John Trapp on Esther 3:1

CHAP. III. Verſe 3. After theſe things did King Ahaſhuerus promote Haman.]

FOure yeares after his marriage with Eſther, (or near upon) did Ahaſhuerus magnifie and exalt Haman, Hominem profanum & ſceleratum, as one ſaith, a profane wicked perſon: meerly for his minde ſake, Alexander the Great made Abdolominus a poor Gardiner King of Siden. to ſhew his Soveraignity, and that he would, like ſome petty god upon earth, ſet up whom he would, and whom he would, put down, Dan. 4.19. Whether it were alſo by flattery or ſycophancy, or ſome new projects for eſtabliſhing his tyranny, and increaſing his tributes, that Haman had inſinuated himſelf into this Kings favour, it is uncertain. Sure it is, that Mordecai, a better man, lay yet unlook't upon; like good corne he lay in the bottome of the heap, when this vileſt of men was exalted, Pſal. 12.8. Thus oft empty veſſels ſwim aloft, rotten poſts are gilt with adulterate gold, the worſt weeds ſpring up braveſt; and when the twins ſtrive in Rebecca's womb, profane Eſau comes forth firſt, and hath the primogeniture, Gen. 25.25. But whiles they ſeek the greateſt dignities, they moſtly meet with the greateſt ſhame, like Apes, while they be climing, they the more ſhew their deformities. They are lifted up alſo, ut lapſu graviore ruant that they may come down again with the greater poiſe. It was therefore well and wiſely ſpoken by Alvarez de Luna, when he told them who admired his fortune and favour with the King of Caſtile. You do wrong to commend the building before it be finiſhed, and until you ſee how it will ſtand.

The ſonne of Amedatha the Agagite] i.e. The Amalekite, of the Stock-royal: ſo that Haman was the natural enemy of the Jewes, like as Annibal was of the Romanes. An old grudge there was, an inveterate hatred: Amalek was Eſau's grand-childe, and the enmity betwixt theſe two peoples was, as we ſay of runnet, the older the ſtronger.

And advanced him] Set him aloft upon the pinacle of higheſt preferment, as Tiberius did Sejanus, as Lewis the eleventh of France did his Barber, as our Henry the eighth did Wolſey; and our late Kings, Buckingham. But Princes Favourites ſhould conſider with themſelves, that honour is but a blaſt, a magnum nihil, a glorious fancie, a rattle to ſtill mens ambition, and that as the Paſſenger looketh no longer upon the dial, then the Sun ſhineth upon it: So it is here.

And ſet his ſeat above all the Princes] This cup of honour his weak head could not beare: this blaſt ſo blew up the bubble, that it burſt again. Sejanus-like, he now began to ſacrifice to himſelfe, little thinking of that utter ruine to the which he was ha[illegible: 1 letter]ting. Phyſicians uſe to ſay, that ultimus ſanitatis gradus eſt morbo vicinus. Sure it is, that when the wicked are near unto miſery, they have greateſt preferment and proſperity. When Tiberius was deſirous to rid his hands of Sejanus, he made him his Colleague in the Conſulſhip, and ſet him above all his Courtiers. Ahaſhuerus intended not any hurt to Haman, when he raiſed him to this pitch of preferment; but it puffed him up, and proved his bane. None are in ſo great danger, as thoſe that walk upon pinacles: even height it ſelfe makes mens braines to ſwim. Every man is not a Joſeph, or a Daniel. They were ſet above all the Princes, and could not only beare it, but emprove it for the glory of God, and the good of his people. Sed ô quàm hoc non eſt omnium! High ſeats are not only uneaſie, but dangerous, and how few are there that do not (as Iſ[illegible: 1 letter]s her aſſe) think themſelves worſhipful for the burthen they bear?Hones onus.