Stand up, stand up for Jesus

[ancientandmodern]

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;
the trumpet call obey;
forth to the mighty conflict
in this his glorious day:
ye that are men now serve him
against unnumbered foes;
let courage rise with danger,
and strength to strength oppose.

Stand up, stand up for Jesus,
the solemn watchword hear;
if while ye sleep he suffers,
away with shame and fear.
Where'er ye meet with evil,
within you or without,
charge for the God of battles,
and put the foe to rout.

Stand up, stand up, for Jesus;
stand in his strength alone;
the arm of flesh will fail you,
ye dare not trust your own:
put on the Gospel armour,
and watching unto prayer,
when duty calls, or danger,
be never wanting there.

Stand up, stand up, for Jesus;
the strife will not be long:
this day, the noise of battle;
the next, the victor's song.
To him that overcometh
a crown of life shall be;
he with the King of glory
shall reign eternally.



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.