Footnotes

1. Psalm 50:7 Pagans might have imagined that they owed food subsidies to their gods; the Lord has no need of our earthly goods, for everything belongs to him. This diatribe against purely external worship occurs often in the Bible, notably in the Prophets (see 1 Sam 15:22; 1 Chr 29:16-19; Isa 1:10-16; 29:13f; 58:1-8; Jer 6:20; 7:21; Hos 6:6; Joel 2:12; Mic 6:5-8; Zec 7:4-6; Mal 1:10) and is also found elsewhere in the Psalter (see Pss 40:7-9; 51:18f, etc.). The passages do not condemn sacrifices or worship in general, but only the formalism that is satisfied with performing external rites. We cannot bribe God; we can only acknowledge him by prayer and thanksgiving: this was the constant attitude of Jesus toward his Father. Truly religious persons are aware of their limitations; they await everything from God and realize that they owe him everything. The Gospel will lay a heavy emphasis on this teaching (see Mt 5:23; 12:7; Mk 12:33), and Paul will in turn repeat it in his instruction on worship in spirit (Rom 12:1; Phil 2:17; 3:3).