At the Mercy-Seat or the Judgment Bar
By I. H. E.
EVERY sinner must sometime meet God. This meeting will occur at one of two places,—before the mercy-seat or at the judgment bar. At the mercy-seat, where God dwells between the cherubim, the sinner may meet “the Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin.” The blood of Jesus Christ is there offered for the sinner. The broken law of Jehovah is satisfied by the life and death of His Son. At the bar of judgment, God is no longer the God of mercy; for mercy’s gates are closed forever. He is now the God of justice. Sin must be accounted for. The broken law demands the life of the sinner, who must answer before it for his own transgressions. Christ is no longer High Priest. No more does He plead His own life and blood for the sinner. Justice is now the habitation of God’s throne. As Judge, God is no longer the Merciful One, but stern justice for sin is measured to all who refused mercy. I. H. E.