When peace like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to know
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 has 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!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.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.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,
A song in the night, oh my soul!Lyrics by Horatio Spafford, Music by Phillip Bliss (taken from Wikipedia)
The lyrics to this song written by Horatio Spafford give me comfort every time I hear them or read them. They are timeless and remind me that I am never alone.
Spafford penned these words after suffering many losses in his life. His 2 year old son died, he experienced financial ruin after the The Great Chicago Fire of 1871 and subsequent downturn of the economy and the final blow which prompted him to write these words was the death of all 4 of his daughters when they were on a ship crossing the Atlantic that sank due to a collision with another vessel.
These words make me wonder if he was trying to convince himself that truly all was well with his soul or if it was a fact. I think he embraced these words and lived them and I take comfort in that. Just hearing them sung or recited gives my heart comfort.
Some days we need comfort, don’t we? We need to know that it can indeed be well with our soul. Today and every day I cling to that fact and am thankful.
