Those words would inspire Whittle’s parents to name him
after Daniel Webster in hopes that he would become a great leader in the fight
for freedom. His mother is said to have been a godly woman who instilled in him
and his three brothers’ strong Christian principles. He was born in Chicopee
Falls, Massachusetts, on November 22, 1840. Little is known of his childhood.
Whittle worked as a cashier for Wells Fargo Bank as a
teenager and into his early twenties. He surrendered his life to the Lord one
night while acting as a night watchman there. He went into
the vault, got down on his knees and surrendered his life to the Heavenly
Father to use as He would.
He became the Sunday School Superintendent at the Greater
Tabernacle Cathedral in Chicago where he would meet his wife, Miss Abbie Hanson,
and marry her before he left for the war. It would be a year before they would
be reunited.
He enlisted in the military and eventually advanced to the
rank of Major. He was sent to fight in the American Civil War in 1861. During
the war he was seriously injured and captured as a prisoner of war. Due to the
injury, he had to have his arm amputated above the arm.
Coming from a religious family one would have expected these
incidents to have made him seek the Lord more. Sad to say, that did not happen
to him; he had lost his passion for Christianity.
However, his mother shed tears and prayed with him before he left for the war, and
“she placed a New Testament in a pocket of the haversack that she’d arranged
for me.” he said.
This little New Testament would play a vital part in his
rededication. It was while he was in the POW camp that out of boredom he began
to search for something to read. He found in his personal effects the little New
Testament that his mother had placed there. He read through the New Testament
in a matter of days and started through it again.
While a POW, a nurse begged Major Whittle to go pray with a
boy that was dying, and the nurse admitted being touched by watching
Whittle read the Scriptures and not cuss. The nurse admitted the boy was a
wicked man, to which Whittle replied that he was also wicked.
The soldier had been pleading with the nurse to pray for him before he died. They found out, that the dying soldier had strayed away from the Lord and had no relationship with Him but wanted to come back to Christ. Daniel told the nurse that he wasn’t the right person to pray for the young man. Finally, after much pleading, Daniel decided to go and pray with this young man.
Here, in Major Whittle’s own words, is what took place that night: “I dropped on my knees and held the boy’s hand in mine. In a few broken words I confessed my sins and asked Christ to forgive me. I believed right there that He did forgive me. I then prayed earnestly for the boy. He became quiet and pressed my hand as I prayed and pleaded God’s promises. When I arose from my knees, he was dead. A look of peace had come over his troubled face, and I cannot but believe that God who used him to bring me to the Savior, used me to lead him to trust Christ’s precious blood and find pardon. I hope to meet him in heaven.”
“I Know Whom I Have Believed” was given the tune name EL NATHAN. The tune was written by a prominent music publisher and gospel song composer, James McGranahan (1840-1907). He was a talented and cultured American musician who was gifted with a rare tenor voice and studied for years with eminent teachers who urged him to train for a career in opera.
McGranahan was friends with Philip Bliss who was an accomplished hymnist. Bliss encouraged McGranahan to “Strike into the grain to reap for the Master . . . to reap for the Master . . . to reap for the Master!” McGranahan was touched by Bliss’ words and decided to yield his life, his talents, his all to the service of His Savior.
Studylight.org, Barnes’ Notes on the Whole Bible: "Instead of being able to argue my [Job] cause, and to vindicate myself as I had expected, I now see that I am guilty, and I have nothing to say.” Job had argued boldly with his friends. He had, before them, maintained his innocence of the charges which they brought against him, and had supposed that he would be able to maintain the same argument before God. But when the opportunity was given, he felt that he was a poor, weak man; a guilty and miserable offender.
Dailyverse.knowing-Jesus.com: God's plan of redemption was foreordained in the heavenly council chambers before the foundation of the world. The promises made to Eve and Abraham about their Seed, the covenant God made with His people Israel through Moses, the promise that a Man would sit on the throne of David eternally, and the numerous prophecies that foretold of the coming Messiah, were all to be accomplished. And John, the son of Zacharias the priest, was to be forerunner to the prophesied Messiah who was to visit and accomplish redemption for His people, Israel . . . May we be those whose faith is established and anchored to the facts of Scripture, for when faith is founded on God's unchangeable Word, we know ALL that He has promised WILL be completed, through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Bibleref.com: Sheep pens in Jesus' era were constructed with a single, narrow opening. This allowed the gatekeeper to control which animals got in or out. When allowed by the gatekeeper, shepherds could call to their flocks, who would respond only to the voice of their own shepherd. Jesus has used this well-known concept to explain His ministry to His religious critics . . . Jesus claims "I am the door." So far as this metaphor goes, Jesus means He is the gatekeeper—the person who controls access to the pen. He is also the opening, the single means by which the sheep can move in or out . . . It is only through the door that the sheep can "be saved."
Studylight.org, Clarke’s Commentary: We obey GOD; and therefore God gives us this Spirit, which is in us a fountain of light, life, love, and power. The Spirit of God is given to the obedient: in proportion as a man who has received the first influences of it; is obedient to those influences, in the same proportion the gifts and graces, the light, life, and power, of the Holy Spirit, are increased in his soul.
Studylight.org, Barnes’ Notes on the Whole Bible: The delay should be regarded as a proof of His forbearance, and of His desire that all human beings should be saved . . . God’s nature is benevolent, and He sincerely desires the eternal happiness of all, and His patience toward sinners “proves” that He is willing that they should be saved.
Studylight.org, Gill’s Exposition of the Whole Bible: A spiritual knowledge of Christ is necessary to faith in Him . . . Knowledge and faith go together: they that truly know Christ, believe in Him, and the more they know Him, the more strongly do they believe in Him . . . and they know Whom they trust, what an able, willing, suitable, and complete Savior He is. This knowledge which they have of Him, is not from themselves, but from the Father, who reveals Him to them, and in them; and from Himself, who gives them an understanding that they may know Him.
