Sunday, September 30, 2012

It is well with my soul

This hymn, sung at church today, has a poignant story about why and when it was written. Horace G.
Spafford had lost his four-year-old son and his property had been destroyed in the Chicago fire, leaving him poor financially.  He sent his wife and four daughters on a ship to Europe, planning to follow when some business was completed.  The ship was in a collision and his four daughters drowned, his wife surviving. He left for Europe and when his ship reached the spot where his daughters drowned, he wrote this  poem, which was set to music by Phillip Bliss.
     
               IT IS WELL WITH MY SOUL
  1. 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.
    • Refrain:
      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 hath shed His own blood for my soul.
  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!
  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. 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.

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