Description
Rise Up O Men of God
Rise up, O men of God!
Have done with lesser things.
Give heart and soul and mind and strength
To serve the King of Kings.
Rise up, O men of God,
In one united throng.
Bring in the day of brotherhood
And end the night of wrong.
Rise up, O men of God!
Tread where his feet have trod.
As brothers of the Son of Man,
Rise up, O men of God!
The manliest man that ever lived was the Lord Jesus Christ. He exemplified all the virtues of the best of men and exercised none of the vices that are typical of men of the world. He lived to love, lift, and save us. His courage, sacrifice, and dedication are without peer. The Adversary would have all men grovel in the dirt and snivel as cowards before mortal challenges, but the Almighty bids all men “Rise Up” and “End the night of wrong!” But of course, a man can’t pick up a bucket he is standing in anymore that he can help someone to higher ground unless he is standing on it. In that light, consider the life of the man who wrote these words.
William Pierson Merrill was born January 10, 1867, in Orange, New Jersey. He grew up in a home of worship and faith. When he was but 18 years old, he published his first book, titled, Faith Building. In his advanced studies, Merrill obtained a B.D. degree from Union Theological Seminary in 1890 and was ordained a Presbyterian minister.
In the year 1911, Merrill was laboring at the Sixth Presbyterian Church in Chicago. He had been requested by Nolan Best, a friend and editor, “that there was an urgent need for a brotherhood hymn.”
Merrill later said:
“The suggestion lingered in my mind, and just about that time I came upon an article by Gerald Stanley Lee, entitled ‘The Church of the Strong Men.’ I was on one of the Lake Michigan steamers going back to Chicago for a Sunday at my own church, when suddenly this hymn came up, almost without conscious thought or effort.”
He wrote the poem and it was published immediately. Later it was set to music, and today is published in more than 240 hymnals. There are those who are offended because of the hymn’s seeming lack of inclusivity and have altered the lyrics to suit their purposes, but let’s be clear, Merrill was speaking to men.
Consider the paradox of this hymn. It is bold in word and in tune, stirring to the soul, some might even say it borders on militant, but consider the heart of the man who wrote it. Was this a call for men to be more macho and aggressive? Indeed, Merrill wrote these words on the eve of World War I, at a time when enmity was steaming, and enemies were combining, when men were rising up to fight and civilization was about to tear itself apart–globally. Was Merrill calling men to take up arms for the coming war? No.
Merrill was a pacifist. He decried violence, war, and male machismo run amok. He worked all his days for the betterment of society. To the end of his productive life, Merrill fought the good fight and lived and urged men and women to overcome evil by the teachings and example of the Prince of Peace.
Sources:
https://singpraises.net/collections/en/hymns/rise-up-o-men-of-god-men
https://hymnstudiesblog.wordpress.com/2017/03/20/rise-up-o-men-child-of-god/
https://www.blueletterbible.org/hymns/r/Rise_Up_O_Men_Of_God.cfm
