Book I and II: a note on the Name

I want to briefly mention something that has steadily had a rather odd effect when contemplating the psalms in this Book II of the psalter. In Book I God’s name is very prevalent: Yhwh. Often, as we saw, it is used precisely seven times in many of the psalms and it is rare that it does not make its appearance at least once. Here, however, name is largely absent. There is evidence that this has actually been done intentionally; that the psalm originally had the name Yhwh, but it was changed to Elohim. The effect of this is not merely literary. Simply but, God feels much more distant in these psalm when I am not repeatedly saying/typing his name. It is very noticeable. When I was reflecting on Book 1 I very steadily but, then, constantly, would not refer to ‘God’ but to ‘Yhwh’. To even say “God” felt strange. Here, by contrast, it took a while but the Name has simply dropped out of my vocabulary. I find myself now almost never referring to God as Yhwh. And—and this is the key—I miss it. I miss how naturally it moved in my speech and thought. It is for this reason that I have found very sympathetic those interpretations of the psalter that see in Book I the establishment of David’s monarchy and in Book II the beginning of David’s rejection as high priest, specifically centering on Psalm 51 and the sin of Bathsheba. The last psalm of Book II, Psalm 72, is attributed to Solomon, which according to the Deuteronomistic history, was the beginning of the catastrophe ending in the exile. But again, these literary devices effect a deep sadness/longing on my part for the Name.  And, in this way, it helps me participate within the deep structures of the narrative of salvation.