Lead On, O King Eternal Lyrics Ernest W. Shurtleff, 1887
3 verses, public domain, free to print and project.
The words
Verse 1. Lead on, O King Eternal,
The day of march has come;
Henceforth in fields of conquest
Thy tents shall be our home.
Through days of preparation
Thy grace has made us strong,
And now, O King Eternal,
We lift our battle song.
Verse 2. Lead on, O King Eternal,
Till sin’s fierce war shall cease,
And holiness shall whisper
The sweet Amen of peace;
For not with swords loud clashing,
Nor roll of stirring drums;
With deeds of love and mercy,
The heavenly kingdom comes.
Verse 3. Lead on, O King Eternal,
We follow, not with fears;
For gladness breaks like morning
Where’er thy face appears;
Thy cross is lifted o’er us;
We journey in its light:
The crown awaits the conquest;
Lead on, O God of might.
Words copied from New Baptist Hymnal (1926). They were published in 1887, so they are in the public domain in the United States, and your church may print them, show them and sing them without a license.
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The story behind Lead On, O King Eternal
Ernest Shurtleff, a young Congregational minister from Boston, wrote the hymn for his class at Andover Theological Seminary. The march in the opening line is the graduates' procession, and the fields of conquest are the churches they were about to serve. Sources disagree on the year and on the first printing. Hymnary.org says he wrote it in 1887 and printed it that year in his Hymns of the Faith. Discipleship Ministries says it first appeared in the Andover graduation program in 1888 and then in Hymns of Faith in 1890. The Presbyterian Church in the United States of America included it in The Hymnal of 1895. Shurtleff went on to found the American Church in Frankfurt in 1905 and later worked among students and refugees in Paris. The tune LANCASHIRE is by Henry Smart. Hymnary.org says Smart wrote it in 1835 for a missions festival at Blackburn, where it was sung to a text by Reginald Heber. The first pairing with Shurtleff's words is dated 1905 by Hymnary.org and 1911 by Discipleship Ministries. By 1930 American hymnals printed the hymn almost only with LANCASHIRE. The Baptist Hymnal 1991 prints it in D.
Ernest W. Shurtleff
1862-04-04 to 1917
Ernest Warburton Shurtleff was born in Boston and studied at Boston Latin School, Harvard and Andover Theological Seminary. He entered the Congregational ministry and served churches at Palmer and Plymouth, Massachusetts, Ventura, California, and Minneapolis. In 1905 he founded the American Church in Frankfurt. In 1906 he moved to Paris to work with students, and during the First World War he and his wife did refugee relief there. He published several volumes of poems. Sources differ on whether he died at Paris or at Dinard in August 1917. He wrote Lead On, O King Eternal for his Andover classmates.
Henry Smart
1813 to 1879
Henry Smart was born in Marylebone, London. He left a legal career for music and was largely self-taught. He served as organist at St. Luke's, Old Street, and at St. Pancras, and he became known for improvising and for leading congregational singing. He lost his sight at fifty-two and kept playing the organ from memory. He edited the Choralebook, the English Presbyterian Psalms and Hymns for Divine Worship and the Scottish Presbyterian Hymnal. His best known tune is REGENT SQUARE. He died in Hampstead.
- Discipleship Ministries, History of Hymns, Lead On, O King Eternal , read 2026-10-16
- Hymnary.org, Lead On, O King Eternal , read 2026-10-16
- Hymnary.org, Ernest W. Shurtleff , read 2026-10-16
- Hymnary.org, Baptist Hymnal 1991 No. 621 , read 2026-10-16
Scripture in Lead On, O King Eternal
The Bible passages behind the words, with the verse of the hymn that draws on each.
- Ephesians 6:10 In verse 10 of the hymn
- Luke 4:18-19
- 2 Timothy 4:7-8
- Isaiah 48:17 In verse 17 of the hymn
Lead On, O King Eternal videos
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Lead On, O King Eternal (hymn, 11 am webstream) Panoplyimaging, Congregation
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Lead On O King Eternal Parkside Evangelical Church, Congregation
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Lead On O King Eternal arr. Samuel Metzger MetzgerMusic, Choir
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Lead On, O King Eternal Acapeldridge, A cappella
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Lead On, O King Eternal | Piano Instrumental with Lyrics bHp Music, Piano
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Sara Groves - Lead On O King Eternal Bob Marshall, Modern arrangement
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Print and project
Chords and keys
Hymnals print it in D.
Questions people ask
Who wrote Lead On, O King Eternal?
Ernest Shurtleff wrote it for his graduation from Andover Theological Seminary. Hymnary.org gives 1887 and Discipleship Ministries gives 1888 for the first printing.
What does the march in Lead On, O King Eternal mean?
Discipleship Ministries says it refers to the graduates' procession. The fields of conquest are the ministry they were entering.
What tune goes with Lead On, O King Eternal?
LANCASHIRE by Henry Smart. By 1930 American hymnals printed the hymn almost only with that tune.
Is Lead On, O King Eternal in the public domain?
The words are public domain in the United States. Shurtleff's text was published in 1887 or 1888, and the LANCASHIRE tune dates from 1835.
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