Christianity is a religion of the heart, and Evangelicalism especially emphasizes personal conversion and spiritual transformation. Our churches are very good at diagnosing spiritual maladies and confronting the problem of personal sin. But we often stumble in our efforts to help those afflicted by mental anguish, physical suffering and especially depression.
Depression directly contradicts the emotions that Scripture commends, and even commands. We are to “rejoice always” and to “count it all joy.” So a common temptation is to chalk up depression to the category of self-inflicted pain and ultimately reduce it to a sin problem. The conservative tendency to distrust psychologists and especially psychiatrists only adds to the problem.
Author Zack Eswine comments on this tendency:
Religion offers both a challenge and a help to those who suffer mental disorders. This challenge surfaces when preachers assume that depression is always and only a sin. They pour gasoline on the fire and wonder why it rages rather than calms those they try to help. At the same time, studies today confirm that those with mental health challenges simply do much better if they are part of a religious community. (Kindle location, 495)
This contemporary problem is not so contemporary after all. Charles Spurgeon the great Baptist preacher of the nineteenth century, was all too intimately acquainted with this problem. Eswine explores this little known side of the great preacher in his new book Spurgeon’s Sorrows: Realistic Hope for those who Suffer from Depression (Christian Focus, 2014). Spurgeon himself suffered from persistent bouts of depression. He sought medical treatment and at times took sabbaticals to restore his health. He was also never shy about admitting this problem, and his candor led him to be a magnet for those seeking help themselves.
Eswine’s book traces Spurgeon’s history and his approach to discussing this problem and counseling those with the problem. Spurgeon’s own personal thoughts and experience shed’s light on that of many in today’s church.
Eswine writes with care and resists a simplistic approach to the problem. He doesn’t shy away from spiritual considerations either. Spurgeon himself was like that. At times he spoke with great compassion of those afflicted by sorrows and despair, and at other times he challenged them toward greater faith. We are both physical and spiritual beings and no counsel is a one-size-fits-all solution.
Even the darkest pits that depression can lead to were roads travelled by the preacher. He found solace in Elijah and Job and others who like him, had despaired of life and wished to die. Eswine quotes Spurgeon and crafts his book with care, trying to help the wounded and encourage them to find hope in a body of believers.
The book is a bit disjointed and segmented. But that seems intentional, and is written with an eye to what those suffering from depression can withstand. Short chapters, brief thoughts, simple conclusions and applications. Encouraging thought and offering help without a judgemental attitude. One oddity in the book is the author’s repeated use of Spurgeon’s first name. This may be intended to be less off-putting for the depressed reader. It might make “Charles” seem more approachable. I found it jarring and odd, but that may just be me!
There is much that caregivers can learn as well in these pages, and the author’s use of Spurgeon’s insights along with some contemporary authors, provides help in how to deal with those struggling with this problem in our churches today. I recommend the book and hope its message is a blessing and help to many.
Disclaimer: This book was provided by the publisher for review. The reviewer was under no obligation to offer a positive review.
About Book Briefs: Book Briefs are book notes, or short-form book reviews. They are my informed evaluation of a book, but stop short of being a full-length book review.
Book Details:
• Author: Marvin Jones
• Publisher: Christian Focus (2014)
• Format: paperback
• Page Count: 176
• ISBN#: 9781781913024
• List Price: $11.99
• Rating: Recommended
Blurbs:
“All of the makings of an important story that Evangelicals need to hear… Dr. Jones has done… Evangelicals a great favor in writing this lucid account.”
—Michael Haykin, Professor of Church History and Biblical Spirituality, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Louisville, KY
“Introduces us not just to the subtlety and real acuity of Basil’s thought but to a man of great warmth and affection… challenges us as well as instructs us.”
—Michael Ovey, Principal, Oak Hill Theological College, London
“Abounding with pastoral wisdom and with the discussion of theological themes important to any era… an insightful study in human nature and how men of God respond to the shifting sands of the theological and ecclesiastical landscape…. a critical but sympathetic assessment of a remarkable pilgrim on life’s journey.”
—Paige Patterson, President, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Fort Worth, TX
Overview:
If you grew up in American evangelicalism, like I did, your grasp of church history, especially of the church fathers, may be relatively weak. Like a good fundamentalist, I grew up knowing all about D.L. Moody, George Whitfield, and Billy Sunday. I also had heard of Martin Luther and John Calvin, although I had more suspicion of them. But the church fathers were Roman Catholics from who knows when, and they didn’t have anything to teach me.
This idea, mind you, was “caught,” not “taught.” Church history has much to teach us, and the church fathers wouldn’t so easily fit into the mold of Catholicism as we know it. The early church fathers, especially, are worthy of study, and to them we owe thanks for an orthodox understanding and articulation of such important doctrines as the deity of Christ, the Trinity, and the deity of the Holy Spirit.
Basil of Caesarea (329-379 AD), a Greek-speaking Bishop in what is now Turkey, was so important a figure in the fight for biblical orthodoxy, that he is remembered as Basil the Great. He may be the most significant church father that most people haven’t heard of. Athanasius gets more notoriety for defending the Trinity contra mundum (against the world), but Basil was right there with him. Basil’s writings against the Arians, and his work On the Holy Spirit, helped to provide the church with some of the terminology that would eventually make up the orthodox definition of the Trinity: “one essence, but three persons.”
Marvin Jones provides a useful introduction to Basil’s life and thought in Basil of Caesarea: His Life and Impact. The book is short and accessible and aims to allow Basil to influence the modern Evangelical church. Due to a collection of 350 letters of Basil to his impressive family (his father, sister and brother are all considered saints by the Eastern Orthodox Church) and others, we know more about Basil than any other Christian of the ancient church with the exception of Augustine of Hippo. Basil wrote on a variety of topics too. He aimed at reforming the liturgy or worship of his church, he appreciated but also critiqued monasticism, writing a helpful book with rules geared toward reforming the movement. He interacted with several key figures of the day and became more and more orthodox in his understanding of the Trinity over the course of his ministry. He even left us two series of sermons, one of which is one of the earliest known literal interpretations of the book of Genesis, including a defense of literal 24-hour days in Genesis 1.
Excerpt:
This excerpt focuses on Basil’s capable defense of the deity of Jesus Christ.
Basil reviewed [his opponents’] rationale by stating, “They say that the Son is not equal to the Father, but comes after the Father. Therefore it follows that glory should be ascribed to the Father through Him, but not with Him. With Him expresses equality but through Him indicates subordination.”
Basil refuted this concept with a discussion on the word after. Basil asked, “In what way do they say that the Son is after the Father? Is He later in time, or in rank, or in dignity?” The issue is that one cannot conceive of the Father without the Son as if there was an interval in their relationship or existence. He quoted John 1:1 and focused upon the word was as settling the issue of the Son’s eternality. Basil stated, “No matter how far your thoughts travel backward, you cannot get beyond the was. No matter how hard you strain to see what is beyond the Son, you will find it impossible to pass outside the confines of the beginning. Therefore, true religion teaches us to think of the Son with the Father.” (Kindle location 2106-2112)
Evaluation:
This book does what it aims to do: it introduces the reader to Basil and the theological debates of his era. In reading some of Basil’s arguments and by considering the doctrines debated, I am impressed by his forceful and clear grasp of the significance of the doctrine of God, and his recognition of the key place that Scripture, over and above tradition, holds. His literal approach to Genesis and his reformer’s approach to monasticism should make studying important and relevant for today’s church.
This book and others in the “Early Church Fathers” series, would make for a great supplement to a homeschool or Christian school curriculum. Many parents, like me, should also read up on this forgotten father. I highly recommend this brief work, and hope that Basil’s passion for the truth will continue to bless the wider church, now and always.
Series Description:
The “Early Church Fathers” series relates the magnificent impact that these fathers of the early church made for our world today. They encountered challenges similar to ones that we face in our postmodern world, and they met them with extraordinary values that will encourage and inspire us today.
About the Author: Dr. Marvin Jones is the Assistant Professor of Church History and Theology, Louisiana College, Pineville, Louisiana, and the Chairman of the Christian Studies Department.
I have been making my way through Alec Motyer’s book Isaiah by the Day: A New Devotional Translation. This hardcover, wide margin book presents Motyer’s fresh translation of Isaiah and includes textual notes as well as introductory material and a devotional thought for each of the 71 readings in the book. It is very well done. Written with the heart of a pastor and the care of a scholar, this volume brings the book of Isaiah alive, and the devotions help the reader apply the text personally.
I want to share an excerpt from this book, from the passage covering Isaiah 40:1-11 (day #43 in the book). I trust you will be blessed by reading this passage as I was. You may also want to go out and pick up a copy of this book for your own devotional reading in the future.
Day 43 ~ Isaiah 40:1-11
The consolation of the world (40:1-42:17)
Astonishingly, no sooner has Isaiah pronounced judgement on Hezekiah’s sin than he is directed to organise messengers of comfort. But (maybe because exile to Babylon prompts thoughts of the wider world) the comfort-message covers all the earth, Israel and the Gentiles.
Consolation for the Lord’s people: Voices of consolation
40:1. Console, console my people,1
your God keeps saying.
2. Speak lovingly to Jerusalem,2
and call out to her,
that her time of duress has been fulfilled,
that the punishment of her iniquity has been accepted,
that she has received from Yahweh’s hand
the exact payment for3 all her sins.
The first voice: Yahweh coming; worldwide revelation
3. A voice!4 Someone is calling out:
In the desert,
clear a road for Yahweh,
make straight through the open plain
a highway for our God.
4. Every valley must be raised,
and every mountain and hill lowered,
and the rough ground must become flat,
and the mountain chain a pass.
5. And the glory of Yahweh will be revealed,
and all flesh will see it together:
for it is Yahweh’s mouth that has spoken.
The second voice: Human transicence and the permanent Word
6. A Voice! Someone is saying, Call out,
and someone is saying, What am I to call out?
All flesh is grass,
and all its reliability like a flower of the field.
7. Grass withers, flower wilts,
for Yahweh’s Spirit has breathed on it.
Ah, surely, the people are grass!
8. Grass withers, flower wilts,
and the word of our God rises up5 for ever.
The third voice: Good news for Zion
9. To a lofty moutain, up with you,
Zion, bearer of good news!
With strength raise your voice,
Jerusalem, bearer of good news.
Raise your voice: do not fear.
Say to the cities of Judah:
Behold! Your God!
10. Behold —
as a strong one,
the Sovereign Yahweh will come,
his arm6 ruling for him.
Behold!
the wage he has earned7 is with him,
and his work is in front of him.
11. Like a sheperd who shepherds his flock,
in his arm he gathers the lambs,
and in his bosom carries them;
those with young he guides along.
1Plural imperatives. Against the background of the dire prediction of exile and loss, the Lord has such a full message of consolation that not just Isaiah but unnamed others are summoned to bring the consoling word. Far from judgment having the last word (39:6-7) consolation has the first word!
2 Lit., ‘Speak to the heart of’ — as of an ardent lover wooing his beloved, Gen. 34:3.
3 Lit., ‘the double’, referring to one thing exactly matching another. The preposition ‘for’ (The Hebrew prefixed preposition be) expresses ‘price/value/payment’.
4 See 13:4.
5 The literal meaning of qum. Used to express not just the continuance of the Word while all else wilts but its certainty of fulfilment and its capacity for active intervention — ‘so stand up and be counted’.
6 ‘Arm’ symbolises personal strength. cf., 33:2; 52:10. In 51:9-10 (cf. 53:1) the Lord’s arm is personified, and one is therefore tempted to use the upper case here, ‘Arm’.
7 Lit., ‘his wage’, but a pronoun with ‘wage’ always points to the wage-earner. In ways Isaiah has yet to explain the Lord has worked and earned a wage. The ‘work’ he has accomplished lies in front of him, i.e., the people who are his flock.
Thought for the day: Isaiah 40:1-11
The most wonderful thing about these verses is not the beauty of their expression (though that in itself would have been enough), nor the attractiveness of what they reveal (though, again, that would suffice), but the place where they come. Doom has been pronounced on Hezekiah (39:6-7), and with it the death knell seems to have been sounded for all Isaiah’s glittering predictions of a coming king. At this darkest of moments, the call goes out to speak the word of comfort (v. 1), to proclaim hardship finished and sins forgiven (v. 2), to announce that Yahweh himself is on his way with worldwide significance (vv. 3-5), that his word and promises can never fail (vv. 6-8), and that Zion’s people are the flock he has worked for and now holds in his tender care (vv. 9-11). This is the Lord undefeated even by our most grievous sin; the Lord who never calls back the word he has spoken, and who cannot be deflected from its fulfilment! It will all become even more wonderful as Isaiah develops his message in these chapters. We will learn what the Lord’s ‘arm ruling’ means, that it is in truth his ‘arm’ — the Lord Jesus anticipated in his executive might; we will discover what ‘work’ he has done to earn the ‘wages’ he desired — his people, his flock. So much wonder lies ahead, but let us never lose sight of this initial wonder or fail to stand in awe of it. It is what he is towards us as sinners and failures: it is the way his intentions triumph over our frailties. The Sovereign God is never more sovereign than in the work of mercy and salvation, and it is those who know they have most signally erred and strayed from his ways, who, within the blessed arena of salvation, feel most gently the warmth of his shepherding arms around them, and know themselves for sure to be the lambs of his flock.
~ Taken from Isaiah by the Day: A New Devotional Translation, by Alec Motyer, (Christian Focus: 2011), pg. 188-190.
Book Details:
• Author: Allan Harman
• Category: Biography
• Publisher: Christian Focus (2012)
• Format: softcover
• Page Count: 208
• ISBN#: 1845507835
• List Price: $14.99
• Rating: Must Read
Review: For nearly three hundred years, the most widely used and respected whole Bible commentary has been Matthew Henry’s Exposition of the Old and New Testaments. Matthew Henry teaches the Bible in simple, memorable phrases, aiming to both inform the reader and promote deeper devotion to Christ. His Christ-centered approach, clarity of thought and pastoral emphasis on applying the text have kept his work in demand these many years. Yet compared to the authors of other comparable Christian classics, we remember very little of Matthew Henry the man.
The commentaries of Martin Luther and John Calvin, the sermons of George Whitfield and Charles Spurgeon, and the writings of John Bunyan and Jonathan Edwards remain as popular among Christians as ever–and these men are remembered, with numerous biographies available for each. For Matthew Henry, only one or two reprints of old biographies are available, as any search of Amazon.com or Google Books can verify. So it was with a mixture of curiosity and interest that I picked up Matthew Henry: His Life and Influence by Allan Harman (Christian Focus, 2012).
I wasn’t sure what to expect, as I thought this book was just a brief overview of Henry’s life and a discussion of his legacy. I was pleased instead to find a thoroughly researched, well-written biography of Matthew Henry. Harman details the life of Philip Henry, Matthew’s father, and the difficulties facing nonconformist Puritan ministers in late seventeenth century England. He goes on to detail Matthew Henry’s life and ministry before focusing on his writings and lasting influence. Along the way he provides excerpts of Henry’s sermons, diary and letters, to fill out the portrait of his life.
Matthew Henry’s life and ministry
Matthew Henry was born in 1662 to a Puritan minister’s family. His father, an Oxford-trained minister, lost his church due to the Act of Uniformity, ultimately never returning to a pulpit ministry. Instead he trained his children, and conducted services for his own house and servants and took many a preacher boy under his wing. Nearly all of Matthew Henry’s schooling, which included training in Greek, Latin and Hebrew, came at his father’s hand. Matthew Henry took the pastorate of a Presbyterian church in Chester, where he ministered for 26 years, before moving near London. Henry was sickly most of his life, and endured many personal trials. He lost his first wife and several children to illness. His oldest son rejected Christianity, even taking his mother’s maiden name as his own. Henry died in 1714, just 2 years after moving to London for greater ministry opportunities. Yet in the midst of a busy ministry, which saw Henry give numerous sermons or lessons each week, he found time to write what would become the most loved commentary on Scripture in the English language.
Matthew Henry’s writings and legacy
Henry’s Exposition was published in a series of volumes, beginning in 1706 up through his death in 1714. It took him just under 8 years to write his notes on the Old Testament, and he had just finished the Gospels and Acts (in 2 years) before his death. He left detailed notes on Romans and Revelation, and since he had also preached through both testaments several times in the course of his ministry, some of his friends completed the sixth volume of the commentary after his death. Besides his commentary, Henry wrote a widely-used children’s catechism, a book of family hymns (some set to his own translations from the Hebrew), a biography of his father Philip Henry, and an influential book on prayer (A Method of Prayer). Besides these he published some pamphlets, other devotional books and some of his sermons. His last published book betrays the emphasis of his life and ministry: it’s title was The Pleasantness of a Religious Life Opened and Improved; and Recommended to the Consideration of All, Particularly of Young People. Harman’s comments on this book are worth repeating:
Modern readers have to understand that this book encompasses the Puritans’ vision of the Christian life. They were not morbid and unfeeling. Rather, serving God was with them a thing of the highest joy. Matthew Henry expressed the Christian’s pleasure in God as one ‘which has no pain attending to it, no bitterness in the latter end of it; a pleasure which God himself invites you to, and which will make you happy, truly and eternally happy, and shall not this work for you?’ (Kindle location 3263-66)
Matthew Henry’s commentary has been praised by many down through the years. Charles Spurgeon recommended that his students read it through at least once, preferrably during their first year of ministry. John Ryland, a Baptist pastor of the eighteenth century, said of Matthew Henry’s commentary "a person cannot begin to read without wishing he was shut out from all the world, and able to read it through, without stopping" (Kindle location 3507-10). Harman takes pains to demonstrate the influence of Matthew Henry on Jonathan Edwards, John and Charles Wesley, and George Whitfield. There certainly is evidence that these men drew from Henry’s expository "well" as they carried out their own ministry. The widespread availability of Henry’s commentary, in abridged or unabridged format, and online or coupled with Bible software programs such as e-sword is the definitive statement of Henry’s lasting legacy. It is arguably the most accessible commentary to the average Bible reader today, and it is indeed average Bible readers for whom Henry wrote his Exposition.
Evaluation of the book
Allan Harman has done the Church a service in refocusing attention onto Matthew Henry, whose commentary has been such a perpetual blessing for so many. The book reads easily, although at times some of the details that a researcher revels in, may get in the way of the account. Harman has written essays on various aspects of Matthew Henry’s life or writings, and at times it seems that he has strung together different pieces into one book. This leads to some noticeable repetition in a few spots.
Harman brings out quite a few interesting tidbits that are not widely known. Henry worked on the the last half of the book of Ezra for his commentary in the middle of the night when his wife was in labor!! He also brings out the fact that Charles Wesley’s hymn "A Charge to Keep I Have" is based on Henry’s comment on Leviticus 8:35. He also notes that from our perspective, Henry should have spent more of his free time with his family and looked after his health more. Harman also includes pictures of Henry’s old church, his study, and other places of interest.
Another fault of the book might be how Harman spends so much time detailing Matthew Henry’s childhood home and family life from when he was a child, but so relatively little time on Henry’s own home and his time with his children. Perhaps this is due to having less resources to work with, as Matthew Henry’s diary has not survived and we are dependent on quotes from earlier works for this information. On the whole, the book is solidly done and accomplishes what it sets out to. Henry’s life is detailed, we are transported back to seventeenth century England and the world of the Puritans, and we even imagine ourselves in the pews of his church in Chester.
This biography will encourage many, myself included, to pick up Matthew Henry’s commentary again and spend some time reading through it. And it will also lead to a greater appreciation of the lasting impact of a simple ministry in a country church–and of a life well lived. Henry himself pointed out shortly before his death "that a holy, heavenly life, spent in the service of God and communion with him, is the most pleasant and comfortable life that anyone can live in this world" (Kindle location 3706-8) Matthew Henry lived such a life, and this is why studying Henry’s life is so worthwhile. May God give us more men like Matthew Henry!
Author Info: Allan Harman has had a life-time interest in exposition of the biblical text, and also in the history of interpretation. He is Research Professor of Old Testament at the Presbyterian Theological College in Melbourne, Australia. He has lectured and preached in many countries, and continues to serve as the senior editor of the Reformed Theological Review, Australia’s oldest theological journal.
Congratulations to the four winners of the Day 11 giveaway! Here are the names of our winners and the prizes they won. Be sure to visit CrossFocusedReviews.com for today’s final giveaway.
Christianity is a religion of the heart, and Evangelicalism especially emphasizes personal conversion and spiritual transformation. Our churches are very good at diagnosing spiritual maladies and confronting the problem of personal sin. But we often stumble in our efforts to help those afflicted by mental anguish, physical suffering and especially depression.
