Psalm 50 … Consider Him Who is Honored in Our Humility

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Originally posted: 10/21/2020

“Call upon Me in the day of trouble;
I shall rescue you, and you will honor Me,” (50:15).

I will never forget the first time I read Psalm 50:15. It was about eight or nine months after I had surrendered my life to Jesus. A little more than one month after coming to Christ for salvation, my husband and I responded to an invitation extended from the pulpit to pray about attending the nine-month School of Evangelism held at our church. It would be a demanding schedule, in class four hours every Monday through Friday, with three different weeklong out-of-classroom wilderness experiences in preparation for the final six-week mission trip into the interior of Mexico at the end of the school year. That kind of schedule limited our job prospects.

In August 1984, my husband was honorably discharged from his respected position in the Navy as a diver and submariner. In preparation for classes beginning the following month, we paid off our debt and together, we went to work at a restaurant in the evenings, he as a busboy and me as a waitress, to earn enough money to pay for food and housing. As demanding as it was, I am forever indebted for that year the Lord provided.

The Bible was a brand-new encounter for me, and I was amazed at all I was discovering in His Word. One of the first things I remember learning in the School of E, was that we were created to glorify God. I desperately wanted to do that, but I really had no idea how; what would me glorifying God even look like? Where was I supposed to begin? Not knowing much, I knew enough to ask Him. It became a part of my prayer, telling the Lord that I really wanted to live in His purpose for me, to glorify Him, but how?

My first Bible was the New King James Version, and I remember the morning, I read Psalm 50:15. I almost dropped my Bible.

“Call upon Me in the day of trouble;
I will deliver you, and you shall glorify Me,” (50:15 NKJV).

An answer to my prayer. Is that how Lord? Call upon You when I am in trouble? And not only will You deliver me, but I will glorify You? Can it really be that easy?

Well yes…  and no.

There are conditions; conditions describing the heart of the one who will in fact glorify Him. The Lord has chosen it to be so; He is Honored in Our Humility. But as we all know, Humility does not come naturally.

Honor: 3513. כָּבֵד kāḇēḏ: A verb meaning to weigh heavily, to be heavy, to be honored, to be made heavy, to get honor,” Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance.

He alone is to be Honored as He holds the weight of glory in everything. He is Honored in His creation of all things.

“Worthy are You, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and because of Your will they existed, and were created,” (Revelation 4:11).

And nature always responds to His dominion in bringing Him Honor and glory and praise.

“Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, indeed everything that is in the heavens and the earth; Yours is the dominion, O Lord, and You exalt Yourself as head over all,” (1 Chronicles 29:11).

“You alone are the Lord.
You have made the heavens,
The heaven of heavens with all their host,
The earth and all that is on it,
The seas and all that is in them.
You give life to all of them
And the heavenly host bows down before You,” (Nehemiah 9:6).

The heavens are telling of the glory of God;
And their expanse is declaring the work of His hands, (Psalm 19:1).

All the earth will worship You,
And will sing praises to You;
They will sing praises to Your name, (Psalm 66:4).

But to man, He has given free will; the will to choose whether or not we will walk in Humility and give Him the glory He deserves. His purposes outweigh man’s, and it is His care and deliverance that is deemed the most essential and weightiest need in our lives. It is when man realizes the weight of Who He is, of all His glory, and in Humility comes before Him, that He will be Honored.

Consider Him Who is Honored in Our Humility

  • He is Honored in Our Humility when we understand and know Him.
    • Thus says the Lord, “Let not a wise man boast of his wisdom, and let not the mighty man boast of his might, let not a rich man boast of his riches; 24 but let him who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the Lord who exercises lovingkindness, justice and righteousness on earth; for I delight in these things,” declares the Lord, (Jeremiah 9:23-24).
  • He is Honored in Our Humility when we acknowledge He is sovereign and just.
    • I know, O Lord, that a man’s way is not in himself,
      Nor is it in a man who walks to direct his steps.
      24 Correct me, O Lord, but with justice;
      Not with Your anger, or You will bring me to nothing,       (Jeremiah 10:23-24).
  • He is Honored in Our Humility when we have an accurate understanding of His value.
    • “He must increase, but I must decrease,” (John 3:30).
  • He is Honored in Our Humility when we receive His gift of salvation through faith.
    • For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9 not as a result of works, so that no one may boast, (Ephesians 2:8).
  • He is Honored in Our Humility when we follow His example.
    • Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; 4 do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. 5 Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men, (Philippians 2:3-7).
  • He is Honored in Our Humility when we rely on His indwelling power.
    • And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me, (2 Corinthians 12:9).
  • He is Honored in Our Humility when we come to Him in faith, desiring to please Him.
    • And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him, (Hebrews 11:6).

How do we respond to Him Who is Honored in Our Humility?

Let us  begin with self-examination as we review the preceding Scriptures to ask ourselves, is He being Honored in Our Humility?

…do we understand and know Him? (Jeremiah 9:23-24)

…do we acknowledge He is sovereign and just? (Jeremiah 10:23-24)

…do we have an accurate understanding of His value? (John 3:30)

…have we received His gift of salvation through faith? (Ephesians 2:8)

…do we follow His example? (Philippians 2:3-7)

…are we relying on His indwelling power? (2 Corinthians 12:9).

…do we come to Him in faith, desiring to please Him? (Hebrews 11:6).

As we seek to respond to Him Who is Honored in Our Humility, we will find clear direction in His Word:

  • Let us Honor Him in Our Humility as we depend on His leading and teaching.
    • He leads the humble in justice,
      And He teaches the humble His way,       (Psalm 25:9).
  • Let us Honor Him in Our Humility as we seek His greatness and never our own.
    • “Whoever then humbles himself as this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven,” (Matthew 18:4).
  • Let us Honor Him in Our Humility as we trust His work in our lives.
    • “Whoever exalts himself shall be humbled; and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted,” (Matthew 23:12).
  • Let us Honor Him in Our Humility as we answer His call to love.
    • Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, 2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love, (Ephesians 4:1-2).
  • Let us Honor Him in Our Humility as we humbly approach His Holy Presence.
    • Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you, (James 4:10).

He is so worthy of all Honor. But here is the truly mind-boggling truth. When we give Him what He deserves, we receive what we don’t, the beauty of His salvation and His rewards.

For the LORD takes pleasure in His people; He will beautify the humble with salvation, (Psalm 149:4 NKJV).

The reward of humility and the fear of the Lord
Are riches, honor and life, (Proverbs 22:4).

Did you catch that? When we Honor Him, He honors us in return, with His salvation, His riches and His life. How can that be? The only explanation is that in His amazing grace, He chooses to reward Our Humility.

But oh, may we never merely seek His rewards. Let us seek Him above all else, that we would be so yielded, so changed by His lovingkindness and truth, that everything we do would bring Him glory.

Not to us, O Lord, not to us,
But to Your name give glory
Because of Your lovingkindness, because of Your truth, (Psalm 115:1).

Calling on Him when we are in trouble is evidence of Humility, evidence that we are not depending on our own weight or ability in our troubles. Oh, may we daily depend solely on the deliverance of Him Who is Honored in Our Humility, humbly calling on Him for His rescue, and in that we would in fact, Honor Him.

Call upon Me in the day of trouble;
I shall rescue you, and you will honor Me,” (50:15).

Let’s Grow Together!

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