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  LIFE AND CHARACTER OF EDWARD OR PRAYING PAYSON
  by Asa Cummings
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A biography of the Rev. Edward Payson, the renowned Congregational minister
known as 'Praying Payson' for his extraordinary devotion to prayer. Set against
the backdrop of fifty years of eminent New England divines in the late
eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries.

  Chapters: 36

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  TABLE OF CONTENTS
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    1. 02. Preliminary Remarks
    2. 03. Paysons Parentage.
    3. 04. Paysons Early Developments.
    4. 05. Paysons Early Literary Training.
    5. 06. Payson Awakened by the Death of a beloved Brother.
    6. 07. An Experiment.
    7. 08. Worldly Amusements � Rules of Action.
    8. 09. Payson Makes a Public Profession of Religion.
    9. 10. His Appreciation of his Conversion.
   10. 11. An Important Step
   11. 12. Payson as a Bible Student.
   12. 13. Earnest Praying and Excessive Fasting.
   13. 14. Apportionment of Time.
   14. 15. Impaired Health � Conflicting Emotions.
   15. 16. Horrible Temptations.
   16. 17. Paysons only Pastoral Charge,
   17. 18. Payson Protests Against an Increase of Salary.
   18. 19. A Successful Reencounter.
   19. 20. Paysons Intense Earnestness,
   20. 21. Paysons Zeal and Fidelity Rewarded by Success.
   21. 22. Pay sons Rule in Preparing for the Pulpit.
   22. 23. His Influence Through the Press.
   23. 24. Paysons Conflict with a Lingering Pride of Heart.
   24. 25. Paysons Humility.
   25. 26. His Domestic Character.
   26. 27. Paysons Humor - A Specimen
   27. 28. His Intense Sufferings.
   28. 29. Remarkably Sustained by Views of the Divine Perfections.
   29. 30. Paysons Demeanor under Bodily Sufferings
   30. 31. Last Scenes of his Life and Labors.
   31. 32. Payson Dying Words to the Young Men of his Congregation.
   32. 33. Paysons Unparalleled Sufferings and Unbounded joy.
   33. 34. Paysons Last Agony.
   34. 35. Extract from Paysons Funeral Sermon, preached by Rev, Charles Jenkins.
   35. 36. Concluding Remarks.
   36. 37. Payson � Bramwell � Fletcher - Hedding

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  CHAPTER 1: 02. PRELIMINARY REMARKS
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Preliminary Remarks,

During a period of fifty years, embracing the last quarter of the eighteenth
century and the first quarter of the nineteenth, the Congregational Church of
New England was distinguished by a host of eminent Divines. Dr. Sprague’s
"Annals of the American Pulpit," Vols. I and II, contain a brief biography (not
including those referred to in the foot-notes) of two hundred and eighteen
Congregational ministers, whose labors covered more or less of the above period,
and who were born in New England ; namely, one hundred and two in Massachusetts,
ninety-five in Connecticut, fifteen in New Hampshire, four in Maine, one in
Vermont, and one in Rhode Island. Of these, one hundred and thirty-three were
honored with the titles of D.D. or LL.D., conferred, with rare exceptions, by
New England colleges.

It is safe to say, that in no one period in the history of New England were
there more talent and enterprise displayed in the cause of education and
religion, including the missionary cause, than in the last and first quarters of
the two centuries. Men of intellectual might and Christian zeal were found hard
at work, not only as pastors, but also as tutors, professors, presidents of
literary and theological institutions, missionaries, secretaries, authors, and
editors. The most of these devoted men were contemporary with the subject of our
sketch, their ministry extending into the nineteenth century, and running
parallel with his, for a longer or shorter period.

While the New England hills and valleys were all ablaze with the intellectual
and spiritual fires that emanated from school-house and academy, from college
and theological seminary, from the pulpit and religious press, there was an
evangelical fire burning in Portland, Maine; and so bright was the flame as to
attract distant attention, and so intensely did it burn as to consume in a few
brief years the devoted man who kindled it. That man was Edward Payson.


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  CHAPTER 2: 03. PAYSONS PARENTAGE.
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Paysons Parentage

Edward Payson was born at Rindge, New Hampshire, July 25th, 1783. His father,
Rev. Seth Pay-son, was a man of piety and public spirit, somewhat distinguished
as a clergyman, and favorably known as an author. His mother was an intelligent,
devoted Christian woman.

Payson attributed his religious character and influence, under God, to the
instruction, example, and prayers of his Christian parents. Among the earliest
impressions made upon his mind by his mother was, that it was his duty to become
religious in childhood.


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  CHAPTER 3: 04. PAYSONS EARLY DEVELOPMENTS.
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Paysons Early Developments

Payson early manifested a remarkable inquisitive-ness of mind, which his mother
cherished by answering his almost endless inquiries. In the first developments
of his moral powers, his infant mind grasped the fact that he was a sinner. He
was often known to weep under the preaching of the Gospel when only three years
old! He would frequently call his mother to his bedside to answer questions
respecting his relation to God and a future world. It was the judgment of his
mother that he was converted in childhood. It is believed that he never
neglected private prayer while living under the parental roof. His early mental
developments indicated that he would be a man of decision, enterprise, and
perseverance. His taste for the sublime was remarkable in childhood. During a
tempest he might be seen on the top of a fence, or some other eminence, while
the lightings played and the thunders rolled around him, sitting in composure
and enjoying the sublimity of the scene.

He was a very good reader at four years of age, and could transfer the contents
of a book to his own mind with remarkable facility. All the books in his
father’s collection and in the town library, suitable to his age and
attainments, were read before he left the paternal home, and made available in
his ministry by the tenacity of his memory.


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  CHAPTER 4: 05. PAYSONS EARLY LITERARY TRAINING.
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Paysons Early Literary Training. This was conducted principally by his parents,
excepting the studies preparatory to college, which were pursued, in part, at
least, at a neighboring academy. He entered Harvard College in 1800, at
seventeen years of age, at an advanced standing, and with the reputation of
being a magnanimous, honorable, generous youth. Here he was known and respected
for the purity of his morals, the regularity of his habits, and his amiable
disposition ; as also for his mental industry. He had at college the reputation
of being a " great reader." His fellow-students, before knowing the rapidity
with which he acquired knowledge, and the strength and tenacity of his memory,
rallied him as having a machine to turn over the leaves ; and, at another time,
as having left off taking out books, because he had read all of the thousands in
the alcoves of Old Harvard. After graduating, in 1803, he spent three years as
principal of an academy in Portland, and commanded the esteem and veneration of
his pupils.


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  CHAPTER 5: 06. PAYSON AWAKENED BY THE DEATH OF A BELOVED BROTHER.
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Payson Awakened by the Death of a beloved Brother In the early part of 1804, the
death of his brother was the means of fixing his attention on religion more
fully for the rest of his life. In a letter to his mother he writes : "
Infatuated by the pleasures and amusements this place affords, I gradually grew
cold and indifferent to religion. From this careless frame nothing but a shock
like that I have received could have roused me. I hope, by the assistance of
divine grace, this dispensation will prove of eternal benefit. ,,


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  CHAPTER 6: 07. AN EXPERIMENT.
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An Experiment

Young Payson made the experiment which most are disposed to make before fully
consecrating themselves to Christ, and with this result, as stated by himself:
"In the impracticable attempt to reconcile God and the world, I spend my time
very unhappily, neither enjoying the comforts of this world nor of religion; but
I have at last determined to renounce the false pleasures for which I pay so
dear; and this I should have done long ago, but for the advice and example of
some whose judgment I respected."

Payson s Review of his past Life and Covenant Engagement. Under date of July 25,
1805, he writes : " Having resolved this day to dedicate myself to my Creator by
a written covenant, I took a review of my past life, and of the numerous mercies
by which it has been distinguished. Then, with sincerity, I humbly hope, I took
the Lord to be my God, and engaged to love and obey him. Relying on the Holy
Spirit for assistance, I engaged to take the Holy Scriptures as the rule of my
conduct, the Lord Jesus Christ to be my Saviour, and the Spirit of all grace and
consolation as my Guide and Sanctifier. The vows of God are upon me."


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  CHAPTER 7: 08. WORLDLY AMUSEMENTS � RULES OF ACTION.
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Worldly Amusements — Rules of Action To one who urged Mr. Payson to go into
society and frequent public amusements, he wrote: " Can a man walk on pitch and
his feet not be defiled ? Can a man take coals of fire in his bosom, and his
clothes not be burned?" In regard to worldly associations and amusements, Payson
adopted the following simple rules :

I. To do nothing the lawfulness of which he doubted in any degree.

2. To consider everything unlawful which indisposes for prayer and interrupts
communion with God.

3. Never to go into any company, business, or situation, in which he could not
consistently ask and expect the divine blessing. By the help of these rules, he
says, " I settle all my doubts in a trice."


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  CHAPTER 8: 09. PAYSON MAKES A PUBLIC PROFESSION OF RELIGION.
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Payson Makes a Public Profession of Religion

He joined the Church at Rindge, under the pastoral care of his father, while on
a visit to his parents, during one of his quarterly vacations, Sept. 1, 1805.
Soon after he writes to his mother: "As yet I have no reason to repent of the
step I took while at home. I have felt wondrous brave and resolute since my
return, but I rejoice with trembling. If I know anything of myself, I shall need
pretty severe discipline through life, and I often shrink at the thought of the
conflict that awaits me; but I am encouraged by the promise, that my strength
shall be equal to my day."

October 6th he writes: " Since my return from Rindge I have hardly known one
unhappy moment. I enjoy mental peace, and at times happiness inexpressible."


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  CHAPTER 9: 10. HIS APPRECIATION OF HIS CONVERSION.
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His Appreciation of his Conversion

Under the impulse of gratitude, and from a profound sense of obligation, he
writes : "’ Is not this a brand plucked out of the fire ?’ Zech. 3: 2. What a
just and striking description of every sinner! To snatch a smoking brand from
eternal burnings, and plant it among the stars in the firmament of heaven, there
to shine like the sun forever! Such a brand am I; a brand yet smoking with the
half-extinguished fires of sin ; a brand scorched and blackened by the flames of
hell! What then do I owe to Him, who entered the furnace of divine wrath, that
he might bring me out?”


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  CHAPTER 10: 11. AN IMPORTANT STEP
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An Important Step In 1806 Mr. Payson resigned the charge of the academy in
Portland, and returned to his father’s house, where he pursued his theological
studies, till he entered the ministry. This step may be regarded as one of the
most important of his life. His biographer thinks, had he entered at once upon
the work of the ministry, as he contemplated, he had not been the minister that
he became. In comparative retirement, with his father for his tutor, and with an
illustration of the purity and power of Christianity before him in the lives of
godly parents, he was most auspiciously situated.

He appreciated these advantages, and gave himself up to the work of preparation
with an exclusive-ness and ardor perhaps never equaled.


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  CHAPTER 11: 12. PAYSON AS A BIBLE STUDENT.
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Payson as a Bible Student

He seems to have concentrated all his powers upon the acquisition of scriptural
knowledge, and the cultivation of Christian and ministerial graces. He
entertained the most exalted views of the office of the ministry, and of the
qualifications requisite, and sought them with a corresponding zeal.

He regarded himself not so much as a student of systems of divinity, drawn up by
men, as a student of the Bible. He regarded these systems with jealousy.
Doubtless the works of eminent divines, which he had already read, exerted some
influence upon his mind; but in his independence as a thinker, and in his deep
reverence for the word of God, he placed them all in subordination to that
divine word, embracing that one book as an adequate foundation for his faith,
and an infallible guide to duty. His reading was confined principally to such
writings as helped to elucidate and unfold the literal meaning of the Bible. In
this manner he studied the whole of the inspired book, so that there was not a
verse on which he had not formed an opinion. In this way he acquired an
unparalleled readiness to meet every question, on every occasion, whether
proposed by a caviler or conscientious inquirer. This ready knowledge of the
Bible gave him the confidence of the people, as a man mighty in the Scriptures,
to confound and silence gainsayers, and to ornament his discourses with the
brilliant diamonds of truth, and to set apples of gold in pictures of silver.


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  CHAPTER 12: 13. EARNEST PRAYING AND EXCESSIVE FASTING.
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Earnest Praying and Excessive Fasting

Mr. Payson pursued his studies with almost unceasing prayer, studying theology
on his knees, and pleading the promises in a prostrate position, with the Bible
open before him.

He added much fasting to prayer. His seasons of fasting were long and frequent,
so much so as to injure his bodily health. In after years he saw and lamented
his error of fasting too long. But he was at the time a student and candidate
for the holy ministry, and desired to comply with the precept, "Mortify the
flesh, with the affections and lusts." He felt that as a servant of Christ he
should be the master of his own passions and propensities, and resorted to this
scriptural way to gain that mastery.

It is safer, perhaps, to go to an extreme in this direction, than to neglect
altogether this essential discipline of the body.


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  CHAPTER 13: 14. APPORTIONMENT OF TIME.
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Apportionment of Time

Mr. Payson was also too severe upon himself in the apportionment of his time, as
will be seen by the following arrangement: twelve hours to be given to study,
two to private devotion, two to relaxation, two to meals and family devotion,
and six to sleep.


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  CHAPTER 14: 15. IMPAIRED HEALTH � CONFLICTING EMOTIONS.
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Impaired Health — Conflicting Emotions

Payson’s health had now become impaired by his severe regimen, and also by a
fall from a horse, so that he writes at different dates : " Was excessively
melancholy." " Was oppressed with pride and vanity." " Spent the day in the
woods in fasting and prayer, to obtain a mortification of my abominable pride
and selfishness." " More gloomy and oppressed than yesterday." "I was greatly
oppressed with pride and vanity, which made their attack upon me in
inexpressible shapes."

Yet interspersed with these gloomy sentences we find others, describing a deep,
happy Christian experience : " God was pleased to fill me with himself, so that
I was burned up with most intense love, and panting after holiness." " Never
before had such faith and fervency in prayer." " I am as happy as nature could
sustain."

Melancholy, at times, overwhelmed him like a thousand monsters, so that his soul
was crushed under it. At other times he was " surprised with visits from his
blessed Lord, full of sweetness and love." His peculiar mental constitution and
physical condition had much to do with these sudden and frequent transitions of
religious feeling. Besides his constitutional predisposition to melancholy, his
health had been shattered by abstinence, night vigils, and extraordinary
exertions. The sentiment of Bishop Home will apply here: Religion was not the
cause of his gloom, but was his refuge in times of depression.


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  CHAPTER 15: 16. HORRIBLE TEMPTATIONS.
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Horrible Temptations

Payson’s peculiar temperament and bodily weakness made him a conspicuous mark
for the infernal archer to shoot at. " I thought long since," he writes, " that
I had endured everything horrible and dreadful that was ever felt, heard of, or
conceived ; but I find that the depths of Satan and the depths of a depraved and
wicked heart are not easily fathomed. These unfathomed depths, however, serve to
show me more clearly the infinite height and depth of Christ’s love!" ’ At a
later period in his history he explains the reason why God permitted him to be
so grievously tormented in the past: " That I might counsel and comfort those of
Christ’s sheep against whom Satan raged violently."

Under date of Dec. 5, 1823, he writes, "I have been sick and laid by for two
Sabbaths, but am now able to resume my labors. But, O the temptations which have
harassed me for the last three months!

I have met with nothing like them in books. I dare not mention them to any
mortal, lest they should trouble him as they have troubled me. Should I become
an apostate, and write against the Christian religion, it seems to me that I
could bring forward objections that would shake the faith of all the Christians
in the world. What I marvel at is, that the arch-deceiver has not been permitted
to suggest them to his scribes, and have them published to the world. All the
atheistical and deistical objections which I have met with in books are childish
babblings compared with those which Satan suggests, and which he urges upon the
mind with a force which seems irresistible."


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  CHAPTER 16: 17. PAYSONS ONLY PASTORAL CHARGE,
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Paysons only Pastoral Charge This was in Portland, Maine. He was ordained pastor
of the Congregational Church of that place, Dec. 16, 1807. He served the Church
with remarkable fidelity and success for twenty years; indeed, lived and died
with them and for them. This was the more remarkable as he was so uncompromising
in his preaching and intercourse with his people. His remaining in one charge
for a lifetime shows him to have been remarkably free from a worldly and
ambitious spirit. It was his prayer that if God had any worldly blessings in
store for him he would be pleased to give him grace instead of them, or change
them into spiritual blessings. He writes, " I can hardly help praying,
sometimes, that he would take away all he has bestowed, so that I shall not sin
against such goodness." He felt " to bless God that when his roots began to
shoot into and cleave to the earth, he plucked them up before they were too
deeply and firmly fixed."


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  CHAPTER 17: 18. PAYSON PROTESTS AGAINST AN INCREASE OF SALARY.
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Payson Protests Against an Increase of Salary

We may readily suppose that, possessing, as he did, so unselfish a nature, his
people would never have any difficulty with him about salary. They had
difficulty, however, but it came from him in the shape of strong protests
against an increase of the salary voted him at the time of his settlement! And
although he had calls from Boston and New York, with higher salary and position,
he could not be tempted to leave his beloved Portland charge.


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  CHAPTER 18: 19. A SUCCESSFUL REENCOUNTER.
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A Successful Reencounter In carrying out his rule "to make none but pastoral
visits, and always to have religion recognized in every social circle in which
he mingled," he once had a successful reencounter with a lawyer in Portland who
ranked high for wealth and influence, but was skeptical. When he gave his
consent to his wife that Mr. Payson might be invited socially to visit them, it
was on the condition that he should not converse on religion, nor ask a blessing
over his food, nor offer a prayer in his house. But so skillfully did Mr. Payson
manage his host that he did ask a blessing, returned thanks, read the
Scriptures, and had family prayer, and all at the request of the master of the
house! As the critical moment arrived, Mr. Payson inquired of his host, "What
writer has said that the devil invented this fashion of carrying round tea to
prevent a blessing being asked ?"

" I do not know, sir," replied the lawyer, " who it was ; but we will foil the
devil this time. Please to ask a blessing, Mr. Payson." This reminds us of an
anecdote of the Rev. Ezekiel Cooper, who is said to have satirized the fashion
of handing round tea in this manner. On an occasion of the kind he was heard to
exclaim, " What a poor, helpless creature man is, with a cup of tea in one hand,
a piece of cake in the other, and a fly on his nose, and no means of getting him
off."


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  CHAPTER 19: 20. PAYSONS INTENSE EARNESTNESS,
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Paysons Intense Earnestness

Payson’s experience, prayers, hopes and fears, joys and sorrows, indeed his
whole ministerial life and labors, were marked with an intensity seldom known.
"My disposition," said he, "is naturally so ardent that I can enjoy nothing with
moderation ; so that I must either be totally indifferent to worldly objects, or
else love them to such a degree as to render them idols."

He was very jealous for the Lord of Hosts, and was a living witness of the power
of divine grace, and a living reproof to cold and formal professors. The
indifference of men to their salvation, and the prevalence of wickedness, made "
his heart ache, and his eyes weep." He expostulated, warned, and entreated ; he
mourned in secret places, and interceded with God to save the people. In keeping
with this spirit of zeal that burned within him and blazed around him, he highly
appreciated revivals—prayed, and fasted, and worked for them, and was never
satisfied without a revival state in his Church. He ardently loved the work of
the ministry. If he had sufficient strength for the duty, he considered it no
favor for a visitor to supply his pulpit. It was like a man proposing to eat up
a good dinner prepared for himself when half starved. " Since the failure of my
health/’ he writes, " I preach but three sermons a week !" On being urged by his
people to visit Europe for his health, with the offer of a free passage, he
replied, " It would be gratifying to see Old England, but I cannot spare the
time."


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  CHAPTER 20: 21. PAYSONS ZEAL AND FIDELITY REWARDED BY SUCCESS.
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Paysons Zeal and Fidelity Rewarded by Success

Payson’s success may be attributed in a great measure to his ardent and
persevering prayers, and the undoubted sincerity of his belief in what he
taught. Though he drew crowds around him, there was nothing of stage effect
either in his eloquence or personal appearance—no imposing attitudes or gestures
; no extremes of intonation ; no affectation. It was a simple uttering of the
deep convictions of the heart. It was the eloquence of truth spoken in love. The
words seemed to come from his mouth encompassed by that glowing atmosphere in
which they left the heart. He was always in earnest, and impressed the fact upon
his hearers. " It is a glorious day to live in," said he; " so much to be done.
I would not now exchange a place in the Church below for a place in heaven. The
longer our time of labor is, the better. There will be time enough for rest."
With such a spirit he could not fail of success. In one year of his ministry his
Church received an accession of seventy-three, and in the year of his death
seventy-nine. The average number was more than thirty-five a year during the
whole of his ministry.

He often performed services for other congregations, and went on missionary
tours to places not having a settled ministry, spending several days in arduous
labors, and with signal results. His agency was also felt in raising the tone of
piety in all the Churches that could be reached by his influence ; and his
presence, counsels, example, and prayers, gave shape tone, and energy to many
public institutions of his day.


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  CHAPTER 21: 22. PAY SONS RULE IN PREPARING FOR THE PULPIT.
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Pay sons Rule in Preparing for the Pulpit

It was his invariable object to introduce so much of the fundamental truths of
the Gospel into every discourse, that one who had never heard a sermon before,
and should never hear another, might learn from it what is essential to
salvation.


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  CHAPTER 22: 23. HIS INFLUENCE THROUGH THE PRESS.
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His Influence Through the Press

Mr. Payson was mistaken when he said that God had denied him the honor of doing
good with his pen, and of speaking for Christ when silent in the dust. No man,
probably, whose pen was so limited in its work has accomplished so much? " The
Bible Above All Price" was the first production suffered to go to press. Myriads
of copies have been circulated. His "Address to Seamen" was so effectual at the
time of its delivery that nine thousand copies were printed at once, and
unnumbered copies since. Also a sermon before the Maine Bible Society, entitled
" The Oracles of God," was a popular discourse, but did not reach the extent of
popularity or circulation as did those just mentioned. Besides, how full of
instruction, influence, and inspiration are the pregnant sentences falling from
his pen, as contained in his Diary and Letters, and given to the world in his
Biography. Thousands of Gospel ministers have doubtless been made wiser and
better men, and have been stimulated to seek a richer experience, and higher
devotion to the work of the ministry, by reading the published Sermons, and
especially the Biography, of Dr. Payson.


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  CHAPTER 23: 24. PAYSONS CONFLICT WITH A LINGERING PRIDE OF HEART.
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Paysons Conflict with a Lingering Pride of Heart

" I find," he writes, " scarcely any time to read or study, and am constrained
to go into the pulpit with discourses so undigested, my pride is constantly
mortified, and though it lies groaning and bleeding under continual wounds, it
will not be persuaded to give up the ghost." In a letter to his mother he
writes, " You must not say one word that even intimates that I am growing in
grace. I cannot bear it. Everybody here, whether friends or enemies, is
conspiring to ruin me. Satan and my own heart will of course lend a hand, and if
you join them too, I fear all the cold water which Christ can throw upon my
pride will not prevent it from breaking out into a destructive flame. As
certainly as anybody flatters or caresses me, my heavenly Father has to whip me
for it, and it is an unspeakable mercy that he condescends to do it. I can
easily muster a hundred reasons why I should not be proud, but pride won’t mind
reason, nor anything else but a good drubbing. Even at this moment, I feel it
tingling at my finger ends and seeking to guide my pen."


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  CHAPTER 24: 25. PAYSONS HUMILITY.
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Paysons Humility In the following extract we find true humility expressed in one
of his beautiful figures : " Could I paint a true likeness of Christ, I should
rejoice to hold it up to the view and admiration of all creation, and to be hid
behind it forever. It would be heaven enough to hear him praised and adored,
though no one should care about insignificant me." In a letter to a candidate
for the ministry he expresses himself thus : " Let those who choose to engage in
such a race (for worldly distinctions) divide the prize. Let one run away with
the money, another with applause; be God’s approbation the only prize for which
I run." In alluding to two distinguished characters, who asserted that they were
never happy until they ceased striving to be great, he writes, " My heart saw it
and consented to it, and now I am comparatively happy." In reviewing his life in
this same spirit of humility, he could say, U I have done nothing myself; I have
not fought, but Christ has fought for me; I have not run, but Christ has carried
me; I have not worked, but Christ has wrought in me; Christ has done all."


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  CHAPTER 25: 26. HIS DOMESTIC CHARACTER.
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His Domestic Character

He at one time expressed a fear of marrying, lest, from his ardent temperament,
he should love a wife too little or too much. Nor would he be anxious about the
selection, nor waste his Master’s time in seeking one, confident that he should
certainly have a good wife if God saw best. He did marry wisely and well, and we
here give an extract showing that his heart was as true to his companion as it
was, in a higher sphere of affection, true to Christ and his Church.

He writes on board of a vessel sailing up the Delaware in sight of Philadelphia,
" The prospects on the banks of the river were delightful and cheering every
moment. The day was fine and the swiftness of our motion was agreeable, and, to
crown all, I saw God in his works, and tasted his goodness in everything. I
thought of you almost every moment, and nothing but the presence of yourself and
the children was wanting to make me as happy as I could be in this world.
Everyone on board is in a bustle, and I am standing away in one corner talking
with my best, dearest earthly friend. You, at the distance of five hundred
miles, have more attractions for me than the whole city of Philadelphia, which
is spread out before me. Kiss the children for me, talk to them about me ; love
me as I do you. I love you far better than I did when I wrote the last letter to
you before our marriage." The qualities of .a tender husband, and of a faithful
and affectionate father, were uniform in their action, and were daily manifested
in his household in a manner that showed the intense interest he felt in the
religious welfare of his family and domestics.

He had both religion and good sense enough not to be a vain and foolish father,
but avoided that doting partiality for his children which causes so many parents
to hold the reins of parental discipline with a lax hand. Here is a specimen in
which with keen humor he takes off the vanity of doting parents.

" As to baby," he writes, " she is the greatest genius and the greatest beauty
in these parts. Suffice it to say, that she has four teeth; stands alone; says 4
Pa’ and ’Ma;’ ’no,’ ’no/ very stoutly, and has been whipped several times for
being wiser than her father."


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  CHAPTER 26: 27. PAYSONS HUMOR - A SPECIMEN
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Paysons Humor - A Specimen

After speaking of attacks from other diseases, he writes, “Rheumatism next
arrived, eager to pay his respects, and embraced my right shoulder with such
ardor of affection that he had well-nigh torn it from its socket. I had not
thought much of this gentle-man’s powers before, but he has convinced me of them
so thoroughly, that I shall think and speak of them with respect as long as I
live. Not content with giving me his company all day, for a fortnight he
insisted on sitting up with me every night, and what is worse, made me sit up
too. During this time my poor neck, back, and shoulder, seemed to be a place in
which the various pains and aches had assembled to keep holiday, and the
delectable sensations of stinging, pricking, cutting, lacerating, wrenching,
burning, gnawing, succeeded each other, or all mingled together in the wildest
confusion.

"The cross old gentleman, though his zeal is somewhat abated by fomentations and
blisters with which we welcomed him, still stands at my back, threatening that
he will not allow me to finish my letter."


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  CHAPTER 27: 28. HIS INTENSE SUFFERINGS.
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His Intense Sufferings

He writes on one occasion, " My flesh trembles and my blood almost runs cold
when I look back on what I have suffered. A very large proportion of my path
lies through the valley of the shadow of death."

Parts of his body, including the right arm and left side, were singularly
affected. They were incapable of motion, and lost all sense of feeling
externally, while in the interior parts of the limbs thus affected he
experienced at intervals a most intense burning sensation, which he compared to
a stream of fused metal or liquid fire coursing through his bones.


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  CHAPTER 28: 29. REMARKABLY SUSTAINED BY VIEWS OF THE DIVINE PERFECTIONS.
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Remarkably Sustained by Views of the Divine Perfections

" God’s promises appear most strong, solid, real, substantial: more so than the
rocks and everlasting hills. And his perfections ! what shall I say of them ?
When I think of one, I wish to dwell on it forever; but another and another
equally glorious claims a share of my admiration, and when I begin to praise I
wish never to cease. Let who will be rich, or admired, or prosperous, it is
enough for me that there is such a God as Jehovah, and such a Saviour as Jesus,
and that they are infinitely and unchangeably glorious !

"Dec. 19. Had a most ravishing view of Christ this morning, as coming at a
distance in the chariot of his salvation. In an instant, he was with me and
around me, and I could only cry Welcome! a thousand times welcome to my
disconsolate heart!"

After enumerating some special instances of God’s goodness to him, he adds, "
But great as are my reasons to love God for his favors, he is infinitely more
precious on account of his perfections. Never did he appear so inexpressibly
glorious as he has for some weeks past. I have nothing to fear, nothing to hope
from creatures. They are all mere shadows ! There is only one being in the
universe, and that being is God! May I add, He is my God ! I long to get to see
him in heaven: I long still more to stay and serve him on earth. Rather, I
rejoice to be just where he pleases, and what he pleases.

Dec. 16, 1817, he writes, "Never before enjoyed such a sense of his love, or
felt so constrained to love him and everything that belongs to him ; especially
his word, which I could not forbear kissing and pressing to my bosom. Was
perfectly willing to die without leaving my chamber. Had for a long time a
melting heart, and came with a broken frame to the feet of Christ weeping aloud,
and obtained a full and sweet assurance of pardon."

" Sept. 1. While lying awake last night had most delightful views of God as a
father; felt that my happiness is as dear to him as to myself; that he would not
willingly hurt one hair of my head, nor let me suffer a moment’s unnecessary
pain. Felt that he was literally as willing to give as I was to ask— seemed,
indeed, to have nothing to ask for.

" Sept. 19. Last night, while lying awake, had more distinct apprehensions of
God’s greatness than at any previous time. Realized little of anything except
simple greatness, and this almost crushed me to death. I could not move a limb
or scarcely breathe. Could realize more than ever that a clear view of God must
be hell to the wicked, for had any sense of his anger accompanied this view of
his greatness, I could not have supported it!"


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  CHAPTER 29: 30. PAYSONS DEMEANOR UNDER BODILY SUFFERINGS
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Paysons Demeanor under Bodily Sufferings The most agonizing sufferings of body,
when exempted from depression of mind, never rendered him the less cheerful and
agreeable. His demeanor in these seasons of suffering was often such that he was
rather envied than pitied by his family and attendants, being seasons of unusual
gayety and cheerfulness, and in which he allowed his playful imagination to
throw a brightness npon the gloom of the sick-chamber.


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  CHAPTER 30: 31. LAST SCENES OF HIS LIFE AND LABORS.
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Last Scenes of his Life and Labors His last sermon was preached from the text,
"The word of the Lord is true." It was not written, of course, but no discourse
that he ever wrote was more instructive or eloquent. When speaking of the trials
to which the Bible had been subjected by its enemies, never were the mightiest
infidels made to appear so puny, insignificant, and foolish. " He who sitteth in
the heavens" could almost be seen deriding them. When describing the manner in
which Christians have tried it, his experience aided his eloquence, and added
strength to the conviction it wrought in the minds of his hearers. On
pronouncing the benediction, he descended from the pulpit, took his station in
front of it, and commenced a most solemn appeal to the assembly.

" I now put aside the minister," said he. " I come down among you—place myself
on a visible equality. I address you as a brother and fellow-traveler to the bar
of God." He then gave vent to the struggling emotions of his heart in a stream
of affectionate entreaty, and requested them, mentally and silently, to adopt a
series of resolutions touching a belief in and practice of Christianity, which
he was about to propose. Though his withered arm hung helpless by his side, yet
he seemed instinct with life, and every succeeding resolve was rendered emphatic
by a gesture of the left.

One of his last communion seasons is thus described : " His body was so
emaciated by long and acute suffering that it was scarcely able to sustain the
effort; but his soul, raised above its perishing influence, and filled with a
joyful tranquility, seemed entirely regardless of the weakness of its mortal
tenement. His right hand and arm were so palsied by disease as to be quite
useless, except that in the act of breaking the bread he placed it on the table
with the other hand, raising it as a lifeless weight, until it had performed the
service required, as if unwilling that even the withered hand should be found
unemployed in the holy work!

Aug. 5. This day he entered the meeting-house for the last time. Twenty years
had passed since he entered it for the first time as a preacher: then a
trembling youth, now the spiritual father of many hundreds ; then just girded
for the warfare, now the veteran who had fought the good fight, and was about to
resign his commission.

He was supported into the house by his senior deacons, and was privileged to
witness the admission of twenty-one candidates into the Church. He only had
strength to read "the Covenant" and to say to the Church, " I want you always to
believe that God is faithful. However dark and mysterious his dispensations may
appear, still confide in him. He can make you happy when everything else is
taken from you."

Payson Confined to the Chamber of Sickness and Death — His Triumph.

He was asked by a friend if he could see any particular reason for this
dispensation. He replied, " No; but I am as well satisfied as if I could see ten
thousand reasons." In a letter dictated to his sister, he writes : " Were I to
adopt the figurative language of Bunyan, I might date this letter from the land
of Beulah, of which I have been for some time such a happy inhabitant. The
celestial city is full in my view. Its glories beam upon me, its breezes fan me,
its odors are wafted to me, its sounds strike upon my ears, and its spirit is
breathed into my heart. Nothing separates me from it but the river of death,
which now appears as an insignificant rill, which can be crossed at a single
step, whenever God shall give permission. The Sun of Righteousness has been
gradually drawing nearer and nearer, appearing larger and brighter as he
approached, and now fills the whole hemisphere, pouring forth a flood of glory,
in which I seem to float like an insect in the beams of the sun, exulting, yet
almost trembling, while I gaze on this excessive brightness, and wondering why
God should deign thus to shine upon a sinful worm." On being asked, " Do you
feel reconciled ?" he replied, " O that is too cold ; I rejoice ; I triumph ;
and this happiness will endure as long as God himself, for it consists in
admiring and adoring him. I can find no words to express my happiness. I seem to
be swimming in a river of pleasure which is carrying me on to the great
fountain. It seems as if all the bottles in heaven were opened, and all its
fullness and happiness have come down into my heart. God has been depriving me
of one blessing after another, but as each one was removed he has come in and
filled up its place. If God had told me some time ago that he was about to make
me as happy as I could be in this world, and that he should begin by crippling
me in all my limbs and removing from me all my usual sources of enjoyment, I
should have thought it a very strange mode of accomplishing his purpose. Now,
when I am a cripple and not able to move, I am happier than I ever was in my
life before or ever expected to be.

"It has often been remarked that people who have passed into the other world
cannot come back to tell us what they have seen, but I am so near the eternal
world that I can almost see as clearly as if I were there; and I see enough to
satisfy me of the truth of the doctrines I have preached. I do not know that I
should feel at all surer had I been really there."

"Watchman, what of the night?" asked a gray-headed member of his Church. " I
should think it was about noonday," replied the dying Payson. The ruling passion
being strong in death, he sent a request to his pulpit that his people should
repair to his sick-chamber. They did so in specified classes, a few at a time,
and received his dying message.


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  CHAPTER 31: 32. PAYSON DYING WORDS TO THE YOUNG MEN OF HIS CONGREGATION.
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Payson Dying Words to the Young Men of his Congregation

" I felt desirous that you might see that the religion I have preached can
support me in death. You know that I have many ties which bind me to earth: a
family to which I am strongly attached, and a people whom I love almost as well;
but the other world acts like a much stronger magnet, and draws my heart away
from this.

" Death comes every night and stands by my bedside in the form of terrible
convulsions, every one of which threatens to separate the soul from the body.
These grow worse and worse till every bone is almost dislocated with pain. Yet
while my body is thus tortured, the soul is perfectly, perfectly happy and
peaceful. I lie here and feel these convulsions extending higher and higher, but
my soul is filled with joy unspeakable! I seem to swim in a flood of glory which
God pours down upon me. Is it a delusion that can fill the soul to overflowing
with joy in such circumstances ? If so, it is a delusion better than any
reality. It is no delusion. I feel it is not. I enjoy this happiness now. And
now, standing as I do on the ridge that separates the two worlds—feeling what
intense happiness the soul is capable of sustaining, and judging of your
capacities by my own, and believing that those capacities will be filled to the
very brim with joy or wretchedness forever, my heart yearns over you, my
children, that you may choose life and not death. I long to present every one of
you with a cup of happiness and see you drink it.

"A young man," he continued, "just about to leave the world, exclaimed, ’ The
battles fought, the battles fought, but the victory is lost forever!’ But I can
say, ’The battles fought, and the victory is won—the victory is won forever!’ I
am going to bathe in the ocean of purity, and benevolence, and happiness, to all
eternity. And now, my children, let me bless you, not with the blessing of a
poor, feeble, dying man, but with the blessing of the infinite God." He then
pronounced the apostolic benediction.


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  CHAPTER 32: 33. PAYSONS UNPARALLELED SUFFERINGS AND UNBOUNDED JOY.
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Paysons Unparalleled Sufferings and Unbounded joy. A friend said to him, " I
presume it is no longer incredible to you that martyrs should rejoice and praise
God in the flames and on the rack ?"

"No," said he; "I can easily believe it. I have suffered twenty times as much as
I could in being burned at the stake, while my joy in God so abounded as to
render my sufferings not only tolerable but welcome." At another time he said: "
God is literally now my all in all. While he is present with me no event can in
the least diminish my happiness ; and were the whole world at my feet trying to
minister to my comfort they could not add one drop to my cup." To Mrs. Payson,
who observed to him, " Your head feels hot and seems to be distended," he
replied : " It seems as if the soul disdained such a narrow prison, and was
determined to break through with an angel’s energy, and I trust with no small
portion of an angel’s feeling, until it mounts on high.

" It seems as if my soul had found a new pair of wings, and was so eager to try
them that in her fluttering she would rend the fine network of the body in
pieces."


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  CHAPTER 33: 34. PAYSONS LAST AGONY.
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Paysons Last Agony On Sabbath, Oct. 21, 1827, his last agony commenced, attended
with that labored breathing and rattling in the throat which rendered
articulation extremely difficult. His daughter was summoned from the
Sabbath-school, and received his dying kiss and " God bless you, my daughter."
He smiled on a group of his Church-members, and exclaimed, with holy emphasis, "
Peace, peace ! Victory !" He smiled on his wife and children, and said in the
language of dying Joseph, " I am going, but God will surely be with you."

He rallied from the death conflict, and said to his physician, that although he
had suffered the pangs of death, and got almost within the gates of Paradise,
yet if it was God’s will that he should come back and suffer still more he was
resigned. He passed through a similar scene in the afternoon, and again revived.
On Monday morning his dying agonies returned in all their extremity. For three
hours every breath was a groan. On being asked if his sufferings were greater
than on the preceding Sunday night, he answered, "incomparably greater." He said
the greatest temporal blessing of which he could conceive would be one breath of
air.

Mrs. Payson, fearing from the expression of suffering on his countenance that he
was in mental distress, questioned him. He replied, " Faith and patience hold
out." These were the last words of this dying Christian hero ! Yet his eyes
spoke after his tongue became motionless. He looked on Mrs. Payson, and then
rested his eyes on his eldest son with an expression which said, and was so
interpreted by all present, " Behold thy mother!"

He gradually sunk away, till, about the going down of the sun, his chastened and
purified spirit, all mantled with the glory of Christian triumph in life and
death, ascended to share the everlasting glory of his Redeemer before the
eternal throne!

"His ruling passion was strong in death." His love for preaching was as
invincible as that of the miser for gold, who dies grasping his treasure.

Dr. Payson directed this label to be attached to his breast: " Remember the
words which I spake unto you while I was yet present with you;" that it might be
read by all who came to look at his corpse, and by which he, being dead, still
spake. The same words, at the request of his people, were engraven on the plate
of the coffin, and read by thousands on the day of interment.


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  CHAPTER 34: 35. EXTRACT FROM PAYSONS FUNERAL SERMON, PREACHED BY REV, CHARLES JENKINS.
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Extract from Paysons Funeral Sermon, preached by Rev, Charles Jenkins

" I might speak of his gifted intellect; I might dwell on his wonderful powers
of combination; on that excursive faculty which, forever glancing from earth to
heaven, could gather the universe around him in aid of his illustrations. But to
speak on these points becomes not this solemn occasion. He would frown on the
attempt. He counted ’all things loss for Christ/ If I may speak of his
character, it shall be that character which had so conspicuously the Christian
stamp. In this respect, grace made him great. It wrought a deep work in his
soul. The predominant features of his whole mind, for many years, were high
spiritual views and deep spiritual feelings. These tinged, or rather were the
element, of his thoughts and efforts. His natural ardor of temperament doubtless
affected not a little his religious exercises. It gave them violence and energy.
His seasons of spiritual elevation were heaven brought down to earth ; his
seasons of religious depression resembled the storms of autumn—sudden, dark,
threatening—leaving a serener and purer sky, but betokening that winter is
approaching.

He was pre-eminently a man of prayer. There was in his prayers a copiousness, a
fervor, a familiarity, a reaching forth of the soul into eternity, that was
almost peculiar to himself, and that told every hearer that heaven was his
element, and prayer his breath, and life, and joy. As a preacher it is easier to
say what he was not than what he was. He was eloquent, and yet no one could
describe his eloquence to the apprehension of a stranger; it consisted in an
assemblage of qualities that could be seen and felt, but not described. He did
not preach himself; his subject always stood between himself and audience. Ah! I
will not, I cannot, enlarge. Let the thousand voices of them who have been
brought to the knowledge of Christ by his ministrations tell what he was as a
preacher’


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  CHAPTER 35: 36. CONCLUDING REMARKS.
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Concluding Remarks

We have aimed in this sketch so to exhibit the man and minister that his points
of character would be at once recognized without special analysis.

We have seen him as the precocious child, a good reader and thinker at four
years of age ; as the penitent boy, weeping under the preaching of the Gospel
when only three years old ; as the ardent youth, pursuing his studies with
untiring diligence and success ; as the Bible student, attaching to the divine
records an infinite pre-eminence over all other books, and seeking, with
corresponding reverence and zeal, to enrich his heart and mind with its
treasures, and leaning upon the promises like a pilgrim upon his staff, and
grasping with a giant faith the perfections of Jehovah, and the plan of
redemption as therein revealed. We have seen him as the conscientious Christian,
with a nature as sensitive to sin in every form as the tender flower to the
breath of winter.

We have seen him battling with the rage, and power, and insidious schemes of the
tempter to destroy his confidence in God and revealed religion, and in these
terrible conflicts foiling his mighty adversary. We have seen him, in his zeal
for the glory of God and the salvation of men, devoting himself with intent of
mind, and ardor of soul, and effort of body, seldom if ever equaled in the
history of the ministry. And blending, as he did, a deep and intense Christian
experience, integrity of principle, and simplicity of spirit with dignity of
manners, his influence was irresistible in his day. And his gifted intellect and
fertile imagination have given to the world those sublime thoughts and splendid
imagery which have contributed to perpetuate that influence. We have seen him in
death strong in faith, giving glory to God, with the language of victory upon
his lips, and the fires of hope blazing in his eye, and the joy of heaven
filling his soul.


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  CHAPTER 36: 37. PAYSON � BRAMWELL � FLETCHER - HEDDING
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Payson – Bramwell – Fletcher - Hedding In reading the Biography of Payson we
have been reminded of Bramwell, whom he resembled in his devotional spirit,
struggling mightily with God in prayer for the salvation of sinners, and, like
him, putting forth a corresponding effort to save them. In the higher life we
would associate him with the heavenly-minded Fletcher, whom he approximated in
the heights and depths of Christian experience, his soul, like that of
Fletchers, glowing with the fires of holiness, for which he panted, and which he
gloriously realized. In his dying triumph he may be associated with his
distinguished contemporary, Bishop Hedding. Between these two Christian heroes
there was a very remarkable coincidence in their sickness and death, both in
regard to the severity of their sufferings and the greatness and grandeur of
their triumph.

Payson suffers and dies with such language as this falling from his lips: "
Hitherto I have viewed God as a fixed star; bright, indeed, but often
intercepted by clouds, but now he is coming nearer and nearer, and spreads into
a sun so vast and glorious that the sight is too dazzling for flesh and blood to
sustain." Among his last utterances were the words, " Peace, peace ! Victory,
victory !"

Hedding suffers and dies exclaiming, " God has been wonderfully good to me. His
goodness has been overwhelming, overwhelming! I never saw such glory before,
such light, such clearness, such beauty! O what glory I feel! It shines and
burns all through me! It came upon me like the rushing of a mighty wind as on
the day of Pentecost!"

If in heaven, as on earth, congenial spirits seek companionship, we may expect
to find Payson talking with Bramwell on the power of prayer, with Fletcher on
the beauty of holiness, and with Hedding on the triumphs of faith over suffering
and death. May every reader of this sketch be stimulated by the lofty example it
records to aim high in the pursuit of Christian attainments and usefulness, and
finally reach that heaven where the immortal spirit of Edward Payson bathes in a
sea of glory, and

" Where saints of all ages in harmony meet, Their Saviour and brethren
transported to greet; Where anthems of rapture unceasingly roll, And the smile
of the Lord is the feast of the soul."


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Source: https://sermonindex.net/books/life-and-character-of-edward-or-praying-payson/
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