Yet all this availeth me nothing ,.... Is not equal or sufficient for me; it gives me no satisfaction and contentment: so long as I see Mordecai the Jew sitting at the king's gate : not rising up to bow unto him; this single circumstance spoiled all his joy and pleasure. read more
Yet all this availeth me nothing - Pride will ever render its possessor unhappy. He has such a high opinion of his own worth, that he conceives himself defrauded by every one who does not pay him all the respect and homage which he conceives to be his due. The soul was made for God, and nothing but God can fill it and make it happy. Angels could not be happy in glory, when they had cast off their allegiance to their Maker. As soon as his heart had departed from God, Adam would... read more
Prudence versus Guile. I. EVERYTHING HAS ITS SEASON . Why did not Esther at once lay open her heart to the king? Was she confused by his unexpected kindness, or seized with timidity at the moment of peril? Most likely she was prompted by an intuitive feeling that the time was not fit. She might lose everything by precipitancy. It is wise to study occasion or opportunity. Many failures have resulted solely from want of attention to time and place ( Ecclesiastes 3:1 ). II. ... read more
All this availeth me nothing . The bitter drop in his cup deprived Haman's life of all sweetness. He had not learned the wisdom of setting pleasure against pain, joy against sorrow, satisfaction against annoyance. Much less had he taught himself to look upon the vexations and trials of life as blessings in disguise. His was a coarse and undisciplined nature, little better than that of a savage, albeit he was the chief minister of the first monarch in the world. So little proof is worldly... read more
Happiness marred. A little "screw loose" may spoil the working of a vast and powerful engine. A clot of blood upon the brain may suddenly deprive of life a man seemingly healthy and certainly powerful. A seeming trifle may spoil the content and embitter the life of a prince. And so mean a person as Mordecai, by so insignificant an act of disrespect as is here mentioned, may mar the happiness of a great minister of state like Haman, and may make even his prosperity miserable. I. ... read more
The bathos of confession. After all necessary allowances and substitutions have been made, it may be very justly said that Shakespeare's Wolsey is essentially dwarfed by Scripture's Haman, and that not the finest of Shakespeare's five act plays—wonderful products of human genius as they are—but must yield to the ten briefer chapters, with their five chief characters, of our Book of Esther. The book is indeed a consummate epic of the human heart. Its photographs are vivid and accurate, but... read more
Unavailing honour. "Yet all this availeth me nothing, so long," etc. How many look with envy upon Haman as he rides forth. His servants hasten on before him, crying, "Bow the knee, bow the knee." Grateful to him is the reverence he receives. He cares not that it is reverence lacking respect, so long as there is outward obeisance. Such an one is sure to observe the least slight. His temper will not endure to see one erect head among so many bowed backs. I. THE CAUSE OF A PRIME ... read more
Esther 5:13. Yet this availeth me nothing It gives me no content. Such torment did his envy and malice bring upon him. So long as I see Mordecai sitting at the king’s gate Enjoying that honour and privilege without disturbance, and denying me the worship due to me by the king’s command. Thus though proud men have much to their mind, if they have not all, it is nothing. The thousandth part of what Haman had, would give a modest, humble man, as much happiness as he expects to receive from... read more
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Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Esther 5:9-14
This account here given of Haman is a comment upon that of Solomon, Prov. 21:24. Proud and haughty scorner is his name that deals in proud wrath. Never did any man more answer that name than Haman, in whom pride and wrath had so much the ascendant. See him, I. Puffed up with the honour of being invited to Esther's feast. He was joyful and glad of heart at it, Est. 5:9. Observe with what a high gust he speaks of it (Est. 5:12), how he values himself upon it, and how near he thinks it brings him... read more