Christ's Priestly Office
"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 gifts and sacrifices; wherefore it is of necessity th ...read
Sermon
Christ's Special Tenderness Towards Penitent Disciples
"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
These 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, just after his resurrection. They were ...read
Sermon
Christ's Victory Over Satan
"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
For this purpose, says St. John, was the Son of God manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil. In conformity with this ...read
Sermon
Christ, God's Best Gift to Man
"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 their writings. While we naturally discover in i ...read
Sermon
Christ, the Saviour of the Lost
"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 which God has presented to the contemplation of h ...read
Sermon
Demonstration of Christ's Love
"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 regarded him as unfeeling and morose, were surp ...read
Sermon
Duty of the Present to the Coming Generation
"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 angels, we have reason to believe, were all ...read
Sermon
Equality of Men with Angels
"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 us, that the faithful servants of God shall s ...read
Sermon
Fellowship with the Father and with the Son
"Truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ." 1 John 1:3
Great, 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 not in kind, but only in degree. Is it ...read
Sermon
Fraud Exposed and Condemned
"It is naught, it is naught, saith the buyer; but when he is gone his way, then he boasteth" Proverbs 20:14
It 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 former ages strikingly resembled, in charac ...read
Sermon
God Heard in the Still Small Voice
"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: and after the fire a still small voice. And it ...read
Sermon
God's Praises Sung; His Works Forgotten
"They sang his praise; they soon forgot his works." Psalm 106:12,13.
This 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 discontent; both uttered by the same lips, within ...read
Sermon
God's Special Presence Distinguishes His Own People
"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
You doubtless recollect, my hearers, that th ...read
Sermon
God's Ways Above Men's
"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts" Isa. 55:8 & 9
In the preceding verses God commands and invites sinners to repent and embrace his offers of mercy. "Ho, every one that thir ...read
Sermon
Holiness to the Lord
"In that day shall there be upon the bells of the horses, holiness unto the Lord; and the pots in the Lord's house shall he like the howls before the altar. Yea, every pot in Jerusalem and in Judah shall be holiness unto the Lord of Hosts; and all they that sacrifice shall come and take of them, and seethe therein; and in that day there shall be n ...read
Sermon
How Little Children are Prevented from Coming to Christ
"But when Jesus saw it, he was much displeased and said unto them, Suffer the little children to come unto me and forbid them not; for of such is the kingdom of God." Matthew 10:14
In the passage of which these words are a part, we have a beautiful instance of the fulfillment of an ancient prediction respecting Christ, that he should gather th ...read
Sermon
How to Prolong the Gracious Visits of Christ
"And when it was day he departed, and went into a desert place; and the people sought him, and came unto him, and stayed him, that he should not depart from them" Luke 4:42
Our blessed Saviour, while on earth, met with a very different reception in different places. In one place we see all the inhabitants uniting in a request that he would dep ...read
Sermon
Jehovah, A King
"I am a great King, saith the Lord of Hosts" Malachi 1:14
When God would inform his creatures what he is, he must employ language suited to their capacities; language, which they can understand. What he is himself indeed, or what constitutes his essence, no language can describe; and therefore even he cannot inform us. He can only say, I am wh ...read
Sermon
Joy in Heaven Over Repenting Sinners
"There is joy in the presence of the angels of God, over one sinner that repenteth." Luke 15:10
Though eye 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, yet, for our encouragement and consolation, he has revealed theta to us by his Spirit in his word. He ther ...read
Sermon
Knowledge of One's Sins, a Difficult Acquisition
"Who can understand his errors?" Psalm 19:12
From the preceding part of this psalm it appears that, when David uttered this exclamation, he had been meditating on the purity and perfection of the divine law. From this subject he passed by a very natural transition, to his own transgressions of that law. The more he reflected upon them the more ...read
Edward Payson