What are the royal psalms?

The book of Psalms contains 150 inspired Hebrew songs that cover the whole of human emotion and provide an abundance of theological instruction. Martin Luther, commenting on the richness of the Psalms, wrote that the book “might well be called a little Bible. In it is comprehended most beautifully and briefly everything that is in the entire Bible. Anyone who could not read the whole Bible would here have anyway almost an entire summary of it, comprised in one little book” (“Preface to the Psalter” in Works of Martin Luther Translated with Introductions and Notes, Volume VI, A. J. Holman Co. and The Castle Press, 1932, reprinted in Everyone’s Luther: Prefaces to the Books of the Bible, p. 20–21).

Various people have categorized individual psalms in various ways. Bible scholar Hermann Gunkel’s system groups the psalms into these six categories:

The royal psalms concern the kingship, God’s covenant with King David, and the ultimate fulfilment of that covenant in the Son of David, who is the King of kings, Jesus Christ. The royal psalms are Psalms 2, 18, 20, 21, 45, 72, 89, 101, 110, 132, and 144.

The kings of ancient Israel were to be anointed by one of God’s prophets. Each king was thus to be God’s chosen representative to promote justice and establish peace in the nation. The prophet Samuel anointed Saul as the first king, a choice that God allowed in deference to the rebellious demands of the Israelites (see 1 Samuel 8:6–9). After Saul proved himself unworthy of the office, God’s chose David, a man after His own heart (1 Samuel 13:14).

God made a covenant with David. In that covenant, God promised David that the Messiah would come from his lineage and would rule a kingdom that endures forever (2 Samuel 7). God chose David’s son Solomon to succeed him as king as part of the line of blessing (1 Chronicles 22:8–10). The royal psalms were written in the time of David and Solomon and celebrate God’s faithfulness in keeping His covenant with David and his descendants.



Common themes in the royal psalms include the following:

Neither David nor Solomon saw the fulfillment of the glorious, long-term promises God made to David. Later kings in David’s line fell into deep sin, even to the point of working against God’s plan. But no matter how dismal the monarchy’s days became, God’s promises stayed firm. The royal psalms kept hope alive—the hope that God’s promises would one day be perfectly realized in a future Davidic king. That king is Jesus, who is destined to “crush kings on the day of his wrath” (Psalm 110:5) and possess a throne that “will last for ever and ever” (Psalm 45:6; cf. Luke 1:32–33 and Acts 2:30–36).