"Well doth Agathon say, 'Of this alone is even God deprived -the power of making that which is past never to have been.'" -ARISTOTLE. "Our remedies oft in ourselves do lie Which we ascribe to Heaven." SHAKESPEARE. "Late repentance is seldom true, but true repentance is never too late."-JAY. "The good he scorned Stalked off reluctant like an ill-used ghost "Could he with reason murmur at his case, BLAIR COWPER. XVI. BARTERING THE BIRTHRIGHT. SALVATION is man's birthright; a birthright that comes to him not on the ground of merit, but solely on the ground of his connection with Christ. His title to the free, full, rich life, which is designated in Scripture "eternal life," is held in the name of Christ; for only through Christ is such a life attainable. If this heavenly birthright, purchased at a cost that can never be computed, be lightly esteemed and madly thrown away-what then? Is the loss irreparable? Can the lost paradise never be regained? Is the forsaken home forever shut upon the exile? Does the cry of agony which pierces the heavens bring no response? Does God stand by unmoved by the tears and prayers of his child, having in his heart no place for pity and pardon? Is repentance ever unavailing? Is it ever too late to mend? Will the Lord ever scorn to accept the remnants of a wasted life? Not so have we learned God. There is one instance where it is thought that repentance came too late; an instance which many consider to be held up as a danger-flag, warning of the possibility of reaching a point where repentance proves of no avail; namely, the instance where it is said concerning Esau, “Ye know that even when he afterward desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no place of repentance, though he sought it diligently with tears." * Esau was a rough, willful child of nature; not lacking in brave and generous qualities, yet dominated by lower desires and impulses. Upon the canvas of the Scriptures he stands out under the description of “a fornicator and profane person." A sensual man, evidently, prepared to sacrifice to present indulgence the sacred prerogatives which were his birthright as the eldest born. To him belonged by right of primogeniture a double portion of the patrimonial inheritance; the position of patriarchal head, priest, and ruler of the family. All this he bartered for the momentary gratification of appetite. "Afterward he desired to inherit the blessing." The recoil of sated desire had come. Conscience was stung with remorse. His dull, sense-bound eyes saw clear for once, and he became convinced of his folly and sin; or perhaps convinced *Heb. xii. 17. 66 more of his folly than of his sin. Loss of his inheritance seems to have given him more grief than loss of manhood. He saw what a fool he had been in allowing himself to be duped by his sleek, artful brother. In selling his precious birthright for a miserable mess of pottage he had made a poor bargain. But what was done in a moment of weakness could not afterwards be undone. The birthright had been given to another, and could not be recalled. 'He found no place for repentance, although he sought it bitterly with tears." His sorrow over his loss was deep and pungent. We read in Genesis that "he cried with an exceeding great and bitter cry, and said, Bless me, even me also, O my father." He had found a place for repentance in himself, but could find no place for repentance in his father. All his tears and entreaties could not induce his father to change his mind, and transfer the blessing to him, the rightful heir. Although unrighteously supplanted by his crafty and perfidious brother, the blessing once given could not be revoked; the dying will and testament could not be broken. The answer which Esau got to his importunate entreaties was one that shut off all hope. "I have blessed him, yea, and he shall be blessed." Our sympathies are with Esau. We instinctively pity him, even when we blame him. He |