A Model for the Christian Life

The Psalms, used as hymns for liturgy, have also been read as guidance for the spiritual life. Composed between 364 and 367, Hilary of Poitiers’ commentary on the Psalms was the last of his writings before his death. In what appears to be a substantial but conventional commentary, Hilary also employs the Psalms to explore three progressive stages of the Christian life—baptism, resurrection, and transformation—then proposes a complex, integrated model for the Christian life. He makes use of cultural and theological resources acquired throughout his education and from his encounters as a Christian bishop in the mid-fourth century. In this examination of Hilary’s treatise, Paul C. Burns discusses the intended audience of Hilary’s text and the use of the Psalms by Christians in the fourth century. He identifies Hilary’s distinctive perspectives; his dependence on Origen; his Latin theological and exegetical tradition; and the creative directions of Hilary’s thought.