Stand Up, Stand
Up for Jesus
Text: George Duffield, Jr. 1818-1888, alt.
(Lutheran
Service Book 660)
Primary Texts: Luke 9:23–26; 1 John 5:4–5; 1
Corinthians 15:25, 55–57; Ephesians 6:11–18
Stand up, stand up for Jesus,
Ye soldiers of the
cross.
Lift high His royal banner;
It must not suffer
loss.
From vict’ry unto vict’ry
His army He shall
lead
Till ev’ry foe is vanquished,
And Christ is Lord
indeed.
Stand up, stand up for Jesus;
The trumpet call
obey;
Stand forth in mighty conflict
In this His
glorious day.
Let all His faithful serve Him
Against unnumbered
foes;
Let courage rise with danger
And strength to
strength oppose.
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 armor;
Each piece put on
with prayer.
Where duty calls or danger,
Be never wanting
there.
Stand up, stand up for Jesus;
The strife will
not be long;
This day the din of battle,
The next the
victor’s song.
The soldiers, overcoming,
Their crown of
life shall see
And with the King of Glory
Shall reign
eternally.
“This
popular American hymn, by George Duffield, 1858, has an unusual origin, which
the author himself gives in a letter dated May 29. 1883:
‘Stand Up for Jesus” was the dying
message of the Rev. Dudley A. Tyng to the Young Men’s Christian Association and
the ministers associated with them in the Noon-day Prayer Meeting during the
great revival of 1858, usually known as “The Work of God in Philadelphia.”
‘A very dear personal friend, I knew
young Tyng as one of the noblest, bravest, manliest men I ever met. …
The Sabbath before his death he preached in the immense edifice known as Jaynes’s
Hall, one of the most successful sermons of modern times. Of the five thousand
men there assembled at least one thousand, it was believed, were “the slain of
the Lord.” His text was Ex. 10:11, and hence the allusion in the third verse of
the hymn.
‘The following Wednesday, leaving
his study for a moment, he went to the barn floor, where a mule was at work on
a horse-power shelling corn. Patting him on the neck, the sleeve of his silk
study gown caught in the cogs of the wheel, and his arm was torn out by the
roots! His death occurred in a few hours. …
‘The following Sunday the author of
the hymn preached from Eph. 6:14, and the above verses were written simply as
the concluding exhortation. The superintendent of the Sabbath-school had a
fly-leaf printed for the children, -- a stray copy found its way into a Baptist
newspaper, -- and from that paper it has gone in English and in German and
Latin translations all over the world. The first time the author heard it sung
outside of his own denomination was in 1864 as the favorite song of the
Christian soldiers in the Army of the James. …
‘Notwithstanding the many
mutilations and alterations and perversions to which this hymn has been
subjected, it is but proper to say that since the night it was written, it has
never been altered by the author in a single verse, a single line, or a single
word, and it is his earnest wish that it shall continue unaltered until the
Soldiers of the Cross shall replace it by something better.’”
(The Handbook to the Lutheran Hymnal,
W.G. Polakc, Concordia Publishing House, 1954, page320)
As you can tell from the little “alt.”, our form of the hymn has
been altered, in spite of the desires of the author. The first alteration is
the omission of two verses, which most hymnals omit. The second alteration is
some updating of the vocabulary. So, for example, our third line in the second
verse reads, “Stand forth in mighty conflict” while the original read, “Forth
to the mighty conflict.” As you can tell, the thought in the line has not been
changed (at least not much) but adapted to contemporary sentiments (standing our
ground instead of going forth). The alteration does seem to harmonize with the
opening line of each verse better.
The first line of each verse is always the same: “Stand up, stand
up for Jesus.” Christians are to take a firm stance on Christ and His teachings. This
thought is found in Ephesians 6:11–18.
11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may
be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. 12For we do not
wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the
authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the
spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. 13Therefore take up
the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and
having done all, to stand firm. 14Stand therefore, having fastened
on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15and,
as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of
peace. 16In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with
which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; 17and
take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of
God, 18praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and
supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication
for all the saints, (Ephesians
6:11–18)
In verses 14 & 15 we read that we are to stand on the truth of
God’s Word and specifically Christ’s “gospel of peace,” which is the Good News
of what Jesus has done for us in making peace between us and God through the
cross. Through faith in Jesus we are made righteous and prepared for battle.
It is no secret that life is filled with temptations and strife,
some which come because we are followers of Christ. Jesus speaks of this in Luke
9:23–26.
23 And he said to all, “If anyone would come
after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. 24For
whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my
sake will save it. 25For what does it profit a man if he gains the
whole world and loses or forfeits himself? 26For whoever is ashamed
of me and of my words, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed when he comes in
his glory and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels. (Luke 9:23–26)
Jesus does not proclaim that everyone one will love us or that we
will get everything our human hearts desire, or that no sufferings or loss will
come our way, etc. What he does promise here is that, by clinging to Him and
His teachings—which include His death on the cross for our sins and glorious
resurrection—we can be certain that He will lead us to victory against all the
forces of evil. We are His soldiers of the cross, carrying His banner, like
verse one of the hymn says. We will not see the ultimate victory until the
Second Coming of Jesus (verse four), but it is ours by promise and we will more
fully partake of that victory when we die here in time.
This victory belongs only to believers in Christ. The Apostle John
writes about it in his first letter.
4 For everyone who has been born of God
overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our
faith. 5Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who
believes that Jesus is the Son of God? (1 John 5:4–5)
The one who overcomes the world is the one who believes that Jesus
is the Son of God. So we do not trust “the arm of flesh.” We stand on Christ
and His promises. Again, “overcoming the world” does not mean no sickness, no
poverty, no enemies, no death, in this fallen world. It does not mean that
everyone on the earth will be converted. It means we remain faithful even when
all the problems of this life assail us, It means we will be with the Lord when
we die. It means we will be raised in glory on the Last Day.
If we go back to Ephesians 6:11–18 (quoted above) we find Paul using
military symbolism. This, of course, fits the symbolism of this hymn. In verse
12 he tells us that our enemies are really spiritual foes. Yes, they may use “flesh
and blood” in the battle, but the real opponents are “the rulers, … the
authorities, … the cosmic powers over this present darkness, … the spiritual
forces of evil in the heavenly places.” Because Paul has already said our
enemies are not “flesh and blood,” the terms “rulers” and “authorities” are not
a reference to human rulers but to fallen spiritual powers. In 1 Corinthians
15:25 Paul teaches us that Christ “must reign until he has put all his
enemies under his feet.” It can be boiled down to this: Christians are soldiers fighting
incredible enemies; but Christ is with us. He will “put all His enemies under
His feet.”
Jesus leads us to the ultimate victory, our resurrection and
eternity with Him. This is a fundamental teaching of the Church and found in
each of the Ecumenical Creeds (Apostles’, Nicene and Athanasian). Paul writes
of it to the Corinthians:
“O death, where is your victory?
O death, where is your sting?”
The sting of death is sin, and the power
of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our
Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Corinthians 15:55-57)
Because of this great victory we are to thank God (verse 57). He
will lead us to victory, but we are to follow him (John 10:27). We do this by
treasuring His Means of Grace. We are to cling to our Baptism, partake of His
Supper, and immerse ourselves in His Word. In this way we are equipped to stand
up for Jesus. In this way we are prepared to hear the victor’s song.
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