The Dickinson press., 1892-06-04
"SELAH." I"
The Majority of Bible Readers Loob
Upon This Word as of No
Importance.

But Dr.. Talmage Improves the Oppor.
tunity to Disabuse His Peoples
Minds OF the Idea.
BRooKLYS,- Special. Rev. DR.
Talmage took for the subject OF his
sermon q single word OF frequent oc
currence in the Bible, and whose
meaningis is but little understood. From
it he drew Il profoundly impressive
description OF the varied and ma
iestic purposes of certain parts
OF scripture, and u practical
lescons for Christians generally.
The text was Psalms lxi:4: "Selah. T"
The majority OF Bible readers look
upon this word as OF no Importance.
They consider it superluity, u mere
filling in, meaningless interiection, a
useless refrain, an underlined echo.
Selah! But | have to tell you that it
is no scriptural accident. 1t occurs
"a times in the book OF Psalms and
3 times in the book OF Habahkuk. You
must not charge this perfect book
with n triviaities. Selah It is an
enthroned word. ii, according to an
old writer, some words are battles
then this word is Marathon, a
Thcrmopyl@, a Sedan, Waterloo.
1t is word decisive, something for
poetic beauty, something for grandeur,
nd something for eternal import.
Through it rolls the laundering char
lots OF the omnipotent God.
take this word for my text be.
cause | am so often asked what is
its meaning, or whether it has any
meaning, at all. 1t has an ocean OF
meaning, from which shall this
morning dip up only four or five
bucketiuls. will speak to you, so far
as / have time; OF the Selah OF poetic
significance, the Selah OF intermission,
the Selah of emphasis and the Selah
OF perpetuity.
Are you surprised that l speak OF
the Selah ofpoetic significance? Surely
the God who sapphired the heavens
and made the earth.
ARosEBUD OF BEAUTY,
with oceans hanging to it like drops
OF morning dew, would not make a
Bible without rhythm, without red
olence, without blank verse. Where.
ever you find this word Selah, it
means that you are to rouse up to
great stanza, that you are to open
your soul to great analoges, that you
are to spread the wing of your
Imagination for great flight.
Wherever you find this word it is a
signal of warning hung out to tell you
to stand off the track while the rush.
ing train goes by with it's imperial
passengers. Poetic word, charged..with
sunrise and sunset, and tempest and
earthquake, and resurrections and
millenniumS.
Next come to speak to the Selat
OF intermission. Gesenius, Tholuck
Hengstenberg, and other writer's agree
in saying that this word Selah means
rest in music; what the Greeks cal
u diapsalma, O pause, halt in the
solemn march OF cantillation. Every
musician knows the Importance OF it
Ii you every saw julien, the great
musical leader, stand before 5000
singers and players and instrument
and with one stroke OF his bator
smite the multitudinous halleluiah in
to silence, and then, soon after that
with another stroke OF his bator
rouse up the full orchestra to great
outburst OF harmony, then you know
the mighty effect of a musical pause
1t gives power to what went before; il
gives more power to what's come after
So God trusts the Selah into his bibl
and into ourliye ,compellingus to sto)
and think, stop and consider, stol
and admire, stop and pray, stop ant
repent, stop and be sick, stop and die
When God tells us a times medita
lively to pause in reading two OF tn
books OF the bible, he leaves to
OUR COMMON SENSE.
to decide how often we should paus
in reading the other 64 books Of tn
Bible. We must pause and ask fc
morelight. Wemust pause and absorl
the strength OF one promise. Isome
times hear people boastingabout ho,
many times they have read the Bibl
through, when they seem to know IL,
more about it than passenger woul'
about the state OF Pennsylvania VIII,
should go through it in a St. Loui
lightning express train and in a Pull
man "sleeper," the two characteristic
CT the journey, velocity and somnc
lence. 1t is not the number OF time
you go through the Bible but the nun
ber OF times the Bible goes throug
you. Pause, and reflect. Selah!
So also OH the scroll OF your life an
mind. We go rushing on, in the son
OF our prosperity, from note OF Joy
note of JOY, and it is along-drawn-ou
legate, and we become Indifferent an
unappreciative, when suddenly W
come upon n blank in the musi,
There is nothing between those bars
A pause. God will fill it up with
sick-bed or f. commercial disaster, c
grave. But, thank God, it is not
breaking down; it is only a pause.
} helps us to appreciate the blessing
that are gone; it gives us higher al
probation OF the blessings that are t
come.
Oh, 1t IS good that the Lord som
times halts us. David says. 'It
good that have been afflicted. Befol
l was afflicted went astray, but no
l have kept thy word" Indeed, y
+ must all stop. Scientists have in
proved human longevity, but none
them have proposed to make terrel
life perpetual. But the gospel maxi
G death only
! sELAH BETWEEN TWO BEA11rUpEs
5 between dying triumph on the one sic
of the grave, and celestial escort {
the other side OF thegrave. Going o,
of this life, to the unprepared, is
r great horror. GIVE me more lau
n anum," said dying Nlirabeau:' ''gi
!. mo more laudanum, that may NJ
y think of enternity and what is
: come" And dying Hobbies said.
1..,. n,x, hol,, - {1,o ,,,,,.o o,1 y,