The last of William Barclay

Press, 6 September 1980, Page 17

The last of William Barclay

The Lord is My Shepherd. By William Barclay. Collins, 1980. 253 pp. $15,95.

(Reviewed, by

Maurice A. Brown)

William Barclay needs no introduction to those who, for years, have found strength, comfort and inspiration from his broadcast lectures and 60 published books. It may surprise many that Barclay left the Psalms till the : end of his days. This small collection of commentaries on only five of the ■ 150 in the Psalter gives the decided impression that this scholar of academic depth and warm humanity could have developed this work much further had old age not slowed him down and death overtaken him before Its completion. Professor Allan Galloway, a friend and colleague of William Barclay, took up the task of preparing for

publication these fragments which Barclay left on his desk. In a fitting tribute to the popular scholar he labels this “vintage Barclay” and in these five expositions we sense the maturity of, a fertile mind saturated in biblical understanding. Barclay exposes readers once again to the Bible as seen through the eyes of poet, priest and king, and tempts us to re-read and refresh ourselves with the new nourishment he received through returning to. the psalms. , . ■,i ! This collection is incomplete and fragmentary and the title something of a misnomer for those who expect something new on the Twenty-third Psalm; it is not dealt with in these papers. However, for those who like Barclay this final work from his hand will only disappoint them through its incompleteness and brevity; the quality is still there.