It Is Well With My Soul
Lyrics by Horatio G. Spafford, 1828-1888
Music by Philip P. Bliss, 1838-1876
“He will redeem my soul in peace from the battle which is against me...” (Ps.55:18a)
Horatio Spafford was a successful lawyer living in the city of Chicago. He was a family man, a devout Christian, and a diligent student of the Scriptures. The Lord had blessed him and his wife Anna with a son and four daughters. He was also close friends with D. L. Moody and Ira Sankey, two well-known Christians who were used to lead his children to Christ.
Prior to the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, the Spaffords suffered the tragic loss of their son and went into deep mourning. Shortly thereafter, Horatio had found himself in financial ruin, having invested heavily in downtown Chicago real estate that was destroyed by the fire. In response to this, Horatio and his family turned their focus to ministering to their community and assisting those who were homeless and in desperate need, in spite of the extent and severity of their own recent losses.
Sensing his family’s need for a break, he decided on a trip to England where his family could vacation and he could help his friends, Moody and Sankey, who were there holding evangelical meetings and leading many to Christ. Held back due to zoning issues with what remained of his real estate holdings, Horatio sent his wife and four daughters ahead of him on the ship SS Ville de Havre. He had promised to follow behind them a few weeks later where they would be reunited again in England.
As the SS Ville de Havre sailed across the Atlantic Ocean, it collided with an English iron sailing vessel. On November 22, 1873, the ship sank within 12 minutes and 226 people drowned. Horatio’s wife Anna was rescued from a piece of floating debris but his four daughters did not survive. Anna, after arriving in Wales 10 days later, sent a telegraph with the statement, “Saved alone … what shall I do.”
After hearing the dreadful news, Horatio boarded the next ship out of New York to join his bereaved wife in England. During the voyage, the captain of the ship had called him to the bridge and pointed out the place where his family’s ship had sunk. He returned to his cabin shortly thereafter and wrote this hymn.
Stanza 1:
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.”
Reflective thoughts: What conflict of soul must accompany a man who gazes upon the vastness and strength of the ocean, knowing that it had consumed the lives of his dearly beloved children; to realize that the sorrows that he, and surely his wife, shall know, will billow continuously like the sea in this life? The original manuscript says “Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to know.” What the hymn writer knew is that in the deepest times of despair, there is a hope! What he knew is that the results of a fallen world would surely result in deep sorrow and tragedy. What he knew is that while suffering and death would remain for a while, it would someday come to an end. He trusted in the Lord, knowing that Satan could only move as far as God permitted him to move. He knew that when the Lord Jesus Christ had risen from the dead, victory over death and sin had been achieved and Satan had received the crushing blow. He knew that Jesus Christ is gloriously supreme! And he knew that his salvation was secure in the eternal One who reigns over all things!
Question: Is there any doubt in your heart regarding God’s absolute and total authority over everything? That God governs everything in the universe from the movement of a grain of sand to the largest storm? Remind yourself that there is no person or being that can thwart the sovereign rule of God (Prov.16:33, 21:1; Lam.3:37; Amos 3:6; Is.46:9-10; Matt.8:27, 10:29; Mark 1:27). And not only is God gloriously supreme, but God is just, holy, and infallibly good even when He wills that tragic things come to pass (Gen.50:20; Ps.25:8; Is.6:3; Rom.8:28; 1 John 1:5).
Stanza 2:
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.
Reflective thoughts: On the night before His crucifixion, the Lord Jesus Christ revealed to His disciples that they would all fall away when He, the Shepherd, would be struck down (Mark 14:27). The Lord addressed Peter specifically, but was referring to all the apostles when He said that Satan had “...demanded permission to sift you like wheat” (Luke 22:31). Christ was explaining that Satan demanded to place trials and temptations before Peter, as he did with Job, to see if, in the testing, any faith (wheat) would remain, or if only a false profession (chaff, as in the case of Judas) would be found. Christ prayed for them, that their faith would not fail, and that “...when once you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.” God clearly had a purpose behind the temptations that Peter would face that night, and assured him that the trial or temptation would not be such that his faith would utterly fail. When he had passed through the trial, he was to take his experience and strengthen and encourage the brethren. Our trials are designed for the same purpose. We are to learn from those circumstances and go and strengthen our brothers and sisters.
It is of utmost importance to note how Jesus responds in this situation. Even in the midst of the deepest anguish Jesus would experience during His earthly ministry as He considered the suffering and shame He would soon endure on the cross, He remained perfectly attentive to the needs of the apostles. He knew their fate and interceded with the Father on their behalf. Just as with the apostles, Jesus stands ready today to save and to intercede for those who call upon Him in times of trouble. “...He is able also to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them” (Heb.7:25).
Stanza 3:
My sin – O, 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!
Reflective thoughts: Jesus made the most glorious exultation on the cross before breathing His last breath. “It is finished!” (John 19:30). The work of man’s redemption and salvation was complete. God’s requirement for justice was satisfied. A fatal blow was delivered to the power of Satan. The fountain of grace was opened and shall never cease to flow. A foundation of peace has been laid that shall never fail. All of these things were done, not in part, but in their entirety! Our sin has been nailed to the cross—every sin (past, present, future) and I bear it no more, praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!
Stanza 4:
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.
Reflective thoughts: The Christian life is a life of faith. It is not only belief in the things that are not seen, it is an assurance of the things not seen. This assurance is not without basis. Not only have we experienced His grace in preparation of the blessedness that awaits us, but God has given us the graces and comforts of His Spirit as a pledge (2 Cor.5:5) of everlasting grace and comfort. It is not, however, a relief from present pains and difficulties that causes the believer to long for the return of Christ. It is a longing for the final and eternal union with Jesus Himself!
In the meantime, we are being prepared for this heavenly place, being molded and shaped into His image. And one day the battle will be over and our transformation shall be complete, for “…when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is” (1 John 3:2). And all of God’s people said, “Amen.”
