Audrey Assad sings this wonderful hymn quite beautifully. I hope you enjoyed listening to it as I did. The hymn’s title can be used interchangeably between “When Peace, like a River” and “It is Well with My Soul.” In Assad’s version, she left out the fourth stanza, so I included it below with the first three.
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.’”
Refrain:
“It is well with my soul, it is well, it is well with my soul.”
Stanza 2:
“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.”
(Refrain)
Stanza 3:
“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)
Stanza 4:
“O Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight, The clouds be rolled back as a scroll, The trumpet shall sound and the Lord shall descend; Even so, it is well with my soul.”
(Refrain)
This beautiful, and seemingly timeless hymn, was written by Horatio G. Spafford. When I wanted to write the review about this hymn, I did not yet know the harrowing story behind his writing of it. After learning about the heartrending backdrop for this hymn, it changed the way I hear it and actually made it a much more powerful Gospel message. I hope it does the same for you.
Spafford was born in 1828 in Troy, New York. He moved to Chicago where he met and married his wife, Anna Larsen, in 1861. They had four daughters: Annie, Maggie, Bessie, and Tanetta. Spafford was a lawyer and senior partner at a large law firm. He also invested most of his wealth in real estate just north of Chicago in the spring of 1871.
Shortly after purchasing his real estate properties, from October 8-10, 1871, the Great Chicago Fire occurred. This massive and terrible fire killed around 300 people, consumed about 3.3 square miles of the city, and destroyed around 17,000 structures. It left more than 100,000 people in Chicago homeless. For Spafford, he lost nearly all of his real estate investment.
Now, read the second and third stanzas to this hymn again: “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. 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!”
You see, despite losing nearly all of his fortune, Spafford’s soul was still at rest, because he knew that Jesus Christ had shed His blood on the cross to forgive him of all his sins. Spafford knew that life is not about money and building fortunes. He knew that this life is about worshiping our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ in all that we go through, think, say, and do. He knew that we cannot take our fortunes with us when we die, so he rejoiced that Christ spared his life, despite losing everything.
However, this is not the heartrending part of the story behind this beautiful hymn.
In 1873, two years after the Great Chicago Fire, the Spafford family planned a trip to England where their friend, D. L. Moody – the preacher and evangelist – would be preaching. Business demands kept Spafford from leaving with his wife and four daughters, but he planned to sail to England a few days later.
In November 1873, Anna Spafford and their four daughters boarded the steamship named “Ville du Havre” and started sailing to England. On November 22, 1873, their ship was struck by another ship and quickly sunk. The collision killed 226 people, including all four of Spafford’s daughters. His wife was the only person of his family to survive.
Shortly afterwards, Spafford received a telegram from his wife stating that she was saved, but alone. He quickly traveled to reunite with his grieving wife. And as his ship sailed past the area that his daughters had died, the inspiration for writing this hymn came to him.
Now, read the first stanza again: “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.’”
You see, Spafford – in Job’s fashion – was losing everything around him. Yet, amidst his sorrows, trials, tribulations, and temptations to blame God and cast God out of his life, Spafford instead praised the Lord. He praised the Lord because He had provided Stafford with His peace that surpasses all our understanding.
And that brings us to the fourth stanza: “O Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight, The clouds be rolled back as a scroll, The trumpet shall sound and the Lord shall descend; Even so, it is well with my soul.”
Spafford believed in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of all of our sins. This is where the peace from the Lord was stemming from. Spafford believed that in our Baptism, we die to ourselves, just as Christ died on the cross. And he believed that in Christ’s resurrection, He assured our resurrections on the Last Day.
Thanks be to God for sending His Holy Spirit to Spafford that day as he penned this beautiful hymn, despite his sorrows. This hymn has brought, and will bring, great comfort to many Christians who hear it. It has brought great comfort to me and I would like this hymn sung at my funeral one day. God be praised!
Soli Deo Gloria!
Philip Frank
Please “like” and “share” this post. If you haven’t already, you should “like” and “follow” our church’s Facebook page at: facebook.com/redeemeralpinetx for more. You can also subscribe to my devotion blog at: redeemeralpinetx.com/devotions. You can also search for past devotions on that blog page.
Commenti