It is well with my soul

“And when you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions, having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us and which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.” Colossians 2:13-14

When we think of Easter hymns, we think of ones whose whole subject is about the cross and resurrection: “Low in the grave he lay,” “Christ the Lord is Risen Today,” “Old Rugged Cross,” and such. These are great hymns for Resurrection Sunday. But many hymns, even Christmas hymns, have the resurrection in them, probably because without the resurrection we have no faith. “One Day” is a great example of such a hymn, it takes you through our Lord’s whole life, even ending with the second coming. Well, this month, because we will celebrate Christ’s resurrection, we thought we would look at such a hymn and the story behind it. In the second verse it refers to Christ shedding his own blood for my soul, and in its third verse it speaks to the affect of the cross, reflecting Colossians 2:13-14 quoted above. First, here are the lyrics to this great hymn of redemption:

When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

Refrain

It is well, with my soul,
It is well, 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 has regarded my helpless estate,
And hath shed His own blood for my soul. Refrain

My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!
My sin, not in part but the whole,
Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul! Refrain

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. Refrain

But, Lord, ‘tis for Thee, for Thy coming we wait,
The sky, not the grave, is our goal;
Oh trump of the angel! Oh voice of the Lord!
Blessèd hope, blessèd rest of my soul! Refrain

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. Refrain

Besides the beautiful words to this hymn, we can be even more amazed and blessed when we know of the story behind the lyrics. This poem was written my Horation Spafford, 1828-1888. He was a successful lawyer in Chicago who was also a friend of D.L. Moody, the man who began Moody Bible Institute. He apparently had invested in a lot of real estate in Chicago and lost it all due to the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. For two years after the fire he used his other resources to help the homeless people, even though he lost his son about the same time.

In 1873 he and his family, wife and four daughters, were to travel to Europe and join Moody on one of his crusades. He was delayed and could not travel with his family; they sailed ahead and he was to catch up with them later. The ship that his family was sailing on, the Ville de Havre, was sunk just off the coast of Newfoundland, when it collided with an English sailing ship. It sunk in a matter of 12 minutes. All four of his daughters were lost to the sea, and only his wife Anna was saved, being one of 47 survivors out of hundreds of passengers. The survivors were picked up and taken to Cardiff, Wales from where she sent a cable to her husband saying “Saved alone.”

It is said that when Horatio Spafford crossed the Atlantic he wrote these words “When sorrows like sea billows roll - whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say, It is well, it is well with my soul.” The next two verses give the reason why it could possibly be well with his soul.

Eight years after this tragedy, with his wife and their two new young daughters they immigrated to the Holy Land, settled in Jerusalem and established the American Colony to care for the sick and destitute.

The truth of the death and resurrection of our Lord is a very practical aid to dealing with life’s trials. It is not merely theoretical, and its truths can help us to say “It is well with my soul.”