It Is Well With My Soul

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Horatio Gates Spafford     

                                                

Born October 20, 1828 New York. 
Died October 16, 1888 Jerusalem. 

IT IS WELL WITH MY SOUL: 2 Kings 4:26.

Horatio married Anna Larsen, a Norwegian on September 5, 1861 and the union was blessed with four lovely daughters. He was a prominent lawyer, a senior partner in a large thriving law firm in Chicago and a devout Presbyterian church elder. He was a friend and a great supporter of the famous Evangelist D L Moody. He had invested extensively in real estate north of an expanding Chicago early in 1871. 

However, on October 8 of the same year a great conflagration, (The Chicago Fire) broke out, devastated the entire city killing 300 people. Horatio’s huge investment was consumed in the inferno. In late 1873, Horatio scheduled a boat trip to Britain with his wife and four daughters for a much needed holiday to get away from all the stress of the disaster, and also join D L Moody who was on an evangelistic tour of Britain at that time. Spafford sent his wife and four daughters ahead of him while he remained in Chicago to take care of a last minute business development, with plans to join them later.

In November Spafford received news that the ‘Ville du Havre’ encountered a collision near England, drowning 226 passengers including his 4 daughters. His wife was one of 27 survivors of the disaster. In Chicago, Horatio received a telegram from his wife: ‘Saved alone, what shall I do now?’ On board the next ship to bring his grieving wife home, the Captain called Spafford to the bridge as they passed over the spot where the Ville du Havre had sank. Overcome with intense grief, he went back to his cabin and penned the words to the hymn, “IT IS WELL WITH MY SOUL.”

It was beautifully set to music by P P Bliss and remains one of the best loved and most sung hymns in the English hymnody. The Spaffords later had 3 other children, including a son who tragically died at age 4 in Feb 1881. It was reported that their Presbyterian church regarded their series of tragedies as a divine punishment. This led to their leaving the church to form their own sect which they called ‘The Overcomers’. In August 1881, the Spaffords moved with their remaining two daughters and a company of thirteen adults to Jerusalem where they engaged in philanthropic work among the people in Jerusalem regardless of their religious affiliation, with no intention to preach or proselyte the locals.

It is difficult to conceive the notion that a man so greatly devoted to the LORD, considered the Job of the 19^th century, whose comforting words after such intense loss have touched millions of souls, would miss it towards the end of his life. Only eternity will tell. For now, ‘IT IS WELL WITH MY SOUL’ keeps the memory of Horatio Gates Spafford alive!

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.My sin—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.And Lord, haste the day when the 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”

5.For me, be it Christ, be it Christ hence to live;
If dark hours about me shall roll
No pang shall be mine, for in death as in life
Thou wilt whisper Thy peace to my soul. 

PRAYERS:

• Stanza 1 – 2 Kings 4: 23, 26. To all the questions the woman was asked, her reply was, "t is well."

• Stanza 2 – Job 1: 20-22. Job fell to the ground and worshipped. He said ‘blessed be the name of the LORD. He did not sin or charge God with wrong.

• Stanza 3 – Matt. 16: 26, 1 Thess 4:13-14. In the heart of his grief for his physical loss, this brother remembers the great sacrifice Christ paid to redeem his soul which is of eternal value. He also sees his young daughters in the bosom of the Saviour, so he would not allow himself to sorrow like those who have no hope.

• Stanza 4 – Acts 1: 9-11, 1 Thess 4: 15-17, 1 John 3: 2-3. A joyful, hopeful looking forward to the appearing of our Christ in the sky, to be with the Lord and our loved ones forever. Hallelujah!

• Stanza 5 – Gal 2: 20, Phil 1: 20-23. Even like Paul, for this brother, physical death was of no consequence. It is only a transition to the presence of the LORD, therefore death becomes an advantage!

• Please LORD, help us not to be like Job’s friends who, instead of comforting him, added to his grief with their judgemental attitude towards a man that was already down.

• Dear LORD, please, help us to keep brotherly love alive so that when a brother seems to be missing the mark, Your love should compel us to labour to restore rather than castigate them and blame You for punishing them with some disaster.

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All Hail the Power of Jesus' Name

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Edward Perronet Scott (1726 - 1792)

u  Born in Sundridge, Kent England to Vincent Perronet, who escaped religious persecution as a French family and fled to England. 

u  Son of an Anglican priest that worked closely with John Wesley and his brother – Charles Wesley during the 18^th Century Revival; and encouraged by them to preach at Christian gatherings. 

u  Penned 'All Hail The Power of Jesus' Name' during his mission trip to India in 1779. Played his violin to this hymn as means of evangelism with his eyes closed in the midst of a barbarous tribe in India, where he was surrounded by spears and arrows. They dropped their spears, drew closer to him, he shared the gospel and won their hearts to the will of Jesus Christ. 

u  Edward Perronet's last words – 'Glory to God in the height of His divinity! Glory to God in the depth of his humanity! Glory to God in His all-sufficiency! Into His hands I commend my spirit'. 

u  Died in Canterbury Kent, England January 2^nd, 1792.  

HYMN – ALL HAIL THE POWER OF JESUS' NAME – Phillipians 2:9-11

Words by Edward Perronet Scott / Music by Oliver Holden

Tunes: 'Coronation' by Oliver Holden (1793) / 'Miles Lane' by William Shrubsole (1779) / 'Diadem' by James Ellor (1838)

1. All hail the power of Jesus' name!                 4. Let every kindred, every tribe

Let angels prostrate fall                                         On this terrestrial ball

Bring forth the royal diadem                                 To Him all majesty ascribe

And crown him Lord of all                                   And crown Him Lord of all

Bring forth the royal diadem                                 To Him all majesty ascribe

And crown him Lord of all                                    And crown Him Lord of all

2. Ye chosen seed of Israel's race                      5. Crown Him ye martyrs of your God

Ye ransomed from the fall                                    Who from His altar call

Hail Him who saves you by His grace                  Extol the Stem of Jesse's Rod

And crown Him Lord of all                                   And crown Him Lord of all

Hail him who saves you by His grace                   Extol the Stem of Jesse's Rod

And crown him Lord of all                                    And crown Him Lord of all

3. Sinners whose love can ne'er forget              6. O that with yonder sacred throng

The wormwood and the gall                                 We at His feet may fall

Go spread your trophies at His feet                      We'll join the everlasting song

And crown Him Lord of all                                   And crown Him Lord of all 

Go spread your trophies at His feet                       We'll join the everlasting song

And crown Him Lord of all                                    And crown Him Lord of all  

u   Reflections:
1. God used the 'violin' in the hands of Edward Perronet mightily, together with his voice to touch the most dangerous territories despite the cost.

*What do I have in my hands that God can use?* 

          

2. God used the 'rod' in the hands of Moses gloriously for the miraculous.

*What do I have in my hands that God can take and make to achieve His purpose?* 

u Prayers:
2 Timothy 2:4-5

'Soldiers don't get tied up in the affairs of civilian life, for then they cannot please the officer who enlisted them. And athletes cannot win the prize unless they follow the rules' - NLT.

• Lord, I yield my life unto You. Please use everything within me for Your glory. Affect my life in a definite way so I can run the race before me with my eyes set on the rules of heaven. Help me to please You with my ways, my words, my work, my walk, my worth and my will.

• Lord, release me from all forms of entanglements. Deliver me from every attachment to myself - in terms of my achievements, my qualifications, talents, gifting, etc; help me to take my eyes off myself. I give my all to You Lord. Take me deeper in every aspect of Your purpose for my life.

• Lord, grant me an unwavering faith and total trust to release to You, all that I am holding on to. Open my eyes to as many things You want to take away, to perfect Your will in my life. Grant me the courage to do the impossible in You, so I can experience the miraculous in Jesus' name – AMEN!

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Just Now Your Doubtings Give O'er

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LEILA NAYLOR MORRIS

BORN April 15th 1862 in Ohio, USA, DIED July 23rd 1929 in her daughter’s home in New York. Nothing much was known about this woman who silently laboured in God’s vineyard to author well over 1,000 gospel songs and hymns, both writing the songs and arranging the music. She simply wrote her name as MRS CHARLES HENRY MORRIS. She did not even insert her first names, she simply identified herself with her husband’s initials.

Even after suffering poor eye (sight) in her fifties and eventual blindness, this silent labourer continue to write and compose hymns until her death at the age of 67. 

She lived with her daughter until her death, which suggests to me that this lady did not make any personal profits from her much labour in God’s Kingdom. She was a labourer who denied, disowned herself and the world could see JESUS in her!

LET JESUS COME INTO YOUR HEART – Rev. 3:20

Mrs Morris got the inspiration for this song during an alter call for sinners to come to Christ when she noticed that a particular (wealthy) lady who had responded to the call was weeping inconsolably. Puzzled, she approached the lady who told her she was too overwhelmed with the burden of her sin and not sure she could be saved. Leila said to the lady, “Just now, your doubtings give over”, the music director who had been drawn to the scene, added, “just now, reject Him no more”, and the evangelist who had preached the message concluded, “just now, open the door”, and Leila concluded, “Let JESUS come into your heart!”  

PRAYERS: 

ü  Hebrews 11:6 – Dear LORD please establish my heart with your grace and faith as I cannot please You without trust in You.

ü  James 1: 5-8: Lord in my asking help me know that You are a giving God who gives to everyone who asks liberally and ungrudgingly, without reproach or fault finding.

• Help me to ask in faith without wavering, hesitating or doubting.
• I do not want to be like the billowing surge out at sea that is blown here and there and tossed by the wind.
• Deliver me LORD from being double-minded, irresolute, dubious and hesitating which are a sign of instability and uncertainty about everything I think, feel or decide.
• DEAR LORD, LET OUR HEARTS BE ESTABLISHED WITH YOUR GRACE!! 

ü Rom. 8:29 –  Dear LORD, You have predestined me to be molded into the image of Your Son Jesus Christ, let His life be evident in me.

ü   Phil 2: 5-11 – Let the characteristics of His life be my daily experience:

• Dear LORD, please strengthen me to follow Your example in humility, let my attitude be patterned after yours.
• You stripped Yourself of all Your heavenly glory and privileges, leaving the comfort and glory of Your realm to come this world, assuming the guise of a servant. Lord accomplish the same emptying in me please.
• As if coming to this very low realm was not degrading enough, You even abased Yourself the more to the extent of a painful, shameful death, all in obedience to the Father’s wish. Lord, please rid my life, empty me of all accolades, achievements, etc, that are usurping Your complete ownership and control of my life.
• Your simple command is “DENY YOURSELF, TAKE UP YOUR CROSS AND FOLLOW ME DAILY.” To this instruction Lord I pledge my allegiance, so help me LORD!!

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Joy To The World – The Psalms Of David

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ISAAC WATTS: 17 July 1674 – 25 November 1748

Isaac Watts, a prolific and popular hymn writer, preacher and logicist, referred to as the father of English hymnody was born in Southampton England. The second of nine children of a Nonconformist, but devoted Christian (Isaac Watts). Isaac was a very precocious child and had started learning Latin by age four, Greek by age six, French by eleven and later Hebrew. He had a taste for verse and rhyming as a child. 

As a nonconformist, Isaac could not attend Oxford or Cambridge Colleges as these were the exclusively reserved for members of the organised Anglican communion, so he entered a nonconformist Academy at Stoke Newington London in 1690.

Upon leaving the Academy at age twenty, Isaac spent the next two years at home as it was difficult for nonconformists to secure government positions in those days; it was during this period that he wrote most of some 750 hymns credited to him.

Watts later pastored a large independent church in London where he helped train preachers despite suffering poor health.

In early Christendom the PSALMS were sung inform of poetry and were affirmed in the biblical canon as part of the Old Testament. However, Watts in recognition of David, the author of most of the Psalms as a chosen instrument of God through whom the Messiah came, began to ‘renovate’ the Psalms to ‘imitate the language of the New Testament’. This led to the birth of many hymns with messages from the Psalms that reflect New Testament events/messages.

Notable among such hymns, JOY TO THE WORLD, first published in 1719 in Watts collection; The Psalms of David: imitated in the language of the New Testament and applied to the Christian state and worship has it’s theme in Psalm 98. 

Watts wrote the words of ‘Joy to the World’ as a hymn glorifying Christ’s triumphant return at the end of the age, rather than a song celebrating His first coming. The Nations are called to celebrate because God’s faithfulness to the house of Israel has brought salvation to the world, Halleluyah!! Joy to the world is the most popular Advent song in the world, it’s appeal cuts across age, race and national divides.

Let us be free to sing this beautiful song at all times, celebrating our eager expectation of His appearance the second time, not as a baby but as KING!! This was on Watt’s heart as he composed the lyrics of this song.

PRAYERS:

   üDear Lord Jesus, thank you for coming the first time as a sacrifice to take away the sin of the whole world.

ü  Lord, you are to appear a second time, NOT TO BEAR SIN, but to bring salvation to us who are waiting for you – Hebrews 9:28.

ü  Please give me passion for souls, especially those who have been deluded to believe lies that there is forgiveness of sin beyond the grave, and that your return is to die afresh – Heb 9:27, 28, Acts 1: 9-11, 1Thess 4: 13-18.

ü  Give me grace Oh Lord to prepare my heart to receive you. Help me not to lose my place in the company of those looking forward to your appearing.

ü  Stanza 3 – Dear Lord, please help me to guard my heart with all diligence so that sins and sorrow will not grow thither nor thorns infest the heart that you once cleansed with your precious blood

 üLord even as we await your appearing let your grace and truth be made manifest to the world through us to all the world, in our words, thought and action. Spread the wonders of your love (as a foretaste of  what awaits the world at your return through me. Amen.

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I Surrender All

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Judson Wheeler Van DeVenter (1855 - 1939)

Van DeVenter was born December 5, 1855 on a farm in Dundee, Michigan. He graduated from Hillsdale College as an Art student, became a teacher and supervisor of Art in one of the public schools. He was an active layman in his church (Methodist Episcopal Church), deeply involved in Evangelical meetings, an accomplished musician, singer and composer. Due to his talent for ministry work, he was encouraged by friends to give up teaching for his Evangelistic meetings. He waited for 5 years before choosing to become either a recognised artist or being devoted to the ministry. He finally surrendered his life to Christian Service during a meeting at Ohio; he travelled round United States, England, France and Scotland to do his Evangelistic work. Towards the end of his life, he moved to Florida and became a professor of Hymnology for 4 years at the Florida Bible Institute. He greatly influenced people like Billy Graham, Oprah Winfrey, Faith Hill, etc. He published over 60 Hymns in his lifetime but "I SURRENDER ALL" stood out. He concentrated on speaking in religious gatherings before he died and he died July 17, 1939.

Winfield S. Weeden's tombstone was inscribed with the title of the hymn - "I Surrender All".  

I SURRENDER ALL

Words by: Judson Wheeler Van DeVenter (1855 - 1939)

Music by: Winfield S. Weeden (1847 - 1908)

Published in 1896

Key D

Matthew 19:27 - 30

THE HYMN - "I SURRENDER ALL

Inspiration: "For some time I had struggled between developing my talents in the field of Art and going into Evangelistic work. At last the pivotal hour of my life came, and I surrendered all. A new day was ushered into my life. I became an evangelist and discovered down deep in my soul a talent hitherto unknown to me. God had hidden a song in my heart, and touching a tender chord, He caused me to sing"...Van DeVente

Prayer - Lord, inspire me afresh so I can aspire to the hope of heaven for my life.

1. Surrendering all, is all it takes to express the values of victorious living. It is total surrender to the divine will that enables someone to overcome daily challenges of life. It is all about having power and control over the things of the world through the Holy Spirit of God.

Prayer: 

• Lord, let Your TRUTH break through whatever that is not allowing me to make a definite move in surrendering my all to You. Open my eyes to see that my long awaited victory in my challenges is tied to my decision of laying my all at Your feet. Lord, please help me not to hold back from this truth.

• Lord, dig out anything that is occupying where You want to fill in my life. Displace anything that is sponsoring evil deposits into my life, and replace it with the benefits of Calvary. Lord, touch a chord in me that will release divine chords of victory in every area of my life, in Jesus' name.

2. Not surrendering all, may hinder all that it takes to receive the New Wine. The Holy Spirit can only be expressed in a life that is not hindered by any worldly form of living.

Prayer: 

• Lord, baptise me afresh with the power of the Holy Spirit. Grant me fresh in-filling and in-dwelling of Your breath of life, and cause me to soar above any form of deadness in all areas. Lord, I empty my life unto You. Please fill me with the treasures of heaven.

• Lord, help me to bear the image of heaven by the power of the Holy Spirit. Let Your holy flame put out all other flames that cannot be traced to You. Lord, make me one of the  firebrand armies of Your glory and cause me to be on fire for You at all times.

3. Matthew 19:27

"Peter answered Him, we have left everything to follow You! What then will there be for us?" - NIV (New International Version).

"Then Peter said to Him, We've given up everything to follow You. What will we get?" - NLT (New Living Translation). 

Prayer: 

•  Lord, help me to live daily in the joy of my full salvation in You. Shift my focus from the GIFT to You, the GIVER; let me not hold on to a particular gift more than necessary. Let me be sensitive and deliberate in opening my hands wide to your divine sustenance. Surround me with those that will support Your purpose for my life.

Lord, help me to surrender all, in order to conquer all in Jesus' name.

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I Cannot Tell

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I Cannot Tell

I cannot tell why He whom angels worship,
Should set His love upon the sons of men,
Or why, as Shepherd, He should seek the wanderers,
To bring them back, they know not how or when.
But this I know, that He was born of Mary
When Bethlehem’s manger was His only home,
And that He lived at Nazareth and laboured,
And so the Saviour, Saviour of the world is come.

I cannot tell how silently He suffered,
As with His peace He graced this place of tears,
Or how His heart upon the cross was broken,
The crown of pain to three and thirty years.
But this I know, He heals the brokenhearted,
And stays our sin, and calms our lurking fear,
And lifts the burden from the heavy laden,
For yet the Saviour, Saviour of the world is here.

I cannot tell how He will win the nations,
How He will claim His earthly heritage,
How satisfy the needs and aspirations
Of East and West, of sinner and of sage.
But this I know, all flesh shall see His glory,
And He shall reap the harvest He has sown,
And some glad day His sun shall shine in splendor
When He the Saviour, Saviour of the world is known.

I cannot tell how all the lands shall worship,
When, at His bidding, every storm is stilled,
Or who can say how great the jubilation
When all the hearts of men with love are filled.
But this I know, the skies will thrill with rapture,
And myriad, myriad human voices sing,
And earth to Heaven, and Heaven to earth, will answer:
At last the Saviour, Saviour of the world is King!

William Y Fullerton

William Young Fullerton (8 March 1857 – 17 August 1932) was a Baptist preacher, administrator and writer. He was born in Belfast, Ireland. As a young man, he was influenced by the preaching of Charles Spurgeon, who became his friend and discipler. Fullerton served as President of the Baptist Union and Home Secretary of the Baptist Missionary Society. He was a frequent speaker at Keswick Conventions. His published works include biographies of John Bunyan, Charles Spurgeon, James William Condell Fegan and Frederick Brotherton Meyer; missionary histories and devotional writings. He also compiled several hymnals. He is remembered for his hymn entitled "I Cannot Tell", which he set to the traditional Irish melody "Londonderry". He died at Bedford Park, Middlesex, at the age of 75.

I know that once I was blind, now I see

John 9:6-12,  24-25 "He answered and said, Whether he be a sinner or no, I know not: one thing I know, that, whereas I was blind, now I see."

Numbers 21:6-9 “And the Lord said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live. And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived."

John 3:14-15 "And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life."

I know that sin is destroyed in me 

Romans 6:6-14 "Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. For he that is dead is freed from sin...  For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace."

I know Him whom I have believed

2Timothy 1:8-12 "...For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day."

What do you know?

ü  Thank You for Your revelation to my life. Thank You for helping me to KNOW.

ü  Give me a revelation knowledge of You that is deep seated in my spirit. Not a head knowledge.

ü  Let Your revelations to my life anchor my soul and keep it firm even in the storms of life.

ü  Let one revelation of You move me to another and yet another. Make my life dynamic, not static.

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Abide With Me

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1. Abide with me; fast falls the eventide;

The darkness deepens; Lord with me abide.

When other helpers fail and comforts flee,

Help of the helpless, O abide with me.

2. Swift to its close ebbs out life’s little day;

Earth’s joys grow dim; its glories pass away;

Change and decay in all around I see;

O Thou who changest not, abide with me.

3. Not a brief glance I beg, a passing word;

But as Thou dwell’st with Thy disciples, Lord,

Familiar, condescending, patient, free.

Come not to sojourn, but abide with me.

4. I need Thy presence every passing hour.

What but Thy grace can foil the tempter’s power?

Who, like Thyself, my guide and stay can be?

Through cloud and sunshine, Lord, abide with me.

5. I fear no foe, with Thee at hand to bless;

Ills have no weight, and tears no bitterness.

Where is death’s sting? Where, grave, thy victory?

I triumph still, if Thou abide with me.

6. Hold Thou Thy cross before my closing eyes;

Shine through the gloom and point me to the skies.

Heaven’s morning breaks, and earth’s vain shadows flee;

In life, in death, O Lord, abide with me.

Henry F. Lyte

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HENRY FRANCIS LYTE – AUTHOR OF ‘ABIDE WITH ME’

A Scottish Anglican Divine and hymn-writer was born on June 1, 1793 and died on Nov 20, 1847 after a long battle with pulmonary diseases (Tuberculosis), aged only 54.

He was the second of three sons born to Thomas and Anna  Lyte. His father, described as a never do well, deserted the family shortly after making arrangements for his two older sons to attend  Portoral Royal School. Anna then moved to London with her youngest son where the both soon died. The headmaster at Portora, Dr Robert Burrowes, recognising Henry’s sterling abilities paid his fees and welcomed him into his own family.

After graduating from Trinity College Dublin, and with very limited training for the ministry (he had wanted to be a doctor), he took the Anglican holy orders in 1815.

A tall and particularly handsome man, slightly eccentric but of great personal charm, noted for his wit and human understanding. A born poet and an able scholar, he spoke Latin, Greek and French Lyte lived a modest, humble life devoted to the study of the Bible. He wrote many poems and hymns, especially from the Psalms. He married Anne Maxwell in 1817, they had two daughters and three sons.

Lyte’s first work was Tales in Verse illustrative of several of the petitions in the Lord’s prayer (1826)

In 1833 – A collection of poems and hymns he titled ‘The Spirit of the Psalms’ He is credited with about 89 hymns, the best known of which are: 'Praise my Soul the King of Heaven' and 'Abide With me Fast Fall the Eventide'.

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ABIDE WITH ME FAST FALLS THE EVENTIDE

Lyte wrote this hymn and preached on it two months before his death. Orphaned at a young age, coupled with his long battle with ill health, Lyte was gravely discouraged when numbers of his congregation (including in 1846, nearly his entire choir) left him for Dissenter congregations, so he wrote the lyrics to this hymn in September 1846 and died two months later.

It is the most published hymn of all time. The inspiration for the hymn came to Lyte from Luke 24:29. “But they urged and insisted, saying to Him, Remain with us, for it is toward evening, and the day is now far spent. So He went in to stay with them.” AMP.

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PRAYERS

Mal. 3: 3-4, 2 Cor. 12: 6-10

• Lord, as You found in Henry LYTE a yielded vessel, in spite of his challenges, I have no excuse for withholding myself from You.

• Let those challenges be a catalyst to advance Your work in me and through me – Phil 1:12.

• Give me grace in my weaknesses so that Your power may rest upon and be made manifest in and through me.

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