Stand up, stand up for Jesus

Stand up, stand up, for Jesus,
ye soldiers of the cross;
lift high his royal banner,
it must not suffer loss:
from victory unto victory
his army shall he lead,
till every foe is vanquished
and Christ is Lord indeed.

( Stand up, stand up, for Jesus )

Here's a Victorian gem. And, like many (though by no means all) Victorian gems, it leaves me feeling vaguely guilty for enjoying it as much as I do. One oughtn't really, one feels, enjoy such military metaphors, particularly when one is more or less a pacifist. Still less should one find them useful. It's not really fashionable to think of oneself as a 'soldier of the cross' - and certainly I would hardly describe myself as that to anyone in day-to-day conversation.

I must admit that I've never sung the second verse - perhaps because I am not a man? I've never even seen it printed, but it's wonderful what you can find on the internet. Never mind.

Perhaps it's just that it's such a fantastic tune? Well, perhaps. George Webb did good. Here is a brass ensemble, also enjoying it hugely.



And an organist:



It's partly that. But, singing the rather sissy words with which Hymns Old and New has replaced George Duffield's original, I don't find myself moved in quite the same way. They're good, I'll admit. Jean Holloway has turned out some convincing lyrics:

Stand up, stand up for Jesus,
stand up before his cross,
an instrument of torture
inflicting pain and loss;
transformed by his obedience
to God's redeeming plan,
the cross was overpowered
by Christ, both God and man.

They add something. They add a lot. But, all the same, I don't want to take away the centuries' worth of imagery that Duffield draws upon. Most of this is older than 'muscular Christianity'. I don't want to relinquish the cross as the royal banner or the Gospel armour.

I do find the battle metaphor helpful, particularly when it comes to the battles within me. Pacifist I may be; I've never thought that violence solves anything - but there's something about this that works.

It rather depends on who you think of as your 'foes'. If real people, then yes, this is probably not a very Christian take on the matter. But if they are selfishness, fear, gossip, and cowardice (to name a few of my own), the belt of truth, helmet of salvation and sword of the spirit prove to be a useful way of thinking about things. In this spirit it is entirely appropriate to stand up before the cross.

And that's the spirit in which I take this hymn.