The fading of the flesh and flourishing of faith, or, One cast for eternity…

Its like enough thou hast some armour with which thou hopest to defend thy self against the strokes of death, but know for a truth that Death will stab thee through all thy Paper Shields of profession, privileges, and performances, since thou art a stranger to Christ and the power of godliness.

Its like enough thou hast some armour with which thou hopest to defend thy self against the stroaks of death, but know for a truth that Death will stab thee through all thy Paper Shields of profession, priviledges, and performances, since thou art a stranger to Christ and the power of godliness.

Thy life is like the letting down a Fisherman's net; thy death as the drawing up of this Net, while the Net is down a man cannot tell certainly what he shall catch, for the Nets may break, & the Fish may escape; whilst thou livest its not so evident what thine aim is, or what thine end shall be, but at thy Death, when the Net shall be drawn up, then thou wilt see what draught thou hast made. Though godly men at their Deaths may look up to the Lord of life, and say, At thy word we have let down our Nets and caught abundantly; we fished for holiness, and have caught happiness, fished for grace, and have caught glory, and honour, and immortality, and eternal life; yet when the Net of thy life cometh to be drawn up, thou mayst say with Peter, Lord I have fished all Night (all my life time) and have caught nothing; I fished for honours, and pleasures, and riches, and I have caught nothing but the Weeds of wrath and damnation: I blessed my self many a time, like the vain confident Husbandman, in the goodly show which my Corn made on the ground; but now the threshing time is come, I find nothing but Straw and Chaff, vanity and vexation.

Thy life is like the letting down a Fishermans net; thy death as the drawing up of this Net, while the Net is down a man cannot tell certainly what he shall catch, for the Nets may break, & the Fish may escape; whilst thou livest its not so evident what thine aim is, or what thine end shall be, but at thy Death, when the Net shall be drawn up, then thou wilt see what draught thou hast made. Though godly men at their Deaths may look up to the Lord of life, and say, At thy word we have let down our Nets and caught abundantly; we fished for holiness, and have caught happiness, fished for grace, and have caught glory, and honour, and immortality, and eternal life; yet when the Net of thy life cometh to be drawn up, thou mayst say with Peter, Lord I have fished all Night (all my life time) and have caught nothing; I fished for honours, and pleasures, and riches, and I have caught nothing but the Weeds of wrath and damnation: I blessed my self many a time, like the vain confident Husbandman, in the goodly shew which my Corn made on the ground; but now the threshing time is come, I find nothing but Straw and Chaff, vanity and vexation.