Pause and Calmly Think of That

The reading for day 4 is Psalm 46. It's funny, but one of the things I like best about my amplified Bible is the way they expand the word "selah"--pause, and calmly think of that. (In case you wondered, like me, the right pronunciation, it is see-lah),

So, for example:

The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our Refuge (our Fortress and High Tower). Selah [pause, and calmly think of that]! (v. 7)
The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our Refuge (our High Tower and Stronghold). Selah [pause, and calmly think of that]! (v. 11)

I even like how they put a comma after the word pause, it actually makes you stop and pause.

The whole Psalm is worthwhile pausing and thinking about actually. My favorite verses are 4 and 5:

There is a river whose streams shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacles of the Most High. God is in the midst of her, she shall not be moved; God will help her right early [at the dawn of the morning].

It's interesting to me that tabernacles is plural. There is a sense that we as human beings are now tabernacles in that we carry the light of God in us. In The Message, Eugene Peterson translates "God tabernacled among us" as, God "moved into the neighborhood". So, if we think of ourselves as being a tabernacle wherein we hold the Holy Spirit, well, what does that mean for our neighborhoods? It does make one pause, and calmly think of that!