WHEN, in the morn, to dress thou dost begin,
Pray thou that God wou'd lend to thee his arms,
That, like a Christian, thou may'st fight therein,
And boldly brave each enemy's alarms.

In vain dost thou, from the inclement air,
Thy body guard, and from the tempest keen,
If thou dost not a proper garb prepare
Thy soul from sin's destructive rage to screen.

Seek, then, to save thee from each greedy foe,
And sin's assaults, the panoply of God -
Seek it, to shield thee from each pressing woe,
And from the world, the flesh, and Satan's fraud.

For we, without it, are defenceless quite,
To ev'ry enemy an easy prey -
And 'tis impossible for human might,
Unarm'd with it, to conquer in the fray.