Mental Pictures: Psalm 34

Wide Angle:

This is a song of praise.

I will bless the LORD at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul shall make her boast in the LORD: the humble shall hear thereof, and be glad. O magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together. I sought the LORD, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears. They looked unto him, and were lightened: and their faces were not ashamed. This poor man cried, and the LORD heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles. The angel of the LORD encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them. O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him. O fear the LORD, ye his saints: for there is no want to them that fear him. The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger: but they that seek the LORD shall not want any good thing. Come, ye children, hearken unto me: I will teach you the fear of the LORD. What man is he that desireth life, and loveth many days, that he may see good? Keep thy tongue from evil, and thy lips from speaking guile. Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it. The eyes of the LORD are upon the righteous, and his ears are open unto their cry. The face of the LORD is against them that do evil, to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth. The righteous cry, and the LORD heareth, and delivereth them out of all their troubles. The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the LORD delivereth him out of them all. He keepeth all his bones: not one of them is broken. Evil shall slay the wicked: and they that hate the righteous shall be desolate. The LORD redeemeth the soul of his servants: and none of them that trust in him shall be desolate.

Psalm 34

Now, let’s zoom in:
The angel of the LORD encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them.

Angels are messengers sent by God. They are also painted as protectors (Psalm 91:11), comforters (Matthew 4:11), and warriors (Ephesians 6:12, Daniel 10:12–13 ). A warrior is a soldier, so angels are also soldiers; and Jesus is their general (Psalm 103:20, 1 Peter 3:21–22).

Keep that military image in mind... You’re gonna love this...

The angel of the LORD
One of Heaven’s Host. Armed to the teeth, and loaded for bear (or worse)...

encampeth

Pitches his tents... Makes camp. Plants himself, making clear his intent to linger, and his distaste for retreat.

round about
This means more than close by, more than very near. Think encircling. Think surrounding... Like the circling of the wagons, before the battle with the Indians... Think about that for a second. How big must he be to be able to surround you, by himself? The image that comes to my mind is me being held by large arms, in a loving and protective, shielding embrace.

them that fear him
Remember that fear, in this case, does not mean gripped by fright. This is not the trembling in the dark, huddled under the covers, horror film-born kind of fear. Here, fear simply means reverence or respect. That’s us folks! All Christians, those called by His name (John 1:12).

and delivereth them.
Here, deliver does not mean to give out. This is not the mailman handing you a letter. Here, deliver means save. As in The non-swimmer just fell in the deep end; rescue required!! And them is us!!

So, when we put all of that together, we see that when we face any battle, we have help. One of Heaven’s soldiers comes to us. Surrounds us. Then, he goes beyond protecting us. This holy warrior fights on our behalf. Talk about stacking the deck in our favor! As long as we are prayerful, we are far from powerless (Luke 11:9).