It Is Well With My Soul

in

By H. E. Singley, organist

Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith,

we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us.

(Romans 5:1, NLT)

Once you were far away from God, but now you have been brought near to him

 through the blood of Christ. For Christ himself has brought peace to us.

(Ephesians 2:13b, 14a, NLT)

 

The backstory is well-known by many Christian worshipers. Horatio Spafford was a nineteenth-century Presbyterian layman and Chicago attorney who lost much of his material wealth in the great Chicago fire of 1871. Two years later, his wife, Anna, and their four daughters were headed to Europe for a family vacation and were among 313 passengers and crew on a transatlantic voyage aboard the S.S. Ville du Havre. (The ship’s name is the title Philip P. Bliss gave to the music he composed for these words.) On November 22, 1873, the Ville du Havre collided with another vessel on the high seas, splitting in half. All four daughters were numbered with the 226 women, men and children who perished in the quickly sinking ship. After finally arriving in Great Britain, Mrs. Spafford was able to send a telegram to her husband back in Chicago with the terse phrase, “Saved alone.” As he was en route to rendezvous with his wife, Horatio Spafford wrote this hymn, it is said, near where his daughters lost their lives.

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."

Refrain:
It is well with my soul,
It is well, it is well with my soul.

Though Satan should buffet, tho' 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—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! (Refrain)

And, Lord, haste the day when the 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)

 

Spafford’s poetry speaks of the tranquility of a river, then juxtaposes the turmoil of a sea, thereby suggesting that bewildering uncertainty is endemic to human reality—our “lot.” Stanza two begins with a similarly daunting disclosure—certain contention with Satan, inevitable adversity. (Spafford had first-hand experience!) Halfway through that same stanza, he does an about-face toward the ultimate resolution of our desperate condition, the shedding of Christ’s blood to account for the totality of our unmitigated destitution. Stanza three further elaborates on Christ’s substitutionary death and its all-encompassing extirpation of the foundational and otherwise unsolvable human defect—our sin—ending with a fervent paean of praise!

 

Stanza four takes us to the apostle Paul’s words in I Thessalonians 4 via II Corinthians 5:

 

For we live by faith, not by sight.

(II Corinthians 5:7, NIV)

 

For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout,

with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God.

First, the believers who have died will rise from their graves.

 Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth

will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.

Then we will be with the Lord forever. So encourage each other with these words.

(I Thessalonians 4:16-18, NLT)

 

Then, the poetry comes full circle: “It is well, it is well with my soul.” In the midst of the vicissitudes of life, praise the Lord—yes, praise the Lord—it IS well!

 

And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding,

will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

(Philippians 4:7, ESV)

IDEAS FOR LISTENING

  • Listen for the melody of the hymn-tune throughout.

  • The music reflects three of the four stanzas, with a brief introduction derived from the refrain.

  • The middle stanza portrays the “about-face” mentioned above in connection with stanza three of the poem by means of the shift from the minor mode and an overall ponderous sense to a major key and lighter texture.

  • The final stanza of music attempts to reinforce the hope and anticipation which the words convincingly affirm.

  • The refrain is heard in its entirety only after the final stanza, ending tranquilly, with quiet confidence.

  • Sing the hymn–words AND music, all four stanzas–even if you’re by yourself!