XIV.—Against Lying.
1O 'tis a lovely thing for youth
to walk betimes in wisdom's way:
To fear a lie, to speak the truth,
that we may trust to all they say!
2But liars we can never trust,
tho' they should speak the thing that's true;
And he that does one fault at first,
and lies to hide it, makes it two,
3Have we not known, nor heard, nor read,
how God abhors deceit and wrong,
How Ananias was struck dead,
Caught with a lie upon his tongue?
4So did his wife Sapphira die,
when she came in, and grew so bold,
As to confirm the wicked lie
that just before her husband told.
5The Lord delights in them that speak
the words of truth; but every liar
Must have his portion in the lake
that burns with brimstone and with fire.
6Then let me always watch my lips,
lest I be struck to death and hell,
Since God a book of reck'ning keeps
for every lie that children tell.