David Bahn – Reflections

I am a busy person! And this time of year I have lots of company. Whether it’s long commutes to work, or the pressure of year end projects, or the addition of Christmas parties, shopping, decorating, or cooking, we’re all busy this time of year. That’s why today’s psalm is so salutary. Three times in 8 verses we are invited to pause: Selah

Psalm 3

Save Me, O My God

A Psalm of David, when he fled from Absalom his son.

¹O LORD, how many are my foes!
Many are rising against me;
²many are saying of my soul,
there is no salvation for him in God.
Selah

³But you, O LORD, are a shield about me,
my glory, and the lifter of my head.
⁴I cried aloud to the LORD,
and he answered me from his holy hill.
Selah

⁵I lay down and slept;
I woke again, for the LORD sustained me.
⁶I will not be afraid of many thousands of people
who have set themselves against me all around.

⁷ Arise, O LORD!
Save me, O my God!
For you strike all my enemies on the cheek;
you break the teeth of the wicked.

⁸ Salvation belongs to the LORD;
your blessing be on your people!
Selah

An old joke: “Do you know what Selah means? It’s just the word that David used when he got to the end of a verse and couldn’t remember the next words!” Despite the silliness of that joke, no one knows for certain whether Selah means “musical interlude,” or “pause,” or “meditate.” It seems clear, however, that we have in this vocable an invitation to slow down, pause and meditate on what has been said.

David was fleeing from his own son when he wrote this psalm. There were many people at this time in his life who sought to kill him. Many people thought he was done for. His situation was desperate. No wonder he wanted to pause and reflect on the promises of God in the face of the challenges all around him!

You may be a well-loved person with few identifiable enemies. There may not be many thousands of people who are surrounding you with evil intent. Your situation may not be as desperate as David’s. But we do have one enemy that this little word defeats. It’s the enemy of “hurry-up!” It’s the foe of “busy-ness.” It’s the opponent of over-commitment and n0-margins life that would distract us from God and his word and promises.

I decided yesterday, in the face of competing commitments and too much to do in too little time, that I would simply be where I was. I would give myself to the situation I was actually in, not the other place or need that I knew also required my attention at the same time. For me Selah is a reminder that God is over all, and that I need only put myself under his care and rejoice in his salvation and blessing. That’s a pause that truly refreshes!