"Reckoning Today!"

"That I might show forth all Thy praise in the gates of the daughters of Zion: I will rejoice in Thy salvation." (Psalms 9:14) Whether or not you agree with me as to how or what those crowns we have earned shall be spent, we have something right now that is of value for giving glory unto our Lord, and it is something by which we will be measured! I do not believe David was trying to make a point of praising God for the punishment that would be afflicted upon his adversaries, nor was he trying to say in this verse, That I might praise You for having taken care of those that caused me to suffer. If you think about this for a moment, there is something else that was pressing against David's heart; to be forgiven is something which can make a person take a whole different look upon what is counted as punishment or suffering. I don't know how it was for you as a child, but for me, I was spanked when I was bad; up to about age ten, if I did wrong, there was punishment. But I can remember the times I hated the most, were when I was told to go and wait in my room, and that punishment would be coming shortly. I hated waiting to be punished; it was like stretching out those swats into hours, of what would actually only be minutes of punishment. I am convinced that David was blessed by knowing that he was forgiven by a God that not only loved him, but also knew him, all the way down to the very thoughts of his heart. When we are speaking of fairness, we need to consider our own hearts first; otherwise we can't really even begin to understand what is pressing the heart of someone else; most of the time, we just assume people are motivated by the obvious things, such as greed, or jealousy, or whatever else makes the heart grow bitter. Instead, we need to leave judgement of others in the hands of Him that knows what is really going on in them, and focus upon our own hearts; which is much like saying, Don't worry about what is going on with them, but make sure your own heart is right! Really, that's where it at!!! How much time do we actually spend thinking about what other people are thinking about? This "gates of the daughter of Zion" which David is speaking of is a pretty interesting thing to think about, because it brings forth a whole multitude of different applications; from descendants of women, to description of character; to daughters of men, opposed to sons of God; to the lesser towns around the city, which are called daughters of the city; even to the meaning of a virgin, as in the undefiled of the land. The applications are all over the place; but what I felt God speaking to my heart about, was something that I have noticed that many average women feel about David; and that he was a womanizer or a fornicator; is usually the first reaction to the mention of his name. Regardless; I see David as someone who just wanted to praise God for the salvation of his soul; knowing that the punishment of his soul was never going to happen, he could take what time he had left upon this earth to show forth the praise unto God, and to rejoice in what he had been given; letting that be what people thought he was thinking, when they thought what he was thinking about!!! We should be the kind of person that people need to ask, What is it about you that makes you so happy? I like what Paul says in Romans 8:18, "For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us". That's really where it is at! What makes us rejoice, even in the midst of hardship and difficulties, is that we have the opportunity to be glad and look forward to something that far out ways anything that could be pressing against us now; therefore, we must be reckoning today, for tomorrow...