“When Peace Like a River” (“It Is Well with My Soul”) ELW 785
1 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.
Refrain
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, with my soul,
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 has regarded my helpless estate,
And hath shed His own blood for my soul.
Refrain
3 He lives, 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!
Refrain
4 And Lord, haste the day when my 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.
Refrain
Devotion
He lives, 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!
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.
Bliss. Glorious thought. Praise the Lord! It's not only about our sorrows or trials or helplessness or even Satan. It is about sin, our whole sinful condition, which was nailed to the cross when Jesus was crucified and was raised from the dead.
And Lord, haste the day when my 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.
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.
Even with our hopes for the future, even so Jesus is with us now. It's not a matter only of a happy ending but of a journey with Jesus, where he taught us to say, “It is well, it is well with my soul.”
Prayer
Thank you, dear God. Amen.