'The joy of the Lord is your strength.'--Neh. viii. 10.
Judaism, in its formal and ceremonial aspect, was a religion of
gladness. The feast was the great act of worship. It is not to be
wondered at, that Christianity, the perfecting of that ancient system,
has been less markedly felt to be a religion of joy; for it brings
with it far deeper and more solemn views about man in his nature,
condition, responsibilities, destinies, than ever prevailed before,
under any system of worship. And yet all deep religion ought to be
joyful, and all strong religion assuredly will be so.
Here, in the incident before us, there has come a time in Nehemiah's
great enterprise, when the law, long forgotten, long broken by the
captives, is now to be established again as the rule of the
newly-founded commonwealth. Naturally enough there comes a remembrance
of many sins in the past history of the people; and tears not
unnaturally mingle with the thankfulness that again they are a nation,
having a divine worship and a divine law in their midst. The leader of
them, knowing for one thing that if the spirits of his people once
began to flag, they could not face nor conquer the difficulties of
their position, said to them, 'This day is holy unto the Lord: this
feast that we are keeping is a day of devout worship; therefore mourn
not, nor weep: go your way; eat the fat, and drink the sweet, and send
portions unto them for whom nothing is prepared; neither be ye sorry,
for the joy of the Lord is your strength.' You will make nothing of it
by indulgence in lamentation and in mourning. You will have no more
power for obedience, you will not be fit for your work, if you fall
into a desponding state. Be thankful and glad; and remember that the
purest worship is the worship of God-fixed joy, 'the joy of the Lord
is your strength.' And that is as true, brethren! with regard to us,
as it ever was in these old times; and we, I think, need the lesson
contained in this saying of Nehemiah's, because of some prevalent
tendencies amongst us, no less than these Jews did. Take some simple
thoughts suggested by this text which are both important in themselves
and needful to be made emphatic because so often forgotten in the
ordinary type of Christian character. They are these. Religious Joy is
the natural result of faith. It is a Christian duty. It is an
important element in Christian strength.