
Because it foretells the suffering and death of Christ,
the most righteous among men, this psalm of David
has been placed in the Hours of the Passion.
It opens
with the last words spoken by Jesus upon the Cross:
"O God, my God ...why hast thou forsaken me?"
Later verses prophesy the Crucifixion: "They
have dug my hands and feet. They have numbered
all my bones. And they have looked and stared upon
me. They parted my garments amongst them;
and upon my vesture they cast lots."
Here, while David prays before a chapel, white-robed youths bend their heads before the executioner, in illustration of the lines, "Deliver, O God,
my soul from the sword: my only one from the hand
of the dog."
The warrior with a sword wears an
oriental hat made of three superimposed coils, which
appeared in the Revealing of the True Cross
(folio 133v).
small image (22KB) --- large image (204KB) --- David kneels in prayer (large) (224KB) --- Initial letters (large) (173KB)