Sermons & Devotionals by Edward Payson

"Lo, this only have I found, that God hath made man upright; but they have sought out many inventions" Ecclesiastes 7:29 I need not inform those of you who are acquainted with the contents of scripture, that in this book Solomon has recorded the result of numerous trials and experiments which he had... Read More

"Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift" 2 Corinthians 9:15 Perhaps 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 the... Read More

"Having yet therefore one Son, his well-beloved, he sent him also, last, unto them, saying, They will reverence my Son" Mark 12:6 These words compose part of the following parable, addressed by our Saviour to the Jews: A certain man planted a vineyard, and set a hedge about it, and digged a wine-vat... Read More

"He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied" Isaiah 53:11 Could any of us have seen what angels saw, when the Son of God left the bosom of his Father, and exchanged a throne in heaven for a manger on earth; could we have seen him divesting himself of his glory, laying aside the ... Read More

"The Lord give mercy unto the house of Onesiphorus; for he oft refreshed me, and was not ashamed of my chain. But when he was in Rome, he sought me out very diligently, and found me. The Lord grant unto him, that he may find mercy of the Lord in that day" 2 Timothy 1:16,17,18 The enemies of Christia... Read More

"Then had the churches rest throughout all Judea, and Galilee, and Samaria, and were edified; and walking in the fear of the Lord, and in the comfort of the Holy Ghost, were multiplied" Acts 9:31 In this passage, my friends, we have two things presented to our view, which it is at once pleasing and ... Read More

"Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting" Daniel 5:27 In the preceding part of this chapter we are informed, that Belshazzar, king of Babylon, made a great feast to a thousand of his lords and drank wine before the thousand. And while he tasted the wine, he commanded his servants to ... Read More

"The Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost" Luke 19:10 There 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 whic... Read More

"Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched" Mark 9:44 A minister, my hearers, who would be faithful, must frequently compare his preaching with the scriptures, and inquire, not only whether he preached the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, but whether he gives to ever... Read More

"If the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised: and if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins. Then they also, which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished." 1 Corinthians 15:16-18 It is often pretended, by those who receive not the truth as it is in Jesus, that all th... Read More

"He that walketh uprightly, walketh surely." Proverbs 10:9. The term walk, as used by the inspired writers, signifies a course of conduct. To walk uprightly, then, is to pursue a course of uprightness, or integrity. Our text assures us, that he who pursues such a course walketh surely. He walks safe... Read More

"Then said the Jews, Behold how he loved him!" John 11:36 This 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 re... Read More

"Gird thy sword upon thy thigh, O most Mighty, with thy Glory and thy Majesty; And in thy Majesty ride prosperously because of truth and meekness and righteousness; And thy right hand shall teach thee terrible things. Thine arrows are sharp in the heart of the king's enemies whereby the people fall ... Read More

"Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's; and to God, the things that are God's." Mark 12:17. At the period of our Saviour's residence on earth, the Jews were greatly divided in opinion, respecting the lawfulness of paying tribute to the Roman emperors, under whose government they were. The ... Read More

"Who hath despised the day of small things" Zechariah 4:10 These words were addressed by Jehovah to his ancient people, soon after their return from the Babylonish captivity. They were then few in number, poor, feeble, and on the point of being swallowed up by their enemies. But notwithstanding all ... Read More

"Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him; and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him: even so. Amen." Revelation 1:7 An apostle, speaking of the Lord's supper, intimates that the church will continue to partake of it, and by partaking ... Read More

"One generation shall praise thy works to another, and shall declare thy mighty acts." Psalm 145:4 In 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... Read More

"And they said, there is no hope; but we will walk after our own devices, and we will every one do the imagination of his evil heart" Jeremiah 28:12 There are two ways, my friends, in which the great enemy and deceiver of men endeavors, and alas! but too successfully, to effect their eternal ruin. I... Read More

"For they are equal unto the angels" Luke 20:36 Eye , 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 ... Read More

"Is not thy wickedness great? and thine iniquities infinite?" Job 22:5 This question was addressed by Eliphaz to Job. He was led to ask it by a suspicion, that Job was a hypocrite. He had imbibed the erroneous opinion, that great temporal calamities are inflicted on none, except the wicked. Hence he... Read More