Day 2: It is Well with my Soul

A favorite hymn that has brought comfort to countless people through the years and continues to offer solace in times of grief and pain has a background that most don't know.  It is Well with My Soul has been rejuvenated and re-popularized with an added bridge, by Reuben Morgan and Ben Fielding, as It is Well, by Hillsong Live [Amazon Music Link Here].  Proceeds of the sale of the single went to the relief effort for the 2010-2011 flooding in Queensland, England.  The original hymn, written by Horatio Spafford and composed by Philip Bliss in 1876, has a rich background of tragedies in these men's lives.  Understanding what they went through and how they still said "It is Well with My Soul" can enrich our worship as we sing these words.  

Tragedy Number 1

Horatio Gates Spafford was a wealthy and prominent American lawyer and Presbyterian church elder living in Chicago with his wife Anna in the 1860s.  For a decade he invested in properties on the north side of the city.  Then in 1871, the infamous Great Chicago Fire decimated the city, destroying most of Spafford's investments.

Tragedy Number 2

Two years later, in 1873, Spafford's wife and four daughters were crossing the Atlantic Ocean on a ship named the Ville du Havre, on their way to vacation in England.  Horatio stayed behind with last minute business when another tragedy happened.  The ship was struck by an iron sailing vessel, killing 226 people--including all four of Spafford's daughters.  His wife Anna survived and when she reached England she sent him a now-famous telegram which read "Saved alone."

Tragedy Number 3

Philip Bliss, the composer of It is Well with My Soul, was in a train disaster in Ashtabula, Ohio in 1876.  Known as the Ashtabula Horror, reports of the accident say that the bridge gave way and the train cars plummeted into the icy river below.  Of the 160 passengers, only 59 survived, with the rest being consumed in fire, frozen in the river, or crushed in the collapse.  When the train fell, Bliss escaped through a window, but seeing that his wife and children did not get out, he returned through the window to save them later, as the train was a blaze.  He found them trapped and the train-car was so jammed up by this time, that he stayed with them and they died together.  No remains were ever recovered due to the inferno burning everything to ashes.

Tragedy Number 4

Anna Spafford eventually gave birth to a son, Horatio Goertner Spafford in 1877, but he died of scarlet fever at age three. 

After these Tragedies

Following these tragedies, a decade of financial losses, and a lack of support from their church, Horatio and Anna decided to take their two young daughters to Jerusalem, where they set up an American Colony named "The Overcomers." There they spent a few years doing philanthropic work among the Jewish, Christian, and Muslim communities before Horatio died of malaria in 1888.  He was buried in Jerusalem's Mount Zion Cemetery, but his wife and daughters continued their ministry over several decades.

Lyrics

The original hymn had only four verses. Later, Spafford's daughter, Bertha Spafford Vester (author of Our Jerusalem: An American Family in the Holy City 1881-1949) penned an additional verse and modified the song's last line.  The tune, composed by Philip Bliss, was named after the ship on which Spafford's first four daughters died, Ville du Havre.

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 (it is well),
with my soul (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 hath 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 His 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 pain shall be mine, for in death as in life
Thou wilt whisper Thy peace to 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)

Abundant Life Fellowship Cover

Hillsong Live Version

Original Hymn

Final Thoughts

For me, knowing the background of worship songs enriches my worship experience and helps me to really connect with the context of the words.  

Let me know what songs really move you in the comments below.  

Our lives are filled with tragedies.  My goal in this article has been to arm you with an understanding of the background and history surrounding this song so the Lord can bolster your spirit and lift you from the tragedies in your own life to say, "It is well with my soul..."

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Check out my analysis of these other hymns, if you're interested:

• How Great Thou Art
• Jesus Paid it All
• Sweet Hour of Prayer
• Amazing Grace
• Come Thou Fount