Mensa Otabil - Selah (10/02/2025)
Psalm 3, verses 2 and 3: Many are they who say of me, «There is no help for him in God.» Selah. But you, O Lord, are a shield for me, my glory and the one who lifts up my head. I love this psalm; in the midst of David’s troubles, he heard what people were saying, and he uses the word «many» again. Many are those who say of me, «There is no help for him in God.» In other words, they claim God has abandoned him. There’s nothing like going through difficulty and having people assume that God has left you. That’s what is happening to David. People are saying, «Oh, God has left him; God is punishing him. This is God’s judgment on him.» This is what he’s expressing: many are saying, «Lord, you have left me, and that’s why my own son has rebelled against me.» When you go through difficulty and people are saying this is God’s own judgment against you, what do you do?
There’s something interesting about this psalm; this is the first time in the Psalms that a very notable notation is introduced. It is Selah. Selah means to rest, to pause, to cool down, basically, and it’s a musical notation used a few times in the Psalms. In this psalm, it appears three times, and this is the first instance of it. So, in verse 2, we hear, «Many are they who say of me, 'There is no help for him in God.'» Selah. So, David is building the crescendo of rejection. Those who are against me have multiplied. People are saying there’s no help for him in God, and then he introduces Selah. Selah represents silence—in other words, after you’ve poured out your mystery to God and the intensity of your heart, don’t continue; just pause, listen, and relax.
When he says Selah after writing that people say God has abandoned him, he then shifts the language in verse 3. He is no longer talking about the same thing he mentioned earlier. After Selah, he expresses, «But you, O Lord, are a shield for me.» Many times, when we are overflowing with anguish and full of desperation and pain, there has to be a Selah. There must be a time when you pause and come down, and in the calmness, you discover a new direction. That is what David teaches us. Many are those who say, «There is no hope for him in God,» but relax—Selah. Then he says, «But you, O Lord, are a shield for me, my glory and the one who lifts up my head.»
In your anguish, you may never discover God’s strength; in your pain, you may never find the victory that God wants to give you. There are times when your heart is overflowing with pain, but learn to Selah, to relax, to cool down. In the quietness of your spirit, you discover that God is still with you. David trusted in the protection of God because he declares, «You are a shield for me,» and he trusted in the promotion of God because he said, «You are the one who lifts up my head.» He discovered all of that after the Selah, not when he was complaining, but after he had relaxed. Then he saw, «Lord, you are my defender; you are my shield, and you are the lifter of my head.»
I want someone to know that in the quietness of your soul, God is telling you, «I am your shield, and I am your promoter.» He will protect you, and He will promote you. He has not abandoned you; He is still with you. Let us pray. Say with me, «Heavenly Father, in the midst of all my worries, I rest my soul in you. You are my glory and the one who lifts up my head.» In Jesus' name, Amen and Amen. He will lift you up if you trust Him. I am Pastor Mensa Otabil. Shalom, peace, and life to you.