When Peace Like A River, ELW 785
1 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.
2 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.
3 He lives – oh the bliss of this glorious thought;
My sin, not in part, but the whole,
Is nailed to His cross, and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!
4 Lord, hasten the day, when our faith shall be sight,
The clouds be rolled back as a scroll;
The trumpet shall sound and the Lord shall descend,
Even so, it is well with my soul.
Devotion
“When Peace Like a River” is an old hymn written by Horatio G. Spafford, a lawyer living in Chicago. In November 1873, he went to Cardiff, Wales to join his grieving wife who had survived a shipwreck. Their four daughters drowned when the luxury ship they were sailing on collided with another ship and over 200 passengers lost their lives. When Spafford crossed the area where the Ville du Havre went down, he wrote the words “It is well with my soul” and read the words of this poem in their honor as a declaration of his faith. When I think of the sorrow and deep loss that Spafford and his wife experienced, I am moved to thank him for his love of the Lord and his spiritual strength to all of us.
Prayer
Lord Jesus Christ, when the difficult events of life happen to us, by your grace, keep us faithful and strong. In the name of Jesus, Amen.