of those restored comprises them all. Thirty chargers and twenty basins of gold; a thousand chargers of silver. "All the vessels of gold and of silver were five thousand and four hundred." It was a humbling day to the captives from Jerusalem when the treasures of the sanctuary, the pride of their fathers, were placed as trophies in the idol temple of the Gentiles.