Hermann Gunkel categorized ten psalms by their subject matter of kingship as royal psalms. Specifically, the royal psalms deal with the spiritual role of kings in the worship of

Yahweh Yahweh was an Ancient Semitic religion, ancient Semitic deity of Weather god, weather and List of war deities, war in the History of the ancient Levant, ancient Levant, the national god of the kingdoms of Kingdom of Judah, Judah and Kingdom ...

. Aside from that single qualification, there is nothing else which specifically links the ten psalms. Each of the psalms make explicit references to their subject, the king. However, it has been posited that other psalms, which do not mention the king directly, may have been written for royalty (e.g. Psalm 22). Old Testament scholar

Brevard Childs Brevard Springs Childs (September 2, 1923 – June 23, 2007) was an American Old Testament scholar and Professor of Old Testament at Yale University from 1958 until 1999 (and Sterling Professor after 1992), who is considered one of the most influe ...

has raised the possibility that the royal psalms are strategically scattered throughout the psalter. According to Childs, these psalms are often paired with other psalms that give the royal psalms an eschatological and messianic sense.

Gunkel's royal psalms

First lines from

King James Version The King James Version (KJV), also the King James Bible (KJB) and the Authorized Version (AV), is an Early Modern English Bible translations, Early Modern English translation of the Christianity, Christian Bible for the Church of England, wh ...

. * Psalm 2 ("Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing?") * Psalm 18 ("I love you, O Lord, my strength.") * Psalm 20 ("The LORD hear thee in the day of trouble; the name of the God of Jacob defend thee") * Psalm 21 ("The king shall joy in thy strength, O LORD; and in thy salvation how greatly shall he rejoice!") * Psalm 45 ("My heart is inditing a good matter: I speak of the things which I have made touching the king: my tongue is the pen of a ready writer.") *

Psalm 72 Psalm 72 is the 72nd psalm of the Book of Psalms, beginning in English in the King James Version: "Give the king thy judgments, O God, and thy righteousness unto the king's son". In the slightly different numbering system used in the Greek Septua ...

("Give the king thy judgments, O God, and thy righteousness unto the king's son.") * Psalm 101 ("I will sing of mercy and judgment: unto thee, O Lord, will I sing.") * Psalm 110 ("The Lord said unto my lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool.") * Psalm 132 ("Lord, remember David, and all his afflictions") * Psalm 144 ("Blessed be the Lord my strength which teacheth my hands to war, and my fingers to fight")

Other royal psalms

Additionally, Psalms 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, and 99 are called royal psalms because they "celebrate God as King".

Gunkel's royal psalms

Other royal psalms

References

Further reading