Isaiah [antikvár]

PREFACE The studies on which this book is based were originally preached some years ago at Gold Hill Baptist Church, Chalfont St Peter, Buckinghamshire. The unexpected attendance of a number of Anglican students from the then London College of Divinity was due to Isaiah being the set book for examinations that year! But God's Word is timeless. Apart from the odd reference to current affairs, the content of Isaiah remains as relevant today as ever, even though it was first spoken two and a half thousand years ago. It is also the most quoted book of the Old Testament in the New. A case could be made out that it was Jesus' favourite scroll in his scriptures. The chapter titles are taken from the portion expounded. Outlines of each study were put up on a large blackboard or, later, on the service sheet. Then-purpose was to reveal the shape or structure of each passage. Their only drawback was that the congregation could calculate how much longer they would have to listen! Alliteration, the rhyming of the headings, is said to be 'the province of fools, poets and Plymouth Brethren'. I am neither the first nor the third category, so must belong to the second. It can be an aid to the memory of the preacher and the attention of the congregation. Actually, much of Isaiah is poetic as well as prophetic. The printing layout of the New Intemational