Old or New, or Both?

   As I read Psalm 87 this morning, I guess I should not have been surprised to find the words to two songs, one an old hymn by John Newton and the other a newer song, written by Chris Tomlin.

   Psalm 87 verse 3 reads:

"Glorious things of you are spoken,"

   Psalm 87 verse 7

 “All my fountains are in you.”

   After all, the Psalms were songs of the Hebrew people. What better inspiration for modern day writers, whether the definition of modern be the 1700s or the 21st century.

   Verse 2 of Newton's hymn reads:

        See, the streams of living waters, 
         springing from eternal love, 
         well supply thy sons and daughters, 
         and all fear of want remove.
         Who can faint while such a river 
         ever will their thirst assuage? 
         Grace which like the Lord, the giver, 
         never fails from age to age. 

   And here is the chorus from Tomlin's newer praise song:

               Open the heavens
               Come Living Water
               All my fountains are in You
               You're strong like a river
               Your love is running through
               All my fountains are in You

   Are they all that different? Sure a different tune, a different beat or measure, but the same message, and both written to worship God, the maker of our universe.

   Do I prefer one style of music over the other? Sure, but it is not the style that I should worship, it is the giver of that music, along with everything else.

   God, let me concentrate on the words and message and not so much on the way it is presented.