THE DESTRUCTION OF ANTICHRIST.

Preached at an Association, at Tring, Herts, June 6, 1781.

Mr. Robinson, after a short prayer, delivered the following INTRODUCTORY DISCOURSE, on the

NATURE OF DISSENTING ASSOCIATIONS.

INTRODUCTORY DISCOURSE.

It is right my friends before we proceed, to give you some brief account of the meaning of associations, or why we thus meet together; and the simplest and easiest manner may be by affixing our attention to a passage of scripture. You will find the passage to which we shall at present attach our ideas, in

2 COR. viii. 23.

Whether any do enquire of Titus, he is my partner and fellow helper concerning you, or our brethren be enquired of, they are the messengers of the churches and the glory of Christ.

The phrase, the glory of Christ, is equal to the glory of christianity, or the glory of Christ's religion. Now you will perceive if you look back into this chapter that this was a time of

great

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dearth or scarcity of provisions, and likewise of great trial and affliction. The church of Macedonia agreed to send money to the relief of the poor scattered all about in their grievous necessity. And in order to do that the church chose messengers to travel with this grace, that is with this gift. Now these messengers had two sorts of works they were to go to a church and propose their case, and in all likelihood to use such arguments as were necessary to enforce their relief; and then having collected the money were to proceed on their journey and distribute it among the needy as their necessitous cases occurred. These men were called Messengers, and they are sometimes called Apostles; but are distinguished from the apostles of our Lord asthe twelve are called which Christ chose. These are men that were chosen by the church to go upon any particular errand as their case required, and it is with great beauty the apostle calls them the glory of Christ, or the glory of christianity. For let us suppose an assembly was convened of this sort of people, and there were there an hundred men sent from fifty churches, two from each. You would suppose these were wise and good and had entered with all their souls into the spirit of christianity and the work of Christ; that they made it the employment, the business of their life. Now you may further suppose a messenger from one of these churches would rise up and say, for instance, there had been one among them from some other church who had advised

nien,

them all to be circumcised, and told them it was necessary to their salvation. Well, he would represent that such church wished to take the sentiments of their brethren assembled on that doctrine, as they were of themselves undetermined how it would be right to treat this person establishing such a doctrine. Now I cannot but think that we may call this assembly the glory of christianity. I will suppose one among the assembly to be a man remarkable for a clear understanding; he states the case to the rest: another to be remarkable for just reasoning; that is, for perceiving the dependence of one thing on another; and so carrying on one fact to another, and reasoning from the cause to the effect, and from the effect to the cause. I take such a man to be another glory of christianity. Here is a third, remarkable for his courage; and he with a holy insensibility, feeling nothing at all at offending men, but fearing God only, he outs with some bold truth that ought to be known, but which others perhaps are afraid to make known: that is another glory of christianity. Another is remarkable for modesty, and he possesses a soft, soothing way of making the most uncomfortable truths set easy; and, have you, christians, never found some of us want this power, of making uncomfortable truths sit easy upon you? I call a man furnished with this ability the glory of christianity. Well, and perhaps you will see another active, lively man, that will go through as much religious work in an hour as another in a week;

such a man inust have the performing of that part which the others with all their judgment, discernment, courage, or modesty cannot go through; they are a wise plodding sort of men, they are the understanding of the church; these the hands and the feet. There are other hardy men who fear neither wind nor weather; they are to travel, they are to come and report from their churches their different cases. Well, these men are a kind of constellation, a cluster of stars, they move on, some of the first, some of the second, some of the third magnitude in the sphere in which God has placed them. These men thus assembled are the glory of christianity. 1. Because they derive all their ability from Christ. 2. They derive all their authority also from the same divine leader of his people. No man shall ever persuade me but where a christian association is set up there is no dictating to conscience, no wronging of any man's property; their power is all derived from Christ; and no further than they apprehend he gives, do they pretend to assume. And then, 3. They give christianity what it ought to have, a fair trial; that is, their gifts are collected together into one body, and like rays of light collected into one point or focus, what one cannot do alone, they can do all together. Thus the apostle says if our brethren be inquired of they are the messengers of the church. Well,-have the churches done right? Yes, for says he, they are the glory of christianity. Now we apply this to the present case. Far be it from us to think we are primitive

christians; we are not fit to carry the shoes of the primitive christians: there is not a brother here that would think himself worthy to bear the name. But we have found by experience, that as we have in our own bosoms improper dispositions that often make the advice of a friend necessary; so in our churches there are disagreeable occurrences that arise, and which require the advice of other churches; we therefore agree to meet once a year, for this purpose, to hear the cases of those churches that are connected with us. If it happens to be poverty, we administer to their necessity if it be a case of ignorance, we endeavour to assist them with our advice. Thus we call these meetings the glory of christianity; and give me leave to say, we have seen, and each of us been thankful for the benefit of these associations: not only have we enjoyed the presence of God our father in them which is better than life; not only have we had the benefit of advice, but have seen real good done by them to others; and our children and our servants have gained real good to their souls from them.-Thus we have ourselves seen the messengers of the church to be the glory of Christ's religion.

[Mr. Geard of Hitchin, in a Sermon from 1 JOHN, iv, 3. having exposed the nature and errors of Popery, Mr. Robinson delivered the following discourse.]

We have my brethren read of a spirit in the primitive church, which wrought up at length