“When the enemy comes in like a flood, The Spirit of the LORD will lift up a standard against him” (Isa. There’s an echo of George Root’s Civil War song here: 5:8).ģ) “Raise the standard high for the Lord.” In ancient warfare an army’s “standard” or banner became a rallying point, a encouragement to others to keep fighting and maintain their stand. “Your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour” (I Pet. Time to wake up and be on the alert.Ģ) “See the foe is nigh.” Satan is ever on the prowl. We need to “rouse then,” (refrain) both ourselves and others. Fisk identifies several things in CH-1 and on that the church of Jesus Christ, and individual Christians, should be doing:ġ) “Sound the battle cry.” Let people know there is an enemy to face, and a spiritual battle to be fought. There is a great deal of wisdom in this simply gospel song. But it also involves spiritual conflict (Eph.
Service for Christ is to be patient, gracious and loving (I Thess. We catch the spirit of that mortal conflict here, applied to our battle for the Lord. The dust had barely settled from the cavalry charges of the American Civil War that ended in 1865. Note: Words and music for this rousing gospel song were first published in 1869.
