Against Lying

Isaac Watts 1674 (Southampton, Hampshire) – 1748 (Stoke Newington, Middlesex)



O 'tis a lovely thing for youth
To early walk in wisdom's way;
To fear a lie, to speak the truth,
That we may trust to all they say!

But liars we can never trust,
Even when they say what is true.
And he who does one fault at first
And lies to hide it, makes it two.

Have we not known, nor heard, nor read
How God does hate deceit and wrong?
How Ananias was struck dead,
Caught with a lie upon his tongue?

So did his wife Sapphira die,
When she came in, and grew so bold
As to confirm that wicked lie,
Which just before her husband told.

The 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.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on April 04, 2023

42 sec read
129

Quick analysis:

Scheme ABAB XCXC DXDX EFEF XGXG
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 672
Words 141
Stanzas 5
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4, 4, 4

Isaac Watts

Isaac Watts was an English Christian minister (Congregational), hymn writer, theologian, and logician. He was a prolific and popular hymn writer and is credited with some 750 hymns. He is recognized as the "Godfather of English Hymnody"; many of his hymns remain in use today and have been translated into numerous languages. more…

All Isaac Watts poems | Isaac Watts Books

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