We continue our look at the General Introduction to the Liturgy of the Hours (GILH) and find ourselves early in Chapter III where the authors of this document are delving into the territory of the spiritual life. In this section, the believer is urged to use the psalm as a lens into one’s “human life.”
107. Staying close to the meaning of the words, the person who prays the psalms looks for the significance of the text for the human life of the believer.
Moving beyond the ancient Eastern sensibility of their time of composition is not too much of a stretch. The culture has changed, but people still feel the emotions of their ancestors of generations long past:
It is clear that each psalm was written in its own individual circumstances, which the titles given for each psalm in the Hebrew psalter are meant to indicate. But whatever its historical origin, each psalm has its own meaning, which we cannot overlook even in our own day. Though the psalms originated very many centuries ago among an Eastern people, they express accurately the pain and hope, the unhappiness and trust of people of every age and country, and sing above all of faith in God, of revelation, and of redemption.
Catholic Sensibility 