The Puritans on Anxiety & Depression
The Puritans were faithful shepherds who cared deeply for the souls entrusted to them, especially those burdened by anxiety, sorrow, and spiritual depression. Their biblical diagnoses and remedies reach beyond surface symptoms to address the heart with truth, tenderness, and hope. These works remain remarkably relevant for believers today who are walking through seasons of heaviness, fear, discouragement, or doubt.
Read the Puritans has found the following books invaluable and gladly recommends them to anyone currently struggling—or to those seeking to care for someone amid a Psalm 42 wilderness of confusion.
A Lifting Up for the Downcast
by William Bridge
Anchored in Psalm 42:11 (“why are you cast down oh my soul?”), William Bridge’s thesis is that “all true peace within arises from the sight of peace made without,” showing in 13 sermons why there is no valley a Christian may find themselves in where Christ has not offered a remedy for all discouragements.
The Soul’s Conflict with Itself and Victory Over Itself by Faith
by Richard Sibbes
Written by the “heavenly doctor Sibbes” and also based on Psalm 42, this is a divine dialectic that is lightyears ahead of the shallow cognitive behavioral therapies of modern psychology. Sibbes writes, “Here lies the art of a Christian; it is divine rhetoric thus to persuade and set down the soul.”
Triumphing Over Sinful Fear
by John Flavel
In a world with endless books on anxiety and fear, this 17th Century work by John Flavel goes straight to the heart of the matter, explaining where anxiety comes from while showing how a proper fear of God is the only ultimate remedy for all other fears.
The Crook in the Lot: God’s Sovereignty in a Christian’s Afflictions
by Thomas Boston
Amazing exposition of Ecclesiastes 7:13, Proverbs 16:19, and 1 Peter 5:6 by the great Puritan Thomas Boston regarding the sovereignty and wisdom of God in our sufferings and afflictions. His 10 directives could be labeled the “10 Commandments of Affliction”, one of which is to “Settle it in your heart, that there is need of all the humbling circumstances you are in.”
Depression, Anxiety, and the Christian Life: Practical Wisdom from Richard Baxter
by Michael S. Lundy and J.I. Packer
One of the founders of Read the Puritans can’t wait to thank Richard Baxter in heaven for this timeless advice he gave hundreds of years ago to depressed and discouraged souls. Practical and centered in scripture, Baxter uniquely approaches this as both a Puritan pastor and medical professional.
Facing Grief: Counsel for Mourners
by John Flavel
Flavel was no stranger to personal grief, having buried at least two of his children and three wives. Hence, he writes this book to serve as the “after fruits” of his own troubles to encourage those who find themselves under tremendous sorrow and grief. Here’s one small fruit from this tree: “This affliction for which you mourn may be the greatest mercy to you that ever befell you in this world.”
Special Providence for Anxious Souls
by Obadiah Sedgwick
While worry, anxiety, and fear are common to anyone who desires to follow God in the midst of a fallen world, Sedgwick encourages believers that God makes all things, especially the deepest valleys, work together for our good and His glory.