An exposition with practical observations continued upon the eighth, ninth and tenth chapters of…An exposition with practicall observations continued upon the eighth, ninth and tenth chapters of…

As if he had said, Shall I keep my birth-right, and lose my life? My life is more precious. Thus he spake, and he spake profanely in it; yet there is some truth in what he spake; for if we take birth-right precisely in the notion of a civil privilege; so life is better then a birth-right; but he is called profane Esau, because there was a spiritual privilege in his birth-right, which he ought to have valued above his life. Any spiritual good thing is better then natural life, but life is the best of natural, and better then all civil good things. When the Prophet would express how great a blessing a King was to his people, he called him, The breath of their nostrils, Lam. 4.29. and, live for ever, was the highest apprecation given the Babylonian Kings. The most noble imitations of art are about this piece of nature; It is the ambition of a painter to draw to the life, or to shadow the motions and actings of life. When we would commend a picture, we say, It is done to the life; How precious a favour is real life, the very shadow of which is of so great a price? He that layeth down his life, payeth the greatest debt, whether to justice or to nature. Christ went to the highest price for, and showed the greatest favour to sinners, when he parted with, and pawned this jewel for them, his precious life.

As if he had said, Shall I keep my birth-right, and lose my life? My life is more precious. Thus he spake, and he spake profanely in it; yet there is some truth in what he spake; for if we take birth-right precisely in the notion of a civil priviledge; so life is better then a birth-right; but he is called profane Esau, because there was a spirituall priviledge in his birth-right, which he ought to have valued above his life. Any spirituall good thing is better then naturall life, but life is the best of naturall, and better then all civil good things. When the Prophet would expresse how great a blessing a King was to his people, he called him, The breath of their nostrils, Lam. 4.29. and, live for ever, was the highest apprecation given the Babylonian Kings. The most noble imitations of art are about this piece of nature; It is the ambition of a painter to draw to the life, or to shadow the motions and actings of life. When we would commend a picture, we say, It is done to the life; How precious a favour is reall life, the very shadow of which is of so great a price? He that laieth down his life, paieth the greatest debt, whether to justice or to nature. Christ went to the highest price for, and shewed the greatest favour to sinners, when he parted with, and pawned this jewell for them, his precious life.