1855 Knollcrest Circle SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49546-4402 USA
On the campus of Calvin University
© 2026 Calvin Institute of Christian Worship
How does this psalm piece interpret the psalm?
This psalm piece captures the whole of Psalm 13, which is a classic form of prayer. The psalmist honestly voices desperation with four questions of “How long?”. Then comes three petitions with three reasons. The most important part is the turning point of verse 5 when the psalmist chooses to trust in God’s covenantal love, so it forms the song’s hook line. Because the psalmist has received light for his eyes and, though circumstances have not changed, trusts deeply in God’s love, the psalmist is still able to sing the song of salvation with joy. We often use a minor key to express sadness or pain, but this melody uses octaves and the pentatonic scale to express the psalmist’s emotions. The dance interpretation of this psalm piece enriches the expression with another form of art. The black-and-white video highlights the psalm’s lament. The dancer’s postures and movements express the psalmist’s movement from lament to petition to trust. This psalm piece helps us to learn how to honestly voice out our cries and desperation before God and to express our deep faith and trust in God in the face of traumatic events and grief.
English Translation:
How long, O Lord? Will You forget me forever?
How long will You hide Your face from me?
How long must I bear pain in my soul,
and have sorrow in my heart all day long?
How long shall my enemy be exalted over me?
O Lord, please do not ever leave me,
Consider and answer me, O Lord my God!
Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep the sleep of death,
and my enemy will say, “I have prevailed”;
my foes will rejoice because I am shaken.
But I trusted in Your steadfast love;
which is a love of covenant and will never change.
My heart shall rejoice in Your salvation
For I belong to You and I will turn my eyes upon You.
But I trust in Your steadfast love;
Though my wearies and trials have not been changed,
I will sing to You, because You have dealt bountifully with me
and I will rejoice in You my whole life.
This contemporary song is to be sung in Cantonese (a tonal language). This song is suitable for singing as a prayer to express our trust to God in any situation, as we remember God’s grace. It is also appropriate for singing during Lent or when the congregation is facing severe grief and sorrow.
Text: Psalm 13; Yvette Lau
Join us after the University worship service (chapel) for a conversation with worship leader Kimberly Williams. We will explore topics related to worship leading and planning for diverse congregations, leading teams, songwriting and recording, and mentoring women in ministry.
In this session Terry Wildman will share the vision, process, and outcomes of the First Nations Version (FNV) New Testament. Why was this translation needed? Who was involved in the translation? What were some of the cultural challenges faced by the translation council? What does it say about the translations done in Native languages in the past? How did the translation council decide on more than 185 key words and terms? What are some of the unique qualities of the FNV versus other English versions? How has the FNV affected the worship expressions of some Native believers? What is the future of the FNV?
How does one think about diversity as a Christian or as the church? How might working with and among—or even just thinking about—migrant neighbors contribute to our ecclesial identity? The language of catholicity allows us to imagine the unity of the church not in a monocultural way, but rather as a community inclusive of people of all languages and ethnicities. Migration and migrants today especially remind the church of its own catholic identity. How does the church's identity as a migrant church foster a healthy catholicity in the church's worship? This session will include the use of salsa music to invite participation in a more catholic way of life, asking what multicultural, cross cultural, and intercultural ways of being a church on the move might look like in worship.
Join us after the University worship service (chapel) for a conversation with worship leader Kimberly Williams. We will explore topics related to worship leading and planning for diverse congregations, leading teams, songwriting and recording, and mentoring women in ministry.
In this session Terry Wildman will share the vision, process, and outcomes of the First Nations Version (FNV) New Testament. Why was this translation needed? Who was involved in the translation? What were some of the cultural challenges faced by the translation council? What does it say about the translations done in Native languages in the past? How did the translation council decide on more than 185 key words and terms? What are some of the unique qualities of the FNV versus other English versions? How has the FNV affected the worship expressions of some Native believers? What is the future of the FNV?
How does one think about diversity as a Christian or as the church? How might working with and among—or even just thinking about—migrant neighbors contribute to our ecclesial identity? The language of catholicity allows us to imagine the unity of the church not in a monocultural way, but rather as a community inclusive of people of all languages and ethnicities. Migration and migrants today especially remind the church of its own catholic identity. How does the church's identity as a migrant church foster a healthy catholicity in the church's worship? This session will include the use of salsa music to invite participation in a more catholic way of life, asking what multicultural, cross cultural, and intercultural ways of being a church on the move might look like in worship.
As inhabitants of the modern age, we are deeply marked by skewed ways of thinking that thwart our humanness, our involvement with the world, and our spirituality. This is a philosophical tune-up that directly challenges and dispels modernity’s implicit philosophy. My philosophical proposals in my 2023 book Doorway to Artistry target the creative process, but they positively affect and bring healing to all arenas of life and work and worship. I pose that we as human persons are meant to live out a joyous “yes” to the real, and our involvement with the real takes the form of intimate encounter and communion. My approach reflects especially on God’s creative act and God’s created things. It taps epiphany, the redemptive encounter, and the Eucharist as paradigms for our knowing, our artistry, and all our everyday involvement with the world, so it should make us better at our stewardly dominion and voicing creation’s praise in worship.
