The Mercy Seat

Q: What does the Bible say about the mercy seat?

The mercy seat, as described in Exodus 25, represents God's presence and the place where He meets His people, signifying atonement and grace through Christ. The mercy seat is a significant element in the tabernacle system outlined in Exodus 25:17-22. It is described as a pure gold covering for the Ark of the Covenant, which housed the Ten Commandments. This mercy seat, flanked by two cherubim, symbolizes God's throne where He meets His people. The blood of the sacrifices was sprinkled on this mercy seat, representing atonement for sins. In the New Testament, Christ serves as our ultimate mercy seat; Romans 3:25 refers to Him as the propitiation, illustrating how through His blood, God meets and reconciles with sinful humanity.

Q: How do we know Jesus Christ is our High Priest?

Hebrews affirms Jesus as our High Priest, who mediates a better covenant, offering His own blood as atonement for sin. Scripture clearly identifies Jesus Christ as our Great High Priest. Hebrews 8:1-6 establishes Him as a minister of a better covenant, superior to the Levitical priesthood. Unlike the earthly priests who offered animal sacrifices, Jesus offered Himself as a perfect sacrifice, as noted in Hebrews 9:12, entering into the heavenly sanctuary with His own blood. This radical change in priesthood is rooted in Christ being designated as a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek, showing that He fulfills and surpasses the old covenant, bringing believers into a direct relationship with God. His priesthood is vital for providing eternal redemption and intercessory prayer.

Q: Why is the New Covenant important for Christians?

The New Covenant is crucial as it provides forgiveness and regeneration, establishing an intimate relationship between God and His people through Christ's sacrifice. The New Covenant, prophesied in Jeremiah and fulfilled in the New Testament, underscores the transformation of our relationship with God. In Hebrews 8:8-12, God promises to write His laws on our hearts, granting believers a new nature that desires to follow Him, thus enabling an intimate relationship with God where He declares, 'I will be their God, and they will be my people.' This covenant promises forgiveness of sins through Christ's atoning work, ensuring that the believer's standing before God is secure—thus allowing free access to God without the need for earthly mediators, a privilege afforded to all who trust in Him. As Christians, understanding and embracing the New Covenant strengthens our faith and assurance in God's promises.

Q: How does Christ fulfill the Old Covenant sacrifices?

Christ fulfills the Old Covenant's sacrifices as the ultimate Lamb of God, offering Himself once for all time to redeem humanity from sin. The Old Covenant included various sacrificial laws that were intended to symbolize the atonement for sin. However, these sacrifices—described in Hebrews 10:1-4—were insufficient in removing sin. They served only as types pointing to the coming Messiah. Christ's sacrifice is the fulfillment of these types; He is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world (John 1:29). Through His death and resurrection, He offered a once-for-all sacrifice that satisfies God's demand for justice and provides true redemption. Hebrews 9:26 encapsulates this, stating that He has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself, transforming the understanding of atonement from temporary rituals to a permanent relationship with God.

Hebrews, the 8th chapter. The writer of the book of Hebrews says in verse 1, chapter 8, Now
of the things which we have spoken in these first seven chapters,
this is the sum. We have such an high priest. we have a great high priest who
is set on the right hand of the throne of the majesty in heaven. He ministers in a better place,
not in the tabernacle made with hands, but he ministers in the
presence of the Father. For he's a minister of holy things,
of the sanctuary and the true tabernacle. We not only have
a better place, but we have a better tabernacle. This is his body,
which the Lord pitched. The body hast thou prepared me,
he said, and not man. For every high priest, all of
these typical priests down through the years, sons of Aaron, sons
of Levi, Every high priest is ordained of God to offer gifts
and sacrifices. They brought the morning sacrifice
and the noon sacrifice and the evening sacrifice. Once a year
the atonement was offered. And they brought these gifts
and sacrifices, all of which could never put away sin. They
were typical sacrifices. Wherefore it is of necessity
that this God-man, our great high priest, have somewhat to
offer. But he offered not the sacrifice
of animal blood, but his own blood, a sweet-smelling savior
to the Father. He gave himself. He has something
to offer, an effectual, sufficient sacrifice. Theirs could never
put away sin, but he, by one offering, hath perfected forever
them that are sanctified. For if he were on earth, or if
he were of the earth, if he were nothing but a man, if he were
not the God-man, he wouldn't even be a priest. Did you know
that? If Jesus Christ were only of the earth, he would not even
be a priest. You see, the priest came from
the tribe of Levi. Where did Christ come from? He's
the king, he's the king priest. And by God's special covenant
and special design and purpose, he came from the tribe of Judah.
He's a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek. He's the
king of peace and he's the priest of the Most High God. Look back
at chapter 7, verse 14. It says here, verse 13, he of
whom these things are spoken. That is, the priest after the
order of Melchizedek pertained it to another tribe, of which
no man gave attendance at the altar. King Uzziah tried it and
God killed him. For it is evident that our Lord
sprang out of Judah, of which tribe Moses spake nothing concerning
the priesthood. But he's the king priest. All
right, back to chapter 8. For if he were on earth, verse
4, he would not be a priest, seeing that there are priests
that offer gifts according to the law, according to the proper
arrangements, who serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly
things. As Moses was admonished of God
when he was about to make the tabernacle, for God said, See
that thou make all things according to the pattern showed to thee
in the mountain. Do it just exactly like I have
ordained you to do it. Don't change anything. You see,
this first covenant spoken of here is the covenant of the Levitical
priesthood made with Israel. And this covenant was delivered
by Moses, and it was only a picture. It was only typical. The people
were typical of true Israel. The tabernacle was typical of
Christ who tabernacled among us. The sacrifices were typical
sacrifices which were pictures of Christ And the mediators,
these human priests, were but types of the Lord Jesus Christ.
And this old covenant, and we need to get acquainted with it
because it's a picture of the new. And we'll show you that
in a few moments. But this old covenant was deficient. Its priests were only sinful
men. Its sacrifices were only animal
blood. And its offerings could never
take away sin. If it could have, there would
be no reason for Christ to come. I read on, let me show you that,
verse 6. But now, but now hath he, Christ our Lord, obtained
a more excellent ministry. You see, we have a better place,
heaven, where he ministers. We have a better sacrifice, which
is his blood. We have a better tabernacle,
which is his body. We have a better covenant, which
is the eternal everlasting covenant. And we have better promises,
like Bill said, no uncertainties. Guaranteed, because our priest
lives. You see, a last will and testament,
and this is what the scripture says, when a man makes out a
last will and testament, and he leaves so much to his wife,
and so much to a son, and so much to a daughter, and maybe
to a brother or sister, and he dies. And that last will and
testament falls into the hands of lawyers. And there's no telling
what might happen to it. There's no guarantee that his
wishes will be carried out. Oh, I know the law says it's
supposed to. I know all of that. But I know there's a lot of loopholes
in our law. But you see, my Redeemer, and
this is what this testament is a covenant. And there's got to
be the death of the testator. And our Lord Jesus Christ is
the testator, and he made the covenant, and he made us the
heirs of the covenant, and he died to assure us, to guarantee
us, without any conditions, all that he purchased. You say, well,
something happened to it? No, sir, because he lives to
enforce it. See, he's the king priest. He's
not only the one who purchased it, the one who willed it, the
one who accomplished the one who gave it, but he's the one
who's going to guarantee it and enforce it. He's the only one
who lives to enforce his own last will and testament. That's
right. Verse 6, he hath obtained a more
excellent ministry by how much also he's the mediator of a better
covenant, a better covenant which was established upon better promises.
You see, that old covenant is a picture of the new. For if
the first covenant had been faultless, if it had been able to save,
if it had been able to put away sin, then should no place have
been sought for the second. But finding fault with them,
finding fault with whom? Well, both with the covenant
which had its weakness and with the people who didn't continue
in it. God found fault with both of them. Fault with the covenant
and fault with the people. Behold, he said, the days come. What days? After the Old Testament
days, after the Messiah comes, after the gospel is preached.
Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make, when
I will reveal. He already made it. I will reveal a new covenant.
Why is it called a new covenant? It's called a new covenant because
it's newly revealed. The new covenant was before the
old covenant. The everlasting covenant was
before the first covenant because he's the lamb slain before the
foundation of the world. And the book of life is the book
of the lamb slain from the foundation of the world. But it's a new
covenant because it's newly revealed. And it's a new covenant because
it's always new. It's never old. And it's a new
covenant because it gives a new heart and a new nature and a
new spirit and a new hope. It's a new covenant. Behold,
he said, I'll make all things new. I'll make a new covenant
with the house of Israel, with the house of Judah, not according
to the covenant I made with their fathers in the day when I took
them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, because
they continued not in my covenant, and I regarded them not, saith
the Lord. But this is the covenant. Now watch this. This is the covenant
that I will make with the house of Israel, with true Israel,
with the true seed of Abraham. Abraham's seed is Christ, and
we're in Christ. I will make for the house of
Israel after those days, saith the Lord, I'll put my law into
their minds, and write them in their hearts. Is this the Ten
Commandments, my friend? No, not only. This is the whole
Word of God. This is the whole will of God. This is all the commandments
of God with respect to God, repentance, faith, and godliness. God says,
I'll not write them on tables of stone. In this new nature
and regeneration and the new birth, I'll write my word on
their hearts and they'll love it. And I'll write my word on
their mind and they'll think upon it. And I'll be to them
a God. Well, he's everybody's God. I'll
be to them a God and they shall be to me a people. Not in the
sense that he's every man's God and all creation belongs to him.
But he said, I'll be to them a father God, and they'll be
to me sons, heirs. See, he's every man's God, and
every man belongs to him, is his subject. But he said, these
people, I'll make a new covenant, ministered by the great high
priest in a better place, with a better sacrifice, a better offering, a better tabernacle,
his body, in a better covenant, based on better promises, and
I'm going to write my law, my word, my will on their minds. They'll think on them, and on
their hearts they'll love them, and I'm going to be their God,
their Father, and they're going to be my people. Now watch this.
And they'll not teach every man his neighbor, and every man his
brother, saying, Know the Scripture says God spake to our fathers
by the prophets. If anybody wanted to know anything
about God, he came to the prophet. If anybody wanted to go to God,
he came to the priest. But Almighty God, and we still
have pastors and teachers and those who instruct us and those
who lead us, but he says, all shall know me. All shall know
me from the least to the greatest. All shall know God, and all shall
have free access to him in Christ. for I will be merciful to their
unrighteousness, I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and
their sins and iniquities will I remember no more. In that he
saith a new covenant, then he hath made the first old. That
first covenant with its ceremonies and with its priesthood and with
its days and with its rituals and with its sacrifices, is all
old. He's taken it away. You see,
it's all been fulfilled. It served its day. It served
as a picture. It served as a pattern. It served
as a type. It served its day. When God says,
I've taken it all away, just like an old, he said, an old
worn-out coat. Now, that which decayeth and
waxeth old is ready to vanish away. It's just like an old garment.
Protected me from the cold and the wind and the rain, but it's
ragged now. I have a new garment, and I throw
that away. And that's the way it is with
this old covenant. It's just tossed away. The old covenant
is done away. It's served this day as a type,
and it is no more because it's all been fulfilled. But wise
is the man, and this is what our dear brother Charlie Payne,
whom God had been pleased to take from us. This was an area
where he was so well learned and taught in Old Testament pictures
and titles. You say, how did Charlie know
so much about Christ and the gospel and how did he preach?
Because he studied the scriptures. He studied the scriptures. Christ
said to the Pharisees, you search the scriptures. In them you think
you have life, but they are they which testify of me. He died
for our sins according to the scriptures. He was born and rose
again according to the scriptures. And wise is the man who can go
back, just like Paul did here. If Paul wrote Hebrews, I believe
he did. But he said the things that we've written, this is the
sum, and he summed up all this. He said it's a, there was a priest,
but we have a better priest. There was a sanctuary here on
the earth, but there's a better sanctuary. There was a tabernacle,
but there's a better tabernacle. See? There was a covenant, but
there's a better covenant. There were promises, but there
are better promises in Christ Jesus. And we learn from these
things. And let me show you this now,
chapter 9. One thing I want to get across.
If I can, it'll be the most powerful thing that I could possibly get
across through this entire message. Chapter 9, verse 1. I learned
from this. Then verily the first covenant,
the one we've been talking about, the first covenant had also ceremonies,
ordinances of divine service and a worldly sanctuary. Now
here is Israel camped out there in the wilderness or wherever
they were. And you get up on a hill, you stand up there on
the hill and look down on the encampment, there's the tribes,
there's Simeon and Dan and Reuben and all the different tribes,
and all of them have their particular place, and there are a lot of
these people, a lot of these Jews, they're everywhere out
there. And it's encircled all the way around, right in the
midst of the camp, right in the midst of the camp was this tabernacle,
this where the sanctuary, right in the middle of the entire camp. And the lot was about the size
of this church lot. I forget the exact measurements,
but one time I looked at it, looked it up, it was about the
size of this church loft. And he had a big white fence
around it. See, everything about this covenant,
everything about this tabernacle, everything about this priesthood
and services and so forth, God Almighty ordained and gave precisely
to Moses to do just exactly like he said, because it all pictured
Christ and our relationship with Christ. and our coming to him
through Christ. This tabernacle here, but around
the tabernacle was a high eight foot white fence, white linen,
all the way around, around this tabernacle. And there was only
one gate, the eastern gate, it faced the eastern sun, one door,
one And no one, none of the people, the people, there were two or
three million of those people, and they were all out here, but
none of them was allowed inside that fence. That's the courtyard. The priests came in there, those
who served the Lord, those who represented the people, those
who represented God to the people, those who made sacrifices for
the people. This high fence says that this
represents righteousness, holiness, this is holy ground. You're not
welcome. You stay outside. Your representative
can come in, but you can't come in. You stay outside. All right,
here sitting in the middle of this camp, and all the way around,
the people in camp, the priest would come through this eastern
gate, and right in front of the gate was an altar with the four
horns And this altar was the place where all the killing and
burning and sacrificing of the bullocks and lambs and rams took
place. They killed the ram, they killed
the bullocks, they killed the lambs, and they shed their blood
there in a basin and they roasted them on this altar, altar fire. That's where it took place. And
that altar represents Calvary's cross. That's where our Lord
Jesus Christ died and shed his blood. and cried out under the
burning wrath of God, and I said, what is hell? Well, hell is to
be without God. Hell is to be separated from
God. I don't know a lot about hell. I know hell is truth realized
too late. I know hell is forever. I know that hell is darkness,
and I know that hell is to be without God. And when our Lord
Jesus Christ suffered on that cross bearing our transgressions
and our sins, he cried out, My God, why hast thou forsaken me? Separated from God, that's hell,
that's the anguish, burning wrath of God poured out upon him. And
that's what that altar, that's Calvary. That's Calvary. And then the priest, after he
slew the lamb or the bullet, he would come across the courtyard
And right here in front of this tabernacle, I'll show you the
tabernacle in a minute, he tells us about it in chapter 9. Right
in front of the tabernacle was a laver of water. Clean, clear,
fresh water. And the priest always, of course
his hands got bloody, fooling with the sacrifice, and his feet
got dirty walking across there. And before he came into the tabernacle,
before he came into the holy place, or the holy of holies,
He stopped right there and washed his hands and washed his feet.
That's the cleansing, sanctifying blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. You see, the altar's calvary,
justification, and also the clean, pure water is sanctification. We have both in Christ. Justified
and sanctified in Christ. Made pure, made holy. from his
side came forth what? Blood and water. Cleanse me from
its wrath and what? Power. Rock of ages, cleft for
me, let me hide myself in thee. Let the water and the blood from
thy ribbon side which flowed be of sin, the what? Devil cure. Save me from its wrath and power. Christ is my justification and
my sanctification. That's Christ. See, this tabernacle
sit there in the wilderness, all of it holiness, calvary,
suffering, justification, cleansing, sanctifying, the washing of regeneration. All right, here's now the tabernacle.
It's only 45 feet long. This building is 60 feet long. This inside here is only 45 feet
long. It wasn't an imposing structure.
It's only 15 feet wide. Only 15 feet wide, that's about
like that section of pews right over there, 15 by 40. But I tell
you, it carried an impact. Oh, what it meant. What it meant. You see, when you stand on that
hill and look down at that courtyard in the midst of the camp, right
in the middle of the camp, and then there's that tabernacle.
Well, if you look at all the other tents, they look the same.
You look at the tabernacle, you see the first covering of the
tabernacle was a badger skin. Just an old, rough, gray, sand-covered,
rusty badger skin. Well, we know who he is, he's
the carpenter. Well, we know his mother, and
we know his brothers and sisters. Well, you're not fifty years
old, what do you mean? Before Abraham was, you were. Huh? To look at Jesus Christ
without anointed eyes is to see nothing but a man. He said, whom
do men say that I am? Well, some say your prophet,
your man, your prophet. Some say your Elijah, some say
your John the Baptist. You see, just an ordinary man.
That was the badger skin. He was a man in every sense of
the word, born of a woman. tempted in all parts as we are,
a man of solace, no beauty about him that we should desire him.
Acquainted with grief, we turned, as it were, our faces from him. Just a man. But wait a minute,
that's the badger skin. Underneath the badger skin was
the ram's skin dyed red. That's his blood, his human nature,
the badger skin. And then his blood, shed for
sinners. And right under that, goat skin. You say, what's that, Preacher?
That's the scapegoat. You remember when the priest
took two goats, one for the atonement, and what was the other one for?
The priest would put his hand on the head of that scapegoat,
that other goat, and confess Israel's sins. And then, when
he finished confessing the sins, there was a man designated to
take that goat and put a rope around its neck and lead it out
of the camp. And he'd take that scapegoat
and keep walking until there wasn't anything on the horizon
but two dots, a man and a goat. And he's kept going. I don't
know how long he's gone, but he came back without that goat.
And that's the picture of Christ, our scapegoat who bears away
our sin. That's what that goatskin's for.
But under that, the four coverings, you don't see all this unless
you've got eyes of faith. That's you got a knotted heart.
You don't see this. You just see that covering. You
see the rough tint. Just a rough tint. But all that
last covering is white, snow white, embroidered linen. the
holiness of his nature. On the outside, Jesus of Nazareth
was a man, like any other man. But I'll tell you this, in that
tabernacle, in that body, dwelt God Almighty. God was in Christ. In all his majesty, in all his
beauty, in all his righteousness, in all his holiness. That's what
Bill said, he was not a private person, he represented a people.
He's the God-man. Well, you say, Preacher, what's
in that tabernacle? Well, the priest came in, and
in that tabernacle over here on this side was a lampstand. No other light. He didn't bring
in a match or a candle. In that tabernacle in the outer
holy place was a lampstand, and on it seven lights, and they
were kept burning all the time. That's the only light. But that's
all the light it needed. And that's Christ, the light
of the world. He said, I'm the light of the world. That's Christ,
our light. He's all the light we need. And
then on this other side was the table of bread. They kept 12
loaves of bread on that table all the time. Fresh bread every
day. You remember David and his soldiers eating the show bread?
That's the bread. And so they kept it there. That's
Christ, the bread of life. He is our bread. He's everything
to us. You see, everything about this
tabernacle is Christ. These people weren't saved. Abel
wasn't saved by the blood of that animal he offered. He was
saved by the blood of Christ Jesus, whom the animal's blood
represented. And his faith wasn't in the animal's
blood. His confidence wasn't in the
animal's blood. His confidence was in his God,
who gave him that picture to hold to until the Lamb came,
who put away sins. And that's what this tabernacle
is all about, it pictures it. Those people weren't saved by
the law, or through the law, or because of the law. They came
to this tabernacle in faith, knowing that all this would be
fulfilled in Christ. And right, and now there's a
showbread, Christ the bread of life, the lampstand, Christ the
light of the world. And here in the middle, right
in front of a huge veil, you see, Forty-five feet long, thirty
of those feet, thirty feet by fifteen was that holy place. And here was an altar of incense
right in front of a thick veil. This veil was four or five inches
thick and it hung from the top to the bottom, side to side,
there was no opening in it. And right in front of this veil
was an altar of incense. And that sweet-smelling incense
was kept burning 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. And the smoke
went up in front of the veil. You say, what's that? That's
the prayers of Christ. That's the intercession of Christ.
He said, Peter, I prayed for you. I pray not for the world,
I pray for those whom thou hast given me. For they are thine,
and all thine are mine, and mine are thine. And I pray for them.
And our Lord has always prayed for us. He's always loved us.
He's always prayed for us. And that incense is kept burning
all the time. All right, now, let's read chapter
9. Then verily the first covenant
also, verse 1, had ordinances, ceremonies of divine service,
and a well of sanctuary. For there was a tabernacle made.
The first wherein was the candlestick, I told you, and the table and
the showbread, which is called the sanctuary. Now, after the
second veil, the tabernacle, which is called the holiest of
all. Now we come into a new place. Here is Israel. Right in the
center of the camp was the tabernacle where all the service of God
took place, whether sacrifices everything took place. Now, in
the center of that tabernacle was a 15 by 15 by 15 section
of that tabernacle, shut off from everything else and availed.
And he says in verse 4, which had the golden censer and the
art of the covenant overlaid round about with gold, wherein
was the golden pot which had manna and Aaron's rod that budded,
and the tables of the covenant." You say, what's that tables of
covenant? It's the Ten Commandments. You see, Aaron's rod was the
one God calls to bud and show his special purpose and designation. And then inside that ark was
the law. And over it, verse 5, the cherubims
of glory, shattering the mercy seat of which we cannot now speak
particularly. Well, I can't either, but I can
tell you some things about it. I can tell you some things about
it. The mercy seat. This is an awesome place here.
This is the Holy of Holies. Verse 6. Now watch this. Now
when these things were thus ordained, when these things were in effect,
when this first covenant stood, the priest went always into the
first tabernacle, accomplishing the services of God. Or they
did it every day. But into the second, into that
Holy of Holies, went the high priest alone. once every year,
not without blood, which he offered for himself and for the errors
of the people." In other words, what he's saying here is that
once a year, that designated high priest, just once a year,
while they ministered and other things, he came and he took that
censer, and he put incense on it, and he took that blood that
he brought from the altar, and he came under this into this
awesome holy of holies, and he would approach this mercy seat.
The mercy seat was about three feet long, about two feet wide,
two and a half feet, about this deep, and in it was the Ten Commandments,
Abram's rod that budded, and the pot of manna, and over that
ark was a mercy seat of pure gold, and on either side the
cherubim. And once a year that high priest
would come in with that censer and the prayers of Christ, the
intercession and the blood, and sprinkle it seven times on that
mercy seat. That was called the atonement,
reconciliation. That was the propitiatory. Now
I want you to read about it. I want you to turn over here
to Exodus. I want you to read this. Now
this is the impact now that I want to see if I can convey to you. Exodus 25. Exodus 25. Now listen to me, as you've never
listened before. Exodus 25, 10. And they shall
make an ark of shit and wood. This is the ark now we're talking
about. And my friends, will you know the importance? This is
God speaking. God speaking to Moses. And this is God giving
instructions as to how God will be approached. How sinners like
you and me will come to God. This is the way God will meet
you. Now he said, see, you do everything like I say. And once
every year, see, this took place. Now watch it. Make an arc of
shittum wood, two cubits, is a cubit 18 inches, isn't that
correct? 18 inches. One of you fellas
nod. All right. Two and a half cubits
shall it be in length, and a cubit and a half the breadth, and a
cubit and a half the height. And thou shalt overlay it with
pure gold, within and without shalt thou overlay it, and shalt
make upon it a crown of gold round about. And thou shalt cast
four rings of gold for it, and put them in the four corners
thereof. And two rings shall be in one side, and two rings
on the other side, and thou shalt make staves of shittum wood,
and overlay them with gold. And thou shalt put these staves
into the ring by the side of the ark, that the ark may be
born with these staves." Don't touch that ark. care it but the
stave, and don't let anybody care it but the priest, right?
The stave shall be in the rings of the ark, and never taken from
it. And thou shalt put unto the ark of the testimony which I
shall give thee." Now, you remember when Uzzah touched that ark?
God killed him. And if a man ever touched it,
God killed him. Why can't we do things like God
said? He said, don't touch it. And when David He was bringing
the ark back, that's what caused the whole problem. He put it
on a cart instead of on the shoulders of the priest. With Sodom, the Lord lays out
for us clearly how things are to be done. How the Lord's table
is to be observed, how we're to baptize, how we're to preach,
how we're to come to Him. Why don't we listen? Alright,
read on. Verse 17, Thou shalt make a mercy
seat of pure gold. Two cubits and a half shall be
the length, a cubit and a half the breadth. It completely covered
the ark. Built one inch short, it completely
covered it. What was in that ark? The law.
The broken law. Tables of stone. Covered it completely. Now read on. And verse 18, Thou
shalt make two cherubims of gold, a beaten work shalt thou make
them in the ends, two ends of the mercy seat. There are two
cherubims. One facing this way, and one facing this way, over
the mercy seat. Here's the ark, covering the
ark. In the ark, the tables of stone,
the law, covering the ark, the mercy seat, and the two cherubim. Verse 19, And make one cherub
on the one end, and the other cherub on the other end, even
of the mercy seat shall ye make the cherubim on the two ends
thereof. And the cherubim shall stretch forth their wings on
high, covering the mercy seat with their wings. And their faces
shall look one to another toward the mercy seat shall the faces
of the cherubims be. And thou shalt put the mercy
seat above upon the ark, and in that ark thou shalt put the
testimony that I shall give thee. Is that clear? Is that clear? Alright, there's the ark, the
law, the mercy seat, the cherubim. And there, I'll meet you. And there, I'll meet you. And
I will meet you at an altar outside, and I will meet you under an
oak tree. I'm not going to meet you in front of the church. I'm
not going to meet you in the water. I'm not going to meet
you at Sinai. I'm going to meet you at the
mercy seat. God says that's where I'm going
to meet you, but that ain't all. Read them. There I'm going to meet
you, and there I'll speak to you, and I'll commune with you,
and I'll fellowship with you. In communing fellowship, in communing
brotherhood and getting along and being reconciled. I'll commune
there at the Mercy Seat. I'll commune with you from above
the Mercy Seat, from between the cherubims which are upon
the ark of the testimony of all things which I give thee in commandment
unto the children of Israel. Moses, I'll meet you at the Mercy
Seat. I wish I could tell this to the
whole world. Turn back to Hebrews 9. You say,
Brother Mayne, but we don't have a mercy seal. Oh, yes, we do.
Oh, yes, we do. Yes, we do. Read on. Hebrews
9. Let's go over that. Verse 7 said, And into the second
went the high priest alone, once every year, not without blood,
which he offered for himself and the heirs of the people of
the Holy Ghost. This signified that at that time under that
dispensation, under that covenant, that the way into the holiest
of all was not yet made manifest. It was not yet revealed while
as that first tabernacle was yet standing. which was a figure
for the time then present, in which were offered gifts and
sacrifices that could not make him that did these service perfect
as pertaining to the conscience, because it stood only in meads
and drinks and divers washings and carnal ordinances imposed
on them until the time of Christ, until the time of the Reformation.
But Jesus Christ being come, a high priest, of good things
to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle. What's that? It's his body. He tabernacled
amongst them. Not made with hands, that is
to say, not this building, neither by the blood of goats and calves,
but by his own blood, he entered in once. Not once a year, just
once. Just once. Into where? The holy place. Into heaven itself. having obtained eternal redemption
for us. Now, that ought to be clear to
us, as anything can possibly be. That's the picture. Turn
back to Romans chapter 3. Let me show you this here. Romans
chapter 3. Yes, sir, we have a mercy seat.
Romans chapter 3, verse 25. It says here in verse 25, talking
about our Lord Jesus Christ, whom God has set forth, foreordained,
revealed in a conspicuous manner. He set him forth to be a propitiatory. What is that word, propitiation?
Mercy seat. That's the mercy seat. And I'll
tell you this, that mercy seat reveals both the nature and office
of Christ. And when that priest sprinkled
that mercy seat seven times, it is signifying that the blood
of Christ, that's a perfect number, and it's signifying that the
blood of Christ fully, perfectly satisfies all that God demands.
Nothing need be added. And that blood on that mercy
seat covered the broken law. You see the law is under the
blood. Thank God between us And God is a mercy seat with
the blood of Christ. That's your only hope. You can
plant something down every aisle in every church in this country
and you can make all kind of consecration, dedication, rededication,
be baptized and go through all the different things, but I tell
you, your hope, your hope is that God said, I'll dwell on
the mercy seat between the cherubims and there I'll meet you. There
I'll meet you. I'll meet you. and I'll commune with you, that's
the only place I'm going to meet you. And you know the reason he can
meet you and commune with you is because that perfect, sinless,
spotless blood covers that long. Boy, I tell you that's something.
God is reconciled and God's in covenant God's in covenant, and
the whole covenant, you see, just like here's Israel, and
here's the fence, and here's the tabernacle, but in the middle
of every bit of it, right in the midst, right in the middle,
is a mercy city. And that's where the glory of
God dwells. And that's where a holy God comes
down and meets sinful men. And that's where that old high
priest went in there and sprinkled that blood. But all of it's done
away now. It's like an old coach taken
out and thrown aside, because our great high priest has come
and shed his blood on that cross, that perfect, sinless, spotless
blood. And somehow or other, I don't
know, but he went not into the tabernacle made with him, but
into heaven itself. And there in the presence of
God, the glory of God, his blood was presented. And I'll tell
you this, you can call it what you want to, but all for whom
he died will All for whom he shed his blood, all will be reconciled
to God. He has effectual saving power.
Yeah, but I got to do something. Yeah, you got to come to the
mercy seat. That's what you got to do. Come naked, come empty-handed,
come as a beggar. Mercy beggar, I like that. Come
as a mercy beggar. Because God will meet you there.
Don't bring anything. That priest came in there, he
didn't bring nothing but blood, did he? Don't bring anything.
And the blood's already been shed. I don't have to bring anything.
But I'll tell you what I better do. I better come. God said, I'll meet you. I'll
meet you. Let's meet Him at the mercy seat
before we meet Him at judgment. Let's meet Him in Christ before
we meet Him standing before His awesome throne of judgment. Great
white throne. Let's meet him at the mercy seat.
Isn't that a good text? Make a mercy seat. Put it over
the law. And there I'll meet you, John.
I'll meet you. And I'll commune with you. Take
you into my bosom as my own. All because of Christ. All because
of Christ. He gets all the glory. Now, you're
going to try another way. You're going to be an Uzzah or
a Laziah or something else. Why would you do that? It's just
one of two reasons why a man would try to come any way to
God except through the righteousness and blood of Christ. That is,
he doesn't know who God is or he doesn't know who he is. Isn't
that right? That's the only reason you'd
come in. If you're a sinner, you'll come the sinner's way. And if
your God is holy, you have to come that way. All right, Mike,
come lead us in our closing hymn.

The Mercy Seat

What does the Bible say about the mercy seat?

How do we know Jesus Christ is our High Priest?

Why is the New Covenant important for Christians?

How does Christ fulfill the Old Covenant sacrifices?

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The Mercy Seat

What does the Bible say about the mercy seat?

How do we know Jesus Christ is our High Priest?

Why is the New Covenant important for Christians?

How does Christ fulfill the Old Covenant sacrifices?

Sermon Transcript

About Henry Mahan

Comments

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