Isaac Penington
Isaac Penington
Isaac Penington (1616-1679) was the son of a prominent English politician, and the father-in-law of William Penn, founder of Pennsylvania. Though born into a family of wealth and reputation, Penington’s heart was set upon things above from his earliest days. Even as a child, he recognized that the religion of his day stood in the will and understanding of man, in outward practices, duties, and scriptural truths that were professed but not truly possessed. Isaac Penington longed for more. Motivated by an insatiable hunger for truth, he sought the Lord with all his heart and discovered a Christianity that stood in, and flowed out from, the light and life of Jesus Christ reigning in the inner man.
I may say [Isaac Penington] was one in a thousand; zealous, yet tender; wise, yet humble; a constant and early comer to meetings, and watchful and reverent in them. He was one that ever loved power and life more than words; and because he waited for this, so by it he would often be deeply affected and made to utter such testimonies as were greatly to the help of the poor and needy, the weary and heavy-laden, the true sojourners and travellers to the eternal rest and city of God.
- William Penn
Books by Isaac Penington
The Writings of Isaac Penington
The Writings of Isaac Penington — Vol. I
Volume One of The Writings of Isaac Penington, a conscientiously abridged, and slightly modernized and annotated edition of his four volume complete works (which can also be found on this site.)
- 401 pages
- spiritual life, doctrinal, letters
- Audio Book
- 1290 Downloads
The Writings of Isaac Penington
The Writings of Isaac Penington — Vol. II
Volume Two of The Writings of Isaac Penington, a conscientiously abridged, and slightly modernized and annotated edition of his four volume complete works (which can also be found on this site.)
- 401 pages
- spiritual life, doctrinal, letters
- Audio Book
- 938 Downloads
The Unabridged Works of Isaac Penington
The Unabridged Works of Isaac Penington — Vol. I
Volume One of the Complete Works of Isaac Penington. This edition not not been abridged, edited, or annotated, but is a reproduction of the original work first published in 1681, then again in 1761, 1794, 1863, and lately transcribed and reprinted by Quaker Heritage Press.
- 468 pages
- spiritual life, doctrinal, letters
- 145 Downloads
The Unabridged Works of Isaac Penington
The Unabridged Works of Isaac Penington — Vol. II
Volume Two of the Complete Works of Isaac Penington. This edition not not been abridged, edited, or annotated, but is a reproduction of the original work first published in 1681, then again in 1761, 1794, 1863, and lately transcribed and reprinted by Quaker Heritage Press.
- 519 pages
- spiritual life, doctrinal, letters
- 69 Downloads
The Unabridged Works of Isaac Penington
The Unabridged Works of Isaac Penington — Vol. III
Volume Three of the Complete Works of Isaac Penington. This edition not not been abridged, edited, or annotated, but is a reproduction of the original work first published in 1681, then again in 1761, 1794, 1863, and lately transcribed and reprinted by Quaker Heritage Press.
- 553 pages
- spiritual life, doctrinal, letters
- 90 Downloads
The Unabridged Works of Isaac Penington
The Unabridged Works of Isaac Penington — Vol. IV
Volume Four of the Complete Works of Isaac Penington. This edition not not been abridged, edited, or annotated, but is a reproduction of the original work first published in 1681, then again in 1761, 1794, 1863, and lately transcribed and reprinted by Quaker Heritage Press.
- 491 pages
- spiritual life, doctrinal, letters
- 73 Downloads
“Yet after it pleased the Father to reveal his Son in [Isaac Penington], thereby giving him to see, and certainly to know, what was that good and acceptable and perfect will of God; oh, how joyfully did he receive it! How willingly did he bow unto it! How readily did he yield his neck to the yoke of Christ! And how constantly and delightfully did he wear it! Did he then regard the pleasures of the times, or value the preferments and honors of the world? No, no. he turned his back upon it all; esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt.”
— Thomas Ellwood
Related Books
The Life of Thomas Ellwood
Knowing that Thomas Ellwood was reviled and abused by his father for his adherence to the Truth, Isaac and Mary Penington took him into their home and treated him as on of their own children. Much of the biographical information that is known about the Peningtons comes from the Journal of Thomas Ellwood.
The Lives and Persecutions of the Primitive Quakers
In her Lives and Persecutions of the Primitive Quakers, Mary Ann Kelty shows a particular affinity for the life and writings of Isaac Penington, saying of him: “Yes, good and faithful servant!—well-instructed scribe!—bringing forth out of your treasures things new and old—you have fed many! Be your just memory blessed! And let a heart that owes you much, thus, in most true and tender love, record its gratitude.”