This is a new, expanded edition of a book first published by SCM in Studies in Biblical Theology (1976). For the new edition of this standard work John Eaton has provided a perceptive chapter analysing contributions to the subject over the last decade.

Kingship and the Psalms focusses on the royal ideal expressed in the Psalms and interprets the poetry and ritual which reflect the king's vocation to mediate God's justice and salvation. The argument includes exegesis of sixty-five psalms and upholds the view that many of the psalms commonly classed as Laments of the Individual are in fact royal prayers.

A positive view is taken of the relation of kingship and prophecy and of the affinities with surrounding cultures. There is a detailed account of Babylonian and other royal festivals. The ideal of the Lord's Anointed is finally analysed in twenty-seven sections, revealing especially his prominence in worship with functions that included atonement, intercession, and evangelical witness. Indications are found of a royal hope of communion with God after death.