Edward Payson, The Oracles of God, preached 1824 at the Marine Bible Society

Payson, Edward. The Oracles of God: A Sermon, delivered at Boston, Jan. 21, 1824, before the Marine Bible Society of that city and its vicinity. Portland: Printed at The Mirror office, by A. Shirley, 1824. First Edition. [10896] Tall pamphlet, 9 1/2 x 5 1/2 inches, newly resewn, wrapper in two pieces, 23, [1] pages; the last page being an Abstract of the Society. Several historical society oval ink stamps, some chipping to the edges. Fair. Pamphlet. A sermon on the text Romans 3:1 & 2, "What advantage then hath the Jew? or what profit is there of circumcision? much every way; chiefly, because that unto them were committed the oracles of God." Payson expounds the text to show the solemnity of God's granting His word to mankind and the importance of reading and studying the Bible. The Portland Marine Bible Society was founded in 1820, with the Rev. Edward Payson their foremost advocate and supporter. His Oct. 28, 1821 Address to Seaman, preached in his church to a throng of sailors, was the spark of a revival among them that led to 250 joining the Society and asking for Bibles. see Kverndal, Seamen's Missions: Their Origin and Early Growth, p. 448. Edward Payson (1783-1827), Trinitarian Congregationalist, b. at Rindge, N.H.; graduated at Harvard; taught school for three years; pastor of the Congregational Church in Portland, Maine, from 1811 tp 1827. “He was a man of exalted piety and unquenchable zeal, and so greatly esteemed that he was obliged time and time again to decline invitations to the pastoral care of churches in Boston and New York city.” – Allibone. He is known to this day as “Praying Payson of Portland, Maine.”