HEBREW WORD STUDY – STOP RIGHT THERE – SELAH – סלה  Samek, Lamed Hei

Psalms 62:8-9: “Trust in him at all times; [ye] people, pour out your heart before him: God [is] a refuge for us. Selah.”

This Psalm is believed to be written by David or at a later date then David when the Jews were in exile. It seems to be written in the time of crisis from a foreign power. The Psalmist is exhorting the people to trust, batch –  adhere or weld yourselves to God at all times.  The word for all is bakal which has the proposition Beth for in or on.  To trust in God in all ‘ath – times.  No one is really sure what ‘ath means.  Most scholars believe it comes from the root word ‘anah which means times, seasons, circumstance.  It could come from the root word ‘adah which means for eternity, present situation and the word is also used for adornment.  I think the ambiguity of the word ‘ath was used because of its ambiguity as there is the intention of more than one idea.  We are to trust in God at all times, present and for eternity and we do it because it brings adoration to Him 

Then we are to pour out our hearts to Him. This is really curious. Why not just give our hearts to Him, or share our hearts with Him, why pour our hearts out to Him?  The word pour in Hebrew is shapak which is a word used for the shedding of blood. It also has the idea of a total emptying of a vessel.  To pour out your heart to God is to share every little detail with Him, even the things you would never tell another human being. It is admitting your fears, your faults, and failures.  It is sharing and not blaming someone else for any faults or failures.  

Only then will you find God as a refuge.  There is a fee, a cost to enter God’s refuge. That cost is the secrets of your heart, all of those secrets. Only then will you be allowed admission to His refuge. It is like an attorney who tells his client, “Before we start you must tell me everything, the entire truth, you cannot hold back on anything.”  If that client does hold back and the attorney finds out, he will likely end his representation with that client.  

You want that refuge from God?  The Psalmist is giving us two conditions.  You must trust or weld yourself to God totally, at all times, for all circumstances and forever.   Then you must tell Him all your heart, pour it out until you have emptied your heart of all its secrets. Only then can God give you the refuge you seek.  

He ends this by saying: “Selah.”  Selah simply means to lift up.  But it is used to express the idea that this is a total message, the most important message lifted above all other messages. What follows is a different message, the message before selah is not dependent upon the following message and is not as important as the previous message. It is also used musically to indicate a pause.  As a verb, the final Hei is a paragogic indicating and emphasis.  In other words, stop right there and think about this very important message before we proceed.  The following message only talks about how inferior the help of men both of high levels and low levels really is. But, that does not modify or change in any way the prior message and that is to trust and give your heart to God.  When you do He opens the door to His refuge.