The Duty and Responsibility of Private Judgment in Religion: A Sermon Preached before the Protestant Episcopal Society for the Promotion of Evangelical Knowledge by Tyng, Stephen H - 1853

New York: Depository of the Evangelical Knowledge Society, 1853. First edition. Disbound. Very Good +. 51/4 x 8 3/8 inches. 31 pages. Pages bright and clean and free from marking, soiling and staining. Disbound. A scarce copy of this unusual and carefully detailed discussion of the role of individual conscience in the "high church/low church" debate from a decidedly evangelical point of view. Tyng (1825-1858) became pastor of the Church of the Epiphany in Philadelphia in 1854. He was a committed abolitionist, and two years later, his preaching against slavery resulted in his being forced to resign. In 1858, he held a rally for fathers and sons, and 5,000 attended. He concluded the event with this: "I would rather this right arm be amputated at the trunk than that I should come short of my duty to you in delivering God's message." Two weeks late, while visiting a congregant's farm, Tyng's sleeve was his sleeve caught in a mechanical thrasher. His arm was pulled into the thrasher and torn from its socket, and a few days later was amputated at the shoulder. Before he died days a few days later, he told his father to "stand up for Jesus." His final words soon became a popular hymn that is still sung today: "Stand Up, Stand Up For Jesus."