“It Is Well with My Soul” Lyrics
Read the words and see why “It Is Well with My Soul” has encouraged millions of people during their darkest hours:
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, (it is well),
With my soul, (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 has 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!
For me, be it Christ, be it Christ hence to live:
If Jordan above me shall roll,
No pang shall be mine, for in death as in life,
Thou wilt whisper Thy peace to my soul.
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.
And Lord, haste the day when the 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.
4 Reasons Why “It Is Well with My Soul” Hits Home
1. Everyone experiences grief. One person’s grief, when shared, resonates with another person’s grief and brings comfort in the shared experience. Spafford could never have written this song from a place of affluence, although he had been blessed with much. He wrote it after years of heartache and loss.
2. Everyone asks “Why?” During loss, everyone struggles with asking “Why did this happen?” and “How could God let this happen?” Spafford’s strong faith pushes past the why and chooses to believe in God’s sovereign will.
3. Everyone asks “How do I go on?” Our struggle for faith is always refined during times of crisis and trauma. Like Job, Spafford experienced the devastation of his fortune and then the deaths of all his children in an unexpected catastrophe. How he and Anna reacted to their loss revealed and bolstered their dependence on God’s comfort and peace.
4. Everyone needs a go-to place for comfort. Like Psalm 23, “It Is Well” stands as a fallback resource for people—both believers and unbelievers–in times of pain and doubt. The song causes us to seek God for comfort.
You might be interested in knowing the Scripture behind Spafford’s powerful verses. The poem follows a progression of faith throughout its six stanzas. Perhaps we can follow the song itself and apply its truths to our daily lives.
Photo Credit: Unsplash/Karl Fredrickson