Sermons in Song - It Is Well With My Soul

Intro:

Good evening.

Tonight we’re going to look at another song in our song book, one that to me has perhaps the most interesting back story — as far as the author is concerned — of any song in our book.

This is a pretty famous story, so you very well may have heard it before, but just in case you haven’t, I’ll tell it now.

In the late 1800s there lived a lawyer by the name of H. G. Spafford.

H.G. Spafford had a series of unfortunate events take place in his life in which it could truly be said “when it rains, it pours.”

We all have moments like that in our lives.

Well, in the spring of 1871, Spafford tied up a lot of his money in real estate investments north of Chicago.

Then the Great Chicago Fire hit in October of the same year, reducing the city to ashes, and he lost allmost all of his investment!

Even worse, Spafford lost all four of his daughters in a steamship accident just two years after the fire.

Spafford, his wife Anna, and his four daughters were scheduled to vacation in England that year, but Spafford had to remain behind for work.

So he sent Anna and the daughters ahead on the steam ship Ville du Havre.

Unfortunately, another ship collided with the steam ship they were on, killing 226 people, including all four of their daughters: Annie (12), Maggie (7), Bessie (4), and Tanetta (1 1/2).

His wife Anna survived the sinking, and when she arrived in England, she sent Spafford a telegram saying simply: “Saved alone.”

Soon after, Horatio Gates Spafford traveled to meet his grieving wife, and as he came upon the site of the shipwreck where his 4 daughters died, he wrote the words to the well-known hymn: “It Is Well With My Soul.”

That is the song that we want to look at this evening, number 345 in our song books.

These wouldn’t be the only tragedies that Spafford would face in his life.

He and Anna would have three more children — a son Horatio Goertner, and two more daughters, Bertha and Grace.

Their son died from scarlett fever at the young age of only four.

After this, they packed everything up and moved to Jerusalem to do religious work there, where Horatio died from Malaria at the age of 59.

The Song:

Verse 1:

“When peace like a river attendeth my way”

— Perhaps this is a reference to Isa. 66:12 - “For thus says the Lord: “Behold, I will extend peace to her like a river, And the glory of the Gentiles like a flowing stream. Then you shall feed; On her sides shall you be carried, And be dandled on her knees.” (speaking of comfort for the city of Jerusalem in that passage).

Of course, I think of another song about this — the children’s song - “I’ve got peace like a river, I’ve got peace like a river, I’ve got peace like a river in my soul.”

“When sorrows like sea billows roll” — What do you know about sea billows? (waves of the sea)

They just keep rolling, and rolling, and rolling, right?

And I think of another song — “When upon life’s billows you are tempest tossed, when you are discouraged thinking all is lost, count your many blessings, angels will attend, help and comfort give you to your journey’s end!”

So sorrows do roll like sea billows over us sometimes! And sometimes they just keep coming and coming! “When it rains, it pours!”

“Whatever my lot” — my fortune, my outcome in life …

“Thou hast taught me to say, ‘It is well, it is well with my soul!” (Christians can say that! Those who are not Christians cannot!)

Verse 2:

“Tho Satan should buffet, tho trials should come” — Satan is that adversary, that roaring lion that walks about seeking whom he may devour!

And trials are promised to come our way!

But remember Rom. 5:3-5 - “And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope. Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.”

And James 1:2-3 “My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience.”

“Lest this blessed assurance control” — I’m reminded of a similar song to “It is Well” — “Blessed Assurance” by Fanny Crosby.

Christians need to be reminded of the ASSURANCE we have as long as we remain faithfully in Christ!

(And we will talk about that some more as we wrap up our thoughts tonight in just a little bit).

And what is our blessed assurance? “That Christ hath regarded my helpless estate, and hath shed His own blood for my soul!”

Acts 20:28 - Elders are told “Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood.”

Jesus BOUGHT US with His blood!

Verse 3:

Why did Jesus have to purchase us back? Because of our sins!

“My sin — O 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!”

If you can’t shout that line in praiseworthy song as a Christian then something’s wrong because that’s the message of the Gospel in short right there!

Verse 4:

Now verse 4 in our book is different than the original verse 4.

That’s because there’s another verse that Spafford originally wrote, but then there’s another verse he wrote later on as well, and that verse became verse 5 of the song (but verse 4 in our book).

But here is the original verse 5 that is not included in our song book:

“For me, be it Christ, be it Christ hence to live” — Php. 1:21 — “For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”

“If Jordan above me shall roll” — Again, waters rolling over the hymnist — (But this time, the Jordan River often symbolizes what in our songs? Death)

“No pain shall be mine, for in death as in life, Thou wilt whisper Thy peace to my soul!”

This reminds me somewhat of Psalm 23 - “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness For His name’s sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; My cup runs over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me All the days of my life; And I will dwell in the house of the Lord Forever.”

(I’m actually told there is another forgotten verse of this song - So that would make it verse 5, and then our verse 4 is really verse 6).

So here’s the actual ...

Verse 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!”

1 Cor. 15:52 - “In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed!”

Verse 6:

(Or verse 4 in our songbook).

This verse is similar to the one we just looked at.

“And Lord, haste the day when the faith shall be sight” - “We walk by faith, not by sight” - (2 Cor. 5:7).

“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!”

1 Thes. 4:16-18 - “For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words.”

Chorus:

“It is well … with my soul; it is well, it is well with my soul!”

Now that we’ve looked at the song, let’s finish up with some …

Scripture:

And as we look at these, let’s ask ourselves: Is it truly WELL with our souls?

Because we can walk out of this building tonight KNOWING that all is well in our souls, OR we can leave here in DESPAIR and in FEAR — The choice is ours!

We have everything we need to know in order to have assurance tonight of salvation!

Assurance — the fact that it can be well with our souls tonight (in spite of bad things that happen in life) - is such an important Biblical concept!

And one of my favorite verses on this subject is Heb. 12:1-2 - “Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses (what cloud of witnesses — the one in Hebrews ch. 11!), let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

But don’t stop there — Read also Heb. 12:3 - “For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your (what?) … in your SOULS!”

Again, is it well with your soul tonight?!

A couple more verses on assurance and then the lesson will be yours:

1 John 5:12-13 - “He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may KNOW that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God.”

Isaiah 12:2 - “Behold, God is my salvation, I will trust and not be afraid; ‘For Yah(weh), the Lord, is my strength and song; He also has become my salvation.’ ””

John 5:24 - ““Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life.”

Matt. 24:11-13 - “Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. But he who endures to the end shall be saved.”

Once saved always saved isn’t taught in any of these verses, by the way!

But ASSURANCE is! Assurance for the FAITHFUL Child of God!

So that we all may sing, “It is well with my soul!”