It is Well with my soul - wikipedia It is Well with my soul `` It Is Well '' redirects here. For the Kutless album, see It Is Well ( album ). `` It Is Well '' redirects here. For Hillsong Song, see It Is Well With My Soul ( Hillsong song ). ( Original lyrics ) When peace like a river, attendeth my way, When sorrows like sea billows roll ; Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to know 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 my faith shall be sight, The clouds be rolled back as a scroll ; The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend, A song in the night, oh my soul ! `` know '' ( at the end of the third line ) was changed to `` say ''. `` A song in the night, oh my soul '' ( last line ) was changed to `` Even so, it is well with my soul ''. `` It Is Well With My Soul '' is a hymn penned by hymnist Horatio Spafford and composed by Philip Bliss. First published in Gospel Songs No. 2 by Sankey and Bliss ( 1876 ), 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. Contents 1 Background 2 Notable performances 3 References 4 External links Background This hymn was written after traumatic events in Spafford 's life. The first was the death of his son at the age of 2 and the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, which ruined him financially ( he had been a successful lawyer and had invested significantly in property in the area of Chicago that was extensively damaged by the great fire ). His business interests were further hit by the economic downturn of 1873, at which time he had planned to travel to Europe with his family on the SS Ville du Havre. In a late change of plan, he sent the family ahead while he was delayed on business concerning zoning problems following the Great Chicago Fire. While crossing the Atlantic, the ship sank rapidly after a collision with a sea vessel, the Loch Earn, and all four of Spafford 's daughters died. His wife Anna survived and sent him the now famous telegram, `` Saved alone... ''. Shortly afterwards, as Spafford traveled to meet his grieving wife, he was inspired to write these words as his ship passed near where his daughters had died. Bliss called his tune Ville du Havre, from the name of the stricken vessel. The Spaffords later had three more children. On February 11, 1880, their son, Horatio Goertner Spafford, died at the age of four, of scarlet fever. Their daughters were Bertha Hedges Spafford ( born March 24, 1878 ) and Grace Spafford ( born January 18, 1881 ). Their Presbyterian church regarded their tragedy as divine punishment. In response, the Spaffords formed their own Messianic sect, dubbed `` the Overcomers '' by American press. In 1881, the Spaffords, including baby Bertha and newborn Grace, set sail for Ottoman - Turkish Palestine. The Spaffords settled in Jerusalem and helped found a group called the American Colony. Colony members, later joined by Swedish Christians, engaged in philanthropic work among the people of Jerusalem regardless of their religious affiliation and without proselytizing motives -- thereby gaining the trust of the local Muslim, Jewish, and Christian communities. During and immediately after World War I, the American Colony played a critical role in supporting these communities through the great suffering and deprivations by running soup kitchens, hospitals, orphanages and other charitable ventures. The colony later became the subject of Jerusalem by the Nobel prize - winning author, Swedish novelist Selma Lagerlöf. Notable performances The Georgia Southern University marching band Southern Pride plays the song at the end of each win. 1961 : Tennessee Ernie Ford ; Hymns at Home 1963 : Doris Akers ; Forever Faithful 1968 : Mahalia Jackson ; A Mighty Fortress 1991 : Don Moen ; Eternal God 1995 : Jennifer Holliday ; On & On 1995 : Crystal Lewis ; ( Hymns ) My Life 1999 : Audio Adrenaline ; Underdog 1999 : Selah ; Be Still My Soul 2000 : 4Him ; Hymns : A Place of Worship 2001 : Dwight Yoakam ; South of Heaven, West of Hell 2002 : Rebecca St. James ; Worship God 2002 : Amy Grant, with a portion of the song along with `` The River 's Gonna Keep On Rolling '' ( written by Vince Gill ) on her album Legacy... Hymns and Faith 2003 : The Three Tenors ; Bath 2003 2005 : Jars of Clay ; Redemption Songs 2006 : Chris Rice ; Peace Like a River : The Hymns Project 2008 : Kristyn Getty ( YouTube ) 2009 : Kutless ; It Is Well 2011 : Hillsong Music ( Darlene Zschech ) single ( new bridge added by Reuben Morgan & Ben Fielding ) ; all proceeds from the recording go to help the Queensland Flood Relief Effort 2011 : Josh Wilson ; See You, instrumental version, finger - style guitar 2011 : Mary Mary ; Something Big 2013 : Eleventyseven ; Good Spells ( EP ) 2014 : Michael W. Smith ; Hymns 2014 : Shane & Shane ; The Worship Initiative, Vol. 4 2014 : Sebastian Demrey ; Heritage ; Hymns of our Faith 2014 : Newsboys ; Hallelujah for the Cross 2014 : Bro. Philemon featuring Morris Babyface 2015 : Kristian Stanfill from the Passion Conferences 's album Even So Come 2016 : Audrey Assad ; Inheritance 2016 : Joey + Rory ; Hymns That Are Important to Us 2017 : MercyMe sampled this song in `` Even If '' from their album Lifer 2017 : The Mormon Tabernacle Choir performed this song during their weekly broadcast of Music and the Spoken Word on June 25th. 2017 : The Mormon Tabernacle Choir with Hugh Bonneville performed this song while recounting its history during its annual Christmas concert from December 15th through 17th. References Jump up ^ `` History ''. Kosinski Studio. Archived from the original on March 11, 2013. Retrieved March 26, 2013. Jump up ^ Although the presence of a refrain makes the item technically a gospel song versus a hymn in the strict sense, it has a remarkably sustained and sonorous quality, which makes it comparable to the stateliest hymns in both Protestant and Roman Catholic hymnody. It has been prolifically translated and has demonstrated an appeal in various cultures. ^ Jump up to : `` The American Colony in Jerusalem, 1870 - 2006 ''. Retrieved May 2, 2013. Jump up ^ McCann, Forrest M. ( 1997 ). Hymns and History : An Annotated Survey of Sources. Abilene, TX : ACU Press. ISBN 0 - 89112 - 058 - 0, pp. 154, 327 - 328, 359 - 360, 520, 597. Jump up ^ Sandra Bennett ( 2012 ). `` The Beat Goes On ''. Retrieved March 2, 2014. Jump up ^ `` Gettys -- It Is Well ''. YouTube. Retrieved October 15, 2011. Jump up ^ Reuben Morgan ( 2011 ). `` Hillsong collected blog -- It Is Well ''. Retrieved January 22, 2011. Jump up ^ `` Bro Philemon - It Is Well ft. Morris Babyface ( Official Video with lyrics ) GhanaMusic.com Video '' ( partly sung in Mandarin Chinese ), YouTube. Jump up ^ Francis Doku, `` Best Male Artiste in African Inspirational Music category for AFRIMA 2014 '', Modern Ghana, 28 September 2014. External links Wikisource has original text related to this article : It Is Well with My Soul Library of Congress item mamcol. 016 High resolution images of the restored original manuscript ( up to 22 MB ) front AND back at the Library of Congress. ( Includes an extra verse on the back, as well as notes from his prayer meetings ) SpaffordHymn.com The original Hymn manuscript The American Colony in Jerusalem ( A Library of Congress Exhibition ) McCann, Forrest Mason ( 1997 ). Hymns & History : An Annotated Survey of Sources. Abilene, Texas : ACU Press, pp. 327 -- 328, 520, 597. ISBN 0 - 89112 - 058 - 0 Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=It_Is_Well_with_My_Soul&oldid=831024200 '' Categories : American Christian hymns Talk Contents About Wikipedia Deutsch Español Français Bahasa Indonesia Nederlands Português Simple English Edit links This page was last edited on 18 March 2018, at 08 : 33. 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Question: who wrote the hymn when peace like a river
Answer: Horatio Spafford