Reflection for Evensong, Thursday November 6, 2026
Psalm 17
1. The original author wrote the prayer (in the case of the 17th Psalm, David). A prayer about a real human experience, the writing of which was inspired by God.
2. Jesus prayed them: a) as God; b) as Man; c) as our covenant head/the representative of all humankind
3. We may pray them, as long as we pray them “in Christ” - even the uncomfortable parts. In fact, many have convincingly argued that all Christians ought to pray the Psalms as their own.
Example:
v.3 God shall “find no wickedness in me”.
1. David was not sinless, but he was able to ask God for a solution to his problem knowing that he was not in the wrong in this particular instance.
2. Jesus was just like us, but without sin (Hebrews 4:15). He alone can say that no wickedness will be found in him.
3. When we place our faith in Christ, his righteousness is imputed to us. If we want to honestly say that God will find no wickedness in us, then we must place our faith in Christ and have our sins washed clean in his blood. In Christ we can pray these words honestly.
How do the Psalms shape our prayer life?
1. We can pray prayers written by others and claim them as our own. David’s prayers were recorded in the Bible by God the Holy Spirit so that we could pray them too. As good as “off the cuff” prayers are, the Psalms teach us that God is also happy with us praying pre-written prayers.
2. The Psalms show us what perfect prayers are like. They are the prayers prepared for Jesus when he walked the earth. If we want to improve our own prayer life, then we ought to pray the Psalms and allow their themes to infiltrate our own personal prayers.
3. Praying the Psalms draws us closer to Christ, because it is only in him that we can fully enter into them. There are a lot of difficult verses in the Psalms (for example: when the Psalmist claims perfect righteousness; or the “imprecatory”* Psalms). When we imagine Christ praying them (as the perfectly righteous one, or as the judge of all people), then our hearts are drawn closer to him. When we pray the Psalms, we literally pray with (and in) Jesus.
*Imprecatory Psalms refers to the Psalms which ask God to punish the Psalmist’s enemies. For example, Psalm 17:13, “Arise, O Lord! Confront him, subdue him! Deliver my soul from the wicked by your sword” (ESV)