The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1896-10-02
REV. BARBOUR's sERrON.
Synopsis of the Excellent Sermon
Delivered at the Union Services.

The following is complete synopsis
of the sermon delivered by Rev. John
Barbour, of Birmingham, Alabama, a
former pastor of the Presbyterian
church, at the union services at that
church Sunday evening:
Genesis XVIII :16, II. "And Jacob awaked
out of his sleep, and he said, surely the Lord is
IN this place and knew 1t not And he was
This is none other but the house of God and
this is the gate of heaven"
The preacher said: Over every life
brOods Divine thought. every
mans life,' as Bushnell grandly said,
sis plan of God" l saw them in
Paris few weeks ago making the
Ghabelin tapestries. The workman
stood behind the fabric hung verti-
cally before him. We could see the
dim outline to which he was working,
but we could little suspect the glorious
pattern which came forth when he
shot through the texture the brilliant
threads of blue and gold. How wonder
full that above all and beneath all the
designs of Jacob and Isaac and Re-
bekah the Divine mind was carrying
out His own eternal and worldlike
purposes.
The weary pilgrim lay himself down
in the desert and SObbed himself to
sleep, when out of his very dreams
God carried the glorious prophecies of
life far greater in it's reach and
meaning than he could ever have
hoped. Let US study this incident
little. God gave Jacob here lesson
in the Divine OmnipreSence. He had
not gone out from God though he was
banished from his fathers house. Now
it may be that Jacobs ideas were lit
tie above those of his neighbors. He
may have thought of Jehovah hither-
to as only trivial God, and there
fore may have been surprised to find
his fathers God exercising jurisdic-
tiOnS in those new and strange sur
roundings. l do not know. l know
not how much Jacob and the Hebrews
knew; but how much truer to human
life it is to see here the failure of uni
versal man to discern Gods presence
beyond the metes and bounds of some
enclosure made sacred to us by as
SOciatiOnS-asSo which some
times limit Gods influence over us to
a very few feet of space. Whatever
our theology, l mistake very much if
the major part of US do not worship
more easily in such surroundings
if some of us do not quite forget to
take Gods great presence with US out
into life and into the actualites of
existence. What power would come
into life if we could just live up to
this first truth we teach our children.
How many youth, who associates
his God with his mothers Bible, and
the place where his father knelt at
the family prayers, would be saved
from sin and unbelief if the vision of
Gods everywhereness could come to
him as it did to Jacob?
But God assured Jacob, at Bethel,
of His never dying love for him. And
here is the scandal of this story. A
man fleeing from the righteous indig-
nation of his brother, fugitive from
Justice. God met him and gave him
singular and unqualified assurances of
His love. For one / thank God for
that story. [ am glad that | may put
that into the hands of any boy who
has so disgraced himself that even his
fathers house is shut against him. l
am'glad that may take that to the out
cast and the criminal and show them
that God has not forgotten them. God
in no wise condoned the sin of Jacob.
He in effect said to him: my son, l
cannot turn you back to your fathers
house, you must suffer for your sin,
for whatsoever man Soweth that
shall he reap; but | will be with you
to help you to a higher life. See! the
heaven is open, and you have only TO
be faithful and true to mount to the
privileges of the angel world" 1t is
the old Testament version of the
Prodigal.
The speaker here entered upon
discussion of the method of Gods ap-
pearing to Jacob. He said that so far
from being an idle or belittling story,
it was most exquisite and cOngruous
to the needs of Jacob. He was a
child in knowledge. God showed him
this picture of the upper world.
For his loneliness he gave him the
company of angels. Mr.. Stanley mar
rates how in reading from the book
of Revelation at the court of King
Mtesa, -thise children of the forest
listened with an infinite wonder TO
the description of the angel world
For one, said the preacher, l glory
in gospel which can meet and deal
with man as he is, and where he is.
From this narration | make bold to
believe that God can meet and accept
duy upOh UhO luSO VI ubS Sdi oh3
| care not what his error, or how
foolish his superstition, if He discerns
there the sincere effort of soul
reaching up toward the light. The
poor African worshiping his fetch
who shall say that the God who made
him can not find his way to that mans
heart, and understand it, and give
him what he needs?
The speaker turned then to Jacobs
response to the vision, showing how
he consecrated the spot to God, and
Then his property and his life. In
conclusion he said: ''My friends, the
suggestions of this incident are
obvious. How blessed if entering
these beautiful courts you shall be
able TO eXclaim, This is the very
house of God. This is the gate of
Heaven"
Irejoice with you exceedingly to-
day over this contamination OF our
hopes. My father used to say to me
when we were tOiling away at IL:
SIT is great thing TO build
a church." May it indeed be
a uraat investments for Won all and