A String of Selah Pearls - Psalm 39:11

Positioned gracefully across the Book of Psalms is a string of seventy-one pearls, lovely beads of wisdom followed by the admonition SELAH which means, “Pause, think on these things, meditate.”

Psalm 39:11 “You rebuke and discipline men for their sin; you consume their wealth like a moth—each man is but a breath. Selah.”

Meditation:

This is a pearl about God’s grace. David answers his earlier implied question, “Why have you made man’s life so short?” It is because of man’s sin.

Following Adam and Eve’s disobedience in the Garden of Eden, God barred them from the tree of life, lest they should eat of it and live forever. Can you imagine Paradise peopled with sinners who would live forever? We do damage enough in our seventy-year span.

It is God’s grace that limits man’s life to a breath, a vapor. Mercifully long enough and broad enough to make the crucial choice of where to spend eternal life. Then poof! Off to enjoy the blessings of heaven or endure the cursings of hell.

SELAH

Look up: Genesis 3:22; Deuteronomy 30:19

A String of Selah Pearls - Psalm 39:4-5

Positioned gracefully across the Book of Psalms is a string of seventy-one pearls, lovely beads of wisdom followed by the admonition SELAH which means, “Pause, think on these things, meditate.”




Psalm 39:4-5 “Show me, O LORD, my life’s end and the number of my days; let me know how fleeting is my life. You have made my days a mere handbreadth; the span of my years is as nothing before you. Each man’s life is but a breath. Selah.”



Meditation:


Here, David, the psalmist king, acknowledges the brevity of life. He recognizes that Creator God purposely set man’s life span . . . and it’s fleeting, a breath, a vapor. David actually asks two questions, one direct and one implied . . . “How long have I got?” and “Why have you made man’s life so short?”

Have you, or someone you love, faced death? Isn’t the question always, “How long have I got?” We don’t like unfinished business. We want to tie up loose ends. We also want to prioritize our activities depending on how much time we have left.

And yet God has ordained that, under normal circumstances, “The length of our days is seventy years—or eighty, if we have the strength.” Ask people who are seventy, and they will tell you that those seventy years passed in a flash. A vapor. A breath. We don’t have much time, period.

SELAH

Look up: Psalm 90:10

A String of Selah Pearls - Psalm 32:6-7

Positioned gracefully across the Book of Psalms is a string of seventy-one pearls, lovely beads of wisdom followed by the admonition SELAH which means, “Pause, think on these things, meditate.”

Psalm 32:6-7 “Therefore let everyone who is godly pray to you while you may be found; surely when the mighty waters rise, they will not reach him. You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance. Selah.”

Meditation:

This is a pearl of warning. It’s as if God is telling us to climb aboard while we can. Judgment is coming, like the flood of Noah’s day. God had offered a means of escape in an ark of his own design, but most paid no mind. They drowned. Only Noah and his believing family found refuge and deliverance in that ark.

God promised never to flood the earth like that again. But he is coming to judge the living and the dead. As before, he has promised to be a hiding place for the godly, those who believe him.

So where are we? Where do we stand? You? Me? Is there any good reason not to believe what God has said?

God, my Father, I believe! Surround me with songs of deliverance. Make me like your servant Noah, unafraid and unashamed to proclaim the truth of your return.

SELAH

Look up: Genesis 6; 8:21-22; Deuteronomy 4:29; Psalm 46:1-3; Romans 2:5-10; Revelation 6:17; 11:18; 16:1; 19:15; 20:11-15; Romans 1:16; 2 Peter 3:9-10, Romans 10:14-15

A String of Selah Pearls - Psalm 32:5

Positioned gracefully across the Book of Psalms is a string of seventy-one pearls, lovely beads of wisdom followed by the admonition SELAH which means, “Pause, think on these things, meditate.”

Psalm 32:5 “Then I acknowledged my sin to you, and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, I will confess my transgressions to the LORD, and you forgave the guilt of my sin. Selah.”

Meditation:

As simple as that. I gave in and admitted my guilt. I confessed my sins to you, LORD, and you forgave me.

Why do we make it so difficult? All the grinding and whining and gnashing and writhing . . . worthless activities that keep us from doing the one thing, the only thing, that will bring us the peace we seek.

Not only that, but when we confess our sins, God cleanses us from all unrighteousness. We become as pure as the driven snow, clean as the day we received Christ in the first place. What is better than that? Restored to wholeness. Forgiven. Set free.

SELAH

Look up: Psalm 51:1-17; Isaiah 1:18; 1 John 1:9

A String of Selah Pearls - Psalm 32:1-4

Positioned gracefully across the Book of Psalms is a string of seventy-one pearls, lovely beads of wisdom followed by the admonition SELAH which means, “Pause, think on these things, meditate.”

Psalm 32:1-4 “Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man whose sin the LORD does not count against him and in whose spirit is no deceit. When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer. Selah.”

Meditation:

This is a pearl of great truth. There’s nothing so liberating as a clear conscience. You can go anywhere, do anything, look anyone straight in the eye . . . no problem.

On the other hand, a guilty conscience, now that’s something else again. There’s that nagging fear that someone will find out—and the certain fear that God already knows.

The whole world longs for peace. But there is no peace for those who insist on covering up their guilt. The weight of oppression bears down on them, like a millstone grinding grain or crushing corn. The big squeeze.

SELAH

Look up: Psalm 69:5; 51:1-19; Isaiah 48:22; Proverbs 28:13

A String of Selah Pearls - Psalm 24:8-10

Positioned gracefully across the Book of Psalms is a string of seventy-one pearls, lovely beads of wisdom followed by the admonition SELAH which means, “Pause, think on these things, meditate.”

Psalm 24:8-10 “Who is this King of glory? The LORD strong and mighty, the LORD mighty in battle. Lift up your heads, O you gates; lift them up, you ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in. Who is he, this King of glory? The LORD Almighty—he is the King of glory. Selah.”

Meditation:

Here comes the King of glory, the mighty warrior. Wake up, gates! Open up, doors! And the King of glory will come in . . . the LORD Almighty.

Imagine some Keeper of the Gates and Doors saying, “No. I don’t want to get off my bed and open the doors. I don’t want to leave my dinner, my work, my plans just to let the King in. I’m busy. I’ll think about receiving him later.”

What do you suppose would be the end of that man?

In Revelation 3:22 we are told that God, the King of glory, is knocking at the door of each heart, promising to come in and fellowship with whoever opens the door. Imagine saying “No. I’ll think about receiving him later.”

What do you suppose might be the end of that person?

But say, “Yes! Yes! My LORD, my King, My God. Come in!”

SELAH

Look up: Psalm 100:1-5; 103:8-9; Matthew 22:2-14; Revelation 19:9

A String of Selah Pearls - Psalm 24:3-6

Positioned gracefully across the Book of Psalms is a string of seventy-one pearls, lovely beads of wisdom followed by the admonition SELAH which means, “Pause, think on these things, meditate.”

Psalm 24:3-6 “Who may ascend the hill of the LORD? Who may stand in his holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to an idol or swear by what is false. He will receive blessing from the LORD and vindication from God his Savior. Such is the generation of those who seek him, who seek your face, O God of Jacob. Selah.”

Meditation:

Who gets into God’s holy place? The innocent, those with clean hands and pure hearts, those who seek God’s face. The innocent will receive God’s blessing.

How many innocent people do you know? Based on Psalms 14 and 53, there is no one who does good, not even one. If only the innocent get into God’s holy place, heaven must be pretty empty. Right?

Wrong. Heaven is filled with people who never could have made it based on their good works. They did the one and only thing that could purify their hands and hearts—they sought the face of God and found it in Jesus Christ (for in Christ all the fullness of the deity lives in bodily form). Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world! And in that identification, they received righteousness and blessing . . . and a ticket to heaven!

SELAH

Look up: Psalm 14:3; 53:3; Colossians 2:9; John 1:29; 1 Peter 2:24