Selah

Selah.

This little word appears throughout the Psalms and Habakkuk and has generated a firestorm of debate on what the word means, its etymology, and it's proper use. Luckily for me there is a general consensus on its proper use and meaning, or else this would be the shortest blog in the history of blogs. An example is found in Psalm 66:4,

"All the Earth bows down to you; they sing praise to you, they sing praise to your name." Selah

It's use here can indicate either a break or musical interlude in the Psalm, or it could mean a pause to stop and reflect on what previously said. Regardless of its literal usage both meanings have one idea in common: to pause. More specifically to pause and weigh what has been said. In all probability when this word appears it usually means that something very important has just been said and that the listener needs to think and reflect back on what was said and done. This fits in line with Jewish traditions specifically because when you look at Jewish tradition you see a theme of remembrance and promises running through it. The Psalms are replete with people worshiping God and remembering the things he has done for them in the past with the expectant hope that he will continue to work for their good in the future. The temptation while writing this is to go down the expected path and mention something along the lines of we should all slow down every once in awhile and enjoy life, or listen more often to others, or sit in meditative silence. I am not going to go that route however because everyone else has and I see something different at work.

The more I think about it the more I believe that Selah is more akin to awe then to a mere pause, interlude, or reflection. Think about it, in the scriptures where God is exalted it usually comes after a passage of importance. This happens not because we need to consider if what was said is accurate, or true, or profound because the very fact it appears already means those three things. What it does mean is that the reader should take what was just said and through it become more aware of the character and person of God resulting in awe of who He is, what He has done, and what He will continue to do for His people. Abraham Heschel defined awe as something that is not just an emotion; it is an act of appreciative insight into meaning greater then ourselves, and what higher meaning beyond ourselves is there other than knowing God? Heschel also said that awe is the answer of the heart and the mind to the presence of mystery in all things. Colossians 1:26-27 says,

“This message was kept secret for centuries and generations past, but now it has been revealed to God’s people. For God wanted them to know that the riches and glory of Christ are for you Gentiles, too. And this is the secret: Christ lives in you.

Christ lives in me. If you believe in Him then Christ lives in you as well. Everything spiritual, mystical, temporal, and eternal all culminates in the person and work of Christ, and he lives in us if we believe in Him and what his sacrifice accomplished for humanity. What else could be our response to something like that except gratitude, humility, and unquenchable awe? Selah indeed.