It Is Well With My Soul

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My favourite Hymn. It is my sincere prayer that the words of this
beautiful hymn will be my confession as I stand before my Heavenly
Father. Now here is the story behind the hymn. skypilot

Horatio Gates Spaffard
1828-1888

Tragedy was associated with the writing of the words of this famous
gospel hymn, and followed closely the composing of the music. H.G.
Spafford wrote the poem in the mid-Atlantic over the exact spot where
his four children had drowned a few days before. His wife and children
were sailing to France on the Ville du Havre," one of the largest
ships afloat. It was rammed by an English iron sailing vessel and sank
to the bottom of the ocean in two hours, killing 226 people. Mrs.
Spafford lived, but the four children were lost. Just weeks before
this tragic drowning, Spafford had lost everything he owned in the
great Chicago fire. And now, if not tested enough, he lost all his
beloved children. As soon as could be arranaged he sailed to Europe to
join his wife. On the way, December 1873, the Captain of his ship
pointed out to him the spot where where the tragedy had occurred. Here
in the dark night, with a heart heavy with grief and pain, but yet
surging with faith and hope, Spafford wrote these words:

When peace like a river attendeth my way,
When sorrow like sea - billows roll,
Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say,
It is well, it is well with my soul!

Philip Paul Bliss, great song leader and composer, wrote the music for
this hymn in November, 1876. Two weeks after it had been written,
Bliss and his wife were killed in a tragic train crash in Ashtabula,
Ohio. It was said by witnesses that Bliss could have escaped, but
chose to die by the side of his wife, who was caught in the flaming
wreckage.
Stories of the Christian Hymns