The title Gentle and Lowly by Dane Ortlund caused quite a stir upon release, garnering a host of positive reviews. As such, it is one of the few books of pure theology to gain any popular traction in recent memory. And it all begins with the Puritans. Yes, a group that has fallen into near-universal disfavor, caricatured as dour, oppressive, kill-joys to the point that their title became an adjective describing overzealous strictness to the exclusion of pleasure. Yet from the deep well of their understanding of Scripture, Ortlund draws a resonant understanding of God’s Heart that appears to have captured the hearts of many readers. The author confesses this from the start without apology. Before I go any further, I must confess to being late to this party. I was one of those Christians who fell into the trap of suspicion about anything popular and new. I had read some of the Puritan works Ortlund drew on, and thought myself familiar enough with the topic. In hindsight, this was exactly the sort of book I ought to have read. While Dane himself urges reading the Puritans, I echo that admonishment; this book condenses without cheapening, serving as an introduction and reminder. It is a book I could see myself and others returning to regularly for a refreshing look into the Heart of God.
Gentle and Lowly Book Summary
That is the heart of the book: an examination of who God is at the core. Unsurprisingly, the book takes Matthew 11:29 as its core text. This self-revelation of Jesus’ heart is beautifully exposited over a few chapters, then carefully applied with an extended quote from John Bunyan. This quote was the moment at which I fell in love with the work; it was here that I appreciated what Dane Ortlund was doing. He was carrying the water for his readers. He was not supplanting the original authors any more than they supplanted the reformers or church fathers; this work does not replace the works that came before. Rather, he makes something from those earlier works more accessible to us. He shares the good which God gave him.
It is a very nice approach; it provides something valuable in itself, while pointing the reader to further resources. It guards the good deposit, striking a blow against the excesses of our fascination with the contemporary. It adds to the current conversation by reminding us that we had this conversation before.
Now, I do not want to give the impression that our brother has merely reproduced older writings in an edited conglomeration. That is not the case. Ortlund provides commentary and the keen pastoral sense that makes for penetrating application. He presents us with the material with poise and tact. There is something fresh here even if nothing new: that, dear readers, is the great paradox of worthy Christian writing.
While the majority of the work is concerned with Christ, the author does not neglect the other two persons of the Trinity. In addressing the Father, Ortlund handily turns to the Old Testament to show us a parallel self-revelation to that of the Son in Matthew 11:29 in Exodus 34:6. We are then treated to able apologetics which squares this self-declaration with some of the harder scenes from the Old Testament. Dane handles the Holy Spirit with equal skill.
It is easy to overlook the Trinity in a book that has the Son as primary subject. That Dane Ortlund has avoided that pitfall is a helpful display of pastoral theology at work. If we were convinced that the Son was gentle and lowly, but left to wonder as to the Father or the Holy Spirit, our communion with God would be severely stunted, and our worship entirely distorted.
I believe this book is worth reading as an example of sound and solid exposition. It applies theology for a general audience, and we can learn from that. I could also recommend it as a gateway to reading the Puritans, as it at once dispels many misunderstandings about them and gives guidance on their method of thought and writing. I suppose that makes this volume a triple threat.
The book is not long. Few books are today. I do not feel it is a shortcoming in this case. At the same time, I could not say it is a strength. I would say that this book is as long as it needs to be. It could be longer without overstaying its welcome.
This is an excellent book. It would be a good addition to any library. I would gift it alongside R.C. Sproul’s The Holiness of God and A.W. Pink’s The Attributes of God as a trifecta of theological foundations: here I am using theology in the stricter sense of the study of God Himself. I would hand this book to anyone struggling with undue guilt, recovering from legalism, or otherwise suffering from a poor understanding of God’s character.
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