The Christian in Complete Armour

Use 3 Let it put thee upon the enquiry (whoever thou art,) whether thou beest in a posture of defence for this evil day. Ask thy soul soberly and solemnly, Art thou provided for this day, this evil day? how couldest thou part with what that will take away, and welcome what it will certainly bring? Death comes with a voider to carry away all thy carnal enjoyments, and to bring thee up a reckoning for them. O canst thou take thy leave of the one, and with peace and confidence read the other? will it not affright thee to have thy health and strength turned into faintness and feebleness, thy sweet nights of rest into waking eyes, and restless tossings up and down; thy voice that has so often chanted to the viol, to be now acquainted with no other tune but sighs and groans. O how canst thou look upon thy sweet and dear relations with thoughts of removing from them? yea, behold the instrument, as it were, whetting that shall give the fatal stroke to sever soul and body? think that thou wert now half dead in thy members, that are most remote from the fountain of life, and death to have but a few moments journey, before it arrive to thy heart, and so beat thy last breath out of thy body. Possibly the inevitable necessity of these do make thee to harden thy self against them; this might indeed in some Heathen, that is not resolved whether there be another world or no, help a little to blunt the edge of that terror which otherwise ⟨p. 367⟩would cut deeper in his amazed heart. But if thou believest another world, and that judgement which stands at deaths back, ready to allot thee thy unchangeable state in bliss or misery; surely thou canst not relieve thy awakened conscience with such a poor cordial. O therefore think what answer thou meanest to give unto the great God, at thy appearing before him, when he shall ask thee, what thou canst say, why the sentence of eternal damnation should not then be pronounced against thee. Truly we deal unfaithfully with our own souls, if we bring not our thoughts to this issue. If now you should ask how you should provide against the evil day, so that you may stand before that dreadful bar, and live so in the mean time, that you might not be under a slavish bondage, through the fearful expectation of it; Take it in a few directions.

Ʋse 3 Let it put thee upon the enquiry (whoever thou art,) whether thou beest in a posture of defence for this evil day. Ask thy soul soberly and solemnly, Art thou provided for this day, this evil day? how couldest thou part with what that will take away, and welcome what it will certainly bring? Death comes with a voider to carry away all thy carnal enjoyments, and to bring thee up a reckoning for them. O canst thou take thy leave of the one, and with peace and confidence reade the other? will it not affright thee to have thy health and strength turn'd into faintnesse and feeblenesse, thy sweet nights of rest into waking eyes, and restlesse tossings up and down; thy voice that has so often chanted to the viol, to be now acquainted with no other tune but sighs and groans. O how canst thou look upon thy sweet and dear relations with thoughts of removing from them? yea, behold the instrument, as it were, whetting that shall give the fatal stroke to sever soul and body? think that thou wert now half dead in thy members, that are most remote from the fountain of life, and death to have but a few moments journey, before it arrive to thy heart, and so beat thy last breath out of thy body. Possibly the inevitable necessity of these do make thee to harden thy self against them; this might indeed in some Heathen, that is not resolv'd whether there be another world or no, help a little to blunt the edge of that terrour which otherwise