I was so pleased to find this link…….So many churches have given up on the old hymns…to attract the people ……… It has been said that any Christian music that draws more attention to musical talent, musical techniques (the instrumentalists, or singer), or the manner of presentation , is INFERIOR to the secular music of Vivaldi, Bach, Haydn, Mozart, Brahms adn Beethoven. A real Christian musician MINISTERS; he or she never "performs". He or she never deservs, needs, covets (or should have) any applause. If anyone applauds, let it be the One who was magnified and glorified. A real Christian musician (instrument or vocal) is deeply concerned with conveying a MESSAGE, not a voice, or a technique, or a personality! Below you will find an perfect example of this.
This hymn was written after two major traumas in Spafford's life. The first was the great Chicago fire of October 1871, which ruined him financially (he had been a wealthy businessman). Shortly thereafter, while crossing the Atlantic, all four of Spafford's daughters died in a collision with another ship. Spafford's wife Anna survived and sent him the now famous telegram, "Saved alone." Several weeks later, as Spafford's own ship passed the spot where his daughters died, the Holy Spirit inspired these words. They speak to the eternal hope that all believers have, no matter what pain and grief befall them here on earth. The Spaffords had a consistent history of acting on their faith. After the Chicago fire, they devoted countless hours to helping the survivors. In 1881, they moved to Jerusalem (taking two daughters born after the shipwreck tragedy) and helped found a group called the American Colony; its mission was to serve the poor. The colony later became the subject of the Nobel prize winning Jerusalem, by Swedish novelist Selma Lagerlöf. Horatio Spafford died of malaria in 1888.
This song means so much more when we know the story behind it..would to God that we could all have the faith and trust that this man had.