What "There Is A King" means
"There Is A King," by Elevation Worship, is an eschatological worship song grounded in the present reality of Christ's kingship and the future certainty of His return and reign. It holds the tension that Christian theology calls inaugurated eschatology: the Kingdom of God has already broken in through Jesus, but it has not yet arrived in its fullness. Every knee will bow. Every tongue will confess. The song is not waiting for that to be true. It is declaring it as already settled. The tempo is 64 BPM in 4/4, which gives it a deliberate, processional weight. Male key is E; female key A. The theological frame anchors in Revelation 19:6 and Philippians 2:10-11. This is a song for the church that is tired of the world's noise and needs to be reminded what is actually true about who sits on the throne.
What this song does in a room
Sixty-four BPM does something to a room that faster songs cannot do. It creates space between beats and forces both band and congregation to dwell inside the phrase rather than push through it. When "There Is A King" starts, the room slows down. That is not a side effect. That is the point.
The song calls for a posture that does not come naturally to most contemporary church settings: reverence. Not the reverence of distant formality but the reverence of standing in front of something so much larger than yourself that your ordinary category of worship no longer seems adequate. That is the room this song is trying to build.
Your diagnostic in leading it: are people looking up? If they are scrolling, staring at their shoes, or waiting for the energy to build, the arrangement has not modeled what the song is asking for. Start even smaller than you think you need to. A single instrument, a single voice, is the correct on-ramp. Let the room arrive at the song before the band does.
What this song is saying about God
This song is making a specific and concrete claim: there is a King, He is real, and He is already reigning. Not "will be." Is.
The inaugurated eschatology here is not soft. The song is not saying that someday things will be better. It is saying that the one who has all authority has had it since the resurrection, that every power structure on earth exists beneath His rule whether it acknowledges it or not, and that the end of the story is already written.
Revelation 19:6 is explicit: "The Lord our God the Almighty reigns." Past tense in its theological claim, present tense in its application. The song picks that up and makes it congregational declaration. You are not hoping. You are confessing something already true.
For congregations worn down by headlines, by cultural uncertainty, by the apparent disorder of the world, this is not escapism. It is reorientation. The biggest thing that is true is not what is trending. It is who is on the throne.
Scriptural backbone
The song's eschatological frame comes directly from Revelation: "Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the roar of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, crying out, 'Hallelujah! For the Lord our God the Almighty reigns.'" (Revelation 19:6)
The Philippians text gives the name behind the declaration: "so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." (Philippians 2:10-11)
And the eschatological promise that frames the song's hope: "He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away." (Revelation 21:4)
These three texts together build the case: the King reigns now, all will acknowledge it, and the end is total restoration.
How to use it in a service
This song earns its place after a sermon on the Kingdom of God, the sovereignty of God, the second coming, or any message dealing with suffering under the question of whether God is actually in control. It also works well during communion, where the congregation is already in a posture of remembering Christ and anticipating His return.
The arrangement should begin spare and build gradually. The song is too important and too theologically dense to start at full volume. Let the declaration accumulate weight. Save the full band for the latter half and then hold it there.
Do not pair it with casual, upbeat songs immediately before it. The tonal shift is too abrupt. Give it at least one slow or mid-tempo song as a bridge from whatever came before.
Things to watch for as the worship leader
Sixty-four BPM is where bands drift. Without a click or without a drummer with exceptional internal tempo, the band will creep up over three or four minutes. At 70 BPM the processional feel collapses and the song becomes just a slow worship song without the gravitas. Lock in the tempo.
The key of E for male lead is full and resonant but upper-register phrases can fatigue quickly if you are also physically modeling reverence (open posture, lifted hands). Know where your ceiling is before the song starts.
This is a song that asks for stillness and declaration simultaneously. Those can feel contradictory to lead. Practice holding still while singing big. The congregation will follow the non-verbal cue more than the verbal one.
Watch for the urge to "hype" the room into reverence. It does not work with this song. Trust the theology. Trust the tempo. If the room does not meet you where you are, stay where you are.
A note for the team behind you (techs, vocalists, band)
Band: the arrangement calls for a minimal open and a building dynamic. String pads or organ underneath give the song weight without busying the texture. Start with piano or acoustic, add strings on the second verse, and bring the full band in when the song has earned it. The kick at 64 BPM should be felt more than heard. Sit underneath the mix, not on top of it.
Vocalists: this song rewards strong unison singing before it rewards harmonies. Let the congregation join the melody. When harmonies do come in, keep them tight and below the lead. This is not a song for vocal showcase. It is a song for collective declaration.
FOH: at 64 BPM you have more silence between notes than you do in most songs. Do not fill that silence with compression or reverb tail that is too short. Let the notes ring. Set your reverb with a longer tail than feels natural and let the room breathe between phrases.
Lighting: slow and deliberate to match the tempo. Deep blue or purple wash building toward white by the song's climax. Program light cues to land on downbeats rather than syncopating against the beat. The light should feel like it is bowing along with the song.