SOME REFLECTIONS, GROWING OUT OF
THE RECENT EPIDEMIC OF INFLUENZA
THAT AFFLICTED OUR CITY.
A DISCOURSE DELIVERED IN THE FIFTEENTH STREET
PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, WASHINGTON, D. C.,
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 1918, BY THE PASTOR,
REV. FRAN CIS J. GRIMKE.
PUBLISHED BY REQUEST.
SOME REFLECTIONS GROWING OUT OF THE
REGENT EPIDEMIC OF INFLUENZA THAT
AFFLICTED OUR CITY.
SAMUEL 24:15-16:
So Jehovah sent a pestilence upon Israel from the morning even unto
the time appointed; and there died of the people from Dan even unto Beer-
sheba seventy thousand men. And when the angel stretched forth his hand
toward Jerusalem to destroy it, Jehovah repented him of the evil, and said to
the angel that destroyed the people, It is enough ; now stay thy hand.
We know now, perhaps, as we have never known before the mean¬
ing of the terms pestilence, plague, epidemic, since we have been
passing through this terrible scourge of Spanish influenza, with its
enormous death rate and its consequent wretchedness and misery.
Every part of the land has felt its deadly touch—North, South,
East and West—in the Army, in the Navy, among civilians, among
all classes and conditions, rich and poor, high and low, white and
black. Over the whole land it has thrown a gloom, and has stricken
down such large numbers that it has been difficult to care for them
properly, overcrowding all of.our hospitals—and it has proven fatal
in so many causes that it has been difficult at times to get coffins
enough in which to place the dead, and men enough to dig graves
fast enough in which to bury them. Our own beautiful city has suf¬
fered terribly from it, making it necessary, as a precautionary
measure, to close the schools, theaters, churches, and to forbid all
public gathering within doors as well as outdoors. At last, how¬
ever, the scourge has been stayed, and we are permitted again to re¬
sume the public worship of God, and to open again the schools of
our city.
Now that the worst is over, I have been thinking, as doubtless
you have all been, of these calamitous weeks through which we have
been passing—thinking of the large numbers that have been sick—
the. large numbers that have died, the many, many homes that have
been made desolate—the many, many bleeding, sorrowing hearts
that have been left behind, and I have been asking myself the ques¬
tion, What is the meaning of it all ? What ought it to mean to us ?
Is it to come and go and we be no wiser, or better for it? Surely
God had a purpose in it, and it is our duty to find out, as far as we
may, what that purpose is, and try to profit by it.
4
Among the things which stand out in my own mind, as I have
been thinking the whole matter over, are these:
(1). I have been impressed with the ease with which large por¬
tions of the population may be wiped out in spite of the skill of
man, of all the resources of science. Suddenly this epidemic came
upon our city and country, and though every physician has been
employed and every available nurse has been at work day and night,
thousands have died, the awful death toll continued. Through all
history we find populations thinned out in this way, not in ordinary,
but in extraordinary ways. One night in Egypt death found its
way into every Egyptian home. In Numbers 16 :49, we read of a
plague that broke out among the people in which 14,700 perished.
In 2 Samuel 24:15, we also read of another plague that broke out in
the reign of David in which, during three days, 70,000 perished.
Thousands also have perished suddenly as the result of volcanic
eruptions or earthquake shocks. How easy it would be for God
to wipe out the whole human race, in this way, if he wanted to;
for these terrible epidemics, plagues, the mighty forces of nature, all
are at His command, are all His agents. At any moment, if He
willed it, in this way, vast populations or portions of populations
could be destroyed.
(2). I have had also this question come into my mind, Why of
those who took the disease some recovered and others did not?
The reason may be found, in one sense, in purely natural causes—
some were physically better prepared to resist the disease, were
stronger in vital power, and so pulled through. Others, not having
sufficient vitality, went down under the strain; but I believe there
is also another reason, and is to be found in the will of God. For
some, the time of their departure had come, the limit of their
earthly existence had been reached, and this was God's way of re¬
moving them out of this world into the next. Some day we have
all got to go, but how, or when, or where, we do not know; that
is with God alone. In Job 12:10, we read:
"In whose hand is the soul of every living thing,
And the breath of all mankind."
And in the 104:29:
"Thou takest their breath, they die."
And elsewhere we are told, "Not a sparrow falls to the ground
without His notice," i. e., without His consent or approval. We
5
speak of accidental deaths, at times, but there are no accidents with
God. All things are within the scope of His providence. Some did
not recover because it was not the will of God that they should.
(3.) Another question similar to the above kept also constantly
going through my mind, Why are some taken with the disease and
others not? As I went up and down these streets, and as I saw
people and came in contact with them, I felt that at any moment any
one of us might be attacked. It was like an army going into battle,
no one knew who would be hit. The point to which I am calling
attention is that some were not hit—some did not get the disease,
and the question that I am asking is, Why not? As I was thinking •
of this question the Ninety-first Psalm came into my mind, which
perhaps you will recall, and which seems to have just such distress¬
ing circumstances in view as those through which we have been
passing:
"He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High
Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
I will sing of Jehovah, He is my refuge and my fortress;
My God, in whom I trust.
For He will deliver thee from the snare of the fowler,
And from the deadly pestilence.
He will cover thee with His pinions,
And under His wings shalt thou take refuge:
His truth is a shield and a buckler.
Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night,
Nor for the arrow that flieth by day;
Nor the pestilence that walketh in darkness,
<*> Nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday.
A thousand shall fall at thy side,
And ten thousand at thy right hand ;
But it shall not come nigh thee."
Here there seems to be the promise of immunity in the midst of
plagues and pestilences. What this means I do not'know. How
far we may expect immunity under such circumstances, I do not
know. These words cannot mean that all good people will escape,
and that only the bad will be smitten: for, as a matter of fact, we
know that during every epidemic some very good people are smit¬
ten, and some, not very good people, escape. And, therefore, I say,
I do not know what is meant by the promise contained in this
"Ninety-first Psalm. It refers to those who "dwell in the secret
place of the Most High." But who are they? How shall we know
6
them? How shall we discriminate betwreen them and all others?
It won't do to say, all who are smitten are excluded, or that all who
escape are included, because we know that such is not the case. It
is one of those inscrutable things that we cannot explain; we know
the fact and that is all. The ultimate explanation must be found in
the sovereign will of God. It must be because He wills it.
(4) Another thing that has impressed me, in connection with this
epidemic, is the fact that conditions may arise in a community which
j ustify the extraordinary exercise of powers that would not be toler¬
ated under ordinary circum stances. This extraordinary exercise of
power was resorted to by the Commissioners in closing up the the¬
aters, schools, churches, in forbidding all gatherings of any consid¬
erable number of people indoors and outdoors, and in restricting
the numbers who should be present even at funerals. The ground
of the exercise of this extraordinary power was found in the im¬
perative duty of the officials to safeguard, as far as possible, the
health of the community by preventing the spread of the disease
from which we were suffering. There has been considerable grumb¬
ling, I know, on the part of some, particularly in regard to the closing
of the churches. It seems to me, however, in a matter like this it is
always wise to submit to such restrictions for the time being. If,
as a matter of fact, it was dangerous to meet in theaters and in the
schools, it certainly was no less dangerous to meet in churches. The
fact that the churches were places of religious gathering, and the
others not, would not affect in the least the health question involved.
If avoiding crowds lessens the danger of being infected, it was wise
to take the precaution and not needlessly run in danger, and expect
God to protect us. And so, anxious as I have been to resume work,
I have waited patiently until the order was lifted. I started to
worry at first, as it seemed to upset all of our plans for the fall work;
but I soon recovered my composure. I said to myself, Why worry ?
God knows what Ht- is doing. His work i« n t g~mg o suffer. It
will rather be a help to it in the end. Out of it, I believe, great good
is coming. All the churches, as well as the community at large, are
going to be the stronger and better for this season of distress
through which we have been passing.
(5). Another thing that has impressed me in connection with this
epidemic is how completely it has shattered the theory, so dear to
the heart of the white man in this country, that a white skin entitles
its possessor to better treatment than one who possesses a dark skin.
I once heard Mr. Tillman from the floor of the Senate say, He be¬
lieved that God made the white man, and that means the meanest,
7
the lowest, the most ignorant and degraded white man, out of a little
better clay than he made the black man. Poor fool! he knows dif¬
ferently now. Death knocked the scales from his eyes. He found
himself, the moment the breath left his body, in the presence of a
Being with whom the color of his skin counted for nothing. He
lived, unfortunately, under that delusion; and it is the delusion under
which the white man in all this broad land is living today. But dur¬
ing this epidemic scourge, if he gave any thought to the matter, if
a particle of sense remained in him, he must have seen the folly
of counting upon a white skin. Did the whiteness of his skin pro¬
tect him ? Did the epidemic pause to see whether his skin was white
or black before smiting him? Of what value has a white skin been
during these weeks of suffering and death? What possible advan¬
tage has accrued to any one because of the whiteness of his skin ?
During these terrible weeks, while the epidemic raged, God has
been trying in a very pronouncedly conspicuously and vigorous way,
to beat a little sense into the white man's head; has been trying to
show him the folly of the empty conceit of his vaunted race superior¬
ity, by dealing with him just as he dealt with the peoples of darker
hue. For once a white skin counted for nothing in the way of secur¬
ing better treatment—in the way of obtaining for its possessor con¬
siderations denied to those of darker hue. And, not only in epi¬
demics, in scourges, but als® in the great convulsions of nature—
in earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, tidal waves, in disasters on sea
and land, the same great lesson is taught. Under such circumstances
of what avail is the color of a man's skin, or his race identity?
What does the lightning, the thunderbolt, the burning lava, the sea,
care about color or race ? White and black alike are dealt with in-
discriminately; the one is smitten as readily as the other; the one is
swallowed up as readily as the other. And that is the lesson which
God is teaching everywhere through the operation of natural laws.
And it is the great lesson which He also teaches in His inspired
word; and which Jesus Christ, who said, "I am the light of the
world. He that followeth after Me shall not walk in darkness, but
shall have the light of life," sought constantly to emphasize both by
percept and example.
In this terrible epidemic, which has afflicted not only this city but
the whole country, there is a great lesson for the white man to learn.
It is the folly of his stupid color prejudice. It calls attention to the
fact that he is acting on a pinciple that God utterly repudiates, as
He has shown during this epidemic scourge, and, as He will show
him when He comes to dea? with him in the judgment of the great
8
day of solemn account. The lesson taught is clear and distinct, but
will he learn it, will he lay it to heart, will he profit by it and seek
to mend his evil ways? He may, but I have grave doubts*as to
whether he will or not. The probabilities are that he will still go on
in his evil ways—will still go on believing that a white skin entitles
its possessor to better treatment than a dark skin; will still go on
practicing his infamous discriminations against colored people, in
departments of the general government, and all over the country.
One thing he may be sure of, however—he may continue to live
under that delusion, but there will be a rude awakening some day—
it may be when it is too late. The dark skin which he despises and
seeks in every possible way to belittle, to depreciate, may be the
millstone about his neck that will sink him to perdition. For this
awful race prejudice, this colorphobia, out of which so much that
is evil has come, so much suffering, so much heart-burnings to those
who are the victims of it, but which is regarded so lightly by the
white man—so lightly that it never brings him any compunction of
conscience—-so lightly that even in revivals of religion it is never
included by him among the sins to be repented of—is not the little
thing that he thinks it is, for it is an offense against the great law
of Love—against the great law of human Brotherhood, as well as
against the great law of Righteousness, of Justice. Jesus said, "The
first and great commandment is, 'Thou shalt love the Lord thy God
with all thy heart, and with ail thy soul, and with all thy mind, and
with all thy strength.' And the second is like unto it, 'Thou shalt
love thy neighbor as thyself.' Upon these two commandments hang
all the law and the prophets.' " Race prejudice, colorphobia, runs
directly counter to both of these great commandments. And, there¬
fore, never mind what the white man may think of it. we see clearly
what God thinks of it, and it is the estimate that He puts upon it
that is to determine its character. Let us hope, therefore, not only
for the sake of people of color, but also for the sake of the white
people themselves that the great lesson as to the folly of race prej¬
udice—of assuming that a white skin entitles one to better treatment
than a dark skin, which this epidemic has so strikingly taught, may
not be lost upon them. It is a lesson which for their own sake it
is well for them to learn. It will be better for them here, and it
will be better for them hereafter, if they learn it, and learn it well.
And, of course, it will be better for us as a race in this country. It
will remove out of the way some very serious obstacles to our
progress, and will relieve us of many of the disagreeable things that
we are at present forced to endure, though not without protest.
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(G). Another thing has .'inpressed me during this epidemic. It
has brought out in a way that is very gratifying, the high estimation
in which tne Christian church is held in the community—the large
place which it really occupies in the thought of the people. The fact
that for several weeks we have been shut out from the privileges
of the sanctuary has brought home to us as never before what the
church has really meant to us. We hadn't thought, perhaps, very
much of the privilege while it lasted, but the moment it was taken
away we saw at once how much it meant to us. One of the gratify¬
ing things to me, during this scourge, has been the sincere regrets
that I have heard expressed all over the city by numbers of people
at the closing of the churches. The theater goers, of course, have
regretted the closing of the theaters. I do not know whether the
children or the teachers have regretted the closing of the schools or
not; I have heard no regrets expressed, but I do know that large
numbers of people have regretted the closing of the churches. I
hope that now that they are opened again, that we will all show our
appreciation of their value by attending regularly upon their services.
It would be a great calamity to any community to be without the
public ministrations of the sanctuary. There is no single influence
in a community that counts for more than the Christian church. It
is one of the institutions, particularly, that ought to be strongly sup¬
ported ; that ought to be largely attended, and that ought to have the
hearty endorsement and well-wishes of every right thinking man
and woman within it. It is a great mistake for any one to stand
aloof from the Christian church. Everybody in the community
ought to have a church home, and ought to be found in that church
home Sabbath after Sabbath.
(7). There is another thing connected with this epidemic that is
also worthy of note. While it lasted, it kept the thought of death
..and of eternity constantly before the people. As the papers came
out, day after day, among the first things that every one looked for,
or asked about, was as to the number of deaths. And so the thought
of death was never allowed to stay very long out of the conscious¬
ness of the living. And with the thought of death, the great thought
also of eternity, for it is through death that the gates of eternity
swing open. We don't as a general thing think very much about
either death or eternity. They are not pleasant things^ to think
about, and so we avoid thinking of them as much as possible. It is
only when we are forced to that we give them any consideration,
and even then onlv for the moment. They are both subjects of vital
importance, however, involving the most momentous consequences.
IO
For after death is always the judgment. The grim messenger is
God's summons to us to render up our account. That there is an
account to be rendered up we are inclined to lose sight of, to forget;
but it is to be rendered all the same. The books are to be opened,
and we are to be judged out of the books. During the weeks of this
epidemic—in the long list of deaths, in the large number of new-
made graves, in the unusual number of funeral processions along
our streets, God has been reminding us of this account which we
must soon render up; He has been projecting before us in a way to
startle us, the thought of eternity.
You who are not Christians, who have not yet repented of your
sins, who have not yet surrendered yourselves to the guidance of
Jesus Christ, if you allow these repeated warnings that you have
had, day by day, week by week, to go unheeded—if you still go on in
your sins, should God suddenly cut you off in your sins, you will
have no one to blame but yourselves. It won't be God's fault if
you are lost, if eternity finds you unprepared. God has opened the
way for your salvation, through the gift of His only begotten Son,
who died that you might have the opportunity of making your peace
with God—the opportunity of having your sins forgiven, and of
laying hold of life, spiritual and eternal; and He has notified you
not only of the consequences of sin, but of what provision He has
graciously made for your escape, if you desire to escape. This is
all He can do; this is all that He is going to do. Your fate is in
your own hands. If you choose life, it will be life; if you choose
death, it will be death. My earnest appeal to you is, let it be life
and not death; and let the choice be made at once. Before you go
out of this house make up your minds to do the right thing—the
wise thing—the only sensible thing. You have come out of this epi¬
demic alive, while thousands have perished. Are you going to spend
the rest of your days in the service of sin and satan, or in the serv¬
ice of God? You know what you ought to do; you know what you
will do, if you consult your best interest—if you do the right thing.
(8). There is only one other thought that has come to me in con¬
nection with this epidemic; it is of the blessedness of religion, of
the sense of security which a true, living, working faith in the Lord
Jesus Christ gives one in the midst of life's perils. I felt, as doubt¬
less you all felt, who are Christians, the blessedness of a firm grip
upon Jesus Christ—the blessedness of a realizing sense of being
anchored in God and in His precious promises. While the plague
was raging, while thousands were dying, what a comfort it was to
feel that we were in the hands of a loving Father who was looking
11
out for us, who had given us the great assurance that all things
should work together for our good. And, therefore, that come
what would—whether we were smitten with the epidemic or not,
or whether being smitten, we survived or perished, we knew it would
be well with us, that there was no reason to be alarmed. Even if
death came, we knew it was all right. The apostle says, "It is gain
for me to die." Death had no terrors for him. He says, The hour
of my departure is at hand: I .have fought the good fight; I have
finished my course; I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid
up for me the crown of glory which the Lord the righteous judge
shall give at that day. And not to me only but to all them that love
His appearing. And it was this same apostle who flung in the face of
death the defiance, "O death, where is thy sting? O grave where is
thy victory ?" The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin
i.^ the law; but thanks be unto God who giveth us the victory through
our Lord Jesus Christ."
In the presence of such a faith, in the realization of God's love,
as revealed in Jesus Christ, in the consciousness of fellowship with
him, what are epidemics, what are scourges, what are all of life's
trials, sufferings, disappointments ? They only tend to work out for
us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. But, of course,
if faith is to help us; if it is to put its great strong arms under us ;
if we are to feel its sustaining power under such distressing circum¬
stances, it must be a real, living faith in God—it must be the gen¬
uine article—a faith that works, that works by love, and that puri¬
fies the heart. Any other faith is of absolutely no value to us in the
midst of the great crises of life. And I said to myself while the
epidemic was on, and while I was examining my own heart to see
how far my religion was helping me to be calm, self-possessed. It is
a good time for those of us who are Christians to examine ourselves
to see exactly how it is with us, whether the foundation upon which
we are building is a rock foundation—whether our faith is really
resting upon Christ, the solid Rock, or nt>t. And I still feel that one
important function of this epidemic will be lost if it fails to have
that effect upon us, if it does not lead to careful heart-searching on
our part. * * *
If, as the result of such examination, we find that we did not get
out of our religion very much help, in bracing us up under the strain
through which we have been passing, then we know that there is
something wrong 5 either we have no faith at all, or it is very weak,
and therefore that we need to give a little more attention to our
12
spiritual condition than we have been giving. It shows that we are
running down spiritually. Or, if we find that we were helped, that
3ur fears were allayed as we thought of our relations to God and to
His Son Jesus Christ, then we have an additional reason why we
should cling all the closer to Him, and why we should be all the
more earnest in our efforts to serve Him. We ought to come put
of this epidemic more determined than ever to run with patience the
race that is set before us; more determined than ever to make heaven
our home. And this I trust is the purpose, the determination of
us all.
Let us all draw near to God in simple faith. Let us reconsecrate
ourselves, all of us, to Him; let us all make up our minds to be
better Christians.
Francis J. Grimke;.
Washington, D. C.
November 3, 1918.