morning about the mercy seat and Christ. That song we just sang talked about the preciousness of what that is for the believer and we find it talked about here in Exodus 25 will be our text Exodus 25 17 through 22 Moses is describing some of the furniture that God would give him a pattern for to put in the tabernacle for the priests to offer sacrifices and to worship before the Lord. And all of these things point to the New Testament church in different aspects, and it points to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. And so here in Exodus 25, we want to begin reading in verse 17. And thou shalt make a mercy seat of pure gold. Two cubits and a half shall be the length thereof, and a cubit and a half the breadth thereof. And thou shalt make two cherubims of gold. Of beaten work shalt thou make them in the two ends of the mercy seat. And make one cherub on the one end and the other cherub on the other end. Even on the mercy seat shall you make the cherubims on the two ends thereof. This is beautiful. And the cherubims 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 face of the cherims be, and thou shalt put the mercy seat above upon the ark, and in the ark thou shalt put the testimony I shall give thee. Now listen to this, and there will I meet with thee. and will commune with thee from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubims which are upon the ark of the testimony, all of these things which I give thee in commandment unto the children of Israel." Oh, what an amazing picture of Christ. an amazing display of the salvation that God was going to cause to come to pass through the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ is pictured in this lid that was actually a separate part of the Ark of the Covenant. Now, we've had the Ark of the Covenant described. You remember that it was made first out of wood and then it was overlaid with pure gold. And the mercy seat was a part of the ark of the covenant, but it was separate as well, and it was made out of pure gold. There's only two things in the tabernacle that are made out of pure gold. That is, the golden candlestick was wrought out of pure gold, and then this mercy seat And so just want to talk about this piece of furniture and how God was going to use it in the Old Testament, but also how that it's a type and shadow of Christ who was to come. And it's pictures for us what Christ actually accomplished, what Christ did. It was far greater than this that was in the Old Testament. This was just the pattern. This was just the the type, but Christ is the antitype. He is where salvation truly comes from and redemption is truly found. So this Ark of the Covenant and this Mercy Seat, it was actually seen to be God's throne among His people. It was actually seen to be the throne of God and it was called the Perpetuatory, is what it was actually called, or in Hebrew it's the Kippureth. You remember in the Jewish worship service, once a year, they would have what was called Yom Kippur, which was the Day of Atonement. And it's when the mercy seat would really be used in regards to God displaying His favor, His forgiveness toward the people of Israel. And we're gonna look at that in just a little bit. But I want you to know that this mercy seat Number one, this is our first point this morning, was the most valuable of all to the people of Israel. Now, they appreciated the brazen altar, they appreciated the laver, they appreciated the table of shoe bread, they appreciated the golden candlestick, they appreciated the altar of incense, but the Ark of the Covenant, and then especially the pinnacle of the Ark of the Covenant, which was the throne of God himself to them, was the most valuable of all to them. It is where God said, I'll meet with you. It's where God glory dwelt among them. And it's precious to know that in our day, God's glory rest upon his church. Amen. And it's wonderful to see that type and shadow, but it's also wonderful to live in the reality of this type and shadow as well. In our own day, we are in the holiest of holies this morning, and we are with the Mercy Seek himself, the Lord Jesus Christ, as he walks among us. But this was the most valuable of all to Israel because it was where God would speak to them from and it's not just because it was of pure gold and it was actually the most valuable of all in regards to if you just did it based on its physical or material worth but it meant so much more to them spiritually. Well I want to apply that to our lives with Christ What is the most valuable thing in your life? Some of you ladies, y'all got some nice rings on your hands, right? Maybe you have an heirloom that's given to you by someone, or you value your home, or you value your health. But all these things that are on this earth are just temporary, right? And even the ark itself, and even the mercy seat, we know in time it was lost, and it's vanished, and nobody even knows where it is, that's really sad that something like that could be lost, something so precious. The most precious thing of all to us about salvation or about our lives, beloved, should it not be the Lord Jesus Christ. I love that song that we sing, you know, Christ is the treasure. I desire that Jesus is all that I wish or want. And so just as the mercy seat, which was of a beautiful picture of the Lord Jesus Christ. We'll see that here in salvation. This mercy seat was the most valuable of all to the people of Israel. I want to show you this by way of illustration in the book of 1 Samuel. If you'll turn with me there, You'll remember that at this time, the time of judges was coming to an end and God was fixing to raise up a king among them. And there's a story here about the ark and about something that happened to the ark. And I just want you to remember so that you can see how that the people value this above all and how that we ought to value Christ above all things. in the church, in Zion. I love this that we have on the wall behind me. It says that in all things He might have the preeminence, that Christ is to be first and foremost in everything that we do, in everything that we are most valuable to us well uh the philistines had come against the people of god and oftentimes different armies had come against israel and israel would bring the ark and the ark would go before them and they would be they had been victorious in all their battles whenever the ark of god was present and god commanded the ark to go forth and they had defeated all their enemies had fallen before them they had put their foot on the necks of their enemies as it were, and so what was bad is they began to trust in the Ark more than the God of the Ark. They began to worship the Ark, which was misguided. And so the Philistines came against them. And so this was their thing. Well, let me just, let's just fetch the Ark, is how they described it. Let's just fetch the Ark. They win. They got the Ark without consulting God, nothing, anything like that. They just thought, well, the mystical power of this Ark, we'll bring it and we'll defeat our enemies like we always have. Remember how Samson was that way, right? When Delilah had bound him, and she walked up, he said, your enemies are come upon you. He thought, I'll just break my bands, like I always have. But he didn't know in the night Delilah had cut his hair, right? And the Spirit of the Lord had departed from him. Well, they brought the Ark of God into the camp, and there was such a noise in Israel that it made the Philistines scared to death. But they were like, hey, you know, we got dressed up for the dance. They actually said the phrases, let's quit ourselves like men. They said, I'd rather fight and die than be servants of the Israelites. Well, they wholeheartedly defeated Israel, and they captured the Ark of the Covenant, and they took it to their land, which ended up being a very bad deal. For they have God struck every city that he went he struck and then took the lives of more than would have died in Battle there remember how their God fell over and lost his head lost his hands and feet and finally they just put it on the art I mean not on the art. They put it on a cart and sent it back to Israel Right, but here on the eve of that. I just want to take you to the scene. It's of a child being born by one of the high priest sons daughters and and in 1 Samuel chapter 4 beginning in verse 19, And his daughter-in-law, Phinehas's wife, was with child, near to be delivered. And when she heard the tidings that the ark of God was taken, and that her father-in-law and her husband were dead, she bowed herself and travailed, for her pains came upon her. And about the time of her death, the women that stood by her said unto her, Fear not, for thou hast born a son. But she answered not, neither did regard it." That's pretty amazing, isn't it? Those of you in here, the sisters in here that have given birth, you know, you kind of go through the whole nine months and all the pain, and it is for that moment. So that when your baby is born, they tell you, Oh, it's a boy, it's a girl, it's healthy. That's kind of all that you want to hear. But something had happened, some news had come to her that was so devastating to her that she didn't even regard what those women had said to her. Beloved, how would it be with us if we had everything that our hearts could desire, but we didn't have Christ? We would be of all men. most miserable. But isn't the opposite true? If we had Christ, but lost everything else, it would be okay, because He is the most valuable of all. Can I get an amen? Is He the most valuable of all to you? And so, she named the child Ichabod, saying, the glory is departed from Israel, because the ark of God was taken, and because of her father-in-law and her husband. She said the glory is departed from Israel for the ark of God is taken. That's just a Illustration to show you how important it was to them how much that they valued it remember when the ark of God finally came back to Jerusalem and what it meant to King David, how he, every so far that the ark got closer to the city of David, he stopped and they had a sacrifice, and how he danced before the Lord, because it was a symbol of God being among them. It was a symbol of the glory of God, of the presence of God. We must have Christ! You must have Christ. He is the most precious of all. Although this mercy seat, beloved, you read it was made out of pure gold. That's not what made it valuable to the people of Israel. But what made it valuable to them was the blood that was white. The blood of the Lamb that God accepted, that told them that they were right with God and that their sins had been removed for another year. That's what made the mercy seat so valuable. And so we love to read about the life of the Lord Jesus Christ. We love to read about how He treated people. We love to hear His teachings, but the pinnacle of all that Christ is about is His shed blood, the blood that He shed for the remission of our sins, the blood that He took and wiped on the true mercy seat of God once and for always and forever to obtain eternal redemption for us. And so, I pray you might think that there's a lot of valuable people in your life. You might say, well, my parents or my brother or my girlfriend or my preacher or my husband or my wife or my grandparents. Beloved, no one should be more valuable in your life than the Lord Jesus Christ. He's the most valuable of all. And you notice that this mercy This mercy seat and this blood and this picture was only given to the nation of Israel. It wasn't given to the Philippines. It wasn't given to the Philistines. It wasn't given to the people of Canaan. It wasn't given to the Egyptians. This mercy only extended to the elect family of God and so I just want to illustrate that again to our hearts and so that we realize the preciousness of it you know when something gold is precious because there's only a limited supply of it correct that's what makes gold precious and though God's mercy is a deep well which no man has ever plummeted of the the bottom of his mercy only extends to the elect family of God and we see this in the writings of first Peter chapter 2 and verse 10 listen to this and and rejoice in this for for us because at one time it was only to the uh natural seed of Abraham, but now it has extended through the ministry and work of Christ to all the elect family of God in every kindred, nation, tribe, and tongue. And so Peter is rejoicing in this. Look at this, 1 Peter 2, verse 10, which in time past were not a people, right? But are now the people of God, which had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy. Who in here this morning needs mercy? Who needs the mercy of God? Aren't you glad that his mercies are everlasting? Somebody said one time, and I like the way that they defined it, it's more than this, but it's a good way to kind of wrap your mind around it. They said that grace is God giving to you what you don't deserve. Grace is the unmerited favor of God. And grace and mercy, in truth, are much the same. But they said mercy is God keeping from you what you did deserve. Hallelujah? And the Greek word there is hesed, and it means, mercy means It's not just a one-time thing. It's a lasting kindness or compassion. That's what the etymology of the word is in the Hebrew. A lasting kindness or compassion. And so, how wonderful to see that Peter says that one time you were not the people of God. You didn't have the mercy seat, but now you have the mercy seat. You weren't my people, but you are my people. You didn't have mercy. But now you have mercy. How precious, how valuable that should be to us. And it was most valuable of Israel also this mercy seat because it is where God spoke to His people. Go with me to the book of Numbers. I want you to see this in the book of Numbers chapter 7. The book of Numbers chapter 7. I think this should, have you ever been talked harsh to in your life? I know everybody has. It's kind of hard sometimes to be berated or to be talked hard to, but isn't it wonderful, the one who could talk hard to us, the one who would have every right to say, you're worthless. You're sinful. You're a liar. You're this, you're that, the one that can see into the heart, knows everything, could just talk down to us like we were just a low down, scurry hound dog, right? Could just say to us, just get on out of here. Aren't you glad that when the scripture says that he speaks to us, it's from the seed of mercy? It's from the voice of mercy that we hear? the voice of God and the Savior. Here in the book of Numbers chapter 7, we read here, well this is a long chapter, you're going to have to go all the way to verse 89. The last verse of number 7, And when Moses was gone into the tabernacle of the congregation to speak with him, then he heard the voice of one speaking unto him from off the what? The mercy seat. That was upon the ark of testimony from between the two cherubims he spake unto him. Isn't that beautiful? That it was from the mercy seat, it's from mercy that God speaks to his children, that he guides our life, that he bids us come to him for salvation that is through his blood alone and so that's our first point this morning that this mercy seat and and how it points to Christ and how Christ is the most valuable of all to Israel both the natural Israel and to us who are spiritual Israel and then secondly it is most significant of all to us now like we said there are many things that are significant the tabernacle itself just the veil the brazen altar, the staves, the knops, the candlestick, everything in it, the functions of the priest, they're all significant to us. But as we view it, as we look back, like the scripture says that the things that were written aforetime were written for our learning, for our comfort. Here in the mercy seat is some of the pinnacle of our understanding about who Christ was and what Christ was going to come to accomplish for us. And so this, in our learning, in our gleaning from what God displayed and gave revelation of in the Old Testament to us, is the most significant of all because Christ is the mercy seat. Can I get an amen? He's pure gold, isn't he? He's where the true blood of salvation ran from. Oh beloved, He is the One, He is the very Word of God, He is God the Word that speaks. And ain't it wonderful that that is the heart of mercy that is speaking. And so it's most significant of all to us. And so it was called the propitiatory, which means the place of atonement. It's the place where an exchange takes place and so we see this in the scriptures. Let's go all the way to the New Testament now. Let's go to 1st John chapter 4 and we see John allude to this allude to this and he does it several times but this is the one that I want is in 1st John chapter 4. If you'll turn there you kind of have to turn all the way from one end of the Bible to the other. 1st John chapter 4 Let's go back to verse 9. And this was manifested, the love of God toward us, because that God sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. Herein is love, not that we loved God. Anybody in here know why you love God? It's because He first loved you. Never forget that. We love Him because He first loved us. Amen? And here it says, here in His love, not that we love God, but that He loved us and He sent His Son to be what? The propitiation for our sins. That's the mercy seat. It's the same language, the same words. the propitiation for our sin. Oh, it ever shows us the mercy, the grace, the love of the triune God that Jesus and who he is and what he has done and what he is doing now and what He shall do for us is what is of ultimate significance in all the universe, in all of time, in all of our lives. That is what is of ultimate significance. Not who wins the national champion, not who wins the World Series, not how much money I have in my bank account, not who likes my social media page. What matters is who Christ is to us. Now we possess Him. and that He has loved us. And so, it was not only of most value to the people of God and to Israel, but it was most significant to them as well. And that's why when a person is blessed to follow the Lord Jesus Christ and to be baptized and to be a part of His church and commit themselves to the people of God and to the cause of God, it shows and reveals in them what is most valuable to them. It shows and reveals in their life what is most significant to them. Oh beloved, may it be so with us. Now thirdly, The mercy seat was the most purposeful of all to God. It was the most purposeful of all to God. You must now, you must look into this scene and you're gonna have to use your spiritual imagination with me and go back in time and pretend that you and I were there. Let's go to Leviticus chapter 16. as we see the purpose for the mercy seat and how that it was used. It's so beautiful as we see this by faith. We have to look at this and see this by faith, beloved, that it was pointing to something that would happen. It was pointing to one who would come and accomplish all of this because what we're going to read about and what happened in Leviticus 16 and throughout the Jewish economy, it only put things off. Remember what the writer of Hebrews said, that the blood of the bulls and goats, it never took away the sin. It only put it off and put it off and put it off. But here, I just want to read this. This was the highlight of the Jewish calendar, this Day of Atonement, the Yom Kippur, and I just want to read it to you. Just pay close attention to it. Just pretend like you were there, like you could see it in a movie and you're watching it. Leviticus 16.1, And the Lord spake unto Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron, when they offered before the Lord and died. Just need to make a side note there, that was Nadab and Abihu. Remember, in just a few chapters before, they had actually gone up into the mount. They had seen the Lord. They had ate and drank with God. And God had told them, you're only to do things a certain way and to follow this pattern that I've given you. And they just thought, well, that's not really important. The pattern's not really important. Doing it God's way ain't really important. We're just going to kind of do it the way that we want to. And God struck them dead. Nadab and Abihu, Aaron's own sons. Let's be careful with holy things, amen? And respect God's commands. And the Lord spake, and 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. There the pinnacle is again. Which is upon the ark, that he die not. For I will appear in the cloud upon the mercy seat. Thus shall Aaron come into the holy place, with a young bullet for a sin offering, and a ram for a burnt offering. And he shall put on the holy linen coat, and he shall have the linen breeches upon his flesh, and shall be girded with the linen girdle, and with all the linen mitre shall he be attired. These are holy garments. Therefore shall he wash his flesh in water, and so put them on." This is all a picture of the Lord Jesus Christ. And 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 scapegoat. And Aaron shall bring the goat upon which the Lord's lot fell and offer him for a sin offering. But the goat on which the lot fell to be the scapegoat shall be presented alive before the Lord to make an atonement." There it is. the propitiation, the kippur, the kippureth, the atonement, the mercy seat, with him, and let him go for a scapegoat into the wilderness. And Aaron shall bring the bullock of the sin offering, which is for himself, and shall make atonement for himself and for his house, and shall kill the bullock of the sin offering, which is for himself. And he shall take a censer full of burning coals of fire, from off the altar before the Lord, and his hands full of sweet incense, being small, and bring it within the veil. And he shall put the incense upon the fire before the Lord, that the cloud of incense may cover the mercy seed that is upon the testimony that he die not. Now listen to this. Here it is. And he shall take of the blood of the bullock, 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. Just want to stop there. Y'all know I've been a preacher a long time now. I've read the Bible a lot in my life. I never noticed before that he wiped the blood seven times on the mercy seat. I always thought it was just wiped one time. But the Lord gave me a thought. I'm not saying that this is what this means at all, but it's just a thought that the Lord gave to me, and it really struck me deep, thinking about Aaron wiping that once, twice, all the way to the seventh time, because seven is the number of completions. But then the thought that the Lord gave to me, and I hope it'll be precious to you as well, was to just think about the wounds of the Lord Jesus Christ, right? How many in his hands? Two, right? One for each hand. How many in his feet? Two, right? One for each foot. And then his back, we know, was torn. And his head, with the crown of thorns, would make six. And then, through his side, seven times wounded was he. Does it not make you realize how much Jesus loved us? That he was willing to do whatever it took for the redemption of our souls to completely save us from the wrath of God and to make us right with God through his mercy. Oh, it's beautiful. Seven times. Then shall he kill the goat of the sin offering, and it 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 he shall make an atonement, there it is again, for the holy place, because of the uncleanness of the children of Israel, and because of their transgression and all their sins. And so shall he do for the tabernacle of the congregation that remaineth among them in the midst of their uncleanness. For there shall be no man in the tabernacle of the congregation when he goeth in to make an atonement in the holy place, until he come out, and have made an atonement for himself, and for his household, and for all the congregation of Israel. And he shall go out unto the altar that is before the Lord, and make an atonement for it. and shall take of the blood of the bullock, and of the blood of the goat, and put it upon the horns of the altar round about. And he shall sprinkle the blood upon it with his finger seven times, and cleanse it, and hallow it for the uncleanness of the children of Israel. And when he hath made an end of reconciling the holy place, and the tabernacle, and the congregation, and the altar, he shall bring the live goat. And Aaron shall lay both 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, and 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 unto a land not inhabited, and he shall let the goat go into the wilderness. And so here's another beautiful picture of Christ, right? Not only is he the sacrificed ram whose blood is on the mercy seat, also he's the scapegoat lamb in which all our sins are laid upon him, and he bore the iniquity of us all, and by his stripes we are healed. Amen? but that it is as God said, I'm going to remove your sins as far as the east is from the west. I'm going to cast them into the sea of forgiveness and remember them no more. Hallelujah. Christ Jesus, as we sang, He paid it all. Oh, and Aaron shall go into the tabernacle of the congregation, shall put off the linen garments that he put on when he went into the holy place, and shall leave them there. And that's a beautiful picture that when the work was done, the holy priest took the garments and he folded them up. And it's so beautiful that when they went into the tomb of Jesus and he wasn't there, they found his grave clothes folded up just like that at the end of where he lay. so beautiful, and he shall wash his flesh with water in the holy place, and put on his garments, and come forth, and offer his burnt offering, and the burnt offering of the people, and make an atonement for himself and for the people. And the fat of the sin offering shall he burn upon the altar, and he that let go the goat, for the scapegoat shall wash his clothes, and bathe his flesh in water, and afterward come into the camp. the bullet for the sin offering and the goat for the sin offering whose blood brought in to make atonement in the holy place shall one carry forth without the camp and they shall burn in the fire their skins and their flesh and their dung even and he that burneth them shall wash his clothes and bathe his flesh in water and afterward he shall come into the camp." I want to pause right here and say who's thankful for the New Testament Church? Aren't you glad that we don't have to participate and do all these things? That Christ Jesus has cleansed us all. We're holy and clean in the sight of God by His finished work. There's no more sacrifices to be made. No more incense to be burned. But Christ is all. Hallelujah. And God's purpose in Him. And so He says, He that burneth them shall wash his clothes, and bathe his flesh in water, and afterward he shall come into the camp. And this shall be a statute forever unto you. And in the seventh month, and on the tenth day of the month, ye shall afflict your souls, and do no work at all, whether it be one of your own country or a stranger that sojourneth among you. For on that day shall the priests make an atonement, a propitiation, a kippur, for you to cleanse you, that you may be clean from all your sins. before the Lord and so that was the Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. That was the purpose that God had in the mercy seat and we see in this that I love it how it said that there was one lamb for God and one lamb for the people. We see him in this work. God's righteousness is vindicated because without the shedding of the blood, there's no remission of sins. And so Christ is both the just and the justifier of him that believeth in Christ. Christ's righteousness was vindicated, but also his mercy was put on display. Christ, the righteous of God, vindicated on the mercy seat with the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, the blood of the Lamb. All this, though, beloved, never removed sin, but hallelujah, I can tell you, Jesus did. When John the Baptist was shown who his cousin, Jesus Christ, really was, do you remember what he said by Jordan? He said, Behold the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world. And so I want to read to you what the Apostle Paul said about this in the book of Romans, and then we'll hasten to our last point. Go with me to the book of Romans chapter 3. The book of Hebrews, the book of Romans is so full of going back and looking at what God did through the tabernacle and through the sacrifice and through the priest and how it all pointed to Christ. And here in Romans chapter 3 beginning in verse 21, Paul is kind of explaining what all that was a picture of and how it meets in the person and work of Jesus. So in Romans chapter 3 verse 21, But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifest. being witnessed by the law and the prophets, even the righteousness of God, which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe, for there is no difference. For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. Amen. That's so true. You've got to come to a place where you believe that. But now believe this too. Being justified freely by His grace, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation. There it is again, the mercy seat. It's Jesus, through faith in His blood, to declare His righteousness for the remission of sins that are past through the forbearance of God to declare, I say at this time, His righteousness, that He might be the just and the justifier of him that believeth on Jesus. Amen? So isn't that so beautiful to us that not only was our sin removed and forgiven, but it was paid for, paid in full so that No, no one can lay anything to the charge of God's elect For him that is in Christ Jesus. There is no condemnation and no separation from God So it was the most purposeful of all to God the mercy seat in this Old Testament worship in this day of atonement now lastly it was the most impactful of all for redemption Like I said, it was a type and shadow of Christ and His work. And don't you love the angelic witness over the mercy seat? Isn't that beautiful how God had these cherubims made and how they covered the mercy seat and it says that they were looking toward one another but their faces were also toward the mercy seat. Two for for witness the angelic witness that the scripture always mentions of now this is precious because the first time the cherubim are mentioned are in the garden of eden do you remember when they were cast out of the garden they were cast out from the presence of god the cherubim was there with a flaming sword to guard the way back and forth so that no one could enter but now to cherubim over overarching and therefore witness therefore protection therefore inquiry as well because the scriptures tells us that the the angels of God love to look into the things pertaining to the gospel and to the redemption of the children of God and so beautiful that they're there and And I just love that The mercy seat and the blood and the glory, it's all over the things that were down inside the Ark of the Covenant. Amen? Because one of the things that was in the Ark of the Covenant was the Ten Commandments, the law. But aren't you glad that mercy rejoices over judgment? Aren't you glad that there was a lid of mercy over the ark and that the law, that mercy and the blood of Christ reigns over the law? That's beautiful to me. And the glory of God reigns over that because the glory of God was even above the blood and the mercy seat. So beautiful. Christ's merciful blood reigns over the law. The sinner that believes in Christ's meritorious blood is redeemed by it. And he may come to God. That's what the mercy seat says. Oh, so just two last scriptures. Let's, let's go to Hebrews Hebrews chapter nine, blah, blah. We have to move quickly. Now, if you'll go with me, Hebrews chapter nine, the writer here, he, he brings us in a little bit closer, teaches us a little bit more. I know I've read a lot of scripture to you today, but to me, the scriptures are the most important part of preaching. It's the most powerful part of preaching is, is the word of God itself, not so much what we say about it. So just rejoicing this, just let your mind and your soul just, uh, get not spiritually lost, but spiritually found in this. Hebrews 9 beginning in verse 1, then verily the first covenant had also ordinances of divine service and a worldly sanctuary. For there was a tabernacle made, the first wherein was candlestick and the table and the shoebread which is called the sanctuary. And after the second veil, the tabernacle, which is called the holiest of all, which had the golden censer, and the ark of the covenant, overlaid round about with gold, wherein was the golden pot that had manna, and Aaron's rod that budded, and the tables of the covenant. And over it, in the cherubims of glory, shadowing the what? The mercy seat, of which we cannot now speak particularly, Now when these things were thus ordained, the priest went always into the first tabernacle, accomplishing the service of God, but into the second, when the high priest alone, once every year, not without blood, which he offered for himself and for the heirs of the people." That's what we read in Leviticus 19. the Holy Ghost, this signifying that the way into the holiest of all was not yet made manifest as the first tabernacle was yet standing, which was a figure for the time then present, in which were offered both gifts and sacrifices that could not make him that did the service perfect as pertaining to the conscious. which stood only in meats and drinks and divers washings and carnal ordinances imposed on them until the time of reformation." Now I've got to give my granddaddy some credit here. He said, there's only ever been one true reformation, and that is the reformation that was brought by the work and ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ. I say amen, that's the true reformation. But Christ, being come a high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building. Now he's going to tell you about the true mercy seat, which is Christ. neither by the blood of goats and cows, but by His own blood He entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. For if the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling the unclean sanctifyeth to the purifying of the flesh, how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God for this And for this cause, he is the mediator of the New Testament, that by the means of death, for the redemption of the transgressors that were under the First Testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance. That's you, believer in the Lord Jesus Christ. That's what Christ has done for you and me. For where a testament is, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator. For a testament is a force after men are dead, otherwise it is of no strength at all while the testator liveth. Whereupon neither the first testament was dedicated without blood. For when Moses had spoken every precept to all the people according to the law, he took the blood of cows and of goats with water and scarlet wool and hyssop and sprinkled both the book and all the people saying, this is the blood of the testament which God hath enjoined unto you. Moreover he sprinkled with blood both the tabernacle and all the vessels of the ministry. And almost all things are by the law purged with blood, and without shedding of blood is no remission. It was therefore necessary that the pattern of things in heavens should be purified with these, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. Here's your Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. For Christ is not entered into the holy place, made with hands, which are the figures of the true, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us. Pause. That's why I told you who Christ is, what Christ has done, What Christ is now doing, what Christ is going to do is the only thing of ultimate significance in all the universe, of ultimate significance. There it is again. Nor yet that he should offer himself often as the high priest entered to the holy place every year with the blood of others. For then must often he have suffered since the foundation of the world, but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. And as I was appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment, so Christ was offered to bear the sins of many. And unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation. I say, hallelujah. No wonder Christ's last words upon the cross, some of his last words was, it is finished. It is finished. Not I am finished, but it is finished. Now lastly, and we close with this, just flip over just a little bit to Hebrews 10. As he kind of piggybacks on to what he had already talked about in chapter nine, now really applying it to us in our lives here, Hebrews 10 beginning in verse 19. Remember how we began? In Leviticus 19, Nadab and Abihu had been killed, and Moses told, God told Aaron through Moses, don't come in here all the time. You can only come one time, and this is the exact way, this is the only way that you can come, that you what? That you die not. They would even put a rope around the foot of the high priest when he went in, in case that the Lord killed him, so that they could drag him out if God didn't receive the offering. But now listen to what you and I have come in to today. Nobody had to wash, nobody had to be sprinkled with blood, no sacrifices had to be made. But now listen, verse 19, Having therefore, brethren, boldness, To enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus. Wow. Wow. What a change has been wrought. by a new and living way which He hath consecrated for us through the veil, that is to say His flesh, and having a high priest over the house of God. Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. And here it is, let us hold fast to the profession of our faith without wavering, for He is faithful that has promised. Who is promised? Christ is promised from the mercy seat, for He is the mercy seat. Well, beloved, I pray that that's been a blessing to you today. I pray that you rejoice today in the reformation that Christ has wrought through His finished work, that you rejoice today that the saints have a mercy seat.