It is an unexpected irony that Wigglesworth turned to practicing medicine as a way to sustain himself and his family financially when he was too ill to preach. Little is known about Wigglesworth’s medical practice, but, given that his colleagues report him being housebound, it seems probable that he saw patients in Malden’s parsonage. One seemingly minor detail about Wigglesworth’s medical knowledge – that he originated or promoted a method for preparing a medicine known as “white balsam drops” or “fennel balsam” – becomes compelling when placed in the context of his own chronic illnesses. Fennel balsam was described as a “diaphoretic and carminative,” intended to provoke sweating and reduce biliousness (Holyoke 1829, 20-21). Given the range of symptoms Wigglesworth experienced, it is possible his experimentation with this medicine was motivated by a desire to find a cure for what ailed him personally. As Wigglesworth biographer Richard Crowder observed, “[Michael] applied himself to the study of remedies, not only to serve his community but to find relief for himself” (Crowder 1962, 125).
During this time, Wigglesworth also began to write. He felt that if he wasn’t physically able to spread God’s message through the pulpit, he must evangelize in print. The Day of Doom was intended to be an accessible way for people without formal education to absorb the fundamental tenets of Christian eschatology. The predictability of its rhyme scheme grates on modern ears but was conducive to memorization. As Wigglesworth was ill and essentially – as we would term it today – “working from home,” he created accessible pathways for devoted Christians to study and recommit themselves to foundational theological principles.
The Day of Doom sold 1800 copies in its first year of publication, yielding much-needed income. Literary scholar Ronald A. Bosco reports that Wigglesworth regularly made more money from The Day of Doom’s publication in its numerous editions than he did annually from his salaried position in Malden (Bosco 1989, x). One also must imagine that literary success built Wigglesworth’s confidence in his vocation. Although he could not practice either medicine or ministry as his colleagues did, they could no longer say he was incapable.