We take a break between finishing Judges this week and moving to Luke next week. I always find the Psalms to be a great passage to use as a break between two different books. Today, we’ll look at Psalm 17. This is a passage that I’ll be preaching from later this year, so I’ve started spending time with it. This is a Psalm of deliverance, a Psalm in which David cries out to God to save him. God loves him, and God loves us. We are the apple of His eye. He cares for us. He loves us. He is for us. Cry out to Him when we need. He is our deliverer!

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Good morning. It’s good to be with you on this Friday as we continue our time rooted in Christ.

Yesterday, we wrapped up our journey through the Book of Judges—and what a ride it was! Those last two chapters were especially intense. As I mentioned yesterday, the ending of Judges is among the most graphic and disturbing passages in all of Scripture. But I believe stories like this are important because they show us the depths to which we can fall when we give sin free rein. When we let darkness take root in our hearts and do what is right in our own eyes, it can lead to devastating consequences—just as we saw in Judges.

Today, we’re taking a brief pause before starting our next book. I like to think of the Psalms as a kind of spiritual palate cleanser—like sorbet between courses at a long meal. Whenever we finish a book of the Bible and have a day or two in between, I often turn to a psalm for reflection. This morning we’ll be reading Psalm 17, a passage that’s been on my heart lately and one I plan to preach on later this year.

And then on Monday, we’ll dive into the Gospel of Luke. We’ve walked through Mark before, and while I love Matthew for its deep Old Testament connections and John for its rich theology, Luke often feels like the most overlooked gospel. It’s full of beauty and depth, and I thought this would be a great time to spend some time with it. So that’s where we’re headed next.

But today—Psalm 17.

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Psalm 17 (selected)

Hear a just cause, O Lord; attend to my cry;
give ear to my prayer from lips free of deceit.

From you let my vindication come;
let your eyes see the right.

Guard me as the apple of the eye;
hide me in the shadow of your wings
from the wicked who despoil me,
my deadly enemies who surround me.

As for me, I shall behold your face in righteousness;
when I awake, I shall be satisfied, beholding your likeness.

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Psalm 17 is a psalm of deliverance. We don’t know exactly when David wrote it, but if you know his story, you know he had many moments when he needed saving. Whether fleeing from Saul in his youth or from Absalom later in life, David often found himself crying out to God for help.

That’s what we hear in this psalm—a desperate, faithful cry for deliverance. And I imagine many of us can relate. In difficult seasons, we tend to lean more heavily on God. When the waters are rough, we cling to him. But when things are calm and easy, it’s just as easy to forget our need for him.

That’s why discipline matters—because it trains us to seek God consistently, not just in crisis. That’s one reason I value this time we spend together each morning. Rooted keeps me grounded. It gives me a space each day to pause, reflect, and stay connected to the Word. I hope it does the same for you.

There’s a verse in this psalm that really struck me—verse 14:

“From mortals, by your hand, O Lord—from mortals whose portion in life is this world…”

That’s a haunting phrase: whose portion in life is this world.

Jesus put it another way: “What does it profit a man to gain the whole world, but lose his soul?” It’s so easy to build our lives around things that don’t last—our jobs, our finances, our reputations. But these things are all temporary. They can’t be our portion. They can’t be our reward.

We are not indispensable in our careers or our communities. If something were to happen to me, there would still be someone preaching at St. Matthew’s this Sunday. But my family—my wife, my kids, my closest friends—those relationships can’t be replaced. We must invest in what matters most, what lasts beyond this life.

And above all, we must invest in our relationship with God.

That’s why I love verse 8 of this psalm:

“Guard me as the apple of your eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings.”

Max Lucado once wrote something that’s stuck with me: “If God had a refrigerator, your picture would be on it.” Isn’t that a beautiful image? Just like our own fridges are covered in pictures of our kids and grandkids, God delights in you. He loves you. You are the apple of His eye.

Don’t forget that. It’s easy to feel overlooked or weary in this world. But you are loved. You are seen. You are treasured.

So whatever you’re facing today, bring it to Him. Cry out to your Deliverer. He hears you. He stands ready to help. As the old hymn says:

“O what peace we often forfeit, O what needless pain we bear,
All because we do not carry everything to God in prayer.”

So today, take it to Him. You are not alone.