People & Songs (Feat. May Angeles, Ryan Kennedy & The Emerging Sound) – Throne Room Song

People & Songs, much like Psallos, The Porter’s Gate, and Red Rocks Worship are a community of artists, musicians, and songwriters whose goal is to strengthen and release the voice of the church.  Though much of their music is released by individual artist names, they released their The Emerging Sound series, volumes 1-5, under the name “People & Songs”.

Lyrics can be found at https://genius.com/People-and-songs-throne-room-song-lyrics.

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1. What message does the song communicate?

Jesus is spiritually here with People & Songs, standing on “holy ground” (I explain in section 2 why this is legitimate).  As People & Songs express their praise and adoration to Christ, His Spirit moves within them, stirring their hearts in a joyful experience.  They gaze upon the beauty, majesty, and glory that is Jesus, hailing Him as King as they bow before Him.  People & Songs join all creation in worship in eternal praise to the everlasting God, Christ Jesus.

Score: 10/10

2. How much of the lyrics line up with Scripture?

The entire song is in agreement with the Bible.

[Verse 1]

Lines 1 and 2: This states that Jesus is omnipresent.  Per the doctrine of communicatio idiomatum (communication of the properties), we can rightfully apply the attributes of God’s omnipresence to Jesus’ divine nature, which include 1 Kings 8:27, Psalm 139:7-12, Proverbs 15:3, Jeremiah 23:23-24, Colossians 1:17, and Hebrews 4:13.

Lines 3 and 4: In Scripture, there are two instances in which “holy ground” was specifically cited.  The first is in Exodus 3:5 (recited again in Acts 7:32-33), where Moses experienced God through a burning bush.  Moses was instructed to take off his sandals.  The second is in Joshua 5:15, where the commander of the Lord’s army also gave the same commandment: take off your sandals.  Culturally, this was (and still is) a sign of respect to the place in which they dwelt.  Have you ever wondered why we take off our shoes when we visit other people’s houses?  It’s not just about avoiding dirt.  It shows respect to the place of visit.  Moses and Joshua could not draw near to God until they took off their shoes, showing their fear of the Lord.

What made the ground that Moses and Joshua stood “holy ground”?  It was because there was an intense, experiential, tangible revelation of God’s Presence!  His presence also made the tabernacle holy, where Moses could not enter (Exodus 40:34-35) until he went through the proper ceremonial washing (Leviticus 16:2-34).  People & Songs have been ceremonially washed by the blood of Jesus (Ephesians 1:7, Hebrews 9:22, 1 Peter 1:2, and 1 Peter 1:18-19) with their bodies as living temples that house the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19-20).  With Jesus here, and the Holy Spirit indwelling within us (Acts 6:5, Romans 8:9-11, 1 Corinthians 3:16, 1 Corinthians 6:16-19, Galatians 4:6, Ephesians 5:18, and 2 Timothy 1:14), their bodies are holy.

What about the ground People & Songs stands on.  Is it “holy” because Jesus is omnipresent?  Only if it were an “intense, experiential, tangible revelation of God’s Presence”.  Yet, I have no reason to think that such a phenomenon does not occur when sung in the context of corporate worship or at home.  Isn’t that part of why we gather together or sing such songs, to experience the Presence of God?  I’m inclined to think so.

Line 5: People & Songs show this by keeping His commandments (John 14:15).

[Verse 2]

Lines 1 and 2: That is, within People & Songs’ hearts (Acts 6:5, Romans 8:9-11, 1 Corinthians 3:16, 1 Corinthians 6:16-19, Galatians 4:6, Ephesians 5:18, and 2 Timothy 1:14).

Lines 3 and 4: God is the source of every good and perfect gift (James 1:17).

[Pre-Chorus]

Lines 1-4: That is, all creation worships God (Psalm 19:1-4, Psalm 66:4, Psalm 103:22, Psalm 148:7-11, Psalm 150:1-6, Isaiah 55:12, Luke 19:40, and Revelation 5:13).

[Chorus]

Lines 1-3: An equivalent rewording of Revelation 4:8.

Line 4: Jesus is a glorious, ruling King (Isaiah 9:6, Isaiah 11:10, Micah 5:2, Matthew 2:1-6, John 12:15, John 18:37, 1 Timothy 6:13-16, Revelation 17:14, and Revelation 19:11-16).

Line 5: Essentially repeats line 1.

Line 6: Jesus is holy (Mark 1:24, Luke 4:34, Acts 3:14, Acts 4:27-30, 1 John 2:20, Hebrews 7:26, and Revelation 4:8).

[Verse 3]

Lines 1-5: Jesus draws People & Songs to Him (John 12:32), with His Father’s will to believe Jesus so that People & Songs do not perish (2 Peter 3:9).  Jesus’ will is to do the Father’s will (Matthew 26:39-42 and John 6:29).

[Bridge]

Lines 1 and 2: This historical event, documented in Matthew 27:51, Mark 15:38, Luke 23:45, and Hebrews 10:19-22, signified the end of the Old Testament “holy of holies”.  The veil between People & Songs and God is gone.  The doorway to experience God’s Presence is open to People & Songs as they run hard and fast, gazing upon Christ’s glory.

Line 3: People & Songs pays homage to Jesus in worship.

Lines 4-9: Repeats lines 1-3.

[Post-Chorus]

Lines 1-4: Essentially repeats Chrous, lines 5 and 6.

[Interlude]

Lines 1-3: Essentially repeats Verse 1, lines 2 and 3.

[Outro]

Line 1: Lines 1-5 quote from Keith Green’s Oh Lord You’re Beautiful.  Christ is beautiful (1 Chronicles 16:29, Psalm 27:4, Psalm 29:2, and Isaiah 28:5-6).

Line 2: That is, People & Songs fixes their eyes on Jesus (Hebrews 12:2).

Line 3: Probably repeats line 1.

Lines 4 and 5: Christ looks back upon People & Songs with the same grace granted to His destroyers when He told them “Father forgive them” (Luke 23:34).

Lines 6-8: People & Songs experience God.

Score: 10/10

3. How would an outsider interpret the song?

Much of this song focuses on experiencing Christ, something that unbelievers, unless they “tasted and seen” and walked away (Hebrews 6:1-6), cannot comprehend on an experiential level unless their spiritual eyes are awakened (John 3:3).  Intellectually, they will see that Christians believe Jesus is there, moving about, guiding believers as they worship Him.

Aside from personal experience, the only other confusing part I foresee is the torn veil.  This requires a basic understanding of the Old Testament temple sacrifices and “holy of holies” to comprehend its significance.

Score: 8/10

4. What does this song glorify?

It glorifies Jesus as the eternal Ruler whose Spirit lives in believers and whose Presence draws us to Himself, gently guiding us to follow, worship, and adore Him.

Closing Comments

People & Songs’ Throne Room Song is a wonderful song.  It invites its listeners to behold and experience the glory of Jesus, joining the saints in reverent worship in homage to the everlasting King of kings, bringing Christ glory.  Aside from the torn veil, unbelievers will have a firm grasp of People & Song’s message, even if they do not experience Jesus first-hand.

I highly recommend this for corporate worship.  Seeker-sensitive churches may want to consider their audiences’ spiritual state before introducing them to experience Jesus first-hand.

Final Score: 9.5/10

Artist Info

Track: Throne Room Song (listen to the song)

Artist: People & Songs (Feat. May Angeles, Ryan Kennedy & The Emerging Sound)

Album: The Emerging Sound, Vol. 5

Genre: Rock

Release Year: 2019

Duration: 7:09

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Updates:

03/25/2021 – Updated per repetition announcement.