Psalm 50 is a psalm of Asaph where God is the judge and he is calling his people (Israel) into the courtroom. He calls the entire heavens and earth together to witness His judgment of Israel. In verses 7-12, God addresses the defendant–His own people–not to condemn them for their failure to worship but to correct their understanding of worship. Up to this point, the Israelites were going through the motions of worship and sacrifice, but they were expecting something in return from God. They were essentially “buying” God’s attention by proving to God how much they loved Him.
God was not impressed, and now he was calling them into His courtroom. “I testify against you. I am God, your God. Not for your sacrifices do I rebuke you; your burnt offerings are continually before me. I will not accept a bull from your house or goats from your folds. For every beast of the field is mine, the cattle on a thousand hills” (vs. 7-10). Everything already belongs to God. God’s favor cannot be purchased with money, sacrifices, or worship. God is self-sufficient. He has no needs. What he wants is our faithful obedience. He wants us to serve one another.
God hates transactional worship. God cannot be bought, bribed, or fed. The pagan religions literally would lay food out for their gods to consume. If the gods were fed, they were pleased. If they were pleased, they would bless. God has no interest. You cannot enrich the owner of the universe. God wants our hearts. He wants our obedience. He wants us to deny ourselves, take up our crosses daily, and follow Christ. We do not worship to meet God’s needs; we worship to recognize that he meets ours.