Let it not be objected that the words of the Office are
not our own, that the Psalms were not composed for us,
that they suppose thoughts, circumstances, and dispositions
that are not ours. For the Office has been compiled for us.
The Psalms (we repeat it again) have Jesus, the Incarnate
God, not David, as their first and principal object. What
they express is not the mind of anyone man in particular,
but the mind of all Christians considered in Him Who is
their divine Head. The feelings contained in the Psalms are
those which were wrought first in the soul of our Lord by
the Holy Ghost, and then through Him in all those who are
members of His Mystical Body. Therefore they are ours as
well as David’s, or any of the saints. So it was for us the
Psalms were written. The Holy Ghost had us in view when
He inspired them. He speaks of our perils, of our warfare;
He mourns over our sins; and in true and touching words,
He speaks of our repentance, our hope, our zeal, our gratitude
and our love. For, according to St. Paul: All things are
yours; but ye are Christ’s, and Christ is God’s (1 Cor 3:22).
-St. Augustine (Patrologia Latina Vol. 36 p.248)
