In The Case and Cure of a Deserted Soul, Puritan Joseph Symonds (d.1652) explores the nature, causes, and treatment of spiritual depression-a state that arises when God seems to hide his face, leaving the Christian to walk alone in a "dark night of the soul." Every aspect of this condition is examined with a surgeon's precision, a philosopher's insight, and the Word of God's wisdom on how to gain a firmer footing and emerge from this melancholy hour with renewed strength and vivacity.