“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.” Horatio G. Spafford

The story behind Horatio Spafford’s hymn, “It is Well with My Soul,” written in 1873, began in tragedy.   Shortly after the death of their son, the Spafford family decided to go on a vacation in Europe.

Tending to some last minute business, Horatio Spafford had sent his wife and four daughters ahead of him.    Tragedy struck on their way, when the ship they were sailing was hit by another, quickly sinking. The Spafford’s four daughters, Annie 12, Maggie 7, Bessie 5, and Tanetta 2, were lost to the sea. Only his wife Anna survived.

Heartbroken, Spafford soon followed on another ship, asking the captain to show him where the accident had occurred. It must have been a holy moment for him, a sacred space, hallowed by the prayers and tears of God’s people.

For after viewing the site where his children died, Spafford returned to his cabin and wrote this hymn. In it he expresses the calming assurance of God’s grace, even in  the midst of his loss and  pain. The first line of his hymn refers to the trauma, and gift of God’s peace, “When Peace like a river, attendeth with my way, when sorrows like sea billows roll.”

One can only ponder his thoughts as he started on his voyage. How many blaming days had he walked through, in his distress and grief? What burdens of guilt did he carry, and agonizing questions wrestled with on sleepless nights, asking all of the “What ifs?”  So many times wishing he had done things differently. “Why that ship? Why the urgency for his family to be on their way before he left? How had he let this happen to his children?”

Guilt comes to us in many forms.  There is the guilt of knowing what we were actively doing was wrong, but we went ahead anyway.   Then there is the guilt, when our  unwitting actions, do harm to the people we love.    This is no garden variety of guilt. No, this is the guilt of not being with your family, when they most need you. Of  assuming what you  had to do, was more important than helping your spouse  with your young children. This is the soul wrenching,  all consuming guilt, that sends us to our knees.

Whatever Spafford’s state of mind at the start of the voyage,   in seeing the place where his children died,  he returned to his cabin  putting  into words what his heart was saying.    “My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought! My sin, not in part but in whole, is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more, praise the Lord, praise the Lord oh my soul.”

Later in the voyage, he penned a letter saying, “On Thursday last we passed over the spot where (the ship) went down in mid-ocean, the water three miles deep. But I do not think of our dear ones there. They are safe, folded, the dear lambs, and there, before very long, shall we be too.”

Crossing the sea, Spafford found comfort and consolation.    In his grief stricken heart, he  received the assuring grace he most needed, that it was well with his soul and souls of his beloved children.

The words of the hymn, “It is Well With My Soul,” were set to music by the Spafford’s friend,  Philip Bliss, who called the melody, Ville du Havre.  Which is the name of the ship the Spafford daughters were sailing, when they died, immortalizing in music, both the event and their precious lives.

“Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” Hebrews 4:16

It is Well With My Soul

Text of Horatio Spafford’s hymn, including verses four and five, he added later.

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 (may be sung after final stanza only):
It is well with my soul;
it is well, it is well with my soul.

2) Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,
let this blest assurance control:
that Christ has regarded my helpless estate,
and has shed his own blood for my soul. Refrain

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

4) 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.

5) 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!
Blessed hope, blessed rest of my soul.

6) O 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