Musar zu Jeschijahu 58:8

If the wise one should search out all the good things of this world, he will discern that every favor which has been apportioned to him will not accompany him at his death. Neither will his glory follow him. But he will leave everything and go barren and empty, except for one good thing which has been apportioned to him, and that is the service of God— this alone will go before him, as it is said (Isaiah 58:8), “And thy righteousness shall go before thee.” Therefore, King David, of blessed memory, said (1 Chronicles 28:9), “If thou seek Him, He will be found of thee.” And as it is said (Hosea 10:12), “For it is time to seek the Lord.” As the prophet, of blessed memory, said (Isaiah 55:6), “Seek ye the Lord⁵⁸See Pesikta de Rav Kahana edited by B. Mandelbaum (New York: Jewish Theological Seminary, 1962) Vol. 2, p. 471. while He may be found, call ye upon Him while He is near.”

It is written, “And your charity shall go before you; the honor of Hashem will gather you in” (Yeshayahu 55:8). And it is taught in Berachos (58a): One who sees a large gathering of Jews should recite, “Blessed is the One who is wise in secret knowledge,” for their minds are diverse. In the same vein, I will tell you that people have different mindsets regarding the giving of charity and the doing of lovingkindness:

It is even possible to understand the word מלאכים as the very merits which Jacob had accumulated. He "sent" these ahead of him to impress any would-be accuser in the Heavenly Regions. We have a tradition that every good deed in this world creates an angel, whereas every sin creates a destructive force. This idea is expressed in Isaiah 58,8: והלך לפניך צדקך, "Your righteousness will walk ahead of you." The word "in front of him" in 32, 4, may well allude to this, seeing that the word is apparently redundant. It would have been enough for the Torah to write: "Jacob sent messengers to Esau."