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Edward Payson
Edward Payson (1783 - 1827). American Congregationalist pastor and revivalist born in Rindge, New Hampshire, to a Puritan minister’s family. Graduating from Harvard in 1803, he taught school before studying theology under his father, Seth Payson. Ordained in 1807, he pastored Second Congregational Church in Portland, Maine, for 20 years, growing it from 70 to over 400 members. Known as “Praying Payson,” his intense prayer life fueled the 1816 revival, converting hundreds. He delivered over 2,000 sermons, published posthumously as Sermons for Christian Families (1831), emphasizing God’s sovereignty and personal piety. A leader in Maine’s evangelical awakening, he influenced missions through the American Board. Married to Ann Louisa Shipman in 1811, they had eight children, six surviving. Despite chronic illness, his devotional writings reached thousands, translated into French and German. Payson’s words, “Prayer is the first thing, the second thing, the third thing necessary to a minister,” defined his ministry. His memoirs, edited by Asa Cummings, remain a classic in Reformed circles, inspiring figures like Charles Spurgeon.
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Edward Payson delves into the eternal nature of God, challenging the congregation to grasp the concept of a Being without a beginning or end. He emphasizes that God's existence transcends human comprehension, existing for eternity past and future, with no limit to His being. Payson highlights that the duration of God's existence is the measure of our own immortality, as we are all as eternal as Jehovah Himself.
Eternity of God
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 paradoxical, he had then existed as long as he has now; you would then be no nearer the beginning of his existence than you are now, for it has no beginning, and you cannot approach to that which does not exist. Nor will his being ever come to an end. Add together ages of ages; multiply them by the leaves on the trees, the sand on the sea-shore, and the dust of the earth, still you will be no nearer the termination of Jehovah's existence, than when you first began your calculation. And let us remember that the duration of his existence is the only measure of our own. As it respects futurity, we are all as immortal as Jehovah himself.
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Edward Payson (1783 - 1827). American Congregationalist pastor and revivalist born in Rindge, New Hampshire, to a Puritan minister’s family. Graduating from Harvard in 1803, he taught school before studying theology under his father, Seth Payson. Ordained in 1807, he pastored Second Congregational Church in Portland, Maine, for 20 years, growing it from 70 to over 400 members. Known as “Praying Payson,” his intense prayer life fueled the 1816 revival, converting hundreds. He delivered over 2,000 sermons, published posthumously as Sermons for Christian Families (1831), emphasizing God’s sovereignty and personal piety. A leader in Maine’s evangelical awakening, he influenced missions through the American Board. Married to Ann Louisa Shipman in 1811, they had eight children, six surviving. Despite chronic illness, his devotional writings reached thousands, translated into French and German. Payson’s words, “Prayer is the first thing, the second thing, the third thing necessary to a minister,” defined his ministry. His memoirs, edited by Asa Cummings, remain a classic in Reformed circles, inspiring figures like Charles Spurgeon.