The story of the Payson family is a captivating study in how profound spiritual light can emerge from the deepest valleys of human suffering. Dr. Edward Payson, famously remembered as "Praying Payson," was a towering figure of the Second Great Awakening whose legendary, agonizing intercessions literally wore grooves into his hardwood floors, yet he was constantly bedeviled by physical pain and overwhelming bouts of melancholy. This complex legacy of fierce devotion and raw vulnerability did not end with his early death; it was magnified in the lives of his two brilliant daughters. Louisa, a self-taught intellectual powerhouse, masterfully translated the silent longings of the soul into clear, resonant prose, while her sister Elizabeth—enduring a lifetime of devastating chronic illness and the tragic loss of her own children—penned the immortal hymn More Love to Thee, O Christ and the bestselling novel Stepping Heavenward. Together, this 19th-century family transformed their personal battlefields of grief, doubt, and physical frailty into an enduring literary and spiritual roadmap that continues to guide weary travelers home.

The nature of a swine is not altered by its being adorned with nose jewels, such as those which some of the ladies of Zion used to wear. It is still, with all its decorations, a swine; it loves the mire, and its ornaments, instead of concealing its ugliness, only render it so much the more an object of scorn and of ridicule. Every eye will be attracted by it, and every beholder astonished by so unnatural a conjunction of vileness and adorning. A beautiful woman may be admired for a time, but when her vanity and folly are detected, admiration is turned into loathing

Joseph Charles (J. C.) Philpot preached and published his landmark sermon, The Heir of Heaven Walking in Darkness, and the Heir of Hell Walking in Light, in 1836. He delivered the message in October of that year in Oakham, Rutland, England, and it was published shortly thereafter, serving as his very first printed sermon.

Free Grace Broadcaster Summer 2026 The Beatific Vision

In The Dominion of Providence, Witherspoon shows how God rules the world in righteousness, managing even the violence and wickedness of men for His glory. In this influential sermon preached in 1776, Witherspoon calls his hearers to defend their liberties and fulfil their civil duties in humble submission to the wisdom, justice, and goodness of God. -Chapel Library is a ministry of Mount Zion Bible Church, a Christ-centered church in Pensacola, Florida. for this and other sermons go to chapellibrary org. This sermons is available in PDF EPUB and Pamphlet formats.

This warring is expressible with what vigor and variety sin acts itself in this matter. Sometimes it proposes diversions, sometimes it causes weariness, sometimes it finds out difficulties, sometimes it stirs up contrary affections, sometimes it begets prejudices, and one way or other entangles the soul. The result is that indwelling sin never suffers grace to have an absolute and complete success in any duty. "How to perform that which is good I find not"