thod in the Cafe before you, First see to your Foundation, examine thoroughly, seriously, and impartially, whether the Evidence for the Truth of Christianity be such, that you have Reason to believe it, and that it would be unreasonable not to believe it true; and then, whatever Difficulties may occur, don't dig up your Foundation, and undermine your Faith and Hope: Don't give your Adverfary the Advantage to keep you in a continued Sufpence, left you live and die an Unbeliever, and so have your Objections removed when it is too late, when your Conviction will but prove your Confufion.— I don't speak this to deter you from examining the moft fubtile Objections which the greatest Enemies of Christianity are able to throw in your Way. The Caufe will bear the ftrictest Scrutiny, the feverest Trial. And you can hardly imagine any Difficulty, but what has been clearly and judicioufly refolved by one or other of the late Defenders of this glorious Caufe. But are you convinced, that the Arguments to prove the Truth of Chriftianity admit of no rational Answer? Take then the Apoftle's Advice, in all the further Inquiries you fhall make, to hold fast the Beginning of your Confidence ftedfaft unto the End.

This then is Part of that general Advice I would give you, that you may get rid of those Doubts which ftill hang upon your Mind.-Follow it, and it will at least leffen your Difficulties, and may make your Way plain before you. But this is not the principal Direction neceffary to be taken in this Cafe. It is of fpecial Confequence to fee to it, that you experience the Power of Christianity in your own Heart-Reject this Advice, and it is impoffible that you should be rooted and built up in Chrift, and ftablished in the Faith; but comply with it, and it is impoffible that Hell and Earth can finally fub

vert your Faith, and feparate between Chrift and your Soul.-By this Means, this great Affair will be no longer with you a Matter of meer Speculation, or empty Opinion, but convincing Experience; and nothing but your Imperfections and Temptations can ever make you hefitate about the Truth of those Things, which you fenfibly and continually feel the Influence of upon all the Powers and Faculties of your Mind.-By this you will have the Witness in yourself, a Tranfcript of the Gospel upon your Heart; fuch a Tranfcript as will anfwer to the Original, like as the Imprefs upon the Wax to the Signet; or as a well drawn Picture to the Lineaments of the Face from whence it was taken.--By this have Multitudes of Souls been established in the Faith, who have never been able critically to examine the external Evidence upon which Chriflianity is founded. They have not been able to difpute for Chrift; but they have dared to die for him. They have found the Image of God imprinted on their Souls, by the Gospel of God our Saviour; and therefore could not doubt the Power of that Caufe, which had produced fo glorious an Ef fect upon them.-Make the Experiment, Sir, and you'll be forced to acknowledge the Lord Jefus Chrift to be indeed your Saviour, when you feel that he hath actually faved you.

Let me therefore fet before you fome of the Marks given of a real Chriftian in the New Testament, that when you come to discover the Lineaments of this divine Image upon your Soul, you may know the Cause from the Effect. In doing this, I fhall not defcend into all the minute Particulars of the Chriftian Character; but only fet before you a few of the most plain and intelligible Marks by which a Chriftian indeed may be diftinguished from all others, and by which he may most clearly discern, that Christ is a Saviour indeed.

And first, the most general Mark, by which this may be known is, that if any Man be in Chrift, he is a new Creature; old Things are paffed away ; behold, all Things are become new. (2 Cor. v. 17.) That he is renewed in the Spirit of his Mind; and that he puts on the new Man, which after God is created in Righteoufnefs and true Holiness. (Eph. iv. 23, 24)-Here, you may fee, is reprefented a very remarkable and distinguishing Change of State; a Change, which may be known by those who have had the bleffed Experience; and a Change, that has been felt by all thofe, and none but those who are Christians indeed. Could you then find this bleffed Effect of your committing your Soul and your eternal Interests into the Hands of our Lord Jefus Chrift; that all the Powers, Passions, and Appetites of your Soul are renewed, you could not doubt the Author of the wonderful Change.

You must own it to be from Him, that you are brought to hate what you before loved, and to love what you before hated. Can you help but acknowledge this, when you find, that the Thoughts and Difpofitions of your Mind are new, and the chief Subjects of your Care and Meditation are the Things unfeen and eternal; that the Defires and Affections of your Soul are new, and placed upon the Things that are above, where Chrift Jefus fits at the Right Hand of God; that your Views and Apprehenfions of yourself are new, and your haughty and felfifh Imaginations are changed to an humble and contrite Spirit, that trembles at God's Word; that your Confidence and Dependence is new, and, instead of depending upon your good Attainments, Purpofes, Promifes, Reformations, or Duties, you are endeavouring to be found in Chrift Jefus, not having on your own Righteousness, which is of the Law, but that which is through the Faith

of Chrift, the Righteoufnefs which is of God by Faith; that your Joys and Satisfactions are new, and, instead of rejoicing in your temporal and fenfual Acquifitions, you rejoice in Christ Jefus, and have no Confidence in the Flesh; that the Objects of your Love and Complacency are new, and, inftead of loving the World and your Idols, you e fteem God's Favour to be Life, and his Loving-kind ness to be better than Life; and instead of loving the Company of worldly and fenfual Perfons, you have your only Delight and Complacency in Men of ferious vital Piety, and have this Evidence, that you are passed from Death to Life, that you love the Brethren; that your Appetites and Paffions are new, and, instead of those boundless Defires you were before acted by, you are brought into an humble Subjection to the Will of God, and, instead of those turbulent Paffions which before had the Afcendant, you experience the blessed Fruits of the Spirit, which are Love, Joy, Peace, Long Juffering, Gentleness, Goodness, Faith, Meekness, Temperance; and, to fum up all, that your Converfation is new, and that you live a Life of Holinefs towards God, and of Righteousness, Charity, and Beneficence towards Men, endeavouring to fill up every Station, Relation, and Capacity of Life with Duty, and striving to have your whole Converfation as becomes the Gospel of Chrift?

This, Sir, is a brief Summary of the true ChriStian Character. This the Salvation (in its moral View) which our Lord Jefus Christ beltows in this World upon all his fincere Followers.

- No

Man ever failed of obtaining this, who, by Faith unfeigned, brought his Soul to Chrift, and depended upon him for his fanctifying, renewing Influ

ences.

Now,

Now, Secondly, another Thing which all true Chriftians experience, and none but they, is the Spiritual Warfare. They have a Warfare with their remaining Corruptions. The Flesh lufteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the Flesh; (Gal. v. 17.) And they fee another Law in their Members warring against the Law of their Minds, in order to bring them into Captivity to the Law of Sin and Death. (Rom. vii. 23.) They have ftill fo many Imperfections remaining in their Hearts, in their Duties, and in their Conversations, as make them groan, being burthened! and cry out, O wretched Man that I am, who shall deliver me from the Body of this Death! When therefore you are heartily engaged in this War, and feel in yourfelf that you are continually led on to Victory, can you doubt who it is that approves himself the Captain of your Salvation?Can you doubt this, when you fenfibly feel in yourfelf a Hatred to all Sin, without any Referve, even to thofe Sins which by Conftitution, or Cuftom, are fo nearly and intimately united to your Affections, as to become your Members, even a right Hand, a right Foot, or a right Eye-Can you doubt this, when you feel that you even hate vain Thoughts, and that the Irregularities of your Heart and Affections, as well as of your outward Conduct, are Matter of your continual Grief and Burden; what you continually watch, and pray, and strive against ?

Can you doubt this, when it is your conftant Experience, that there is nothing more grievous to you, nothing more contrary to the governing Defires of your Soul, than the Prevalence of these Corrupti ons, and the Deadnefs, Formality, and Distractions which accompany your holy Duties; and when you experience that it is your most ardent and impatient Puriuit, to gain further Victory over the Imperfections