Monday, February 26, 2007

Joy of the Lord

"...This day is sacred to our Lord.
Do not grieve,
for the joy of the Lord is your strength."
- Nehemiah 8:10

When I came to know Jesus, the charismatic movement was at its peak. There was this song that we sing almost every occasion, every meeting, every gathering. It's the kind of song that you sing the lyrics over and over again like a broken record. It's a very simple song but it is powerful. The chorus was taken from Nehemiah and it goes "...the joy of the Lord is our strength, the joy of the Lord is our strength, the joy of the Lord is our strength, for the joy of the Lord is our strength". The second verse goes "He gives me living water and I thirst no more, He gives me living water and I thirst no more, He gives me living water and I thirst no more, for the joy of the Lord is my strength". Have you heard of this song before? I bet this song will be in my head the whole day...and that's fine with me.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Yes! I know this song!! Thanks for reminding me. I needed this right now. I'm gonna sing it with you all day. I'll teach it to my kids, too!

Joyful Days said...

I remember that song! Thanks for the great words for today.

I spent waaaaaaaaayyyyyyy to much time visiting your blog today. There was so many times I kept saying, "Yup, agree there. And there, and there." It was almost like having coffee with someone I've known for a long time.

Praying for a good day for you and a beautiful week.

Blessings,

Anonymous said...

I know this is an old post but are there more verses of this song you mentioned and what is the tune to it.

"chorus taken from Nehemiah and it goes "...the joy of the Lord is our strength, the joy of the Lord is our strength, the joy of the Lord is our strength, for the joy of the Lord is our strength". The second verse goes "He gives me living water and I thirst no more, He gives me living water and I thirst no more, He gives me living water and I thirst no more, for the joy of the Lord is my strength".
Thanks
Lee A

Anonymous said...

I found your blog doing a Google search for the lyrics to that song. I remember lots of songs of that sort and was singing that one to my three year old daughter over the weekend. We used to sing a verse "He fills my mouth (or heart?) with laughter, Ha, Ha, Ha, Ha, Ha". well, my daughter loved that verse!! :)

Anonymous said...

Me again-- it's a song by Alliene G. Vale copyrighted in 1971 according to http://rockhay.tripod.com/worship/music/joyofthelord.htm

The laughter verse is apparently an add on from my childhood.

Sorry to double post! :)

Anonymous said...

There is ANOTHER verse believe it or not that goes "He heals the broken hearted and they cry no more" too....but i'm trying to remember if there are any more....

dobelman said...

Hi, Mrs. Vale just died yesterday at 92 years. (See Austin obit). She loved that song but hated how some would make you "work" for the joy, "...if you want this joy you must ___ for it ...", etc. The laughter was always in the song.

Anonymous said...

I was reading a Bellaire newspaper this week and saw reference to Wylie Vale, architect and it brought back such fond memories of the Vales. Then I Googled the names and discovered Alliene went to sing in heaven last year. We were involved in Lay Renewal and spiritual growth in the 70's and were privileged to be with the Vales in churches and prayer groups. I can hear Wylie singing the "The Joy of the Lord" - and he laughed through the HA HA HA HA HA - truly a fine Christian couple who influenced the world.
Linda and David T

Jim Butler said...

Boy does this bring back memories. My best friend from College, John Newsome took me to a number of bible studies in their home and we would sing that song and Mr Vale would burst out with a loud normal laugh as we did the Ha ha ha ha verse. I remember their son Shannon showing me his pet prairie dog. LOL. It hissed a lot. John and I met at SWTSU in San Marcos when I saw a Jesus bumper sticker on his car and left him a note. Imagine our surprise when we found out we both went to ET. (The Evangelistic Temple) in Houston. I'm sorry to hear about Mrs. Vale. She was a dynamo.

Jim Butler