Each year, at the end of the summer, we have an evening concert at our church featuring the combined adult, student, and children’s choirs. Like a good many churches today, our worship style is best described as blended. But this past Sunday night, we focused primarily on the great hymns of the Christian faith.
Among the hymn selections featured was my own personal favorite, It Is Well With My Soul, written by a man named Horatio Spafford back in 1873. The words, so beautifully crafted, have been a blessing to millions of people worldwide...
IT IS WELL
When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.
It is well (it is well),
with my soul (with my soul),
It is well, it is well, with my soul.
Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,
Let this blest assurance control,
That Christ hath regarded my helpless estate,
And hath shed His own blood for my soul.
It is well (it is well),
with my soul (with my soul),
It is well, it is well, with my soul.
My sin, oh the bliss of this glorious thought!
My sin, not in part but the whole,
Is nailed to His cross, and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!
It is well (it is well),
with my soul (with my soul),
It is well, it is well, with my soul.
For me, be it Christ, be it Christ hence to live:
If Jordan above me shall roll,
No pang shall be mine, for in death as in life
Thou wilt whisper Thy peace to my soul.
It is well (it is well),
with my soul (with my soul),
It is well, it is well, with my soul.
And Lord haste the day, when my faith shall be sight,
The clouds be rolled back as a scroll;
The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend,
Even so, it is well with my soul.
It is well (it is well),
with my soul (with my soul),
It is well, it is well, with my soul.
Author Connie Ruth Christiansen, writing on the web site, http://www.sharefaith.com/, recounts the story of how this magnificent hymn of the faith came to be written.
Horatio Spafford (1828-1888) was a wealthy Chicago lawyer with a thriving legal practice, a beautiful home, a wife, four daughters and a son. He was also a devout Christian and faithful student of the Scriptures. His circle of friends included Dwight L. Moody, Ira Sankey and various other well-known Christians of the day.
At the very height of his financial and professional success, Horatio and his wife Anna suffered the tragic loss of their young son. Shortly thereafter on October 8, 1871, the Great Chicago Fire destroyed almost every real estate investment that Spafford had.
In 1873, Spafford scheduled a boat trip to Europe in order to give his wife and daughters a much needed vacation and time to recover from the tragedy. He also went to join Moody and Sankey on an evangelistic campaign in England. Spafford sent his wife and daughters ahead of him while he remained in Chicago to take care of some unexpected last minute business.
Several days later he received notice that his family's ship had encountered a collision. All four of his daughters drowned; only his wife had survived.
With a heavy heart, Spafford boarded a boat that would take him to his grieving Anna in England. It was on this trip that he penned those now famous words, “When sorrow like sea billows roll; it is well, it is well, with my soul”.
Philip Bliss (1838-1876), composer of many songs including Hold the Fort, Let the Lower Lights be Burning, and Jesus Loves Even Me, was so impressed with Spafford's life and the words of his hymn that he composed a beautiful piece of music to accompany the lyrics. The song was published by Bliss and Sankey, in 1876.
For more than a century, the tragic story of one man has given hope to countless thousands who have lifted their voices to sing, “It Is Well With My Soul”.*
Thus, as much as anyone ever has, Horatio Spafford seems to have understood the significance of the Apostle Pauls’ immortal words to the Christians at Philippi (Philippians 4:6-7, KJV):
Be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
For this reason, not only Horatio Spafford, but anyone can say, “Even so, it is well with my soul!”
*SOURCE: http://www.sharefaith.com/guide/Christian-Music/hy
mns-the-songs-and-the-stories/it-is-well-with-my-soul-the-song-a
nd-the-story.html.
NOTE: A scan of the original manuscript of the hymn, written in Spafford’s own handwriting, can be found online at: http://kosinskistudio.com/spafford_hymn/html/manuscript.html.
Among the hymn selections featured was my own personal favorite, It Is Well With My Soul, written by a man named Horatio Spafford back in 1873. The words, so beautifully crafted, have been a blessing to millions of people worldwide...
IT IS WELL
When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.
It is well (it is well),
with my soul (with my soul),
It is well, it is well, with my soul.
Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,
Let this blest assurance control,
That Christ hath regarded my helpless estate,
And hath shed His own blood for my soul.
It is well (it is well),
with my soul (with my soul),
It is well, it is well, with my soul.
My sin, oh the bliss of this glorious thought!
My sin, not in part but the whole,
Is nailed to His cross, and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!
It is well (it is well),
with my soul (with my soul),
It is well, it is well, with my soul.
For me, be it Christ, be it Christ hence to live:
If Jordan above me shall roll,
No pang shall be mine, for in death as in life
Thou wilt whisper Thy peace to my soul.
It is well (it is well),
with my soul (with my soul),
It is well, it is well, with my soul.
And Lord haste the day, when my faith shall be sight,
The clouds be rolled back as a scroll;
The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend,
Even so, it is well with my soul.
It is well (it is well),
with my soul (with my soul),
It is well, it is well, with my soul.
Author Connie Ruth Christiansen, writing on the web site, http://www.sharefaith.com/, recounts the story of how this magnificent hymn of the faith came to be written.
Horatio Spafford (1828-1888) was a wealthy Chicago lawyer with a thriving legal practice, a beautiful home, a wife, four daughters and a son. He was also a devout Christian and faithful student of the Scriptures. His circle of friends included Dwight L. Moody, Ira Sankey and various other well-known Christians of the day.
At the very height of his financial and professional success, Horatio and his wife Anna suffered the tragic loss of their young son. Shortly thereafter on October 8, 1871, the Great Chicago Fire destroyed almost every real estate investment that Spafford had.
In 1873, Spafford scheduled a boat trip to Europe in order to give his wife and daughters a much needed vacation and time to recover from the tragedy. He also went to join Moody and Sankey on an evangelistic campaign in England. Spafford sent his wife and daughters ahead of him while he remained in Chicago to take care of some unexpected last minute business.
Several days later he received notice that his family's ship had encountered a collision. All four of his daughters drowned; only his wife had survived.
With a heavy heart, Spafford boarded a boat that would take him to his grieving Anna in England. It was on this trip that he penned those now famous words, “When sorrow like sea billows roll; it is well, it is well, with my soul”.
Philip Bliss (1838-1876), composer of many songs including Hold the Fort, Let the Lower Lights be Burning, and Jesus Loves Even Me, was so impressed with Spafford's life and the words of his hymn that he composed a beautiful piece of music to accompany the lyrics. The song was published by Bliss and Sankey, in 1876.
For more than a century, the tragic story of one man has given hope to countless thousands who have lifted their voices to sing, “It Is Well With My Soul”.*
Thus, as much as anyone ever has, Horatio Spafford seems to have understood the significance of the Apostle Pauls’ immortal words to the Christians at Philippi (Philippians 4:6-7, KJV):
Be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
For this reason, not only Horatio Spafford, but anyone can say, “Even so, it is well with my soul!”
*SOURCE: http://www.sharefaith.com/guide/Christian-Music/hy
mns-the-songs-and-the-stories/it-is-well-with-my-soul-the-song-a
nd-the-story.html.
NOTE: A scan of the original manuscript of the hymn, written in Spafford’s own handwriting, can be found online at: http://kosinskistudio.com/spafford_hymn/html/manuscript.html.