Let us turn again to God's Word
in the book of Exodus. In Exodus chapter 37, and reading at verse 6, and we read through to verse
9, Exodus chapter 37, verses 6 to 9, and he, that is Moses,
made the mercy seat of pure gold,
two cubits and a half was the length thereof, and one cubit
and a half the breadth thereof. And he made two cherubims of
gold, beaten out of one piece, made he them on the two ends
of the mercy seat, one cherub on the end on this side, and
another cherub on the other end on that side. out of the mercy-seat
made he the cherubims on the two ends thereof. And the cherubims
spread out their wings on high, and covered with their wings
over the mercy-seats with their faces one to another, even to
the mercy-seekers were the faces of the cherubim. I was struck this last week in
reading that portion in John's Gospel that we had as our reading
this morning with the words that we find there in verses 11 and
12 concerning Mary after she had been the one who was first
at the empty sepulchre returning, remember, telling the disciples
it was Peter and John who then ran to behold the scene and having
behold it they depart and she's left there alone again and we're
told there in John chapter 20 and verses 11 and 12 that Mary
stood without at the sepulchre weeping and as she wept she stooped
down and looked into the sepulchre and then this in verse 12 and
see us two angels in white sitting the one at the head and the other
at the feet where the body of Jesus had lied. And it was that
verse that caused me to think of the significance of the mercy
seat and those cherubims that we just read of in that portion
in Exodus 37. and the cherubims were very much
part of the mercy seat and there was to be one cherub on the one
side and another cherub on the other side with their wings outspread
over the mercy seat and their faces looking towards the mercy
seat. Is it not a reminder of that
ministry of the angels And that's ministry that the angels exercised,
of course, in the life of the Lord Jesus Christ. We know, as
Paul says to the Hebrews, that these angels are all ministering
spirits sent forth to minister to them who are the heirs of
salvation. But not only to the heirs of
salvation, but also to the Saviour do the angels minister. He was made a little lower than
the angels for the suffering of death. He altogether identifies
himself with those who are the heirs of salvation and Christ
himself was pleased to receive that ministry then of the angels. It was of course the angel Gabriel
who came to marry that virgin. to announce that she was going
to be the child of the Holy Ghost, that this sinner was one so favoured
of God that she would bring to birth the promised Messiah. Now Gabriel appears to her and
what the angel says of course is fulfilled and then when he
comes to the actual birth of that child Again we have that
ministry of the angels there at Bethlehem in Judea. They come to those shepherds
who are watching over their flocks by night and they announce to
the shepherds the birth of the Messiah. The ministry of the
angels there at the beginning then of the earthly life of the
Lord Jesus Christ and they minister to him in the course of his life
after his baptism when he is led of the Spirit into the wilderness
and there sorely tempted for forty dimes. Remember how afterward
the devil does lead him. We are told in Matthew's account
in Matthew chapter 4 how the devil leaves him and behold angels
come and minister unto him. That was the beginning of his
public ministry, and then we see them again, do we not? And
we see an angel at the close of that ministry, when we see
Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane, in all those agonies, as he contemplates
that that is before him, very conscious that his hour is come,
that he must make that one sacrifice, that great sacrifice for sins
forever. And agonizing in prayer, His
sweat is said to be like drops of blood falling to the ground. Then we are told there appeared
an angel unto him from heaven strengthening him. And then after
his death it is the angels of course who bear witness to the
truth of his resurrection. They are those who who speak
to the women of the tomb, who speak to the disciples concerning
all that has occurred and that all of this is the fulfilment
of those words that the Lord Jesus Christ himself had spoken in Luke 24. We read of those women going
to the tomb and they are greatly bewildered, perplexed. Verse
4 it says in Luke 24, Behold, two angels stood by them in shining
garments, and as they were afraid and bowed down their faces to
the earth, they said unto them, Why seek ye the living among
the dead? He is not here, but is risen.
Remember how he spoke unto you when he was yet in Galilee, saying,
The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men
and be crucified, and the third day rise again. It's the angels
then who come and they pronounce the truth of the resurrection.
It's the angels also who speak to those disciples of the Lord
in Acts chapter 1 at his ascension. how he will return in like manner
as he has ascended onto heaven. It's the angels who assure the
disciples then of the Lord's coming again. And it's the angels,
of course, who received him into heaven. It was the angels who
welcomed him there in glory. The words of the psalmist in
the 24th Psalm clearly have reference to that great event. Lift up your heads, O ye gates,
and be ye lifted up, ye everlasting doors, and the King of glory
shall come ye in. Who is this King of Glory, the
Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle? Lift up your
heads, O ye gates, even lift them up, ye everlasting doors,
and the King of Glory shall come in. Who is this King of Glory,
the Lord of Hosts? He is the King of Glory, Selah. The ministry then of the angels
is surely significant throughout the life of the Lord Jesus Christ.
And there, in that verse, in John chapter 20, we have those
two angels that Mary sees. Two angels in white, sitting,
the one at the head, the other at the feet, where the body of
Jesus lay. What are they doing? They are
considering the significance of the completion of that great
work that Christ had accomplished. Peter tells us in the opening
chapter of his first epistle as the angels delight to look
into these things. So this is what they're doing,
they're looking into these things. They're there beholding that
remarkable scene that the tomb now is empty, that he who suffered
and bled and died and accomplished that great work that he had undertaken
in the eternal covenant is now risen again from the dead. In many ways what we have in
that verse, I would say, is the fulfilment of these words that
we've read this morning for our text concerning the mercy seat
and the cherubims. Here at verse 7 then, in Exodus
37. We're told our Moses made two
cherubims of gold, beaten out of one piece, made it M on the
two ends of the mercy seat. One cherub on the end on this
side and another cherub on the other end on that side. Out of
the mercy seat made thee the cherubims on the two ends thereof,
and the cherubims spread out their wings on high, and covered
with their wings over the mercy seat with their faces one to
another, even to the mercy seatward were the faces of the cherubims."
So I want us to consider something of this mercy seat. as we have
it set before us here in the Old Testament Scriptures, and
the significance of it. What does the mercy seat remind
us of? A number of things we can see.
It reminds us, first of all, of the presence of God. It was very much God's throne,
of course, there in the midst of Israel. This is where God
was seated in the Holy of Holies. previously in chapter 25 then,
and there at verse 22 God says this concerning the mercy seat.
There I will meet with them and I will commune with thee from
above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubims which are upon
the ark of the testimony of all things which I will give thee
in commandments unto the children of Israel. The Mercy Seat formed
that covering for the Ark of the Covenant and we know where
it was to be placed, it was to be put in the Most Holy Place. In Chapter 26 Moses is given
very specific instruction with regards to the place where it
is to be housed in the Tabernacle. In the end of that 26th chapter
here, verse 33, Thou shalt hang up the veil under the touches
that thou mayest bring in hither within the veil the Ark of the
Testament. And the veil shall divide unto
you between the holy place and the most holy place. And thou
shalt put the mercy seat upon the Ark of the Testimony in the
most holy place. The mercy seat then is in the
most holy place. It's beyond the second house.
It's the holiest of all. It's where God dwells. It's where
God is seated as King in the midst of His people. And so He promises, I will appear
in the clouds upon the mercy seat. And what God said in the
way of promise was of course fulfilled when Moses had finished
the making of all the parts of the tabernacle and that tabernacle
was erected here at the end of the book of Exodus. We have God
coming and dwelling in the midst. Verse 34 in chapter 40. Then
a cloud covered the tent of the congregation and the glory of
the Lord filled the tabernacle. And Moses was not able to enter
into the tent of the congregation because the cloud abodes thereon
and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. And when the
cloud was taken up from over the tabernacle the children of
Israel went onward in all their journeys but if the cloud were
not taken up then they journeyed not till the day that it was
taken up. For the cloud of the Lord was upon the tabernacle
by day, and the fire was on it by night in the sight of all
the house of Israel throughout all their journeys. God comes
in and God makes himself known. Here is God's presence in the
midst of Israel. He is there in the most holy
place. He is seated between the cherubims. He is upon the mercy seat. It is a seat. It is a throne. It is the throne of God's grace. And remember how it was the high
priest alone who could venture beyond that second veil. Only
the high priest was ever permitted to go into the Holy of Holies. And then he could only go into
that place once in the year. It was on the Great Day of Atonement. And we read of all of those things
in the 16th chapter of the book of Leviticus, there at verse
2. The Lord said unto Moses, Speak
unto Aaron thy brother, that he come not at all times into
the holy place within the veil before the mercy seat, which
is upon the ark, that he die not. For I will appear in the
planet upon the mercy seat. He is not to venture there at
any time. He's not to go there at his own
whim or his own fancy. He can only go on that particular
day, the great day of atonement. And when he goes, he must go
there with the blood of sacrifice and he must sprinkle the blood
upon the mercy seat and before the mercy seat. There in Leviticus 16 and verse
14, He shall take of the blood of the bullock, that is his own
sacrifice, and sprinkle it with his finger upon the mercy seat
eastward, and before the mercy seat shall he sprinkle of the
blood with his finger seven times, then shall he kill the goat of
the sin offering that is for the people, and bring his blood
within the veil, and do with that blood as he did with the
blood of the bullock, and sprinkle it upon the mercy seat, and before
the mercy seat." And this was a standing ordinance of course.
In Israel this is that they must observe throughout their generation
verse 34 there in Leviticus 16 this shall be an everlasting
statute unto you to make an atonement for the children of Israel for
all their sins once a year and he did as the Lord commanded
Moses and so here is God's place in the midst of the people here
is God's throne in Israel, the mercy seat, and it is also the
place where the atonement is made. That's the significance
of that 16th chapter. It is the place where atonement
for the sins of the people is to be made, as the high priest
goes there on that great day of atonement. Remember there
were to be those two goats, One was to be sacrificed, the sin
offering, the other was to be the scapegoat. In verse 5 of that 16th chapter,
He shall take of the congregation of the children of Israel two
kids of the goats for a sin offering, and one ram for a burnt offering.
And Aaron shall offer his bullock of the sin offering, which is
for himself, and make an atonement for himself, and for his house. And he shall take the two goats
and present them before the Lord at the door of the tabernacle
of the congregation. And Aaron shall cast lots upon
the two goats, one lot for the Lord and the other lot for the
scaper." So these two goats, one is to serve as a sacrifice,
an offering that is to be made to the Lord and the Other is
to serve as the scapegoat. Two goals. This all, of course,
is a foreshadowing of the great work of the Lord Jesus Christ.
It is all pointing to Him. It's all typical. And it's interesting
that we have this multitude of sacrifices that were to be offered
because Such is that fullness of the work of the Lord Jesus
Christ. It could not be represented by
just one sacrifice. There is such a remarkable fullness
and richness in that work that Christ, the great Antitype, accomplished. And what do we see with regards
to that that is to transpire then on the Day of Atonement
at the Mercy Seat? we see, I say, sacrifice. And in the sacrifice we see the
expiation of sin. I know you might say that's a
technical word. What do we mean when we speak
of expiation? Well, we're thinking here of
the mammoth aspect of sin. When we sin, there is guilt associated
with that sin. And that guilt must be dealt
with. We are the transgressors of God's holy law. We are deserving
that penalty that is to be visited upon those who transgress. That guilt must be dealt with.
It must be expiated. God's justice must be satisfied
in order for the sinner to be pronounced free from the guilt
of his sin. And that's what we see with regards
to that scapegoat. Look at what it says there in
that 16th chapter concerning the scapegoat. Verse 21, Aaron
shall lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat, Remember
the other one was for the Lord to be sacrificed? Therein shall
I place his hands upon the head of the live goat, and confess
over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all
their transgressions in all their sins, putting them upon the head
of the goat, and shall send him away by the hand of a fit man
into the wilderness. And the goat shall bear upon
him all their iniquities, into a land not inhabited and he shall
let go the goats in the wilderness. There is the transference of
the guilt of those sins in by the confession over the head
of the goat and then that goat is to be taken by a fit man,
a strong man, out into the wilderness. It speaks of the removal of all
their sins. The congregation of Israel, of
course, they were the sinners. But now that sin, you see, has
been transferred and removed into the wilderness. And what
of that other goat that was to serve as the sin offering? Verse
15. of that chapter. Then shall he
kill the goat of the sin offering that is for the people, and bring
his blood within the veil, and do with that blood as he did
with the blood of the bullock, and sprinkle it upon the mercy
seat, and before the mercy seat. Oh, it is the removal of all
the guilt of their sins by the shedding of the blood of that
goat And then that wonderful representation of the removal
of it far and wide into the wilderness with the scapegoat. The congregation
of Israel, they were the sinners. They were the ones that were
the transgressors. Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth
also the law, says God. For sin is the transgression
of the law. And that's what they've done,
they've broken God's holy law. They, so soon after God had entered
into covenant with them at Mount Sinai and given them the Ten
Commandments, they soon after broke those commandments in the
matter of the Golden Carp. They were immediately guilty
of the most gross idolatry. And do you remember how Moses
at that time was in the mount? receiving further instruction
and direction from God when he sent down from the mount and
he has those tables of the law in his hand but what does he
do? They are broken there at the foot of the mount. In chapter 32 verse 19 as soon
as he came out of the camp he saw the calf and the dancing
and Moses' anger waxed hot and he cast the tables out of his
hands and break them beneath the mount, the very mount where
God had entered into covenant with him. He breaks the tables. Now graphic is the action that
he takes here because it indicates that they were the transgressors,
they had broken God's commandment. And yet God makes this wonderful
provision. as we see it there in Leviticus
chapter 16. Their sins are taken away. Their sins are expiated. There's
the confession of sin over the scapegoat. There's the sacrifice
of that sin offering. And as the scapegoat is taken
there into the wilderness, so it represents to them the complete,
the utter removal of every sin. They are no more guilty before
God, because a sacrifice of expiation has been made. Those wonderful
words that we have in Jeremiah, in Jeremiah chapter 50, Sorry, let me get the reference here. It's
chapter 50 and verse 20. In those days, and in that time,
saith the Lord, the iniquity of Israel shall be sought for,
and there shall be none, and the sins of Judah, and they shall
not be found, for I will pardon them whom I reserve. That's what we say. That's the
provision that God makes at the mercy seat in the great day of
atonement. He deals with that man-made aspect
of sin. The guilt of the sins of the
children of Israel is no more. It cannot be found. It's gone. Because God himself has made
the provision for them. But there's not only in this place of atonement, the
expiation of the sin, there's also the propitiation of the
sin. These two technical words are
important words with regard to our understanding of what atonement
means. It's not just the manhood aspect,
there's also the Godhood aspect. God's wrath must be answered. God's justice
must be satisfied. This is the Godhood aspect. God,
we are told in the 7th Psalm, is angry with the wicked. Every
day we live, of course, in a day when we don't hear much about
God's wrath, or God's anger, or God's indignation. Men like
to speak of the love of God. and the grace of God, and the
mercy of God, and that's good and right and proper that we
should make mention of those things. But that doesn't mean
that we are to ignore the truth of God being the holy God, and
the righteous God, and the just God, and the God who will by
no means clear the guilty. There is a Godhood aspect to
sin. God is angry with the wicked. But what do we read here in this
portion that we are considering this morning concerning the mercy
seat? Here is Moses and he is to follow
all that instruction, all that direction that God gave to him
in the mount and he is faithful to the word of God and so we
read he made the mercy seat. He made the mercy seat of pure
gold two cubits and a half was the length thereof, and one cubit
and a half the breadth thereof. And the cherubim, which were
so much part of this mercy seat, the cherubim spread out their
wings on high and covered with their wings over the mercy seat
with their faces one to another, even to the mercy seat ward were
the faces of the cherubim. What a provision is this that
God is making in the midst of the law. Because the law was
given by Moses. But grace and truth came by Jesus
Christ. This is that that is typical
of the Lord Jesus Christ. If we go to the New Testament,
there in Hebrews chapter 9, remember at the beginning of that chapter
we see Paul recounting those things associated with the tabernacle
in the Old Testament, and he speaks of the cherubims and the
mercy seat there in verse 5 of Hebrews 9, the cherubims of glory
shadowing the mercy seat. Now I know I've said this before,
but I make no apology for repeating it. The interesting thing is
that the particular word that we have there, that rendered
mercy seat, is a word that's used on just one other occasion
in all the New Testament. And it's used in Romans chapter
3 and verse 25. It's exactly the same words as
in Hebrews 9.5 that we find in Romans 3.25. And there in Romans
3, Paul is clearly speaking of the Lord Jesus Christ and he
says this, whom God has set forth to be a propitiation. through
faith in his light. God has set forth to be a mercy
seat. It's the same word as in Hebrews
9.5. The mercy seat, you see, is the
place of propitiation. It's not just a matter of dealing
with the guilt that is associated with the sins of Israel. On the Day of Atonement there
is that satisfying of the wrath of God. The mercy seat then is
the place of propitiation. And in all points I say, to the
Lord Jesus Christ here in his life. Not that we love God, says
John, but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation
for our sins. For Christ is the fulfilment,
you see. Here, in Exodus 37, in these
verses, these four verses from 6 to 9, we have the time, we
have the mercy seat. But it points us to the Lord
Jesus Christ. He is the propitiation for our
sins. And not for us only, but for
the sins of the whole world. for the sins of Gentiles as well
as of Jews. That's what John is saying. Christ
is the fulfilment of these things and so what is it that Mary witnesses? She sees two angels in white
sitting. The one at the head and the other
at the feet where the body of Jesus had lay. The mercy seat
then, it's not just that that is associated with the very presence
of God, the throne of God. All the mercy seat is that place
where the atonement is made. It's that place where the guilt
of sin is removed from God's people. The place where God's
holy wrath is satisfied. There's reconciliation now between
the sinner and God. But then also this, in the third
place this morning, the mercy seat is the place of meeting. It's a place where God is pleased
to meet with his people. We have it, remember, in what
we read previously there, in chapter 25, where the instruction
is given. In chapter 25 God is giving the
instruction, the direction, here in chapter 37, we see Moses obeying
God's instruction and doing the very thing that God had commanded
him. But there, back in chapter 25, God says this, there I will
meet with them. That's the mercy seat. There
I will meet with thee and I will commune with thee from above
the mercy seat, from between the two cherubims which are upon
the ark, of the Testimony. Now observe the significance
of it. Here is the Mercy Seat. And what is underneath the Mercy
Seat? Well, the Ark. And the Ark is called, rightly,
the Ark of the Testimony. What is the Testimony? The Testimony
is that Law, those Commandments that God has given to his people
Israel. It's the tables of the law that
were to be put into the ark. There at verse 16 in chapter
25, they shall put into the ark the testimony which I shall give
them. So we have underneath the ark
containing the tables of the law And then above that we have
this covering which is the Mercy Seat and God says there in that
22nd verse of chapter 25 that he will be above the Mercy Seat. We'll see the significance of
these things. As the Mercy Seat is between
God's Holy Law and God Himself. Does it not again remind us of
the Lord Jesus Christ who is the Great Mediator? There is
one God and one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus. How Christ has come, you see,
into that very law place of his people. He was made of a woman,
says Paul, he was made under the law to redeem them that were
under the law. He has come into that law place
and he has answered for all his people with regards to every
commandment and statute and precept of the law and he has obeyed
it, he has honoured it, he has magnified it by a sinless life
and then of course that holy, righteous and just one has died
the accursed death of the cross. How those sins you see that were
as it were by the High Priest put upon the head of the scapegoat.
How the sins of Christ's people have been put upon Christ. And
Christ has died as their substitute in their room and in their stead.
He is the Mercy Saint. He is the Mediator, the one who
comes between God and the sinner. Now, this word that we have here
in the Old Testament, translated as Mercy Seat. He made the Mercy
Seat, we read in verse 6. The word that's used literally
means the covering. As we've already said, that's
what it served as, it was a covering on the top of the Ark containing
the Testimony, the Ten Commandments. It's a covering. But again we
see the spiritual significance of it, do we not? It reminds
us that sins are covered. Remember how in Psalm 32 David
speaks of the blessed man. Blessed is the man whose transgression
is forgiven, whose sin is covered, to whom the Lord imputeth not
iniquity. How is this man's sin covered?
It's covered by Christ. You see, the measurement of the
mercy seat, the dimensions are the same as the arc of the covenant
which is beneath it. There is a perfect covering here.
And as Christ is that mercy seat, so it reminds us of the perfection
of that work of the Lord Jesus Christ. Christ is the end of
the Lord. for righteousness to everyone
that believes. All of this is being prefigured
and foreshadowed here in the Old Testament with regards to
this piece of furniture in the tabernacle, the mercy seat. And what a name is given to it
here. How appropriate is the translation that we have here
in our authorised version, when they refer to it not just as
a covering, it's a mercy, sir. It's a mercy, sir. It reminds
us of God's mercy. He declares himself, I will have
mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on
whom I will have compassion. This is the provision that God
makes you see. Oh yes, He is a holy, righteous,
just God. And His anger burns against sin.
There is such a thing as the wrath of God. But as we've already
said, He is also a merciful God, and a gracious God, and a loving
God. And He is pleased to have mercy.
It is according to His own goodwill and pleasure that He has mercy.
And isn't this an encouragement then to us as sinners to come
before him, to come to the mercy of him. To come to the throne
of grace to pray to him, to plead with him. Can we not learn from
that despised publican that the Lord himself speaks of in Luke
18. Those two men who go to the temple
at the hour of prayer, the one was a Pharisee. He was a most
self-righteous man. He would congratulate himself
before God and speak of his merits. He's not as other men are. He
has something he imagines that would commend him to God. Poor
deluded soul, that Pharisee, but the publican. He stands afar
off, he will not lift up his eyes to heavenly smites upon
his breast. He feels himself so unworthy
How can he ever approach God? But he comes with that wonderful
prayer. God, he says, be merciful to me, a sinner. God be merciful. God be propitious,
that's what he's saying. He's asking God to forgive, to
pardon his sins. And this, you see, is the scene
that these cherubims would behold, what God has done. what God has
done in the Lord Jesus Christ. The cherubim spread out their
wings on high and covered with their wings over the mercy seat.
With their faces one to another even to the mercy seat board
were the faces of the cherubim. Oh how they love to look into
these things. Oh they want to see these things,
they want to behold these things. So we have it there on that morning
of the Lord's resurrection. Mary was told, see us two angels
in white sitting, the one at the head and the other at the
feet where the body of Jesus had lain. But no more his body
is there, his work is finished. He has fulfilled all these things
that were written of him in the Lord of Moses and in the Psalms. and in the prophets. He has fulfilled
all these scriptures. He is the end of all these things.
It is in Him and only in Him then that we have that great
salvation. Isn't it David, in the words
of Psalm 36 and verse 7, he says, How excellent
is thy lovingkindness, O God! Therefore the children of men
put their trust under the shadow of thy wings or to put our trust
then under the shadow of God's wings to look to God as he is
there seated upon the mercy seat. But now of course in the Gospel
we speak of it more particularly as that throne of grace where
we obtain mercy where we find grace to help in every time of
night. May the Lord bless to us these
things for His own sake. We sing hymn 534, the tune is
Buckland 450. Mercy speaks by Jesus' blood. Hear and sing, ye sons of God.
Justice satisfied indeed. Christ has full atonement now.