The story behind the hymn
Horatio Spafford wrote this hymn in 1873, after the French liner Ville du Havre sank in the Atlantic. He had sent his wife and four daughters ahead while he finished business. The ship collided with another vessel and went down within about twelve minutes. His daughters were lost; his wife survived.
Philip P. Bliss, a friend of the family, set the words to music and named the tune after the ship. The hymn was published together with its tune in Gospel Hymns No. 2 in 1876, compiled by Ira D. Sankey and Bliss.
Spafford later moved to Jerusalem with his wife and helped found an American community there. The hymn has since been sung by people facing loss in every part of the world.
The Scripture behind it
Yahweh gave, and Yahweh has taken away. Blessed be Yahweh’s name.
Job 1:21 (World English Bible)
See also Philippians 4:6–7 on the peace of God that guards the heart.
A short reflection
The hymn does not pretend the sorrow away. It says peace can sit beside grief, and that the cross has dealt with what we fear most. If you are grieving today, you do not have to feel “well” to sing it. Sing it as a direction, not a report.
Father, in my sorrow be near. Give me the peace that does not depend on how things look. Amen.
The full words
Read the full words of this hymn, with tunes and scores, on Hymnary.org.
Read the full hymn text →Source for author, dates and public-domain status: Hymnary.org. Scripture quoted from the World English Bible (public domain).