A String of Selah Pearls - Psalm 55:16-19

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 55:16-19 “But I call to God, and the LORD saves me. Evening, morning and noon I cry out in distress, and he hears my voice. He ransoms me unharmed from the battle waged against me, even though many oppose me. God, who is enthroned forever, will hear them and afflict them . . . Selah.”

Meditation

In the greater context, this psalm is talking about the treachery of false friends. What hurts more than being betrayed by someone we trust, someone we love, someone we thought loved us?

Maybe you have known that pain. If so, then you also know that recurring grief strikes without warning, evening, morning and noon. Evenings may be the worst, when the busyness of the day has gone to bed, leaving you all alone to face the twin enemies of the soul, bitterness and anger.

This pearl shows us we can cry out morning, noon and night, and God will

• come to our defense,
• pluck us out of the battle,
• ransom us unharmed, and
• take care of our enemies.

Now there’s a Friend! A true friend! If God is for us, who can be against us?

SELAH

Look up: Romans 8:31

A String of Selah Pearls (Psalm 55:107)

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 55:1-7 “Listen to my prayer, O God, do not ignore my plea; hear me and answer me. My thoughts trouble me and I am distraught at the voice of the enemy, at the stares of the wicked; for they bring down suffering upon me and revile me in their anger. My heart is in anguish within me; the terrors of death assail me. Fear and trembling have beset me; horror has overwhelmed me. I said, “Oh, that I had the wings of a dove! I would fly away and be at rest—I would flee far away and stay in the desert . . . Selah.”

Meditation

Like the psalmist, sometimes I feel that the pressures of life, the fiery darts of the enemy, are almost more than I can bear. Like the psalmist, I want to run off to the wilderness, live as a hermit and say goodbye to all my woes. What I must remember is—

I can’t run from trouble; I live in a fallen world. The whole creation groans under the weight of sin . . .

I can’t resist the enemy while in flight. I must stand my ground and rebuke him in the name of the Lord . .

I exchange one set of problems for another when I run away. The wilderness is full of temptations, too . .

God will not allow me to be tempted beyond what I will be able to endure . . .

My present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in me . . .

SELAH

Look up: Romans 8:22; Ephesians 6:11-13; Jude 9; Matthew 4; 1 Corinthians 10:13; Romans 8:18

A String of Selah Pearls - Psalm 54:3

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 54:3 “Strangers are attacking me; ruthless men seek my life—men without regard for God. Selah.”

Meditation

Does this pearl say that all men who do not regard God are ruthless? No.

When I came to faith in Jesus Christ in my late twenties, I had already formed heart friendships with many people whom I love to this day. While certainly not ruthless people, some of them are antagonistic to God, having no understanding or regard for him at all. They don’t comprehend that when they slight him, they slight me.

Yet, God reminds me that I came from similar stock. Before my conversion, I was hateful to him and all that he represented.

Furthermore, God has prompted me to continue to love these “strangers” of the kingdom of God, to model Jesus before them, and to pray that they will come to know him. The deep desire of my heart is that these dear ones will come to know my “First Love” as their own.

SELAH

Look up: II Peter 3:9; Luke 7:33-35; Revelation 2:4

A String of Selah Pearls - Psalm 52:4-5

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 52:4-5 “You love every harmful word, O you deceitful tongue! Surely God will bring you down to everlasting ruin: He will snatch you up and tear you from your tent; he will uproot you from the land of the living. Selah.”

Meditation

The tongue! It’s a little piece of the body that no man, woman or child can control—like an untamed mustang that hasn’t felt a bit, or a runaway motorboat with a broken rudder. Like a serpent with a forked tongue, I have used mine alternately to bless and curse.

Worse yet, out of the mouth, the heart speaks. So that when my tongue is wicked, it betrays my wicked heart. A wicked heart has little room for God.

The next time I am tempted to cast aspersions in someone’s direction, this pearl will remind me that I’m the one who deserves “to be torn from my tent and brought to ruin.” An old friend says,

whenever you point the finger at someone else, you have three fingers pointing back at yourself. Ouch!

SELAH

Look up: James 3:8; Matthew 12:34; Psalm 39:1; 1 Corinthians 11:31

A String of Selah Pearls - Psalm 52:1-3

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 52:1-3 “Why do you boast of evil, you mighty man? Why do you boast all day long, you who are a disgrace in the eyes of God? Your tongue plots destruction; it is like a sharpened razor, you who practice deceit. You love evil rather than good, falsehood rather than speaking the truth. Selah.”

Meditation

This guy, this “mighty man,” reminds me of the wicked described in Psalm 36:1-4.

He doesn’t fear God,

he flatters himself too much

to even detect or hate his sin,

his words are wicked and deceitful,

he plots evil on his bed and accepts what is wrong.

And yet he is mighty. He seems to be prospering anyway.

This is true of many mighty men (and women) who don’t choose to fear God. Because they have successfully bullied their way through life, they think they have found a winning combination. They feel safe. They feel wise. And in their conceit, they boast of their evil, plotting ever more destruction.

Because they choose evil over good and falsehood over truth, this pearl tells us that they are a disgrace in the eyes of God. Don’t be deceived. God is not mocked. The evil that men do guarantees a payoff.

SELAH

Psalm 14:1; 53:1; 73:1-28; Romans 1:19-25; Galatians 6:7

A String of Selah Pearls - Psalm 50:3-6

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 50:3-6 “Our God comes and will not be silent; a fire devours before him, and around him a tempest rages. He summons the heavens above, and the earth, that he may judge his people; ‘Gather to me my consecrated ones, who made a covenant with me by sacrifice.’ And the heavens proclaim his righteousness, for God himself is judge. Selah.”

Meditation:

When Jesus, God the Son, came the first time, he came as a suffering servant, a lamb who opened not his mouth before his accusers. They mocked him. He was silent.

What could he say? Not guilty? When he knew he was going to die for the sins of the world? With our burden on his shoulders, he stood as guilty as ever one could be. Yet he bore our load of sin with grace and dignity, never retaliating, never threatening, all so that we could become reconciled to a righteous and holy God.

But when Jesus comes again, it will be a different story with a different ending. This time he will not come as a servant and he will not be silent. He will lead the armies of heaven, his eyes ablaze, a sharp sword proceeding out of his mouth. On his robe and on his thigh will be the name KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS. At this coming, no one will question who he is.

SELAH

Look up: John 1:29; Isaiah 53:7; 1 Peter 2:21-23, Revelation 19:12-16