The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1894-03-26
Mills MEETINGS.
The Discourse of Wednesday
Afternoon by Mr.. Mills
pN The CONVERSION OF JACOB.
|Rzis Prayer for Blessing Cowardly,
but Honcst-The Result of That
Prayer How the Name "israel I"
Was Obtained.

suggested by the experience OF ADtanaih
hnd the consecration of the last thing he
had TO give TO God. Our subject this al
|ternoon is ia relation TO an experience OF
n grandson of Abraham, an experience
that some have called the conversion OF
pacob.p do not know as / would call
BIT Jacobs conversion, and yet 1t does seem
10 have marked new birth for this man.
BIT certainly was the time when his name
Mas changed and when he ceased TO be
called "Jncob," and thereafter was called
tsIsraci."
have selected as the text some words
from two OF the verses in this 32d chapter
bf Genesis, from the Goth and 18th verses:
FAnd he said, / will not let Thee go except
|Thou bless me. And he blessed him
there.n Jacob was left alone, and am
|inciined TO think that be was left alone
|for a very unworthy reason. He was
|coming back to his native land from q
stay with his uncle. You may
Remember that he left home with very
nnsavory reputation, reputation that
Nas Justly an unsavory one. lie
had deceived his old father, he
bad taken advantage of his brothers
bf bis birthright, and he had fled from his
tather's vengeance TO his uncle's house
There he had been married. He had
kaincd fiocks and herds, and then he heard
The voice of God saying, $50 bacl. TO your
early home and viii deal well with you"
When he came near the place where he
|ised to live, the thought naturally oc-
eurrcd TO him as TO whether he would
meet with kind reception from lis
brother who had been injured by him. SO
he thcught he would devise plan by
which Esau's heart might be softened
within him. He sent u very valuable
present before him when he heard that
Esau was coming out with 400 armed men
10 meet him. He told his servants to take
The present, and when they should meet
Esau and he should say, "What does all
This mean?" to say, s'This Is present sent
Into you by your servant Jacob, and your
keryant Jacob is coming from behind"
And he sent q second and third present
10 Esau. And then after he had sent these
three presents, in order that he might APP
bense Esau, in order that Esau might be
kindly disposed toward him, he took his
Hooks and herds, his servants, his sons,
bis daughters and his wives and sent them
byer little stream, and he himself stayed
bn the other side. / really think his OBJ
|ect in staying behind was so that il Esau
|hould still have vengeance in his heart
Ind should come with maliciousness to lay
|iolent hands on him, he could let him
be himself might run away. And yet 1t is
how God took advantage OF
Jacobs meanness in order to make HIM
|elf known. i know / have been aston
shed at it over anG over again, how God
lakes advantage OF our lnfirmaties IN
brdcr that we may learn the secret OF His
|t~cngth Some OF US would never learn
inviting in any other way. We think we
lrc able TO do il all, but ii is only when
We come to an emergency, to some place
where we have been brought by our own
lcfions or weaknesses, that God
reveals to us his great strength
Ind brings ns into the place OF
blessing and power. And SO 1 think
/ was a good thing that Jacob was left
|cmptible cowardice could not keep him
Iwny from God. And so God comes 70
him and wrestles with him and meets him.
The prayer Of Jacob was not the words
that have chosen for my text viii
bot let Thee go except Thou bless me-"
That Is the original prayer. The original
prayer was a selfsn and cowardly one,
Rnd was not a prayer for blessing at all.
When Jacob heard that Esau was coming
put with 400 armed men to meet him, he
prayed this prayer. said that IL was
belfih prayer. So ii was. 1T was an al
most cowardly prayer, yet it was an
honest prayer; and / think it was because
he prayed for just what he wanted, that
In response God met him TO show him
what he ought TO want. Sometimes we are
praying for things al the close OF the in-
(crview that had not entered into our
thought at the beginning. Jacob needed
TO learn that the thing he neede1 to seek
Was, not protection from Esau, but the
blessing Of God. When Jacob surrendered
himself, when he yielded himself and
realized his dependence upon God and
I.tU
bless me.n then realized that when mans
ways please God, He maketh even his
enemies TO be at peace with Him. And
20 when Jacob snugh the blessing of God.
there came peace between him and Esau,
who had Justly been his enemy. There
are times when God cannot meet US. WHAT
is the hope OF the hypocrite? VIII God
God said He would not meet the children
Of Israel. They had overcome the greater
city Of Jericho, and then they sent a little
army TO take this little city OF Al. But
they were driven back with great slaugh-
ter. Joshua said that it Was the time TO
pray. and be put on sackcloth and ashes
and called for the elders of Israel, and
they pus on sackcloth and fishes and
bowed themselves before the Lord. And
you remember what God said TO Joshua.
He said: "Joshua, get up. What are you
lying on your face for? This is not tho
time to pray, this is the time 70 forsalSe
SIM Israel had sinned, and therefore
she could not stand before her enemy.
And God said, "Ncithcr will be with you
any more, except ye destroy the accursed
from among YOU" Men had taken all
the booty and all the valuable things OF
the citizens OF Jericho, when God had for
hidden them do il, and the blessing of
God could not be with them. ] believe
that 10 IA great deal better co bo honest
with God than to seem pious and be dis
honest. ! wonder how many OF US ever
really pray honest prayers. / think il
would be better for a man 10 ask for
money, IL that was what he wanted, than
10 ask Tor humility and want money. lido
not know that God would give him the
money right away. He might put him
through good deal OF experience, like
He did Jacob. But what God wants us TO
do Is 10 be honest with him. 1 know n
man who was converted while hc was
swearing. lie had not uttered an honest
sentence in 80 years without putting an
oath in. He was SO earnest in his prayer
that God would save him, that right i'm
In the middle OF his prayer out came an
oath. and he rose up O saved man. God
was looking into the heart OF the man,
and lie saw that be wanted to be saved.
remember Mr.. Uodlcy (somc OF you
know him, that glorious apostle OF Jesus