约瑟·亨利·吉尔摩（Joseph H. Gilmore，1834-1918）. Explore “He Leadeth Me”: song information and official sources.
The pilgrim journey · Companionship and guidance
While expounding Psalm 23 at Philadelphia’s First Baptist Church, Gilmore’s thoughts lingered on the shepherd leading the flock. After the meeting, in a deacon’s sitting room, he wrote the poem in the blank space of his sermon notes, handed it to his wife and put it aside. Months later she sent it to a periodical. Bradbury subsequently supplied the tune and expanded it into the familiar refrain. The writing coincided with the darkest period of the American Civil War, but Gilmore did not make the hymn a prediction of victory for either side. It holds to the trustworthiness of the guide himself, whether the road passes still waters or the valley of the shadow of death. Singing it exercises our willingness to follow before we can see the next step; it does not guarantee a comfortable route.
Commissioning, graduation, life transitions and prayer meetings; uncertainty or prolonged waiting; teaching on Psalm 23.