1 Poor Esau repented too late,
That once he his birthright despised;
And sold, for a morsel of meat,
What could not too highly be prized:
How great was his anguish when told
The blessing he sought to obtain,
Was gone with the birthright he sold,
And none could recall it again!
2 He stands as a warning to all,
Wherever the gospel shall come:
O hasten and yield to the call,
While yet for repentance there's room!
Your season will quickly be past,
Then hear, and obey it today;
Lest when you seek mercy at last,
The Savior should frown you away.
3 What is it the world can propose?
A morsel of meat at the best!
For this are you willing to lose
A share in the joys of the blest?
Its pleasures will speedily end,
Its favor and praise are but breath:
And what can its profits befriend
Your soul in the moment of death?
4 If Jesus for these you despise,
And sin to the Savior prefer,
In vain your entreaties and cries,
When summoned to stand at his bar:
How will you his presence abide?
What anguish will torture your heart?
The saints all enthroned by his side,
And you be compelled to depart!
5 Too often, dear Savior, have I
Preferred some poor trifle to thee;
How is it thou dost not deny
The blessing and birthright to me?
No better than Esau I am,
Though pardon and heaven be mine;
To me belongs nothing but shame,
The praise and the glory be thine.
The Christian's duty, exhibited in a series of hymns, 1791
