The angel of the LORD encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them.
David celebrates a signal deliverance: when he fled to King Achish of Gath, whom he reckoned his deadliest enemy after Saul, he feigned madness to escape certain death. That God granted him escape contrary to all expectation shows a memorable instance of His favor, fit for the instruction of the whole Church.
AI summary
Commenting on Psalm 34:1-22
The angel of the Lord. The covenant angel, the Lord Jesus, at the head of all the bands of heaven, surrounds with his army the dwellings of the saints. Like hosts entrenched so are the ministering spirits encamped around the Lord's chosen, to serve and succour, to defend and console them. Encampeth round about them that fear him.
We cannot justify David's dissimulation; it ill became an honest man to feign himself a fool and madman. Yet what strikes us is the composure of his spirit even in that danger: his heart was so fixed, trusting in God, that he penned this excellent psalm with all the marks of a calm, sedate spirit.
AI summary
Commenting on Psalm 34:1-10