Psalms and Depression

I finished the other night a book titled: "Finding God: Praying the Psalms in Times of Depression" by Thomas Lewis. This gentleman is a Presbyterian Pastor and one who also suffers from depression. He wrote this book out of his own experience with major depression.

I found it to be a very facinating read. This book speaks about certain of the Psalms, 13, 130, 22, 42-43, 77, 40, 30, 131 being used in a devotional manner to help with depression. The author is very clear throughout that major depression is to be combated with medication, therapy, and spiritual counceling. His main point is to explain how certain of the Psalm can be used to help in the treatment of depression but that this is only part of what is necessary.

Most of the Psalms listed are ones that he identifies as speaking to depression but a couple of them are for later. When the depressed individual is far enough along to be at the point of being able to rejoice again. What I liked about this book is that it spells out in the final chapter how to use these Psalms as spiritual excercises.

He lays them out as a devotion. The study of each Psalm begins with prayer, then the reading of the Psalm, he is always encouraging the person to pause when something strikes the reader saying, "read it again, stop meditate on that, then go on". Then there is his commentary and a section teaching the reader how to journal about that Psalm. Finally, he ends again with a prayer. It is sometimes one that the author has given, one the reader has written or a hymn/spiritual song.

Throughout, the reader is encouraged to be engaged with a group. The reader is encouraged to do the spiritual exercises with others if at all possible. At the same time though, the author acknowledges that this may not be possible.

All in all, I found this book to be very eye opening. I think it will help me as I minister to those in the churches I serve who are suffering with depression. The thoughts contained in this book have helped me to be more empathetic than I was before I read it.