The old serpent, the devil, called elsewhere "the father of lies." But
he had not always been a liar; he had fallen from a position very
eminent, teaching us not to measure our safety by our condition. The
higher we are elevated, the more dreadful the fall. Some of the most
degraded vagrants were cradled in comfort, and have wandered from homes
of splendour. Perhaps the vilest of the vile once were ministers of the
Gospel. In a village, the other day, I was told of a man, once a Sunday-
school teacher, but now a professional gambler, and, in a coal-pit I know
in the North of England, the foulest-mouthed blasphemer was once a
Methodist local preacher.
Who would have expected that one of God's angels would ever have turned
tempter, and that one who had lived with God would have the bottomless
pit dug for him and his companions? "Let him that thinketh he standeth
take heed lest he fall."
How skilfully this lie was told! It was not to Adam the serpent spoke;
he was not cheated (1 Tim. ii. 14.) It would have been useless to have
spoken to him on the subject; but Eve had not heard the commandment. It
would be well if, when we are tempted, we said, "Why do you come to me?
Is there no one else who understands this question more than I do?" If
Eve had only thought, "Why is not my husband spoken to first?" Perhaps
she was glad to accept responsibility she had no right to. Was ambition
possible to her? We often see that evil succeeds by using that to pave
the way. Lies do not overcome when contentment rules in Eden, but
ambition is an incipient hell!
Satan has not ceased to lie. He does not improve with old age! He still
seeks whom he may devour. The most popular lie ever told is at present
deceiving many of those who little think where their ideas were born. It
is said over and over again in many circles that God will not punish sin.
What is this but giving the Divine Being the lie? And there are some
ministers who have taken upon them to contradict the Bible, and try to
persuade their hearers, who too often want but little persuasion, that we
may hope when God has said "Despair!" What is this but hatching the old
serpent's eggs in the pulpit?