He commenced his great work on the textual criticism of the Scriptures; and at the instigation of his friend Ambrosius, who provided him with the necessary amanuenses, he published his commentaries on the Old Testament and his dogmatic investigations.
In his Biblia Illustrata (4 vols.), written from the point of view of a very strict belief in inspiration, his object is to refute the statements made by Hugo Grotius in his Commentaries.
In 1818, to counterbalance the influence of the Bible Society and especially of Scott's Commentaries, he began to edit with selected notes the Family Bible of the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge.
See commentaries of Gunkel and Cheyne.
He also published commentaries on portions of Cicero (especially the De finibus), on Ausonius, Juvenal, Curtius Rufus, and other classical authors.