Let us turn to the Word of God
and that portion that we read in the book of Esther and directing
you this evening to the words that we have here in chapter
4 and verse 16, the end of the chapter. In Esther chapter 4
and verse 16 The words that Esther sends to
Mordecai. Gather together all the Jews
that are present in Shushan and fast ye for me, and neither eat
nor drink three days, night or day. I also and my maidens will
fast likewise. And so will I go in unto the
king, which is not according to the law, and if I perish,
I perish. I want to say something then
with regards to the remarkable faith of this woman, the faith
of Esther, and the power of prayer. That's what we really see here. The faith in God is such and
she desires prayer from Mordecai and the Jews. But she herself
and her maidens will also be diligent in seeking the face
of God, the faith of Esther, and the power of prayer. And to observe this latter aspect,
the power of faithful prayer, in the contrast that we can draw
between the restrictions that were before them there in Persia,
the restrictions of the Persian court on the one hand, and on
the other hand, the openness of the heavenly courts, the openness
of God's throne of grace. First of all then, the restrictions
that were there in the situation that the children of Israel were
in at this moment. They were those, of course, who
were still in exile, having been taken captive by the Babylonians,
and then that Babylonian Empire had been overthrown by the Medes
and Persians. but there were still those Jews
who were lying there in exile. And of course Cyrus, the great
Persian emperor, would issue his decree and they would be
permitted to return to the land of promise. But here they are
having to endure all the rules and regulations, the
laws, the judgments, the statutes of the Persians. And there were
many restrictions in the Persian court, although Esther herself
was at this time the Queen of Asuerus. And I want to mention
three particular restrictions. there was a restriction, it seems,
concerning those who were in a state of mourning. And this was a time of great
mourning for the Jews, as we see in verse 3, in every province
with us. However, the king's commandment
and his decree, the machinations of this wicked man Haman, who
so hated the Jews because Mordecai would not do him reverence, In
every province with us, however the king's commandment and his
decree came, there was great mourning among the Jews, and
fasting, and weeping, and wailing, and many lay in sackcloth and
ashes." It was this man, Haman, who was bent upon their persecution,
even their destruction. Remember what we're told back
in verse 13 of chapter 3 how letters were sent by post into
all the king's provinces to destroy, to kill, and to cause to perish
all Jews, both young and old, little children and women, in
one day, even upon the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which
is the month Adar, and to take the spoil of them for a prey."
This is the cause then of this terrible lamenting. and no one who was in a state
of mourning was ever permitted even to enter into the king's
gates, let alone into the king's palace. And what do we read at
the beginning of the chapter concerning Mordecai? When he perceived all that was
done, he rent his clothes, put on sackcloth with ashes, and
went into the midst of the city and cried with a loud and bitter
cry and came even before the king's gate he comes before the
king's gate but he doesn't enter into the king's gate clothed
with sackcloth because that was something that was not permitted
no one could come anywhere near the king who was sad of countenance
Remember back in the book of Nehemiah, when he was there at
Shushan, and he was cop-bearer to the same king, Ahasuerus,
and he had received notice of the sad state of Jerusalem, and
there he is, doing his duties as the cop-bearer, and he is
sad, and the king inquires of his sadness, and it fills him. with great fear that the king
would speak such words. There in Nehemiah 2, it says in verse 1, I have not
been before sad in his, that is in the king's presence. Wherefore
the king said unto me, Why is I countenance sad, seeing thou
art not sick? This is nothing else but sorrow
of heart. Then I was very sore afraid,
he said. no one could come before this
heathen monarch who was in any sense in a state of grief and
that's very much the case with Mordecai but also it seems that
it was not possible for Mordecai even to approach unto Queen Esther
and in a sense she was as a daughter unto this man Mordecai. She was his uncle's daughter.
What are we told back in chapter 2 and verse 7? Mordecai is the
one who brought up Hadassah, that is Esther, his uncle's daughter,
for she had neither father nor mother, and the maid was fair
and beautiful, who Maudikei, when her father and mother were
dead, took her for his own daughter." She is really his own daughter. She's certainly a blood relation
to him. But she can have no contact with
him. This man, Heitak, one of the
Chamberlains, is the man who must be the go-between and mediate
between her and Mordecai. And so, we see it here at verse
5, how Esther called for Hathak, one of the king's chablins, whom
he had appointed to attend upon her, and gave him a commandment
to Mordecai to know what it was, and why it was, what's going
on she wants to know. And then, subsequently we see
that there's this constant chewing and throwing. Verse 9, Hathak
came and told Esther the words of Mordecai. Verse 10, again,
Esther spoke unto Hathak and gave him commandment unto Mordecai. Verse 12, they told to Mordecai
Esther's words. Then Mordecai commanded to answer
Esther. And again, verse 15, Esther bade
them return Mordecai this answer. And so the words of our text
go, Gather together all the Jews that are present in Shushanth
and fast ye for me, and neither eat nor drink three days, night
or day. I also and my maidens will fast
likewise, and so will I go in unto the king, which is not according
to the law, and if I perish, I perish." And so there's this
third limitation. Not only is a person in a state
of grief, mourning, forbidden to enter even into the king's
gates, Nor is it just a matter of there being no personal contact
between Lord Achaia and Queen Esther, but Esther herself cannot
freely approach the king, though she was his wife. She had no
recourse to the king. And we see that in what's said
here in verse 11. All the king's servants And the
people of the king's provinces do know that whosoever, whether
man or woman, shall come unto the king into the inner court,
who is not called, there is one law of his to put him to death,
except such to whom the king shall hold out the golden scepter,
that he may live. But I have not been called to
come in unto the king's these thirty days, says Esther. She was well aware that she was
not to venture on court though Esther was very much a great
favorite with this king had he not chosen her to be his queen
in chapter 2 and verse 17 we're told the king loved Esther above
all the women and she obtained grace and favor in his sight
more than all the virgins so that he set the royal crown upon
her head and made her queen instead of Ashton. Then the king made
a great feast unto all his princes and his servants, even Esther's
feast, and he made a release to the provinces and gave gifts
according to the state of the king. She was clearly a great
favourite and yet she is unable to approach and that's why she
utters these words at the end of verse 16. So when I go in
unto the king which is not according to the law, and if I perish,
I perish. And there we see something of
the reality of this woman's faith. All the restrictions then that
are surrounding Esther and Mordecai at this time, all the restrictions
imposed upon the people by the King as you hear us. But in contrast
I want to say something with regards to the openness of God's
court, the openness of the throne of grace. Now we must recognize
of course that in the verse there is no mention at all of prayer. Well this is a remarkable book
because in Esther you find no mention even of the very name
of God. And yet, it is recognized to
be a book that is full of the Lord's doings. It's a book that
is a remarkable study in the doctrine of God's sovereign providence. But also here, we are surely
to recognize that these people were a praying people. What does
she say at the beginning of this verse? Now, she is not a superstitious
woman. It's not that she imagines that
there's something virtuous in the act of fasting, as if it's
something that will earn the favor and the blessing of God. But time and again in Scripture
we see that fasting is associated with the most earnest manner
of praying. When Daniel prays his remarkable
prayer there in the ninth chapter, He speaks of fasting. He speaks of prayer and supplication
with fasting. And the Lord Jesus Christ, remember
when he comes down from the Mount of Transfiguration and there's
this man with his child who is possessed of a demon. and he
brought the child to his disciples and they can do nothing. And
what does the Lord say to the disciples? This kind goeth not
out but by prayer and fasting. Prayer associated with fasting
always indicates that earnestness of prayer. Again in Acts 14.23,
the appointment of elders, and we're told how the apostles prayed
with fasting. Fasting means that they forego
even their food in order that they might diligently seek the
face of God. They lay aside any hindrances,
and they are earnest now in seeking God's face. And this is the case
here. What she desires really is that
they should earnestly call upon the name of God and she and her
maidens will do just the same. There will be prayer and supplication
with fastings. And when we think, you see, of
the throne of God, how different to all those restrictions that
were surrounding them. Mourners are most welcome. mourners are most welcome at
the throne of grace. Again, we see it in the case
of Daniel. He speaks there in that 9th chapter,
verse 3, of prayer and supplication with fasting and sackcloth and
ashes. Sackcloth and ashes associated
with mourning, of course. Sackcloth and ashes, and he says
he made his fashion those who come before the Lord God as mourners
are most welcome blessed are they that mourn says Christ for
they shall be comforted all the Lord God will hear the cry of
those who come as spiritual mourners mourning over their sins those
who feel the awful guilt of their sins and not only the guilt of
their sins but the filth of their sins and it grieves them Last
time we were considering the prayer of Jabez and how that
man's desire was that he might be kept from sin, that it might
not grieve him. He mourned over his sins. And
mourners are welcome. Lord John tells us there at the
end of the opening chapter of his first epistle, that general
epistle, If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves
and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is
faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us
from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned,
we make Him a liar and His word is not in us. Or if we feel anything
of the truth of God's word, we will have to recognize what we
are. because God's Word certainly reveals to us our true condition
and we're to come then as those who are true mourners before
God, mourning over our sins. We're to come boldly unto the
throne of grace that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help
in time of need. Those who who need mercy, those
who are mourning over their sins, like that publican of whom the
Lord speaks in the Gospel, who comes and is so ashamed before
God, and he cannot lift up his eyes to heaven, and he smites
upon his breasts, and he cries out, God, be merciful to me,
the sinner, or were to come boldly to the throne of grace that we
may obtain mercy. Mourners then are most welcome.
And secondly, the sinner must draw near. The sinner must draw
near. Matthew Henry makes this striking
remark. He says, Our danger consists
in keeping at too great a distance and not in coming too near. Our great danger consists in
keeping at that distance rather than drawing near. All the law
is that that says hold back. We see it in all the preparations
for the giving of the Ten Commandments there in Exodus 19. Bows were
put around the mount. They must not come near the mount
or touch the mount. If they dare to do that they'll
be struck through by a dart. The law says stand back. But
God's grace in the Gospel says, come. Isn't that a great Gospel
word, come? Sinners must draw near. And here, what do we see? Well,
we read about those who will be accepted of the king to whom
he holds out the golden scepter, verse 11. such to whom the king shall hold
out the golden scepter that he may lay. But, says Esther, I
have not been called to come in unto the king these thirty
days. Or the king holds out the golden
scepter. But doesn't God also, in a sense,
hold out a golden scepter to us? there's the scepter of his
words. We read of the Word of God in
the book of the Revelation, there in the opening verse of Revelation
11, we read of a reed like unto a rod. A reed like unto a rod
with which the tabernacle or the temple is to be measured,
and those who worship in it. And what does that reed like
rod speak of in that book that is full of symbols? It's speaking
of the Word of God. Everything is measured by the
Word of God. But we're not just to think of
the Word of God in Scripture as that scepter. There is also
the Word of God incarnate, the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the
rod. He is the branch even. We read
of him a rod out of the stem of Jesse and the branch out of
his roots. This is how the Lord is said
before us in Scripture. He is that one who was told again
at the end of Revelation is the root and the offspring of David. He is the root of David when
we think of him in terms of his deity. He is before David. He is David's Lord. The Lord
said, Unto my Lord, sit thou at my right hand till I make
thine enemies thy footstool, says David in the 110th Psalm. Oh, he is before David. He is the root of David. But then, with regards to his
human nature, of course, He is the offspring of David. He's the offspring. He's David's
son, with regards to his human nature. And when we think of the person
of the Lord Jesus Christ, the divine nature, the human nature,
here we have one, of course, who as God-man, is able to understand
his people, sympathize with his people. Oh, he is that man whose
name is the branch, that man, a real man, a man to sympathize. We have not a high priest which
cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities, Paul says,
but was tempted in all points, like as we are yet without sin,
therefore let us come boldly. to the throne of grace. Or we
can come boldly. We can come freely. And that
word boldly suggests the idea of us coming with words. We can open our mouths, we can
plead with Him, take with you words, He says. And take away all iniquity. Well,
that's to be our prayer, our plea, when we come to Him there
at the throne of grace. As a man, he is able to sympathize.
That's the wonder of the person, of the Lord Jesus. There's so
much comfort in a right understanding of the truth of His human nature. Again Paul speaks of him who
in the days of his flesh when he had offered up prayer and
supplication with strong crying and tears unto him that was able
to save him from death and was hurt in that he feared. Though
he were a son yet learned the obedience by the things that
he suffered. His human nature then is that
that he is so inviting to the sinner to draw near or the sinner
must and will come in and through that name the man who receives
sinners and eateth with them. And as there is prayer here that's
the point and the purpose of what Esther is commanding of
Mordecai fast ye for me neither eat nor drink three days night
or day I also my maidens will fast likewise and there's an
answer there's an answer in chapter 5 in verse 2 it was so when the
king saw Esther the queen standing in the court that she obtained
favor in his sight and the king held out to Esther the golden
scepter that was in his hand so Esther drew near and touched
the top of the scepter or with to come by him who is that man
of whom Zechariah speaks. The man whose name is the Branch. Mourners are welcome to the throne
of grace. Sinners must draw near to that
throne of grace and they have one there who has ascended into
heaven whoever lives to intercede for those who would come to God
by him. And then finally, with regards
to the openness of the throne of grace, we must remember this,
that we can ask great things of God. Or we can make requests
for great things. John Newton says, how about coming
to a king? Large petitions we did bring
for his grace and power as such. None can ever ask too much. We're to be bold in our prayers.
And doesn't Esther, when she comes before this earthly monarch,
make a remarkable request? She makes a great request of
the king. And we see it later in chapter
8 at verse 3. Esther spake yet again before
the king, and fell down at his feet and besought him with tears
to put away the mischief of Haman the Agagite and his device that
he had devised against the Jews. Then the king held out the golden
scepter toward Esther. So Esther arose and stood before
the king and said, if it please the king, And if I have found
favour in his sight, and the things seem right before the
King, and be pleasing in his eyes, let it be written to reverse
the letters devised by Haman, the son of Amadatha, the Agagite,
which he wrote to destroy the Jews, which are in all the King's
provinces." And that is really a remarkable thing that she is
asking. Because when that letter was
sent out, It was sent in the name of Ahasuerus, and it was
sealed with the king's ring. That's what we are told there
in chapter 3 and verse 12. It was sealed with the king's
ring. And right back at the beginning
of the book, in chapter 1 at verse 19, we have mention of
the laws of the Medes and Persians that cannot be altered. There
was no changing of these laws. Once it had gone forth and was
issued in the name of the king with the king's seal upon it.
And that's a great request then that Esther is making and yet
a request prevails. Or does he not remind us when
we think of the contrast that we've sought to draw between
this Persian monarch and the Persian court? and all the restrictions
and all the limitations and all the wondrous openness of the
throne of grace and the Lord Jesus Christ now ascended to
the Father's right hand ever living to intercede? Or does
it not remind us that nothing shall be impossible with God? Nothing is impossible with God.
He is able to do exceeding, abundantly, above all that we ask or think.
And in the Lord Jesus Christ we can come with all boldness
through Him we have access through the Lord Jesus Christ
we have access and we have boldness and we can come with confidence
by and through that gracious ministry of the Holy Spirit or
that we might be emboldened then in all our praying not only as
we come together in this fashion week by week specifically for
prayer but how we need to be those who would be bold in our
prayers even when we enter into the private place into the closet
as it were shut our door and speak to our father in secret,
and the Father who seeth in secret, He will reward us openly." Just
as His throne is open to sinners, so God is pleased to bestow upon
sinners those things that they ask of Him. How the Lord then
be pleased to help us as we come presently to Him again at the
throne of Christ. But before we pray, let us sing
God's praise in our second hymn the hymn number 675 and the tune St. Matthew 271 come boldly to a
throne of grace ye wretched sinners come and lay your load at Jesus'
feet and plead what he has done 675