Lightfoot wrote commentaries on the Epistle to the Galatians (1865), Epistle to Philippians (1868) and Epistle to the Colossians (1875). In 1874, the anonymous publication of "Supernatural Religion", a work speculated by some to be authored by Walter Richard Cassels, attracted attention. In a series of papers in the "Contemporary Review", between December 1874 and May 1877, Lightfoot undertook the defense of the New Testament canon. The articles were published in collected form in 1889. About the same time he was engaged in contributions to William Smith's "Dictionary of Christian Biography and Dictionary of the Bible", and he also joined the committee for revising the translation of the New Testament.