Democratic messenger. [volume] (Snow Hill, Md.) 1869-1973, 1902-07-12
THE WAGONS ARE COMING
Sunday Discourse by DR.. Chapman, ths
Noted Pastor.Evangelist.
The Story Of Jacob-A Lesson for the Peo
pie Of To.Day-h We Give Ourselves
to God Uustlnted Blessing viii Be Ours

preached from the text, And when he
saw the wagons which Joseph had sent to
larry him, the spirit of Jacob their father
revived" Genesis IS: q.
There is fascination about the land OF
Egypt which cannot be described IN words.
There are some particular features OF TINS
ancient land which impress you. FIRST OF all
there is a peculiar haze over the country
which is unlike anything to De seen IN any
other part OF the world The sunsets are
:ndescribable, but the most striking thing
about Egypt is the ruins; on every side oil
you are these ruins telling of the splendors
Of past days. You pass up and down ave-
nues that are lined with sphinx and with
obel'sk. the exquisite carvings OF which re-
veal the fact that there were. giants n
the days when these works OF art were
made. In the olden times the worlds
pomp and wealth seemed to have been
poured at the very feet OF this capita OF
Egypt and here in all the days OF its splen-
dor and power stood Joseph. next to Pha-
raoh in power. There are some places WIS.,
tied by the traveller to-day which speak di.
rectly of Joseph and his times. as. for ex-
ample. the ancient obclisk at Helioapo,is,
where Joseph got his bride. and the most
ancient sphinx standing near the pyramids
beyond Cairo looking out to-day over the
waste OF the desert as it has been doing
for centuries. and if its lips could move it
might say truly Before Abraham was !
am The story OF the early life OF
Joseph need not be told. for we are per-
fectly familiar with it. We listened TO
the recounting of it in our childhood's
iays, and it was one of the fascinating sto-
ries told us by our Christian mothers. The
account of his coat of many colors, the
bowling sheaves in the harvest field, the
anger of his brother. and the grief OF his
old father are facts too well known to
need telling here, except that It Is well tor
us to know that he is. TO say the least. an
CO..
or as some one has said, Our Joseph" for
the names of Joseph and Jesus are practi-
cal,y the same Joseph was loved by his
father. hated by his brethren, and was ex-
allied to the place OF power in the then
known greatest kingdom in the world, Our
Saviour was the beloved Son of His Faith
er, was hated bv those whom He came to
save, sold for thirty pieces OF silver, cast
into the pit, is to become the Saviour of
His brethren and is exalted to-day at the
right hand of the Father in majesty and IN
power. All this is striking, to say the least,
and makes the text to be of added interest.
l.
The story of Jacob. We cannot appre-
ciate this text without we have the story of
this remarkable Old Testament character.
He was typical jew, if we understand
him as we may understand Israel; people
found in every country and belonging TO
none. Some one has said that Abraham
was hero, bu: Jacob plain man dwelling
in tents. Abraham Is above US. but Jacob
is one of ourselves. and the difference be-
tween Abraham and Jacob in the Old Tes-
lament is the difference between Paul and
Peter in the New Testament the one tow
ering above US like some mighty mountain
peak, and the other our brother and COM
panion in temptation and failure. There
are several points in the history of Jacob
which we would do well TO have in mind.
First, Bethel 1t was bleak, barren
place in the heart of Palestine, the traveller
sees on every side of him great rocks and
nothing but rocks. and long years ago
when Jacob was fleeing away from his
brother Esau the swift Eastern night comes
down upon him, and there was nothing for
him to do but to lie down, make a pillow
of stones for his head and try to sleep.
(al The Ladder. Did this not teach in
the days of Jacob what we have learned
since the time of Christ that earth is not
the binding star. but is bound to heaven
not simply by ladder in a mans dream,
but by Him of whom the ladder is an illus.
tration, and who said. mo man eometh
unto the Father but by Me-"
tbl The Angels. When we see them as
cending it is an illustration OF our PRAYERS
rising to God. and when we behold them
descending it is an Illustration of the an
swers coming down. II is certainly com
fort for US all to know that we are as truly
united to God as in the night OF jacobs
dream he felt himself 10 be.
(c) The Voice OF God. He said to the
sleeping man. Il will be with thee, ! will
keep thee, | will not leave thee" and this
dream was an inspiration for many long
dreary day
Second. Jabbok Jacob Is on his way
back home when suddenly he hears that
Esau is ahead OF him and he is afraid. He
then his children and finally his beloved
Rachel. and he himself is left alone.
Around him the stiffness of the midnight
hour, beside him the murmur of the brook
over the stones above him the depths OF
heaven. and while he was left alone the
thought of his past failure comes TO him
and he is depressed, when suddenly he
finds himself in the grasp OF the angel and
he struggles to free himself Let it be
noted that he is not wrestling with the an
gel. but the angel with him, and is this
not God seeking to take from Jacobs life
that which has hindered the development
OF Gods life in him. There are three
things to be remembered here.
ta) The change of his name. His name
was Jacob, which means "a supplanter and
cheat" and the angel gave him the name
OF Israel. which means "a prince" because
he had prevailed.
Obi Power with God and with men. hut
let it be remembered that it is power with
God first. So many OF us are seeking for
power to move men; if we could but learn
that we can move men by the way OF the
throne OF God it would be lesson of un-
spealabe value.
(cl The vision of God Ever afterward
as Jacob remembered .Iabbok he said. Il
have seen God face to face" and this was
the secret in part Of the transformation of
his character
Third. Bethel. II will be noticed that
Jacob is at Bethel again. He has had n
dreary experience of failure ard in the
35th chapter Of Genesis God tells him TO
go back to Bethel. In itself Bethel is not
much, IT Is just a long range of barren
hills, but to Jacob it was a memorable
spot for there he had seen God 1t is an
easy thing to understand how he might
have been homesicll for Bethel ',r we
long to see the old home so filled nth sa4
cred memories and the old land where we
were born. the old church wfe-e first we
came to Christ. and so God 81 ID to Jacob,
Put away your idols" and he buried
them near to the oak and hurried on to
Bethel. is this not lesson for some of us
in these days, we have spiritually declined.
to have lost the peace that once we had,
the power that used to be ours. let us go
back to Bethel and pray as we used to
pray. read the Bible as we used to read it,
spend the Lords day as we used to spend
1t, give ourselves to God again. doubt
not but that blessing will be ours withou.
measure. There are some other events
which we ought to keep in mind in the life
of Jacob to appreciate the text One was
the death of Rachel as he came near III
Bethlehem. | have seen the tomb in which
it is said her hndv Xras nIaced and this -