Edward Payson was an outstanding American pastor of the early Nineteeth Century. From 1807 to his premature death in 1827, laboring in the pulpit of Second Church in Portland, Maine, he saw extraordinary success in the conversion and edification of souls. His effectiveness as a minister of the gospel has been credited to the godly life that he lived. He was held in such esteem, that thousands named their sons after him, and prayed that they would grow up to be like him. He preached the same biblical Calvinism that the Puritans preached before him. His written sermons are remarkably easy to read, even today. They are characterized by great vividness and convicting power, and by a captivating eloquence.