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What do you do when life deals you an unthinkable blow? When tragedy strikes and everything you thought you knew about God gets tested in the crucible of real suffering? Horatio Spafford faced that moment and chose to pen words that would echo through the ages: “It is well with my soul.” Don Chapman’s new music for this timeless testimony brings that incredible declaration into your modern worship setting with a tune that captures both the struggle and the triumph of faith tested by fire. This isn’t just a hymn – it’s a lifeline wrapped in minor chords and crowned with hope.
Hymn History: It Is Well (Peace Like a River)
Some stories are so dramatic they almost seem fictional. Horatio Spafford’s life reads like something from the pages of Scripture itself – a modern-day Job whose response to unthinkable tragedy produced one of the most powerful hymns ever written.
The stage was set in early 1870s Chicago. Spafford was living the American dream: successful lawyer, thriving businessman, devoted husband and father. He and his wife Anna were deeply involved in D.L. Moody’s ministry, using their prosperity to further God’s kingdom. Life was good – until it wasn’t.
The Great Chicago Fire of 1871 devoured much of Spafford’s real estate empire. Financial ruin struck like lightning, but the family pressed on. Seeking restoration and rest, Horatio planned a European getaway for Anna and their four daughters: Maggie, Tanetta, Annie, and Bessie. Last-minute business complications forced him to send his family ahead on the SS Ville du Havre while he finished affairs in Chicago.
November 22, 1873. The collision happened in the middle of the Atlantic. The ship sank in just twelve minutes. Of 313 passengers, only 87 survived. Anna Spafford was pulled from the icy waters, but their four daughters were not. Her telegram to Horatio contained two words that shattered a father’s heart: “Saved alone.”
Horatio immediately boarded the next ship to Europe. As his vessel crossed the Atlantic, the captain called him to his cabin and delivered news that would have broken most men: “A careful reckoning has been made, and I believe we are now passing the place where the Ville du Havre was wrecked. The water is three miles deep.” Horatio returned to his cabin and reflected on his loss. In that moment of profound grief, gazing out at waters three miles deep that held his children, he took pen to paper and wrote the words that would comfort millions: “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.”
But here’s where the story gets even more incredible. After Anna’s rescue, she heard the voice of the Lord: “You are spared for a purpose, you have work to do.” That divine calling led the grieving family to Jerusalem, where they established the American Colony. Their legacy of faith and service extended through their daughter Bertha Spafford Vester, who founded what became the Spafford Children’s Center in 1925. What began as an orphanage quickly expanded into a children’s hospital, and today the center continues to provide medical, psychological, and educational support for thousands of children and families in East Jerusalem. Nearly a century later, the Spafford legacy of healing endures – a living testamony to how God can use our deepest sorrows for His greatest purposes.
As Don Chapman researched this remarkable story he felt compelled to give it a fresh musical voice. His new music follows that familiar modern worship form – minor chords and moody guitars that acknowledge the weight of struggle, then builds to a triumphant bridge. Don composed it specifically to fit with contemporary worship sets, making Spafford’s century-old testimony accessible to today’s congregations.
Call to Worship
Need help finding the right words to introduce a hymn? Use this sample “Call to Worship” as a starting point, or let it inspire you to create your a heartfelt invitation to praise in your own words!
Life has a funny way of testing our theology, doesn’t it? We can sing about God’s faithfulness on Sunday morning, but what happens when Monday brings the phone call that changes everything? When the doctor uses words like “terminal” or “inoperable”? When the marriage falls apart or the job disappears?
Horatio Spafford faced that test in the most extreme way imaginable. After losing his four daughters in a shipwreck, he had a choice: let bitterness consume him or choose to trust God’s sovereignty. Remarkably, he chose to write a hymn.
Today we’re going to sing that same hymn – not because our lives are perfect, but because our God is. We’re going to declare “it is well” not because we feel fine, but because our peace flows deeper than feelings. Like a river, it runs beneath the surface storms, steady and sure.
Whatever storm you’re weathering today, whatever “sea billows” are crashing over your life, remember this: your peace isn’t dependent on your circumstances. It flows from an unshakeable source – the same God who held Horatio Spafford in his darkest hour is holding you in yours.
Lead with Confidence
When you introduce “It Is Well (Peace Like a River)” to your church, you’re not just teaching a song – you’re handing them a weapon against despair. These lyrics have walked believers through everything from world wars to personal tragedies, and it’s ready to walk your congregation through whatever they’re facing, too.
Don Chapman’s new melody gives you the best of both worlds: the theological depth of a classic hymn wrapped in the musical language your congregation already speaks. Those minor chord progressions aren’t just pretty – they’re purposeful, creating space for honest sorrow before building to triumphant declaration. The modern worship structure lets you extend moments, repeat sections, and really let the message sink in.
Don’t rush through Spafford’s story when you introduce this song. Yes, it’s heartbreaking, but that’s exactly why it’s so powerful. When your congregation understands that these weren’t words written from an ivory tower but from the deck of a ship sailing over his worst nightmare, they’ll sing with a conviction that comes from knowing this peace has been tested in the crucible of real suffering.
Use Chapman’s arrangement to take people on a journey. Start contemplative, let them sit in the minor key reality that life brings storms. Then watch as the music builds and their voices rise in defiant declaration: “It is well with my soul!” There’s something profoundly moving about a congregation declaring wellness in the midst of unwellness, peace in the midst of chaos.
Blending Suggestions
Try using “It Is Well (Peace Like a River)” in your worship set with these songs that fit thematically:
Blessed Be Your Name by Matt Redman: Spafford’s “whatever my lot” becomes Redman’s choice to bless God’s name “when the sun’s shining down on me” and “when the darkness closes in.” Both songs teach us to verbalize trust before our feelings catch up. Create a powerful worship moment by moving from declaring “it is well” to choosing to “bless Your name” – it’s the progression from peace to praise that every believer needs to make.
In Christ Alone by Keith Getty and Stuart Townend: When Spafford writes about his sin being “nailed to the cross,” he’s singing the same truth Getty and Townend declare in their victory stanza. Both hymns anchor our hope in Christ’s finished work and point toward the same horizon: “Till He returns or calls me home.” Use these together to create a worship set that spans from present peace to future hope.
Living Hope by Phil Wickham: Wickham’s celebration of resurrection power gives us the “why” behind Spafford’s peace. Christ’s victory over death is what allows us to declare wellness in our souls even when life falls apart. The energy builds beautifully from the contemplative verses of “Peace Like a River” into the triumphant declarations of “Living Hope.”
Cornerstone by Hillsong Worship: This modern take on “My Hope Is Built” echoes the same unshakeable confidence Spafford expressed. Where he found peace in life’s storms, “Cornerstone” declares Christ as our solid foundation when everything else gives way. Both songs answer the question: where do you turn when the bottom falls out? The answer is always the same – to the Rock that cannot be moved.
By weaving “It Is Well (Peace Like a River)” with these contemporary anthems, you’ll create a worship experience that doesn’t just acknowledge life’s difficulties – it shows your congregation how to stand firm in the middle of them. Don Chapman’s fresh arrangement makes it easier than ever to bring Spafford’s 150-year-old testimony to a new generation, proving that some truths are too powerful to be confined to one century.