Song of the Week: Jars of Clay's "It Is Well With My Soul"

In my "Song of the Week" feature we're reaching back to some old hymns for a few weeks. This week's hymn, "It is Well With My Soul," was writ­ten by Horatio Spafford in 1873 and remains one of the most popular congregational songs to this day.

You may be aware of the story behind the song. Af­ter the great Chi­ca­go Fire of Oc­to­ber 1871 ru­ined him fi­nan­cial­ly, he lost all four of his daughters when the ship they were in collided with another. Spaf­ford’s wife Anna sur­vived and sent him the now fa­mous tel­e­gram, “Saved alone.” Sev­er­al weeks lat­er, as Spaf­ford’s own ship passed near the spot where his daugh­ters died, Spafford wrote the song.

This rendition is from the Jars of Clay project, Redemption Songs. It has a sort of "George Harrison" feel to it, huh?

When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

Though the devil will ruin, though trials should come,
Let this blest assurance control,
That Christ has regarded my helpless estate,
And He shed His own blood for my soul.

It is well with my soul
It is well, it is well, with 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!

It is well with my soul
It is well, it is well, with my soul

It is well with my soul
It is well, it is well, with 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.

It is well with my soul
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

It is well with my soul
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

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