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The young Rector of the Episcopalian Church of the
Epiphany, Philadelphia, Revd Dudley Tyng had incurred the
resentment of his congregation on account of his bold declarations
from the pulpit that to hold a fellow-creature in slavery was a
sin. Most of his congregation owned slaves, a common practice
in those days, and their indignation was such that the young Rector
was obliged to resign his charge.
A large hall in the city was then given to him by some of his
friends, with whom he had formed The Church of the Covenant, and he
continued his ministry with marked success. On Tuesday, March 30,
1858 he preached to a huge gathering of five thousand men from the
words (Exod. 10: 11): "Go now, ye that are men, and serve the
Lord," and it is said that after the service a thousand of his
hearers signed a pledge to yield their lives to God. During the
sermon the young preacher had remarked, "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 next week, while visiting in the country and watching the
operation of a corn thrasher in a barn, he accidentally caught his
loose sleeve between the cogs; the arm was lacerated severely, the
main artery was severed and the median nerve was injured. Four days
later infection developed. As a result of shock and a great loss of
blood, Dudley Tyng died on April 19, 1858.
Immediately before his death, he was asked if he desired
to send any message to his congregation. He then uttered the
memorable words, the last that fell from his lips, "Tell them
to stand up for Jesus."
One of his friends, Dr. George Duffield, was inspired by
this last message from the dying man to write the well-known hymn,
"Stand up, stand up for Jesus!" which he read to the
congregation after preaching his friends`s funeral sermon the next
Sunday.
One verse of the original hymn, now invariably omitted,
had special reference to Mr. Tyng`s tragic death:
Stand up, stand up for Jesus!
each soldier to his post;
Close up the broken column
And shout throughout the host;
Make up the loss so heavy
In those that still remain;
And prove to all around you
That death itself is gain.
I first read the story of Dudley Tyng in "The Quiet
Corner," by John S Matthew, printed by the St Andrew Press,
and edited and compiled by Stuart Matthew. I have seen it more
recently at a wonderful website
Barbara's
Place In The Heartland USA |
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