Words to a poem (later to become another famous hymn) entitled “I Will Sing of My Redeemer” were found in Bliss’s trunk.
They both died in the fire, leaving behind two young sons. Bliss initially escaped but returned to extricate his wife from the burning wreckage. While traveling by train to a crusade in 1876, a bridge collapsed as the Pacific Express passed over it, which caused the train to plummet into a deep ravine. He and Ira Sankey published “It Is Well with My Soul” in the hymnal Gospel Song No. Bliss, who traveled and sang on evangelistic crusades, put Spafford’s poem to music. Remarkably, the tragedies surrounding this song of peace and comfort don’t stop with the Spaffords.īy 1878, composer Philip P. Horatio and Anna Spafford quickly had three more children, but one died young of scarlet fever. However, his friend Ira Sankey, who later took “It Is Well” on the evangelical circuit and made it famous, reported that Spafford wrote the poem in 1876 while Ira was staying in the Spafford’s home. Many sources relate that Spafford went to his cabin and immediately began to write this hymn of faith. As he passed over the spot where the Ville du Havre sank, the captain reportedly pointed out the significance of their location.
Spafford quickly took a ship to meet his wife in Wales. Her children were literally ripped from her arms as the ocean sucked them down with the ship. All their daughters had perished in the freezing waters. Spafford received a telegram from Anna that said “Saved alone…What shall I do?” from Wales, where another ship had taken survivors. While the ship crossed near Newfoundland in the dead of night, the Ville du Havre collided with the Loch Earn and rapidly sank in the North Atlantic. At the last minute, he stayed behind to sell some property, but he sent his wife Anna and four daughters on the SS Ville du Havre ahead of him.
Spafford, seeking to regroup, planned a trip for his family to Europe. All of Spafford’s investments burned to the ground. His success soon grinded to a halt, however, when his only son died about the same time as the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. Horatio Spafford, a successful lawyer and land investor in Chicago, was married with five children in the late 1800s. The story surrounding the hymn’s origin is as important as the hymn itself. Its words point us toward the sovereignty of God and promise peace during life’s stormiest seasons. That we can trust him, even when our hardships don’t make sense.įrom my years in ministry, I can’t recall a funeral that didn’t utilize this profound hymn of praise to salve the pain of losing someone or something. Its themes travel into the deep, hurting places of the human soul and remind us that God is with us always. “It Is Well” brings me hope in the midst of heartache. Now I find myself in the same position: when I hear the words, I just listen and cry like a baby. I chose “It Is Well” for her funeral also. It would forever remind her of the grief and comfort she felt then and every time she heard it played. She had chosen this hymn for my father’s funeral. She cried because the impact of the words were not only powerful, they were persona. My mother always cried through the whole song. Scorpions, "Shining of Your Soul" Lyrics (per AZLyrics.Besides “Amazing Grace,” there might be no better-known hymn than “It Is Well with My Soul,” a poem penned by Horatio Spafford in 1873 and set to music by Philip BlissĪs a child, I remember many Sunday services standing next to my mother, singing the words to “It Is Well” with the fervor of a child who loves Jesus and loves music. Get a closer look at the lyrics and listen to the song below, and if you like what you hear, "Shining of Your Soul" is now available via multiple platforms here.
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