John King

John King (1789–1858) was an English Church of England clergyman and hymn writer whose identity was once confused in hymnological sources with a "Joshua King." John Julian's Dictionary of Hymnology, drawing on correspondence with John Gwyther and parish-register evidence, identifies the writer as John King. He graduated B.A. from Queens' College, Cambridge, in 1814 and later served as a curate in the circle of the Rev. John Eyton before becoming incumbent of Christ Church, Hull, in 1822.

King contributed a small body of hymn texts rather than a large published corpus. Henry and John Gwyther's The Psalmist (London, 1830) included one psalm version signed "J. King" and several hymns signed "I. King," among them "When, His salvation bringing." Later hymnals sometimes printed the author's name as Joshua King because of an early recollection reported by Gwyther, but Julian noted that the church registers established the name John. King died on September 12, 1858, aged sixty-nine.

His surviving hymnody is closely connected with congregational and children's worship. "When, His salvation bringing" became his best-known text, joining the Palm Sunday narrative with a call for wholehearted praise and devotion.