First, If we tvoidd not do evil, though tee mir/ht do it unseen of any creature : as, when a little child shall lay his hand on the cockatrice's den, the serpent might sting, and yet, unseen of any, pull in the head again. This, likewise, is a true^sign of harmlessness — when, though a man may do some hurt unseen, yet he will not. Thus was not Herod ; he abstained a-while from beheading of John Baptist, but it was more for fear of the people, than any other cause. Therefore, Christ, in another place, calleth him a fox, Luke xiii. 32, so far was he from this harmlessness we speak . of. Thus we see the doctrine of Christ may be preached to a-many, but the power of the same extendeth but to a few.
Beloved, I would have all of us to consider this. We live, all of us, in the kingdom of Christ ; but where is the man that, though he might do evil unseen, yet would not do it ? We have a worthy pattern of this grace in Joseph, Gen. xxxix. 9, who, though he might have done evil unseen, ' yet would not, * Oh,' saith he, * how shall I do this evil, and sin against God ?' and offend God. Oh, how many are there which withhold the passions of their tongues, and the violence of their hands, only because they are not able to work mischief ! How many men now smooth the hands of God's people, and say as they say, only because they dare not, * A heraldry term. — G.
132 THE TOUCHSTONE OF REGENERATION.
and cannot do them mischief, who, if that opportunity served, would sting them ! This will shew a change to be made, and we to be harmless, if, when opportunity of doing evil is oflfered, yet we can abstain.
A second sign of this sign is, when, though a man hath provocation to do evil, yet he will abstain. This is a sound trial. We see it is said, that the little child shall play upon the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall lay his hand upon the cockatrice's den. Is not here provocation, and yet no hurt done ? In this the Holy Ghost would give us a sure sign indeed. Many men are of a mild natural disposition, and so may, perhaps, forbear mischief when it is in their power. And so, many men, which are merely natural, may bear with religion for some by-respects. But, provoke them, and then you shall have them all of a fire, ready to fly in your face. What religion is there in this ? For to do good for good, and evil for evil, — this, Christ says, even publicans may do : there is no thank in this ; but if, when we are provoked, we can forbear to revenge, this is a blessed thing. If there be true love in our hearts, the apostle says, 1 Cor. xiii. 5, that it is not ' provoked.' And it is written, Isa. liii. 7, that Christ ' he was afflicted, oppressed, yet opened he not his mouth : he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so opened not he his mouth.' This he did, thus holy men have done, and this, if we would see life, we must do. Yet we see, though we should be like sheep, even they will now and then push at one another ; but this is not with much violence ; besides that, it doth not endure. The apostle wills us to forbear, forgive one another ; so this strife hath an end. There- fore, if I cannot forgive in a small matter, but that either my tongue must fly out in words, or the heart be set on mischief, this is a woeful estate. If this be all our goodness, surely it is miserable goodness ; here is no harmlessness : suspect thy estate. But the true goodness and blessed estate is to follow that counsel of our Saviour Christ, ' Bless them that curse and persecute you,' &c., Mat. v. 54. This, then, is harmlessness, when there is afi'orded unto us both secret occasion and provocation to do evil, and yet we abstain. So much for the first.
Now I pass to the second, which is
2. Sociableness.
Which is set out in the whole body of my text. But with whom is it that this society holdeth ? Not of lions with lions, or wild beasts with wild beasts ; and yet many of these cannot endure one another : for the rhinoceros and the unicorn, when they meet, they fight ; so doth the wild horse and the bear ; but if at length they agree, this sociableness of theirs is of wicked beasts one with another. But this is more, that the wolf and the lamb, the cow and the bear, the leopard and the kid, the calf and the young Hon, shall lie down together, and that the little child shall play upon the hole of the asp. This implies, not only a simple society, as among wild beasts, but a sociableness, as it were, among those of another genera- tion. +
To apply this unto ourselves : there be good bands of our sociableness one with another, both reason and speech ; for, naturally, all of us have been hons, bears, and wolves, and unsociable haters of goodness in others. Now, then, this sociableness with those former servants of God, who have been called, this is a very sure mark of this change in us ; so the apostle speaks, 1 John iv. 14, ' By this we know we are translated from death to life, because we love the brethren.' And so Christ, our master, * That is, kind or speciee. — G.