Spiritual Depression: Its Causes and Cures

by D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones

Spiritual Depression is one of the great classics of the modern Church and tackles the big question: If Christianity is such 'good news' why are its followers often unhappy? Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones was possibly the greatest Christian preacher and teacher of the twentieth century. A medical doctor by training, Spiritual Depression draws together his professional understanding of the mind with a profound understanding of Christian teaching and the Bible. Spiritual Depression diagnoses the causes of the ill feeling that many Christians experience. It prescribes the practical care that is needed to lift people's spirits and bring them freedom, power and joy. Spiritual health is possible and this book explains how everyone can grasp it for themselves.

Genres: Christian, Theology, Christian Living, Counselling, Christianity, Nonfiction, Faith

304 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1965

About the author

David Martyn Lloyd-Jones was a Welsh Protestant minister, preacher and medical doctor who was influential in the Reformed wing of the British evangelical movement in the 20th century. For almost 30 years, he was the minister of Westminster Chapel in London. Lloyd-Jones was strongly opposed to Liberal Christianity, which had become a part of many Christian denominations; he regarded it as aberrant. He disagreed with the broad church approach and encouraged evangelical Christians (particularly Anglicans) to leave their existing denominations. He believed that true Christian fellowship was possible only amongst those who shared common convictions regarding the nature of the faith.

David Martyn Lloyd-Jones was married to Bethan Lloyd-Jones

Books about D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones: https://www.goodreads.com/characters/...

Reviews

[Tamara · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't read all of this book, but more what pertained to me at the time. One thing I really appreciated from Lloyd-Jones was that he didn't throw out that we all have different temperaments. He talked in the beginning of the book about how we are all made differently and have a propensity toward legalism or antinomianism. Toward self-pity or more flaming arrogance. Timid or outgoing. In the "Christian world," I've seen for many years how Christian counselors, pastors, and the like try to make everyone the same. Well, I appreciated the fact that he sees that we are all different and God works with us differently. Morals don't change or anything like that, but how God works in us with our own temperaments is interesting. I read one chapter several times. The one on the trees. Something like "I see men walking as trees..." It was about how Jesus healed the man's eyes, but the man still couldn't see just right and said "I see men walking as trees." Lloyd-Jones brings out the idea that Christ heals, yes, but sometimes it's through stages. It helped me to understand what God is doing with me with my illness with Addison's Disease. God isn't miraculously healing me, but in stages... showing me what next to do with nutrition, sending another person along for more information to help me. It's made me lean on Him more. Yes, it's frustrating, but in the end, truly, I believe God is glorified more in me by not healing me all at once. :)

Tamara Jack
#TamaraJackReviews

[Jody Shee · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was written in 1965 and has had a lasting impact on me. The author says that the solution to overcoming depression is to talk to yourself rather than listen to yourself. He mentions several times that you need to take yourself in hand and have a talk with yourself and remind yourself of God. I plan to use some of what he said in an upcoming book I'm writing about depression.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I will candidly admit I did not approach this book with a particularly open mind. My Grandma lent me her copy. If you know her...you know.
But I was pleasantly surprised. This collection of sermons was thought-provoking. I particularly liked his point about how impactful the New Testament epistles can be when dealing with strong emotions. We often hit the Psalms (and I'd say rightly so), but Peter, Paul, James, and John have quite a lot to say about emotions too.
The sermons made these pretty bite size which was enjoyable and this is a lot more readable than the usual eighteenth century theologians my Grandma prefers. But I'm not sure I'd go out of my way to get a copy...unless this is a topic that particularly interests you.

[R.J. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've had this book sitting on my shelf for years now, as I'd picked it up from a giveaway box somewhere... but only this week did I get around to actually reading it. A collection of 21 sermons originally given at Westminster Chapel in the 1960's, the book dates itself somewhat with the universal use of "man" for humanity, repeated references to the events of the early 20th century, and a formal style with long paragraphs which require concentration to fully appreciate. But given the thought-provoking and important nature of the material, the latter isn't a bad thing.

After setting forth his premise that the prevalence of spiritual depression, discouragement and seeming lack of joy among Christians is one of the reasons many modern people fail to be impressed by the claims of Christianity, Lloyd-Jones uses various New Testament passages and examples to explore a wide range of reasons why Christians become discouraged and downcast, and expounds on the Scriptural answers to these problems. He doesn't discount the role of temperament, genetics, health, diet, and past and present stresses in depression, nor does he claim that a right and Scriptural attitude in every situation will make us feel happy, or even necessarily improve our emotional state at all. But he does offer a lot of comforting and reassuring (and sometimes challenging) reminders of where the believer in Christ stands in relation to God, and God's desire to bring us into a deeper and fuller knowledge of who He is and what He has done for us.

In short, this book doesn't offer any easy answers, but it has a lot of excellent, solidly Biblical content and I can see it's going to be something I dip in and out of quite often in future.

[Darlene Nichols · Rating 5 out of 5]

A series of sermons on battling depression in the Christian life. Every chapter was rich in truth, conviction, and hope. Lloyd-Jones’ no nonsense, right to the point style is what I enjoyed most and what I feel is lacking in many books of the same genre that are written today. I’m looking forward to reading more from him.

[Laura Clawson · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Have you realized that most of your unhappiness in life is due to the fact that you are listening to yourself instead of talking to yourself? Take those thoughts that come to you the moment you wake up in the morning. You have not originated them but they are talking to you, they bring back the problems of yesterday, etc. Somebody is talking. Who is talking to you? Your self is talking to you. Now this man’s treatment [in Psalm 42] was this: instead of allowing this self to talk to him, he starts talking to himself. “Why art thou cast down, O my soul?” he asks. His soul had been depressing him, crushing him. So he stands up and says, “Self, listen for moment, I will speak to you.”


― D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones

[Ben Chapman · Rating 5 out of 5]

There’s no one like the Doctor. His preaching is such a blessing. I highly recommend this sermon series for all Christians. (You can find the actual sermons on YouTube or podcast.)

[Kate Prunty · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was a really great book and I liked discussing it with Mr. Lee.

[Anthony Hayden · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the most encouraging and challenging books that I have ever read. It is one of the very few books that I have reread multiple times. I have given away more copies of this book than any other... Read it slow, and let it stew in your mind

[Eli Jones · Rating 3 out of 5]

Helpful in a lot of ways, but I gave 3 stars because there were so many times that I completely disagreed with him. I would only recommend this book if you’re willing to sift through to find nuggets of insight and skip over some of the harsh claims he makes.

[Josh Miller · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this book. I wanted to give it better than three stars. However, the three star rating means "liked it." It wasn't bad. It wasn't great. And therein lies the travesty. I wanted a book on Spiritual Depression to be great. Especially a book by D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones. I have never read a book by him before but had heard great things about him. Especially since he was a medical doctor before becoming a preacher of the gospel.

Things I liked about the book:

Simple concepts
Scriptural premises
Practical solutions

Things I disliked about the book:

A readiness by the author to correct the Authorized Version (which is the version used in the book!)
Very few practical illustrations

One comes away from reading this book with the idea that there is not some huge secret to overcoming depression. I tend to agree with the author. He submits practical, Biblical solutions to overcoming the state that many Christians finds themselves in - the state of depression.

In his one page foreword, Lloyd-Jones makes a statement in which I wholeheartedly agree:

"Unhappy Christians are, to say the least, a poor recommendation for the Christian Faith; and there can be little doubt but that the exuberant joy of the early Christians was one of the most potent factors in the spread of Christianity."

Lloyd-Jones expounds upon this thought throughout the book - that Christians are walking billboards, for either good or bad with the spirit they exude from their daily lives.

In the span of my ministry, I have heard about those who "correct" the version of the Bible they are using and inserting their own opinion as to a word or a phrase as to what it should be. However, I've never personally experienced hearing those before. Even those contemporary writers who use a version I would not use or prefer in their books typically don't do this. So towards the end of the book as Lloyd-Jones begins to constantly actually say the King James has it wrong and it should be something else, it soured me because much of his content in the book is solid.

However, on the whole, Lloyd-Jones puts a finger on and correctly diagnoses from a biblical standpoint the cause and cure of Spiritual Depression. Overall, a good resource.

[Greg Warren · Rating 5 out of 5]

I recommend this for all believers. It’s not the easiest of books to read but for a Christian looking for wisdom to deal with the very usual struggles of living by faith, this is pure gold.

[Ryan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Spiritual Depression: Its Causes and Cure by Martyn Lloyd-Jones was a good read. It was very insightful at points, filling my soul with nuggets to chew on, but also hard to plod through at times. For those who dare to take the plunge, you will find great reward for your soul if you stick with it.

Lloyd-Jones writes with great detail, sometimes feeling very laborious, about some of the causes and cures for spiritual depression. Spiritual depression isn’t to be confused with clinical or phycological depression, but rather times where we’re not sensing God is near. Before writing the book off because you don’t suffer with depression, give it a second chance if you’ve ever found yourself suffering through spiritually dry periods.

He starts out the book by laying out in great length what the problem is:

"Unhappy Christians are, to the say the least, a poor recommendation for the Christian Faith; and there can be little doubt but that the exuberant joy of the early Christians was one of the most potent factors in the spread of Christianity" (Foreword).

"In a sense a depressed Christian is a contradiction in terms, and he is a very poor recommendation for the gospel....Nothing is more important, therefore, than that we should be delivered from a condition which gives other people, looking at us, the impression that to be a Christian means to be unhappy, to be sad, to be morbid, and that the Christian is one who 'scorns delights and lives in laborious days'....Christian people too often seem to be perpetually in the doldrums and too often give this appearance of unhappiness and of lack of freedom and of absence of joy. There is no question at all but that this is the main reason why large numbers of people have ceased to be interested in Christianity" (11).

One of the cures he mentions for the above problem is being in right relationship with God:

"On the other hand, if we are in the right relationship to God, and in a true spiritual condition, that again quite inevitably must express itself in our countenance, though I am not suggesting we should perpetually have that inane grin upon our faces that some people think is essential to the manifestation of true Christian joy. You need not put anything on, it will be there; it cannot help expressing itself..." (14)

Though the above quotes are only a sample of its causes and cures, there is much more contained within these pages. It took me a while to get through, but rewarded me faithfully in the end. I didn't realize how much I got out of it until I went back to look through my notes. Lloyd-Jones does a good job of treating the subject from a biblical perspective, but it is often too detailed and long winded in his delivery.

If you are going to attempt to take up and read, be warned that it will take some time to get through. It is not a book to read for great lengths of time, but slowly assimilated and digested. I would encourage you to take good notes because you probably won’t read it again.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have read this book multiple times and have always found it challenging and comforting at once. Reading it with a group this time was especially helpful and encouraging. I am very thankful for the Doctor's sharp focus on Christ and his compassionate, biblical, common sense approach to life's difficulties. I will be sure to turn to theses sermons again in the years to come. Very highly recommended to all!

[ThePrill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonder of wonders, I read a practical theology book and thoroughly enjoyed it.

This book first caught my eye when a friend added it to their reading list. At the time, I thought it would be interesting to read merely because I had never heard the term before and I thought it would be interesting to know what someone suffering from spiritual depression dealt with. Looking back to that time, I would probably laugh at my naïvety. A typical academic approach.

Lloyd-Jones immediately caught me off guard, pressing how dangerous it is for a Christian to be suffering from spiritual depression. What a horrible witness it is to the outside world to see a miserable, hopeless Christian, the anti-thesis of what they ought to be. He then gave an excellent definition of what spiritual depression is, and argued that four factors (temperament, physical conditions, Satan, and unbelief) are centripetal towards each person's proclivity to spiritual depression.

Lloyd-Jones progresses through the causes and cures of spiritual depression systematically by stage of the faith. Roughly, the first third of the book addresses those who are not Christian to begin with, both those who deny the faith and those who falsely think they are in the faith. The second third then speaks to those who are infants of the faith and the maladies typical of them. Finally, the last third addresses those who are 'men' in the faith. The book progressively got better, I think.

For all the forewarnings about the difficulties in getting through this book, I found it not terribly difficult. Lloyd-Jones comes across as passionate and sincere, and it is a very good thing that someone thought to compile these sermons into a book. My favourite chapter was 'In God's Gymnasium', an exposition on Hebrews 12:5-11. Lloyd-Jones takes the original meaning of the word 'exercised' in verse 11 and refers to the original Greek, which would read gumnazō, literally, 'to be stripped naked'. He creates a lovely illustration of the Christian going through God's gymnasium. Crucially, he warns that those who shake off, faint, or become bitter under the hand of God will not benefit.

This book provoked a lot of thought. It takes more than mere assenting, feeling, or willpower to cure spiritual depression, so Lloyd-Jones says, and this book was helpful. Helpful particularly in the practical outworking of what Lloyd-Jones calls 'taking yourself in hand'. Thanks to one of my pastors for recommending it just as it sat upon my night stand, waiting to be read.

[Rohan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Probably in my top 7 books? Punchy chapters that can be read separately with great insights and repetition so you don't have to concentrate too much.

My favourite chapters were "Labourers in the Vineyard", "Where is your Faith" and "The Peace of God". But every thing had good stuff!

Some quotes for me to remember:
"The main trouble in spiritual depression is that we allow our self to talk to us instead of talking to our self"
"What a tragic thing it is that Christian people can be miserable and murmuring instead of rejoicing in Christ Jesus. It is an outcome of the fact that they have forgotten that everything is of grace. ... from the very beginning to the very end."
"All things may seem to be against me to drive me to despair, I do not understand what is happening; but I know this, I know that God has so loved me that he sent his only begotten son into this world for me."
"Even before you make your requests to God you realize that you are face to face with God, that you are in his presence and you pour out your heart in adoration."

[Byron Flores · Rating 5 out of 5]

De estos libros que marcan un antes y un después. La verdad disfruto mucho los libros del autor, me retan y ayudan a aplicar verdades bíblicas contenidas en sus libros.

[Bryan Counts · Rating 5 out of 5]

I went back and forth constantly between if this was a book with a lot of great truth in it but not worth my time reading and if this was a book that was changing my very view of faith itself and therefore a necessity in my library. I’m ending on the latter. This book challenged and pushed me, both due to hard truths and challenging doctrines it forced me to wrestle with and the authors at times gruff and harsh tone he takes with those struggling through one aspect or another of spiritual depression. I think a voice like that in my life is necessary, even though it grinds against me so strongly, and for that reason I can’t recommend it more highly. It’s a book that bites, that’s unafraid to call out the nasty truth behind why I’m in the condition I currently am, and that isn’t afraid to explain the at times grueling task it will take to escape that condition. But the life lived for Jesus is the narrow way; and this is a book designed to present the narrow way as it is: a life filled with challenges, hardships, and suffering, but the goal of which is eternal joy, everlasting life, and peace unlike anything else found in the world; and in Jesus alone, we can even start to experience these things on this side of heaven.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

This collection of twenty-one sermons by the thoughtful and careful pastor and former doctor D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones has had a profound impact on many in the 60+ years it has been in print. Drawing from scripture, Lloyd-Jones leans into the human struggle with depression and offers spiritual remedies. Spiritual Depression will help the reader whether in seasons of encouragement or depression.

Lloyd-Jones recognizes that offering God’s Word as a remedy for spiritual depression is going to be a tough pill for many to swallow. “People today are not primarily interested in Truth but they are interested in results.” To focus on finding something that works, though, is to choose the superficial fix. It is also to ignore the fact that God uses spiritual depression for our Good. “You must be made miserable before you can know true Christian joy.” Later, Lloyd-Jones doubles down on this, asserting, “if you have never had any trouble in your Christian life I should very much doubt whether you are a Christian at all.”

Lloyd-Jones tells us that to experience joy instead of depression, we need to experience the freedom of forgiveness for our past and then walk in holiness. Such a call is total. We cannot use Christianity for the ends we desire from it, such as happiness. To do so is to miss the point altogether. “These are people who decide to take up Christianity instead of being taken up by Christianity.”

What solutions does Lloyd-Jones offer for the one struggling with depression. He begins by urging us to “realize our union with Christ.” He urges us, “Do not be forever thinking about what you were. The essence of the Christian position is that you should remind yourself of what you are.”
Lloyd-Jones acknowledges that we will have emotions and we can’t deny them. We can’t pretend they aren’t there. But we also don’t have to be dragged along by them. He says, “Turn to yourself, turn to your feelings and say: ‘I have no time to worry about feelings, I am interested in something else. I want to be happy but still more I want to be righteous, I want to be holy. I want to be like my Lord, I want to live in this world as He lived, I want to walk through it as He walked through it.’”

We find resources to navigate depression through the double gospel doors of grace and faith. Lloyd-Jones says, “The secret of a happy Christian life is to realize that it is all of grace and to rejoice in that fact.” We need grace! We need grace not just as an entry into Christianity, but we need daily grace! The same thing can be said about faith. “Faith, obviously, is not a mere matter of feeling,” Lloyd-Jones explains. What is faith? “Faith is a refusal to panic.” Faith comes from God alone and we step into it not just once but every day. Like manna, we cannot hoard it. God grows us in humility and meekness through spiritual depression. Faith works on our soul. It sanctifies us and transforms us for our good and God’s glory.

Secular psychology urges us to find the resources to battle discouragement and depression from within. But we cannot save ourselves. Only God can save us. Only God can pull us out of the mire of our depression. In that place, God urges us to seek him. “Let your requests be made known unto God.” Depression urges us to God and in so doing it urges us to worship.

There are three challenges about Spiritual Depression you should be aware of. All involve the readability of the book. There is gold in this mine, but it is a mine and this book takes work.
The first challenge is that Spiritual Depression is a collection of sermons. This format proves limiting in helping orient the reader into some of the foundational questions and issues of depression. I wish Lloyd-Jones would have utilized the resources of these sermons and produced a book that navigates some of the questions and issues of depression. There isn’t a clear mode in which the sermons are organized or a destination they depart from or are heading to. Because of that I found it more fruitful to read them one at a time.

The second challenge with this book is the fact that Lloyd-Jones writes with the old style of large paragraphs. It takes a decent amount of focus to stay engaged in his page-long paragraphs. Eerdmans hasn’t done Lloyd-Jones any favors (this is the third challenge) with their typeface and formatting. I found the font muddy and the pages over-stuffed. I would love to see a new, cleaner edition of this book published.

All of that said, you’re unlikely to find a better guide for navigating Spiritual Depression than D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones. I commend this book to you.

[Emily Valentine · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is essential for every Christian to read. This book has helped shape my faith in so many ways and I think I will continue to feel the impact of reading Lloyd-Jones words for the rest of my life. Thankful for this honest and truth-filled book!!

[Ely · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nu există cuvinte pentru a recomanda această carte îndeajuns. Fiecare creștin ar trebui să o citească.
Descoperă viața spirituală în detalii la care nu te-ai fi gândit niciodată. Este ghid foarte clar pentru a trata viața cu tot ce vine ea într-o stare de încredere în Mântuitorul nostru Isus Hristos.
Mi-a deschis ochii cu privire la multe aspecte ale vieții spirituale, dă motive pentru care unele lucruri ni se întâmplă și, unde nu avem motive, sfaturi practice pentru cum să nu ne pierdem cu firea.

,,Este de datoria noastră, așadar, nu numai de dragul nostru, ci și de dragul Împărăției lui Dumnezeu și al gloriei lui Hristos în care credem, să-L reprezentăm pe El și cauza Lui, mesajul și puterea Lui într-un așa mod încât oamenii, departe de a se simți respinși, să fie atrași și câștigați pe măsură ce ne privesc, oricare ar fi circumstanțele și condițiile în care ne aflăm."

[Aisha Noble-Clarke · Rating 4 out of 5]

As one of the endorsements on my version says, the title is misleading. I think people will think this is not relevant for them because they are not “depressed”. But this is simply “a mini encyclopaedia on how to know God and walk with God”. Lloyd-Jones is direct, to the point, and holds no punches. But extremely pastoral. And that’s what you want when you need help. When you go to the doctor about an illness, you want someone who will quickly identify the issue, give it to you straight, and do what’s needed to make you better, motivated by their desire to make you better because they care. And that’s what we have here in The Doctor. Good read and one I’ll come back to during certain seasons I’m sure.

[Sarah Blizard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing! I’m so sad it’s over. It’s the kind of book thats so good I wish it would never end. Definitely worth a re-read

[Ruth Dahl · Rating 5 out of 5]

The language is a little antiquated, which is a shame because this is an immensely helpful book, and one that I think every Christian should read.

[Alisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Some books are made to be reread, and this is certainly one of them. I loved every chapter and found myself being convicted by what Lloyd-Jones expresses as the causes of a morbid and languid Christian life. A simple review wouldn't do this incredible book justice, so I'll leave you some of the aspects of spiritual depression the author addresses.
- A Christian-life that lacks joy and progress cannot be treated superficially. It requires self-examination and to be aware of one's weaknesses. Introverts may slip into different temptations than extroverts.
- We cannot isolate the spiritual from the physical, since we are body, mind and spirit. We need to engage the mind, our feelings and the application of truth to our will.
- The ultimate cause of spiritual depression is unbelief.
- Rather than letting your self talk to you, talk to yourself. Remind yourself of who God is, what He has done and what he Has promised to do.
- Understand the doctrines of the bible. If we don't fully grasp the concept of justification, praying for sanctification may prove useless. We should always be able to give reason for the Hope within us.
- Come face to face with the Law of God and let it convict you of your sins. Sometimes we feel like the conversions of others are more remarkable and having grown in a Christian environment never made you realize how sinful you are. The essence of sin is that we don't live for the glory of God.
- Temptations may test our faith, but they're ultimately for the molding of our holiness. Faith isn't something that acts automatically, it is an activity that needs to be exercised.
- We should think less of ourselves, immerse into the love of God and then look at other people's needs and cultivate love for the lost.
- We cannot make ourselves happy, since happiness is something within ourselves, but we can make ourselves rejoice since it is 'in the Lord'.
- The hunger and search for righteousness will grant us happiness.
- We must soar beyond our circumstances and surroundings and not be controlled by them.
- Avoid plunging into subjects that are beyond your intelectual horizon, or else do the proper research before letting doubts govern your mind.
- The characteristics of great faith is knowledge of Jesus Christ and His power with a steady trust and confidence in that. Therefore, put all your effort to study Scriptures, just as we put effort in our earthly endeavors.
- Christians inevitably need to have a disciplined life. There's no short cut, we have to be diligent and supplement our faith.
- God's main objective for us is to bring us into perfection to be made more and more conformable to the image of His Son. We can either follow the instructions He gave us, or else He will make use of other methods to finish the work He started in us.
- The ultimate state of the Christian is to be certain that he/she is not alone and that it is Christ who is constantly infusing His strength into us. It is God in the souls of men.

[Nathan Moore · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a collection of 21 sermons that Lloyd-Jones preached on the topic of Spiritual Depression, a broad term he uses as a sort of catch all for various types of unhappiness in the Christian life. Though I felt introduced to very few new concepts, I have a suspicion that is because I have been taught by many who have been influenced by Lloyd-Jones' teaching.

One of the most helpful concepts he suggests is quite foundational and is the issue of one speaking to himself rather than listening to himself. Lloyd-Jones often refers to this as "apprehending yourself" or taking your heart to task. In his chapter entitled Feelings he says, "your business and mine is not to stir up our feelings, it is to believe" (116).

The author states early on "ultimately the cause of all spiritual depression is unbelief" (20). This has too has had a profound impact on my life. Much of this book is the author working this out in many other contexts. Much of his strategy could be summed up by "believe and then act... feelings will come."

Perhaps one shortcoming of this book is that some temperaments may find this advice to be a little cold. While in many senses "believe and act" is quite true and the necessary response, what of those who are struggling for hope while stuck in habitual sin... or in a moment of darkness find the faith to act quite small... what then? I would love to have seen him work this out more to make it more accessible to those who are truly depressed.

I would have loved to hear this man preach. I imagine he is far more effective as a preacher than a writer. Since these are sermons which were lightly edited for publication, they read much like sermons do. Lloyd-Jones was not a particularly fiery of teacher, but seems to be to be very accessible - a man of the people. The former physician truly seems to be a physician of souls, a quality I very much aspire to develop in my preaching.

Some of the chapters I found most helpful were:
"Fear of the Future"
"Where is Your Faith"
"Looking at the Waves"
"In God's Gymnasium"

I warmly recommend this book and will likely return to it but would suggest that one read only the first few chapters and then the ones that intrest them. Its conversion from sermons to chapters make the book a little long than perhaps it should have been but all in all this is quite good.

[Margaret Perkins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Five stars. Even if you're not depressed, there is value here for every Christian. Each chapter is a sermon, and each sermon deals with a cause of (and cure for) spiritual depression in a compassionate and straightforward way. Lloyd-Jones is my mom's favorite preacher for a reason - he's a little old English dude who preaches so earnestly, matter-of-factly, and expositionally that you can't help but trust him. More than one chapter brought me to tears because of how it fixed my eyes on Jesus, who is my greatest hope and comfort and power in this world. It fixed my eyes on heaven and the unimaginable glory that is coming soon. And it brought me hope for my friends who are depressed or dragged down by their circumstances. I can't wait to get my own copy and underline pretty much everything.

[Debbie Howell · Rating 3 out of 5]

A collection of sermons, first published in 1965. Refreshing in that it's a different perspective from today's Christian publishing marketing/packaging machine, but I found it best to read it one chapter at a time, not in long stretches. At times it had a bit of a "get over it" feel, but as I got further into the book there seemed to be less of that. Lloyd-Jones' use of the term "depression" is a bit different from what comes to mind now--while we would tend to think in terms of clinical depression or emotional struggles, he is writing about something more like a spiritual dry period. A worthwhile book--I'll keep it on my bookshelf and probably will pull it out again sometime.

[Jeremy Fritz · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is definitely one of the best I have ever read! Lloyd-Jones is fantastic in analyzing causes of spiritual depression and malaise, and to every condition, the Gospel is the antidote. Very pastoral, very edifying.

If I were to sum up the book I would say that Lloyd-Jones believes that a depressed Christian is a contradictory phrase because when we are in Christ, there is nothing, no sin, no circumstance that should be taking our joy in Christ away from us.

[Kaetlyn Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

I faithfully plodded through this book over the course of 6 months. These sermons got me through a season of deep sorrow and fixed my eyes on Christ. Though almost 60 years old, the content expounded in this book is as relevant as ever. This will be a book I come back to time and time again throughout my Christian walk. We are so blessed to have access to the works of godly men of the past.