Hymn History

“It is well with my Soul”

Philippians 4:6–7“Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”

There is a peace that God gives His children that cannot be explained by circumstances.

It is a peace that does not depend on health…

or finances…

or security…

or even the absence of sorrow.

It is a peace that the Bible says “passeth all understanding.”

That means it is a peace the world cannot explain…

because it is a peace the world cannot produce.

It is the kind of peace that allows a believer to stand in the middle of tragedy…and still say,

“It is well with my soul.”

Tonight, we’re going to look at the story behind a hymn that was written by a man who experienced that kind of peace firsthand.

I want to share with you the story behind one of the most beloved hymns ever written — the hymn we know as

“It Is Well With My Soul.”

We sing it often.

We love its melody.

We are comforted by its words.

But many times, we do not realize that this hymn was not written in a moment of joy…

It was written in the middle of overwhelming sorrow.

The Song Writer

This beloved gospel song was written by a Chicago Presbyterian layman, Horatio G. Spafford, born in North Troy, New York, on October 20, 1828.

As a young man Spafford had established a most successful legal practice in Chicago.

Despite his financial success, he always maintained a keen interest in Christian activities.

He and his wife Anna, enjoyed a close and active relationship with D. L. Moody and the other evangelical leaders of that era. He was described by George Stebbins, a noted gospel musician, as a “man of unusual intelligence and refinement, deeply spiritual, and a devoted student of the Scriptures.”

But beginning in 1870, a series of tragedies began to unfold in Spafford’s life — tragedies that would test his faith in ways few of us can imagine.

In 1870, the Spaffords’ only son, four-year-old Horatio Jr., died suddenly from scarlet fever.

Every parent knows there is no pain like the loss of a child.

Grief entered their home in a way it never had before.

Yet even in their sorrow, the Spaffords leaned upon their faith in God for comfort and strength.

But the

Trial was not over.

Just one year later, in 1871, the city of Chicago was engulfed in flames in what we now know as the Great Chicago Fire

The fire destroyed over three square miles of the city.

More than 17,000 buildings were reduced to ashes.

Hundreds of people died.

Thousands were left homeless.

And Horatio Spafford’s real estate investments were almost completely wiped out.

Overnight, the financial security he had worked his entire life to build was gone.

Yet even after losing his fortune, Spafford devoted himself to helping those in need — assisting the homeless and supporting relief efforts throughout the city.

He was a man who chose faith… even when life did not make sense.

Trials Continue

Two years later, in 1873, seeking rest for his family and planning to assist in evangelistic meetings in Europe with Dwight Moody, the Spaffords decided to take a trip to England.

Horatio planned to travel with his wife Anna and their four daughters:

Annie Maggie Bessie and little Tanetta.

But at the last moment, urgent business matters delayed him.

So he sent his wife and daughters ahead of him on a French steamship called the

SS Ville du Havre

He planned to follow them in just a few days.

But somewhere in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean…

The unthinkable happened.

In the early morning hours of November 22, 1873, the Ville du Havre collided with another vessel — the British ship Loch Earn.

The damage was catastrophic.

The Ville du Havre began to sink rapidly.

In just twelve minutes, the ship disappeared beneath the icy waters of the Atlantic.

Two hundred twenty-six people lost their lives.

Among them…

All four of Horatio Spafford’s daughters.

Anna Spafford survived — found unconscious, floating on a piece of wreckage.

Nine days later, she reached land in Wales.

From there, she sent a telegram to her husband in Chicago.

It contained just two words:

“Saved alone.”

Horatio immediately left to join his grieving wife.

As his ship crossed the Atlantic Ocean, the captain called him to the bridge and quietly informed him that they were now passing over the place where the Ville du Havre had gone down…

the place where his four daughters had drowned.

Imagine standing there.

I am sure this verse came rushing into his head

Isaiah 43:2 “When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; And through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: When thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; Neither shall the flame kindle upon thee.”

Looking out over the vast, rolling ocean…

Knowing that beneath those waves were the graves of your children.

That night, in his cabin, overcome with grief — yet sustained by an unshakable trust in God — Horatio Spafford wrote these words:

“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.”

He did not say that his circumstances were well.

He did not say that his heart was not broken.

He did not pretend that tragedy had not come.

But in the midst of unimaginable loss…

He declared that his soul was at peace in God.

Later, the music for these words was composed by a gospel songwriter named

Philip Bliss

Philip Bliss

Bliss named the tune VILLE DU HAVRE — in memory of the ship that had gone down.

And together, these words and this melody became one of the greatest testimonies of faith ever put to music.

One verse in particular reveals the depth of Spafford’s theology — the third verse:

“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!”

Even in grief…

He turned his eyes to the cross.

He found comfort not in his circumstances —

but in his salvation.

And then the final verse looks forward in hope:

“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.”

His hope was not in this life.

His hope was in the life to come.

This hymn was not born in comfort.

It was conceived in loss.

It was grew through tears.

It was born in the middle of the storms of life

And yet from that sorrow came a declaration that has echoed through generations:

“It is well… with my soul.”

The peace spoken of in this hymn is not the absence of storms —

It is the presence of Christ in the storm.

And perhaps tonight…

Whatever storm you are facing…

Whatever sorrow rolls like sea billows in your life…

May God teach each of us to say:

It is well with my soul.