Stop listening to yourself

I apologise in advance for the ridiculously long quotes in this post, but they are brilliant.

The main trouble in this whole matter of spiritual depression in a sense is this, that we allow our self to talk to us instead of talking to our self. Am I just trying to be deliberately paradoxical? Far from it. This is the very essence of wisdom in this matter. Have you realized that most of your unhappiness in life is due to the fact that you are listening to yourself instead of talking to yourself? Take those thoughts that come to you the moment you wake up in the morning. You have not originated them, but they start talking to you, they bring back the problem of yesterday, etc. Somebody is talking. Who is talking to you? Your self is talking to you. Now this man’s treatment [in Psalm 42] was this; instead of allowing this self to talk to him, he starts talking to himself, ‘Why art thou cast down, O my soul?’ he asks. His soul had been repressing him, crushing him. So he stands up and says: ‘Self, listen for a moment, I will speak to you’. Do you know what I mean? If you do not, you have but little experience.

(D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Spiritual Depression: Its Causes and Cures, pp. 20f)

Martin Luther knew better than most how to talk your way out of spiritual depression. However, for him the devil was real and the one to have God's promises spoken to. However, God was also close at hand in the words of those who spoke in his name.

do not dwell on your own thoughts, but listen to what other people have to say to you. For God has commanded men to comfort their brethren, and it is his will that the afflicted should receive such consolation as God's very own [...]

Inasmuch, then, as God desires everyone to comfort his brother, and desires that such comfort be received with a believing heart, be done with your own thoughts. Know that the devil is tormenting you with them, and that they are not your thoughts but the cursed devil's, who cannot bear to see us have joyful thoughts.

Listen, then to what we are saying to you in God's name: Rejoice in Christ, who is your gracious Lord and Redeemer [...]

If you are convinced that [your own] thoughts come from the devil you have already gained the victory.

(pp.96f, Luther: Letters of Spiritual Counsel, ed. and trans. Theodore G. Tappert [1534])

Slightly more seriously, Luther lays down how he dealt with his own doubts about whether he was one of the elect:

I know all about this affliction. I was myself brought to the brink of eternal death by it [...] I shall show you how God helped me out of this trouble and by what means I now protect myself against it every day.

First, you must firmly fix in your mind the conviction that such thoughts as yours are assuredly the suggestions and fiery darts of the wretched devil [...]

Secondly, when such thoughts assail you, you should learn to ask yourself, "If you please, in which Commandment is it written that I should think about and deal with this matter?" When it appears that there is no such Commandment, learn to say: "Begone, wretched devil! You are trying to make me worry about myself. But God declares everywhere that I should let him care for me [...]

Thirdly, if these thoughts nevertheless continue (for the devil is reluctant to give up), you too must refuse to give up. You must always turn your mind away from them and say: "Don't you hear, devil? I will have nothing to do with such thoughts. Moreover, God has forbidden me to. Begone! I must now think of God's Commandments. Meanwhile I shall let him care for me. If you are so clever in these matters, go up to heaven and dispute with God himself [...]

Fourthly, the highest of God's commands is this, that we hold up before our eyes the image of his dear Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. Everyday he should be our excellent mirror wherein we behold how much God loves us and how well, in his infinite goodness, he has cared for us in that he gave his dear Son for us.

In this way, I say and no other, does one learn how to deal properly with the question of predestination. It will be manifest that you believe in Christ. If you believe, then you are called. And if you are called, then you are most certainly predestinated. Do not let this mirror and throne of grace be torn away from your eyes. If such thoughts still come and bite like fiery serpents, pay no attention to the thoughts or serpents. Turn away from these notions and contemplate the brazen serpent [John 3:14], that is Christ given for us.

(pp.115ff, Luther: Letters of Spiritual Counsel, ed. and trans. Theodore G. Tappert [1534])

Incidentally, after some thought, I think that that last paragraph gets at what Paul means when he 'the Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God' (Romans 8:16). The witness of the Spirit is not a feeling or voice in your head telling you that you are elect. It is externalised in the cry 'Abba, Father' (v.15; c.f 2 Cor 1:19-22, Luke 12:11-12). It is not subsequent to belief in the Gospel, but it is belief that the Gospel is true. That is why the Reformers (in contrast to some Puritans) made assurance inseparable from faith. For example, Calvin defines faith as 'a firm and certain knowledge of God's benevolence toward us, founded upon the truth of the freely given promise in Christ, both revealed to our minds and sealed upon our hearts through the Holy Spirit' (Institutes, 3.2.7) and Luther describes it as 'a living, daring confidence in God's grace, so sure and certain that the believer would stake his life on it a thousand times' ("Preface to the Epistle of St Paul to the Romans" [1546] LW vol.35 p. 370)

Having said that Calvin understands the witness of the Spirit slightly differently to me (cf. his commentary on Ephesians 1:13 and on Romans 8:16 itself). He seems to see it more as unconscious change in the heart, but which is manifested in our calling upon God:

our faith has no true evidence, except we call upon God. It is not then without reason that Paul, bringing us to this test, shows that it then only appears how truly any one believes, when they who have embraced the promise of grace, exercise themselves in prayers.

However, it is notable that when Luther recommends clear 'practical' advice it is to listen to other people who speak with the Spirit's voice, and to call upon the Lord in joyful song.

When you are sad, therefore, and when melancholy threatens to get the upper hand, say "Arise, I must play a song unto the Lord on my regal [a portable organ] (be it the Te Deum laudamus or the Benedictus), for the Scriptures teach us that it pleases him to hear a joyful song and the music of stringed instruments." Then begin striking the keys and singing in accompaniment, as David and Elisha did, until your sad thoughts vanish. If the devil returns and plants worries and sad thoughts in your mind resist him manfully and say, "Begone, devil! I must now play and sing unto my Lord Christ."

(pp.96f, Luther: Letters of Spiritual Counsel, ed. and trans. Theodore G. Tappert [1534])