I860 



NATIONAL LIBRARY OF MEDICINE 
Washington 





Glass. 
Book. 



THE CHRISTIAN PHYSICIAN ; 



OB, 



REASONS WHY THE PHYSICIAN 



SHOULD 



BE A FOLLOWER OF CHRIST. 



BY WOLCOTT RICHARDS, M. D. 



PUBLISHED BY THE 
AMERICAN TRACT SOCIETY, 

150 NASSAU-STREET, NEW YORK. 



vV 
\860 



NATIONAI l.m>»'W ^ 



CONTENTS. 

t:jv LETTER I. 

'v. 

*^ The legitimate influence of medical studies in leading the 
mind to God - 7 

LETTER II. 

The importance of religion to the medical man in his en- 
counters with sickness, sorrow, and death 17 

LETTER III. 
His need of divine support in his professional trials 30 

LETTER IV. 

His obligation to be a Christian, because of his opportunities 
to lead others to Christ 45 

LETTER V. 

Tlie necessity of a Christian hope to sustain him in the hour 
of sickness and death, which come alike to physician and 
patient - - 54 

LETTER VI. 

Tlie obstacles and temptations he has to contend with in 
leading a religious life ^ 61 



PREFACE. 



Having, during an arduous and extensive 
practice of more than thirty years, done almost 
nothing by means of the press to advance the 
interests of medical science, I desire to make 
some slight amends for past delinquences, by 
addressing a few thoughts to my professional 
brethren upon a topic of far greater interest 
than any human science. 

Should these thoughts, by the blessing of God, 
reach any heart, I shall feel as if I had not 
lived in vain — as if I had rendered a service 
infinitely more valuable than though I had writ- 
ten the most learned treatise, or had added ever 
so largely to the sum of human knowledge. 

I have chosen the epistolary form of address, 
as best adapted to direct, free, and familiar 
appeal. 

If any thing in these letters looks like an 
attempt to teach others wiser than myself, it is 
only seeming. I utterly disclaim such presump- 
tion. My design is not to impart knowledge, 



6 PREFACE. 

but to point out some of the most important 
bearings of what is familiarly known. 

To medical students and young men just 
entering the profession, it may seem that a 
dark and discouraging picture has been drawn 
of the future which awaits them. But they 
need not be disheartened. They must remem- 
ber I have only alluded to the trials of the pro- 
fession. To portray its pleasures would require 
much larger space, and constitute a work far 
more grateful to both author and reader. The 
physician who enters upon professional duties 
with a just appreciation of their magnitude and 
dignity, with a thorough knowledge of the ele- 
mentary principles of his art, with a genuine love 
of science, and with the primary philanthropic 
motive of doing his utmost to alleviate human 
suffering, will derive from it, with all the draw- 
backs, much pure, elevated enjoyment. 

Next to the office of the sacred ministry, it is 
the most godlike calling ; and he who pursues 
it not as a trade, but as a noble, beneficent voca- 
tion, will ordinarily be successful in curing the 
sick, relieving the suffering, and comforting the 
afflicted, and thus will reap rich compensation 
for his many sacrifices and privations. 



THE CHRISTIAN PHYSICIAK 



LETTER I. 

INFLUENCE OF MEDICAL STUDIES. 

In opening a correspondence with you, my 
dear doctor, upon a subject of transcendent 
importance, involving no less than your happi- 
ness in this life as well as that which is to 
come, I would beforehand bespeak your kind 
and indulgent attention to what I have to say, 
and ask you, instead of passing lightly and has- 
tily over my letters, to give them a careful and 
serious perusal, weighing the momentous con- 
siderations they present with the same frank- 
ness and candor you would bring to the dis- 
cussion of matters of strictly professional or 
scientific interest. 

I will not trespass upon your valuable time 
by speaking of the general subject of the in- 
ternal and external evidences of Christianity j 



8 THE CHRISTIAN PHYSICIAN. 

merely recommending to you, if pcrcliance you 
have not already read them, the invaluable 
works of Bishop Wilson, Bishop Mcllvaine, and 
others, which array before the mind a weight of 
testimony seemingly irresistible upon a subject 
of such infinite importance that, in comparison 
with it, all questions of science, literature, or 
art sink into the veriest trifles. Upon all of 
us who live under the light of the gospel rests 
the responsibility of examining this testimony, 
and of boldly rejecting its claims to our confi- 
dence, or else manfully assenting to truths we 
cannot gainsay, and yielding obedience to pre- 
cepts so authoritatively proclaimed. Upon this 
point I will not dwell, but with your permission 
I wish to suggest some reasons why you, as a 
physician, are under special obligations to be a 
religious man. 

And the first reason I will offer is, because 
your pursuits and studies lead you directly from 
nature up to nature^s God; the contemplation of 
his wonderful works almost necessarily leading 
tlie mind to the great Author and Creator him- 
self. However the superficial observer may 
flippantly repudiate a great First-cause, and 
refer all the works and phenomena of nature to 



INFLUENCE OF MEDICAL STUDIES. 9 

mere cliance, the medical man, studying the 
anatomy and physiology of the human body — 
revealing with his scalpel and microscope the 
delicate organization of the various parts, and 
beholding the admirable adaptation of each for 
its destined ofhce, cannot fail to discover a design 
in each and all which involves the necessity of an 
all-wise Designer. Who of us, for instance, can 
contemplate any of the important functions of 
the human system, performed by means of mech- 
anism the most intricate, and moved by vital 
influences the most subtle, without the convic- 
.tion being forced upon him that no fortuitous 
combination of atoms could have produced such 
perfection — that no agency of blind chance 
could have wrought out such results? May I 
not ask you, my dear doctor, to call to mind 
some of the physiological phenomena, which, 
from their familiarity and constant recurrence, 
scarcely awaken a thought, yet which evince a 
skill in contrivance far surpassing created wis- 
dom, and a niceness of adaptation which pre- 
cludes the hypothesis of accidental combina- 
tion, and see if they do constrain you to admit 
a divine Creator. Recall, for instance, the fa- 
miliar process of dige.^<tion, from the moment 



10 THE CHRISTIAN PHYSICIAN. 

when, at the suggestion of appetite and in obe- 
dience to the will, the food is taken into the 
mouth, till passing through various stages in 
divers organs it is converted into a nutritive 
fluid, fit to replenish the waste of the system. 
How eagerly is it seized upon by the muscles 
of the jaws, and subjected to the action of the 
teeth, each formed for its peculiar function of 
cutting, tearing, or grinding the food; while 
the salivary glands excited into action pour 
out their specific fluid, Avliich if not chemically 
concerned in digestion, at least gives the mass 
a consistence suitable for deglutition. This 
being accomplished, see how another set of 
muscles with harmonious action seize upon it, 
and carry it backward into the pharynx, the 
epiglottis like a faithful warder shutting down 
upon the glottis with instinctive accuracy at 
the moment of transit, lest a particle fall into 
the trachea. How the pharynx acting as a 
funnel, conducts the now masticated and insali- 
vated food into the oesophagus, where, by the 
combined action of two sets of muscular fibres, 
it is pushed onward to the stomach; how im- 
mediately upon its reception, or perhaps a mo- 
ment before, in anticipation of its coming, the 



INFLUENCE OF MEDICAL STUDIES. 11 

secreting follicles of this organ supply the gas- 
tricjuice, which is thoroughly commingled with 
the mass by the trituration of interlacing fibres, 
producing mechanical and chemical changes by 
means of which the crude aliment is converted 
into chyme. This stage being completed, how 
does the pyloric valve, hitherto closed against 
the premature escape of undigested matters, 
•with almost intelligent discrimination, open the 
door of egress to such portions of the food as 
are prepared for further changes. As it passes 
into the small intestines, how do the liver and 
pancreas, informed of its arrival, send forward 
in suitable channels their peculiar secretions, 
to perform their appropriate and necessary 
part in the digestive process, converting the 
chyme into chyle, which being greeqlily taken 
up by the lacteals, is carried into the mesenteric 
glands for some secret purpose, no doubt essen- 
tial to its perfection — thence being conveyed 
into the broad channel of the thoracic duct, 
and emptied into the two great veins of the 
body at their junction — thus constantly supply- 
ing to the impoverished blood fresh elements 
of nutrition and life. 
Now, my dear doctor, as we have gone over 



12 THE CHRISTIAN THYSICIAN. 

together tliis oft- trodden ground, reviewing the 
complex and elaborate mechanism by which the 
crudest and coarsest articles of diet are trans- 
muted into the pabulum of life, does not the 
conclusion seem inevitable that none but the 
Infinite could have contrived it, none but He 
could have continued it in successful opera- 
tion? 

But let us go a little further, and follow this 
nutritive fluid to the heart, where entering the 
right auricle it is sent through the pulmonary 
arteries to the lungs, and by means of minute 
capillary vessels is brought in contact with the 
atmosphere in the air-cells, imbibing from it 
the oxygen which is its life, and yielding to it 
the carbon which has been evolved in the va- 
rious vital processes. As we follow the now 
regenerated blood, returning through the pul- 
monary veins to the left side of the heart, 
whence by the powerful contraction of this 
muscle it is forced into the aorta, the delicate 
valves opening spontaneously for its outflow, 
and closing as suddenly against regurgitation; 
as we thence trace it on through the capillaries 
to the various organs, where by the peculiar 
alcliemy of each its appropriate secretion. is 



INFLUENCE OF MEDICAL STUDIES. 13 

eliminated, forming from the same fluid diverse 
compounds, some to play their part in the 
economy of life, some to be cast out of the sys- 
tem as no longer of use : as with scientific eye 
we follow these phenomena, tracing their de- 
pendence and watching their results, can we 
fail to recognize a transcendent wisdom in de- 
sign, skill in execution, and mystery in action, 
which proclaim most emphatically that we are 
fearfully and wonderfully made ? 

So alike of all the organs and functions of 
the body and mind. Do they not in their ex- 
quisite structure, and perfect adaptation to 
their several offices, imply superhuman power 
and wisdom, and constrain us to say of the 
human frame, "Truly 

" ' The hand that made it is divine ?' " 

Admitting then as we must the utter inca- 
pacity of human ingenuity to contrive such a 
complex system, and to adjust its harmonies, 
are we not shut up to this alternative : to rec- 
ognize wonderful effects without a cause, ex- 
quisite design without a designer — a position 
Avhich science will surely discard as utterly 
unworthy — or else to accept the rational and 



14 THE CHRISTIAN PHYSICIAN. 

safe conclusion of a great First-cause, of an in- 
finite and almighty Designer. 

If you have gone with me thus far, and con- 
cede that we are the workmanship of God's 
hands, can you refuse the necessary inference 
that he is the controller of our bodies; that 
our lives are in his keeping ; that he has alike 
the power and the right to do what he will 
with his own? 

Perhaps you will say I am calling your atten- 
tion to a very trite and threadbare subject. 
I know full well that the phenomena to which 
I have alluded arc as familiar to you as house- 
hold words, and for that very reason may 
awaken no consideration apart from their in- 
terest as physiological truths. May I not, how- 
ever, ask you if you have over followed them 
out to their legitimate consequences? Have 
you reflected upon them in connection with the 
great and paramount considerations to which 
I would fain call your attention? 

With what pleasure do we look upon a noble 
steam-engine ; admiring its beauty of construc- 
tion, its irresistible power, the exquisite smooth- 
ness and precision of its movements, and the 
application of its force to the most valuable 



INFLUENCE OF MEDICA.L STUDIES. 15 

results in manufactures and commerce. Well 
may we gaze upon it with wonder and delight, 
as an exhibition of the intellectual power of 
man, and render due homage to the skilful 
machinist whose handiwork it is. Should we 
not much more admire and reverence Him who 
imparted to man this wonderful skill ; yea, who 
gave him his very existence, and who sustains 
in action within his frame from day to day and 
year to year, from the cradle to the grave, ma- 
chinery contrived with a skill which no human 
ingenuity can approach? In the one case we 
pay a just tribute to the genius of man. Why 
should we in the other case fail to render ado- 
ration and praise to the infinite God ? 

Being constrained then to acknowledge him 
as the Author of our being, and hence as the 
Arbiter of our destinies, is it not the part of 
wisdom to seek his approbation, and strive to 
secure " His favor which is life, and His loving- 
kindness which is better than life?" Is it not 
superlative folly to be willing to live " without 
God and without hope in the world," when we 
might have him for our Father and Friend? 
He offers to stand in this tender relation to us 
upon the simple conditions that we believe in 



16 THE CHRISTIAN PHYSICIAN. 

him, love him, and keep his commandments. 
Are not these, my dear doctor, easy and just 
conditions? Would you regard them as hard 
stipulations to impose upon your child, that he 
might secure your favor? Would you consider 
them rigorous exactions of a sovereign from 
his subjects? Why then withhold your faith, 
love, and obedience from God, who is not only 
our Father and Sovereign, but our Creator, 
Preserver, and Benefactor? 



IN PROFESSIONAL DUTIES, 11 



LETTER II. 

RELIGION IN PROFESSIONAL DUTIES. 

My dear Doctor — In my last letter I sought 
to present to your mind your obligation to be a 
religious man, arising from the very character 
of your studies, which, as they unfold the organ- 
ization of God's highest work, should naturally 
lead the mind to the contemplation of the great 
Creator himself. Permit me now to call your 
attention to a second reason why as a physician 
you should be a Christian ; namely, because you 
are the constant witness of pain, sorrow, sickness, 
and death. 

The ordinary avocations of life have a ten- 
dency to divert men's thoughts from the con- 
templation of death and eternity. The lawyer, 
the merchant, the mechanic, and the laborer 
may plead with some semblance of plausibility 
the cares and perplexitigs of their several sta- 
tions, as an excuse for neglecting the interests 
of the future life. But the physician can enter 
no such plea. On the contrary, the daily ex- 
perience of his life is a constant exhortation to 



18 THE CHRISTIAN PHYSICIAN. 

place not liis dependence upon earthly and 
temporal things. Every pain he is summoned 
to alleTiate, every case of sickness which calls 
for his aid, every sorrow which demands his 
sympathy, every fatal malady which baffles his 
skill, each and all proclaim the unwelcome truth, 
the mortality of the race : each reiterates the 
solemn utterance of revelation, tliat no degree 
of physical strength, no share of worldly wealth, 
no amount of prosperity or fame, afford any 
security against the inevitable ills of life. All 
combined cannot screen the body from suffer- 
ing, or the soul from anguish. Neither the 
elastic vigor of youth, nor the stalwart strength 
of manhood, can interpose any shield against 
the arrow of death. 

Surely if any one needs the support of a 
Christian hope, it is he whose sad daily obser- 
vation corroborates the truth of Scripture, that 
" all flesii is grass, and all the goodliness thereof 
is as the flower of the field. The grass with- 
ereth, the flower fadej;h, but the word of our 
God shall stand for ever." 

Men are ready enough to admit the general 
axiom of the uncertainty of life, the instability 
of health, and the insecurity of earthly joys. 



IN TROFESSIONAL DUTIES. 19 

But practically, each for himself claims exemp- 
tion from the general doom. Tlie incontro- 
vertible proposition that all must die, is readily 
admitted ; but how slowly and reluctantly docs 
each realize the truth, I too must die. This 
body so curiously formed, the object of so much 
solicitude and watchfulness, for the pampering 
of which I have toiled night and day, ever 
inquiring," What shall I eat, what shall I drink, 
and wherewithal shall I be clothed?" exploring 
all countries and climes for the means of grati- 
fying its appetites, and for the promotion of 
its comfo'rt levying contributions from all the 
kingdoms of nature — this body which I have 
guarded so carefully from exposure, for the 
health of which I have swallowed nauseous 
draughts, consulted the most skilful physicians, 
and perhaps have forsaken home and friends 
for the healing influences of travel and salu- 
brious air — this fondly cherished body, the 
object of so much thought and pride and hope 
and apprehension, must be laid aside. These 
senses, the avenues of so many delights, must 
cease their office: the eye no longer delight 
itself in seeing, nor the ear in hearing; the 
brain no longer serve as the instrument of 



20 THE CHRISTIAN PHYSICIAN. 

thought, the pulses no longer throb with emo- 
tion. All this mortal part of my being must 
be laid in the grave, to await the resurrection 
of the last day. Worldly men in general are 
so engrossed by things of the present life, so 
rapidly swept along in the current of passing 
events, they cannot take time to contemplate 
these painful realities. But you and I, my 
dear doctor, see much in our daily walk to 
remind us that one event happeneth to all. 
None are overlooked by death. He may delay 
his coming for many years, till increasing in- 
firmities crave his approach, or he may come 
unwelcomed in the full flush of health. He 
may wait to extinguish with gentle hand the 
flame already flickering in the socket, or he may 
quench the tiny spark just kindling into life. 

Behold the infant of a few months, whose 
birth has so recently brought joy into the house- 
hold, gladdening a motlier's heart, awakening 
a father's pride, a precious bond of union be- 
tween husband and wife. How do their fond 
hearts swell with emotions of delight as they 
look upon this new object of affection. How 
delightedly do they watch its every motion, 
and try to anticipate its every want. How 



IN PROFESSIONAL DUTIES. 21 

confidently do they look forward to its grad- 
ual development, and dwell upon the happi- 
ness in store for them. How eagerly do they 
note the first smile which lights up the little 
face, the first token of recognition, the first 
springing germ of thought, every exhibition of 
will, every manifestation of expanding intel- 
lect. How proudly do they boast of its little 
accomplishments, and glory in its precocity. 
As thoy commune- together of its progress 
from infancy to childhood, from childhood to 
youth, from youth to manhood, how fondly 
do they cast the horoscope of its future, with 
parental astrology noting only the glowing 
planets which betoken prosperity and peace, 
overlooking entirely the dark, shadowy objects 
which lie forebodingly between. Afes, how 
soon, in many cases, are they undeceived. How 
quickly do their flattering visions give place 
to sad realities. That sparkling brilliancy 
proves to be but tlie flashing of a meteor which 
. is to sink in gloom. That boasted precocity 
is but the indication that the seeds of disease 
are germinating in the preternaturally excited 
brain. . You are called to witness the rapid 
advance of a disease beyond your reach ; and 



22 THE CHRISTIAN PHYSICIAN. 

as your countenance betrays the sentence your 
lips refuse to utter, the young mother's heart 
sinks within her. With yearning tenderness 
she hangs over her babe, refusing to admit the 
l-)0ssibility that death can stand thus at the 
very threshold of life. How importunately 
docs she pray that her little one may be spared. 
But her heavenly Father niercifully refuses her 
petition. He transfers her treasure from earth 
to heaven, that it may be safe from the«evil to 
come — that the precious bud, shielded from the 
harsh and blighting influences of the world, 
may expand into the perfect flower, and exhale 
its fragrance for ever in the paradise of God. 
If she can by faitli hear the Saviour's voice 
saying, "Suffer little children to come unto 
me, and» forbid them not, for of such is the 
kingdom of heaven," then she can respond, 
though with bleeding heart and sobbing voice, 
" Even so, Lord ; for so it seemeth good in thy 
sight." But if she has no hope beyond the 
present life, then indeed has her light gone 
out in impenetrable darkness, and the rebellion 
of her heart adding tenfold to her anguish, 
well may she cry out, "There is no sorrow like 
unto my sorrow." Now, my dear doctor, let 



IN PROFESSIONAL DUTIES. 23 

me ask you, unless you know by experience the 
fulness and preciousness of tlie love of Jesus, 
what can you do for that sorrowing mother? 
Words of sympathy are grateful and soothing, 
but they cannot bind up the broken heart. 
She needs to be led to Him " who doth not will- 
ingly afflict nor grieye the children of men," who 
alone can turn her sorrow into joy, and make 
her realize that her light afflictions, which are 
but for a- moment, shall work out for her "a far 
more exceeding and eternal weight of glory." 

Such are the scenes through which you must 
pass, every year of your life. Delightful indeed 
were our vocation could we alleviate all suffer- 
ing, and heal all diseases ; but alas, " death 
hath passed upon all men, for that all have 
sinned." God may have blessed your efforts 
time and again in restoring a patient to health, 
yet his period of probation sooner or later will 
run out. Then human skill will be unavailing. 
Remedies hitherto efficacious will fail of their 
effect. Grown confident by past success, you 
still persevere. Baffled with one remedy, you 
fly to another. Defeated in all your efforts, 
further counsel is called. Hoping against 
hope, new measures are tried, to be alike un- 



24 THE CHRISTIAN PHYSICIAN. 

successful, till your unseen and powerful an- 
tagonist, who from the first has been thwart- 
ing your plans, reveals himself in all his ter- 
rors as man's last, enemy, over whom there is 
but one victor, Christ the Lord. 

But it is not bereavement alone in which 
your sympathies are elicited. You are, from 
your intimate relation to your patients, the wit- 
ness of other sorrows, oft-times worse than 
death. How often does the penetrating phy- 
sician detect in the wasting liealth and strength 
of a mother or a wife, a cause lying concealed 
in the heart, which unless removed or mitigated 
will assuredly render all his skill nugatory and 
vain. With what cautious tenderness does he 
draw out from that heart the sad story of its 
wrongs and woes. Were not the physician's 
lips sealed with more than masonic fidelity, 
what tales of neglect and wrong, and petty tyr- 
anny more cruel than the inquisition, could be 
revealed, to the utter shame and disgrace of 
men whose outward bearing in society gives 
no evidence of their hypocrisy, but who abus- 
ing their power as husbands, crush out every 
spark of joy and hope from the trusting hearts 
of those whom they solemnly vowed to love 



IN PROFESSIONAL DUTIES. 25 

and honor and cherish. As the physician care- 
fully opens this sealed fountain of grief, how 
does his soul burn with indignation against the 
shameless tyrant, and throb with sympathy 
toward the hopeless victim of wrongs for which 
the law offers no redress, who with undeserved 
^nd unrequited generosity covers up from the 
public eye the tyranny of her oppressor, shield- 
ing him from the infamy he so richly merits, 
defending him from the insinuations of suspect- 
ing friends, and even reluctantly answering 
the searching questions of her medical adviser, 
who with no motives of idle curiosity is try- 
ing to find the hidden spring whence issues 
this troubled stream. How does he long to 
dry up that fountain of bitterness, to pour oil 
into those deep festering wounds. Alas, no 
human hand can "minister to a mind thus dis- 
eased, nor pluck such rooted sorrow from the 
brain." If he is a Christian he can tell the 
sufferer of the Balm in Gilead, and point her to 
the great Physician there ; to whom if she come 
in childlike faith and trust, He will either re- 
move her sorrow, or make it fruitful of spiritual 
joys, which the world is alike impotent to give 
or to take away. 



26 THE CHRISTIAN PHYSICIAN. 

But there is another domestic sorrow which 
falls under the observation of the physician, 
still more common, if not more pungent, wliich 
eats like fire into a parent's heart, drying up 
and consuming all its joys. I mean the diso- 
bedience and ingratitude of a child : perhaps 
the child of many prayers and fondest bopeSj^ 
at whose birth a mother's heart leaped for joy, 
over whose cradle she hung with delight, her 
watchings by night and unceasing care by day 
amply repaid by the dimpling smile and inno- 
cent prattle of her babe. 

With what fond expectation did she note all 
his winning ways, greet every opening faculty, 
and treasure all his little sayings in her heart. 
As he grew up into childhood and youth, how 
cheerfully she sacrificed herself for his enjoy- 
ment, how patiently she endured all his way- 
wardness, how joyfully she welcomed the least 
token of filial affection, how hopefully she re- 
garded every promise of manly virtue. Per- 
haps she early consecrated him to God, taught 
his infant lips to pray, and bore him in her own 
heart to the throne of grace. But alas, how 
much more naturally and easily do our depraved 
hearts gravitate to earth, than soar to heaven. 



IN PROFESSIONAL DUTIES. 27 

As he grows beyond a mother's constant vigi- 
lance, wicked companions lure him, and the 
temptations of the world beset his path. In 
spite of all her remonstrances, all her prayers 
and tears, she sees him treading in the broad 
road which leadeth to destruction. Under the 
lash of remorse, he from time to time resolves 
upon amendment; but the upbraidings of con- 
science are 'soon stifled, and good resolutions, 
often broken, cease to be made. He relaxes 
at last all effort, lies upon his oars, and floats 
with ever-accelerating swiftness down the tur- 
bid current of iniquity, till he plunges into 
hopeless ruin, a double wreck — the destroyer 
of his own soul, and of all a fond mother's 
hopes. That once pure and innocent brow, so 
often impressed with her maternal kiss, is now 
stamped with guilt. That beaming smile is 
changed unto the coarse laugh of ribaldry. 
That lisping tongue is loaded with blasphemies. 
Perhaps under the influence of intoxication, he 
even pours out curses upon that mother who 
would gladly have laid down her life for her 

son. 

" Oh how sharper than a serpent's tooth, 
To have a thankless cliild." 



28 THE CHRISTIAN PHYSICIAN. 

What human skill can extract the venom 
from such a wound? No probe can reach it; 
no salve can neutralize its virulence. It is 
working with deadly subtilty in the very heart's 
blood, sapping the foundations of health and 
life. You can bear me witness, dear doctor, 
that this is no fancy sketch. Every physician 
of long practice, especially in our large cities, 
will recognize it as a faithful portrait of what 
lie has himself seen. Have you not in such 
circumstances deeply lamented that you had 
no antidote for the soul's poison? Yain indeed 
will be your efforts to stay its blighting effects 
upon the bodily health, unless you can remove 
the cause: unless with words made eloquent 
with the spirit of Christ, and winged by faith 
aud prayer, you can pierce as with an arrow 
the steeled heart of that obdurate son ; or with 
heaven-imparted love and wisdom, can lead 
that broken-hearted mother to Jesus. But 
how can you lead, if you have not learned the 
way? How can you suggest a remedy of whose 
efficacy you have not made trial ? 

May I not, in view of all these sorrows and 
trials you are compelled to encounter, and 
which so feelingly appeal to you for your sym- 



IN PROFESSIONAL DUTIES. 29 

pathy, your counsel, and your aid, may I not 
entreat you to acquaint yourself personally 
with the only true source of consolation and 
support? Go to the only fountain whence flow 
the pure, living waters of peace and joy, even 
Jesus Christ the Lord. He invites you to come 
to him. He is eager to welcome you. 

" Yes, whosoever will, 

Oh let him freely come, 
And freely drink the stream of life ; 
'T is Jesus bids him come." 



30 THE CHRISTIAN PHYSICIAN. 

LETTER III. 

RELIGION IN PROFESSIONAL TRIALS. 

My dear Doctor — In my last letter I en' 
deavored to recall to your mind some of the 
sorrows which the physician in the ordinary 
discharge of his professional duties is compel- 
led to witness, and urged tlie importance of his 
being able to point the sufferer to the only 
source of hope and consolation, even to the 
Lamb of God, who not only taketh away the 
sin of the world, but also impartcth abundant 
grace to endure the many trials and sufferings 
which befall the race in consequence of sin. 
But not only is the physician the sad witness 
of sorrow with which the stranger intermed- 
dleth not, lie has also to endure personal trials 
peculiar to his vocation, which, though difficult 
for the community to appreciate, nevertheless 
bear upon him with crushing weight, under the 
pressure of whi.ch his own unaided strength 
proves but a broken reed. 

In the first place, his life is one of incessant 
toil and weariness. Most men have their stated 



IN PROFESSIONAL TRIALS. 31 

hours of business, and when those hours are 
past, can sit down in calm security to enjoy 
tlieir books, their families, or the society of 
friends. But the physician has no time that 
he can call his own. If he seeks relaxation in 
a ride to the country, or in spending a social 
evening with a friend, he does it with the feel- 
ing of a truant school-boy. His pleasure is 
alloyed by the thought that some one of his 
patients may be requiring his service, and that 
an unwelcome summons will greet his return to 
his home. Neither do his labors terminate at 
tlie hour of rest. Whatever the cares and per- 
plexities which harass the lawyer, the merchant, 
and the. mechanic during the day, when night 
comes they are buried in the blessed forgetful- 
ness of sleep. But to the physician night 
brings no respite. After a day of great fatigue 
of body, and, what is a hundred-fold worse, of 
intense anxiety of mind, when exhausted nature 
demands repose, he is often compelled to extend 
his watchings into the night, and thus suffer 
sooner or later in his own broken health the 
inevitable penalty of violating nature's laws. 
As he traverses the deserted streets at night, 
with a sense of weariness which makes him 



32 THE CHRISTIAN PIIYSICIAX. 

covet the curb-stone as a pillow ; or as lie sits 
by the bed-side of the sick, perhaps the dying, 
watching the feeble respiration or counting the 
ebbing pulse, how often does he secretly ask 
himself. Why did I choose so arduous a life ? 
How often does he inwardly exclaim, Would 
that I were a hewer of wood or a drawer of 
water, that I might escape these responsibili- 
ties, or at least that I might for a time lose the 
remembrance of my cares in the oblivion of 
slumber. Such are sometimes the lamentations 
even of the Christian physician, sustained 
though he is by the comforting thought that 
his lot is not of chance, but of divine appoint- 
ment—that with God are the issues of life and 
of death, and that if he gives his best talents 
and attainments and his watchful care to the 
case, he has done all that is required of hira, 
and he may calmly leave the result to Him 
who doeth all things well, and who will make 
all things, even professional cares and disap- 
pointments and failures, work together for his 
good. If such a one even is occasionally be- 
trayed into the folly and wickedness of mur- 
muring at the hardships of his lot, how bitter 
must be the reflections of him who has no arm 



IN PROFESSIONAL TRIALS. 33 

upon which he can lean ; who is obliged to fall 
back upon his own poor resources for support, 
and bear his burden alone and unaided. As 
he realizes the sinking condition of his patient 
and the inadequacy of science and human skill 
to cope with the King of Terrors, what can lie 
do but fold liis hands in despondency, and ex- 
claim, Surely "I have spent my strength for 
naught, aiid my labor for that which satisfieth 

not?" 

And in the midst of such depressing circum- 
stances, the physician not only has to bear his 
own burden, but in some measure that of the 
friends and relatives of the patient. When 
after years of faithful and devoted attention he 
has gained the confidence of those he attends, 
with what solicitude do they watch his counte- 
nance and note his words, drawing therefrom 
inferences of good or evil. How is his heart 
often torn when conscientiously compelled to 
give an unfavorable opinion. When the strick- 
en wife or anxious mother, with trembling ac- 
cents or inquiring look, asks the probable ter- 
mination of the case, upon the issue of which 
hangs all her hope, how can he find courage to 
utte°- the fatal prognosis, and break the heart 

Ch. Physician. O 



34 THE CHRISTIAN PHYSICIAN. 

he knows not how to heal? How can he speak 
the words "no hope/' unless with true Chris- 
tian confidence he can point to hope beyond 
the grave — unless he can lead the bereaved 
one to Him who alone can bring "light out of 
darkness, and mid tears of anguish can spread 
the bow of promise, filling the trusting heart 
with peace which passeth understanding? 

But the physician has another trial which 
few suspect, but which often cuts deep into his 
soul, namely, the failure of others to appreciate 
his feelings. Few seem to have any adequate 
conception of the threefold suffering he endures 
in his sympathy with afiflicted friends, in his 
sense of responsibility, and often in his person- 
al loss, perhaps of one to whom he had become 
strongly attached. Most gratefully do 1 record 
one exceptional case. I had attended the young 

daughter of Mrs. B , and had given the case 

my best attention, but was not aware of mani- 
festing more than usual solicitude. It so hap- 
pened that I was at the bedside at the dying 
hour, and when it was announced that all was 
over, the young mother laid her hand upon my 
shoulder, and said in a tone of tenderest sym- 
pathy, "1 am so sorry for you, doctor." She 



IN PROFESSIONAL TRIALS. 35 

then left the room, and gave vent to the agony 
of her own bursting heart. No one but a phy- 
sician can fully appreciate so generous, so un- 
selfish an act. Nearly twenty years have elapsed 
since the occurrence, but those kind words lin- 
ger like the strains of sweet music in my mem- 
ory. Never to my dying day shall I forget 
them, or cease to be grateful to the noble heart 
that uttered them. But such instances are 
indeed few and far between. The physician 
may have entered the sick-room day after day 
for weeks and months, bringing his best gifts 
of skill and knowledge, the results of careful 
study and of anxious thought, soothing when 
he could not heal, alleviating sufiFering which 
he could not avert, and often when his own 
spirit was oppressed, greeting his patient with 
a cheering smile and enlivening him with a 
pleasant word. At length, however, when all 
his efforts have proved unavailing, and the seal 
of death is set, he is allowed to take his leave 
almost unheeded. Oh how does he yearn for 
sympathy himself! He would not obtrude his 
grief; nevertheless he wishes it wms realized 
that he too is bereaved. With what a sad feel- 
ing of isolation does he turn away from the 



36 THE CHRISTIAN PHYSICIAN. 

house of mourning, in wliich he is and has a 
right to be a mourner. 

Am I, dear doctor, relating your own sad 
experience? Have I touched a chord which 
has often vibrated in your own heart ? Yes, I 
am confident I have; for "as in water face 
answereth to face, so the heart of man to man." 
Now if you are not a Cliristian, where will you 
find comfort in circumstances like these ? You 
may go away moralizing upon the selfishness of 
h«man nature. You may sternly resolve that 
henceforward you will faithfully but stoically 
perform your duty, without permitting your 
feelings to become so deeply enlisted. But this 
were a vain resolve. Even if practicable, it 
would be most unwise. Strive not to deaden 
your sensibilities. There is enough in life to 
chill them without your voluntary cooperation. 
Do not seek to shut out human sympathies from 
your heart, but rather cherish and cultivate 
them, for they are springs of joy, as well as 
of sorrow. Turn away from the broken and 
empty cisterns of earthly comfort, to Him who 
is the unfailing fountain of all consolation, "a 
very present help in trouble;" who is inter- 
ested in our lighter as well as in our heavier 



IN PROFESSIONAL TRIALS. 37 

trials; whose ear is ever open to our prayer, 
whose heart is ever touched with our neces- 
sities. 

But the physician is subject to many minor 
trials, which though comparatively trivial swell 
in the aggregate into proportions which add 
not a little to the burden of his professional 
life. I do not allude to such as are unavoid- 
able, or incidental to all the walks of life, but 
to such as are peculiar to our profession, and 
which by a little consideration on the part of 
our patients might be avoided. For instance, 
how frequently must he forego his regular meal 
with his family, in obedience to an imperative 
summons, which might just as well have come 
an hour earlier or later. How often are his 
domestic and social enjoyments broken in upon 
by untimely and unnecessary calls. How often 
does a message reach him just as he has retired 
to rest, which might have been sent an hour or 
two sooner, and not unfrequently might, with- 
out the least disadvantage, have been withheld 
till morning. Such annoyances are of course 
sometimes unavoidable, and I acknowledge 
with gratitude that many persons are very 
considerate, striving to spare their physician 



38 THE CHRISTIAN PHYSICIAN. 

in every possible way consistent with duty to 
the sick, which of course must be the para- 
mount consideration. Too many, however, are 
entirely thoughtless on the subject ; regarding 
the physician as a public servant, subject to 
their beck and call, whose comfort and conven- 
ience they are under no obligation to consider. 
But not only does he suffer from the incon- 
siderateness of some of his patients, he is also 
the victim of tlieir fickleness. Some persons 
change their- physician with the same capri- 
ciousness with which they change their baker 
or grocer. After he has by careful observa- 
tion — perhaps during a period of several 
years — acquired a thorough knowledge of the 
constitution, temperament, and morbid tenden- 
cies of the various members of a family, by 
means of which he has become preeminently 
qualified successfully to combat their diseases, 
and what is still more valuable, to give coun- 
sels for each by which the constitution may be 
invigorated, and abnormal tendencies counter- 
acted : when in addition to this he has formed 
a strong attachment to the family, which gives 
him not merely a professional but a personal 
interest in all that concerns them, he finds 



IN PROFESSIONAL TRIALS. 39 

himself suddenly and most unexpectedly dis- 
missed, and anotlier substituted in his place, 
tlic superiority of whose claim is based upon 
the consideration that he lives a few doors 
nearer, or that he sends smaller bills, or that 
he is family physician of a particular acquaint- 
ance or neighbor. Perhaps his place may be 
filled by an empyric, who is either deluded him- 
self or plays upon the credulity of his patients 
with some novel system of practice, which ig- 
nores alike the accumulated science and the 
rich experience of ages; or what is most ag- 
gravating of all, he may be supplanted by one 
bearing the title of a professional brother, who, 
destitute alike of honor, delicacy, or principle, 
goes about vaunting his own cures, heralding 
his own fame, and enviously decrying the well- 
earned reputation of his brethren. 

The ingratitude to which even the most pop- 
ular and most favored physicians are liable is 
manifested in various other forms. Perhaps 
after years of successful practice in a family, by 
which he has earned and as he fondly thought 
won their unswerving confidence and afiection, 
he finds all obliterated by the first unsuccessful 
case, and he is held responsible for the fatal 



40 THE CHRISTIAN PHYSICIAN. 

termination, as though he were the arbiter of 
life and death, and as if the universal sentence 
had not gone forth, "Thou shalt surely die." 

In the matter of pecuniary compensation for 
his services, the physician is subjected to no 
small amount of annoyance and mortification. 
After a season of universal sickness in a house- 
hold, by which his time, his energies, and his 
sympathies have been severely taxed — sickness 
which has engrossed his thoughts by day, and 
trenched deeply upon his hours of rest, the bill 
is sent in. It covers only the absolutely neces- 
sary visits, and a reasonable charge for attend- 
ance at night. No charge is included for visits 
made to relieve his own anxiety, or for wear 
and tear of mind and heart, for which no 
amount of money could compensate, and wliich 
he cheerfully rendered, craving no reward be- 
yond a generous appreciation of his services. 
The money is sent without comment. He hears 
of no objection to the bill. No kindly inter- 
view is sought to ask an explanation of the 
unusual amount. The first intimation he has of 
dissatisfaction is the averted face and cold look, 
which tell him plainer than words that he has 
committed the unpardonable sin. Another phy- 



IN PKOPESSIONAL TRIALS. 41 

sician is lienceforth employed in his stead. Un- 
willing perhaps to acknowledge publicly a par- 
simonious motive, no intimation is given of the 
nature of the offence, but the unjust impression 
is allowed to go forth that confidence in his 
skill is lost; and thus a double wrong is inflict- 
ed upon one who has ever been a faithful, skil- 
ful, conscientious friend and physician. 

Another annoyance of quite common occur- 
rence, is neglect on the part of some to pay a 
bill, tlie justice and reasonableness of which 
are freely acknowledged, upon the ground that 
they are not able to meet it. Now very rarely 
is this a justifiable plea, for seldom is a medi- 
cal bill presented to a patient who is not able 
to pay. No class of men render so much gra- 
tuitous service as physicians; and they do it 
without ostentation, cheerfully and gladly. 
Not only to the destitute and suffering, but to 
widows and- others in reduced circumstances or 
of limited means, who are struggling to main- 
tain a respectable appearance amid difficulties 
and embarrassments, ofttimes not more formi- 
dable than he himself has to contend with. 
Against many of these no charge whatever 
appears in his ledger; while to others — with 



42 THE CHRISTIAN PHYSICIAN. 

•whom lie has opened an account, hoping they 
might be able to pay — no bill is sent ; and all 
that appears upon the credit side of a long col- 
umn of charges is, " Cancelled from inability to 
pay." Of this class of persons I do not speak. 
God is their banker, and we ask no better 
security. Most welcome are they to our gra- 
tuitous services. But I am sorry to say there 
are not a few who plead inability to pay the 
doctor's bill, whose tables groan under the 
weight of delicacies such as their phy-sician 
cannot afford ; whose wives and daughters 
flaunt in silks and laces, while his family are 
obliged to forego many of the comforts of life. 
This is by no means an ideal picture. Some, I 
doubt not, will trace in it their own lineaments. 
What physician has not been invited to sump- 
tuous entertainments by those who have neg- 
lected to pay his bill on the plea of inability, 
and yet continue unblushingly to exact his ser- 
vice ? I would not accuse such of intentional 
affront. I verily believe they have persuaded 
themselves that medical bills and church taxes 
should only be paid when it can be done with- 
out cur'tailment of the luxuries and superfluities 
of life. Now these little vexations may seem 



IN PROFESSIONAL TRIALS. 43 

unworthy the name of trials. Certainly each 
by itself is of small moment, but superadded 
to the heavier sorrows, they make an aggregate 
hard to bear. "It is the last straw wliich 
breaks the camel's back." It is the last ounce 
whicli crushes the viaduct over which heavily 
loaded trains have been safely transported. 
So he who has stood up manfully under the 
inevitable burden of anxieties and responsibil- 
ities for which he has nerved himself, yields 
at last despondingly to a comparatively trivial 
but unlooked for neglect or wrong. 

I need not ask you, my dear doctor, if I have 
drawn a faithful picture of your experience. I 
am sure I have. For no physician of long and 
extensive practice can have failed to encounter 
«ome, if not all the evils, great and small, 
which I have depicted. Do you not sometimes 
feel almost disheartened under the accumulated 
weight, and exclaim, " Who is sufficient for these 
things ?" Permit me to tell you who is suffi- 
cient for them, who is equal to every emergen- 
cy. It is he " whose God is the Lord ;" who 
has " the God of Jacob" for his refuge. Noth- 
ing is so great that the Almighty cannot grasp 
it; nothing is so little as to be beneath His 



44 THE CHRISTIAN PHYSICIAN. 

notice. "He ruleth the raginj? of the sea," yet 
" He scattereth the hoar frost like ashes." " He 
stretcheth out the heavens like a curtain," yet 
he condescendeth to clothe the lily of the field. 
Will you not then commit yourself, with all 
your interests and all your troubles, to Him 
who will "make darkness light, and rough 
places smooth." Listen to his own kind words 
of promise and assurance to those who come to 
him with filial trust and affection : " When thou 
passest through the waters, I will be with thee; 
and through the rivers, they shall not overflow 
thee : when thou walkest through the fire, tliou 
shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame 
kindle upon thee. For I am the Lord thy God, 
the Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour." Why 
then try to grope your way alone and unaided ? 
Lean upon His arm, and he will give you grace 
to say, 

" Let, the wind blow and billows roll, 
Hope is the anchor of my soul ; 
It fastens on a land unknown, 
And moors me to my Father's throne." 



LEADING TO CHRIST. 45 

LETTER IV. 

OPPORTUNITIES TO LEAD TO CHRIST. 

My dear Doctor — In urging upon you an 
additional motive which should constrain you 
to b^ a religious man, I appeal to your more 
generous feelings ; and would press the sub- 
ject upon you not merely because you need the 
support which religion alone can impart, but 
because as a physician you have unequalled oppor- 
tunities of winning others to Christ. The cler- 
gyman is seldom summoned to a sick man till 
the case is pronounced one of imminent dan- 
ger. So long as there is a reasonable prospect 
of recovery, his presence is generally consid- 
ered unnecessary and ill-timed, and his proffer- 
ed visits are often declined, lest they should 
alarm and agitate the patient. I believe it to 
be a mistaken apprehension. So far from the 
counsels and prayers of a judicious minister 
being injurious, I have uniformly observed their 
effect to be soothing, tranquillizing, and in all 
respects beneficial. The popular impression, 
however, is otherwise, and in consequence the 



46 THE CHRISTIAN PHYSICIAN. 

clergyman is usually sent for only when the 
faculties of the dying man are obscured — when 
he is hardly capable of appreciating his condi- 
tion, corporeally or spiritually, and the exhor- 
tations and prayers of the minister of God fall 
upon his dull ear and duller intellect unheeded 
and unfelt. How deeply painful is it to the 
conscientious and pious physician to be the 
witness of such interviews. With wliat emo- 
tions of self-condemnation, as a partaker in the 
deception, does he see deluded friends hanging 
with eager hope upon replies to leading ques- 
tions, even the meaning of which the sick man 
does not comprehend. But even when the cler- 
gyman is called at an earlier period of the case, 
he labors under many disadvantages. His visit 
is looked upon as somewhat formal and profes- 
sional ; his counsels and prayers are too often 
regarded as perfunctory, and are received and 
responded to by the patient in a corresponding 
spirit. Having been sent for, and liis visits 
being only occasional, it is deemed best to 
receive him, however inopportune the moment, 
however unfavorable the condition of the sick 
man. He may have been wearied by company 
or by conversation already. He may be under 



LEADING TO CHRIST. 47 

the temporary disturbing influence of remedies, 
or about falling into much-needed repose ; or 
his mind may chance to be for the time iinu- 
sually dull and lethargic, so that much of the 
advantage of the visit is lost. The clergyman, 
bent on fulfilling his sacred office, and incapa- 
ble of fully appreciating the physical condition 
of the patient, or fearful lest amid the manifold 
demands upon his time, he may not be able to 
repeat his visit for several days, avails himself 
of the opportunity, unfavorable though it be, 
and performs his solemn duty unsatisfactorily 
to himself, and unprofitably to the sick. Herein 
the Christian pliysician has greatly the advan- 
tage. Seeing the patient once or twice daily, 
he can judge correctly when he is in a condition 
to be approached successfully ; can seize the 
propitious moment, and with a word fitly spo- 
ken, can turn each opportunity to good account. 
If he really have the eternal welfare of his pa- 
tient at heart, from the fulness of his heart his 
mouth will speak— speak seasonably, tenderly, 
and effectually. Through intimate association 
with his patient, he has learned all his pecul- 
iarities of character, so that he can avoid as far 
as possible coming in conflict with mental idi- 



48 THE CHRISTIAN PHYSICIAN. 

osyncracies and prejudices, which would i)laco 
him in a state of antagonism to the truth. Thus 
he can speak a word in season, and perhaps 
plant an arrow of conviction in the heart which 
to the anticipated exhortation of the clergyman 
would be closed as by a corselet of steel. If 
then, my dear doctor, we have such rare oppor- 
tunities of doing good to the souls of our pa- 
tients, great arc our responsibilities, and pro- 
portionably heavy will be our condemnation if 
we fail to improve them ; for " to whom much 
is given, of him also shall much be required." 
To discharge such obligations faithfully, do we 
not need divine instruction ? No amount of 
learning, no attainments in science alone, can 
qualify us to teach the simplest lesson in the 
school of Christ. We must first sit ourselves 
as little children at the Saviour's feet, and learn 
of Him who was " meek and lowly of heart," 
before we can be prepared to impart to another 
the first step in the way of life. Unless we 
have felt the burden of our own sin, how can 
we show our erring brother what it is that is 
pressing so sorely upon him? Unless we have 
a keen perception of the corruption of our own 
heart, how can we adjust the mirror in which 



LEADING TO CHRIST. 49 

he may see reflected his own sinfulness? Un- 
less we have experienced the love of Christ, 
how can we lead another to that exhaustless 
fountain of purity and peace? As then you 
would benefit the soul as well as the body of 
your patient ; as you would afford him patience 
under suffering, resignation in sickness, triumph 
in death, be yourself a Christian, that you may 
" testify that you do know," and that your words 
may breathe the fervor of a renewed and sanc- 
tified heart. 

But there is another most pressing reason, 
and the last I shall urge, why the physician 
should be a Christian. It is that he too must 
die. After all he may have accomplished by 
assiduity and skill in ameliorating the suffer- 
ings and healing the sickness of others, the 
time must inevitably come sooner or later when 
the physician must become the patient ; and he 
who in behalf of others has so long contended 
against the king of terrors, must now yield 
himself a victim to his universal sway. His 
perceptions blunted, his reasoning powers ob- 
scured, and his judgment perverted ; his resolu- 
tion failing with the failing strength of the 
body, he can no longer be trusted with the 

Ch. rh.r„e..n. 4 ,jp f^l.j^^jn;,, ,,^ 

D. C. 



50 THE CHRISTIAN PHYSICIAN. 

management of his case. Painful and humili- 
ating though it be, he must yield his own 
opinions, forego his own judgment, and surren- 
der himself unreservedly into the hands of 
another. Accustomed to direct and control 
others, he must now submit to be directed and 
controlled himself. In these respects he is re- 
duced to the level of ordinary patients ; in other 
respects he labors under great comparative dis- 
advantages. Most sick persons, confiding in the 
skill of their medical adviser, wisely commit 
their case with all its responsibilities to him. 
Ignorant themselves of the import of symp- 
toms, tliey think only of present suffering and 
inconvenience, entertaining no apprehension 
so long as the smiling face and cheering Words 
of their physician promise ultimate recovery. 
No such blind and happy acquiescence, how- 
ever, gives serenity to the sick-bed of the phy- 
sician. He cannot, if he would, throw off the 
consideration of his own case, or avoid specu- 
lating upon his chances of restoration. Know- 
ing full well the significance of symptoms as 
the outward and palpable manifestations of 
latent mischief within, he finds liiinself trying 
to penetrate the rationale of his condition, and 



LEADING TO CHRIST. 51 

ever laboring — though with crippled faculties 
and diminished capacity — to trace effects to 
their ultimate causes, and to follow out present 
phenomena to their probable final results. With 
excited brain he follows with more or less ac- 
curacy each link in the chain of consequences, 
till with dismay he finds the last held firmly in 
the grasp of death. Do you say, dear doctor, 
I have drawn a sad and gloomy picture ? I am 
aware I have. But I have not deepened the 
shadows with any false coloring. Be assured 
it is a true and faithful forecasting of what you 
and I, unless cut off by sudden death, must one 
day realize in our own personal experience. 
How pertinent then the question, Are we pre- 
pared for such an exigency? Are we quite 
ready for a sudden snapping of the cords of 
life, a sudden summons to our final account? 
Or have we even resolution to endure the suf- 
ferings of a protracted illness, with all its pri- 
vation of enjoyment, and all its positive pain ; 
with all its trials of temper, all its circumstan- 
ces of depression ; through wearisome days and 
restless nights, hopeless and powerless, watch- 
ing the steady outflow of the ebbing tfde of life? 
Few persons can receive the announcement 



52 THE CHRISTIAN PHYSICIAN. 

tliat they are laboring under a rapidly fatal 
disease without a shudder, and an involuntary 
shrinking back as from the verge of a frightful 
chasm they would fain avoid. If death be in- 
deed inevitable, they would they might descend 
into the dark valley by slow and successive 
steps. But to the physician who appreciates 
the full meaning of a lingering death, with all 
its dread accompaniments of wasting and suf- 
fering of body, with depression, weariness, and 
often impatience and fretfulness of spirit, noth- 
ing seems so appalling as this unequal, hope- 
less, protracted conflict, in which he is to be 
.vanquished at last by the slow consuming of 
the powers of life. One or the other of these 
alternatives we must encounter. What folly 
then to try to banish it from our thoughts. 
Let us rather manfully contemplate an event 
which we cannot escape, and strive to discover 
if there is no way by which it can be stripped 
of its gloom and terror ; no way by which death 
may be robbed of its sting, and the grave of its 
victory. WhatsaiththcScripturc? "Blessedare 
the dead who die in the Lord from henceforth: 
-Yea, saith the Spirit,, that they may rest from 
their labors." " The sting of death is sin, and the 



LEADING TO CHRIST. 53 

strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to 
(jod, who giveth us the victory through our 
Lord Jesus Christ." We are not required to 
achieve the victory for ourselves; Jesus hath 
won it for us. We have only to become his 
faithful disciples, and we shall share his tri- 
umph. By his grace we shall be able to meet 
death calmly and peacefully, and even welcome 
his approach. We shall be able joyfully to 
repeat the beautiful lines : 

"One sweetly solemn thought comes t& me o'er and 

o'er, 
I'm nearer home to-day than I ever have been before : 
Nearer my Father's house, where the many mansions 

be ; 
Nearer the great white throne, nearer the jasper sea ; 
Nearer that bound of life where we lay our burden 

down; 
Nearer leaving the cross, nearer gaining the crowTi." 



54 THE CHRISTIAN PHYSICIAN. 



LETTER y. 

RELIGION IN SICKNESS AND DEATH. 

My dear Doctor — In my last letter I en- 
deavored to lead your mind to the personal con- 
sideration of death as man's last enemy, and 
to the means of triumphino- over him, namely, 
through our Lord Jesus Christ. Do you ask 
how you can make sure of the blessedness of 
dying in the Lord? The answer is plain, hy 
living to the Lord. There is no doubt that men 
of science and learning miss the way of life 
because of its very simplicity. They can hardly 
credit the declaration of the apostle, " If thou 
shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, 
and shalt believe in thy heart that God hath 
raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. 
For with the heart man bclieveth unto right- 
eousness, and with the mouth confession is made 
unto salvation." Would you ask easier con- 
ditions? No, you would rather they were more 
difficult. As the foolish adventurer in pursuit 
of wealth, sacrificing health and comfort, home 



IN SICKNESS AND DEATH. 55 

and friends, explores distant lands, and digs deep 
into tlie bowels of tlie earth, hoping to gather 
scattered grains of gold, overlooking entirely 
the treasures of the soil under his feet, which 
if tilled with one half the labor would reward 
him with golden harvests ; so foolish, self-suffi- 
cient man seeking salvation, refuses the gospel 
terms : " Believe, and thou shalt be saved ;" 
" Ask, and ye shall receive ; seek, and ye shall 
find ; knock, and it shall be opened unto you : 
for every one that asketh rcceiveth, and he 
that seeketh findeth, and to him that knocketh 
it shall be opened." If it required great re- 
search and study to be a Christian, if it in- 
volved wearisome pilgrimages and cruel pen- 
ances and self-inflictions, you think you would 
not hesitate. But to be saved by merely ac- 
cepting mercy — to be saved like a drowning 
man by merely seizing the hand stretched out 
for your rescue, this cannot be. As the proud 
Syrian of old scorned to be cleansed of his 
leprosy by simply washing in Jordan, and went 
away angry because the prophet did not call 
on the name of the Lord, and strike his hand 
over the place, and with a miracle recover 
him ; so men now wait for some miracu'lous 



56 THE CHRISTIAN PHVSICIAN. 

intervention, some extraordinary manifestation 
of the Spirit, instead of yielding to the still 
small voice which wliispcrs, " Look unto me 
and be ye saved, all ye ends of the earth." 
Do you say you cannot believe so great an end 
can be attained by such simple means; there 
must be some other way of salvation? Be as- 
sured, as God is true, this is the only way pro- 
vided. " Christ is the end of the law for right- 
eousness to every one that believcth ;" and, 
" There is no other name under heaven given 
among men, whereby we must be saved ;" and 
he is not only willing, but anxious to save us; 
so anxious that he does not even wait for us 
to come to Ilim. He says — and Oh how gra- 
cious and full of meaning are the words — " Be- 
hold, I stand at tlie door and knock ; if any 
man hear my voice, and open the door, I will 
come in to him, and will sup with him, and he 
with me." 

What does Christ say is the summing up of 
the whole law ? " Thou shalt love the Lord 
tliy God with all thy heart, and all thy soul, 
and all thy mind; and thy neighbor as thy- 
self;" and again, " Whatsoever ye would that 
men should do unto you, do ye even so unto 



IN SICKNESS AND DEATH. 51 

them." Have you perfectly obeyed these di- 
vine injunctions, both in the letter and the 
spirit? If you had, then you would be right- 
eous; you would need no repentance, and no 
Saviour. If not, you have sinned against your 
heavenly Father. Do you at times feci the 
force and the perfect reasonableness of these 
commandments, and arc you conscious that you 
have fallen far short of their requirements? 
Does your conscience upbraid you for your 
short-comings? Have you an earnest desire 
for God's forgiveness, and for deliverance from 
sin? If you have these feelings, be assured 
they did not spring up spontaneously. It is 
Jesus knocking at the door of your heart. 
Listen to his persuasive voice : " Come now, 
and let us reason together, saith the Lord: 
though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as 
white as snow ; though they be red like crim- 
son, they shall be as wool." "If we confess 
our sins. He is faithful and just to forgive us 
our sins, and to cleanse us from all unright- 
eousness." "The blood of Jesus Christ his 
Son cleanseth us from all sin." " I am the res- 
urrection and the life : he that believeth in me, 
though he were dead, yet shall he live; and 



58 THE CHRISTIAN rUYSICIAN. 

whosoever livcth and belie vcth in me shall 
never die." 

Can you listen to such gracious words and 
still remain passive? He says, "If any man 
hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in 
to him." He has knocked ; he has spoken. Is 
it not your part to open the door? He will 
not force an entrance. Draw then the bolts 
of indifference, prejudice, or self-righteousness, 
which have so long l)arrcd his entrance. Throw 
wide open the door of your heart, saying, 
"Speak, Lord, for thy servant heareth." "I 
acknowledge my transgressions, and my sin is 
ever before me. Hide tliy face from my sins, 
and blot out all mine iniquities." " Enter not 
into judgment with thy servant, Lord ; for 
in thy sight shall no man living be justified." 

How joyfully will he respond to your peti- 
tions, and "come in to you, and sup with you, 
and you with Him." Do you say with the cen- 
turion of old, " Lord, I am not Avorthy that thou 
shouldest come under my roof?" To feel your 
unworthiness constitutes your fitness : " He came 
not to call the righteous, but sinners to repent- 
ance." Do you fear that so soon as he has gone 
out, and you have ceased to hear his voice, you 



IN SICKNESS AND DEATH. 59 

will forget his ■words and fall back into sin? 
"Well might you fear if you were obliged to rely 
upon your own strength ; but His strength is 
made perfect in your weakness. He will give 
you his Holy Spirit to guide and strengthen 
you: "He giveth power to the faint, and to 
them that have no might he increaseth strength." 
" God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be 
tempted above that ye are able ; but will with 
the temptation also make a way to escape, that 
ye may be able to bear it." "I will instruct 
thee, and teach thee in the way which thou 
shalt go ; I will guide thee with mine eye." "I 
will strengthen tlicc; yea, I will help thee; yea, 
I will uphold thee with the riglit hand of my 
righteousness." Will you not take him at his 
word? Just ask him to receive you as you 
are, with all your unworthiness. Say in the 
words of the hymn, 

"Just as I am, without one plea 
Save that thy blood was shed for me, 
And that thou bidst me come to thee, 
Oh Lamb of God, I come. 

"Just as I am, and waiting not 
To rid my soul of one foul blot, 
To thee, whose blood can cleanse each spot, 
Oh Lamb of God, I come." 



60 THE CHRISTIAN PHYSICIAN. 

^e assured you will not ask in vain. He will 
receive jou gladly, wash away your sins, sliicld 
you in temptation, shed new radiance over 
every joy, gild every cloud of sorrow, com- 
fort you in sickness, sustain you in the hour 
of death, and crown you with glory and im- 
mortality. 



OBSTACLES AND TEMPTATIONS. 61 

LETTER VI. 

OBSTACLES AND TEMPTATIONS. 

Perhaps, my dcai- doctor, you will admit 
the force of what I have thus far advanced, and 
will say you would like to be a Christian, but 
that the unavoidable circumstances of your 
professional life allow you no opportunity to 
attend to spiritual things ; and that were you 
to make a profession of religion, you fear you 
would not find time to fulfil the duties of your 
Christian calling. I know well there are many 
and great obstacles in your way ; but they are 
by no means insurmountable. Nothing certain- 
ly is more indispensable to steady progress in 
the divine life, than regular and systematic 
habits of family and private devotion, setting 
apart stated hours for holding communion with 
God in the closet. I know too that perfect 
regularity in the discharge of these duties is 
out of the question, even to the physician who 
regards them as a precious privilege, and Avhose 
heart is set upon their faithful performance. 
An urgent summons in the morning may pre- 



62 THE CHRISTIAN PHYSICIAN. 

vent liim from gathering liis liousehold around 
the domestic altar, to ask divine guidance and 
support in the duties, trials, and tomjjtations of 
the day. Not uufrequently do his engrossing 
professional cares deprive him of his wonted 
season of private devotion, so that as he hurries 
on his errands of mercy, he has to rely upon 
ejaculatory prayer to secure that strength and 
•wisdom which he would vainly seek from any 
earthly source, to enable him to discharge 
faithfully and successfully his arduous and re- 
sponsible work. Even the Sabbath-day, set 
apart as a period of rest from secular pursuits 
and toils, is not a day of rest to him. Pain 
and sickness and death keep no Sabbath ; and 
he who would contend against them, must some- 
times forego much of the benefit of holy time. 
Nevertheless, if he appreciates the importance 
of religious duties, if he realizes the obligation 
of family worsliip, if he feels the imperative 
need of heavenly aid to arm him for the con- 
flicts of the day, and to qualify him to wield 
successfully his professional skill, he will by 
early rising, by habits of punctuality cherished 
in himself and inculcated in his family, by sys- 
tematic arrangement of the duties of each day, 



OBSTACLES AND TEMPTATIONS. 63 

and by gathering up the shreds of time that 
nothing be lost, generally be able to discharge 
his whole duty to the sick, without serious neg- 
lect of the paramount interests of his own soul 
and the souls of his household. Even the Sab- 
bath may be in a great measure redeemed from 
secular pursuits, if the labors of the six days 
be so ordered that no Avork which can be com- 
pressed within them bo postponed to the sev- 
enth. 

I know there are many worthy, right-minded 
physicians, and some Christian physicians en- 
gaged in extensive practice, who- aver that they 
cannot go to church, or attend to their private 
religious duties, without neglecting their pa- 
tients. Now if such be the fact, is it not a most 
obvious duty to curtail the amount of their busi- 
ness till it shall no longer conflict with their 
higher obligations? But I do not speak with- 
out authority when I say, that the most exten- 
sive practitioners in our large cities, by great 
industry, system, and forethought, and by re- 
deeming the odd moments of time, can ordina- 
rily secure for themselves the most essential 
religious privileges, not only without detriment 
to their patients, but greatly to their benefit. 



64 THE CHRISTIAN PHYSICIAN. 

But if, on the otlier liand, the physician indulges 
in the too prevalent custom of late rising on 
the Lord's day; if after carefully examining 
his patients and making his prescriptions, he 
be drawn into pleasant and beguiling conversa- 
tion in the sick-room, his time will slip away 
unheeded, and he will find himself occupied 
beyond the hour of public worship. If he man- 
ifests no reluctance to lose the services of the 
sanctuary, then indeed his Sunday labors, instead 
of being less, will be greater than on other days;, 
for those who are not willing to surrender the 
hours of business and money-making even for 
the sake of health, and who have no regard for 
holy time, will make the Sabbath a convenient 
season to demand his services. Thus may he 
be betrayed into the habit of neglecting almost 
entirely the public ministrations of the church, 
pacifying his conscience with the salvo that 
his necessary professional obligations engross 
all his time and thoughts. 

There is another temptation to which the 
medical man is exposed, which if not resisted 
will engross his few leisure hours, and effectu- 
ally preclude the consideration of his immortal 
interests. Absorbed as he is most of the time 



OBSTACLES AND TEMPTATIONS. 65 

in scenes of suflfering and distress, it is not 
strange lie should seek recreation where life 
is exhibited in its gayer and more cheering 
phases ; and that he should be tempted, when 
he can snatch a moment from his severe duties, 
to dissipate his cares in the exhilaration of 
convivial society, or in vicious amusements. If 
his taste be too refined for these grosser pleas- 
ures, he is at least in danger of being drawn 
into the circle of the giddy and irreligious, 
whose companionship, if not positively demor- 
alizing like the theatre, drinking saloon, and 
gaming-table, tends much to unspiritualize the 
mind, and draw it oft' from the contemplation 
of higher objects. Far be it from me to con- 
demn healthy, rational amusements. They are 
indispensable to all engaged in vocations which 
tax severely the mind and heart. As harp- 
Btrings ever unrelaxed cease to vibrate, so the 
intellectual powers always on the stretch lose 
their elasticity. Men therefore whose lives are 
earnest, must unbend or break. They must 
have frequent intervals of rest and relaxation, 
or pay the penalty of ruined health. 

Those, however, who would run with diligence 
the heavenly race, must remember that " press- 



66 THE CHRISTIAN PHYSICIAN. 

ing toward the mark " is the immediate duty ; 
momentary loitering by the wayside, the need- 
ed refreshment. Only the Christian who is in 
the habit of introspection — who is ever watch- 
ful of himself, and jealous of the honor of his 
Saviour — fearful lest his affections should be 
weaned from heavenly things and fixed upon 
earthly things, can fully appreciate the damag- 
ing effect of free and unbridled indulgen.ce in 
amusements in themselves innocent. As he 
goes from scenes of gayety to his closet, and 
with confused thoughts and whirling brain at- 
tempts to Avithdraw himself from the world and 
hold communion with his Father in heaven, he 
finds to his sorrow the wings of his faith droop- 
ing, his spiritual perceptions dull, his thoughts 
wandering, his relish for divine things blunted ; 
and he is madie to feel the full force of the in- 
junction, "Be not conformed to this world." 
"Whosoever loveth the world, the love of the 
Father is not in him." If then the Christian 
who has had experience of heavenly joys, and 
some slight foretaste of the "peace which pass- 
eth understanding," learns to his dismay that 
the allurements of the world have a fascinating 
power over him — so that if instead of struggling 



OBSTACLES AXD TEMPTATIONS. 67 

manfully against tlicm with watching and pray- 
er, he throws himself carelessly into their magic 
circle, he finds they tend to vitiate his taste for 
higher enjoyments — how dangerous must tlicy 
be to him who has no antidote to their poison- 
ous influence ; who without shield or armor is 
vulnerable at every point. How easily may 
they steel. his heart against salutary impres- 
sions, stifle the voice of conscience, and bar the 
doors of his soul against the Spirit of God, who 
often knocks in vain for admittance. 

As then, my dear doctor, you would escape 
the snares which are spread for your feet; as 
you would be armed at all points for the con- 
flicts of life ; as you would be victorious in all 
your struggles, and have solace in all your cares 
and sorrows ; as you would afford consolation 
and support to others ; as you would be hum- 
ble in prosperity, and hopeful in adversity; as 
you would be grateful in health, patient in 
sickness, and triumphant in death : in short, as 
you would have the "promise of the life that 
now is, and of that which is to come," con- 
sider these things. "Shun that which is evil. 
Cleave to that which is good." "Seek the 
Lord while he may be found ; call upon him 



68 THE CHRISTIAN PHYSICIAN. 

while he is near." "He will fulfil the desire of 
them that fear him: He will also hear their 
cry, and will save them." "It shall come to 
pass, that before the}^ call I will answer ; and 
while tliej are yet speaking I will hear." "Let 
the wicked forsake his way, and the unright- 
eous man his thouglits ; and let him return unto 
the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him ; 
and to our God, for he will abundantly par- 
don." Could language be framed to express 
more strongly Christ's wil'ingncss to receive 
all who come mito God by him? Will you not 
then test the sincerity of his offers of mercy? 

" Oh make but trial of his love ; 
Experience will decide, 
How blest are they, and only they, 
Who in his truth confide." 



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