Learning to Pray the Psalms with Christopher Ash
A three-part lecture series that will forever change the way you read and pray the Psalms.
Few contemporary scholars have helped Christians understand the Psalms more deeply than Christopher Ash. In these three outstanding lectures, Ash demonstrates that the Psalms are not merely Israel's hymnbook — they are the prayers and songs of Jesus Christ Himself. If you've ever wondered how Christians should read, preach, or pray the Psalms, this series is one of the finest introductions available.
The Psalms Belong to Christ
Christopher Ash begins with a simple but profound question: How can Christians honestly sing the Psalms? Many of the psalms speak in the first person, yet they describe experiences, promises, and sufferings that seem far beyond our own.
Ash argues that the New Testament gives a clear answer: the Psalms belong first and foremost to Jesus Christ. Before they become our prayers, they are His. Jesus is the singer, the subject, and the fulfillment of the Psalter. Again and again, the New Testament places the words of the Psalms on the lips of Christ, revealing that David's experiences ultimately point to the greater Son of David.
Because believers are united to Christ, His prayers become our prayers. Rather than merely imitating David, Christians learn to pray the Psalms in union with Jesus.
Ash introduces four interpretive questions that become the framework for the entire series:
- What did this mean for David?
- What did it mean for faithful believers in the Old Testament?
- How is this fulfilled in Jesus Christ?
- What does it mean for Christians united to Christ today?
- The Psalms belong first to Christ.
- Jesus is the singer and fulfillment of the Psalter.
- The New Testament teaches us how to read the Psalms.
- Our union with Christ explains why Christians can truly pray these songs.
How the Church Lost the Psalms
Having established that the Psalms ultimately speak about Christ, Ash traces the history of biblical interpretation over the past two thousand years. The early Church instinctively read the Psalms as the voice of Christ. The medieval church largely continued that approach.
The great shift came during the Enlightenment, when many scholars increasingly treated the Psalms as historical documents limited to David's own experience. While historical context remains important, Ash argues that many interpreters stopped there, missing the Christ-centered reading modeled throughout the New Testament.
With characteristic wit, Ash summarizes this history:
“Two cheers for the Church Fathers, perhaps only two cheers for many modern commentators, and no cheers for the Endarkenment.”
The lecture challenges Christians to recover the apostolic way of reading the Psalms — honoring their historical setting while recognizing their ultimate fulfillment in Christ.
- The earliest Christians instinctively read the Psalms as speaking about Christ.
- Historical interpretation is valuable but incomplete by itself.
- The New Testament provides the proper interpretive lens.
- Recovering this approach transforms preaching and prayer.
Why It Changes Everything
The final lecture asks the most practical question of all: Why does this matter?
Ash demonstrates that reading the Psalms through Christ changes the way Christians understand Scripture, worship, preach, pray, and live. He explores major theological themes including:
- the unity of Scripture
- the Spirit speaking through the prophets
- the incarnation
- Christian prayer
- law and gospel
- Christ and His Church
Rather than treating a handful of psalms as “Messianic,” Ash argues that the entire Psalter finds its fullest meaning in Jesus Christ. Because believers belong to Him, His praises, prayers, sufferings, and triumphs become ours.
The lecture concludes by showing pastors and teachers how to preach the Psalms according to the pattern established by the New Testament itself.
- Reading the Psalms Christologically affects every area of theology.
- The Psalter teaches us to pray because it first reveals the prayers of Christ.
- Christians sing Israel's songs because they belong to Christ.
- Recovering this approach enriches worship, preaching, and personal devotion.
Why These Lectures Matter
Christopher Ash reminds us that the Psalms are far more than inspiring poetry or ancient worship songs. They are the living voice of God's Anointed King and the prayer book of His people. As we learn to read the Psalms through Christ, we begin to discover not only what they meant, but how they continue to shape the worship, hope, lament, and praise of the Church today.
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