Daily Devotional Readings from John Owen

Photo by Timothy Eberly on Unsplash

Why a daily devotional?

I have been reading John Owen for over 15 years, and early on was struck by how many times he said something should be done daily. For example, “the weeds of lust [must be] constantly and daily rooted up”; “all the graces of the Spirit may be renewed daily, increased and strengthened”; and “the daily exercise of faith on Christ as crucified…is the great fundamental means of the mortification of sin.” So, I collected all the “daily” readings I could find, hoping for a nice round number like 90. When I only found 67, I got the crazy idea of selecting another 298 readings to get to 365. Then I got even more ambitious and collected almost 365 more to have 2 paired readings for almost every day.

Aside from personal edification, I decided to collect these readings for two reasons. First, I wanted to provide an accessible entrance into the works of John Owen for the average reader who otherwise might not engage with his writings. Second, I wanted to provide a resource for reading John Owen that encourages and facilitates Owen’s exhortation to “rest not in any notions of Truth unless you find that you have learned it as it is in Jesus” (Works of John Owen, 7:113).¹ It is all too easy to get caught up in the inspiring complexity of Owen’s thought that we neglect or miss the transformative potential of “learning the truth as it is in Jesus” (Ephesians 4:21). Short devotional readings are especially conducive for meditative, prayerful reflection.

Why now?

I should have done this last December to have it start on January 1, but I was waiting to hear back from another publisher. I have now submitted this manuscript to 3 publishers since 2020, and none of them were interested (and none explained why, except that Crossway had “too many” John Owen projects already). It could be that a similar daily devotional was already in the process of being published. What strange providence! No John Owen daily readers on the market, and then all of a sudden, at the same time, there are 2. I’m sure Lee Gatiss’ collection is worth reading. While I haven’t seen more than the Amazon preview, it seems he has a more comprehensive selection, including Owen’s theological/polemical writings. My selection is specifically focused on spiritual growth, which was Owen’s stated life focus: “the chief design of my life...are, that mortification and universal holiness may be promoted in my own and in the hearts and ways of others, to the glory of God” (Works, 6:4). To that same end, I commend these daily readings for promoting holiness in your life.

Subscribe to receive these readings every day!

While I may decide to self-publish an actual book in the future, for now I wanted others to benefit from John Owen’s writings, as I have, so I am sharing them for free. Type your email below to have these sent to your inbox every morning! And if you know of others who have heard John Owen mentioned a lot but never felt up for trying his challenging style of writing and complex thought, please share this Substack with them!

1. All quotes are taken from the Banner of Truth edition of John Owen’s collected works, as well as Biblical Theology published by Soli Deo Gloria.