The psalm closes with a triumphant note, a statement of God’s constant love for King David and his descendants forever (see 2 Sam 7.16).

Triumphs is the plural of the Hebrew word for “salvation” (see 3.8). Here it means the king’s victories over his enemies, which he achieves because God himself is with him and enables him to win.

To his king should not be rendered in such a manner as to be understood as “the king who is over God,” but rather as “the king whom God has appointed.”

For steadfast love see comments on 5.7; for his anointed see comments on 2.2.

The word descendants translates a collective noun, “seed”; here it refers to David’s male descendants, his successors as kings of Israel (see New Jerusalem Bible “his heirs”).

Quoted with permission from Bratcher, Robert G. and Reyburn, William D. A Handbook on the Book of Psalms. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1991. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .