"If John Calvin was the consummate dogmatician and the prince of exegetes, Pierre Viret must be considered the finest ethicist and the most acute apologist of the sixteenth century. His strength was a domain often neglected because of its awkwardness: the application of the Word of God to all domains of life. His Exposition of the Ten Commandments is unquestionably the best commentary on the Decalogue that the Christian Church has ever known. Not only do we find here a detailed application of God's word to the practical problems of Christian living in every aspect of personal and social life, but this is done with an admirable sense of theological balance and of the delicate relation of dogmatics to ethics, together with the constant, implicit purpose of favoring the preaching of the gospel, of extending God's kingdom, and of bringing all honor and praise to the Lord Jesus Christ. It is high time that we finally begin to grasp the importance of this remarkable thinker, that we make his words available in English, and that we return to his vision of the application of the complete Word of God to all aspects of human life. Without such a return to Biblical reality, we can have no hope for the revival of the Church and for the restoration of its reformational influence over the entirety of culture and society." - Jean-Marc Berthoud, author and theologian Volume One (of the 2-volume set) is an English translation of the first part of Pierre Viret's commentary on the Ten Commandments published originally in French in 1554 under the title Exposition familiere sur les Dix Commandemens de la Loy, faite en forme de Dialogues. It later appeared in a slightly enlarged edition under the title Instruction Chrestienne en la doctrine de la loy et de l'Evangile, printed in Geneva by Jean Rivery (1564). The text of this book has been translated from the 1564 edition. With the intention of presenting his readers with an easily-understood, down-to-earth exposition of the Ten Commandments, Viret wrote his commentary as a conversation between two fictitious characters, Daniel and Timothy. Within the work Daniel (representative perhaps of the Old Testament prophets) draws out the truths of Scripture for his disciple Timothy (representative of a young believer in the Gospel era). Viret emphasizes the practical applicability of the Law of God, painstakingly applying the truths of each commandment to the everyday lives of his readers and creating a sound, biblical exposition as applicable today as it was the day it was first penned.

Dear reader, I present you with these lectures which I delivered in 1967. There are three other books on the Ten Commandments, this one deals with the last four. Each Commandment needs in fact a whole book, but I preferred to present them in such a concentrated way. They are perhaps expounded in more detail in my series on "Spiritual Warfare" and in the series of "So Many Years with the Problems of the People". I pray God may give us power that we may behave according to His commandments, written by His finger due to their great importance. Pope Shenouda III

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 2009-08 edition. Excerpt: ...public and private duties, then sanctify it by entering into thy closet. and there unbosom thy soul before God in secret prayer, spread thy requests before him, lay open thy wants and desires. And though, perhaps, thou art not gifted to word a prayer, yet sigh and groan out a prayer; for thy God hears thee, and he understands the language of sighs, and knows the meaning of his Spirit in the inarticulate groans of his children. Here likewise in secret meditate on what thou hast heard; admire the glory of God in his works, the goodness of God in his providences, the infinite mercy of God in his promises. Certainly, meditation is one great duty of a Sabbath, without which, to hear the word of God only, is but to swallow our meat without chewing it. It is meditation that makes it fit for nourishment; this sucks the juice and sweetness out of it, incorporates it into us, and turns it into life and substance. Thus if we endeavor to sanctify the Lord's day, the Lord will sanctify his day and his ordinances to us, and by them convey so much joy and comfort into our souls that they shall be a temporary heaven unto us, and fit us for that eternal Sabbath, where wft shall continually give praise and glory unto Him that sitteth upon the throne, and to the Lamb for ever and ever. INTRODUCTION TO THE SECOND TABLE. The whole sum of practical religion consists either in those duties which immediately concern the worship and service of God, or those which immediately concern oui converse with and demeanor towards men. Both are compendiously prescribed in the Decalogue: the former in the first, the latter in the second table of the law. I have already finished the exposition of the four precepts of the first table, and have discoursed both concerning...

"If John Calvin was the consummate dogmatician and the prince of exegetes, Pierre Viret must be considered the finest ethicist and the most acute apologist of the sixteenth century. His strength was a domain often neglected because of its awkwardness: the application of the Word of God to all domains of life. His Exposition of the Ten Commandments is unquestionably the best commentary on the Decalogue that the Christian Church has ever known. Not only do we find here a detailed application of God's word to the practical problems of Christian living in every aspect of personal and social life, but this is done with an admirable sense of theological balance and of the delicate relation of dogmatics to ethics, together with the constant, implicit purpose of favoring the preaching of the gospel, of extending God's kingdom, and of bringing all honor and praise to the Lord Jesus Christ. It is high time that we finally begin to grasp the importance of this remarkable thinker, that we make his words available in English, and that we return to his vision of the application of the complete Word of God to all aspects of human life. Without such a return to Biblical reality, we can have no hope for the revival of the Church and for the restoration of its reformational influence over the entirety of culture and society." - Jean-Marc Berthoud, author and theologian Volume Two (of the 2-volume set) is an English translation of the second part of Pierre Viret's commentary on the Ten Commandments published originally in French in 1554 under the title Exposition familiere sur les Dix Commandemens de la Loy, faite en forme de Dialogues. It later appeared in a slightly enlarged edition under the title Instruction Chrestienne en la doctrine de la loy et de l'Evangile, printed in Geneva by Jean Rivery (1564). The text of this book has been translated from the 1564 edition. With the intention of presenting his readers with an easily-understood, down-to-earth exposition of the Ten Commandments, Viret wrote his commentary as a conversation between two fictitious characters, Daniel and Timothy. Within the work Daniel (representative perhaps of the Old Testament prophets) draws out the truths of Scripture for his disciple Timothy (representative of a young believer in the Gospel era). Viret emphasizes the practical applicability of the Law of God, painstakingly applying the truths of each commandment to the everyday lives of his readers and creating a sound, biblical exposition as applicable today as it was the day it was first penned.