Herald and news. [volume] (West Randolph, Vt.) 1878-1943, 1892-05-26
A TREMENDOUS WORD
power AND SIGNIFICANCE OF The
SINGLE WORD "seLAH.n


DIR. Taimage Says "selah'' Is No scrip
turaI Accident. rs UntiinIsing Peopi.
suPpose-Ihrough 1t Roll the Thunder
ing Chariots OF the Omnipotent God.
BROOKLYN, May 2,-Rev Dr. TalInag,
today took FOR the subject Of his sermon O
single word Of frequent occurrence in the
Bible and whose meaning is but little un
derstood. From it he drew profoundly
impressive description Of the varied and
majestic purposes OF certain parts Of Scrip
ture and a practical lesson for Christians
generally. The text was Psalms Xxi, 4,
Selah."
The majority of Bible readers look upon
this word of my text as Of no Importance.
They consider it superiority, a mere fill
ing in, IA meaningless interjection, a use
less refrain, an underlined echo Selah!
But have to tell you that it is no Scrip
tural accident 1t occurs seventy four
times in the book of Psalms and three
times in the book Of Habakkuk You
must not charge this perfect book with
seventy-seven triviaiities Selah 1t is an
enthroned word IT, according to an old
writer some words are battles. then this
word is a Marathon, a Thermopyle,
Sedan, a Waterloo. 1t is a word decisive;
sometimes for poetic beauty, sometimes
for solemnity, sometimes for grandeur and
sometimes for eternal import. Through IL
/ roll the numbering chariots of the Omnip-
i otent God.
| take this word for my text because /
am so often asked what is its meaning, or
whether il has any meaning at all. 1t has
an ocean of meaning, from which | shall
this morning dip up only four or five
bucketfuis. ] will speak to YOU so far as
| | have time, of the Selah OF poetic sig
nicance tie Seiah Of intermission, the
Selah Of emphasis and the Scah of per-
petuity.
Are you surprised that | speak Of the
Selah of poetic sgnihcances Surely the
God who sapphired the heavens and made
the earth Il rosebud of beauty, with oceans
hanging to it like drops OF morning dew.
would not make Bible without RHYTHM.
without red0lence, without blank verse.
God knew that eventually the Bible would
be read By q great minority of young peo- .
pie, for in this world OF malaria and cas-
ualty an cctogenarian is exceptional. and /
as thirty years is more than the average of |
human life, il the Bible * to be success |
ful book it must be adapted to the Young. |
Hence the prosodyof the Bibe-the drama
Of job, the pastoral OF Ruth, the epic of |
Judges, the dithyrambic Of Habakkuk,
the threnody Of jeremiah, the lyric of
Solomon's song, the oratorio Of the Apoc-
alypse, the idyl, the strophe, and anti
strophe and the Selah of the Psalms
ITS sUGGEsTNENEss.
Wherever you find this word Selah il
means that you are to rouse up to great
stanza, that you are TO open your soul to
great anal0gies, that you are To spread the
wing Of your imagination for great fight.
Il answered thee in the secret place Of
thunder | proved thee at tile waters of
Meribah. Selah." ''The earth and all the
inhabitants thereof are dissolved. bear
up the pillars Of it. Selah." 'Who is this
king Of gloryy The Lord Of hosts, he is
the king of glory. Selah," Thou shalt
compass me about with songs of deliver
ance. Selah." Though the waters thereof
roar and be troubled, though the noun
tains shake with the swelling thereof
Selah." ''The Lord of hosts is with ns.
the God of Jacob is our refuge Selah."
Thou hast given banner to them that
fear thee, that it may be displayed because
OF the truth Selahn II will hide under
the covert Of thy wings Selah" 20.
God, when thou weutest forth before thy
people, when thou didst march through
the wilderness. Selahn
Wherever you find this word it is 4 sig
nal Of warning hung out TO tell You to
stand off the track while the rushing train
goes by with It's imperial passengers. Poetic
word, charged with sunrise and sunset, aud
tempest and earthquake, and resurrections
and millennums.
Next come 10 speak OF the Selah Of ia
ermission. Gesenus. Tholuck, Henysten-
lerg and other writer's agree in saying that
his word Selah means a rest in music. what
he Greeks call a diapsalma, pause. "A halt
n the solemn march Of caniillation.
THE sElAH or INrElMlssIoN.
Every musician knows the importance Of
l. II you ever saw julien, the great mu- :
ical leader, stand before five thousand 9
fingers and players upon instruments. and ,
With one stroke Of his baton smite the null :
luminous hallelujah into silence and then 9
Don after that. with another stroke OF his !
'aton rouse up the full orchestra to n great !
utburst of harmony. then YOU know the
mighty effect of a musical pause. Ii gives G
more power to what went before; il gives !
more power to what is to come after So !
Tod thrusts the Selah into his Bible aud |
nto our lives, compelling us TO stop and |
hink, stop and consider, stop and admire.
top and pray, stop and repent, stop and be !
lex, stop and die 1t is not the great mum
er Of times that we read the Bible through ,
hat makes rs intelligent il the Scriptures.
We must pause. What though il take an
our for one words What though IL takea !
Teek for one verse, What though it take !
year for one chapter We must pause
nd measure the height, the depth, the a
myth. the breadth, the universe. the eter- n
ity of meaning in one verse u
should like to see some one sail around y
ne little adverb in the Bible little ad-
erb of two letters during one lifetime u
ne word so in the New Testament pas q
lge. God so loved the world Angus p
ne made long pause after the verse 9
Put ye on The Lord jesus Christ, y and it /
inverted him. Matthew Henry made a p
ing pause after the verse, Open thou my u
Pr, and my mouth shall show forth thy a
i