Psalm 141  David seeks God's ear and His presence in verse 1.  In verse 2 he asks God to accept his prayer as "incense" and  as "the evening offering" .  David was not able to worship at the tabernacle, but he did not make that an excuse not to worship.  He did not make up his own altar or worship in any way that would go against God's commands ( which by the way was the point of Hosea 8).  David understood that worship was not about a place, but about coming before God.  This is what Jesus talks about in John 4 with the Samaritan woman - "But an hour is coming and now is, when the true worshipers shall worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers" John 4:23  David worshiped God in spirit and in truth.  He humbled himself before God and lifts up his prayers as holy offerings.

Hosea 8  Israel is quite the opposite of David in the matter of worship and relationship to God.  Here, God declares that they have transgressed His covenant, rebelled against His law, rejected His good,  and ultimately "forgotten his Maker" ( v14).  Their "worship"  included idols made by craftsmen of silver and gold.  They  have "multiplied altars for sin", regarded His Words "as a strange thing", and gone through ritual sacrifices that God refused to accept.  They claimed to know God, but their actions showed that they did not know Him at all.  They set up kings and princes on their own,  they hired Assyria to try to help them, they built for themselves fortresses.  In every way they rejected God as their King, Protector, and Refuge.  "How long will they be incapable of innocence?" They would not humble themselves before God, and He judged them for it.  "For they sow the wind and they reap the whirlwind."   There would be famine - no head of grain,  there would be oppression - they would be "swallowed up" .  They would diminish.  They would be punished for their sins.

We can not forsake God or ignore His Word and think it does not matter.  God is Holy and His Word is True.  We are no longer under the Law, but we are still called to righteousness.  This is established by God, Who is our Maker.  What He calls right is right and when we don't agree we are calling Him a liar.  Very dangerous ground.  This is much on my mind today with the Supreme Court hearing the cases regarding homosexual marriage today.   No matter what excuse or reason we have, sin cannot be called anything else.  It is clearly sin.  As Paul said in Romans 3 "Rather, let God be found true , though every man be found a liar" .  God help us!
But even as I pray today for the Justices and for the lawyers presenting their cases, I know that God is not focused on what is happening in Washington DC.  He already knows what will be decided.  He knows that we are also incapable of innocence.  He knows that we need to humble ourselves before Him and pray.  His desire is for each of individually and corporately to come worship Him in spirit and in truth.  So once again I turn to David's prayer, seek God's ear and His presence and offer my prayers to Him.  Be exalted O God!  Let Your Kingdom come and Your will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven.  Amen.