William Barclay (1907–1978)

Barclay delves into the personality and human-ness of Jesus presenting him as a person in a rich and wonderful way; a way in which we often neglect to see. The book is not so much a record of the historical Jesus as it is a look at the person Jesus. Barclay is also very careful to present Jesus as fully divine and does not focus solely on his being human, which would be a grave mistake. He presents the whole Jesus while reminding the reader that Jesus was an approachable, loving, caring, show more breathing, hurting, crying, wonderful person who indeed did experience every temptation which "is common to man, yet who was without sin." show less

This little volume is William Barlay's attempt to bring the Book of Common Prayer's weekly collects to life by writing his own prayers to accompany the collects. He also writes prayers for the major holy and saints days. I used this volume on and off as an aid to my own prayer, and found it moderately useful. The concerns of the Prayer Book collects are overwhelmingly theological and ecclesiastical. The concerns of Barlay's prayers are heavily moral and ethical, perhaps to add balance to the show more emphasis of the Prayer Book. At times his prayers seem to bear little relation to the content of the collect in question, and so seem a little forced. There is no doubt that Barclay was an accomplished writer, and this shows in his prayers, which he notes can be adapted for public use. A little more emphasis on God as well as man might have endeared this book to me a little more. It should be noted that the book also shows its age: Barclay's language is very early to mid-20th century. The collects themselves are, of course, in the language of 1549, not the revised language found in its 20th century revisions and successors published since this book. show less

A good basic commentary on the first 5 chapters of the Revelation of John, which spends much time in the introduction and description of the seven churches of Asia.

Barclay's discussion of non-Biblical sources adds value to his discussion, but he also seems a bit too willing to interpret anything described by John regarding the seven cities in terms of the secular history of the city.

Overall, however, a very close reading and guide to Revelation 1-5.

Barclay's commentary is a good middle of the road explanation of Revelation, following a roughly spiritual approach to the book. He does not make a whole lot of the various types of interpretations, however.

Barclay's strength is in describing the parallels with other books of the Bible along with Jewish apocryphal literature. It is full of such quotations throughout. As is consistent with such a focus, application takes a back seat to ascertaining meaning in OT/NT/apocryphal context.

Good to show more read in concert with other resources. show less