mercy seat

American  

noun

1. Bible.

   1. the gold covering on the ark of the covenant, regarded as the resting place of God.

   2. the throne of God.

2. South Midland and Southern U.S. mourners' bench.

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mercy seat British  

noun

1. Old Testament the gold platform covering the Ark of the Covenant and regarded as the throne of God where he accepted sacrifices and gave commandments (Exodus 25:17, 22)

2. Christianity the throne of God

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Etymology

Origin of mercy seat

First recorded in 1520–30

Example Sentences

So few derelicts approach the Army's mercy seat these days that the shuffle of one man toward salvation at a recent London meeting has been the talk of the Army ever since.

From Time Magazine Archive

The boy knelt, sobbing, at the mercy seat, and the church began to sing.

From "Go Tell It on the Mountain" by James Baldwin

He somehow knew that she would never rise and walk that long aisle to the mercy seat.

From "Go Tell It on the Mountain" by James Baldwin

To-day we sought each other's lives:      Death levels all that now;    For soon before God's mercy seat      Together we shall bow.

From McGuffey's Fourth Eclectic Reader by McGuffey, William Holmes

Like the golden cherubim, covering the visible mercy seat in the Holy of Holies of the earthly tabernacle, he was created a guard and covering cherub to the heavenly center of Glory.

From Satan by Chafer, Lewis Sperry