The son of a Puritan clergyman, Matthew Henry (1662–1714) became a popular pastor of a Presbyterian parish near London. He is best known for two major works. Exposition of the Old and New Testaments derived its popularity from being practical and devotional in nature, rather than a critical treatment of Scripture; and generations of ministers and laypeople alike have used his 6-volume Complete Commentary, which features an exhaustive verse-by-verse study of the Bible.