In the second book of St. Augustine's On Christian Teaching, he writes about very interesting concepts that can be used to interpret the Psalms. Two main arguments he makes in his writings are the following. One thing Augustine specifies is the vast use of symbols in sacred texts. The second important concept that he makes in the second book is the ambiguity that is present in sacred texts, because of the type of writing they used during that time. Both of these points can very easily be used to interpret the Psalms.

In the Psalms, there are many symbols used throughout them that do not literally mean they have written down. For example, Psalm 23 verse 1 states, "The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want." This does not literally mean that God is a shepherd and the people that believe in God are livestock. It has a symbolic/metaphoric meaning. It is saying that God will guide all his followers on the right path, just like a shepherd does. (Click here for more Christian symbols in texts!)

In addition, the Psalms were written thousands of years ago. Due to this, the Psalms are written with language that is hard for us to understand today. (Click here to see the Psalms in their traditional forms!) However, because of translators, there have been many translations of the Psalms that make it much easier to interpret the Psalms for the average person. (Click here to see the "modern" version of the Psalms!) It is very evident that the second version of the Psalm is a lot easier to understand. It is important that we are aware of this ambiguity when reading the Psalms to make it easier for us to interpret them.