Condition Notice: This is a 1990 copyright edition with a different dust jacket. Clean and solid!
The Puritans were master counselors. They were master Biblical counselors, to be more precise. Realizing as they did that the root of all man's problems was in his heart, not in his mind, they felt it necessary to understand the heart of man and its problems rather than the mind of man. Because of this, the Puritans mastered their Bibles before they attempted to conquer the heart of man. Many of today's counselors neglect the spiritual side of man's dilemma, thereby neglecting the true cause of his ills. The Puritans realized, without being simplistic, that to ever deal definitively with life's problems, whether it be depression, marital strife, self-doubt, anxiety, or any other ills one might care to name, the individual must first deal with his inner self.
There are many Puritan classics on the subject. Thomas Brooks' Precious Remedies for Satan's Devices, Thomas Goodwin's A Child of Light Walking in Darkness, William Bridge's A Lifting Up for the Downcast, and many other similar works give evidence that the Puritans were no "ignorant fundamentalists" merely overlooking the mental, emotional, or problematic side of man. Rather, they were masters at applying Biblical answers and principles to problems that can only be solved by spiritual means. No Puritan work, however, has ever approached the popularity, the scope, or the depth of Baxter's classic treatise. With the widespread interest in counseling in today's church, this reprint of Baxter's work should be a welcome addition to every pastor's library, or to anyone else who wishes to give solid Biblical answers to man's questions.
A Christian Directory gives extensive directions for applying the Scriptures to all areas of life. Dr. Timothy Keller calls this "the greatest manual on biblical counseling ever produced." Dr. J. I. Packer says that, next to the Bible, this is the greatest Christian book ever written.
Did you find this review helpful?