"For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage each other with these words [ my emphasis ]." I Thessalonians 4:16-18
When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows, like sea billows, roll;
Whatever my lot, thou hast caused 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 hath regard my helpless estate,
And hath shed his own blood for my soul.
My sin - O, 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!
O Lord, haste the day when the faith shall be sight;
The clouds be rolled back like a scroll.
The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend!
"Even so," it is well with my soul.
-Horatio G. Spafford (usually sung to Ville du Havre by Philip Bliss)
*************
Be still, my soul; the Lord is on thy side;
Bear patiently the cross of grief or pain;
Leave to thy God to order and provide;
In every change He faithful will remain.
Be still, my soul: thy best, thy heav'nly Friend
Through thorny ways leads to a joyful end.
Be still, my soul; thy God doth undertake
To guide the future as He has the past.
Thy hope, thy confidence let nothing shake;
All now mysterious shall be bright at last.
Be still, my soul: the waves and wind still know
His voice who ruled them while he dwelt below.
Be still, my soul: the hour is hast'ning on
When we shall be forever with the Lord,
When disappointment, grief, and fear are gone.
Sorrow forgot, love's purest joys restored.
Be still, my soul: when change and tears are past,
All safe and blessed we shall meet at last.
-Katerina von Schlegel (usually sung to Finlandia by Jean Sibelius)