Hymn Spotlight: It Is Well With My Soul

Hymn Name: It Is Well With My Soul
Writer: Horatio Spafford
Composer: Philip Bliss
Date Written: 1873
Major Theme: Peace in the midst of suffering; The sufficiency of Christ.

The Story Behind the Song

The background of this hymn is one of the most poignant in Christian history. Horatio Spafford was a prominent Chicago lawyer and a close friend of evangelist D.L. Moody. His life was marked by a series of staggering losses that would have broken most men. First, he lost his only son to scarlet fever in 1870. Just a year later, the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 wiped out his substantial real estate investments, leaving him in financial ruin. Yet, his greatest trial was still to come.

In 1873, seeking a rest for his family, he planned a trip to Europe. At the last minute, a business emergency required him to stay behind, so he sent his wife, Anna, and their four daughters—Annie, Maggie, Bessie, and Tanetta—ahead on the SS Ville du Havre. On November 22, the ship collided with a British iron sailing vessel and sank in only 12 minutes. All four of Spafford’s daughters perished in the icy Atlantic. Anna was found nearly unconscious, clinging to a piece of wreckage. When she reached land in Wales, she sent the heartbreaking telegram: “Saved alone. What shall I do?”

Spafford immediately boarded a ship to join his grieving wife. During the voyage, the captain called him to the bridge and pointed out that they were passing over the very spot where his daughters had drowned. It was in that moment of profound, crushing sorrow—staring into the waters that had taken his children—that Spafford returned to his cabin and penned these immortal words. He didn’t write them from the safety of a shore, but from the heart of the storm.

Why We Love This Hymn

We love this hymn because it models a “defiant faith” that feels almost impossible. In the face of such absolute devastation, the natural human response would be to spiral into bitterness, to scream at the heavens in anger, or to blame God for such a cruel series of events. Many would have walked away from their faith entirely after losing everything.

But Spafford did the unthinkable: he turned toward God rather than away from Him. He chose to anchor his soul in the character of God rather than the chaos of his circumstances. This hymn teaches us that peace is not the absence of trouble, but the presence of God in the midst of it. It reminds us that even when our world falls apart, our spiritual standing in Christ remains “well.”

Lyrics & Scripture Foundations

“When peace, like a river, attendeth my way, / When sorrows like sea billows roll;”
Scripture: Isaiah 66:12 — “For thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will extend peace to her like a river…”

“Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say, / It is well, it is well with my soul.”
Scripture: Philippians 4:11 — “…for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.”

“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,”
Scripture: Colossians 2:14 — “Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us… nailing it to his cross;”

“And, Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight, / The clouds be rolled back as a scroll;”
Scripture: Revelation 6:14 — “And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together…”

Postscript: A Note on the Author
It is important to note that later in his life, Horatio Spafford’s journey took a complex turn. He eventually moved to Jerusalem and drifted into certain false doctrines, and some historians believe he may have struggled with the long-term effects of trauma or mental illness following his immense losses. However, these later struggles do not diminish the profound, biblical truths he captured in 1873. “It Is Well With My Soul” remains a masterpiece of faith precisely because it was written by a man who was intimately acquainted with the “sea billows” of life, yet found his anchor in the finished work of Christ.

Complete Lyrics

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.

Refrain:
It is well 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 hath 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!

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.