I have not read much Warfield, so I welcomed the chance to dip into his writing with this handsome little volume put out by Crossway. I found it to be delightful.

Warfield writes with a crisp, clean prose that flows comfortably into lengthy sentences. He is judicious and careful in his choice of words, poking at an idea with different descriptors until he finds just the right one. I love this kind of writing. It is careful, clear, and yet often includes powerful phrases and images. The exploration of the emotional life of Christ is thorough and insightful. Warfield reveals a deep understanding not only of the Bible, including the original language, but also of human beings and emotions.

Here we find not that caricature of the theologian as the emotionally stunted egghead who cannot seem to understand or enter into normal human experiences, but rather the opposite; an emotionally intelligent, discerning person.

Warfield helps the reader appreciate all the ways in which the humanity of Christ is displayed in the gospels, sparse as the treatment of Christ’s emotions is, and yet he draws the reader’s mind and heart up to a posture of adoration for the way in which this reveals his glory and is a part of his redemptive work.

I conclude with two quotes from the work which illustrate its virtues.

“Joy he had: but it was not the shallow joy of mere pagan delight in living, nor the delusive joy of a hope destined to failure, but the deep exaltation of a conqueror setting captives free. This joy underlay all his sufferings and shed its light along the whole thorn-beset path that was trodden by his torn feet.”

“As we survey the emotional life of our Lord as depicted by the Evangelists, therefore, let us not permit it to slip out of sight that we are not only observing to proofs of the truth of his humanity, and not merely regarding the most perfect example of a human life that is afforded by history, but are contemplating the atoning work of the Savior and its fundamental elements. The cup that he drank to its bitter dregs was not his cup but our cup, and he needed to drink it only because he was set upon our salvation.”

This short work is enjoyable, illuminating, and edifying. I highly recommend it.