William Bridge: Our Work

Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” Psalm 91:1-2

“Now to bring things home to ourselves by way of application. Here we may see what is our work, our great work this day. The day we are fallen into is a dark day; a day of the plague and the pestilence: it is good for us to inquire what our work is; it is good at all times, but now especially, to inquire what our work is. Oh! what is our work this day? Now the work of this day, our work is to trust in the Lord; this is the work that protection and deliverance in the time of a plague is entailed upon. Who is there that does not desire to be protected and delivered from this plague; Oh, that I and my family may be preserved! Behold here your antidote to keep you from the plague; ‘Trust in the Lord, as ever you and your family may be protected now in this evil day. Trust in the Lord, and call upon yours to trust in the Lord!'”

William Bridge in The Refuge: Containing the Righteous Man’s Habitation in the Time of Plague and Pestilence: Being a Brief Exposition of the 91st Psalm (New York: Daniel Appleton and Clinton Hall, 1832) 29.

If you have not meditated on the promises of Psalm 91, I would encourage you to do so. Additionally, act on them. Don’t just let them warm your heart. Allow them to activate your entire being. Our work is to make our dwelling place in the shelter of the Most High.

As many of are coming to a place of knowing people who are battling this plague, let us all take shelter while praying for their recovery. I don’t mean to run from the plague, but to locate ourselves in safe shelter through it. This is bigger than social distancing. It’s about trusting in God.

Why would Bridge consider this as work? And what does it have to do with generosity? In the time of plague, generosity is caring for others and pointing them to promises. It’s inviting them to locate the only safe shelter. It’s teaching them by example that there is only one place to put our trust.

This will take us out of our comfort zone. It’s work. Sure, distribute masks. Pray for health care workers, sick people, the vulnerable and the unemployed. Pray for all in authority, for family, and friends, but don’t stop there. Point them to the shelter of God. Do that work today.

Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. Colossians 4:2

“Note that watchfulness and prayer are the necessary mediums, the proper means, at least in part, and a great part of the proper means, to which we are directed for preservation in times of common calamity.”

Thomas Blake (c. 1596-1657) Living Truths in Dying Times: Some Meditations Occasioned by the Present Judgement of the Plague (London: Collection of Puritan Literature, 1665) 6.

In this classic Puritan devotional, we are reminded to be watchful and prayerful during a plague. The watchful part aims to help us stay focused and the prayerful part keeps us centered on God rather than distracted by circumstances.

During this COVID-19 crisis, it is easy to lose track of time. We can be swept away by the news, social media, and other stuff if we are not careful. To be watchful, is to live with increased intentionality.

Blake also urged people during the plague of London to be prayerful. This means that regardless of what was swirling around them, or how big the crisis was, the right path is to entrust our care and worries to our God who is bigger.

The Apostle Paul, in writing to the Colossians, urges us also to be thankful. Though he was not writing during a plague, the church was experiencing some opposition and even persecution in places.

Being thankful changes us. When we shift our focus to God, who is greater than our circumstances, we find peace, rest, hope, and joy. We find just what we and others need. And we always have something for which to be thankful.

So, pause and give thanks right now and pray for specific people. Text or email them with encouragement. A generous dose of watchfulness and prayer will sustain us through this calamity as it carried others through plagues in the past.

When anxiety was great within me, Your consolation brought me joy. Psalm 94:19

“A good and faithful minister will rightly consider all means which it may be proper to take to console the distressed, according as he [or she] sees them affected: being guided in the whole by the Word of the Lord. Furthermore, if the minister has anything by which he [or she] can console and give bodily relief to the afflicted poor, let him [or her] not spare, but show to all a true example of charity.”

John Calvin (1509-1564) in “On the Visitation of the Sick” in John Calvin, Tracts, Vol. II, trans. Henry Beveridge (Edinburgh: Calvin Translation Society, 1849) 127-128. Originally in the Catechism of the Church of Geneva.

In crisis times we get to console people. Calvin instructs us to do this with the Word of the Lord and with whatever resources we have.

Remind people to find consolation in God by asking how they are doing. From there, if they have a need, see if God has resourced you to meet it.

Do not “spare” such resources in fear but “show to all a true example of charity” in these trying times. God sees, and the world is watching too.

If you are vulnerable and unable to get out, give generously to your church or consider making a gift to the Generosity Monk fund at NCF.

These are challenging times. With the Word of God and whatever we have, we can make a difference in consoling those around us.

To be sure to equip yourself, invest more time in the Word than you spend watching the news every day. And check in on at least one person daily. Let’s do this.

They will pick up serpents, and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover. Mark 16:18

“Some people are of the firm opinion that one need not and should not run away from a deadly plague. Rather, since death is God’s punishment, which he sends upon us for our sins, we must submit to God and with a true and firm faith patiently await our punishment. They look upon running away as an outright wrong and as lack of belief in God. Others take the position that one may properly flee, particularly if one holds no public office.

I cannot censure the former for their excellent decision. They uphold a good cause, namely, a strong faith in God, and deserve commendation because they desire every Christian to hold to a strong, firm faith. It takes more than a milk faith to await a death before which most of the saints themselves have been and still are in dread. Who would not acclaim these earnest people to whom death is a little thing? They willingly accept God’s chastisement, doing so without tempting God, as we shall hear later on.

Since it is generally true of Christians that few are strong and many are weak, one simply cannot place the same burden upon everyone. A person who has a strong faith can drink poison and suffer no harm, Mark 16 [:18], while one who has a weak faith would thereby drink to his death. Peter could walk upon the water because he was strong in faith. When he began to doubt and his faith weakened, he sank and almost drowned. When a strong man travels with a weak man, he must restrain himself so as not to walk at a speed proportionate to his strength lest he set a killing pace for his weak companion.”

Martin Luther (1483-1546) in “Whether One May Flee From A Deadly Plague” from Martin Luther, Luther’s Works, Vol. 43: Devotional Writings II, ed. Jaroslav Jan Pelikan, Hilton C. Oswald, and Helmut T. Lehmann, vol. 43 (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1999), 119–138.

Luther astutely notes that generosity during a plague is not expecting everyone else to respond the same way you believe God is leading you to respond. God has raised up the strong to carry huge loads. If you are among the strong, carry the cross God has asked you to carry with deep faith.

And, if you are strong, don’t expect others to keep up with you or you will kill them. So, what’s the lesson for us all? Serve proportionately. Do what you can. For my wife, it might mean encouraging stuck-at-home moms with children who are flustered with the task of doing school at home.

For me, it might be responding to a flood of emails from confused nonprofit workers around the world. With God’s help, let’s make ourselves available to serve God proportionate to the strength that He has given us, and respond to this plague in a way that fits each of us and glorifies God.

While researching the Great Plague of 1665-1666 that struck London, I dug into the UK National Archives and found this gem. It made me smile, and in times like these, we need to share things that make us smile.

“This letter [in header photo above] was written by Henry Muddiman, a journalist who published newsletters and also wrote for the newly founded ‘London Gazette’. The letter is to Joseph Williamson, an important politician in Charles II ‘s government, who was Under Secretary to the Secretary of State.”

Here’s the text of the letter. Bracketed insertions help explain the meaning of the terms therein.

“The total of the burials this week 8252, plague 6978, increase 756, parishes infected 118. This bill [the weekly mortality bill which was a printed list of the number buried in each parish who died of the plague and of other cause] had numbered one more but for a remarkable providence which was thus. A Butcher in Newgate Market being by the Searchers [officials appointed to view dead bodies and to make reports on the cause of death] given out to be dead of the Plague and by the neglect of the Boarders not carried away the same night was laid out in an upper room wither [where] his daughter going next day the father beckoned to her and bade her bring him ale for he was cold. The daughter called up her mother who giving him clothes, the man took a pipe of tobacco eat a rabbit and on Sunday went to Church to give God thanks for his preservation.”

Why recount this letter today? Three reasons.

The first thing that struck me was the numbers. Every day we see or hear the growing numbers of the afflicted or dead around the world. That has happened with every plague in every generation because every person counts, each one matters. In this case, it was the Butcher of Newgate Market. People bought their meat from him.

The second thing I appreciated the expression “a remarkable providence.” In the UK National Archive notes, they describe this as “an intervention from God.” It’s what the Butcher needed during the Great Plague of 1665-1666 and what we need today. We need God’s intervention and deliverance to save lives.

The last thing I loved about this excerpt was the response of the Butcher. See the last three lines of the header photo. He was cold so they gave him clothes. He was thirsty and asked for ale. Then he took his pipe, ate a rabbit, and on Sunday went to church to give thanks to God. His response to “a remarkable providence” was humble gratitude to God.

Since we can’t go to church today because we are on global lockdown, let’s reflect on a similar remarkable providence in Luke 8:49-55.

While Jesus was still speaking, someone came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue leader. “Your daughter is dead,” he said. “Don’t bother the teacher anymore.”

Hearing this, Jesus said to Jairus, “Don’t be afraid; just believe, and she will be healed.”

When He arrived at the house of Jairus, He did not let anyone go in with Him except Peter, John and James, and the child’s father and mother. Meanwhile, all the people were wailing and mourning for her. “Stop wailing,” Jesus said. “She is not dead but asleep.”

They laughed at Him, knowing that she was dead. But He took her by the hand and said, “My child, get up!” Her spirit returned, and at once she stood up. Then Jesus told them to give her something to eat.

Jesus can show up for us, just like He did for the daughter of Jairus and the Butcher of Newgate Market. He wants us to believe. He has the world’s attention though some are laughing in disbelief. Let us watch what He can do. May the whole world see and believe and respond with humble gratitude.

But this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting. Matthew 17:21

“The town is become almost an hell upon earth, a city full of lies, and murders, and blasphemies, as far as witches and speeches can render it so: Satan seems to take a strange possession of it, in the epidemic rage, against that notable and powerful and successful way of saving the lives of people from the dangers of the smallpox. What can I do on this occasion, to get the miserable town dispossessed of the evil spirit which has taken such an horrible possession of it? What besides prayer with fasting for it?“

Cotton Mather in his diary entry dated 24 August 1721 as recounted in “When Cotton Mather Fought the Smallpox“.

The town for this outbreak was Boston. The disease was smallpox. The year was in 1721. Mather wanted them to try inoculation, a primitive form of vaccination and took lots of heat for it. He also want them to fast and pray.

As we find ourselves locked down around the world, fighting COVID-19, a disease we can’t see, we should be open to both medical treatments and committed to spiritual remedies.

So where does generosity come into view?

When I read this story, I could not get over the way in which the outbreak caused people to fight against each other. Prayer and fasting changes all that. It humbles us and brings is closer to God and each other.

As we face a foe we cannot see, let’s devote a generous amount of time to prayer and fasting.

Pray for the sick, health care workers, the vulnerable, the unemployed, ministry workers, family, and friends.

Fast for your neighborhood and nation, for renewal and revival. Ask God to intervene in His grace and goodness.

The more I look through church history, the more I see that every generation faced some sort of disease, outbreak, or plague. The question for this generation is what does a generous response look like?

Some facets of a generous response may vary from steward to steward, but all of us, regardless of our age, social or economic status, can commit to prayer and fasting.

Join me, my church, and Christians around the world for a day of prayer and fasting on 29 March 2020.

God, deliver us from this disease. Draw the world closer together and to You. Work by your Spirit. Hear my prayer in the name of Jesus. Amen.

“Because thou hast made the Lord, which is my refuge, even the Most High, thy habitation; there shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.” Psalm 91:9-10

“At first, I gave myself up with youthful ardor to the visitation of the sick, and was sent for from all corners of the district by persons of all ranks and religions; but, soon, I became weary in body, and sick at heart. My friends seemed falling one by one, and I felt or fancied that I was sickening like those around me. A little more work and weeping would have laid me low among the rest; I felt that my burden was heavier than I could bear, and I was ready to sink under it.

I was returning mournfully home from a funeral, when, as God would have it, my curiosity led me to read a paper which was wafered up in a shoemaker’s window in the Great Dover Road. It did not look like a trade announcement, nor was it, for it bore, in a good bold handwriting, these words:

“Because thou hast made the Lord, which is my refuge, even the Most High, thy habitation; there shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.” Psalm 91:9-10

 The effect upon my heart was immediate. Faith appropriated the passage as her own. I felt secure, refreshed, girt with immortality. I went on with my visitation of the dying, in a calm and peaceful spirit; I felt no fear of evil, and I suffered no harm. The providence which moved the tradesman to place those verses in his window, I gratefully acknowledge; and in the remembrance of its marvelous power, I adore the Lord my God.”

Charles Haddon Spurgeon (1834-1892) in The Essential Works of Charles Spurgeon: Selected Books, Sermons, and Other Writings, ed. Daniel Partner (Uhrichsville: Barbour, 2009) 105-106.

The plague was getting the best of Spurgeon.

Sickness and death linked to the cholera outbreak of 1854 surrounded him. Notice it was not a sermon but a simple note in a window with Scripture written on it that lifted his spirits. The truth of that Scripture gave Spurgeon the security and refreshment he needed.

What can you do to lift the spirits of those around you with Scripture? Send a text? Write an email? Post a note in your window?

For he says, “In the time of my favor I heard you, and in the day of salvation I helped you.” I tell you, now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation. 2 Corinthians 6:2

“That man, in his lifetime, had been wont to jeer at me. In strong language, he had often denounced me as a hypocrite. Yet he was no sooner smitten by the darts of death than he sought my presence and counsel, no doubt feeling in his heart that I was a servant of God, though he did not care to own it with his lips. There I stood, unable to help him. Promptly as I had responded to his call, what could I do but look at his corpse and mourn a lost soul? He had, when in health, wickedly refused Christ, yet in his death-agony he had superstitiously sent for me. Too late, he sighed for the ministry of reconciliation and sought to enter in at the closed door, but he was not able. There was no space left him then for repentance, for he had wasted the opportunity that God had long granted to him.”

Charles Haddon Spurgeon (1834-1892) in The Essential Works of Charles Spurgeon: Selected Books, Sermons, and Other Writings, ed. Daniel Partner (Uhrichsville: Barbour, 2009) 107.

In 1854, when Spurgeon was a young minister, the cholera outbreak in London took the lives of many. Today’s post recounts a person who had once rejected the message of the gospel and called for Spurgeon too late.

As COVID-19 progresses slowly but widely across the planet, the sad reality is that many people will contract the disease and some of them will die. So, now is the window of time for everyone to get right with God.

So what does generosity look like today?

We must not waste this opportunity. Share toilet paper. Give richly to church and charities. Distribute food and games. And encourage everyone to get right with God. “Now is the time of God’s favor. Now is the day of salvation.” Give the gift of eternity!

Father, forgive us our sins and heal our world. Spirit, guide us to people before it’s too late who have yet to experience Your grace and unconditional love. In your mercy, hear our prayer in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy! I look to You for protection. I will hide beneath the shadow of Your wings until the danger passes by. Psalm 57:1

“The ways in which the disease was communicated, were various and unaccountable: for some perished by merely living with the infected, others by only touching them, others by having entered their chamber, others by frequenting public places. Some, having fled from the infected cities, escaped themselves, but imparted the disease to the healthy. Some were altogether free from contagion, though they had associated with many who were afflicted, and had touched many not only in their sickness but also when dead. Some, too, who were desirous of death, on account of the utter loss of their children and friends, and with this view placed themselves as much as possible in contact with the diseased, were nevertheless not infected; as if the pestilence struggled against their purpose. This calamity has prevailed, as I have already said, to the present time, for two and fifty years, exceeding all that have preceded it. For Philostratus expresses wonder that the pestilence which happened in his time, lasted for fifteen years. The sequel is uncertain, since its course will be guided by the good pleasure of God, who knows both the causes of things and their tendencies.” 

Evagrius Scholasticus, Ecclesiastical History 4.29 (A.D. 431-594), trans. by E. Walford (1846). Here’s a header photo from my home office during this lockdown. It’s my prayer map of the world with pins in place I have taught (compliments of my daughter, Sophie).

Evagrius was writing about the horror of the Justinian Plague. The outbreak was named after the emperor in power during the outbreak, around A.D. 541-542. It claimed millions of lives over many years. Why consider this excerpt from this church historian as today’s post?

As we experience lockdown on a global scale, we must be careful where to pin the blame and where to place our hope. The most generous thing we can do with our neighbors is give grace, and toward those in power we should lavish an abundance of prayers.

This is hard when it is actually the people around us that can infect us. And while none of us have lived through a pandemic, everyone has opinions on what needs to be done. We are quick to point blame. Imagine getting the plague named after you. Bummer to be Justinian!

Notice also that Evagrius reports that the plague struggled against the purpose of those who served the sick for the wrong reasons. Those who aimed to join the deceased were foiled. Why? God is working in all this, and the only right answer for all of us is to humble ourselves before Him.

Evagrius adds this powerful point about the plague then, which relates to COVID-19. The “course will be guided by the good pleasure of God, who knows both the causes of things and their tendencies.” God is at work for good on a global scale so however this plague touches us is for good.

Let’s resolve to humble ourselves before God, pray for those in authority, and extend grace to our neighbors. And with David, the psalmist, let us hide not so much from the disease but beneath the shadow of God’s wings. To do that, we must draw near to Him. Have mercy on us, O God, have mercy!

This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down His life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. 1 John 3:16

“Now if a deadly epidemic strikes, we should stay where we are, make our preparations, and take courage in the fact that we are mutually bound together so that we cannot desert one another or flee from one another. First, we can be sure that God’s punishment has come upon us, not only to chastise us for our sins but also to test our faith and love — our faith in that we may see and experience how we should act toward God; our love in that we may recognize how we should act toward our neighbor. I am of the opinion that all the epidemics, like any plague, are spread among the people by evil spirits who poison the air or exhale a pestilential breath which puts a deadly poison into the flesh. Nevertheless, this is God’s decree and punishment to which we must patiently submit and serve our neighbor, risking our lives in this manner.”

Martin Luther (1483-1546) in “Whether One May Flee From A Deadly Plague” from Martin Luther, Luther’s Works, Vol. 43: Devotional Writings II, ed. Jaroslav Jan Pelikan, Hilton C. Oswald, and Helmut T. Lehmann, vol. 43 (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1999), 119–138.

As the world adapts to the shutdown of most normal social activities, the opinion of Luther nearly five centuries earlier seems as appropriate and relevant as ever.

God has allowed this global crisis to chastise us, shake us, and wake us to our sin and position us to respond in humility and repentance, faith and love. Will we?

The disease running rampant is of the evil one for sure. But God has allowed it for our good, to reset our focus to submission and service whatever days we have.

I never dreamed my word for the year, compassion, would be so timely. God, help us leave cowardice behind and choose compassion in response to the plague. Amen.