Sermons & Devotionals by Edward Payson

"Thy kingdom come" Matthew 6:10 well known form of prayer, of which these words are a part, is in every respect worthy of its divine author. On this, as on all other occasions, he spoke as never man spake. In the compass of six short petitions, expressed in language at once simple and dignified he h... Read More

"As I live, saith the Lord, though Coniah the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah were the signet upon my right hand, yet would I pluck thee thence" Jeremiah 22:24 chapter contains a message from God to the king of Judah. The first part of this message is composed of exhortations to repentance, and promi... Read More

"I remembered God, and was troub1ed" Psalm 77:3 God is a being, whom it is impossible to contemplate with indifference. His character is so interesting, our dependence on him is so complete, and his favor is so indispensably necessary to our happiness, that a distinct recollection of him must always... Read More

No man will ever voluntarily neglect to make himself acquainted with the contents of a message sent to him by one whom he acknowledges as his superior, or on whom he feels himself to be dependent. Let a subject receive a communication from his acknowledged sovereign, and as it claims, so it will rec... Read More

"How can I—sin against God?" Genesis 39:9 This, my hearers, is the genuine language of a pious heart. It ought to be the language of every heart. To every tempter, to every temptation, our invariable reply should be, How can I sin against God! To persuade you to make this reply, whenever you are tem... Read More

"The Holy Ghost saith, today if ye will hear his voice, harden not your Hearts" Hebrews 3:7, 8 brethren, I can think of no introduction to a discourse on this awakening passage more suitable, than that often repeated command of our Savior, He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith. You... Read More

The inspired writers, my friends, do not scatter either blessings or curses arbitrarily and indiscriminately without informing us on whom they will fall. They never pronounce a blessing, without specifying the character to whom it belongs. And they never denounce a curse or a woe, without describing... Read More

"And the Lord said, whereunto then shall I liken the men of this generation? and to what are they like? They are like unto children sitting in the market place, and calling one to another, and saying, we have piped unto you, and ye have not danced; we have mourned to you, and ye have not wept. For J... Read More

is a well known fact that the appearance of objects, and the ideas which we form of them, are very much affected by the situation in which they are placed in respect to us, and by the light in which they are seen. Objects seen at a distance, for example, appear much smaller than they really are. The... Read More

“And the speech pleased the Lord, that Solomon had asked this thing.” 1 Kings 3:10 the context we are informed that, soon after Solomon’s coronation, the Lord appeared to him by night, and said, Ask what I shall give thee. And Solomon said, O Lord my God, thou hast made thy servant king instead of D... Read More

There are two objects which a speaker who addresses his fellow-beings on an occasion like the present, ought ever to keep in view. Of these objects, the first, and with respect to his hearers, the most important is, to induce them to prize as it deserves a volume, which, notwithstanding its unrivall... Read More

"And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless." Luke 1:6 persons of whom the Holy Ghost has borne this honorable testimony are Zacharias and Elizabeth, the parents of John the Baptist. The character here ascribed to them, so excellent ... Read More

"I love them that love me." Proverbs 8:17. are the words of Christ. He who is styled the Word of God in the New Testament, calls himself the wisdom of God in the Old. Under this character he is represented as standing in the public places of resort, and soliciting the attention of all who pass by: U... Read More

"Ye are the children of the prophets and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying unto Abraham, And in thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed. Unto you first, God, having raised up his Son Jesus, sent him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from his iniquit... 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 enemies of Christianity... 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 this passage, my friends, we have two things presented to our view, which it is at once pleasing and unu... 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 is often pretended, by those who receive not the truth as it is in Jesus, that all the r... Read More

"Who hath despised the day of small things" Zechariah 4:10 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 these ... Read More

And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; wherein in time past, ye walked according to the course of this world, according to he prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience; among whom also we all had our conversation in times pa... Read More

hearers, I am not without apprehensions, that the passage, which I have chosen for the subject of this discourse, will sound harshly in your ears; and that its first effect will be to excite, in many breasts, feelings by no means favorable to the reception of truth. But it is a passage, which was ut... Read More