Photo by Womanizer WOW Tech
Maverick City Music is a community of singers that sing as a collective, almost as if to represent an entire congregation as a singular voice. Forming in 2018, they released five EP’s and two albums, including:
- Maverick City Vol. 1 EP (2019)
- Maverick City Vol. 2 EP (2019)
- Maverick City Vol. 3, Part 1 (2020)
- Maverick City Vol. 3, Part 2 (2020)
- You Hold It All Together (EP, 2020)
- Maverick City Christmas (EP, 2020)
- Move Your Heart (EP, 2021)
They were nominated last year for two GMA Dove awards, including Gospel Worship Recorded Song of the Year (Promises) and Gospel Worship Album of the Year (Maverick City Vol. 3, Part 1).
Also, check out my reviews of Refiner and You Keep on Getting Better.
Lyrics can be found at https://genius.com/Maverick-city-music-promises-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.
1. What message does the song communicate?
The God of covenant is faithful to keep all His promises forever. In response, and regardless of their trials, Maverick City Music blesses and praises God all day long. Christ is Maverick City Music’s foundation. His words will never pass away. Maverick City Music instructs others to join them in worship.
Side Note: To those who are sensitive to massive repetition, Bridge repeats the same three lines four times. it shows up again after Chorus, followed by another Chorus. After that, Spontaneous follows the same format as Bridge, with yet another Chorus to follow. After that, there’s another Spontaneous, which contains three/four repeats of two lines, followed by three refrains of one line, then three of another, then a few one/two liners, followed by a quad-repeat, ending with the Chorus’ beginning. The song ends with a slightly elongated Chorus.
Score: 10/10
2. How much of the lyrics line up with Scripture?
The entire song agrees with the Bible.
[Intro]
Line 1: Yes, God is faithful at all times (Numbers 23:19, Deuteronomy 7:9, Psalm 33:4, Psalm 91:4, Psalms 119:90, Lamentations 3:22-23, 1 Corinthians 1:9, 1 Corinthians 10:13, 2 Thessalonians 3:3, 2 Timothy 2:13, Hebrews 10:23, 2 Peter 3:9, and 1 John 1:9).
[Verse 1]
Line 1: The God that we serve is the same God that Abraham served.
Lines 2 and 3: A covenant is a pact of an agreement between two or more people. God made many covenants with mankind, including:
- Noahic, that God would never destroy the world by water again (Genesis 9:8-17).
- Abrahamic, that through his seed, God would make a nation and all the families of the earth will be blessed (Genesis 12:1-3 and Genesis 15:5-21).
- Mosaic, that God would bring about a Law for the Israelites to follow (Exodus 19:1-6 and Exodus 24:6-8).
- Davidic, that God would establish an heir from his descendants that would reign on his throne forever (2 Samuel 7:8-17).
- New, that God would make a new covenant between God and Israel (Jeremiah 31:31-34)
Lines 3-6: God has been faithful in His promises, though it took more time than we expect (2 Peter 3:9):
- The earth has not been destroyed by water again.
- Jesus is a descendant of Abraham (Matthew 1:1-16 and Luke 3:23-38) who blessed all the nations through His sacrifice (Revelation 7:9–11).
- Jesus came to fulfill the law, not abolish it (Matthew 5:17).
- Jesus is a descendant of David (Matthew 1:1-16 and Luke 3:23-38) and would rule the throne of David forever (Luke 1:31-33).
- Jesus established a new covenant between Himself and mankind, which includes Israel (Matthew 26:26-28, Luke 22:14-20, 1 Corinthians 11:23-26, Hebrews 8:1-13, Hebrews 9:1-21, and Hebrews 12:24).
[Pre-Chorus]
Lines 1 and 2: If Maverick City Music takes the Word of God and put them into practice, then when the winds and storm comes, they will not fall away (Matthew 7:24-27).
Lines 3 and 4: Maverick City Music trusts God through the process, that God keeps all His promises (Numbers 23:19, Joshua 21:45, Joshua 23:14, 1 Kings 8:56, Romans 4:21, 2 Corinthians 1:20, 1 Thessalonians 5:24, Hebrews 10:23, and 2 Peter 3:9).
[Chorus]
Line 1: See Intro.
Line 2: Repeats line 1.
Line 3: Borrowed from Psalm 113:3.
Line 4: Repeats line 1.
[Post-Chorus]
Lines 1 and 2: Though the things in this world change, God does not (Numbers 23:19, Malachi 3:6, Hebrews 13:8, and James 1:17).
[Verse 2]
Line 1: That is, the eternal God (Deuteronomy 33:27, 1 Chronicles 16:34, Job 36:26, Psalm 48:14, Psalm 90:2-4, Psalm 102:12, Psalm 102:26-27, Proverbs 8:23, Isaiah 40:28, Isaiah 41:4, Habakkuk 1:12, John 17:5, Romans 1:20, 1 Corinthians 2:7, Ephesians 1:4, Hebrews 1:11-12, 1 Peter 1:20, 2 Peter 3:8, Revelation 1:8, Revelation 11:17, and Revelation 22:13).
Lines 2 and 3: Borrows from Matthew 24:35.
Lines 4-6: If we examine history and Scripture, we will conclude that God is faithful in everything He promises to do. See Pre-Chorus, lines 3 and 4.
[Interlude]
Line 1: See interlude.
Lines 2-4: Essentially repeats line 1.
[Bridge]
Line 1: Maverick City Music trusts in Christ (Mark 1:15, John 3:16, Acts 2:36-38, Acts 3:19-21, Acts 20:21, and Romans 10:11).
Line 2: In the same way that an anchor prevents its ship from being swept away from wind and waves, Christ is the hope that secures us when we face the unknown (Hebrews 6:19-20).
Line 3: Jesus is Maverick City Music’s foundation (Matthew 7:24-27, Matthew 21:42, Acts 4:11, 1 Corinthians 3:10-11, Ephesians 2:20, 2 Timothy 2:19, and 1 Peter 2:6) and hope (Matthew 11:28-30, Romans 5:1-8, Romans 8:24-39, Romans 15:13, 1 Corinthians 15:54-58, and 1 Peter 1:3-6).
Line 4: Not that God will never say “no” as He did with Paul (2 Corinthians 12:8-10), but He keeps all His promises. See Intro.
Lines 5-16: Essentially repeats lines 1-4.
[Spontaneous (1)]
Lines 1 and 2: That is, regardless of up’s and down’s in life, Maverick City Music will still bless and praise God (Job 1:21-22).
Line 3: Repeats Chorus, line 3.
Line 4-9: Repeats lines 1-3.
[Spontaneous (2)]
Lines 1 and 2: See Spontaneous (1), lines 1 and 2.
Lines 3-7: Repeats lines 1 and 2.
Line 8: See Spontaneous (1), lines 1 and 2.
Lines 9-11: Essentially repeats line 1.
Line 12: What reason is that? Line 15 tells us.
Lines 13 and 14: Essentially repeats line 12.
Line 15: Maverick City Music blesses God because He is faithful. See Intro.
Lines 16: See Bridge, line 4.
Line 17: Essentially repeats line 16.
Line 18: Maverick City Music asks their audience to praise God.
Line 19: Essentially repeats line 18.
Line 20: That is, the name of Jesus.
Line 21: Essentially repeats line 1, combined with a Casper the friendly ghost reference.
Lines 22 and 23: Repeats line 21.
Line 24: Essentially repeats line 1.
Line 25: Essentially repeats Chorus, line 1.
Score: 10/10
3. How would an outsider interpret the song?
Unbelievers will believe that Christians think that God is faithful, even if they don’t understand what that means, especially those to whom God said “no” and think to themselves, “God is not faithful to answer my prayers”. I doubt that they will comprehend the various covenants God made, unless they happen to have studied Christian theology.
Score: 7/10
4. What does this song glorify?
This song glorifies God as the One who keeps His covenant promises, as well as general promises to believers, prompting Christians to respond in worship.
Score: 10/10
Closing Comments
Maverick City Music’s Promises is a great song for believers who don’t mind massive repetition. God is faithful to His promises as we trust in Him through life’s trials, bringing Him glory. Unbelievers should be able to comprehend the gist of this song’s overall message, even if they haven’t understood what promises God keeps or the concept of covenants.
I recommend this song only for churches that do not identify as seeker-sensitive who don’t mind lots of refrains.
Final Score: 9.5/10
Artist Info
Track: Promises (listen to the song)
Artist: Maverick City Music (Feat. Joe L Barnes & Naomi Raine)
Album: Maverick City Vol. 3 – Part 1
Genre: Gospel
Release Year: 2020
Duration: 10:47
Agree? Disagree? Don’t be shy or have a cow! Calmly and politely state your case in a comment, below.
Updates:
02/25/2022 – Updated commentary on Bridge, line 2. Thanks to Robbie Smithwick for informing me that I didn’t address it!
09/13/2021 – Upon reading Lindsey’s comments, I added Matthew 7:24 to my commentary on Pre-Chorus, lines 1 and 2.
03/25/2021 – Updated per repetition announcement. I moved my commentary to a side note and increased section 1’s score, raising the overall rating from 9/10 to 9.5/10.
Comments
Lindsey
My concern with this song is in the line “I’ll remain steadfast” pretty much nothing about me remains steadfast, though God does. I don’t know where in the song this line is, since it doesn’t seem like you quoted the song itself this time. Pre-chorus lines 1 and 2… It doesn’t say anything about this steadfastness coming from obeying the Word of God in the song. I also feel a strong implication from the lines “And let my heart learn when you speak a word it will come to pass” emphasis on “speak a word” that they’re not talking about the Bible. Otherwise what is this word that is giving us hope, what specific promise are they leaning on? I don’t know. Abraham’s covenant? And what does God’s “faithfulness to me” get me? Hopefully forgiveness for sin, but that’s wide open for interpretation.
Vince Wright
Lindsey,
Thank you for your comments!
First, I think it’s great that you are examining songs for potential issues instead of blindly accepting what you hear.
Second, steadfast means, according to Merriam-Webster, “firmly fixed in place”, “not subject to change”, or “firm in belief, determination, or adherence”. I quoted Matthew 7:25-27 because I thought it represented this concept well; However, I should have included Verse 24 also because it connects our actions to remaining firm in place when the storms of this life attempt to veer us off course. When we take God’s word and put them into practice, we are obeying His Word. I added this to the review.
Third, if we say in our hearts, “I’ll try to remain steadfast, but I know that I will fail”, then this is a defeatist’s attitude. Who do you think is more likely to remain steadfast, the person who tells themselves “I’ll try but I will fail”, or the one who insists, “I will succeed”? Yes, in the past we might have failed, and according to 1 John 2:1-2, if we screw up, we have an Advocate who will help us, Jesus the righteous, but notice that the word “if” is present and not the word “when”. This denotes choice, empowering us to make better decisions.
Fourth, the word “and” is present before it says, “let my heart learn, when You speak a word it will come to pass”. In this context, the artist is presenting a new idea, with two concepts held in tandem. The latter is about trusting God’s promises, as I indicated in my review.
Finally, the last two lines in Pre-Chorus tell us that Maverick City Music desires to trust God’s promises. When He says He will do something, we can trust Him that He will accomplish it. It might take a long time, but it will happen. No, it doesn’t say anything about a specific promise, but that any promise He makes, that it will come to pass.
-Vince Wright
Robbie Smithwick
What about the lyric “my anchor to the ground”?
Hebrews 6:19 addresses the term “anchor” but not to the ground. More of a hope beyond where we are currently.
Sorry if I missed the part where address this lyric.
-Robbie
Vince Wright
Robbie,
Thank you for your comments!
You’re right, I did not address this. Anchors prevent vessels from floating away from wind and waves. In the same way, Christ is the hope that keeps us from drifting.
I updated my commentary.
-Vince Wright
Sandra Meyers
I also wondered about “my anchor to the ground.” Since it seems we want to be anchored to Jesus not this world. Hebrews 6:19, NLT “This hope is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls. It leads us through the curtain into God’s inner sanctuary.”
The line in the song sounds like a ball & chain attached to this earth. Something weighing us down and tying us to the ground of this planet/earth, instead of anchoring us to Jesus.
Anonymous
I think your review was great!
I love this song!
Pam
I agree that the lyrics might be talking about god’s covenants in the Bible… but the line “I’ll put my trust in Jesus… he’ll never let me down” I think is quite misleading. When I go to their YouTube and read the comments it’s all about people being sure god will give them this and that that they want rather than his covenants. So even if the song itself is solid it’s extremely misleading even to Christian’s. Tbh god has let people down many times. I just had a friend who was so sure god would heal her daughter even to the last second but she died. Many people have been disappointed, the psalms are full of prayers like that. But that’s part of the journey with god.
Richard
God’s promise is the gift of salvation through the blood of Jesus Christ and faith in Him as your Lord and Savior. He makes a number of other promises throughout the new testament such as comfort in our trials (2 Corinthians 1:3–4), a new life in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17), peace when we pray (Philippians 4:6–7) and to always be with us (Matthew 28:20) to name a few but He does not promise to be a genie in a bottle. He is faithful in his promises and will never let us down in them. Though we may not understand our earthly circumstances when He says no to our desires, it’s important not to allow the out of context use of God’s Word in the false prosperity doctrine to cause doubt in His faithfulness.
Mike
what you said is true, however the song certainly lends itself quite easily to the false idea of God being a “genie in a bottle” as you put it