Ilcriiies (MtTimy). Mercurius. See Hekmks Tkismegistis. Mercy (iiroperly ipn, che'sed, k-indness ; t\ioc, pity), a virtue which inspires us with compassion for others, and inclines us to assist them in their necessi- ties. That works of mercy may be acceptable to God, as Christ has promised (Matt, v, 7), it is not enough that they proceed frf)m a natural sentiment of human- ' ity, but they must be performed for the sake of God, j and from truly jiious motives. In Scripture mercy and j truth are commonly joined together. To show the good- I ness that precedes and the faithfulness that accompa- I nies the promises ; or. a goodness, a clemency, a mer- cy that is constant and faithful, and that does not de- ceive. Mercy is also taken for favors and benefits received from God or man; for probity, justice, good- I ness. Merciful men — in Hebrew, chasdim — are men of j piety and goodness. I^Iercy is often taken for giving of aims, Prov. xiv, 34 ; xvi, G; Zaeh, vii, 9, See Ciiar-
j ITV.
I Mercy, as derived from misericordia, may import that sympathetic sense of the suffering of another by which the heart is affected. It is one of the noblest traits of character. The object of mercy is misery : so God pities human misery, and forbears to chastise severely; so man pities the misery of a fellow-man. and assists
1 to diminish it ; so public officers occasionally moderate
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the strictness of national laws from pity to the culprit. But only those can hope for mercy who express peni- tence and solicit mercy ; the impenitent, the stubborn, the obdurate, rather brave the avenging hand of jus- tice than beseech the relieving hand of mercy. See Pakoox.
Jlercy is an essential attribute of Jehovah, for the knowledge of which we are indebted wholly to revela- tion. By the propitiatory sacrifice of our Divnie Re- deemer a way is opened for the exercise of mercy and grace towards the human family perfectly honorable to the attributes and government of God. He appears a just God and a Saviour : "He is just, and yet he justi- tieth him that believeth in Jesus." Thus the plan of salvation by Jesus Christ provides for the exercise of infinite mercy, consistently with the most rigid de- mands of truth and righteousness ; so that, under this gracious dispensation, " mercy and truth" are said to "have met together," and "righteousness and peace have kissed each other" (Gen. xix, 19 ; Exod. xx, C ; xxxiv, G, 7 ; Psa. Ixxxv, 10 ; Ixxxvi, 15, IG ; ciii, 17 ; Luke xviii, 13; Rom. ix, 15-18; Heb. iv, IG; viii, 12). The expression "I will have mercy, and not sacrifice" (Hos. vi. G; Matt, ix, 13), signifies, as the connection indicates, that God is pleased with the exercise of mer- cy rather than with the offering of sacrifices, though sin has made the latter necessary (1 Sam. xv, 22 ; Mic. vi, 6-8). See Atonement.
Mercy is also a Christian grace, and no duty is more strongly urged by the Scriptures than the exercise of it towards all men, and especially towards such as have trespassed against us (Matt, v, 7 ; xviii, 33-35).
Mercy, Sisters of. See Sisters of Mercy.
Mercy, Wilhelm, a German Roman Catholic the- ologian, was born Feb. 9, 1753, at Ueberlingen, near the Bodensee, and was educated at Oberschwangar. In 1787 he was called to the court of duke Charles of Wilr- temberg, and in 1798 became minister at Gruol, prin- cipality of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen. His advanced age obliged him to resign his position in 1819, and he died July 1, 1825. Mercy was an extremely well-ed- ucated man. He published in 1801 an essay on the necessity of reform witliin the Roman Catholic Church, which caused considerable sensation. He aimed at an entire reform of the Church constitution and the cler- gy. Besides several articles in the JahresscliriftenjTir Theologie utid Kirchenrecht der Kaiholiken (Ulm, 1806- 10), he published several other valuable but minor pro- ductions in theological literature. — Doring, Gelehrte Theol Deutschlands, s. v.
Mercy-seat (""133, happo'reth, a covering, i. e. lid of a vessel, spoken only of the top of the sacred ark ; Sept. and New Test. iXaariipioi',yu\p;, p7-opitiatoriit)ti), the cover of the box or ark containing tlie tables of the Sinaitic law, and overspread by the cherubim, be- tween which appeared the shekinah, or visible radiant symbol of the divine presence ; it is generally repre- sented as a plank of acacia overlaid with gold, but it was more probably a solid plate or sheet of the purest gold (Exod. XXV, 17 sq. ; xxx, G; xxxi, 7, etc.). Hence the holy of holies is sometimes called the "house of the mercy-seat" (1 Chron. xxviii, 11, Heb.). Josephus sim- ply calls it a licl (fTriB'fjKn, Ant. iii, 6, 5) ; but the ver- sions have all regarded the term as indicative oi propi- tiation (as if from the Piel of "iSS), and the same view appears to be taken by the New-Testament writers, who compare it with the throne of grace in heaven, access to which has been opened by the blood of Christ (Heb. ix, 5; Rom. iii, 24). See Ark. Comp. 1 Chron. xxviii, 11, where the holy of holies is called the n'^2 n'iSSil, " house of the mercy-seat." " It was that whereon the blood of the yearly atonement was sprinkled by the high-priest; and in this relation it is doubtful whether the sense of the word in the Heb. is based on the material fact of its ' covering' the ark, or from this