The psalmist prays for the king; see the similar prayer in 21.1-7, where one may find most of the petitions made here. The prayer is not just for a long life for the king, but for a long and prosperous reign, and the continuation of his dynasty through descendants who will succeed him on the throne; such is the meaning of all generations in verse 6b and for ever in verse 7a.

For comments on before God (verse 7a) see 56.13. The expression before God or “in your presence,” if translated literally, will often lead to misunderstanding. Therefore it will sometimes be necessary to say, for example, “… with God’s blessing” or “… with God’s protection.”

Verse 7b in the Masoretic text is literally “appoint constant love and faithfulness to protect him”; some Hebrew manuscripts and ancient versions omit the verb, so that the wording of the text is “May constant love and faithfulness protect” (or, “Constant love and faithfulness will protect”), with very little difference in meaning. For comments see 40.11b-c, and especially 57.3c. Watch over translates a verb rendered “guard” in 12.7b.

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 .