Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1900-04-28
Rev. Mr.. Ewing at St. James Church


John Davis Ewing preached his first
sermon as rector, Rev. w, II. Rob
inson assisting in the service. His
opening words to his people were as
TO lows:
81 cannot begin my work here
without expressing the deep salts
faction feel at the new relationship
that has come to exist between us
as pastor and people.
~ will remind you of an incident
in the career of Gods people. Israel.
1t was during the Forty Years wan
dering; they had come into conflict
with the Amalekites. At Gods
command Moses went up into an high
place aud lifted up his hands over
the people. W hen Moses hands
were uplifted Israel prevailed; when
they fell Amalek prevailed. But
Moses hands were heavy, and So
Aaron and Hur stayed up his hands,
the one on the one side, the other
on the other. Thus Moses hands
were steady until the going down of
the sun, and Gods people won the
battle against the heather foe.
$50 with me. God has placed
me here as pastor, guide and friend,
to hold up my hands over you. His
people. But my hands are very
heavy, | am very weak and the
work is great. Support my hands,
beg you, by the power of your
sympathy, your prayers and your
zeal. SO shall my hands be steady
until the going down of the sun, and
so shall this parish wage a mighty
battle against our dread enemy the
Devil.
IL cannot close without word of
of grateful acknowledgment of the
splendid work done in my absence
by the Rev. Mr.. Robinson. He has
been most faithful and painstaking
in that work and the parish is great
ly helped by his residence here. l
am sure that the grateful pra, ers of
the parish will follow him in his
future work and in his life
The text of the sermon was
"The Signs of the Passion" st.
John xx:2o. "And when lie had
so said, He showed. unto them His
hands and His side" The pastor
said in part:
Low Sunday is elninently day
for quiet, thoughtful contemplation;
for looking upon what we may be
permitted to call the philosophy of
our blessed Lords resurrection apart
from the great fact. AS men, in
moments of great joy or excitement,
tons but only the evident outward
appearance, SO we, last Sunday,
were taken up with, or rather en-
quilted in the great and glorious fact
of the resurrection. But there are
doctrines and thoughts dependent
upon this great fact and it is upon
some of these that we are to ponder
on this quieter but no less glorious
day, Low Sunday. Above all else,
we must remember that the resurrec-
ton is not to be unique with our
blessed Lord. We are partakers
with Him in that blessed condition.
His resurrected human body is a
type of our rcsurrected bodies-and
when we awake up after His like
ness we shall he satisfied with it.
There is to be 4 complete identity
of the resurrection body with that
which we have now. The risen
body is a spiritual bodv-Holy Writ
assures us of that. But it is the
same body, having a real continuity
of existence, though what will be it's
relation to the mater ial world we
cannot tell. The fact of our Lords
eating after His resurrection shows
some relationship to exist. The
risen body will exist under er-
larged conditions from our present
bodies with newer and high powers.
1t will be gIorificd, impossible and
agile as shown by our Lords be-
coming present in il room the doors
of which were closed.
The continuity of existence with
our present body is to be recognized
in the marks of the wounds exhibit
ed by our Lord to His apostles after
His resurrection. So we shall re-
tain bodily appearance and charac-
teristics-but freed from all hlemish
and imperfection-mete, indeed, for
the Masters service.
The gloritied wounds of our
blessed Lord have their purpose
They are a sign and trophy of the
victory over sin and death won by
the Passion. In the Day OF Judg-
ment those wounds will convict the
lost of their sin and ingrat,tude. OF
their sin, for they shall look on Him
whom they pierced-thcir sins
caused those wounds. OF their in
gratitude, that after He had borne
all this to take away their sins-vet
they rejected His offered grace. In
eternity those same wounds will be
the marks of His love tor His re-
decmed-the greatest evidence of
love that eternity shall know.
Consider how by the wounds of
His Passion our Lord appeals to us.
He appeals to our faith; on Easter
day amid the ioy of lis resurrection.