Ralph Venning (c. 1621 – 10 March 1673 or 1674) was an English nonconformist 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, about 1621. He was the first convert of George Hughes, the puritan vicar of Tavistock. He was educated at Emmanuel College, Cambridge, where he was admitted as a sizar on 1 April 1643, graduated B.A. 1646, and proceeded M.A. 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 ...

, where he had a reputation as a preacher of charity sermons. He collaborated in Southwark with William Cooper; in 1654 he was pastor of a gathered church there. Ejected by the Uniformity Act 1662, Venning became a colleague to Robert Bragge (1627–1704), pastor of an independent congregation at Pewterers' Hall, Lime Street, Fenchurch Street, and held this charge till his death. He died on 10 March 1674, in his fifty-third year, and was buried in Bunhill Fields. ''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 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 John Collins may refer to: Arts and entertainment * John Collins (poet) (1742–1808), English orator, singer, and poet * John Churton Collins (1848–1908), English literary critic * John H. Collins (director) (1889–1918), American director an ...

and

James Baron James Baron (born June 8, 1973) is a former arena football defensive lineman in the Arena Football League. He was the Arena Football League Players Association's (AFLPA) president as well. In his career, Baron has played for the Detroit Lions, ...

. 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 Jonathan Hanmer (1606–1687) was an English ejected minister. Life A younger son of John Hanmer (alias Davie, died April 1628), and Siblye Downe his wife, he was born at Barnstaple in Devon, and baptised there on 3 October 1606. He attended Barn ...

Theophilus Polwhele Theophilus Polwhele or Polwheile (died 1689) was an English ejected minister. Life From a Cornish background, Polwhele was born in Somerset. He entered Emmanuel College, Cambridge, as a sizar, on 29 March 1644, and had William Sancroft as a tutor, ...

, and

John Goodwin John Goodwin may refer to: Politicians *John Goodwin (Parliamentarian) (1603–1674), Member of Parliament for Reigate * John B. Goodwin (1850–1921), Mayor of Atlanta, Georgia in the late 1880s *John Noble Goodwin (1824–1887), 1st Governor of ...

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