IT IS WELL WITH MY SOUL

IT IS WELL WITH MY SOUL MP3

VERSE 1

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.

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

VERSE 2 ***
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

VERSE 3
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!

VERSE 4 ***
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

VERSE 5 ***
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!

VERSE 6 
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

This beautiful hymn is a favorite of our congregation ! The words are especially touching when you know the story behind the song.  Horatio G. Spafford and his wife Anna were Christians, activists in the abolitionist & temperance movements, and residents of Chicago in the mid-1800's.  Scarlet fever claimed the life of one of their 5 children early on (their only son, Horatio), and the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 literally burned up much of the families assets.  In 1873, the Spafford's planned a trip to Europe to attend a revival meeting.  Horatio stayed behind for business reasons while Anna and their 4 girls went ahead; they were to meet in England.  Tragically, their ship was struck by another ship and Anna was the lone survivor of the shipwreck.  From England, Anna telegraphed Horatio this message: "Saved alone.  What shall I do...".  As he passed over the shipwreck site on his way to bring Anna home, Horatio wrote the words to this song.  In 1876 Philip P. Bliss set these words to music

In 1880, after re-settling in Chicago & having 3 more children, their second son also died.  In 1881 they decided to leave America and moved to Jerusalem, Israel to serve the poor and provide care for homeless children.

*** We traditionally only sing verses 1, 3 and 6, however I find verses 2, 4, and 5 to be equally beautiful !  Especially the second line of verse 5 "the sky, not the grave, is our goal!"

SOURCE: Horatio G. Spafford: The Story Behind the Hymn "It is Well with My Soul"

A MIGHTY FORTRESS

A MIGHTY FORTRESS (MP3)

Words & Music by Martin Luther

A mighty fortress is our God

A bulwark never failing

Our helper, He, amid the flood

Of mortal ills prevailing

For still our ancient foe

Doth seek to work us woe

His craft and pow'r are great

And, armed with cruel hate

On earth is not his equal

Did we in our own strength confide

Our striving would be losing

Were not the right man on our side

The man of God's own choosing

Dost ask who that may be?

Christ Jesus, it is HE !!!

Lord Sabaoth His name

From age to age the same

And He must win the battle

And tho' this world, with demons filled

Should threaten to undo us

We will not fear, for God hat willed

His truth to triumph through us

Let goods and kindred go

This mortal life also

The body they may kill

God's truth abideth still

His kingdom is forever !!!

Hey all !!!

This Sunday's worship service is titled "SOUL WARS" along with the Soul Wars theme that we are doing right now (so this is the "title message" if you will).  I'm really excited about the song lineup, especially this song "A MIGHTY FORTRESS" which was written by Martin Luther in 1529.  I made a recording of it for our worship ministry to listen to to help them get an idea of how this song sounds, but my bass is a little shaky so please give me some GRACE :-) It's just not possible to sing that low. I tried.

Anyways ... I learned some really cool new stuff when reading through and researching the lyrics of this song.  I always thought that the word "BULWARK" was really weird and honestly I didn't know what it meant (It kinda reminded me of the word Narwhal, like from "Elf" so every time I sang this song I thought of a Nordic Whale) ... BUT ... I looked it up and here's the definition:

So ... A bulwark is a WALL !!!  Kind of like a castle wall / wall of protection. I especially like definition #2 that talks about "a protection against external danger".  It's amazing to think and reflect upon how God protects us from SO MUCH external danger and really guards us from so much whether it is sin or the consequences it brings - I love thinking about God as our protector !!! To me, verse 1 really outlines the spiritual battle - that God is our protector and Satan is our enemy. Verse 2 acknowledges that only through Christ can we conquer ! And Verse 3 details the convictions we have as Christians, despite the demons and the forces of evil.  This is especially convicting as I am studying out the works of early Christians right now such as Clement, Mark Felix, and Justin Martyr and this was totally their conviction - They were willing to give up ALL material goods, friends & family, even their life ... for Christ ! Hope this song encourages you !

PS - I also posted the REMIX below :)

A MGHTY FORTRESS REMIX