All Will Be Well

Words: Mary Bowly Peters (b. _____, 1813; d. July 29, 1856)
Music: Ar Hyd Y Nos (Through the Night), a traditional Welsh melody

Note: The author married an English clergyman, and wrote fifty-eight hymns, as well as a massive work of history (in seven volumes) entitled, The World’s History from Creation to the Accession of Queen Victoria (i.e. 1837). Mrs. Peters published this hymn in 1847.

As to the Welsh melody, it has been found in print dating 1784, and it was used by John Gay in The Beggar’s Opera (1728). Hymnary.org (link below) has a hymn book using the tune for the hymn in 1880, so its connection with the hymn also goes back a long way.

It is most unfortunate that more hymnals haven’t carried this simple but effective hymn, and that it is less familiar than it should be.

(Stanza numbers in brackets below refer to the stanza number in The Cyber Hymnal. Find the link at the bottom of the article.)

The Bible uses the word “well,” occasionally in the sense of well-being and soundness of health, particularly in a spiritual sense. For example, “I surely know that it will be well with those who fear God, who fear before Him” (Ecc. 8:12).

“Obey My voice, and I will be your God, and you shall be My people. And walk in all the ways that I have commanded you, that it may be well with you” (Jer. 7:23). “Jeremiah said, ‘…Please, obey the voice of the LORD which I speak to you. So it shall be well with you, and your soul shall live’” (Jer. 38:20).

In Third John 1:2, the English Standard Version renders the word “prosper” (in the NKJV) as “well.” “Beloved, I pray that all may go well with you and that you may be in good health, as it goes well with your soul.”

Wellness of soul and spirit for the Christian depend on a number of things that are alluded to in this lovely hymn.

Stanza (1). We are objects of the love of God our Saviour (Tit. 3:3-5), recipients of our heavenly Father’s tender care (3). His favour is “free” (gracious) and changeless toward us who have experienced spiritual healing through faith in the shed blood of Christ (I Pet. 2:24). In grace we have been sealed by the Spirit, the indwelling Holy Spirit Himself becoming the God’s mark of ownership on us (Eph. 1:13-14). The hand of the Lord is mighty to defend us (Ps. 89:13).

(1) Through the love of God our Saviour,
All will be well;
Free and changeless is His favour;
All, all is well.
Precious is the blood that healed us;
Perfect is the grace that sealed us;
Strong the hand stretched out to shield us;
All must be well.

(2). We certainly face various trials in this life. But, even in these things, “all will be well.” The Lord will either deliver us from them, or give us the grace to endure them and glorify Him in them. Christians have a salvation that is “full,” both in its depth and eternal effects. The Lord Jesus exhorts us to “abide” in Him (Jn. 15:4). (As this term is used in John’s Gospel, in means to maintain a vital fellowship with Him.) Abiding is the secret of fruit bearing (Jn. 15:5). Also, God invites us to pray for what we need to live for Him (Phil. 4:6; Heb. 4:15-16). Added to these things, believers have the guidance of the Holy Spirit (Jn. 16:13-14; Rom. 8:14).

(2) Though we pass through tribulation,
All will be well;
Ours is such a full salvation;
All, all is well.
Happy still in God confiding,
Fruitful, if in Christ abiding,
Holy through the Spirit’s guiding,
All must be well.

(3). The “bright tomorrow” for the Christian encompasses both time and eternity. Whether “in living or in dying, all must be well.” We have this confidence: “For if we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s” (Rom. 14:8). Paul’s testimony is, “For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain” (Phil. 1:21). Through Christ, we have all we need to do either to the glory of God (Phil. 4:13, 19).

(3) We expect a bright tomorrow;
All will be well;
Faith can sing through days of sorrow,
All, all is well.
On our Father’s love relying,
Jesus every need supplying,
Or in living, or in dying,
All must be well.

Questions:

1. What is the most comforting or encouraging truth covered in this hymn?
2. If your church doesn’t know and use this hymn, is there a way you could introduce it?

Links:

• Through the Love of God our Savior (The Cyber Hymnal)
• Through the Love of God Our Savior (Hymnary.org)