Selah

There is something magical that happens when you crest the top of a ridge only to see the landscape outstretch before you. It’s breathtaking, overwhelming, consuming, and rejuvenating. It makes you want to take it all in, to know all of its beauty. It’s impossible to convey in words and capture in an image. All you can do is pause and try to take it in.

There is something wonderful that happens when you walk into a bakery or a coffee shop. The sounds, smells, and atmosphere invade your senses with such delightful goodness. You usually stop to catch up and adjust to the tidal wave of feelings and sensations that pour upon you.

What do these moments have in common? I believe that what they have in common is that to be truly appreciated we have to pause for even just a moment to allow or thoughts, sensations, and emotions to catch up and synchronize.

These pauses are meant for us to understand the beauty of life unfolding around us. These pauses are meant for us to digest the information alerting our minds and hearts. These pauses are meant for us to consume the moment in its fullness. These pauses are known as “Selah.”

“Selah” is part of God’s Word and it surrounds lyrics in Israel’s worship material. Being a follower of Jesus who is trained in music, I was excited to find out all I could about the word. To have a Selah can mean to have a pause, a musical pause, or a moment to understand. It can be brief or it can be forever. This pause occurs 74 times in Scripture (71 in Psalms, and 3 in Habakkuk).

In the Old Testament “Selah” is uses twice as often as “Amen” and three times more than “Hallelujah.” But all around the world, those two Hebrew words have become common terms… all while “Selah” is little known, used, or understood although being used three times as much in the Old Testament as “Amen” and “Hallelujah!”

Proverbs 30:5 says,

Every word of God is flawless.

It is safe to say that “Selah” is definitely a word worth understanding! 

To take a pause… Selah puts our focus on the things God wants us to think about. Selah gives our Spirit time to catch up, to understand the power and beauty of God and His Word.

Psalm 24:10 says,

He is the King of glory. Selah.

Biblical scholars suggest other possible meanings of “Selah” to include: silence, pause, interruption, accentuate, exalt, or end. Reflecting on those words and putting them into action can help us to take a “Selah” moment to pause and worship God during the day.

To have a Selah is to take an account of the wonder and heavenly impact of the moment.

As worship leaders and Christians in general, we need to be aware of these moments as we lead and interact with people.

We need to provide the space necessary for wisdom and revelation to sink in and take root in the lives and hearts of the people. As we sing truth, this truth has to be heard, understood, and absorbed into the spirits of all those worshipping in order for true change to occur. When David wrote the Psalms, he included these moments not only for musical breaks, but for divine cultivation to happen in the people and in himself.

Psalm 46:10, says,

Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.

Sometimes we move so quickly from one song to the next, from one conversation to the next, or from one moment to the next, that the seed of truth is lost in the stampede of the messages. So slow down. Pause. Be intentional. Allow the truth to take root, and allow the Holy Spirit to water it so that growth can happen. 

Selah.