Here give me leave to put you in mind, that it is necessary for you, as it was for the primitive christians, to settle your profession of christianity upon solid grounds; otherwise you are christians but for the same reason that makes a Turk a disciple of Mahomet, or a heathen a worshipper of the Gods of his country; that is, because you were born in such a climate, and under such a meridian. And can you be contented with so poor a pretence to the noblest religion? and lay so sandy a foundation for your eternal hopes? Besides, the day in which we live, threatens you with bold temptations; and how will you stand if you have no surer grounds? Infidelity is a growing weed; the contempt and ridicule of revealed religion, flourish and become fashionable among the gay part of the world; and if you are not furnished with some solid proofs of the gospel of Christ, you may be in great danger of losing your faith; you may be tempted to yield up your religion to a witty jest, and become a heathen for company. I might say another thing to awaken you to acquaint yourselves with some arguments that will justify and support your belief of the gospel. Suppose you think you have complied with the rules of your religion, and have raised your hopes of heaven to a high degree; should Satan the tempter spread his darkness round your souls, and in a melancholy and gloomy hour assault your faith with such bold questions as these, _How do you know that christianity is the true religion? What tokens have you to shew that it came from God?_ If you have no other answer to make, but that _it is the religion of your country_, that _you are born and bred up in it_, think with yourselves how your spirits will be surprized, your comforts languish, and all your high built hopes totter to the ground; unless the Spirit of God, by his uncommon and sovereign grace, should give in an answer to the temptation, and by some immediate and convincing argument support your faith: but if you are negligent to lay a good foundation at first, you have no reason to expect such a divine favour. Let the importance of this concern therefore keep your attention awake, while I briefly run over some of the proofs of christianity, and thus lead you down to the surest and best of them, which is contained in my text.