1
00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:03,760
These days aren't ever subtracted, unfortunately.

2
00:00:03,760 --> 00:00:07,000
They're only added to, right?

3
00:00:07,000 --> 00:00:11,640
Psalm 90 talks about life's one-way street.

4
00:00:11,640 --> 00:00:16,620
It talks about its transitoryness, its brevity.

5
00:00:16,620 --> 00:00:21,700
Psalm 90 is not pessimistic, but it is realistic.

6
00:00:21,700 --> 00:00:25,680
It tells us what life is really like.

7
00:00:25,680 --> 00:00:28,000
Psalm 90 was written by Moses.

8
00:00:28,000 --> 00:00:31,800
It's the only psalm written by that man of God.

9
00:00:31,800 --> 00:00:36,680
We understand why he wrote as he did when we remember what he experienced during the

10
00:00:36,680 --> 00:00:40,400
40 years that the children of Israel were in the wilderness.

11
00:00:40,400 --> 00:00:44,440
A whole generation of Israelites died there.

12
00:00:44,440 --> 00:00:50,000
Undoubtedly, that impacted greatly what he writes in Psalm 90.

13
00:00:50,000 --> 00:00:58,960
The psalm contrasts the eternity of God with the frailty of man.

14
00:00:58,960 --> 00:00:59,960
He says,

15
00:00:59,960 --> 00:01:04,520
Lord, thou hast been our dwelling place in all generations.

16
00:01:04,520 --> 00:01:10,620
Before the mountains were born, or thou didst give birth to the earth and the world, even

17
00:01:10,620 --> 00:01:16,560
from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God.

18
00:01:16,560 --> 00:01:21,200
Where is the eternity of God, and it seems that there are three measurements for it.

19
00:01:21,200 --> 00:01:27,400
The first one is in the history of God's people, from generation to generation to generation

20
00:01:27,400 --> 00:01:29,240
to generation.

21
00:01:29,240 --> 00:01:36,680
In the history of God's people, there is a measurement of God's sameness, God's eternity.

22
00:01:36,680 --> 00:01:41,740
The second measurement is found in verse 2 in creation.

23
00:01:41,740 --> 00:01:47,480
Even before God created what he has, he was God and is God.

24
00:01:47,480 --> 00:01:53,120
The third measurement is found in the imagination, for he says at the end of verse 2, even from

25
00:01:53,120 --> 00:01:56,320
everlasting to everlasting, thou art God.

26
00:01:56,320 --> 00:02:02,740
Can you think of something being everlasting or eternal, having no beginning, no ending?

27
00:02:02,740 --> 00:02:06,080
That stretches our minds, that stretches our imagination.

28
00:02:06,080 --> 00:02:08,760
Well, that's the way God is.

29
00:02:08,760 --> 00:02:09,760
God is eternal.

30
00:02:09,760 --> 00:02:16,880
And in contrast to his changeless eternity is man's frailty.

31
00:02:16,880 --> 00:02:20,920
In verses 3 through 11, this is illustrated.

32
00:02:20,920 --> 00:02:24,080
It's illustrated by dust.

33
00:02:24,080 --> 00:02:29,280
It's illustrated by flood waters that pass quickly in verse 5.

34
00:02:29,280 --> 00:02:38,320
It's illustrated by grass which grows in the morning because of its shallow roots, then

35
00:02:38,320 --> 00:02:42,520
withers by the evening, it fades and is gone.

36
00:02:42,520 --> 00:02:45,000
That's what man's frailty is like.

37
00:02:45,000 --> 00:02:51,160
It's like grass that quickly fades away.

38
00:02:51,160 --> 00:02:58,600
He explains why man is frail when he speaks about our iniquities in verse 8 and our secret

39
00:02:58,600 --> 00:03:04,120
sins which are in the light of his presence.

40
00:03:04,120 --> 00:03:09,240
There we have the final cause for man's frailty.

41
00:03:09,240 --> 00:03:14,080
It is our sin.

42
00:03:14,080 --> 00:03:20,320
But the cause, the operative cause, we might put it, is the wrath of God.

43
00:03:20,320 --> 00:03:25,400
Because of our sinfulness, God's wrath is upon humankind.

44
00:03:25,400 --> 00:03:30,520
And he speaks about the fury of God, the wrath of God.

45
00:03:30,520 --> 00:03:38,280
And he says the result of that is, verse 9, we have finished our years like a sigh or

46
00:03:38,280 --> 00:03:42,120
a groan or a whisper.

47
00:03:42,120 --> 00:03:45,440
Some of us got up this morning and we groaned.

48
00:03:45,440 --> 00:03:46,760
That's how we finished 1988.

49
00:03:46,760 --> 00:03:50,680
And we begin 1989 the same way.

50
00:03:50,680 --> 00:03:53,580
The thing he's talking about here is the end of our years.

51
00:03:53,580 --> 00:03:57,760
We finish it with just a whisper, a sigh.

52
00:03:57,760 --> 00:04:02,360
Have you ever been with someone who died?

53
00:04:02,360 --> 00:04:04,320
Sometimes this is exactly how it ends.

54
00:04:04,320 --> 00:04:10,240
With just a sigh, the final breath, and the person is gone.

55
00:04:10,240 --> 00:04:16,800
He says at the end of verse 10, soon life is gone and we fly away.

56
00:04:16,800 --> 00:04:17,800
That is, we depart.

57
00:04:17,800 --> 00:04:23,640
We leave where we have lived these earthly years in our bodies.

58
00:04:23,640 --> 00:04:29,880
So he describes here the frailty of man, and all of this brings him to a prayer, an entreaty

59
00:04:29,880 --> 00:04:34,600
that begins in verse 12, which I think is the key verse to the whole psalm.

60
00:04:34,600 --> 00:04:42,960
He says, so teach us to number our days that we may present to thee a heart of wisdom.

61
00:04:42,960 --> 00:04:43,960
Moses prays.

62
00:04:43,960 --> 00:04:45,960
Now remember, he's in the wilderness.

63
00:04:45,960 --> 00:04:47,720
There is death all around him.

64
00:04:47,720 --> 00:04:54,040
A whole generation is in the midst of dying, and he himself is facing death.

65
00:04:54,040 --> 00:05:01,480
And he says, Lord, teach us to live wisely because of the few years that we have in this

66
00:05:01,480 --> 00:05:03,040
world.

67
00:05:03,040 --> 00:05:05,260
That's what he prays here.

68
00:05:05,260 --> 00:05:14,640
Teach us to live wisely in light of our soon coming end.

69
00:05:14,640 --> 00:05:19,600
As you and I face a new year, it seems to me that our prayer ought to be similar to

70
00:05:19,600 --> 00:05:20,600
that of Moses.

71
00:05:20,600 --> 00:05:28,680
Lord, help us to live this year wisely, to take into account the brevity and the frailty

72
00:05:28,680 --> 00:05:33,720
of life, and in light of that, to live wisely.

73
00:05:33,720 --> 00:05:38,480
How are we going to live wisely in 1989?

74
00:05:38,480 --> 00:05:45,480
I believe in verses 13 through 17, we have five essential truths which, if applied to

75
00:05:45,480 --> 00:05:52,160
our lives, will enable us to live wisely in this year.

76
00:05:52,160 --> 00:05:57,880
I believe that our prayer as we move into the new year should be, Lord, teach us the

77
00:05:57,880 --> 00:06:06,160
brevity of life, that we might learn from that to live wisely every day that we have

78
00:06:06,160 --> 00:06:08,440
in this world.

79
00:06:08,440 --> 00:06:13,680
If that prayer is going to be answered, there are five truths that we want to apply to our

80
00:06:13,680 --> 00:06:14,960
lives.

81
00:06:14,960 --> 00:06:16,720
The first one is in verse 13.

82
00:06:16,720 --> 00:06:21,960
You will notice that all of this now is a prayer, but we're going to find in the petition

83
00:06:21,960 --> 00:06:26,040
that is offered up some truth to be applied to our life.

84
00:06:26,040 --> 00:06:27,920
In verse 13, the first one is this.

85
00:06:27,920 --> 00:06:31,780
We must see life as service to the Lord.

86
00:06:31,780 --> 00:06:36,480
If you and I want to live wisely this year, that's where it must begin.

87
00:06:36,480 --> 00:06:40,080
We must see life as service to the Lord.

88
00:06:40,080 --> 00:06:41,760
Notice the language in verse 13.

89
00:06:41,760 --> 00:06:43,880
Do return, O Lord.

90
00:06:43,880 --> 00:06:45,120
How long will it be?

91
00:06:45,120 --> 00:06:48,240
And be sorry for thy servants.

92
00:06:48,240 --> 00:06:55,080
We have an entreaty here that God would no longer turn his back on the children of Israel.

93
00:06:55,080 --> 00:06:57,920
That's how they were feeling there in the wilderness.

94
00:06:57,920 --> 00:07:02,800
Have you ever felt that God turned his back on you?

95
00:07:02,800 --> 00:07:08,960
Or have you ever felt that God was taking plenty of time coming through with the great

96
00:07:08,960 --> 00:07:11,040
need that you had in your life?

97
00:07:11,040 --> 00:07:16,500
Well, the children of God in all ages have had those kinds of feelings.

98
00:07:16,500 --> 00:07:21,800
Not only here in this psalm, but in Psalm 6, Psalm 13, Psalm 80, you see those kinds

99
00:07:21,800 --> 00:07:25,920
of feelings coming out in the poet's language.

100
00:07:25,920 --> 00:07:32,040
But the point here in verse 13 that I want to get to is this.

101
00:07:32,040 --> 00:07:37,040
Israel was the servant of God, and therefore God surely would not continue his chastisement

102
00:07:37,040 --> 00:07:38,640
of them.

103
00:07:38,640 --> 00:07:43,280
We too are the servants of God in our day.

104
00:07:43,280 --> 00:07:50,360
And if we're going to live wisely, then we must see ourselves as the servants of the

105
00:07:50,360 --> 00:07:51,660
Lord.

106
00:07:51,660 --> 00:07:57,140
We need to perceive life as a privilege of service to him.

107
00:07:57,140 --> 00:08:02,660
The very breath that we have is a gift from him in the first place, isn't it?

108
00:08:02,660 --> 00:08:07,560
We live and move and have our being in him.

109
00:08:07,560 --> 00:08:12,400
But beyond that, those of us who are saved, who have believed in the Lord Jesus Christ,

110
00:08:12,400 --> 00:08:17,520
we've been purchased so that we are not our own.

111
00:08:17,520 --> 00:08:22,340
We are bought with a price, says the Apostle Paul.

112
00:08:22,340 --> 00:08:31,340
And because he is our master, our owner, and we are his servants, we need to see life as

113
00:08:31,340 --> 00:08:38,640
just what it is, a time given to us to serve him.

114
00:08:38,640 --> 00:08:45,600
In coming to Jesus Christ for salvation, we must realize that we are exchanging one kind

115
00:08:45,600 --> 00:08:49,120
of servitude for another.

116
00:08:49,120 --> 00:08:57,640
Before we served sin, but now we have the joy and the liberty to serve Jesus Christ.

117
00:08:57,640 --> 00:08:59,840
That's what life is all about.

118
00:08:59,840 --> 00:09:07,760
So if you want to live 1989 wisely, I plead with you to apply that truth first of all.

119
00:09:07,760 --> 00:09:14,880
See this year as a year of service to the Lord, because that's the essence of the Christian's

120
00:09:14,880 --> 00:09:15,880
life.

121
00:09:15,880 --> 00:09:19,360
There's a second truth that I see in verse 14.

122
00:09:19,360 --> 00:09:25,320
He says, oh, satisfy us in the morning with thy loving kindness that we may sing for joy

123
00:09:25,320 --> 00:09:27,560
and be glad all our days.

124
00:09:27,560 --> 00:09:37,380
Truth number two, we must seek satisfaction in life from God only.

125
00:09:37,380 --> 00:09:46,200
In our day and in our culture, we tend to seek satisfaction in things other than the

126
00:09:46,200 --> 00:09:55,120
spiritual, in material possessions, in personal relationships, in our reputations, in our

127
00:09:55,120 --> 00:09:59,660
job prestige or security.

128
00:09:59,660 --> 00:10:04,060
And to some extent, because we are human beings, that's normal.

129
00:10:04,060 --> 00:10:11,680
But if taken to a greater extent, that kind of self-satisfaction is worldly.

130
00:10:11,680 --> 00:10:19,120
All of these things that I've mentioned—reputation, possessions, job, prestige, relationships—are

131
00:10:19,120 --> 00:10:22,860
a part of life which is transitory.

132
00:10:22,860 --> 00:10:25,880
These things can change with the hour.

133
00:10:25,880 --> 00:10:29,880
Job would be glad to come here this morning and give witness to that, because in one day

134
00:10:29,880 --> 00:10:33,960
he lost all of those things.

135
00:10:33,960 --> 00:10:40,200
Moses calls for us here to learn a great lesson early in life that true satisfaction comes

136
00:10:40,200 --> 00:10:42,080
only from God.

137
00:10:42,080 --> 00:10:49,160
Oh, that we could all learn that as early in our lives as possible, in the morning.

138
00:10:49,160 --> 00:10:56,960
Oh, that as young people, as junior-hires, senior-hires, as college students, as career

139
00:10:56,960 --> 00:11:03,080
men and women, as young couples, as early in life as we can to learn that lesson, that

140
00:11:03,080 --> 00:11:07,200
satisfaction comes from God alone.

141
00:11:07,200 --> 00:11:14,600
If you want to live 1989 wisely, there is a truth to apply.

142
00:11:14,600 --> 00:11:20,640
Look for your satisfaction in the Lord and in your relationship to him.

143
00:11:20,640 --> 00:11:27,240
God's covenant faithfulness or his loving kindness, as it's put here in this verse,

144
00:11:27,240 --> 00:11:34,520
must not be measured by the events of the moment but by the result in the end.

145
00:11:34,520 --> 00:11:42,040
Coming to know God will bring joy and gladness to the experience of your life in 1989, whatever

146
00:11:42,040 --> 00:11:44,000
the events may be.

147
00:11:44,000 --> 00:11:51,280
If you come to know him, joy and gladness will be your inheritance this year.

148
00:11:51,280 --> 00:11:53,080
Lesson number two.

149
00:11:53,080 --> 00:11:55,560
We must seek satisfaction from God only.

150
00:11:55,560 --> 00:11:59,280
Now look at verse 15, a third truth.

151
00:11:59,280 --> 00:12:05,240
He prays this way, make us glad according to the days thou hast afflicted us and the

152
00:12:05,240 --> 00:12:08,800
years we have seen evil.

153
00:12:08,800 --> 00:12:14,860
The third truth that I see, if we want to live wisely in 1989, we must recognize the

154
00:12:14,860 --> 00:12:19,280
sovereignty of God.

155
00:12:19,280 --> 00:12:28,320
Whether joys or afflictions enter our days, we come back to this basic fundamental truth

156
00:12:28,320 --> 00:12:33,940
about life, and that is that God is in control.

157
00:12:33,940 --> 00:12:41,700
If we forget that, then we will make stupid mistakes this year and we will begin to think

158
00:12:41,700 --> 00:12:48,800
ungodly ways if we forget that God is in control.

159
00:12:48,800 --> 00:12:54,960
None of us can possibly know what the New Year holds, of course, but God is the author

160
00:12:54,960 --> 00:12:57,140
of our lives.

161
00:12:57,140 --> 00:13:03,020
We can trust him with the directions that we take.

162
00:13:03,020 --> 00:13:10,840
There are certain decisions, certain steps, certain directions that we can ourselves take,

163
00:13:10,840 --> 00:13:19,560
but let us remember that behind all of those is the sovereignty of God, he is in control.

164
00:13:19,560 --> 00:13:26,400
This last summer we were driving along a raging mountain stream in Colorado, and there were

165
00:13:26,400 --> 00:13:33,520
some very brave individuals who were coming down the stream in kayaks.

166
00:13:33,520 --> 00:13:38,400
I admired their bravery, but I admired their skill as well, because they were able to take

167
00:13:38,400 --> 00:13:45,480
the oar that they had and to maneuver that small craft.

168
00:13:45,480 --> 00:13:51,120
And yet one thing struck me, though they were able to avoid some of the rocks and some of

169
00:13:51,120 --> 00:13:56,400
the whirlpools, they nonetheless were carried along by the current of that stream at an

170
00:13:56,400 --> 00:13:59,080
amazing speed.

171
00:13:59,080 --> 00:14:05,560
It seems to me that there is an illustration there of how you and I can make some decisions

172
00:14:05,560 --> 00:14:06,640
in life.

173
00:14:06,640 --> 00:14:11,300
We can take some steps, but let us never forget that whatever we do, we are being carried

174
00:14:11,300 --> 00:14:16,720
along by the stream of God's sovereign purpose for us.

175
00:14:16,720 --> 00:14:22,800
There is an important lesson to apply if we want to live wisely in 1989.

176
00:14:22,800 --> 00:14:25,240
It is the sovereignty of God.

177
00:14:25,240 --> 00:14:31,560
We do not know what tomorrow holds, but as the songwriter says, we know who holds tomorrow.

178
00:14:31,560 --> 00:14:38,280
The New Year holds in store happenings that we cannot predict or anticipate, but we can

179
00:14:38,280 --> 00:14:41,680
trust God for all of them.

180
00:14:41,680 --> 00:14:47,560
So let us not look at the New Year in fear and with trepidation at what may happen, but

181
00:14:47,560 --> 00:14:51,720
let us look up to the Lord who is sovereign and trust Him.

182
00:14:51,720 --> 00:14:57,280
If we want to live wisely in 1989, we must recognize the sovereignty of God and rest

183
00:14:57,280 --> 00:15:05,480
by faith in that.

184
00:15:05,480 --> 00:15:09,860
Let Thy work appear to Thy servants and Thy majesty to their children.

185
00:15:09,860 --> 00:15:16,320
If we want to live wisely this year, then there is another truth that we must apply

186
00:15:16,320 --> 00:15:17,960
to our lives.

187
00:15:17,960 --> 00:15:23,080
We must be aware of God's kingdom work in the world.

188
00:15:23,080 --> 00:15:31,660
In praise, let Thy work appear, or let Thy work become apparent, is what he says.

189
00:15:31,660 --> 00:15:40,080
You and I need to see history with a sign over it that says, God at work.

190
00:15:40,080 --> 00:15:45,960
When we listen to the news or we read it in the newspaper, what we are doing really is

191
00:15:45,960 --> 00:15:51,940
making ourselves aware of what God is up to in the world.

192
00:15:51,940 --> 00:15:57,240
When we hear statements by political leaders or religious leaders, let us remember that

193
00:15:57,240 --> 00:16:01,560
in the background God is working.

194
00:16:01,560 --> 00:16:10,640
When we hear of positions that nations take or we hear of actions that nations might possibly

195
00:16:10,640 --> 00:16:17,760
take, let us remember that God is at work in history, particularly when we hear about

196
00:16:17,760 --> 00:16:21,040
developments in the Middle East.

197
00:16:21,040 --> 00:16:25,480
Let us remember that God's kingdom is being worked out.

198
00:16:25,480 --> 00:16:33,520
When we hear about economic trends, and most of those trends are not exactly encouraging,

199
00:16:33,520 --> 00:16:37,840
let us remember that God is at work at it all, bringing about in the end His purpose

200
00:16:37,840 --> 00:16:40,560
and His kingdom.

201
00:16:40,560 --> 00:16:46,440
I believe that this next year we need to receive news accounts with a heart that is sensitive,

202
00:16:46,440 --> 00:16:52,600
sensitive to know how they might impact God's kingdom work.

203
00:16:52,600 --> 00:16:58,320
I think an illustration of this was taught to me graphically three years ago when Mike

204
00:16:58,320 --> 00:17:02,080
Gessler and I had the privilege of representing you in Poland.

205
00:17:02,080 --> 00:17:06,800
For at that time we were all pretty excited about what was happening with Solidarity.

206
00:17:06,800 --> 00:17:12,040
You remember then Solidarity had some problems about that time.

207
00:17:12,040 --> 00:17:19,320
When we went over there we asked a pastor of an evangelical church about Solidarity,

208
00:17:19,320 --> 00:17:22,360
expecting that he would be quite supportive of this movement in that land.

209
00:17:22,360 --> 00:17:26,880
And do you know he was excited that Solidarity had been limited?

210
00:17:26,880 --> 00:17:30,800
You say, why was he excited about that?

211
00:17:30,800 --> 00:17:36,840
Because he knew that if Solidarity had more and more freedom, that the Polish people would

212
00:17:36,840 --> 00:17:42,560
have something on earth to look to rather than to God.

213
00:17:42,560 --> 00:17:49,060
They would place their hope in a political movement or a social movement rather than

214
00:17:49,060 --> 00:17:55,560
in the living God who is the final and real source of their spiritual needs.

215
00:17:55,560 --> 00:17:58,840
I thought to myself, now isn't that interesting?

216
00:17:58,840 --> 00:18:03,800
There I was sitting in the United States evaluating Solidarity from a purely human perspective,

217
00:18:03,800 --> 00:18:08,640
forgetting about how that might impact God's kingdom work in the world.

218
00:18:08,640 --> 00:18:14,920
If we want to live 1989 wisely, we must be aware of God's kingdom work in this world

219
00:18:14,920 --> 00:18:15,920
in which we live.

220
00:18:15,920 --> 00:18:22,320
How does Glosnost or Perestroika affect the church in Russia?

221
00:18:22,320 --> 00:18:25,600
Have you thought about that?

222
00:18:25,600 --> 00:18:29,980
How is it going to affect missions in that part of the world?

223
00:18:29,980 --> 00:18:36,100
If we want to live wisely this year, then let's be aware of what God is doing as He

224
00:18:36,100 --> 00:18:39,240
works out His sovereign purposes.

225
00:18:39,240 --> 00:18:43,800
And then a final lesson that I want to point out in verse 17.

226
00:18:43,800 --> 00:18:51,520
He says, let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us, and do confirm for us the work

227
00:18:51,520 --> 00:18:52,520
of our hands.

228
00:18:52,520 --> 00:18:54,720
Yes, confirm the work of our hands.

229
00:18:54,720 --> 00:18:57,680
Lesson number five to be applied is this.

230
00:18:57,680 --> 00:19:02,480
We must realize that success comes from God.

231
00:19:02,480 --> 00:19:08,640
It is His favor or His fullness of grace that brings us success.

232
00:19:08,640 --> 00:19:15,220
Whatever our dreams, whatever our plans, whatever our accomplishments may be, if anything succeeds,

233
00:19:15,220 --> 00:19:18,400
we need to learn to see God in it.

234
00:19:18,400 --> 00:19:23,760
That will keep us from becoming proud and independent of Him if we succeed.

235
00:19:23,760 --> 00:19:29,600
It will keep us from becoming destroyed and devastated if we don't succeed.

236
00:19:29,600 --> 00:19:32,360
Let's see God work in our lives.

237
00:19:32,360 --> 00:19:39,240
If He is not in our successes anyway, it's all in vain.

238
00:19:39,240 --> 00:19:46,840
By the way, we need to let God teach us what success really is from eternity's perspective,

239
00:19:46,840 --> 00:19:48,700
don't we?

240
00:19:48,700 --> 00:19:56,960
If you and I want to live 1989 wisely, then we must realize that true success, as God

241
00:19:56,960 --> 00:20:03,880
defines it, is a gift from Him, and we must learn to give thanks to Him and put Him first

242
00:20:03,880 --> 00:20:05,960
place in our lives.

243
00:20:05,960 --> 00:20:09,040
G. Campbell Morgan made an interesting statement.

244
00:20:09,040 --> 00:20:17,000
He said, satisfaction, gladness, success in work must all come from right relationship

245
00:20:17,000 --> 00:20:21,720
of man in his frailty to the eternal God.

246
00:20:21,720 --> 00:20:25,360
I want to ask you a question as you begin a new year.

247
00:20:25,360 --> 00:20:32,640
What is your relationship, frail person, to the eternal God?

248
00:20:32,640 --> 00:20:35,940
Is that relationship what it ought to be?

249
00:20:35,940 --> 00:20:38,400
Is it what you want it to be?

250
00:20:38,400 --> 00:20:44,360
Is it one of trusting obedience, one of faith?

251
00:20:44,360 --> 00:20:53,160
If this were to be your last year on the earth, if you heard a doctor give the prognosis that

252
00:20:53,160 --> 00:21:02,960
Mark's grandfather heard, how would you spend your last months, your last year in the world?

253
00:21:02,960 --> 00:21:04,360
What changes would you make?

254
00:21:04,360 --> 00:21:08,040
What steps, what actions would you take?

255
00:21:08,040 --> 00:21:11,360
You see, that's a fundamental question.

256
00:21:11,360 --> 00:21:17,920
If we want to live wisely in 1989, we ought to be living that way because 1989 may very

257
00:21:17,920 --> 00:21:24,080
well be the last year for some of us.

258
00:21:24,080 --> 00:21:33,080
As we look to the future and what it holds, we have great confidence in the God who is

259
00:21:33,080 --> 00:21:38,600
said to be our dwelling place.

260
00:21:38,600 --> 00:21:40,200
Is that your home?

261
00:21:40,200 --> 00:21:48,080
Is that where you find your security in Him?

262
00:21:48,080 --> 00:21:54,040
Daniel Webster Whittle was born in Massachusetts in 1840.

263
00:21:54,040 --> 00:22:03,720
In his mid-teens, he moved to Chicago and there became a cashier at the Wells Fargo

264
00:22:03,720 --> 00:22:05,840
Bank.

265
00:22:05,840 --> 00:22:10,880
When the Civil War broke out, he joined the Illinois infantry and fought, but was taken

266
00:22:10,880 --> 00:22:13,320
prisoner.

267
00:22:13,320 --> 00:22:17,440
During that time that he was a prisoner, he received a New Testament from his mother back

268
00:22:17,440 --> 00:22:20,360
in Massachusetts and began to read it.

269
00:22:20,360 --> 00:22:25,680
As a result of reading the New Testament, he became a fervent Christian.

270
00:22:25,680 --> 00:22:33,440
At the end of the war, he was promoted to the rank of Major and became known as Major

271
00:22:33,440 --> 00:22:35,020
Whittle.

272
00:22:35,020 --> 00:22:42,280
He returned to Chicago to become the treasurer of the Elgin Watch Corporation until the early

273
00:22:42,280 --> 00:22:44,240
1870s.

274
00:22:44,240 --> 00:22:47,960
During that time, he became a good friend of an evangelist in Chicago by the name of

275
00:22:47,960 --> 00:22:49,840
D.L. Moody.

276
00:22:49,840 --> 00:22:56,440
Moody encouraged his friend, Major Whittle, to become an evangelist, and he did.

277
00:22:56,440 --> 00:23:02,280
He preached across the United States and as well in Great Britain.

278
00:23:02,280 --> 00:23:08,000
In the Spanish-American War, he did a great work in the soldier camps of the American

279
00:23:08,000 --> 00:23:14,640
soldiers and died just after the turn of the century in 1901.

280
00:23:14,640 --> 00:23:18,680
Major D.W. Whittle wrote over 200 hymns.

281
00:23:18,680 --> 00:23:23,040
One of them is one we're going to close with now.

282
00:23:23,040 --> 00:23:24,200
It's number 288.

283
00:23:24,200 --> 00:23:29,880
It seems to me it's a great statement of confidence and faith for us as we begin a

284
00:23:29,880 --> 00:23:31,880
new year.

285
00:23:31,880 --> 00:23:37,800
I want you to especially notice the third verse that says, I know not what of good or

286
00:23:37,800 --> 00:23:46,360
ill may be reserved for me, of weary ways or golden days until his face I see, but I

287
00:23:46,360 --> 00:23:53,960
know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have

288
00:23:53,960 --> 00:23:56,760
committed to him against that day.

289
00:23:56,760 --> 00:24:02,480
You will recognize the chorus as 2 Timothy 1, 12 in the King James Version.

290
00:24:02,480 --> 00:24:31,600
Would you stand with me please as we sing together, number 288?