Sermons & Devotionals by Edward Payson

"Him that cometh unto me, I will in no wise cast out" John 6:37 need not tell you, my friends, that these are the words of Christ for who but he would or could utter such words? Who but the compassionate Friend of sinners, the Shepherd, who came to seek and to save that which was lost, would say thi... Read More

"Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift" 2 Corinthians 9:15 there is nothing which would more powerfully tend to convince us how little we resemble the primitive Christians, than a comparison of our views and feelings respecting the gospel of Christ, with those which they express in their writi... Read More

"The Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost" Luke 19:10 cannot, my friends, be a more striking and satisfactory proof of our stupid insensibility to religious truth, than the indifference with which we naturally view the gospel of Christ. Among all the wonderful things which God ... Read More

"And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up, and a cloud received him out of their sight. And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven, as he went up, behold two men stood by them in white apparel, which also said: Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven... Read More

"Rejoicing in the habitable parts of the earth, and my delights were with the sons of men" Proverbs 8:31 chapter contains an authoritative and affectionate address to mankind, uttered by a speaker who is called Wisdom. It is evident from the language of this speaker, and from the description which h... Read More

"Christ loved the church and gave himself for it, that he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word; that he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish" Ephesians 5:25-27 his ... Read More

"I came forth from the Father, and am come into the world: Again, I leave the world, and go to the Father." John 16:28. words, uttered by our Saviour during his residence on earth, appear to have given his disciples greater satisfaction than these. He had just before said to them, A little while, an... Read More

"Now of the things which we have spoken this is the sum; We have such au High Priest who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens; a minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man. For every high priest is ordained to offer gift... Read More

"Go your way, tell his disciples, and Peter, that he goeth before you into Galilee; there shall ye see him, as he said unto you" Mark 16:7 words were spoken by an extraordinary messenger, in a most interesting place, on a memorable occasion. They were spoken by an angel, in the sepulchre of Christ, ... Read More

"When a strong man armed keepeth his palace, his goods are in peace. But when a stronger than he shall come upon him, he taketh from him all his armor wherein he trusted, and divideth his spoils" Luke 11: 21, 22 this purpose, says St. John, was the Son of God manifested, that he might destroy the wo... Read More

"Then said the Jews, Behold how he loved him!" John 11:36 exclamation was uttered at the tomb of Lazarus. It was occasioned by the tears which our Savior there shed. The unbelieving Jews, who, in consequence of the pointed manner in which he warned, reproved and threatened them, seem to have regarde... Read More

"One generation shall praise thy works to another, and shall declare thy mighty acts." Psalm 145:4 bringing into existence angels and men, —the only orders of intelligent creatures with which we are acquainted, —the all-wise Creator saw fit to adopt two very different methods of proceeding. The ange... Read More

"For they are equal unto the angels" Luke 20:36 , says an apostle, hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things, which God hath prepared for them that love him. With this assertion the language of many other inspired passages well corresponds. They inform us, ... Read More

Try for a moment, to conceive of a Being without a beginning; a Being who does not become older as ages roll away. Fly back, in imagination, millions of millions of millions of years, till reason is confounded, and fancy wearied in the flight. God then existed, and, what may at first appear paradoxi... Read More

"Truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ." 1 John 1:3 , my friends, as is the difference, between the church militant on earth, and that of the Church triumphant in heaven, the employments and enjoyments of their respective members nearly resemble each other, differing... Read More

"It is naught, it is naught, saith the buyer; but when he is gone his way, then he boasteth" Proverbs 20:14 is impossible to peruse the scriptures attentively, without finding in almost every page, the most convincing proofs, that since the fall human nature has ever been the same; that the men of f... Read More

How much this title implies, no tongue, human or angelic, can ever express; no mind conceive. It is a volume of an infinite number of leaves, and every leaf full of meaning. It will be read by saints and angels, through the ages of eternity, but they will never reach the last leaf, nor fully compreh... Read More

"And behold the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the Lord was not in the earthquake: and after the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was not in the fire... Read More

"They sang his praise; they soon forgot his works." Psalm 106:12,13. was said of that generation of the Israelites, which came out of Egypt. The chapter which contains the portion of their history here alluded to, begins with rapturous expressions of gratitude, and ends with the murmurs of disconten... Read More

"If thy presence go not with me, carry us not up hence. For wherein shall it be known here, that I and thy people have found grace in thy sight? Is it not in that thou goest with us? So shall we be separated, I and thy people, from all the people that are upon the face of the earth" Exodus 33:15, 16... Read More