5.a. Selah is a scribal notation appearing in many psalms (71 times, plus 3 times in Habakkuk). The exact meaning is unsure, but it almost certainly indicated a pause in the reading of the text, despite ancient Jewish traditions that it meant “forever” or “everlasting.” The question of what the pause was for is much more difficult and has generated a plethora of answers (for convenient summaries and references, see Craigie, 76–77; A. A. Anderson, I, 48–49; M. D. Goulder, The Psalms of the Sons of Korah, JSOT SS 20 [Sheffield: JSOT Press, 1982], 102–4). The suggestions include bowing in prayer or prostration, probably with the recitation of liturgical sayings such as “forever,” “Yahweh is good,” or “for his loyal-love endures forever,” or a shout of “Hallelujah,” or some other appropriate expression. A refrain may have been sung or chanted, or the previous verse repeated, perhaps with a choir or the congregation joining the cantor. Goulder has argued for the meaning of a “cantillation” or “recitative,” in which the relevant section of a major tradition in Israel’s history would be recalled in prayer or in story (e.g., the cantillation of Josh 24 would be appropriate after Ps 44:8). We should remain open to the likelihood that the selah-pause was flexible, used in different ways in different psalms and on different occasions. In some psalms, the selah seems to mark off sections of the psalms into acceptable outlines; in others this does not seem to work well. The function of the selah as a poetic intensifier, at least in some cases, should be allowed. For the role of intensification in Hebrew poetry, see R. Alter, The Art of Biblical Poetry (New York: Basic Books, 1985), 62–84. Fairly frequently, the selah-pause seems to come just before a climactic statement or between such statements.

MARVIN TATE, PSALMS 51-100, VOLUME 20 (WORD BIBLICAL COMMENTARY), 33-34.

The fear that drives away from Jesus, which hinders the attention and the finishing of the duty, is not good; but that which generates awe, humility, faithfulness, and careful willingness, is pleasant to the Lord.

Wilhelmus à Brakel, Not To Be Ignored: Commentary on Revelation, Loc. 795.

For it is important that death be faced without delusions, without the false confidence that may arise from a life judged to be successful by human standards. If one perceives death correctly, from the perspective of wisdom, one may live life correctly, in the fear of the Lord.

PETER C. CRAIGIE AND MARVIN TATE, PSALMS 1-50, VOLUME 19: SECOND EDITION (WORD BIBLICAL COMMENTARY), 360-361.

Taken by itself, the content of Ps 49 may seem to be less than entirely positive and constructive: it contains some practical advice and destroys some dangerous delusions, but it does not seem to offer much more with respect to the issues involved. And yet it is important to read all the wisdom literature in the context of its most fundamental principle, which is that “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (Prov 1:7). The wisdom teacher in Ps 49 eliminates two possible kinds of human fear: the fear of foes in times of trial (v 6) and the fear that the wealthy have some kind of advantage in the face of death (v 17). The teacher eliminates those fears, without explicitly stating a more positive message; yet the positive message is clear in the whole tradition to which he belongs, that wisdom may be found in the fear, or reverence, of the Lord. That wisdom provides the meaning and purpose of living; that wisdom provides also acceptance and calm in the face of dying.

PETER C. CRAIGIE AND MARVIN TATE, PSALMS 1-50, VOLUME 19: SECOND EDITION (WORD BIBLICAL COMMENTARY), 360.

Psalm 45 is a superb example of what C. S. Lewis has called “second meanings in the Psalms” (Reflections on the Psalms, 101–15). The primary meaning of the psalm is clear; it is a wedding song, celebrating the marriage of a king to a princess. In its original sense and context, it is not in any sense a messianic psalm. And yet within the context of early Christianity (and in Judaism before that), it becomes a messianic psalm par excellence. The express evidence for the transition is to be found in Heb 1:8–9, where Ps 45:7–8 is quoted with explicit reference to Jesus Christ. But the “second meaning” extends to the whole psalm, not merely to the two verses quoted, and it develops further the way in which the OT’s portrayal of human love and marriage may become the basis of an allegory of Christ and the Church, the Groom and the Bride.

PETER C. CRAIGIE AND MARVIN TATE, PSALMS 1-50, VOLUME 19: SECOND EDITION (WORD BIBLICAL COMMENTARY), 340.

Mercifully, the resurrection of Jesus wasn’t followed by immediate judgment for those who condemned him, but forgiveness was offered to those who turned from evil [Acts 3:27].

THOMAS R. SCHREINER, HANDBOOK ON ACTS AND PAUL’S LETTERS, 14.

The name of Jesus is not to be trifled with, and it doesn’t work like a magic charm.

Thomas R. Schreiner, Handbook on Acts and Paul’s Letters, 37.

When the psalmist stops speaking to himself (Ps 42) and addresses his words to God (Ps 43), the beginning of his deliverance is in sight.

PETER C. CRAIGIE AND MARVIN TATE, PSALMS 1-50, VOLUME 19: SECOND EDITION (WORD BIBLICAL COMMENTARY), 329.

Like a thirsty animal in a dry place, the psalmist thirsts for God, but it is specifically the worship of God in the temple for which he longs (as is implied by “the face,” or presence, of God: [Ps. 42] v 3b).

PETER C. CRAIGIE AND MARVIN TATE, PSALMS 1-50, VOLUME 19: SECOND EDITION (WORD BIBLICAL COMMENTARY), 326.

In John’s Gospel (13:18), the lamenting words of the psalmist concerning betrayal by an intimate friend are used by Jesus in anticipation of his own betrayal [“I am not speaking of all of you; I know whom I have chosen. But it is to fulfill the scripture, ‘The one who ate my bread has lifted his heel against me'” (Ps. 41:9)]. Thus, words which were originally part of a liturgy of sickness in the face of death, are transformed into what amounts to a prophetic prediction of betrayal in the life of Jesus.

PETER C. CRAIGIE AND MARVIN TATE, PSALMS 1-50, VOLUME 19: SECOND EDITION (WORD BIBLICAL COMMENTARY), 321.