Dear Friends , let these things , come often under your Consideration , when you lye down and rise up , go forth and come in ; so shall you feel your Hearts and Spirits , wrought more and more into true Tenderness and broakenness , to consider , and lay to Hart what the Lord hath done in so little a time , since his heavenly Day dawned : ( for may not I say to such as can read and understand ) One hath chased a Thousand , and Ten put Ten thousand to Flight : The Work is the Lord's , the Praise and Glory thereof belongs unto him , to whom it is due , both now and for ever more , Amen .

And now , dear Friends , hath the Lord , in his Love , Mercy , Kindness , and Good-Will to you , after a long time of your cruel Sufferings , great Tribulations , and deep Exercises , suffered , or caused a Day and Time of Ease , Freedom , and Liberty , to come home unto you , according to the Desire of your Hearts ; ( not to be expected as to outward Appearance ) which hath freed you from your suffering Condition , both Body and Goods , in divers Respects , and in many Places : Which , although it doth not reach to free me from my Bonds , yet , the Lord knows , I am truly content with my State and Condition , and no more aweary than I was the first Day I entered the same : And my Heart is glad , and my Soul rejoyceth , upon the account of what is already extended unto many Friends .

One Hour of such a Day and Time , once , by many , would have been greatly vallued , when Prisons were full , Houses and Shops broken up ( Goods spoyled ) and Meetings also greatly disquieted , by wicked Informers , and others ; surely such a Day as now is , or as I said , one Hour of it , would have been greatly prized , as a Mercy from the Lord , and no doubt , but much desired by many ( and also laboured for with much Care and Diligence by others . )

And , dear Friends , is the Day and Time now come , and yet continued ( how long , I shall leave to the Lord ) of so large Liberty and Freedom , as I need not mention ; and is it not prized by all as a great Mercy , Blessing , Favour , and Deliverance , being many Prison Dores are set open , and Wife injoys her Husband again , and Children their Parents , and our Meetings continued unto us in a most peaceable manner : ( Praises to God on high for ever . ) I say , is not this prized by all , I hope it is by many ; and my Desire is , it might be by all ; for what a great Pitty were it , that such a rich Mercy , Benefit , and Priviledg should by any be undervalued , or not considered and prized according to the Worth of it , and what is really in it , or what it may produce , if made right use of .

But I fear , and have a Godly Jealousy ( wherefore an Exercise hath attended me many Days , some Weeks , and Months , until at last I was made to write , ) That there is some that is so inconsiderate and unmindful of the Mercies of the Lord , that they rather requite him Evil than Good herein .

Oh! let all take heed and beware , That because of the present Day and Time , of so large Liberty , Ease , and Peace , that none take more Ease , Pease , and Liberty unto your selves , in Meeting , or out of Meeting , than becomes you professing Truth : No , no more you ought to take , than if it were a Day of great Tryal , and deep Exercise ; for still you have an unwearied Enimy to war with , that neglects no Opportunity that may make for his Purpose , by many Temptations within , and evil Counsellors without .

And though it be not now a Time for him and his , to rage and roar , as though he and they would devour all at once , yet he will be creeping now in his Cuning and Subtilty more misteriously and hidenly to darken within , and to vail within , to hurt and hinder your Growth in the Truth within ( by presenting some delightful Object without ) and there is no way to have him discovered , nor to receive Power against him , but by waiting and watching with Diligence ( and true Fear ) in the pure light of the Son of God , of Righteousness and Glory ; and therein Power is received , whereby the Power of Darkness is trod down , and kept under ; so that he will be known to rule and reign , whose Right it is , who is God over all Heaven , and the whole Earth , blessed for ever more .

It is the Work of the Power and Prince of the Air and of Darkness , and that evil Spirit , where it gets Place and Rules , to do what Hurt it can amongst the tender Plants of God's Plantation , to stop and hinder the Work of God ; as that rending Spirit of Separation in and by those that entertained it ; hath used all its cunning Craftiness , by creeping in the Dark to hurt and spoyl within , and so make Breaches and Separations without , by such wicked Instruments as is fitted by it : For it 's plain and evident , which may greatly tend to confirm all Friends against it , and to convince those that are of it , That this Spirit and Power , that they pretend to be the Spirit of Truth and Power of God , is not the Spirit of Truth , nor the Power of God : For though such be Peachers by it , and from it , they never have been instrumental since they were of it ( I believe , and am fully perswaded , and have often considered ) to convince any of Sin , or gather any out of the World ; only their Work has been , and still is , to deceive the simple gathered , and to prevail upon the Wise and Rich , which is grown to love Ease and Pleasure more than God , his Truth and People , and are got into a false Liberty , and Looseness attends them , because they love not to bear the Cross , and live in self-denyal ; and because they that are of that Spirit , loves and likes Ease and Liberty so much to the Flesh and carnal Minde . This present juncture of time might have seemed , or served to have wrought their Work in , but that they have already so far manifested themselves what Spirit they are of ( to all whose Eyes are open ) by flying and hiding themselves in the time of Persecution , and keeping Friends out of their Meeting-Houses , like other Persecutors : So that now they can do little more Harm , though they creep here and there ; for that Snake-Spirit hath shot its Sting both Head and Tail , and spent the greatest of its Strength , so that any Child of God now may tread upon it , without Hurt or Danger .

So , dear Friends , how can it otherwise be , but all those Things , rightly considered , shall greatly tend to confirm your Faith against it , never any more to touch with it ( nor them that are of it ) and also open the Eyes of others , taken as in a Snare , and hurt by it , to break the Snare and come forth from them that are of that Spirit , that such may be restored and healed : As many as have escaped , let them prize God's Love therein for ever .

I say , they never , I believe , since they received that Spirit I have described , been Instrumental to Convince any of Sin , or gather any out of the World to God ; so it 's plain such are none of his sending , sitting , nor preparing : No , no Ministers of Christ , but of him that is opposite to Christ , speaking from a dark Power and Spirit gathers into the Darkness out from the true Light , where People cannot see the true Way .

For the Work of the true Ministers of the everlasting Gospel , was and is , and was and is still made so instrumental , to gather from and out of the Darkness into the true Light and Life , and so into the heavenly Power , the heavenly Man ( that was before the Power of Darkness was ) Christ Jesus the Power of God , there to sit , live , move , and have a Being ; where this earthly , dark , separating , envious rending Spirit cannot reach nor come , for it hath its Power from below , out of the Pit of Darkness , where its Habitation and Dwelling-Place is ; Out of which the Lord God of my Life , keep and preserve you all , my dear Friends , in your Habitations of Light , Life , and Power , there for evermore to live and Dwell .

I say , let all take heed and beware of the Deceitfulness of the Enemies Workings in the Dark , who from the beginning still wrought Man's Misery , by getting an Enterance upon him by his Lyes , contrary to the Knowledg God gives to the Sons and Daughters of Men by his Light of Grace ( of his Will and Mind ) , who undoubtedly will now perswade to fleshly Ease , careless Security , worldly Mindedness , to seek Self and its Interest ( if the Watch be not carefully kept ) which for want of , hence it is Darkness enters such , and Deadness comes over them , and a Spirit of Slumber and Dead-sleeping takes place , which is both a Thief and a Robber ; and so the Spirit of Truth not being minded , to lead and guide , the Spirit of the World gets in , and so moves , and draws , and leads into the Earth and earthly Things , and instead of labouring to be rich in Faith and good Works towards God , such labour chiefly how to grow Rich in the World , that they may have great Substance to leave to they know not who .

And all this loose Darkness and Insensibleness comes to artend a Man or a Woman , though Truth may be professed , for want of waiting and watching with Diligence in the Light of Jesus Christ , the antient and standing Principle of Truth , and because the daily Cross to the Will and Mind that leads out , is not born and lived in .

And some , for w●●● of a right prizing and valuing the pres●nt Mercy , so largely enjoyed , 〈…〉 high Minde to rule them , which leads too above the Fear of God , and out of a Sence and Feeling of the pure Truth in themselves , and so walk not orderly .

So , Dear Friends , every where , as wise Men and Women , old and young , have an Eye about you , in the Fear of God , and in love to his Truth , as those that is ordered and guided in his Wisdom , that all People may see you are no more hightened , because of Peace and Liberty , no more than cast down in a Day of Tryal : But that all may see , beholding your good Conversation , coupled with Fear , that you are as those that are bowed before the Lord , under a deep and true Sence of this his present Mercy , ( not forgetting those heretofore received : ) For although the Lord may be pleased to make Man instrumental , or work upon his Heart to answer him in this or any other thing , it is unto him alone , that is the Author and Original of all Good , that you are to look and return the Praise , Honour , and Glory for ever ; though we would not with-hold that from Man neither that is his due , which is found in doing well , which is acceptance with God , and worthy of Commendation and Praise by all his People , who do heartily pray and wish , to continue all , or any one of such , that is so found unto the end of their Days .

And so , Friends , being kept and preserved ( as I have said ) before the Lord and all People , you will be kept of the blessed Apostles Perswasion ; who says , I am perswaded that neither Life nor Death , Principalities nor Powers ; things present , nor yet that which is to come , shall be able to separate me from the Love of God that is in Christ Jesus . So let all take heed , although all things here named , that is past , or at least some of them you have been tryed with or in that , that which is present do not heighten above what is meet , for if so , you see what it will separate from ; but keep low in the even Way , the middle Path , where no Extream is , where you will be kept humble and meek ; and it s such the Lord Teacheth , prizing and valuing every Mercy and Favour you receive from him : But who can or doth so prize any thing to the worth of it , and to have such an Esteem thereof , as those that have known the want of the same .

For it s very rare in these to prize Liberty , Freedom and Ease , to the worth thereof , so as to have that Esteem of it which it deserves , that never knew what Bonds , Tronble and Suffering were : Yea it s as rare in such , as for a Man and Woman to prize Health and Strength , that scarce ever knew what Sickness , and to be attended with Weekness has been ; or for those to prize the worth of Bread that never knew the want of it .

Yea , it s even those chiefly , that has born the heavy Burthen of suffering Imprisonment , and spoyling of Goods ; and has been so straitly kept to the impairing of their Health , that is ready to cry out and say , how deeply are we engaged unto the Lord for the injoyment of this Mercy of so large Liberty and Freedom .

Oh that you may never forget nor be unmindful of the same , though I know , the honest hearted and well minded , that has their Eye to God , and love him , his Truth and People above all , though never called to suffer , they are ready often to say in their Hearts ; Though I have never , or seldom have been exercised as other of my Friends , yet I cannot but be mindful of their suffering State and Condition ; and when they suffer I suffer with them , and when freed , eased , or at Liberty : Oh! I am made truly glad , so as that I am ingaged , with them , to praise the Lord therefore , in the receiving of such a Mercy , Blessing and Favour .

And the blessed Effects produced by all those that prize the Mercies and Favours they receive from the Lord , is wherein God's Love is manifested to them , they prising and valuing the same , it engageth the Lord to give them more abundantly to partake thereof , and constrains them to love him again , and if possibly , to requite the Lord with doubling of their Diligence , as those that are so far from taking more Liberty unto themselves , because of the Liberty that is given , that they sind themselves the more engaged , to meet often amongst God's People in all their Meetings , not only as to Worship , but Men and Womens Meetings set up and ordained by the Power of God , for to do service there for him , his Truth and People ; for Ease and Liberty , not made right use of , brings forth littie but Idleness and Unprofitableness , and no way fit to do Service for God .

For it 's only those that keeps out of the extream Hights and Depths ( too high and too low ) that has the Profit , and truly reaps the Benefit of this Day of Freedom and Liberty : And that in truth , it is to them a sweet and comfortable Mercy and Favour , amongst many received from the Lord , and such is deeply concern'd to prise it , that they may be sensible of the End wherefore the Lord hath suffered it so to come to pass , which is as all in Faithfulness waits upon him in the close Retiredness of their Mindes , they may receive that from him , whereby they may grow strong in him , through the might of his Power , in Faith and Patience , in Boldness and Courage to sinisn in that in which you have begun , for its Faithfulness unto the End that crowns all .

And so , dear Friends , in the Name of the Lord go on , and none fit down by the Way , and in Faithfulness follow your Captain the Lord Jesus Christ , that never leaves nor forsakes those that so follow him , that you may have good Cause to say , as those that hath made right Use of the Day and Time of God's Love and Mercy , in giving Ease and Liberty as well when exercised in and under Suffering ( come what will come , the Will of the Lord be done . )

And all who make not use of this Days Mercy , as I have said , and for that End and Purpose wherefore the Lord hath suffered it to come to pass , ( which is to engage and establish his faithful People ) the end thereof will rise up in Judgment against them .

So , dear Friends , Brethren and Sisters every where , all be awakened unto Righteousness to serve the Living God , as you ought to worship and serve him , which is with all your Hearts , Might and Strength , and with all you have and do enjoy that is the Lord's , who are redeemed unto him by his Power : The Lord God of Israel keep and preserve you faithful , on this wise serving of the Lord , and one another in Love , for the increase of Life and Unity amongst you ; and that while you have a Day to live , and an Hour of Breath to draw , is the Supplication and Travail of my Soul and Spirit unto the Lord for and on your Behalf , into whose blessed and fatherly Protection I commit and command you all , to be kept and preserved where Safety and Preservation is for evermore .