. 22).

3. _He gives indubitable evidence of a depraved nature._--He is the
opposite in nature to a child of "our Father which is in heaven."
"Surely," says the Lord of His children, "they are My people; children
that WILL NOT LIE: so He became their Saviour" (Isa. lxiii. 8). On the
contrary, it is affirmed of the wicked that they "are estranged from the
womb; they go astray as soon as they are born, speaking lies" (Ps.
lviii. 3). Again it is said, "Thy tongue deviseth mischiefs; like a
sharp razor, working deceitfully. Thou lovest evil more than good, and
lying rather than to speak righteousness" (Ps. lii. 2, 3). The wicked
"delight in lies; they bless with their mouth, but they curse inwardly"
(Ps. lxii. 4). Again it is said, "Behold, he travaileth with iniquity,
and hath conceived mischief, and brought forth falsehood" (Ps. vii. 14).
Jeremiah's description of his people answers to the character of the
liar in our day. "They bend their tongues like their bow for lies; but
they are not valiant for the truth upon the earth, for they proceed from
evil to evil, and they know not Me, saith the Lord." "They will deceive
every one his neighbour, and will not speak the truth; they have taught
their tongue to speak lies, and weary themselves to commit iniquity"
(Jer. ix. 3, 5).

4. _He is generally a coward in respect to men, and a contemner of
God._--"To say a man lieth," says Montaigne, "is to say that he is
audacious towards God, and a coward towards men." "Whosoever lies,"
observes Hopkins, "doth it out of a base and sordid fear lest some evil
and inconvenience should come unto him by declaring the truth." "A
liar," remarks Bacon, "is brave towards God and a coward towards man.
For a lie faces God, and shrinks from man." "The meanness of lying,"
says Gilpin, "arises from the cowardice which it implies. We dare not
boldly and nobly speak the truth, but have recourse to low subterfuges,
which always show a sordid and disingenuous mind. Hence it is that in
the fashionable world the word _liar_ is always considered as a term of
peculiar reproach."

"Lie not, but let thy heart be true to God,
Thy mouth to it, thy actions to them both.

Cowards tell lies, and those that fear the rod;
The stormy working soul spits lies and froth."

Again, says the poet:--

"Dishonour waits on perfidy. The villain
Should blush to think a falsehood; 'tis the crime Of cowards."

5. _As a rule he is the most condemned and shu