Planetshakers – You Call Me Beautiful

Despite their activity starting in 2000, I personally had not heard of the internationally recognized Australian band Planetshakers until I heard endless praise on the radio in 2014. Much like Hillsong, they got started locally from Paradise Community Church (originally Adelaide Assembly of God) in Paradise, Australia.  It formed as part of their first Planetshakers Conference in 1997 at Adelaide, South Australia.  In 2004, some of its members branched off, moved to Melbourne, and formed Planetshakers Church.

They released a whopping 30 albums internationally, a few in Spanish.  Although they have been nominated for several Dove’s, including  “Praise and Worship Album of the Year” for Open Up the Gates in 2004, “Long Form Video of the Year” For Eternal Praise: Live and This is Our Time in 2014, Let’s Go in 2015, and Overflow in 2016, “Spanish Language Album of the Year” for Sé quién eres tú (featuring Su Presencia) in 2017, they did not win a single Dove.  They were also nominated in the Premios Arpa in three categories: best group or duo album, album rock or hard rock and producer of 2014 for their album Nada es Imposible.  No luck there either.

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1. What message does the song communicate?

There are several themes Planetshakers touches on throughout these lyrics, that God is all-knowing, all-seeing, immensely powerful, His mercy, forgiveness, and of course, His love.

Side Note: It feels…generic.  Perhaps it’s just me, but it comes off as lifeless rather than life-giving.  In part, because the last half is repetition.  In part, because it doesn’t quite pack the same punch as Hillsong’s So Will I, or Elevation Worships’ O Come to the Altar.  Sure, God’s amazement is shown center-stage, yet it does not move me as these other songs do.  It also does not help that the entire song is a whopping 9 minutes and 41 seconds long!

Score: 10/10

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

All lyrics are Biblically sound.

Lyrics posted with permission*.

[Verse 1]

You have known me, before I learned to breathe

Speaks to God’s omniscience, that He knows all things intellectual (1 Kings 8:39, 1 Chronicles 28:9, Psalm 44:21, Psalm 139:4, Psalm 147:4-5, Isaiah 40:28, Matthew 10:30, John 16:30 [reference to Jesus], John 21:17 [reference to Jesus], Acts 1:24, Hebrews 4:13, and 1 John 3:20).

You have searched me, there’s nothing You don’t see

Refers to God’s omnipresence, as described in 1 Kings 8:27, Psalm 139:7-12, Proverbs 15:3, Jeremiah 23:23-24, Colossians 1:17, and Hebrews 4:13.

You have witnessed, my triumphs and falls

Since God is omniscient and omnipresent, one of the things God sees is our human condition: our inability to be good like Him (see Genesis 3:22, Genesis 8:21, Job 15:14-16, Psalm 14:2-3, Psalm 51:5, Proverbs 22:15, Jeremiah 17:9, Romans 3:10-18, Romans 5:12, Romans 6:23, and Ephesians 2:2-3).

You loved me through it all
You loved me through it all

Despite our sinful nature, God chose to love us anyway, as demonstrated at the cross (see Isaiah 53:1-12, Matthew 20:28, Mark 10:45, John 1:29, John 3:16, Acts 4:12, Acts 20:28, Romans 5:6-10, Romans 6:23, 1 Corinthians 1:30, 1 Corinthians 6:20, 2 Corinthians 5:21, Galatians 1:3-4, Galatians 3:13, Ephesians 1:7, Colossians 2:14, 1 Timothy 2:6, Titus 2:14, Hebrews 9:12, Hebrews 9:15, Hebrews 9:22, Hebrews 9:26, 1 Peter 1:17-21, 1 Peter 2:24, 1 Peter 1:18-19, 1 John 1:7, 1 John 2:1-2, and Revelation 5:9).

[Pre-Chorus]

I am not my mistakes
I am a child of God
You have called me by name
I’m home in my Father’s arms

Planetshakers has chosen to focus on their identity as an adopted child of God rather than their past sinful failures.  As adopted children, we have an inheritance in God’s Kingdom (see John 1:12-13, John 14:18, Romans 8:14-17, Romans 8:23, Romans 9:1-8, Galatians 3:26, Galatians 4:5-7, Ephesians 1:3-14, Ephesians 2:11-22, Hebrews 9:15, and 1 John 3:1-3).

Line 4 helps us contextualize the pronoun “You” throughout these lyrics.

[Chorus 1]

I am amazed
Caught in the wonder of Your love
Cleansed by the power of Your touch

Continuing from the pre-chorus, Planetshakers shows reverent awe and wonder at the marvelous cleansing power of God’s touch.  There are several Biblical references of Jesus’ healing by touch, including Matthew 8:3, Matthew 9:29-30, Matthew 20:34, Mark 1:41-42, Mark 8:22-25, Luke 5:13, Luke 7:14-15, and Luke 22:51.

Father, You call me beautiful
Beautiful

That is, fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14).

[Verse 2]

You have crowned me, with favour and with peace

To crown, in this context, is to top someone with something.  In this case, Planetshakers is topped with favor and peace, the first being grace (unmerited favor; see Genesis 15:6, Exodus 33:19, Psalm 32:1-2, Romans 3:21-24, Romans 4:3-8, Romans 5:1-2, Romans 5:6-8, Romans 5:15-21, Romans 6:14, Romans 8:1-4, Romans 9:14-16, Romans 11:5-6, Galatians 2:21, Galatians 3:6, Galatians 5:4, Ephesians 1:7, Ephesians 2:4-9, 2 Thessalonians 2:16, Titus 2:11, 1 Timothy 1:15-16, and James 2:23) and the second internal peace (see John 14:27, John 16:29-33, Romans 5:1, Ephesians 2:14-15, and Colossians 3:15).

You have silenced, the lies I once believed

In other words, God has convinced Planetshakers that God is truth (2 Samuel 7:25-28, Psalm 119:142, Psalm 119:151, Psalm 119:160, and John 17:17-19) and, by extension, testifies to the truth (John 1:14, John 1:17, and John 18:37 ).

You accept me, You claimed me as Your own

A derivative of the pre-chorus regarding adoption.

You’re never letting go
You’re never letting go!

Those who are God’s will not be snatched from His hands (see John 10:27-29 and Romans 8:38-39).

[Chorus 2]

I am amazed
Caught in the wonder of Your love
Cleansed by the power of Your touch
Father, You call me beautiful

Repeats Chorus 1.

I stand in awe
Lost in the depths of Your mercy
Your heart beats like thunder around me

A derivative of Chorus 1, lines 1 and 2 in terms of deep reverence for God’s mercy.

Father, You call me beautiful
Beautiful

Repeats Chorus 1, lines 4 and 5.

[Bridge]

My sin and shame have been outweighed
By endless love and perfect grace

See commentary on Verse 1, lines 4 and 5.

I hear Your voice above the waves

Those who follow Jesus hear His voice (see John 10:4, John 10:16, and John 10:27-28).

You call me beautiful

Repeats Chorus 1, lines 4 and 5.

My innocence has been restored

Often referred to as the Great Exchange, Christ trades our sin for His righteousness, as described in more detail in my commentary on Verse 1, lines 4-5.

No fear can hold me anymore

For You are mine and I am Yours
Father, You’re beautiful

Repeats Chorus 1, lines 4 and 5.

Oh-oh-ohhh…

Filler.

[Outro]

Beautiful
Father, You’re beautiful
You’re beautiful
Beautiful

Repeats Chorus 1, lines 4 and 5.

Score: 10/10

3. How would an outsider interpret the song?

The Christian themes that are obvious to followers of Jesus may become lost to unbelievers.  The Gospel is there, yet thickly veiled behind a curtain of mediocrity.  There might be some non-Christians who benefit from these lyrics, but I suspect little will find inspiration to ask further questions of their Christian friends, pray to God, or read the Bible for the first time.

Score: 4/10

4. What does this song glorify?

I must give credit to Planetshakers as the song does glorify God despite my earlier critique.

Score: 10/10

Closing Comments

Despite my own underwhelment, Planetshakers’ You Call Me Beautiful is biblically sound and glorifies God.  It boasts major Christian themes and God’s attributes.

Final Score: 9/10

Artist Info

Track: You Call Me Beautiful (live in Melborne) (listen to the song)

Artist: Planetshakers

Album: Legacy (Live)

Genre: Contemporary Christian Music (CCM)

Release Year: 2017

Duration: 9:41

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

*YOU CALL MY BEAUTIFUL by Mitch Wong, © 2016 Planetshakers Publishing (APRA) (admin. by Music Services, www.musicservices.org). All Rights Reserved. Used By Permission.

Updates:

10/26/2021 – Per Artist Theology announcement, I expanded the red text to encourage others to study Planetshakers’ theology.

03/25/2021 – Updated per repetition announcement.  I moved my commentary to a side note, increased section 1’s score, and updated Conclusion.  This increased the overall rating, from 8/10 to 9/10.

08/15/2020 – The original article incorrectly stated that Planetshakers formed from Planetshakers church, not Adelaide Assembly of God.