The Story of Horatio Gates Spafford

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.

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.
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

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!
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

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.

This hymn was written by a Chicago lawyer, Horatio G. Spafford. You might think to write a worship song titled,
'It is well with my soul', you would indeed have to be a rich, successful Chicago lawyer. But the words,
"When sorrows like sea billows roll ... It is well with my soul”, were not written during the happiest period of Spafford's life. On the contrary, they came from a man who had suffered almost unimaginable personal tragedy.Horatio G. Spafford and his wife, Anna, were pretty well-known in 1860’s Chicago. And this was not just because of Horatio's legal career and business endeavors. The Spaffords were also prominent supporters and close friends of D.L. Moody, the famous preacher. In 1870, however, things started to go wrong. The Spaffords' only son was killed by scarlet fever at the age of four. A year later, it was fire rather than fever that struck. Horatio had invested heavily in real estate on the shores of Lake Michigan. In 1871, every one of these holdings was wiped out by the great Chicago Fire.

Aware of the toll that these disasters had taken on the family, Horatio decided to take his wife and four daughters on a holiday to England. And, not only did they need the rest -- DL Moody needed the help. He was traveling around Britain on one of his great evangelistic campaigns. Horatio and Anna planned to join Moody in late 1873. And so, the Spaffords traveled to New York in November, from where they were to catch the French steamer 'Ville de Havre' across the Atlantic. Yet just before they set sail, a last-minute business development forced Horatio to delay. Not wanting to ruin the family holiday, Spafford persuaded his family to go as planned.
He would follow on later. With this decided, Anna and her four daughters sailed East to Europe while Spafford returned West to Chicago. Just nine days later, Spafford received a telegram from his wife in Wales. It read:
"Saved alone."

On November 2nd 1873, the 'Ville de Havre' had collided with 'The Lochearn', an English vessel. It sank in only 12 minutes, claiming the lives of 226 people. Anna Spafford had stood bravely on the deck, with her daughters Annie, Maggie, Bessie and Tanetta clinging desperately to her. Her last memory had been of her baby being torn violently from her arms by the force of the waters. Anna was only saved from the fate of her daughters by a plank which floated beneath her unconscious body and propped her up. When the survivors of the wreck had been rescued, Mrs. Spafford's first reaction was one of complete despair. Then she heard a voice speak to her, "You were spared for a purpose." And she immediately recalled the words of a friend, "It's easy to be grateful and good when you have so much, but take care that you are not a fair-weather friend to God."

Upon hearing the terrible news, Horatio Spafford boarded the next ship out of New York to join his bereaved wife. Bertha Spafford (the fifth daughter of Horatio and Anna born later) explained that during her father's voyage, the captain of the ship had called him to the bridge. "A careful reckoning has been made", he said, "and I believe we are now passing the place where the de Havre was wrecked. The water is three miles deep." Horatio then returned to his cabin and penned the lyrics of his great hymn.The words which Spafford wrote that day come from 2 Kings 4:26. They echo the response of the Shunammite woman to the sudden death of her only child. Though we are told "her soul is vexed within her", she still maintains that 'It is well." And Spafford's song reveals a man whose trust in the Lord is as unwavering as hers was.It would be very difficult for any of us to predict how we would react under circumstances similar to those experienced by the Spaffords. But we do know that the God who sustained them would also be with us.

No matter what circumstances overtake us may we be able to say with Horatio Spafford...
  
CERITA VERSI INDONESIA 
Horatio Gates Spafford lahir pada tanggal 20 Oktober 1828, di North Troy, New York. Ia dibesarkan dan bersekolah di tempat itu. Setelah ia dewasa, pada tahun 1856, ia pindah ke kota Chicago, disinilah ia menjadi seorang pengacara Kristen terkemuka serta pengusaha di Amerika. Kemudian ia juga menjadi dosen salah satu universitas dalam mata kuliah hukum kedokteran. Spafford tertarik dengan kecantikan Anna dari Stavanger, Norwegia, ketika ia menghadiri kelas sekolah Minggu itu di Chicago.

Pasangan ini kemudian menikah pada 1861. Setelah menikah mereka dikaruniai satu putra dan empat putri. Suami-istri ini merupakan anggota Gereja Presbyterian yang aktif. Spafford menjadi guru Sekolah Minggu dan juga pemimpin dalam usaha kegiatan kaum Kristen. Ia menjabat sebagai anggota dewan pengurus dari sebuah seminari Presbyterian yang baru didirikan di Chicago. Dalam salah satu perjalanannya ke negeri Inggris dan Skotlandia pada tahun 1870, Spafford berjumpa dengan dengan seorang ahli perbintangan yang ternama. Melalui persahabatan dengan sarjana ini, Spafford menjadi sangat tertarik untuk mempelajari ilmu purbakala dari zaman Alkitab.

Pada tanggal 8 Oktober 1871, bencana besar melanda keluarga Spafford, dimana kebakaran hebat yang dikenal dengan nama “The Great Chicago Fire” menyapu bersih kota tempat tinggal mereka. Horatio selain berprofesi sebagai pengacara ia juga berinvestasi di real estate di kota itu, dan api menghancurkan hampir semua yang dimiliki. Pada tahun 1873, Spafford memutuskan harus mengambil liburan untuk dia dan keluarganya. Dia ingin beristirahat untuk istri dan empat anak perempuan, dan juga untuk membantu Moody dan Sankey di salah satu kampanye penginjilan mereka di Inggris. Namun ia tertunda karena bisnis harus tetap tinggal di Chicago, karena itu ia mengirim keluarganya berangkat lebih dahulu istri dan empat putri melakukan perjalanan sesuai dengan jadwal pada SS Ville du Havre, mengharapkan untuk mengikuti dalam beberapa hari. Tragis pada ada tanggal 22 November, 1873 saat melintasi Atlantik di kapal uap Ville du Havre, kapal mereka dipukul oleh kapal berlayar besi dan 226 orang kehilangan nyawa mereka, termasuk keempat putri Spafford. Anna Spafford selamat dalam tragedi tersebut. Setelah tiba di Inggris, ia mengirim telegram kepada Spafford memberitahukan peristiwa naas tersebut.

Spafford kemudian berlayar ke Inggris, dan akan mengarungi lokasi kematian orang-orang yang dikasihinya. Menurut Bertha Spafford Vester, seorang putri lahir setelah tragedi itu, Spafford menulis “It Is Well With My Soul” dalam perjalanan ini. Dan musiknya, ditulis oleh Philip Bliss. Beliau adalah komposer himne, seorang penulis yang produktif menulis lagu Injil. Dia begitu terkesan dengan pengalaman dan ekspresi teks Spafford ia segera menulis musik untuk itu, pertama kali diterbitkan di salah satu Hymnals Sankey-Bliss, Injil Nyanyian Rohani No 2. Tak lama setelah menulis It Is Well With My Soul, Bliss meninggal dalam kecelakaan kereta api tragis.
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 Ada yang uda pernah baca cerita Horatio? pasti udahhh yeee.. Gw suka banget cerita ini, sangatt memberkati gw dg cerita nya yg super duper menyedihkan. Gw ga tau apa yg gw lakukan klo gw ngalamin hal seberat itu, kehilangan 4 org anak sekaligus :( tapii satu hal yg Horatio katakan adalah TENANGLAH HAI JIWAKU!!!
Seringkali masalah itu datang bertubi tubi ke dalam hidup kita, tapi kita seakan kehilangan pegangan hidup dan seakan dunia sudah kiamat.. Mungkin masalah yg diberikan itu membuat kita merasa down dan kita merasa sepertinya ditinggalkan Tuhan, tapi kita harus belajar seperti  Horatio yang berkata yang pada jiwanya agar tetap tenang, karena dia percaya pada rencana Tuhan di dalam hidupnya. Rasanya klo secara manusiawii, itu suliiitttttt banget utk tetap tenang ditengah segala musibah yg sedang menimpa hidup kita , tapi Horatio mampu mengubah pandangannya terhadap musibah itu dan ia juga menuliskan sebuah syair indah utk jiwanya..
Sungguh luar biasa ketika kita bisa hidup dengan melihat masalah masalah & segala musibah itu sebagai salah satu dari rencana Tuhan yg mendatangkan kebaikan dalam hidup kita.Kita tidak mampu mengatur apa yg akan terjadi di dalam hidup kita, kadang ada suka, ada duka, dan perasaan kita selalu berubah-ubah, tetapi Tuhan akan tetap sama dan kasihNya tidak akan berubah.


Saya secara pribadi jg lagi mengalami pergumulan yang berat dlm hidup saya. Masalah masalah itu sepertinya datang bergiliran dan mencoba menjatuhkan saya ke dalam jurang yg kelam, tapi syair lagu ini benar benar menguatkan saya secara pribadi dan saya tau klo Tuhan punya rencana yg indah dibalik setiap masalah masalah yg ada. Mau belajar seperti Horatio yang tetap memuji Tuhan meskipun diterpa masalah yg berat dan percaya pada janjiNya yang indah di dalam hidupku ^^

I WILL SING "PRAISE THE LORD, O 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.
 
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.