so with those who yield to uncleanness, intemperance, or any base passion? Do they not sacrifice their health, their repu- tation, yea, their very souls, for a momentary indulgence ? Do they not say, in fact, ' Give me the indulgence of my lust ; I must and will have it, whatever be the consequence : if I cannot have it without the loss of my birthright, be it so; let my hope in Christ be destroyed; let my prospects of heaven be for ever darkened; let my soul perish; welcome hell; welcome damnation; only give me the indulgence which my soul longs after.' This sounds harsh in words ; but is it not realized in the lives and actions of the generality ? Yes ; as the wild ass, when seeking her mate, defies all endeavours to catch and detain her, so these persist in spite of all the means that may be used to stop their course ; no persuasions, no promises, no threatenings, no consequences, temporal or eternal, can divert them from their purpose11.]
3. The same want of remorse for having sold their birthright for a thing of nought —
[Never did Esau discover any remorse for what he had done : for though, when the birthright was actually given to Jacob, he " cried with an exceeding bitter cry, Bless me, even me also, O my father1," yet he never hmnbled himself for his iniquity, never prayed to God for mercy, nor endured patiently the consequences of his profaneness : on the contrary, he comforted himself with the thought, that he would murder his brother, as soon as ever his father should be deadk. And is it not thus also with the generality ? They go on, none saying, What have I done ? Instead of con- fessing and bewailing their guilt and folly, they extenuate to the utmost, or perhaps even presume to justify, their impieties. Instead of crying day and night to God for mercy, they never bow their knee before him, or do it only in a cold and formal manner. And, instead of submitting to the rebukes of Pro- vidence, and kissing the rod, they are rather like a wild bull in a net, determining to add sin to sin. Even Judas himself had greater penitence than they. Alas ! alas ! what a resem- blance does almost every one around us bear to this worthless wretch, this monster of profaneness !]
Address,
1. Those who are still despising their birthright —
[Reflect a moment on your folly and your danger. Place yourselves a moment on a death-bed, and say, ' I am at the point to die ; and what profit do my past lasts and pleasures now do me ?' Will ye then justify yourselves as ye now do,
11 Jer. ii. 23, 24. s Gen. xxvii. 34. k Gen. xxvii. 11, 42.