THE TREE OF LIFE: PROVERBS
By Graeme Goldsworthy
Anglican Information Service, Sydney. 196 pages. £7.00
ISBN 0 949108 44 8
THE SERVANT KING: MARK
By Paul Barnett
Aquila, Sydney. 307 pages. £9.00
ISBN 1 875861 32 7
DUST TO DESTINY: ROMANS
By David Seccombe
Aquila, Sydney. 278 pages. £9.00
ISBN 1 875861 22 X
THE MAJESTIC SON: HEBREWS
By Peter Adam
Anglican Information Service, Sydney. 154 pages. £7.00
ISBN 0 949108 12 X
APOCALYPSE NOW AND THEN:
REVELATION
By Paul Barnett
Aquila, Sydney. 170 pages. £8.00
ISBN 1 875861 41 6
All available from St. Matthias Press,
PO Box 665, London SW20 8RL
(0181 942 0880).
It was not so many years ago that simple (but not simplistic) expositions of Bible books which forbore to insult the intelligence of the non-specialist reader were rare indeed. The 'ordinary' believer with a desire to read and apply the Bible found themselves caught between the, often trivial, blessed thought on the one hand and the indigestible, scholarly commentary on the other.
Times have, mercifully, changed and several series now attempt to bridge the gap between the text and the reader in such a way as to assist personal study and application. With the present titles, antipodean Anglicans have entered the fray.
First impressions are good! Those familiar with the strength of evangelical Anglicanism in the Sydney diocese will be reassured; not least because each of the authors are scholars AND preachers. Consequently, one feels secure in the hands of reliable guides whose passion is to see the word of God unleashed.
Just enough introduction is offered to provide ready access to the text, and the text is divided up into 'bite-sized' chunks, simply (but not simplistically) explained and with some helpful questions for individual and group study appended at the end.
The series, as with all series, is uneven; though never unworthy. The highlight, at least for the present reviewer, was the volume by Goldsworthy. This volume includes some deceptively rich material which (as one would expect with the author) sets Proverbs within a biblical theological framework and then proceeds to deal with the Proverbs text by providing an overall exposition with 'selected units' in which he digs deeper. A most welcome addition to any Bible student's library.
Romans seems to defeat most expositors; perhaps because of the sublimity of its themes. However, Seccombe's volume is first-rate, providing a sure-footed guide through the unfathomable depths of the Letter.
The other three volumes do not quite reach such heights. It is difficult for a mountain to compare well with Everest! Nevertheless, they provide worthy guidance through each book; reaching, perhaps, their highest in Barnett's work on Revelation.
Five books to whet the appetite for more . . . and with series like the Crossway Bible Guides and the Focus on the Bible series also increasingly available, there is no real excuse for any believer not to 'get into' the Bible; even in the more obscure books. Make sure these books are on the church bookstall, are recommended and, above all, read.
Stephen Dray,
Moorlands College
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