My son, forget not my law; but let thine heart keep my commandments: For length of days, and long life, and peace, shall they add to thee. Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart: So shalt thou find favour and good understanding in the sight of God and man. Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the Lord, and depart from evil. Proverbs 3:1-7
We all desire mercy, and God is ready to show mercy to any and everyone who is ready to embrace both mercy and mercy’s brother –truth. You can not wish to obtain mercy and forsake the truth. Let’s get into the scriptures.
Thou hast a mighty arm: strong is thy hand, and high is thy right hand. Justice and judgment are the habitation of thy throne: mercy and truth shall go before thy face. Psalms 89:13-14
10 Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other. Psalms 85:10
You cannot murder truth and expect God to show mercy; they are mutually inclusive –you cannot separate one from the other. In a family where prayers are made daily, crying for mercy but forsaking truth cannot see the blessings and righteousness of God, in fact, if there is a problem in a family, someone in the family is not saying the truth. The devil comes in most cases to sell logic to us, yet we expect to see the mercy of God. Mercy does not thrive with logic. Logic is the instrument for justifying an argument; this can be all right with the world, but not with God. When God asked Cain, “Where is Abel your brother”, he responded by asking if he was his brother’s keeper. Yes, this is very logical, if he was before a national judge, he would be free of the allegation. Would he be expecting mercy and forsaking the truth, he would be joking; his logic deterred him from obtaining mercy from God.
You cannot forsake the Prince of Peace and know peace. Friends, it was by grace that we are engrafted in the commonwealth of Israel, heed the warning –let not mercy and truth forsake you. The salvation door for the Gentiles will soon be closed, and everything in the world is speaking toward the Middle East, because something is about to happen in Israel. God has made Israel a cup of trembling, all of those fighting are just wasting their time, and expecting disgrace.
The burden of the word of the Lord for Israel, saith the Lord, which stretcheth forth the heavens, and layeth the foundation of the earth, and formeth the spirit of man within him. Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all the people round about, when they shall be in the siege both against Judah and against Jerusalem. And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it. In that day, saith the Lord, I will smite every horse with astonishment, and his rider with madness: and I will open mine eyes upon the house of Judah, and will smite every horse of the people with blindness. Zachariah 12:1-4
There is a storm coming, and that is why God is perfecting our imperfections, the Bride must be perfected. This takes discipline, not logic. You can’t deceive God with your knowledge. David would have obtained absolute forgiveness except that he added logic to his confession.
4 Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest. Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me. Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom. Psalms 51:4-6
He was correct when he said he had sinned against God, but he added logic when he said “In sin did my mother conceive me…” It’s no news that we are conceived in iniquity, Joseph was conceived in iniquity as well but he did not fall for the beautiful Portipher’s wife. You need to discipline yourself as a child of God; this is the way to ensure that mercy and truth do not forsake you. Scripture says God desires truth in the inward parts. Let your cry for forgiveness be sincere from your heart. When your deep cry, there is a deep to respond to you. Do not draw close to God with your lips while your heart is far from Him.
Hannah may have been boasting against Penninah because she was more loved by her husband, and God closed her womb. She continued to be barren until she realized the need for mercy, and what she did was accept the truth. Maybe her prayer at Shiloh was asking God for forgiveness and confessing all she did against Penninah, and God met with her.
Friends, let not mercy and truth forsake you, seek the Lord genuinely, He is our hiding place.