Merchant Royal Press

This Sunday, Lord willing, I will complete a short expositional sermon series through Philippians (18 sermons). One of my reading companions through the series has been @Pjobanion's translation of Girolamo Zanchi's Commentary on the Apostle Paul's Epistle to the Philippians from @MerchRoyalPress (2024). I'm hoping to write a review of the commentary that might show up in an academic journal somewhere, but for now, let me offer a short commendation of this commentary here on X. Excellent insights on text, structure, and doctrine, not to mention pastoral and practical applications. Many pithy and meaty short quotes were mined, extracted, and employed in preaching (many long and short quotes were shared by me on X). If you are a confessional minister planning to preach through Philippians, ditch the modern commentaries (or at least supplement them) and take up Zanchi. You and your hearers will be richly rewarded. This should now be essential reading for confessional preaching through Philippians.

I meant to post a pic of the cover:

To begin the New Year, I started a new sermon series last Sunday in Philippians and have started reading as a companion G. Zanchi's commentary translated by @Pjobanion and published by @MerchRoyalPress. This commentary is substantial at 673 pp. The intro notes it is the first complete English translation of this commentary. It also notes that 15% of the content is devoted to exposition of 2:5-11. Zanchi (1516-1590) begins by noting that unlike Romans and Galatians, or even Hebrews, Philippians has "no particular or principal argument." It is "an intimate letter" with "numerous teachings of a religious nature." In this letter Paul "has one and the same goal for everything he writes, namely, to stir us up unto steadfastness and perseverance in the true religion of Christ, in love for one another, and in zeal for the Christian life" (8). My series commenced with just the first two verses on Philippians. I look forward to the series and Zanchi's insights.