Preacher Boy

Edward Payson's (1783-1827) father, Seth, preached his ordination charge. O may fathers (and churches!) again want for our sons what the elder Payson wanted for his!

I can think with calmness, nay, with a degree of pleasure, of your suffering for righteousness' sake, and, should the world pour upon you its obloquy, its scorn and reproach, for your fidelity to your Master's cause, a father's heart would still embrace you with, if possible, increased fondness. But to see you losing sight of the great objects which ought to engage your attention, courting the applause of the world, infected with the infidel sentiments of the day, and neglecting the immortal interests of those now about to be committed to your care, this, O my son, I could not support. It would bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to the grave. But is it possible, that in such a cause, with such motives to fidelity, and with prospects, may I not add, so peculiarly pleasing as those which now surround you, you should, notwithstanding, prove unfaithful? It is possible; for there is nothing too base, too ungrateful, or destructive of our own most important interests, for human nature to commit; and, unless the grace of the Lord Jesus preserve you, the glory of God will be forgotten, your Savior will by you be crucifed afresh, and his cause exposed to shame; your sacred character will become your reproach, and, instead of the blessing of many ready to perish, you will accumulate the curses of perishing souls upon your head. May your preservation from this awful fate be the theme of our future eternal praises. Legacy of a Legend, 148-9.