"For Israel has forgotten his Maker, and has built temples . . . "
At first glance, this is a strange couplet (above). Israel *forgets* God; and then goes out and *builds temples*. Here, we see the incurable religiosity of all men everywhere. Just because sinners choose to dishonor the True God--this does absolutely nothing to alleviate their need to worship *some* god, of some sort.
Let us resolve to remember that every unbeliever we talk to today--be they allegedly as "irreligious" as they want to pretend to be--are diligently building temples for their false deities. We also would be in this boat, except that God has miraculously and sovereignly brought us to Himself, and placed us in Jesus, and His church.
[Puritan quote of the day: "He that enjoys much of God in this life carries heaven about him. . . . The enjoyment of God's sweet pres-
ence here is an earnest of our enjoying Him in heaven." --Thomas Watson, in, "A Body of Divinity"]
