The Davidic covenant is held up before the lord in a manner that is loving, but also accusatory. Where does the lod stand, ultimately? His fidelity is recognized, but there is the inevitable question, how does it square with the facts? We cannot be sure of the date of this psalm-does it refer to Hezekiah, “caged like a bird, in Jerusalem” under sennacherib’s siege in 701, or to Josiah slain at Megiddo in 609, or even to the fall of Jerusalem in 587? If the historical reference remains uncertain, the theological issue does not, and it emerged all through Israel’s existence as a people, as genesis 22 ( the testing of Abraham) reminds us. How is one to understand divine “faithfulness” in the context of a history which seems to negate it? how much freedom does the lord have in keeping his word?