The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him, and rescues them.
The first time the expression "fear God" appears in scripture is in Genesis 22:
Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” He said, “Do not stretch out your hand against the lad, and do nothing to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me.” (verses 10-12)
God has asked His friend and servant Abraham to do the unthinkable: to sacrifice Isaac, the long-promised son whom God had brought to Abraham and Sarah through miraculous intervention (Sarah was long past child-bearing age). The Lord had promised that through Isaac, Abraham would become the father of a vast generation -- God's own people, scattered like stars across the ages to come.
By the time the scene on Mount Moriah takes place, Abraham has learned to trust God implicitly, regardless of what the circumstances look like. He is therefore certain that God will keep His promise somehow, even if it means raising Isaac from the dead.
The angel of the Lord (a manifestation of the Lord Himself) tells Abraham, "I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son... from Me." There is a simple but very profound message here, one which God has been really bringing home to me lately:
It is first and foremost through our obedience
that we show God that we revere and love Him.
As Jesus said in John 14:15, "If you love Me, you will keep My commandments."
Why is this so significant to me as I read Psalm 34:7? Because the Lord puts a condition on this promise: He encamps around those who fear Him. In other words, He does not promise this intimate protection and care to those who are not prepared to obey Him. Learning to obey God is a lifelong process, and no one other than Jesus has ever obeyed God perfectly. But the promise of Psalm 34:7 is extended to those who fear God, who are prepared to take Him at His word and do as He commands even when it seems to make no sense.
When I began seeking God in earnest again a few years ago, I first came seeking rescue. Many circumstances of my life are still precarious; I still need His rescue. I always will, in fact, because His rescue is not just for precarious circumstances. It unfolds from the inside out, not from the outside in.
Will every trauma of my life melt away as He encamps around me? Of course not. Did Jesus' own traumas all melt away? Certainly not. Yet the Father remained tenderly encamped around Him throughout His life on earth, tending to His deepest needs.
God has promised repeatedly that He will care for us as we seek Him and surrender to Him. I can be rather pragmatic, childlike, and literal at times, so I've asked Him to show me how this works; I've asked Him to show me how Jesus Himself lived by faith. Psalm 34:7 is part of His answer. How wonderful -- because when He is encamped around me, His arms are also wrapped around me. And that in itself is a profound part of the rescue.