Mercy and truth have met together; righteousness and peace have kissed. Truth shall spring out of the earth, and righteousness shall look down from heaven. Yes, the  Lord will give what is good; and our land will yield its increase. – Psalm 85:10-11 NKJV. 

Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight! – Isaiah 5:20-21 NKJV. 

A fatal hit and run of a pedestrian appears to have been solved. Christopher Lemek, Jr, who has a history of driving while intoxicated, has been charged with the crime. Lemek pleaded not guilty at his arraignment, although police say they have a confession. It took some time to find the perpetrator of this offense, because Lemek went to great lengths to hide his involvement. Apparently, Lemek used a track hoe or a similar construction machine to crush his pickup, dig a hole in his backyard, and bury the vehicle. Police while visiting Lemek at his home, noticed some freshly disturbed earth in the backyard, which led to the discovery of the vehicle involved in the hit and run incident. (22WWLP News 01.19.16; Mass Live 03.19.16) 

Truth has a way of making itself known. One of the more famous verses in the Bible is John 8:32 which says: “And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” There is freedom in the truth being made known. Lemek tried to cover up his crime and almost succeeded; however, now the truth is known. Now Lemek may suffer consequences for his crime, but he will not have to continually worry about the truth being revealed. The truth is known, and the victim’s family can now move forward knowing who was responsible for the death of their loved one. It has been more than 20 years since I received a letter from a serial murderer. He had been a truck driver and had murdered several people across the country. However, he came to a point where he could not live with what he had done and he turned to God. He contacted authorities and confessed to his crimes. Truth being revealed has allowed him to have freedom in Christ, even though he will spend the rest of his life in prison. 

In this election season, with the next President of the United States soon to be elected, it seems as though every candidate at times tries to hide the truth. The media also is a part of the deception with only six percent of the people in the country trusting the media. It is frustrating trying to perceive what is true, and what is not true. How refreshing it would be if every candidate and the media could always be counted on to tell the truth. Wouldn’t it be refreshing to always be able to believe what our government tells us? 

Whether you are a Democrat or a Republican there appears to be discontent within the parties. Many members of both parties are unhappy with the “Establishment.” I believe that part of this discontentment flows from the truth being hidden. Instead of truth we see the calling of evil good, and good evil. Nothing good will come from this hiding of the truth. That is exactly what Isaiah is saying and it is what the Psalmist is indicating in a reverse kind of way. I agree with what Matthew Henry says in his commentary where he says,“When there is no truth nor mercy all goes to ruin.” The Psalmist is saying that when there is truth and mercy, “…the Lord will give what is good; and our land will yield its increase.” May truth be revealed across our nation!