MACK WILBERG
Conductor
ANDREW UNSWORTH
Organist
DERRICK PORTER
The Spoken Word
COME, YE CHILDREN OF THE LORD
Music: Spanish melody
Text: James H. Wallis
Arrangement: Mack Wilberg
LOOK AT THE WORLD
Music and Text: John Rutter
GLORY TO GOD ON HIGH
Music: Felice de Giardini
Text: James Allen
Arrangement: Mack Wilberg
MENUET GOTHIQUE (ORGAN SOLO)
from Suite gothique
Music: Léon Boëllmann
ALLELUIA, AMEN (AIR IN G)
Music: Johann Sebastian Bach
Arrangement: Mack Wilberg
WHEN IN OUR MUSIC GOD IS GLORIFIED
Music: Charles Villiers Stanford
Text: Fred Pratt Green
Arrangement: Mack Wilberg
THE SPOKEN WORD
“The Gift of Music”
IT IS WELL WITH MY SOUL
Music: Philip Paul Bliss
Text: Horatio G. Spafford
Arrangement: Mack Wilberg
The Spoken Word
The Gift of Music
February 9, 2025
By: Derrick Porter
The Gift of Music
The Spoken Word, February 9, 2025
Derrick Porter
Music is a gift from heaven. It can bring peace to our hearts, lift our spirits, and give us courage.[1] The German priest Martin Luther once said, “Beautiful music is the art of the prophets that can calm the agitations of the soul; it is one of the most magnificent and delightful presents God has given us.”
Beautiful music really is a present from God! And for each inspiring song, there is also a backstory—a story that begins with an experience or emotion before developing into song. God’s gift of music often begins by blessing its writer and then transforms into a blessing for all who hear its sound.
Consider Horatio Spafford, who faced immense personal trials. His financial investments were ruined in the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. A short time later, his wife, Anna, and their four young daughters set sail for Europe, and Horatio planned to join them soon. But tragedy struck when the ship that Anna and her daughters were on was hit by another vessel. In 12 short minutes, the ship sank. Though Anna survived, all four of their daughters were lost at sea.
Upon hearing the news, Horatio immediately set sail to join his wife. Several days into his journey, he passed the spot where the shipwreck had occurred. Despite his deep sadness, he found peace and resolve in his heart, and being inspired, he wrote the lyrics to what would become the renowned hymn “It Is Well with My Soul.”[2] As he passed over the watery grave of his four daughters, he penned these words:
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.”[3]
These words came to Horatio in a moment of desperate need. They buoyed him up when he felt he would collapse with grief. Now, more than 150 years later, this heavenly gift of music is printed in hundreds of hymnals around the world, and its words continue to lift and bless the lives of countless people.
God is the giver of all that is good.[4] And one of His many good gifts is the gift of music.
[1] See “First Presidency Preface,” Hymns , x.
[2] See spaffordhymn.com and hymnologyarchive.com
[3] “It Is Well with My Soul,” Hymns , no. 1003.
[4] See James 1:17.