The Mercy-Seat.

“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 of the Mercy-seat shall ye make the Cherubims on the two ends thereof.
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 faces of the Cherubim be.
And thou shalt put the Mercy-seat above upon the Ark; and in the Ark thou shalt put the testimony that I shall give thee.
In the construction of the Mercy-seat there was no wood, nor any other metal save gold, and that of the purest. It points to what is intrinsically Divine. The Ark of wood and gold directs to the Person of the Lord in Whom the Divine and Human natures are united, yet but one Person. Thus the Word (the gold) became flesh (the wood): see John 1:1414And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. (John 1:14): 1 Tim. 3:1616And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory. (1 Timothy 3:16). “God manifest in flesh.” The Mercy-seat views Christ as a Divine Person apart from incarnation.
The size of the Mercy-seat in length and breadth was precisely that of the Ark. The adjustment was perfect. The top of the Ark was surmounted with a rim of gold as a border round about, hence when the Mercy-seat was set above upon the Ark (verse 21), the crown or rim of gold round about would conceal from view where the two were joined. One complete picture of Christ is thus presented, yet the Mercy-seat may be separately regarded (1 Chron, 28:11).
The Mercy-seat or propitiatory is the typical representation of Christ, “Whom God hath set forth a propitiation through faith in His blood, to declare His (God’s) righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God: to declare at this time His righteousness: that He might be just and the Justifier of him which believeth in Jesus” (Rom. 3:25-2625Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; 26To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus. (Romans 3:25‑26)). The Mercy-seat or propitiatory could only be such when sprinkled with the blood of atonement. The blood on the gold righteously enabled God in the absolute consistency of His Being to sit on the Mercy-seat and dispense mercy to those who approach Him: nay, even higher still, it became a throne of relationship and communion. “And there I will meet with thee, and I will commune with thee from above the Mercy-seat, from between the two cherubim which are upon the Ark of the testimony, of all things which I will give thee in commandment unto the children of Israel”(verse 22).
The Ark was God’s throne; the basis of it was the Mercy-seat, whilst its supporters were the two “Cherubim of glory” (Heb. 9:55And over it the cherubims of glory shadowing the mercyseat; of which we cannot now speak particularly. (Hebrews 9:5)). Thus the typical representation of God’s throne was set up in the Holiest―figure of the Heaven of heavens. The Ark and all pertaining to it point up to the throne of Jehovah “the throne of the Majesty in the heavens” (Heb. 8:11Now of the things which we have spoken this is the sum: We have such an high priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens; (Hebrews 8:1)). It is a throne of holiness, of righteousness, of grace, and, of course, as the very term denotes, one of government. From it the universe is governed. It is the first sight in the heavenly scene beheld by the Seer of Patmos (Rev. 4:22And immediately I was in the spirit: and, behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne. (Revelation 4:2)).
Thus the Ark and its pure gold lid―the Mercy-seat—was the throne of government over all beings; the throne of relationship to Israel; and the throne of communion where Jehovah could righteously and in grace meet His people.
The Shekinah, or cloud of glory, and in itself unapproachable light, out of which Jehovah made Himself known, rested on the Mercy-seat, and was guarded from all unhallowed approach by the Cherubim—the representatives of the Judicial authority of the throne. It was the BLOOD on and before the Mercy-seat which reconciled those two great facts: the majesty of the throne and the presence of a sinful creature in peace before it.
The Tabernacle and the Temple each faced the east, while the Ark and the Mercy-seat stood exactly in front of the beautiful Veil on the west. Thus there was a direct line of approach from the Altar without to the Mercy-seat within―from the cross to the throne. “As far as the east (where stood the Brazen Altar) is from the west (the Mercy-seat), so far hath He removed our transgressions from us” Ps. 103:12).
Righteousness is the moral basis of all intercourse between God and man. Grace reigns through righteousness. There is Divine righteousness and human righteousness. The former is seen in the pure gold of the Mercy-seal; the latter in the tables of the law in the Ark itself. But man is a sinful, an unholy creature, and the law, instead of being obeyed, only convicted him of sin and transgression—he is destitute of goodness and righteousness (Rom. 3.). Now on the proved guilt of man as a law-transgressor the righteousness of God is shown. The claim of His throne, of His nature, cannot be compromised. Divine righteousness demands Divine judgment. The blood of Christ is the answer to that claim. He has borne the righteous judgment of God against sin. The BLOOD is the great reconciling fact between God in His holiness and man in his sin. The blood on the Mercy-seat proclaims the story of Ps. 85. “Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other” (verse 10). What Christ ever was and is to God in His own Person (the fine gold), that is the measure of His grace to us. The shed and sprinkled blood of Christ was a necessity of the Divine nature if grace to sinners was to have its glorious sway.
The Cherubim.
There were two Cherubim of beaten work of the same piece of gold as the Mercy-seat itself; these were inseparable from, and an integral part of, the Mercy-seat. They were not fastened to it, but were of the same piece — part and parcel of the Mercy-seat. There was a Cherub on either end of the Mercy-seat. Both had wings and faces. The wings outspread covered the Mercy-seat, and signified protecting care and rapidity of action. The faces denoted intelligence. The movements of the Cherubim were intelligently directed. They looked to each other, and the gaze of both was set on the blood-sprinkled Mercy-seat. The Cherubim represent the activity of the throne of Jehovah, its Judicial authority. God is said to dwell between the Cherubim (Ps. 80:1; 1 Sam. 4:44So the people sent to Shiloh, that they might bring from thence the ark of the covenant of the Lord of hosts, which dwelleth between the cherubims: and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God. (1 Samuel 4:4); 2 Kings 19:1515And Hezekiah prayed before the Lord, and said, O Lord God of Israel, which dwellest between the cherubims, thou art the God, even thou alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth; thou hast made heaven and earth. (2 Kings 19:15); Isa. 37:1616O Lord of hosts, God of Israel, that dwellest between the cherubims, thou art the God, even thou alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth: thou hast made heaven and earth. (Isaiah 37:16)). The living ones of Rev. 4. and 5. are a combination of the Seraphim (Isa. 6.) and the Cherubim (Ezek. 1.), and are presented as in and of the throne—an integral, an indispensable part of the throne itself―so with the Cherubim of the Mercy-seat.
The Cherubim set forth that the attributes of God necessarily characterize the action of His throne over all. Those inherent qualities of God―the manifestations of His own character—may be expressed in action through angels or men (see Rev. 4. and 5.), but in themselves they simply denote the Judicial authority of the throne. The Lord Jesus Christ carries in Himself the governing authority over all (Matt. 28:1818And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. (Matthew 28:18); John 5: 22, 27).
If the leading passages on the Cherubim are compared and carefully weighed, it must be apparent that they do not signify the Church nor redeemed persons, but simply denote the Judicial authority necessarily connected with the throne of the Eternal in the heavens: Gem 3:24; Ezek. 1., 10., 28.; Rev. 4., 5.
“There were strange soul-depths, restless, vast, and broad,
Unfathomed as the sea;
An infinite craving for some infinite stilling:
Brit now Thy perfect love is perfect filling!
Lord Jesus Christ, my Lord, my God,
Thou, Thou art enough for me.”