Our Lord is now rejected,
And by the world disowned,
By the many still neglected,
And by the few enthroned;
But soon He'll come in glory!
The hour is drawing nigh,
For the crowning day is coming
By and by.
Major Whittle, the author of this stirring
A hymn, ranks among the most successful
writers of hymns used in the evangelistic movements
of the last two generations. He was born
at Chicopee Falls, Massachusetts, [United States], November 22nd,
1840. At the outbreak of the American Civil
War, in 1861, he enlisted in the 72nd Illinois
Infantry, and was severely wounded at the battle
of Vicksburg, which resulted in the loss of an
arm.
It was while he lay in hospital, far from home and friends, that young Whittle recalled the fact that his mother, on the morning of his departure for the war, had given him a New Testament, which, till that moment had remained at the bottom of his soldier's haversack, unopened. He took up the precious Book, and as the young man read page after page, he realised as he had never done before, that he was a lost sinner, and dropping on his knees he cried to God for mercy. Thus, in the quiet of that hospital ward, Daniel Webster Whittle passed from death unto life, by trusting in the atoning blood of the Saviour of the world.
Shortly after the war closed, Major Whittle happened to meet D. L. Moody, and it was due to the influence of the great evangelist, and in obedience to the call from the Lord, that Major Whittle, some years later, gave up his position in business to devote his life to evangelistic work.
His name is a familiar one in the history of the great Moody and Sankey missions to Great Britain. At the close of Mr. Moody's mission in Dublin in the early nineties, Major Whittle and Mr. George C. Stebbins continued the campaign in some of the smaller towns of Ireland, with a view to reaching the people of outlying districts, who were cut off from the privileges the people of the cities enjoyed. There was a deep interest everywhere manifested, and though the mission was void of anything of a spectacular nature, it was evident by the eagerness with which the warm-hearted Irish folks listened to the simple Gospel story, that a work of grace was being wrought in their midst.
Mr. Stebbins, who is now in his eighty-ninth year, is one of the last of the sweet singers of the days of Sankey. He is the composer of the music of a large number of the best known evangelistic hymns, including Fanny Crosby's "Some day the silver cord will break."
The last meetings of that memorable winter were held in Belfast, where the various places of worship united, and a widespread spirit of enquiry was awakened among the people, when many were lead to the Saviour
Major Whittle's last mission to Great Britain, when he was again accompanied by Mr. Stebbins, was during the winter of 1896-97, spent in Scotland. The cities visited were Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen, Inverness, as well as several smaller towns.
The Major loved children, and had a happy faculty of presenting the truths of the Gospel in such a way as to make it attractive and easily understood by the young folks. Wherever he was conducting meetings he invariably held special services for children, and in order to create interest he gave blackboard illustrations and chemical experiments, to make the truths plain.
The greater part of Major Whittle's evangelistic work was spent in conjunction with Mr. James McGranahan.
He began writing hymns in 1877, using the pen-name of "El Nathan." Characterised by faithfulness to Scriptural teaching, his hymns soon became recognised as among the best in use in those stirring times, and were in favour almost everywhere, even as they are to-day.
Besides "The crowning day is coming," other familiar hymns by Major Whittle include: "There shall be showers of blessing," "I know whom I have believed," "Jesus is coming," "I looked to Jesus," "Come believing," and that joyous song of the redeemed:
Come sing, my soul, and praise the Lord,
Who hath redeemed thee by His blood;
Delivered thee from chains that bound,
And brought thee to redemption ground.
Major Whittle passed away at Northfield, [Massachusetts], March 4th, 1901.
From Stories and Sketches of Our Hymns and Their Writers by David J. Beattie. Kilmarnock, Scotland: John Ritchie, [1934].
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