Return, O my soul, to your rest, for Yahweh has dealt bountifully with you. —Psalm 116:7
The word selah is an unusual word because we don’t use it often—at least we’re not supposed to because it’s a word we aren’t supposed to read. I’m a Bible nerd and I want to name one of my sons David Selah, and teach him that he’s not supposed to say his middle name. The reason that we don’t say the word selah when we read it is because it’s simply a note for the musician playing the tune to which the psalm is being sung. We only come across the word selah in the Hebrew Bible—71 times in the book of Psalms and three times in the book of Habakkuk, so the word is associated mainly with David. Though the word usage is limited, the meaning behind the word is one that’s all over Scripture and should be so in our lives.
Selah is a complex Hebrew that we aren’t really sure of what the meaning is. What we do know is that the closest meaning we can find to the word selah is “stop and listen.” Selah is a musical note to indicate something in particular should happen regarding the tune. What if the Author of our lives has written the inscription “selah” in our story after something major happens? What if the moments in life that rattle us are meant to be followed by a season of selah, a season of rest? It’s important to know that selah is typically placed at the end of a chapter or verse, but there are a few occurrences were selah is strangely placed in the middle of a verse. These five instances— Psalm 55:19, Psalm 57:3, and three times in Habakkuk 3. The note to stop and listen tends to come after something has ended, after heartbreak, after diagnosis, after going through what we went through, after burying a loved one. But at times selah is situated in the middle of going through and this is to remind us that even while going through we have to stop and listen for the voice of God.
Whenever selah is placed in the middle of a verse, watch the very next thing that happens— God goes into action. God’s not done with us, God’s got more in store. And this is a perfect start in the celebration of Black History; never forget where you came from, the sacrifices of others to get us where we are now,. It is a sin to forget. Don’t forget how faithful God has been. Don’t forget that God is always on the side of the oppressed. When it seems like progress is halted and action is inactive, we are simply in a season of selah. God moves in time and what follows our obedience to stop and listen is God’s move on our behalf. Whatever God is calling us to stop and listen for, respond in obedience and watch what’s next.
Until next time, continue to stay guided by grace,
Tra
Guided by Grace 