October 15, 2005

Have faith in God –
Who knows us all and sees us;
Have faith in God –
Who reveals Himself in Jesus;
Have faith in God –
And so from our sins, He frees us.
Have faith, dear friend, in God.

Stand Up, Stand Up for Jesus

George Duffield, 1818-1888

    Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints. Ephesians 6:10-18.

    A great city-wide revival swept across Philadelphia in 1858. It was called "the work of God in Philadelphia". Of the participating ministers none was more powerful than the 29 year old Episcopalian Dudley Tyng, who was known as a bold and uncompromising preacher.
    In addition to pastoring his own church, Dudley Tyng began holding noonday services at the downtown YMCA. Great crowds came to hear this dynamic young preacher. On Tuesday March 30th, 1858 over 5,000 men gathered for a noon mass meeting to hear Tyng preach from the text "Ye that are men, go and serve the Lord" (Exodus 10:11). Over 1,000 of these men committed their lives to Christ. At one point, the young preacher exclaimed, "I must tell my Master's errand, and I would rather that this right arm were amputated at the trunk than that I should come short of my duty to you in delivering God's message."
    The very next week, while visiting in the country and watching the operation of a corn-threshing machine in a barn, young Tyng accidentally caught his loose sleeve between the cogs; the arm was lacerated severely with the main artery severed and the median nerve injured. As a result of shock and a great loss of blood, Reverend Tyng died. While Tyng lay in great pain, he entreated his doctor to accept Christ. With a room filled with other preachers he asked them to “Sing, sing, Can you not sing?” His last admonition to his friends was to “Tell the people to stand up for Jesus.”
    The next Sunday, Tyng's close friend and fellow worker, the Reverend George Duffield, pastor of the Temple Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia, preached his morning sermon from Ephesians 6:14 as a tribute to his departed friend. He closed his sermon by reading a poem that he had just finished writing, inspired, as he told his people, by the dying words of his esteemed friend.
    The superintendent of the Sabbath school had a fly-leaf printed for the children — a stray copy found its way into a Baptist newspaper, from that paper it has gone all over the world.
    An editor of a hymnal put these words together with a tune written by George Webb. It is said, “In death, Dudley Atkins Tyng preached more widely and more successfully than ever he did in his life,” because of the untold thousands whose lives have been challenged to 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, 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, the trumpet call obey;
Forth to the mighty conflict, in this His glorious day.
Ye that are brave now 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, each soldier to his post,
Close up the broken column, and shout through all the host:
Make good the loss so heavy, in those that still remain,
And prove to all around you that death itself is gain.

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 those who vanquish evil a crown of life shall be;
They with the King of Glory shall reign eternally.

Have Faith in God by H.M.S. Richards, Used by Permission