Psalms DAY 2

DAY 2 - I Love You Because…

Psalm 8
 
Psalm 8 is a psalm of praise. Praise psalms teach us to say, “I love you, God!” You can feel the songwriter’s love oozing off the page!

“O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!” brackets the prayer. That’s the poet’s way of praying, “I love you!” Bible scholars call that bracketing an “inclusio,” a signal that all the stuff sandwiched between belongs together.

Why does he love God so much? Mostly he just loves God for being God! The heart and soul of praise is just celebrating someone for being themselves. It’s saying, “I love you because I love you! I love you because you’re you!”

There’s a time and a place to thank someone for the specific things they do: “Thanks, honey, for putting the toilet seat down - so thoughtful!” But if that’s all we ever do, then the relationship starts to feel transactional, like you’re only in it for all the stuff the other person does for you. Relationships also need to celebrate the other person for being themselves, that uniquely mysterious recipe that makes Dave “Dave” and Kelsey “Kelsey.”

The all-caps “LORD” is your Bible’s stand-in for God’s covenant name, YHWH. It’s a sign of deep connection. In this context, it’s a little like saying “honey” to your significant other.

You don’t find many philosophers talking about - or to - God like that. Philosophers talk about God as Ultimate Reality or the Unmoved Mover or Being. In prayers like this, all caps “LORD” is a love song. It happens from inside a relationship. That’s a little scary but don’t you kinda want it, too?

REFLECT
Is it easy or hard for you to say, “I love you,” to God? Why?

PRAY
I love you, Lord. Thank you for loving me. Help me to walk in your love today. Amen.