Be Glad Of Heart

Be glad of heart, all you who seek
To lodge where welcome waits;
Our Shepherd owns a rock-walled fold
And wide has flung the gates.

Christ, sent to gather in the flock
To dwell in God's embrace,
Walks by our side toward blessedness
Where love prepares our place.

With anxious care God scans the road
For signs of our approach
And runs to meet us, sinners all,
With blessing, not reproach.

So let us sing as on we go
Until our travels cease
Where God, our shelter at the last,
Enfolds us deep in peace.

~ Genevieve Glenn, OSB

source: Magnificat, Vol. 14, No. 13

It Is Well With My Soul

Words: Ho­ra­tio G. Spaf­ford, 1873. Music: Ville du Havre, Phil­ip P. Bliss, 1876.  The tune is named af­ter the ship on which Spaf­ford’s child­ren perished, the S.S. Ville de Havre. Iron­ic­al­ly, Bliss him­self died in a tra­gic train wreck short­ly af­ter writ­ing this mu­sic.

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 af­ter, 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 near 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 on earth.

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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.

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

My sin, oh, 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!

Refrain

For me, be it Christ, be it Christ hence to live:
If Jordan above me shall roll,
No pang shall be mine, for in death as in life
Thou wilt whisper Thy peace to my soul.

Refrain

But, Lord, ‘tis for Thee, for Thy coming we wait,
The sky, not the grave, is our goal;
Oh trump of the angel! Oh voice of the Lord!
Blessèd hope, blessèd rest of my soul!

Refrain

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

The above info was found on the following site.  (I highly recommend this site for hymn texts and info regarding their inspiration.)

http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/i/t/i/itiswell.htm