Tag Archives: liturgy
The Liturgical Theology of John Owen—A Proposal
Posted on 23. Sep, 2009 by Danny Hyde.
Well, today was a mini-milestone as I sent off my Master of Theology (Th.M.) thesis proposal to my faculty readers, Dr. Joel Beeke and Dr. Derek Thomas. Now, the fun begins!
Below is the proposal (footnotes converted into parenthetical references), which should come to reality by May when I am scheduled to graduate, Deo volente.
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“The Liturgical Theology of John Owen”
by Daniel R. Hyde
John Owen (1616–1683) was called “the Calvin of England” [Memoirs of Ambrose Barnes, ed. W.H.D. Longstaffe (London: Surtees Society, 1867), 16] and the “Atlas and Patriarch of Independency” [Anthony Wood, History and Antiquities of the University of Oxford, ed. John Gutch, 2 vols. (Oxford, 1791), 2:650] by his contemporaries while his epitaph depicted him as “worthy to be enrolled among the first Divines of the age” (Et Seculi hujus Insignissimis annumerandus). Over the past decade the secondary literature on this preeminent and voluminous theologian of the high orthodox period has increased. In 1987 Sinclair Ferguson’s PhD thesis on Owen’s doctrine of the Christian life was published [John Owen on the Christian Life (Edinburgh, Scotland: The Banner of Truth Trust, 1987)]. Eleven years later in 1998 Carl Trueman published a significant study of Owen’s Trinitarian theology [The Claims of Truth: John Owen’s Trinitarian Theology (Carlisle, England: Paternoster Press, 1998)]. 2002 marked the publication of Sebastian Rehman’s important study of Owen’s theological method [Divine Discourse: The Theological Methodology of John Owen, Texts & Studies in Reformation & Post-Reformation Thought, gen. ed. Richard A. Muller (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2002)]. In 2004 two more popular books were published, one by Richard Daniels on Owen’s Christology [The Christology of John Owen (Grand Rapids, MI: Reformation Heritage Books, 2004)] and another by Jon Payne on Owen’s doctrine of the Lord’s Supper [John Owen on the Lord’s Supper (Edinburgh, Scotland: The Banner of Truth Trust, 2004)]. In 2007 two substantive works came to press. Carl Trueman published another considerable study of Owen’s doctrines of God, covenant theology, and justification that located his thought within the High Orthodox period [John Owen: Reformed Catholic, Renaissance Man, Great Theologians, eds. John Webster, Trevor Hart, and Douglas B. Farrow (Hampshire, England: Ashgate Publishing Limited, 2007)]. Alan Spence’s PhD thesis was published, dealing with Owen’s Christology [Incarnation and Inspiration: John Owen and the Coherence of Christology (London/New York: T&T Clark, 2007)].
Yet no study has yet come to press on his liturgical theology despite the prominence of liturgical theology in the Works of John Owen. While he wrote simply on worship early in his ministry, in his second and third published works, The Duty of Pastors and People Distinguished (1643) and Two Short Catechisms (1645), especially of note is the prominence of liturgical theology after 1660, when he stepped down as Vice-Chancellor of Oxford, and 1662, when he was ejected by the Act of Uniformity. For example, he dealt with liturgical theology contra Rome in Animadversions on a Treatise Entitled Fiat Lux (1662) and contra the Anglicans in A Discourse Concerning Liturgies, and Their Imposition (1662). In A Brief Instruction in the Worship of God (1667) he gave a positive presentation of the Congregational way. Later, he wrote A Discourse of the Work of the Holy Spirit in Prayer; with a Brief Inquiry into the Nature and Use of Mental Prayer and Forms (1682). Sometime towards the end of his life he wrote An Answer unto Two Questions . . . with Twelve Arguments against any Conformity to Worship not of Divine Institution (published posthumously in 1720).
Originality
Despite the important secondary works above, there is scant material devoted to Owen’s liturgical theology. This thesis attempts to fill that lacuna. There are only brief references to Owen’s important 1662 liturgical treatise, A Discourse Concerning Liturgies, and Their Imposition, within several books and essays. As far as journal articles, there is a dearth of material on Owen’s liturgics. In a survey of journals only two articles deal directly with Owen’s liturgical theology. The first is a popular article that draws general applications for today [Douglas Jones, “Liturgy Lessons from Owen,” Reformation & Revival 5:3 (Summer 1996): 111–118] while the other is a journal article that briefly surveys Owen’s doctrine of worship in his massive commentary on Hebrews [A. Craig Troxel, “‘Cleansed Once for All’: John Owen on the Glory of Gospel Worship in ‘Hebrews,’” Calvin Theological Journal 32:2 (November 1997): 468–479]. Owen’s liturgical theology represents an area for further scholarly enquiry. In 2008 I sought to begin making a contribution of Owen liturgical studies [“For Freedom Christ Has Set Us Free: John Owen’s A Discourse Concerning Liturgies, And Their Imposition,” The Confessional Presbyterian 4 (2008): 29–42].
Viability
The viability of this thesis is found in two facts. First, despite the lack of secondary material on this specific topic, the growing secondary literature will be invaluable in placing Owen’s liturgical theology in its high orthodox context. Second, there are major primary sources in Owen’s Works mentioned above that have yet to be studied in great detail.
This material shows is that Owen’s liturgical theology was governed by several key factors: first, the sufficiency of Scripture; second, Christian liberty won by Christ; third, the work of the Holy Spirit in equipping ministers; fourth, Christ’s heavenly priesthood; and fifth, Owen’s desire for true catholicity.
Potential
The potential of this Master of Theology (Th.M.) thesis is twofold. First, this thesis will serve the academy by making a significant contribution to the growing field of John Owen studies in an area where no study has yet been done. Second, this thesis will serve the church by providing a study of a Puritan’s practical/pastoral theology. Since all Reformed ministers, consistories/sessions, and believers engage in the worship of God every Lord’s Day and seek to do so in an ever-increasing idolatrous context, this work will equip these for authentic Reformed ministry in the twenty-first century.
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John Owen on the Work of the Holy Spirit in Prayer—#2
Posted on 17. Sep, 2009 by Danny Hyde.
Last night at our congregation’s Wednesday Study in Theology I continued lecturing through Owen’s treatise on the work of the Spirit in Christian prayer. Our specific topic was his “Preface,” dealing with his purpose, his principles, the problems, and the practice of prayer in the power of the Holy Spirit.
The audio is now available at SermonAudio here.
A .pdf outline is available here.
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John Owen on Liturgies and Laziness
Posted on 08. Sep, 2009 by Danny Hyde.
In his Discourse Concerning Liturgies, and Their Imposition (Works 15, 1–55), written just before the Act of Uniformity in 1662, John Owen (1616–1683) made a major point of using Ephesians 4. In fact, in all my reading of Owen and his liturgical writings, Ephesians 4 serves as a recurring passage. What Owen drew out of this passage is the fact that the ascended Jesus Christ by his Holy Spirit has promised to equip his ministers to edify his people. Against the argument of the Angllican prelates, who argued that liturgies were necessary because of their ministers’ lack of ability to pray extemporaneously, Owen retorted with a conundrum: this either is blasphemy because what it says is that Jesus no longer gifts his Church as he did in the days of the apostles as he promised or those in the ministry without such gifts were negligent and careless in not improving whatever gifts they did have. Because of the lack of improvement of gifts, Owen said, “I wish, then, we might, in the fear of the Lord, consider whether the remedy [i.e., composing liturgies] were well suited unto the disease [i.e., negligent and ungifted ministers].”
Throughout this Discourse Owen argued in a typically dispassionate, cogently argued manner, but his experimental theology bursted forth in a passionate way, when he said:
I suppose all impartial men will grant that there ought to have been a return unto Him endeavoured from whom that were gone astray . . . Finding themselves at the loss wherein they were, should they not have searched their hearts and ways, to consider wherefore it was that the presence of Christ was so withdrawn from them, that they were so left without the assistance which other ministering in their places before them had received? Should not they have pulled out their single talent, and fallen to trading with it, that it might have increased under their care? Was not this the remedy and cure of the breach made by them, that God and man expected from them? Was it just, then, and according to the mind of Christ, that, instead of an humble returnal unto a holy, evangelical dependence on himself, they should invent an expedient to support them in the condition wherein they were, and so make all such returnal for hereafter needless? (Works 15, 27–28)
What use are Owen’s words for us today? To my brothers in the ministry and those preparing for the ministry, stir up the gifts that your Lord Jesus Christ has placed within you by the power of his Holy Spirit! Fan your flame (2 Tim. 1:6). Work hard at preaching the law with force and work hard at applying the tender words of the gospel to your people’s souls. And exert yourselves in praying as men standing between God and man, heaven and earth. Administer the sacraments with passion as they are a foretaste of heaven.
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John Owen on Delighting in Worship
Posted on 04. Sep, 2009 by Danny Hyde.
For many of you young reformers like me, I came out of a myriad of non-Reformed but evangelical churches to a Reformed church. Recall the struggle you may have had over the theology and practice of worshipping God in a Reformed church. In former churches we were taught that the effectiveness of any given Sunday’s worship was to be measured by our subjective experience of it in terms of how “uplifted,” “powerful,” and “enlivening” it made us feel. This is why when we walked into a Reformed church for the first time and then walked out of its doors on that Sunday, it seemed as though all emotion was gone and that our subjective experience of worship was a moot point. “How could I have just worshipped God when I don’t feel like it just did?”
So . . . what did the great Puritan, John Owen, say about our level of experiential delight in the weekly worship of God? Do we actually believe that worship should be a delight? Is it okay to feel anything in worship?
I have been making my way through John Owen’s 1667 treatise, A Brief Instruction in the Worship of God and Discipline of the Churches of the New Testament, which came to be known as “The Independents’ Catechism” (Works 15, 447–530). This treatise speaks to us today as we seek a helpful way forward for ourselves and our family, friends, and visitors to our churches who feel like we may be cold.
In one of the more beautiful and practical sections of this treatise, Owen spoke of our delighting in the divine service. Picking up in question and answer seven, we read Owen saying that when we gather for the divine service there are four “chief things that we ought to aim at in our observation” (Works 15, 455–456):
- To sanctify the name of God.
- To own and avow our professed subjection to Christ.
- To build up ourselves in our most holy faith.
- To testify and confirm our mutual love.
Owen went on to explicate this first aim, or, chief end, of the Christians’ observation of the divine service by further dividing it into five parts (Works 15, 456–459):
- to reverence God’s sovereign authority in appointing his gospel institutions.
- to regard God’s special presence in his ordinances.
- to exercise faith in the promises of God annexed to his ordinances.
- to delight in his “will, wisdom, love, and grace” manifested in his gospel ordinances.
- to persevere in our observance of Christ’s ordinances.
For our purposes, here I want to focus in on the fourth point that Owen made, namely, that we sanctify the name of God in worship by our delighting in God’s will, wisdom, love, and grace as they are manifested to us in the gospel ordinances (by which he means, Word, sacraments, prayer, and discipline). So what precisely does it mean to “delight” in worship?
First, Owen says what it does not mean. Our delighting in the service does not mean what he called a “carnal self-pleasing, or satisfaction in the outward modes or manner of the performance of divine worship.” What did Owen mean by this? He was saying that our delight in worship was not to be found in our sinful and experiential delights. In a word, worship is not about you! Further, he was saying this against those in his time who sought for delight in the outward form and beauty of the liturgy itself. Here Owen sought to cut off any idea that worship was for our pleasure, whether in serving our emotions or even serving our eyes, such as in the Mass or the English Prayer Book with its pomp and ceremony in the days of Archbishop Laud’s high church experimentation. So our delighting in the divine service is not about “what we get out of it,” to use an evangelical phrase. For many of us who became Reformed later, we get this. But here is where Owen warns us in a way we need to hear. We are not to find our delight in the divine service in the mere fact that our liturgy might have ancient roots, or in the trappings of candles, banners, crosses, incense, kneeling, coming forward for communion, vestments, the Geneva robe, or the fully printed-out liturgy itself. Owen is saying, be careful of the trappings of high church.
Instead of this, Owen said that our delighting in the divine service was rooted in “contemplation on the will, wisdom, grace, and condescension of God.” Our God has drawn near to us! And he has done so, as Owen wrote, “of his own sovereign mere will and grace.” Why? Owen gave five beautiful reasons:
- “so to manifest himself unto such poor sinful creatures as we are”
- “so to condescend unto our weakness”
- “so to communicate himself unto us”
- “so to excite and draw forth our souls unto himself”
- “and to give us such pledges of his gracious intercourse with us by Jesus Christ”
When we gather for the Divine service (meaning, God’s service to us in Word and sacrament and our service to him in prayer), we are to find our delight in our covenant God himself, not in anything else, whether within us or whether external to us that we have contrived. It is our communion with God that brings us delight and the means of grace serve to bring us closer to him that we might glorify him and delight in him.
Christian, God has so stooped down to you that he invites you into his heavenly presence in worship. What a privilege! Believer, delight in worshipping the Lord your God!
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A Case of Calvin vs. the Calvinists? Calvin and Owen on Liturgy
Posted on 02. Sep, 2009 by Danny Hyde.
Over at the Old Life Theological Society, Dr. Darryl Hart (Darryl, do you still have that sacred candle of the BVM the Zwingli Club gave you back in my days at WSC?) has posted on an interesting issue, whether there is continuity or discontinuity between Calvin (whom Hart typifies as Presbyterianism) and Owen (whom Hart typifies as Puritanism) on the issue of liturgy, especially set forms of prayer. He is citing from a blog by my friend, former parishioner, and now colleague, Rev. Mike Brown, in which Brown argues for continuity between Calvin (who had a Form of Church Prayers) and Owen (who argued against an imposed liturgy).
You can read some of my thoughts on this in the comments on Hart’s post, but suffice it to say it is a complicated question (isn’t all history this way?). Sure, Calvin and Owen lived at different times and under different circumstances, which answers some of the question. Yet, was Owen against all “liturgy?” Depends on what you mean, whose liturgy, and the necessity of such liturgy. Was Owen against all forms of prayer? Again, it depends on what treatise you are reading, when it was written, and for what purpose a form of prayer is offered.
I hope my ThM thesis on The Liturgical Theology of John Owen sheds some light. I think the answer is that there is essential continuity in terms of the principles of Reformed worship but legitimate discontinuity in terms of the practice of liturgical prayer. This discontinuity is more than just a result of their historical circumstances, but a deeply held theological principle for Owen regardless of when and where he ministered.
So far my thesis revolves around five key principles for Owen, found in such writings as “A Discourse Concerning Liturgies, and Their Imposition,” “A Brief Instruction in the Worship of God,” “A Discourse of the Work of the Holy Spirit in Prayer,” and his massive Hebrews exposition. These principles are 1) the sufficiency of Scripture, 2) the freedom won for the Church by Christ, 3) the work of the Holy Spirit, 4) the catholicity of the Reformation, and 5) the heavenly priesthood of Christ. I pray my thesis holds water academically and also helps the Reformed churches practically in our time and place.
