FREDERIC CHARLES JENNINGS
Was born in Calcutta,
India, on December 3, 1847. His parents were British, his father in the
government service there.
As was the custom, young Charles was sent to
England for his education, and on his journey he sailed around Cape Horn.
He was apprenticed to a firm in the tea business, becoming a tea taster, and in
1871 came to the United States, where, in New York, he established his own
business as a tea importer. This occupation so prospered that in the late
1890's Mr. Jennings retired from commercial life.
Always active in
Christian work and teaching Sunday school, after retiring from business he
devoted his whole time to study, writing, and ministering. This last activity,
especially, he continued until almost the end of his long life, holding Bible
classes particularly for elderly people who could not always attend the usual
evening meetings. He also carried on an extensive correspondence with many
friends in various countries of the world.
An intimate friend of Arno C.
Gaebelein, F. W. Grant, and the two founders of Loizeaux Brothers publishing
house, Mr. Jennings wrote and published many books, magazine articles, and
pamphlets on Biblical subjects. A poet of much talent, and with a knowledge of
the original languages of Scripture, he was able to reproduce in his writings,
and particularly in this book on Isaiah, much of the poetic beauty and grandeur
of the original. His readers cannot but be delighted with his literary style
while they profit from the able exposition of Scripture, in which the writer
sought first and always to glorify the Lord and edify His people. Mr. Jennings
lived a long and fruitful life, departing to be with the Lord, whom he so
faithfully served, in his 101st year, on April 17, 1948