It Is Well With My Soul

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.

Though Satan should buffet, tho’ trials should come,

Let this blest assurance control,

That Christ has regarded my helpless estate,

And hat shed His own blood for my soul.

(Chorus)

My sin—O, 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.

(Chorus)

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.

(Chorus)

~Horatio Gates Spafford

Horatio Gates Spafford

(1828 – 1888)

Horatio G. Spafford, a forty-three year-old  Chicago businessman, suffered financial disaster in the Great Chicago Fire of 1871.  He and his wife were still grieving over the death of their son, with scarlet fever, 1880, shortly before the fire, and he realized they needed to get away for a vacation.  Knowing that their friend Dwight L. Moody was going to be preaching in evangelistic campaigns in England that  fall, Spafford decided to take the entire family to England.  His wife and four daughters went ahead on the SS Ville du Havre, and he planned to follow in a few days.

November 22, 1873, the S.S. Ville du Havre, sailing off the coast of Newfoundland, was struck by an English ship named The Lochearn.

But on the Atlantic Ocean the ship was struck by an iron sailing vessel and sank within twelve minutes.  Two hundred and twenty-six lives were lost—including the Spaffords’ daughters, Maggie, Tanetta, Annie, and Bessie.   Nine days later, when the survivors were brought to shore at Cardiff, Wales, Mrs. Anna Spafford cabled her husband, “Saved alone.”

Spafford booked passage on the next ship.  As they were crossing the Atlantic, the captain pointed out the place where he thought the Ville du Havre had gone down.  That night, Spafford penned the words “When sorrows like sea billows roll…it is well, it is well with my soul.”

Horatio Gates Spafford died in 1888 and was buried in the Protestant Cemetery on Mt. Zion. His soul was now at rest with the Lord, yet his misfortune had not ended. In one of the later wars between Israel and her Arab neighbors, angry Arab soldiers who were occupying Mt. Zion emptied some of the graves of the Protestant Cemetery. Thinking the graves were Jewish, they threw the remains into the Hinnon Valley below (New Testament Gehenna Valley). One of those graves belonged to Mr. Spafford. Ironically, thousands of Arab inhabitants of Jerusalem and the surrounding areas had been helped by the Spaffords and the Spafford Memorial Children's Hospital throughout the years.

When the war was over, the skeletal remains were placed back into the cemetery. An inability to identify the remains, however, resulted in a common grave for approximately six people. Today, if one walks outside the old city walls to the right of the Joppa Gate, up to the entrance of the Jerusalem University College, proceeds upon admittance through the courtyard to the Protestant Cemetery, a tall granite gravestone containing several names can be seen on the right just inside the cemetery. Horatio Gates Spafford's name is at the top of the list. Many folks have paused within this garden cemetery to remember the faith of Horatio Gates Spafford who suffered such disastrous circumstances, but whose life counted for God and others in spite of it all, because it was well with his soul.

Ship:

NAPOLEON III / VILLE DU HAVRE 1865
The NAPOLEON III was built by Thames Ironworks, London (engines by Ravenshill & Salked, London) in 1865 for Compagnie Generale Transatlantique (French Line). She was a 3,376 gross ton ship, length 365.9ft x beam 45.9ft, straight stem, two funnels, two masts, iron construction, paddle wheel propulsion and a speed of 11 knots. There was accommodation for 170-1st, 100-2nd and 50-3rd class passengers. Launched on 11/2/1865, she sailed on her maiden voyage from Havre for Brest and New York on 26/4/1866. She made five round voyages on this service, the last starting on 30/8/1868 and then sailed from Havre on 16/9/1871 to Tyneside; where she was lengthened to 421.7ft by A.Leslie & Co, Hebburn-on-Tyne. Her tonnage was increased to 3,950 tons, she was fitted with compound engines and rebuilt with single screw propulsion, a third mast fitted and she was renamed VILLE DU HAVRE. On 29/3/1873 she resumed Havre - Brest - New York sailings, but on 22/11/1873 she was sunk in collision with the British ship LOCH EARN in the English Channel, with the loss of 226 lives.

 Bertha Spafford Vester was born Bertha Spafford to Horatio and Anna Spafford on March 24, 1878 in Chicago, Illinois.
      In 1881, her parents went to Jerusalem to witness prophecy and refresh the body and soul.   Anna and Horatio brought  a group of people along with their daughters, three year old Bertha and seven month old Grace, to Jerusalem.  With this pilgrimage began the American Colony in Jerusalem, of which Bertha was a vital part.  Her father and mother educated Bertha.  Horatio was a lawyer and was well educated.   Anna taught nursing, housekeeping, and general humanities.
    Bertha performed many jobs for the American Colony.  She served as a nurse during World War I and she taught school prior to that.  Above all, she was a humanitarian.  She cared for the sick, fed the hungry and housed the homeless.  In 1895, at the age of 16, Bertha met he future husband, Frederick Vester.   They were married in 1904 and this marriage brought them six children.
 Frederick and his family were friends of the American Colony and the two got along wonderfully.  One problem was that Frederick was a German citizen.  This posed problems for him at the beginning World War I.  The German Army wanted him to fight for the "Fatherland"; this problem was straightened out when he was given immunity for his humanitarian efforts.
     Mrs. Vester was also a very accomplished person.  She was an excellent painter, mainly painting landscapes and flowers of the Holy Land.  Some of these paintings were complied into a book called Flowers of the Holy Land by Hallmark in 1964.
     Mrs. Vester has written Our Jerusalem (1950) and also a supplement called Supplement to Our Jerusalem (1954).  These are the main books that deal with the American Colony in Jerusalem.

History of the Text

    Our Jerusalem: An American Family in the Holy City, 1881-1949 was first published by Doubleday & Company Inc. in Garden City, NY, in 1950.  This version has an introduction by Lowell Thomas.
     In 1951, Evans Brothers Limited published the book again out of London.  This version is identical to the 1950 version except for an introduction by Sir Ronald Storrs and a conclusion by Mrs. Vester.
     In 1977, Arno Press reprinted the 1950 edition in New York.  Another reprint of the 1950 version appeared in 1984 from Ayer publication in Salem, New Hampshire. The book was also translated into Hebrew by Eli Schiller and published in Jerusalem in 1992.
     In Jerusalem, 1988, the American Colony Ariel Publishing House reprinted the 1950 edition, but also added eighty or so pictures and an epilogue, this is the book sold at the American Hotel for $20.
Itinerary

· On August 17, 1881, at 9:10 p.m. the Spaffords leave Chicago, Illinois for Jerusalem.
 Chicago, Illinois rests on the Southwest shore of Lake Michigan in the North Central part of the continental United States of America.  This city has been know for its steel mills, factories and it’s shipping business.   In 1871, the Great Chicago Fire destroyed much of the city.  The Spaffords were there to help with the injured and the homeless.
· From Chicago, the Spaffords went to Quebec.
 Quebec is the largest province of Canada, at the time under British rule.  The Spaffords delegation took the St. Lawrence River out of the North American continent, to get to Jerusalem.  The reason why they took this route, instead of going through NY, was that in November of 1873 Anna and four of her children were aboard the SS Ville du Havre when it sunk.  The four Spafford children aboard died.  So, on the way to Jerusalem the delegation took the long way around, to avoid sailing over the wreck.
· On September 8, 1881, the Spaffords arrived in London via Quebec.
 London is the capital of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.  This was just a lay over spot for the Spaffords on their way to Jaffa.

We rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.  Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character, and character, hope.

Romans 5: 2 -4

Page dedicated in Memory

Of

Philip & Lorraine Ray

Daughter of Dawn Bunnelle