It Is Well
Sermon
Life Everlasting
The Essential Book of Funeral Resources
Object:
For an eleven-year-old boy who drowned
It Is Well
Matthew 11:28; John 14:16-17, 26-27; John 16:27, 33
At a time of grief and sorrow and heartache, the Holy Spirit is our Comforter, speaking peace to our souls, providing heavenly strength, granting divine power, reassuring our hearts, deepening our faith, and increasing our hope.
Hear again the words of Jesus himself:
I will pray to the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever.
-- John 14:16
The Comforter, who is the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things.
-- John 14:26
Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you; not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.
-- John 14:17
In the world ye shall have tribulation; but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.
-- John 16:33
Or listen to the words of a great hymn:
When peace like a river attendeth my way,
When sorrow like sea-billows roll,
Whatever my lot, thou hast taught me to say,
"It is well, it is well with my soul."
At a time like this, when we find ourselves in the presence of unexplainable circumstances, of sudden and tragic events, in the awesome and mysterious presence of death, the mind says to the heart that it is easy for someone who has not suffered to speak such words, that it is easy for a hymn-writer to praise God in a time of happiness, blessing, and joy.
Let me remind you of a true incident. Mrs. H. G. Spafford, the wife of a Christian lawyer, was on her way to Europe with their four children, aboard the French steamer, the Ville du Havre.
Early in the morning of November 22, 1873, the steamer was rammed by the English sailing vessel, the Lochearn. Damage was so severe that the Ville du Havre sank in twelve minutes. Although the mother was miraculously saved, she was in deep despair, for all four of her daughters had been lost in the sea.
One can only begin to imagine the physical suffering and the mental anguish through which this beautiful lady passed. In her deep distress, however, she lifted up her soul unto God and renewed her faith, repeating to herself these words, "I won't be a fair-weather friend to God. I will trust him, and some day I'll understand."
When her husband back home finally received the tragic word, he, too, endured a terrific struggle of the soul. Just a short time previously, he had lost almost everything in the terrible Chicago fire of October 8, 1871. Now, his family was decimated. This was a calamity beyond belief. In agony, Mr. Spafford walked the floor all night after he received the dreadful news. At length, he turned to a friend who had been waiting with him, and quietly said, "I am glad to trust the Lord when it will cost me something."
As quickly as possible, he made plans to join his wife in Europe. One afternoon, the captain called the lawyer into his cabin and told him that, according to his calculations, they were passing the place where the Ville du Havre had been wrecked.
After a period of quiet and thoughtful meditation, his faith came through strong and triumphant. There, on the high seas, near the place where his children had perished, he wrote:
When peace like a river attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea-billows roll,
Whatever my lot, thou hast taught me to say,
"It is well, it is well with my soul."
These words did not come out of calm peace and prosperity, but were born out of severe struggle and heavy grief.
Jesus, our Lord, we need to remember, was a "man of sorrows and acquainted with grief." He knew, firsthand, the meaning of anguish; what it meant to be "despised and rejected of men" (Isaiah 53:3). Yet, it was he who "endureth the cross, despising the shame" (Hebrews 12:2) and who says unto us:
Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.
-- Matthew 11:28
I will send the Comforter unto you.
-- John 16:7
Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you.
-- John 14:27
In the world ye shall have tribulation; but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.
-- John 16:33
____________
This story is told vividly and completely by a daughter of H. G. Spafford, born after the tragedy, in the book, Our Jerusalem, by Bertha Spafford Vesper (Garden City, New York: Doubleday and Company, 1950), chs. 3 and 4.
-- R. Blaine Detrick
(Reprinted from "Through The Valley Of The Shadow," CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lima, Ohio 45804, © 1976.)
It Is Well
Matthew 11:28; John 14:16-17, 26-27; John 16:27, 33
At a time of grief and sorrow and heartache, the Holy Spirit is our Comforter, speaking peace to our souls, providing heavenly strength, granting divine power, reassuring our hearts, deepening our faith, and increasing our hope.
Hear again the words of Jesus himself:
I will pray to the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever.
-- John 14:16
The Comforter, who is the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things.
-- John 14:26
Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you; not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.
-- John 14:17
In the world ye shall have tribulation; but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.
-- John 16:33
Or listen to the words of a great hymn:
When peace like a river attendeth my way,
When sorrow like sea-billows roll,
Whatever my lot, thou hast taught me to say,
"It is well, it is well with my soul."
At a time like this, when we find ourselves in the presence of unexplainable circumstances, of sudden and tragic events, in the awesome and mysterious presence of death, the mind says to the heart that it is easy for someone who has not suffered to speak such words, that it is easy for a hymn-writer to praise God in a time of happiness, blessing, and joy.
Let me remind you of a true incident. Mrs. H. G. Spafford, the wife of a Christian lawyer, was on her way to Europe with their four children, aboard the French steamer, the Ville du Havre.
Early in the morning of November 22, 1873, the steamer was rammed by the English sailing vessel, the Lochearn. Damage was so severe that the Ville du Havre sank in twelve minutes. Although the mother was miraculously saved, she was in deep despair, for all four of her daughters had been lost in the sea.
One can only begin to imagine the physical suffering and the mental anguish through which this beautiful lady passed. In her deep distress, however, she lifted up her soul unto God and renewed her faith, repeating to herself these words, "I won't be a fair-weather friend to God. I will trust him, and some day I'll understand."
When her husband back home finally received the tragic word, he, too, endured a terrific struggle of the soul. Just a short time previously, he had lost almost everything in the terrible Chicago fire of October 8, 1871. Now, his family was decimated. This was a calamity beyond belief. In agony, Mr. Spafford walked the floor all night after he received the dreadful news. At length, he turned to a friend who had been waiting with him, and quietly said, "I am glad to trust the Lord when it will cost me something."
As quickly as possible, he made plans to join his wife in Europe. One afternoon, the captain called the lawyer into his cabin and told him that, according to his calculations, they were passing the place where the Ville du Havre had been wrecked.
After a period of quiet and thoughtful meditation, his faith came through strong and triumphant. There, on the high seas, near the place where his children had perished, he wrote:
When peace like a river attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea-billows roll,
Whatever my lot, thou hast taught me to say,
"It is well, it is well with my soul."
These words did not come out of calm peace and prosperity, but were born out of severe struggle and heavy grief.
Jesus, our Lord, we need to remember, was a "man of sorrows and acquainted with grief." He knew, firsthand, the meaning of anguish; what it meant to be "despised and rejected of men" (Isaiah 53:3). Yet, it was he who "endureth the cross, despising the shame" (Hebrews 12:2) and who says unto us:
Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.
-- Matthew 11:28
I will send the Comforter unto you.
-- John 16:7
Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you.
-- John 14:27
In the world ye shall have tribulation; but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.
-- John 16:33
____________
This story is told vividly and completely by a daughter of H. G. Spafford, born after the tragedy, in the book, Our Jerusalem, by Bertha Spafford Vesper (Garden City, New York: Doubleday and Company, 1950), chs. 3 and 4.
-- R. Blaine Detrick
(Reprinted from "Through The Valley Of The Shadow," CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lima, Ohio 45804, © 1976.)
