Public Worship as Theo-Politics in the Theology of John Owen

Hyde explores how John Owen linked several aspects of his theology in order to express his eschatological vision. Despite many studies over the past several decades, several aspects of John Owen’s practical, political, ecclesiastical, and eschatological emphases have remained unexamined. One specific area in which these theological and practical aspects come together is how Owen linked his theology of Scripture, covenants, Christ’s priesthood, and the Holy Spirit’s work in prayer in a multi-faceted view of Trinitarian worship to express his political-ecclesiastical eschatological vision.

Public worship as the highest expression on earth of the believer’s communion with the Triune God in heaven, was not merely a devotional, practical, or theological issue for Owen. Within his own historical context, worship was as expression of an eschatological vision for England’s church and state. Subsequently, Hyde deftly shows how Owen’s concept of Worship was not immune to the social, political, theological, and ecclesiastical realities of the seventeenth-century. This is an essential study for anybody wishing to understand the liturgical theology of this influential theologian.