Little Things Mean a Lot

I read somewhere the other day, that worship music (I still think hymns) was written by theologians as poetry to which music was then applied. Anne Steele, (1717-1778) was such a person. The words for one of her pieces are below.

The Saviour calls, let every ear
Attend the heavenly sound;
Ye doubting souls, dismiss your fear,
Hope smiles reviving round.
For every thirsty, longing heart,
Here streams of mercy flow;
And life and health and bliss impart,
To banish mortal woe.
Ye sinners come, ‘tis mercy’s voice;
The gracious call obey;
Mercy invites to heavenly joys,
And can you yet delay?
Dear Saviour draw reluctant hearts,
To thee let sinners fly,
And take the bliss thy love imparts,
And drink, and never die."

Today we have muscians writing "choruses" which seem to revolve mostly around the narcissistic "I". For example this is from "Give Me Your Eyes,"

(Chorus)
Give me your eyes for just one second,
Give me your eyes so I can see,
Everything that I keep missing,
Give me your love for humanity,
Give me your arms for the broken hearted,
The ones far beyond my reach,
Give me your heart for the once forgotten,
Give me your eyes so I can see,
yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Both are written from a perspective of concern for the lost. But, in Ms. Steele's prose, we get the sense that her concern is God centered and oriented ("Dear Saviour draw reluctant hearts") and that it is He who must intervene. The opposite sense is explicit in the "Give Me Your Eyes," chorus. From this it is obvious that the concern is self-centered and the idea is that we can do everything if God will just help us a little.

These are subtle distinctions I know, but without caring about the little changes in thought, it isn't long before larger issues become almost insurmountable.