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Scripture References

Confessions and Statements of Faith References

Further Reflections on Confessions and Statements of Faith References

Our songs and prayers include honesty before God in which we express the pain we experience over our own sins and failures, the difficulties in both our lives and others’ lives, and our laments at the suffering and brokenness that marks our world and our lives. We have assurance, says Belgic Confession, Article 26, that Christ, our intercessor, will hear us, “since he suffered, being tempted, he is also able to help those who are tempted.”

 

We are encouraged to approach the throne with boldness so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Belgic Confession, Article 26, based on Hebrews 4). “We grieve that the church…has become a broken communion in a broken world” (Our World Belongs to God, paragraph 40).

 
We also “lament that our abuse of creation has brought lasting damage to the world we have been given...” (Our World Belongs to God, paragraph 51). And we cry to God for those who suffer in our world, knowing “that God…is in a special way the God of the destitute, the poor and the wronged...” (Belhar Confession, Section 4).

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Additional Prayers

O God of justice and truth, chaos often clouds the day and fears command the night.
Remind us always of your promise to guard and protect your people,
and of your perfect, holy love revealed to us in Jesus Christ our Redeemer.
We pray this in Jesus’ name. Amen.
— Psalms for All Seasons (http://www.psalmsforallseasons.org)
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Tune Information

Name
CAPTIVITY (KAS DZIEDAJA)
Key
d minor
Meter
8.7.8.7

Recordings

Musical Suggestion

Both the text and tune can suggest quite different moods. The leader should set a clear context for singing with indignation, defiance, or weariness. When taking the latter approach, consider the alternate accompaniment at 137A.
— Psalms for All Seasons (http://www.psalmsforallseasons.org)
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Hymn Story/Background

In 2010 the Calvin Institute for Christian Worship hosted a Psalms Colloquium. They invited participants to send in Psalm settings to perform and discuss. I had not yet written very many Psalm paraphrases, so I set about coming up with a few. My approach was to flip to a Psalm at random. If it didn’t feel very familiar to me, I wrote a paraphrase. This text was the result for Psalm 12. I intended it as sort-of a Broadway-style “patter song” piece, with lots of alliteration and consonants. I imagined the Psalmist mocking the mockers. I led it with HOLY MANNA, which allowed for a “light” approach. I was surprised, then, when the editors of Psalms for All Seasons: A Complete Psatler for Worship paired it with the mournful Latvian tune KAS DZIEDAJA. Singing through the piece with that tune I was struck at how well it works once one gets beyond the word “blather” (which, frankly, should not be sung with a straight face). EBENEZER is, I think, a good compromise—it has both a strident rhythmic intensity and a mournful tonality.
 
Adam M.L. Tice in Stars Like Grace: 50 More Hymn Texts 
— GIA Publications, Inc. (http://www.giamusic.com)
CAPTIVITY is a traditional Latvian folk tune; it is also known as KAS DZIEDAJA from the Latvian poem associated with the tune. The title CAPTIVITY is derived from its more recent use (especially in post-Vatican II Roman Catholicism) with Ewald Bash's paraphrase of Psalm 137, which begins "By the Babylonian rivers."
 
CAPTIVITY is a rather reflective tune, almost haunting in its minor mode. It has a stunning octave rise at the beginning of the second long line. The tune is suitable for either unison or part singing. Accompany with modest organ tones or strings (guitars).
— Bert Polman

Author Information

Adam M. L. Tice (b. Pennsylvania, 1979) was born in the mountains of western Pennsylvania, and grew up in Alabama, Oregon, and Indiana. After graduating from high school in Elkhart, Indiana, Adam went to nearby Goshen College, a Mennonite liberal arts school. He majored in music with an emphasis on composition and completed a minor in Bible and religion, graduating in 2002. He began working as a church musician and choir director while still in college.
 
Adam took his first course at the Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary in the fall of 2003, which led to the writing of his initial hymn text. Four years later (including a year-long interlude as a full time marionette puppeteer) Adam graduated with a Master of the Arts in Christian Formation with an emphasis on worship.
 
In 2004 Adam was named a Lovelace Scholar by the Hymn Society of the United States and Canada. From 2007 to 2010 he served as a member of the Society's Executive Committee.
 
Adam served as Associate Pastor of Hyattsville Mennonite Church in Hyattsville, Maryland, (just outside of Washington, DC) from 2007 to 2012. He now lives with his family in Goshen, Indiana.
 
Three collections of his hymn texts have been published by GIA: Woven into Harmony: 50 Hymn Texts; A Creener Place to Grow: 50 More Hymn Texts; Stars Like Grace: 50 More Hymn Texts; and Walk in Peace, a CD of texts to tunes by Sally Ann Morris.
— Adam M. L. Tice (http://www.adammltice.com/bio.html)

Composer Information

Geoffrey Laycock (b. 1927; d. 2011) was a British musican and composer, and founder of the Madrigal Choir of Keswick Hall College, now the Keswick Hall Choir. Laycock was known especially for his interpretation of early music. 
— Laura de Jong
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