Grace of God

Pastor Martin begins a focused study on Christ's priestly sacrifice, establishing first the fact of His priestly sacrifice from Ephesians 5:2, Hebrews 9:24-28, and Hebrews 10:10-12. He defends the Bible's unequivocal presentation of Christ's death as a true, bona fide priestly offering to God rather than a mere example of self-giving. He then begins to unfold the context of sacrificial activity — the reality of God as holy, just, and gracious, and of man as accountable, guilty, and polluted.

Returning to Psalm 1 after several months, Pastor Martin moves to the negative contrast of verse 4: 'The ungodly are not so, but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away.' He explains why the psalmist gives this contrast (God both draws with promises and drives with threats), defines 'the wicked' as anyone not fitting the description of verses 1-3, and unpacks the winnowing simile. Chaff represents fickleness (no stability), lifelessness (no vital relationship with God), and uselessness (fit for nothing but to be burned), in sharp contrast to the planted tree.