Stop to consider
Selah - a Hebrew word rich with meaning. It carries the idea in the Psalms of being an instruction to pause calmly to think about what has just been said. It is a time to pause and carefully consider the meaning of what has been said, while at the same time lifting up our hearts in praise to God. So, it carries this dual meaning of both taking pause and responding to what we are "mulling over" in our minds, hearts, and spirits. The response of praise is perhaps the easiest. The response of "pausing to consider" is not - for we are not accustomed to "ruminating" over scripture. We read it, probably "lightly" considering what we just read, but not really allowing it to lead us into praise and worship. Since the Book of Psalms was actually much like the "hymn book" out of which the Israelites sang their songs of worship, I wonder if this word "selah" might be a place where the musicians just played on while the worshipers ...