Then Sings My Soul: The Hymns of my Youth 2

The second in a series recalling the hymns of my youth, with or without fondness. This time thankfully with fondness. Give it a read and leave your own comments or reflections on this hymn below.

It Is Well With My Soul

When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

It is well, with my soul,
It is well, 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 has regarded my helpless estate,
And hath shed His own blood for my soul.

It is well, with my soul,
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, it is well, with 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!

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

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.

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

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!
Blessèd hope, blessèd rest of my soul!

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

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.

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

The words that fill my mind from this song are of course those of the chorus… I remember the congregation singing it with harmonies, the women echoing the men… “It is well [It is well], with my soul [with my soul]” and so forth. This kind of call-and-response between the men and women gives it a kind of tone of agreement, of rest in the testimony of the other that it is indeed well with the other’s soul. I didn’t know it as a child, but in a way, this ties into the story of the hymn’s origin. Remembering it from my younger days, the first verse is a highlight too, of course… “Whatever my lot Thou has taught me to say, It is well, it is well with my soul.” There’s a peace and an assurance that this hymn somehow imparts… and this even before hearing the story of its composition:

“It Is Well with My Soul” is a very influential hymn penned by hymnist Horatio Spafford and composed by Philip Bliss. This hymn was writ­ten af­ter two ma­jor trau­mas in Spaf­ford’s life. The first was the death of his only son, shortly followed by the great Chi­ca­go Fire of Oc­to­ber 1871, which ru­ined him fi­nan­cial­ly (he had been a weal­thy bus­i­ness­man). In 1873, while cross­ing the At­lan­tic, all four of Spaf­ford’s daugh­ters died in a col­li­sion with an­o­ther ship. Spaf­ford’s wife Anna sur­vived and sent him the now fa­mous tel­e­gram, “Saved alone.” Sev­er­al weeks lat­er, as Spaf­ford’s own ship passed near the spot where his daugh­ters died, he was inspired to write these words.

The hymn is one I recall fondly from my youth, but now as an adult, as a father with daughters of my own, hearing the story — pretty much blows me away. “Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight.”