Horatio G. Spafford, 1828-88
A hymn of resignation and submission, written out of bitter experiences of loss and suffering.
Horatio Gates Spafford, born in New York State, was a lawyer who had established himself in Chicago. He lost most of his fortune during the great fire in that city. Then on November 22, 1873, to add to his trials, he lost four of his children when the French steamer, “Villa de Havre,” on which Mrs. Spafford and the children were sailing for Europe, sank in mid-ocean, half an hour after colliding with a large sailing vessel. Mrs. Spafford was rescued and, landing at Cardiff, Wales, ten days later, cabled her husband, “Saved Alone.” Spafford started immediately for Europe to bring his wife to Chicago. D. L. Moody, under whose preaching the Spafford children had been converted in North Chicago shortly before sailing, travelled from Edinburgh to Liverpool to comfort the bereaved parents and was pleased to hear them say, “It is well: the will of God be done.”
Mr. and Mrs. Spafford later became much interested in the second coming of Christ, becoming so enthusiastic that in 1881 they went to Jerusalem with their remaining daughter, to witness the coming of the Lord. After seven years in Palestine, Spafford died there, September 5, 1888, his widow continuing to live there as the head of a communistic society with headquarters in a building outside of Jerusalem. The daughter, very popular among the natives, became the teacher of a large body of children, instructing them in English and in American ways.
MUSIC. IT IS WELL WITH MY SOUL. The music, “a gentle, gliding melody that suits the mood of the words,” was written especially for Spafford’s words and published in Gospel Hymns No. 3. The hymn and tune immediately became popular.
For comments on the composer, P. P. Bliss, see [Hymn 442].
485. Take the name of Jesus with you
Lydia Baxter, 1809-74
A popular gospel song widely used in the Moody and Sankey revivals.
Lydia Baxter, born in Petersburg, New York, was converted under the preaching of a Baptist missionary, the Rev. Eben Tucker, and, with her sister, became a leader in the organization of a Baptist Church in her native town. After her marriage she moved to New York City. Though an invalid for many years, she was known for her astonishing cheerfulness and to her home came many a Christian worker for inspiration and advice. A volume of her poems, Gems by the Wayside, was published in 1855.