Selah Hymnary is an all-digital hymnal for today’s Church created by Philip Biedenbender and Laurie F. Gauger. “Selah” (SAY-luh or SEE-luh) is a Hebrew word that appears 74 times in the Old Testament books of Psalms and Habbakuk. While its exact meaning is unknown, “selah” is thought to be a musical or liturgical instruction, variously interpreted by scholars as “to pause” or take a breath, “to ponder” and reflect on the meaning of previous statements, or “to exalt” or lift up voices in praise.
Our hymns take inspiration from the readings of the Revised Common Lectionary, with our long-term goal being a complete cycle of hymns for each Sunday and festival in the lectionary. In addition to the simple search above, you can also browse Selah Hymnary’s contents by Festival/Liturgical Season, keyword, or the Lectionary.
As Selah Hymnary is intended to be a gift and service to the Church, the hymns are available free of charge on our website. Each download contains a PDF of the full hymn and a TIFF of the melody, which you are permitted to duplicate for use within your school or congregation. All we ask is that if someone outside your organization requests a copy of a hymn, you point them toward our website. Any church bodies wishing to publish hymns from Selah Hymnary in their own hymnals should contact us at selahhymnary@philipbiedenbender.com.
We urge you to read the explanatory notes that accompany each hymn and be sure to share Selah Hymnary with your friends, family, and congregation. In return, we hope that you will email questions, comments, concerns, encouragement, etc., inspired by the hymns to us at selahhymnary@philipbiedenbender.com.
S.D.G.