It is well with my soul (Horatio Spafford)

 It is well with my soul

with VILLE DU HAVRE. 

"It Is Well With My Soul", also known as "When Peace, Like A River", is a hymn penned by hymnist Horatio Spafford , in 1873 ,and composed by Philip Bliss. First published in Gospel Hymns No. 2 by Ira Sankey and Bliss, it is possibly the most influential and enduring in the Bliss repertoire and is often taken as a choral model, appearing in hymnals of a wide variety of Christian fellowships. 

I. Background

Horatio Spafford (1828–1888) was a successful businessman, a native of Troy, New York, who had moved to Chicago in 1856. By trade, he was a prominent lawyer specializing in national and international law, including work as Professor of Medical Jurisprudence at Lind University, but he also had extensive real estate holdings, was a Sunday School teacher in his Presbyterian church, was an ardent supporter of the Chicago YMCA, and was a trustee and benefactor of the Presbyterian Theological Seminary of the Northwest (now McCormick Theological Seminary). Spafford’s circle of influence included the evangelist Dwight L. Moody and his musical associate Ira Sankey (born 28 August 1840– died 14 August 1908).

Over the course of a decade, from 1871 to 1880, Spafford experienced a string of disasters, comparable to the biblical Job. Early in 1871, Spafford had joined a group of investors in purchasing large swaths of territory in Chicago, especially in Lincoln Park and the northern lake shore. But in October 1871, an enormous fire tore through three square miles of Chicago, destroying Spafford’s real estate investments and his law office. 

In November of 1873, in spite of being mired in debt, Spafford arranged a lengthy vacation for his family in Europe, intending to spend time in France and Switzerland. The travelling party included Horatio and his wife Anna, their four daughters (Annie, 11; Margaret, 9; Elizabeth, 5; and Tanetta, 2), Mademoiselle Nicolet, who was a friend of Anna’s and was a governess for the young girls, Willie Culver, a young boy of age 12 who was being sent to visit his grandparents in Germany, and Mrs. Daniel Goodwin, friend and neighbour to the family, with her three children.[1] They would be sailing aboard the Ville du Havre, a luxurious ship favored for these Atlantic voyages. 

The Ville du Havre was formerly the Napoleon III. She was altered and enlarged last winter, and came here [to Chicago] for the first time as the Ville du Havre on the 9th of April, making the passage from Brest [France] in nine days and twenty three hours. With the exception of the Great Eastern, she was the largest steamer that ever entered this port. Her dimensions were 430 feet by 48 feet. Her carrying capacity was 3,500 tons, freight and measurement. Her main saloon was fitted up with marble wainscoting of three varieties, the upholstery was velvet, and the wood-work was carved in the most unique designs. Her engines were compound direct-acting, of 3,200 horse-power, and made in England.[2]

Click here to see PLAN OF THE LOST STEAMER "Ville du Havre"

Shortly before leaving, Horatio was contacted by a man who was interested in buying some of the land from among the fire-damaged properties, so he opted to stay behind to facilitate the sale. Among the other passengers on the ship was a group of French pastors who had been attending a conference and were returning home, so Horatio asked Pastor Lorriaux to watch over his family. The ship set sail on 15 November 1873, carrying 313 passengers and crew.

In the early morning hours of 22 November 1873, at 2 a.m., the Ville du Havre was inexplicably struck squarely by the Loch Earn, a Scottish iron ship sailing from London to New York, killing some of the sleeping passengers instantly. A news report from the time described the horrifying scene:

Men, women, and children, clad only in their night dresses, rushed frantically from the saloons and cabins on to the deck, where their frenzied cries mingled with the rushing of the water as it poured into the sides of the steamer. So severe was the force of the collision, which, as stated above, was caused by the Loch Earn, that a hole 12 feet deep was cut in the deck of the Ville du Havre, and her iron plates for 25 or 30 feet were completely smashed and broken in. . . .

The scene on deck was of the most heartrending description. The majority of the passengers were utterly unnerved by the frightful calamity, and were hardly able to stretch a finger even to save themselves. Groups of friends were huddled together, trying from their mutual presence to gather fortitude, others fell on their knees in silent and audible prayer, while not a few gave themselves up to the wildest demonstrations of hopeless despair. The water still kept pouring in at the fearful opening which had been made in the vessel’s side, and the feeling soon took possession of almost every one in the ship that the time for safety was short indeed. 

While the deck was thus covered with the thinly-clad passengers the mainmast gave way, and with a crashing noise it fell bringing with it the mizenmast down on two of the [life]boats, smashing them to pieces, and falling among the miserable occupants of the deck killed a number of them outright, while others received frightful injuries. . . . 

In the midst of all this excitement and dull-eyed despair, the crew wrought vigorously under the orders of the Captain, who had hurried on deck immediately after the first shock of the collision, and the whale boat was cleared away and lowered under the command of the second lieutenant, and seven of the crew got into the captain’s gig. These boats had hardly got clear of the ill-fated vessel, which was fast settling down, when she gave a lurch ahead, and went down like a shot, at a time when there were upwards of 300 persons on board. The captain stuck by the vessel till the last, and was heard to order the boats to stand clear, just as the vessel made its last fatal plunge. Only twelve minutes had elapsed from the time of the collision until the Ville du Havre went down.[3]

Mrs. Spafford afterward wrote of her perspective in a letter to her friend Mary Miller, 24 December 1873:

The dear children were so brave. They died praying. Annie said to Maggie and me just before we were swept off the steamer, “Don’t be frightened, Maggie, God will take care of us, we can trust Him; and you know, Mama, ‘The sea is His and He made it.’” These were her last words. Maggie and Bessie prayed very sweetly.[4]

Bertha Spafford Vester, a daughter born to the Spaffords a few years later, described what happened next, according to what she learned from her mother:

As mother was pulled down she felt her baby torn violently from her arms. She reached out through the water and caught Tanetta’s little gown. For a moment she held her again, then the cloth wrenched from her hand. She reached out again and touched a man’s leg in corduroy trousers. . . . She had been rolled under and down, and as she rose unconscious to the surface a plank floated under her, saving her life. . . . The splash of an oar brought her to consciousness. She was lying in a boat, bruised from head to foot and sick with sea water, her hair heavy with salt and her thick dressing gown in ribbons. She knew, with no need of being told, that her children were gone.[5]

Ira Sankey, who had been with D.L. Moody conducting revival services in Edinburgh when the disaster happened, claimed he later met the man who saved Mrs. Spafford:

One of the sailors of the vessel, named [Loch Earn]—whom I afterward met in Scotland—while rowing over the spot where the vessel disappeared, discovered Mrs. Spafford floating in the water.[6]

The survivors of the disaster—87 in total, from the earliest accounts—took refuge aboard the Loch Earn, but with that ship also being badly damaged, they were forced to hail another passing vessel, the Trimountain, which carried most of the survivors to Cardiff, Wales. The Loch Earn attempted to continue on its journey, only to be abandoned later by its crew, who were rescued by the British Queen. The survivors aboard the Trimountain reached Cardiff on 1 December 1873 and brought with them the news about the wreck. The following morning, 2 December 1873, Mrs. Spafford managed to send a brief telegram to her husband, saying “Saved alone,” mentioning the loss of the children, the Goodwins, and Willie Culver, and saying she would go with Rev. Lorriaux to Paris. This telegram was preserved by Mr. Spafford and is now held by the Library of Congress (Fig. 1).

Fig. 1. Library of Congress, American Colony in Jerusalem Collection, Part I, Box 1, Folder 6.

..... Horatio Spafford immediately set out to find Anna. In a letter he wrote to his sister Rachel, he described the experience of passing over the spot:

On Thursday last we passed over the spot where she went down, in mid-ocean, the water three miles deep. But I do not think of our dear ones there. They are safe, folded, the dear lambs, and there, before very long, shall we be too. In the meantime, thanks to God, we have an opportunity to serve and praise Him for His love and mercy to us and ours. “I will praise Him while I have my being.” May we each one arise, leave all, and follow Him.[7]

Likewise, Mrs. Spafford was able to find peace in what had happened, writing:

How thankful I am that their little lives were so early dedicated to their Master. Now he has called them to Himself. . . . If I never believed in religion before, I have had strong proof of it now. We have been so sustained, so comforted. God has sent peace in our hearts. He has answered our prayers. His will be done.[8]

Sadly, the Spaffords lost their next child, Horatio, who was born two years later on 16 November 1875 but died of scarlet fever at age 4 on 11 February 1880. Ultimately, as one historian described it, “The unsympathetic attitudes of Christian friends in the midst of their sorrow caused the Spaffords to decide to leave Chicago,”[9] settling in Jerusalem and establishing what was called the American Colony. 

The Spaffords had two more children, Bertha (1878–1968), who married Frederick Vester, and Grace (1881–1964), who married John Whiting. By some accounts, the sinking of the Ville du Havre was regarded as the most tragic maritime disaster until the sinking of the Titanic in 1912.

II. The Hymn

According to Ira Sankey, the writing of the song came a couple of years after the shipwreck (not while Mr. Spafford was on the ocean, as is sometimes reported):

In 1876, when we returned to Chicago to work, I was entertained at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Spafford for a number of weeks. During that time Mr. Spafford wrote the hymn “It is well with my soul” in commemoration of the death of his children. P.P. Bliss composed the music and sang it for the first time at a meeting in Farwell Hall. The comforting fact in connection with this incident was that in one of our small meetings in North Chicago, a short time prior to their sailing for Europe, the children had been converted.[10]

An undated manuscript copy of the hymn is held by the Library of Congress (Fig. 2), written on stationary for the Brevoort House on Madison Street, Chicago. In the first stanza, the original third line said “thou hast taught me to know,” a near-rhyme with roll. The backside of the manuscript contains two additional stanzas in pencil, one being an early attempt at what would become the fourth:

Now Lord, make it Thee for thy servant to live,

If I die, when the summons shall toll,

It will bring me no pang—for in death as in life—

Thou wilt whisper Thy peace to my soul.

But Lord, ’tis for Thee, not the grave that I want,

For the clouds to roll back as a scroll,

For the trump to resound + Thyself to descend,

Naught but that be thy hope, oh my soul.

Fig. 2. Library of Congress, American Colony in Jerusalem Collection, Part I, Box 1, Folder 11.

Fig. 2. Library of Congress, American Colony in Jerusalem Collection, Part I, Box 1, Folder

:- 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

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!

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

The reverent tune composed by Sankey’s colleague Philip Bliss (1838–1876), VILLE DU HAVRE, was named after the sunken ship. The hymn was first published in Gospel Hymns No. 2 (1876 | Fig. 3)

Fig. 3. Ira Sankey & Philip Bliss, Gospel Hymns No. 2 (1876).

In the corresponding hymnal series in England, Sacred Songs and Solos, this song was first included in the supplement edition Later Songs and Solos, then in the combined edition, Enlarged Songs and Solos (ca. 1877 / Fig. 4). In the English printing, the song had five stanzas, closer in content to his pencilled version in the manuscript (Fig. 2).

Fig. 4. Enlarged Songs and Solos (London: Morgan & Scott, ca. 1877)

The text of the hymn was also published in Spafford’s collection Waiting for the Morning and Other Poems (Chicago: F.H. Revell, 1878 | Fig. 5), in four stanzas.

Fig. 5. Waiting for the Morning and Other Poems (Chicago: F.H. Revell, 1878).

III. Analysis

The first line of the text evokes Isaiah 66:12 (“Behold, I will extend peace to her like a river, and the glory of the nations like an overflowing stream”), and the first stanza in general is rich with seafaring language. The second stanza broadens the scope to include spiritual warfare (as in 2 Corinthians 12:7), and the third offers the solution to all spiritual failures, found in the cross (especially Colossians 2:14). The fourth looks forward to eternal deliverance and borrows images from passages such as the coming of the Lord in Revelation 19, or especially the description in 1 Thessalonians 4:16, “For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God.” The phrase “Even so” is an allusion to Revelation 1:7 and/or 22:20 (especially in the KJV).

Bliss’s tune has a gravitas and compositional prowess not often found in gospel tunes of the era. One distinctive feature of the partwriting is the frequent use of contrary motion between the melody and bass line. This skillful setting has probably helped the hymn achieve its endurance and public devotion.

"It Is Well with My Soul" was composed by Philip Paul Bliss, with the lyrics by Horatio G. Spafford. 

He originally named the song Ville du Havre after the sunken vessel.

The lyrics are about Spafford’s trials and tribulations in life, yet still finding ultimate comfort in the power of Christ and the peace that comes with his faith. It is an echoing of the ancient Old Testament text of Job, who faced similar tragedies (his whole family and all his assets destroyed) yet never lost his faith and trusted in his God.

Though he slay me, I will hope in him;

yet I will argue my ways to his face.

–Job 13:15 

"It Is Well" 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

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!

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

( End of song lyrics)

The Wreck of the SS Ville du Havre and the Death of Thomas Hammond

A member of the influential iron industrialist Hammond family, Thomas Hammond, the son of Charles F. Hammond, lost his life in a product of the iron industry. The SS Ville du Havre (originally called Napoléon III) was a French iron steamship. It was completed in 1865 by Thames Ironworks and Shipbuilding Company, Limited of London. This same company had the distinction of building the world’s first all-iron warship, the HMS Warrior.

In 1871, the ship underwent renovations in England. It was made 60 feet longer, was converted from steam-powered paddle wheel to steam engine propulsion, and received a third mast. In 1873, the steamship resumed her familiar Le Havre to New York route under her new name Ville du Havre.

In November of that year, the ship sailed from New York with 313 passengers on board. Among them were Thomas Hammond, his wife, and their three children. At 2 am on Saturday 22, 1873, after a week at sea, the Ville du Havre collided with the iron clipper Loch Earn sailing out of Glasgow, Scotland. The captain of the Loch Earn could see the Ville du Havre approaching, raised an alarm, and attempted to navigate hard to starboard to avoid collision, but it was too late. The Loch Earn’s bow collided with the Ville du Havre and nearly split the ship in half. The passengers of the Ville du Havre were awakened, but reassured by the captain that the situation was not dire. He was wrong. Loch Earn seemed not to be in immediate danger, but Ville du Havre was sinking fast. Life preservers were easily accessible, but the lifeboats were mostly stuck in place by the drying of a recent coat of paint. Some were loosened, but not enough. Two of the masts collapsed and smashed into lifeboats in the water, killing several passengers who thought they were safe. It only took 12 minutes for the Ville du Havre to sink, splitting in two as it went down, taking 226 souls down with her, among them, Thomas Hammond and his family.

Family members recalled Charles Hammond’s reaction to the death of his son, dying three weeks later in December 1873, from a suspected broken heart.

📖 “And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” – Philippians 4, verse 7

The hymn It Is Well with My Soul was not written in a season of ease—it was birthed in the depths of unimaginable loss. Horatio Spafford, after losing his son, his wealth, and eventually his four daughters in a tragic shipwreck, penned words that continue to comfort believers more than a century later: “It is well with my soul.” 

This powerful testimony reminds us that peace is not the absence of storms—it is the presence of Christ in the storm. 🌊

✅ God’s goodness does not change with our circumstances

✅ His peace is stronger than the weight of grief

✅ His grace is sufficient in our deepest weakness

Even when sorrow billows like waves, His hand holds you.

Even when answers don’t come, His peace sustains you.

Even when life feels shattered, His love steadies you.

🙏 Join us in prayer as we ask God to fill our hearts with His unshakable peace, to remind us that we are never alone, and to help us declare boldly: It is well with my soul.

Now, let's take a moment to pray together. 

Lord Jesus, you are my king, my savior, my redeemer. 

Your grace is sufficient for me and your power is made perfect in my weakness. 

It is only because of you, my Lord, that I can boldly declare, "It is well with my soul. 

Because of you, I can say, it is well in my home. Even when challenges arise, it is well in my heart. Even when my emotions are unsettled, you are my peace. You are my stability. 

You are the one who keeps me from falling apart when the world around me feels unstable. 

Father, have mercy on me. Have mercy on my family. 

Have mercy on everyone I love. 

You see my battles. 

You know the struggles hidden from the eyes of others. 

You understand the burdens that keep me awake at night. 

Lord, whatever my battle is, whether it is sickness, loss, fear, confusion, or despair, pour out your supernatural strength upon me. Give me the kind of peace that the world cannot give and cannot take away. Your word reminds me in 2 Corinthians 4 verses7-10. But we have this treasure in earth and vessels that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us. We are hard   pressed on every side yet not   crushed. We are perplexed but not in despair. Persecuted but not forsaken. Struck down but not destroyed. Always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body." 

Lord, I acknowledge that in my human frailty I cannot endure without you. Yet this scripture reminds me that no matter how pressed I feel, I will not be crushed.

 No matter how confused I am, I will not be left hopeless. 

No matter how fiercely the enemy attacks, I am not abandoned. You are my everpresent help in time of trouble. 

When l am unsure of the way forward you, Lord Jesus, make a path where there seems to be none. 

When I cannot see the road ahead, you the all- knowing and all-seeing God, guide my steps. 

When distress weighs heavy on my soul, I run to you as my refuge. When danger surrounds me, you are my hiding place and my shield. 

In every circumstance, my eyes are fixed on you. 

Your word declares in Psalm 68, verse 19 and 20, "Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior, who daily bears our burdens. Our God is the God who saves. 

From the sovereign Lord comes escape from death. 

Thank you, Lord, for carrying my burdens. 

Thank you for being the God who rescues, the God who saves, the God who delivers me from the grip of death and destruction. 

I praise you because you set captives free. You defend the helpless. You strengthen the weary. 

Lord, I ask for your divine protection over my loved ones and over all that belongs to you. Do not let the schemes of the enemy succeed. Let no weapon formed against me prosper. Protect me from the snares of temptation, the weight of discouragement, and the sting of despair. 

Keep me from being overwhelmed by the afflictions of this life. 

And as I wait on you, Lord Jesus, I choose to be still and know that you are God. 

 I acknowledge that you reign over every detail. 

I surrender my anxieties into your capable hands. 

I trust you to take care of my tomorroW. For you are not only the God of the past and present, you are already in my future, preparing the way for me. Holy Spirit, help me to truly understand this truth that my life is in the hands of the sovereign God who makes no mistakes. 

When I pass through deep waters, be with me. When I walk through the fire, let me not be burned. 

For you have promised in Isaiah 43 that I am precious in your sight, honored and loved. 

Victory belongs to you, Lord Jesus. 

Even when the battle is fierce, I know the war is already won. 

Help me to live with a heart full of gratitude and lips filled with praise. 

No matter what storms I face, let thanksgiving rise from my heart in every season. 

I cling to the hope found in 2 Corinthians 4, verses 17 and 18. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. While we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. 

For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal. 

Lord, this life is fleeting, but your kingdom is forever. 

My trials are temporary, but the glory you are preparing for me is everlasting. 

So help me to fix my eyes on what is eternal. 

Let my hope not be anchored in what I see, but in what you have promised. 

Father, I bless your name for hearing my prayer. In the mighty and precious name of Jesus Christ, I pray. 

Amen. 

If this prayer has touched your heart, please say amen as a sign of faith. I pray that every blessing in this prayer is now upon you in the name of Jesus. And if you need a special prayer, feel free to let us know in the comments. We would be honored to pray for you. May the grace and peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen .