Many [there be] which say of my soul,.... Or "to my soul" , the following cutting words, which touched to the quick, reached his very heart, and like a sword pierced through it:[there is] no help for him in God; or "no salvation" : neither in this world, nor in that which is to come, as Kimchi explains it.
David's enemies looked upon his case to be desperate; that it was impossible he should ever extricate himself from it; yea, that God himself either could not or would not save him. And in like manner did the enemies of Christ say, when they had put him upon the cross; see Mt 27:43; and how frequent is it for the men of the world to represent the saints as in a damnable state!
and to call them a damned set and generation of men, as if there was no salvation for them? and how often does Satan suggest unto them, that there is no hope for them, and they may as well indulge themselves in all sinful lusts and pleasures?
and how often do their own unbelieving hearts say to them, that there is no salvation in Christ for them, though there is for others; and that they have no interest in the favour of God, and shall be eternally lost and perish?
And this account is concluded with the wordselah, which some take to be a musical note; and so the Septuagint render it diaqalma, which Suidas interprets the change of the song, of the note or tune of it; and the rather it may be thought to be so, since it is only used in this book of Psalms, and in the prayer of Habakkuk, which was set to a tune, and directed to the chief singer.
Kimchi derives it from a root which signifies "to lift up", and supposes that it denotes and directs to an elevation, or straining of the voice, at the place where this word stands. Others understand it as a pause, a full stop for a while; and as a note of attention, either to something that is remarkably bad and distressing, as here; or remarkably good, and matter of rejoicing, as in Ps 3:4.
Others consider it as an affirmation of the truth of anything, good or bad; and render it "verily", "truly", as, answering to "Amen"; so be it, so it is, or shall be; it is the truth of the thing: to this sense agrees Aben Ezra.
But others render it "for ever", as the Chaldee paraphrase; and it is a tradition of the Jews , that wherever it is said, "netzach", "selah", and "ed", there is no ceasing, it is for ever and ever; and so then, according to this rule, the sense of David's enemies is, that there was no help for him in God for ever.
A very learned man has wrote a dissertation upon this word; in which he endeavours to prove, that it is a name of God, differently used, either in the vocative, genitive, and dative cases; as, O Selah, O God, or of God, or to God, &c.
as the sense requires. yvpnl th quch mou, Sept. "animae meae", V. L. Pagninus, Montanus, Musculus, Gejerus, Michaelis; so the Targum. htewvy Nya "non est salus", V. L. Pagninus, Montanus; "non ulla salus", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Ainsworth.
In voce diaq. T. Bab. Erubin, fol. 54. 1. Vid. Ben Melech in loc. Paschii Dissertatio de Selah, p. 670. in Thesaur. Theolog. Philolog. par.