Thomas Goodwin, who lived from 1600 to 1680, was a faithful pastor, a Westminster divine, an advisor to Oliver Cromwell and president of Magdalen College, Oxford. Joel R. Beeke and Mark Jones introduce him through an informative biographical sketch, and the remainder of the book gathers thirty-five selections drawn from across his works.

Goodwin's particular theme, and the source of the title, is the habitual sight of Christ as the engine of the Christian life. The selections are short enough for devotional reading, which is the design of the Profiles in Reformed Spirituality series: a way into a major figure through his own words rather than through commentary on them. A good entry point for a reader who finds Goodwin's folio volumes daunting.