Augustine and the Psalms

In Book II of On Christian Teaching Augustine describes the difference between ‘natural’ and ‘given’ signs, signs people use to communicate, and the interpretations of these signs. Augustine claims that people are often mislead by ambiguities and misunderstanding leading to a false interpretation of certain texts, such as the Bible. The difficult nature of the Bible, according to Augustine, is ‘divinely predetermined’ so that only hard work and intellect may lead to the correct interpretation of the text. He gives an example from the passage of Song of Songs where a church is addressed as a beautiful woman (a metaphorical sign). He claims that any other interpretation rather than one supported by imagery gives him much less pleasure.

This fact alone is quite helpful in the process of interpretation of the psalms. It’s easy to see why beautiful metaphors and strong language are so enticing, thanks to the text by Augustine. Interpreting the psalms as metaphors helps to understand the full meaning of the songs. The knowledge needed to understand these difficult passages comes in 6 stages according to Augustine, beginning with the fear of God and ending in wisdom. Within the process to wisdom one must comprehend the literal and metaphorical signs and the knowledge of language. These compiled together help to fully understand the psalms and many other difficult texts.