Edward Payson Willis

On The Death Of Edward Payson, D.D.

By Nathaniel Parker Willis

   A servant of the living God is dead!

   His errand hath been well and early done,

   And early hath he gone to his reward.

   He shall come no more forth, but to his sleep

   Hath silently lain down, and so shall rest.

Would ye bewail our brother? He hath gone

   To Abraham's bosom. He shall no more thirst,

   Nor hunger, but forever in the eye,

   Holy and meek, of Jesus, he may look,

   Unchided, and untempted, and unstained.

   Would ye bewail our brother? He hath gone

   To sit down with the prophets by the clear

   And crystal waters; he hath gone to list

   Isaiah's harp and David's, and to walk

   With Enoch, and Elijah, and the host

   Of the just men made perfect. He shall bow

   At Gabriel's Hallelujah, and unfold

   The scroll of the Apocalypse with John,

   And talk of Christ with Mary, and go back

   To the last supper, and the garden prayer

   With the belov'd disciple. He shall hear

   The story of the Incarnation told

   By Simeon, and the Triune mystery

   Burning upon the fervent lips of Paul.

   He shall have wings of glory, and shall soar

   To the remoter firmaments, and read

   The order and the harmony of stars;

   And, in the might of knowledge, he shall bow

   In the deep pauses of Archangel harps,

   And humble as the Seraphim, shall cry -

   Who by his searching, finds thee out, Oh God!

There shall he meet his children who have gone

   Before him, and as other years roll on,

   And his loved flock go up to him, his hand

   Again shall lead them gently to the Lamb,

   And bring them to the living waters there.

Is it so good to die! and shall we mourn

   That he is taken early to his rest?

   Tell me! Oh mourner for the man of God!

   Shall we bewail our brother that he died?

Younger brother of poet Nathaniel Parker Willis, columnist Fanny Fern, and composer Richard Storrs Willis. Named after Reverend Edward Payson,(See above) minister of the Second Congregational Church where the Willises worshiped in Portland, Maine. Edward apparently lost touch with the family for a time and possibly moved to Ohio.

• Reference: [https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/70806002/edward-payson-willis?_.... Find A Grave Memorial] - SmartCopy: Aug 2 2023, 12:27:52 UTC

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• Reference: MyHeritage Family Trees - SmartCopy: Aug 3 2023, 22:32:44 UTC
• Reference: Ancestry Genealogy - SmartCopy: Aug 10 2023, 16:34:34 UTC schwartz