At times it seems to us that our present world is falling apart. As I write this article, there is war brewing in the middle east, war continuing in the Ukraine, and all sorts of minor skirmishes occurring in all kinds of places that most of us are not even aware exist. This follows a period of sickness (and madness resulting from that sickness) that has allowed wicked leaders to divide their people, all so that they can take a little more power and get a little more money. In addition to these problems, we have a price inflation that has crippled the budgets of just about every hard working person we know.

 

Add that to rising mortgage rates, unaffordable housing, utilities and transportation. Then take into account the rising crime rates due to an inefficient judicial system which seems to be working against law enforcement rather than working hand in hand with them to solve the problem. Our drug and prostitution problems have rendered many of the neighborhoods that were once the "crown Jewels" of our large cities, to little more than third world ghettos that no one in their right mind would venture into after dark. Then there is the plague of human trafficking that involves crimes against children that are too horrible for most of us to even think about.

 

"Wow, thanks for the pep talk!", you might be thinking, but there is a solution, and that solution is contained within this first lesson of Selah. Consider the following inspired words from King David:

 

          My spirit is overwhelmed within me; My heart within me is distressed.

           I remember the days of old; I meditate on all Your works; I muse on the works of Your hands.

           I stretch forth my hands unto Thee; My soul thirsts after Thee, as a thirsty land.

                                                                  Selah                   (Psalms 143:4-6, KJV)

 

David, too, lived in unsettled times. David, like us, was distressed in his very heart. So, what did King David do? Did he wallow in his problems? Did he think because they were too big for him to handle alone that he should just give up? No, David turned to God! He remembered God and thought about His works! He reached out to God just as a thirsty land reaches out for rain after times of drought. And, at the end of this plea within this 143rd Psalm, we see the word, "Selah". But, what is Selah?

 

Translated from the Hebrew word, "Shelah", Selah is used seventy-one times in the Psalms, and three times in the book of Habakkuk. Some of the Bible versions will have a footnote indicating that "Selah" is a word of uncertain meaning, but this is by no means a universal conclusion. Consider the following from Fausset's Bible Dictionary:

 

      A music mark denoting a pause... diapsalma, a break in the Psalm introduced where the sense requires a rest. It is a call to calm reflection on the preceding words. In Psalms 9:16 it follows (the word) meditation. The Selah reminds us that the Psalm requires a peaceful and meditative soul which can understand what the Holy Spirit propounds..."   (Fausset's Bible Dictionary)

 

In short, the word, "Selah", appears to be something far more than a superfluous notation within the Psalms. Instead it is a reminder to us all that the Word of God is not something to pass over hastily. The Word of God requires meditation and reflection. This "call to calm reflection" is vital for us to heed. If God's Word is to ever have a chance of having it's desired affect upon the reader, then the person doing the reading is going to have to do more than just pass his or her eyes over the material. We need to think of the verse's context and meaning and application. This is something far too important to hurry through as if we were merely completing an unpleasant homework assignment: God is trying to tell us something! Are we really and truly thinking about what He is telling us?

 

If the first lesson of Selah is a call to calm reflection, then let us calmly reflect upon the solutions of the inspired words of David from the passage above. David's time was very similar to our own. He lived in a kingdom that was surrounded by turmoil and wickedness. He said that his very soul was overwhelmed and that his heart was distressed within him. But instead of just giving up, he remembered what God had always accomplished for His people in days of old. He remembered, he mused, and he meditated on God's works. After this thoughtful approach to the problems of his times, he reached out to God! And then he used the word, "Selah", I believe to get us to think about what he had said and done.

 

So, let's think about it: Would this approach help us today? Christians are, by definition, a people within the Kingdom of God. But we still live in a physical world, surrounded at times by the same kinds of turmoil and wickedness that King David's kingdom was affected by during his day. What can we do? What should we do? We should pause to look around and reflect upon what we have seen and heard.

 

We should have a Selah in our lives!

 

Then, after this pause for calm reflection and humble entreaty to God, we should act! For this world in which we live has always had challenges and problems and sin that must be dealt with. We can fly off in a thousand different directions and compound our difficulties, or...

 

We can take a Selah of calm reflection, study and prayer, and choose to handle this world's problems in the way that God expects us to!

 

That's more than enough for today, isn't it? Tomorrow I will introduce you to one of the most remarkable men of our times, a man you have likely never even heard of, but one whose story I think will benefit us all. It is a story of Selah, and I hope you will come back tomorrow to learn more about it. 

 

 The first lesson of Selah is to pause and calmly reflect upon God's Word and then do our best to live a life that is in harmony with that Word!