The Process of Analyzing a Song for Worship

Honestly, this assignment is something we (worship pastors/leaders) should be doing weekly. Any time I am selecting new music to introduce to our congregation, whether it be a congregational or intended for a soloist/ensemble, I make sure to vet each piece carefully regarding general topic and direction, theology, Scriptural truth, etc. Our primary concern must be what our church is singing — the subject matter. So, in the spirit of analyzing new material, I’ve chosen to walk through analyzing a text that should be familiar to all of us, “It Is Well With My Soul,” like I would if it were new piece of music.

For the sake of making the text accessible, I’ll add it here, and refer to it throughout the rest of this post:

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.

[Refrain]
It is well (It is well),
With my soul (With my soul);
It is well, it is well with my soul

Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,
Let this blest assurance control:
That Christ has regarded my helpless estate,
And has shed his own blood for my soul.

My sin, oh 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 as a scroll;
The trump shall resound and the Lord shall descend;
Even so, it is well with my soul.

First, I like to look at the song from a “birds’-eye-view,” getting a holistic overview of the text. The overarching theme of the text is that no matter the situation, we have ultimate peace because of Christ. In this instance, it helps to know the context of the author. Horatio Spafford wrote this text after his family died in a tragic cruise liner collision. A few weeks later, Spafford was on an ocean liner following the same route. As they cruised past the spot where his family had died, Spafford penned the words to this classic hymn.

In addition to the theme of the text, I like to analyze, or rather categorize the genre and directionality of the text. In this instance, I would classify the genre as that of praise/celebration. The subject of the song is personal (“My sin…;” “My helpless estate…;” “It is well with my soul…”). The personal possessive pronouns of the text imply that it’s a song of introspective praise. The author is conveying the idea of reflection — reflecting on our condition, yet rejoicing in the peace we have through Christ.

After looking at the song as a whole, I like to break it down and inspect the theology and Scriptural truth of each individual stanza. The stanzas each act as a kind of “cause and effect” with the refrain. Because of x, it is well with my soul. Because of God’s peace, it is well with my soul. Because of Christ’s victory, it is well with my soul. Because of the LORD’s forgiveness, it is well with my soul. Because of Christ’s return, it is well with my soul.

The first stanza can be boiled down to one sentence — whatever the circumstance, we have ultimate peace. In Philippians 4, Paul writes, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 4:6–7). First Peter 5:5b-7 says, “‘God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.’ Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.” In John 14:27, Jesus says, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.” Throughout Scripture, we’ve been given the promise of peace — peace that doesn’t come from us, but from the Spirit of God. In this stanza, it’s implied that we have peace no matter our physical situation. In the case of Spafford, he has peace in the death of his family.

In the second stanza, the author switches a more spiritual focus — in temptation, spiritual trials, the attacks of the enemy, we still can say all is well because of our salvation in Christ. In his death, burial, and resurrection, Christ has claimed the ultimate victory over this world, and the spiritual world. We have peace because of our victory in Christ. Deuteronomy 20:4 reads, “For the LORD your God is he who fights with you against your enemies, to give you the victory.” In John 16:33, Jesus tells his followers, “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world, you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” In Romans 8:31, Paul writes, “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?” Because Christ has regarded our helpless estate, it is well with our souls.

In the third stanza, Spafford switches the focus yet again, and expresses the peace we experience through freedom from sin. In Psalm 103:10–12, David (a murderer and adulterer) writes, “He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us.” The author of 1 John, writing to believers, writes in 1 John 1:9, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” The prophet Isaiah recounts in Isaiah 1:18, “‘Come now, let us reason together, says the LORD: though your sins be like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though the are red like crimson, they shall become like wool.’” Paul writes to the church in Corinth, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come” (2 Cor. 5:17). Through Christ’s sacrifice on the cross, we are no longer bound to sin. Our sins are not just forgiven, they are erased — washed clean by the blood of the Lamb of God.

The final stanza focuses on the peace we experience in the promise of Christ’s triumphant return. In Luke’s account of Jesus’ ascension (found in Acts 1), he recounts, “And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, and said, ‘Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven’” (Acts 1:10–11). In 1 Peter 1:6–7, Peter writes, “In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith — of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire — may result in praise, glory, and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.” John writes in Revelation 1:7, “Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. Even so. Amen.” We have the promise that Christ will return in triumph, and as believers, we look to that day with anticipation. In the midst of a world that seems to grow more wicked by the day, Spafford says, “Come, Lord Jesus.” “Lord, haste the day when the faith will be made sight…”

At this point, you can see the beginnings of the process. We’ve looked at the song as a whole and determined that its a song of praise/thanksgiving for the peace we have through Christ. I’d consider that an appropriate topic for congregational worship. The directionality is vertical, but individual. Truths of God’s character are revealed, but it’s not speaking directly about God — it’s more our experience of God. It is individual — this is not a song of corporate praise. We don’t sing “It is well with our souls.” Even so, songs of this category still have their place in corporate worship. From there, we’ve broken down each stanza and supported the theology with Scripture. We aren’t singing heresy! My rule of thumb is finding at least three passages that support the theological claims made — in context. It is incredibly dangerous to take a passage out of context, and twist it to support a loose theological claim. The next step in analysis is to look at the music, in this case the hymn tune, and insure it is appropriate for congregational singing.

In listening/playing through a song to determine its suitability, I like to put it in the context of my own church, specifically vocally. Instrumentally, it is much easier to adapt a song to fit a particular context. If a melody is difficult to sing, it doesn’t matter how you adjust keys/parts, it will still be difficult to sing. Our context is fairly simple. We have a small vocal team, usually 3–4 singers, with 3–4 vocal parts. The lead is in soprano or tenor (occasionally doubled), we have an alto, and a tenor/baritone harmony. Supporting the vocal team is a four-part choir with about 35 voices (SATB).

The first thing I look for is any particular instance that I immediately recognize as difficult, or unusual. In looking at the music of “It Is Well With My Soul,” the first thing that jumps out at me is the refrain. You’ll notice that the first two lines have a parenthetical repeat. In singing, the lead, usually soprano/tenor, sings the first half, the supporting harmonies sing the parenthetical, repeating the lead. It makes for a beautiful harmonization, but if it were new to a congregation, it may be hard to get the church to catch on to the idea, especially if they are not using hymnals, or have little experience singing in parts. In my context, this is a fairly simple fix — supporting vocalists and choir can sing the repeat, the congregation can choose which one to follow.

The second aspect I like to look at is the key, vocal range, and shape of the melody line. In most hymnals, including The Baptist Hymnal (1991), this tune is published in C major. The melody line is fairly constrained, staying in exactly one octave. The lead line stretches from D1 to D, a comfortable range for most any soprano or tenor. The important thing in the melody shape is to look for large leaps, lots of leaps, or lots of accidentals. If there are leaps, it’s preferable that they’re thirds or fifths — these are the easiest jumps to hear/sing. Perfect fourths are also acceptable, but in reasonable amounts. Let’s look at the motion first. This tune is primarily step wise, with very few leaps. There is only one accidental, and it’s a minor second — an easily sung interval. The leaps that are present are fairly simple to sing, mainly thirds, with a few perfect fourths. Here’s the important thing to note — most of the perfect fourths are 5–1 jump. This is actually simple to hear and sing (think, “Here Comes the Bride”). So melodically, this song is incredibly accessible to most congregations.

Finally, if I’m analyzing a song/hymn to potentially introduce, I love to put it in our church’s context, and see what we have in our Planning Center library that will go with it — either thematically, or musically. For example, we would sing “It Is Well With My Soul” in C major, so I would look for songs in the key of C, or relative keys, to find something that will flow naturally into (or out of) “It Is Well.” In our library, we sing “Christ the Sure and Steady Anchor” (Matt Boswell) and “Cornerstone” (Jonas Myrin/Reuben Morgan) in C. Both of these are easy transitions both musically, and thematically into “It Is Well.” For example, “Because Jesus Christ, the author and perfecter of our faith, is the anchor/cornerstone of lives, we can sing, ‘It is well with my soul.’ Let’s lift our voices in praise/thanksgiving this morning.” If a song doesn’t fit well with anything else we already sing, I’m more hesitant to include it in our rotation.

That’s it! We just analyzed a song from start to finish to determine its suitability for congregational singing. In this case, I would consider “It Is Well With My Soul” to be incredibly congregational, and certainly appropriate for corporate worship. This is a single example, but these principles, and this process, can be applied across any platform, to any song. I go through this particular process any time I decide to introduce a new song to our congregation. But, why go through all the trouble? Because it is vitally important that we as worship pastors are aware of what our people are singing. We need to be conscious of the theology that we preach through music.