Ralph Venning (c. 1621 – 10 March 1673 or 1674) was an English

nonconformist Nonconformity or nonconformism may refer to: Culture and society * Insubordination, the act of willfully disobeying an order of one's superior *Dissent, a sentiment or philosophy of non-agreement or opposition to a prevailing idea or entity ** ...

Christian.

Life

The son of Francis and Joan Venning, he was born in

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...

, perhaps at

Kingsteignton Kingsteignton ( ), is a town and civil parish in South Devon, England. It lies at the head of the Teign Estuary to the west of Teignmouth in the Teignbridge district. It is bypassed by the A380 and is also on the A383, A381, B3193 and B3195. ...

, about 1621. He was the first convert of George Hughes, the puritan vicar of

Tavistock Tavistock ( ) is an ancient stannary and market town within West Devon, England. It is situated on the River Tavy from which its name derives. At the 2011 census the three electoral wards (North, South and South West) had a population of 13,028 ...

. He was educated at

Emmanuel College, Cambridge Emmanuel College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1584 by Sir Walter Mildmay, Chancellor of the Exchequer to Elizabeth I. The site on which the college sits was once a priory for Dominican mon ...

, where he was admitted as a

sizar At Trinity College, Dublin and the University of Cambridge, a sizar is an undergraduate who receives some form of assistance such as meals, lower fees or lodging during his or her period of study, in some cases in return for doing a defined jo ...

on 1 April 1643, graduated B.A. 1646, and proceeded

M.A. A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

1650. Venning held a lectureship at St Olave's Church in the parish of

Southwark St Olave Southwark St Olave was an ancient civil and ecclesiastical parish on the south bank of the River Thames, covering the area around where Shard London Bridge now stands in the modern London Borough of Southwark. The boundaries varied over time bu ...

, where he had a reputation as a preacher of charity sermons. He collaborated in Southwark with

William Cooper William Cooper may refer to: Business *William Cooper (accountant) (1826–1871), founder of Cooper Brothers * William Cooper (businessman) (1761–1840), Canadian businessman *William Cooper (co-operator) (1822–1868), English co-operator * Will ...

; in 1654 he was pastor of a

gathered church Under Charles I, the Puritans became a political force as well as a religious tendency in the country. Opponents of the royal prerogative became allies of Puritan reformers, who saw the Church of England moving in a direction opposite to what ...

there. Ejected by the

Uniformity Act 1662 The Act of Uniformity 1662 (14 Car 2 c 4) is an Act of Parliament, Act of the Parliament of England. (It was formerly cited as 13 & 14 Charles II of England, Ch.2 c. 4, by reference to the regnal year when it was passed on 19 May 1662.) It pr ...

, Venning became a colleague to

Robert Bragge The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...

(1627–1704), pastor of an independent congregation at Pewterers' Hall, Lime Street,

Fenchurch Street Fenchurch Street is a street in London linking Aldgate at its eastern end with Lombard Street and Gracechurch Street in the west. It is a well-known thoroughfare in the City of London financial district and is the site of many corporate office ...

, and held this charge till his death. He died on 10 March 1674, in his fifty-third year, and was buried in

Bunhill Fields Bunhill Fields is a former burial ground in central London, in the London Borough of Islington, just north of the City of London. What remains is about in extent and the bulk of the site is a public garden maintained by the City of London Cor ...

. ''An Elegy'' on his death was printed on a broadsheet in March 1674. He married Hannah, widow of John Cope of London, and left a son, and a daughter Hannah (d. 7 June 1691). Of his style,

John Edwards Johnny Reid Edwards (born June 10, 1953) is an American lawyer and former politician who served as a U.S. senator from North Carolina. He was the Democratic nominee for vice president in 2004 alongside John Kerry, losing to incumbents George ...

remarked in ''The Preacher'' (1705, i. 203): "He turns sentences up and down, and delights in little cadences and chiming of words."

Bibliography

He published, besides single sermons preached at St. Paul's Cathedral in 1654 and 1656: *''Orthodox Paradoxes, Or, A Believer Clearing Truth by Seeming Contradictions'' (1647; 7th ed. 1657) *''Mysteries and Revelations'' (1647; 5th ed. 1657) *''The New Command Renew'd,'' (1650; 4th ed. 1657) *''Milke and Honey'', with a second part of ''Orthodox Paradoxes'' (1653; 3rd ed. 1656) *''Canaan's Flowings'' (1654) (a second part of ''Milke and Honey''); 3rd ed. 1658 *''Things worth thinking on'' (1665) *''The Beauty of Holiness'' (1665) *''Sin: The Plague of Plagues'' (published 1669) (Republished as "The Sinfulness of Sin" by Banner of Truth) *''The Puritans on Loving One Another'' *''The Sinfulness of Sin'' *''Warning to Backsliders'' *''Way to Happiness'' Posthumous were *''The Dead yet Speaking, or Mr. Venning's Living Sayings'' (1674), broadsheet *''Alarm to Unconverted Sinners'' (1675), broadsheet *''Venning's Remains, or Christ's School'' (1675), preface by John Collins and James Baron. He was one of the editors of the ''English Greek Lexicon'' (1661), the first lexicon of New Testament Greek giving the meanings in English). His farewell sermon at St. Olave's is in ''A Compleat Collection of Farewell Sermons'', 1663; his 'divine sentences' are included in ''Saints' Memorials'', 1674. He prefaced books by William Strong, Jonathan Hanmer, Theophilus Polwhele, and John Goodwin.

References

;Attribution *

External links

PuritanBoard page on Ralph Venning
{{DEFAULTSORT:Venning, Ralph 1621 births 1673 deaths People from Kingsteignton Ejected English ministers of 1662 English sermon writers Alumni of Emmanuel College, Cambridge