Hymn – Carnes Family Web

Song of the Week Sunday

This week I went on a hunt for old hymns made new… An old and forgotten blog TheWorshipFiles.com had just what I was looking for a hymn by Spafford/Bliss, redone by Michael bleecker and, here, covered by Jason Carroll. I think this is a great hymn and the story behind the song is incredible.

Back story:
I found this brief retelling at: wikipedia.org/wiki/It_Is_Well_with_My_Soul

This hymn was written after several traumatic events in Spafford’s life. The first was the death of his only son in 1871 at the age of four, shortly followed by the great Chicago Fire which ruined him financially (he had been a successful lawyer). Then in 1873, he had planned to travel to Europe with his family on the SS Ville du Havre, but sent the family ahead while he was delayed on business concerning zoning problems following the Great Chicago Fire. While crossing the Atlantic, the ship sank rapidly after a collision with a sailing ship, the Loch Earn, and all four of Spafford’s daughters died. His wife Anna survived and sent him the now famous telegram, “Saved alone . . .”. Shortly afterwards, as Spafford traveled to meet his grieving wife, he was inspired to write these words as his ship passed near where his daughters had died.

(Song of the Week Sundays)

I hope you take a moment to enjoy this version of “O For A Thousand Tongues.” Charles Wesley wrote these words in 1739. He wrote this song as he reflected on the previous year. This song was his reflection upon the one year anniversary of his conversion to Christ. In 1828 the great American Composer Lowell Mason wrote a new tune and, as you can hear in this recording, it is a song that has continued to be revisited by talented musicians.

It is a song that speaks to both the human condition in a very real way and also speaks of the boundless response of God acting upon us. Written by a man who was responding to very recent changes in his life and faith, one can feel the passion come through this song. To me, maybe I’m weird, it seems that this song is more than just a sum of its parts. There is a Spirit that is active behind the words, the tune, and the arrangement. There is an X-factor in this hymn and, I think, that is the reason it has captured the imaginations of so many talented musicians over the centuries.

I hope that you will enjoy this version by the David Crowder Band and I hope that this song will bring inspiration to your week!