Totus Christus and Praying the Psalms

Abstract

I will explore the hermeneutical implications of the totus Christus for our reading and praying of the Psalms. I will argue that the necessarily two-fold character of inhabiting the voice of the Psalmist demands the concept of the totus Christus. To consider the topic in this vein, then, hopefully shows that the concept of the totus serves as a crucial prompt for prayer, exegesis, and a doctrine of Christ and, perhaps especially of note, that the concept can help alert us to potential dangers or fore-shortenings that can shape praying the Psalms in a less than robust manner.