John Owen

Beloved, I beseech you, let the meditation of these things sink deep into your hearts, dwell upon them, remember that they are matters which nearly concern your soul, and no vain words touching you and your welfare.

End of The Difficulty of Salvation by Richard Sibbes A Letter Concerning the Matter of the Present Excommunications by John Owen This is a LibriVox recording.

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For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org Sir, you judge aright that at my last being in London I did consider the unusual hurry of excommunications against those called dissenters, and because of the novelty of the proceedings therein, I did moreover endeavour my own satisfaction as unto the design, causes, and ends of them.

I beg your excuse, as not knowing whether you will judge this hasty writing too little for the cause, or too much for a letter.

As it is, accept it from, sir, your, etc.

J.O. End of A Letter Concerning the Matter of the Present Excommunications by John Owen The Church's Visitation by Richard Sibbes This is a LibriVox recording.

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At the end of the day, the Spirit moves as He pleases.

John Owen said that.

He said, "...of this joy there is no account to be given, but that the Spirit worketh it when and how He will.

He secretly infuseth and distills it into the soul, prevailing against all fears and sorrows, filling it with gladness, exaltations, and sometimes with unspeakable raptures of the mind." Have you tasted that? Maybe even now.

Since the outbreak of the civil wars, both the university and the college had undergone many vicissitudes.

At the moment when Locke entered, Cromwell was Chancellor, and Dr. John Owen, who was destined to be for some time the leading resident, had been recently appointed Dean of Christ Church and Vice-Chancellor of the University.

Owen was an Independent, and for a divine of that age, a man of remarkably tolerant and liberal views.

Though then as now a dignitary in Owen's position probably had, and could have, but little intercourse with the junior members of his society, it is not improbable that Locke may have derived his first bias toward those opinions on the question of religious toleration for which he afterwards became so famous from the publications and the practice of the Puritan Dean of Christ Church.

Down through the years, people have fussed about long sermons.

I was interested in reading a comment made by an older woman years ago when the Welsh preacher John Owen went on and on and on and on.

She made the comment that he was so long setting the table in his introduction she lost her appetite for the meal.

Ronald Reagan, the great communicator, while president, loved to tell the story of the young country preacher who had never before preached a message.

And he came to this country church and he walked in and to his amazement, there was one rancher present.

The place was empty except for this one man sitting about halfway back on the hard bench.

And young preacher walked back there and he said, well, what do you think I ought to do? And the rancher said, well, I don't rightly know, son.

I'm just a cowpoke.

Down through the years, people have fussed about long sermons.

I was interested in reading a comment made by an older woman years ago when the Welsh preacher John Owen went on and on and on and on.

She made the comment that he was so long setting the table in his introduction, she lost her appetite for the meal.

Ronald Reagan, the great communicator, while president, loved to tell the story of the young country preacher who had never before preached a message.

And he came to this country church and he walked in and to his amazement, there was one rancher present.

The place was empty except for this one man sitting about halfway back on the hard bench.

And young preacher walked back there and he said, well, what do you think I ought to do? And the rancher said, well, I don't rightly know, son.

I'm just a cowpoke.

We are in the foothills when we should be on the heights.

Make it our chiefest joy to study you, meditate on you, gaze on you, sit like Mary at your feet, lean like John on your breast, appeal like Peter to your love, and count like Paul all things that are not of you, like dung.

Give us an increase and progress in grace.

so that there may be more decision in our character formation, more vigor in our purpose, more elevation in our lives, more fervor in our devotions, and more constancy in our zeal.

Yes.

Proof that his kindness can be depended on.

As the 17th century Puritan John Owen says, love precedes discipline.

That should be true too in our parenting.