Planetshakers – God Is On The Throne

Planetshakers is an organization run in the same vein as Hillsong, Bethel, and Elevation worship, in that a church organization runs and releases albums under a band name.  It was formed in 2000, three years after Planetshakers Church was created.

Planetshakers released a whopping 42 albums and 13 EP’s and received many nominations for their work.

Also, check out my reviews of We Speak Life and You Call Me Beautiful.

Lyrics can be found at https://genius.com/Planetshakers-god-is-on-the-throne-lyrics.

Note to new users: This is a different kind of review site!  Read About the Berean Test and Evaluation Criteria prior to reading this review.  I strongly encourage you to consider the potential blessings and dangers of this artist‘s theology by visiting Resources.

1. What message does the song communicate?

Planetshakers know that God has the power to heal, feels His power, can hear His voice, and is sovereign over creation. He can free them from their present ailment.

As many of you are aware, I have a bone to pick with the Word of Faith movement. While it’s true that God heals some to bring Him glory, my chief complaint is “forced faith”, where prayers to God guarantee healings. It’s difficult for me to know sometimes where the Bible ends and Word of Faith begins. In the past, I’ve erred on the side of Word of Faith when I should lean more towards interpreting charitably, resulting in several review updates.

Having said that, Verse 1, lines 3 and 4 points me towards Word of Faith. Why? Faithful means several things, including steadfast in allegiance, dutiful response, or consistent with a standard. When Planetshakers sing “‘Cause God You are faithful to move again”, they are saying that God is obligated to respond. That’s not correct. Yes, He is bound to keep His promises, and indeed, He has the strength to free Planetshakers from their distress, but He will not always heal when Planetshakers ask Him to. 

If God doesn’t heal them, are they still free? There’s no mention of sin, shame, or the cross, so it’s likely Planetshakers mean freedom from their infirmity. If God doesn’t always heal them, they may not be free. If they aren’t free, then they aren’t telling the truth when they claim freedom.

Score: 3/10

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

While some portions align with Scripture, some of these lyrics depend on Word of Faith, which is unbiblical, or quote Scripture out of context.

[Verse 1]

Lines 1 and 2: God has the power to heal (Genesis 1:1-31, Job 11:7-11, Psalm 33:6, Jeremiah 32:17, Romans 4:17, Hebrews 1:3, and Jude 1:24-25).

Lines 3 and 4: This is incorrect. God is not faithful to heal when Planetshakers asks. He is no respecter of persons (Romans 2:11). He will not heal if the healing doesn’t glorify Him (John 14:13).

Lines 5 and 6: God can move mountains (Matthew 17:20, Matthew 21:21, and Mark 11:23) and is present with Planetshakers (Deuteronomy 31:6-8, Joshua 1:5-9, Psalm 23:4, Psalm 46:1, Psalm 139:7-10, Isaiah 41:10, Jeremiah 23:23-24, Zephaniah 3:17, Matthew 6:25-34, Matthew 28:20, John 14:16-17, Hebrews 13:5, Romans 8:38-39, and Revelation 3:20).

Lines 7 and 8: Planetshakers have an attitude of gratitude, thanking God for what He does (1 Chronicles 16:34, 2 Chronicles 5:13, Psalm 7:17, Psalm 9:1-20, Psalm 107:8-9, Psalm 95:2-3, Psalm 106:1, Jeremiah 30:19, Jeremiah 33:11, 1 Corinthians 1:4-5, 2 Corinthians 4:15, 2 Corinthians 9:11-12, Colossians 3:16-17, and 1 Timothy 4:4-5).

[Chorus]

Lines 1 and 2: Probably a reference to Zephaniah 3:17.

Line 3: I’ve made a case in section 1 on why this statement may not always be true.

Lines 4 and 5: That is, an experience of feeling God’s Presence.

Line 6: Essentially repeats line 3.

[Verse 2]

Lines 1 and 2: Savior from what?  Again, the only thing mentioned here is impairment.  I’ve made the case earlier in section 1 why this isn’t always so.

Lines 3 and 4: See Verse 1, lines 1 and 2.

Line 5: This assumes that God will say “yes” to Planetshakers’s prayer, which He may not.

Line 6: This is a quote from Revelation 21:5, contextualized as post-second coming of Jesus. This seems to be quoted out of context, especially since there’s nothing in these lyrics about end times.

Lines 7 and 8: It’s easy to praise God forever when God heals us, but suppose He did not. Would Planetshakers still praise God? I don’t know. Daniel’s three friends did (Daniel 3:18). Perhaps they will too.

[Bridge]

Lines 1-3: God is sovereign over creation (Genesis 1:1, Deuteronomy 4:39, Deuteronomy 10:14, Joshua 2:11, Nehemiah 9:6, Psalm 29:10, Psalm 45:6, Psalm 50:7-15, Psalm 93:1-2, Psalm 115:3, Psalm 135:6, Isaiah 43:13, Isaiah 45:9-10, Isaiah 46:10, Lamentations 5:19, Daniel 4:35, Romans 9:19-21, Ephesians 1:11, Hebrews 1:8, James 4:15, Revelation 4:11, and Revelation 20:11).

Line 4: See Verse 1, lines 1 and 2.

Lines 5 and 6: See Verse 2, lines 7 and 8.

Line 7: See Verse 1, lines 3 and 4.

Line 8: Repeats line 4.

[Outro]

Lines 1 and 2: Essentially repeats Chorus, line 3.

Score: 5/10

3. How would an outsider interpret the song?

Unbelievers should easily draw a Christian interpretation, mentioning God and Jesus by name, alongside His power and authority. They will conclude God’s powerful enough to perform healings, while Planetshakers is grateful for His Presence, strength, and affirmative response. They will likely get the wrong idea about God’s faithfulness, that God is a cosmic slot machine that will always say “yes” to us. Some of them have tried this, realizing that this sentiment is false, leading many away from Christ.

Score: 2/10

4. What does this song glorify?

While it glorifies God that Planetshakers acknowledges His strength, Presence, and reign, it does not glorify Him that Planetboom spreads false teaching, that faithful prayers always result in healing.

Score: 4/10

Closing Comments

Planetshakers’ God Is On The Throne is disappointing.  While it proclaims God’s might over ailments, rulership over His creation, and Presence experienced by Planetshakers, it also teaches people that God is always faithful to heal us when it’s not the case.  This begs the question: Will Planetshakers praise if God doesn’t heal?  Many unbelievers will say “no”, walking away from Christianity when Word of Faith is put into practice.

I cannot recommend it for corporate worship.

Final Score: 4/10

Artist Info

Track: God Is On The Throne (listen to the song)

Artist: Planetshakers

Album: Rain

Genre: Contemporary Christian Music (CCM)

Release Year: 2019

Duration: 3:38

Agree?  Disagree?  Don’t be shy or have a cow!  Calmly and politely state your case in a comment, below.

Updates

02/16/2022 – Added other Planetshakers reviews to Introduction.

01/21/2022 – Re-added missing “Note to new users” that appears in every review.

11/16/2021 – Replaced “Planetboom” with “Planetshakers” throughout this review.  Thanks to Daniel for catching it!