Both Psalms 20 and 21 are royal liturgies (as implied by the changing speakers and addressees observed below). Psalm 20 appears to be an intercession for the king before battle (esp. vv. 5, 7–8), and Psalm 21 is a thanksgiving on the king’s behalf either after battle victory or in anticipation of it. Psalm 20 may have been intoned at the temple, not only before particular battles as they arose, but as part of the regular liturgy “in the spring, at the time when kings go off to war” (2 Sam. 11:1).

Both psalms make abundantly clear that the king’s power is not absolute but derived—from Yahweh (esp. 20:1–2, 7; 21:1, 5, 7, 9, 13). While some Psalms scholars have made much of the king’s role in the temple’s liturgies and rituals (even making him the central figure at festivals), we must observe…