4th century BC
Plato
- Idealism — forms over particulars
- The Republic ethic: “God is not the author of evil”
Notes
Track fifteen is the one that lifts. Joy Is Your Strength takes its line from Nehemiah - the joy of the Lord is your strength - and the album has earned the right to sing it by now. You cannot honestly sing this song until you have walked through the wounds the last several tracks named. Cheap joy skips the heartbreak. This joy stands inside it.
What I love about this song is how unsentimental the joy is. It is not a feeling that shows up when the weather is good. It is a strength that holds in the sickness, in the heartbreak, in the strain. The verses are specific - when work gets wild or the money runs thin, when people try to wound me or tear me down, when the ones I love let me down again. This is not joy instead of sorrow. It is joy underneath it, a fire His joy keeps lit that won't let me sink.
And the line I needed most is in the first verse. All my future faults, already covered in Christ. That is the ground the whole song stands on. The joy is not a mood I have to manufacture, and the strength is not mine to summon. They rest on a finished work that already covers the sins I have not even committed yet. Everything fails us, but Christ won't fade. A man who knows that can be grieved and still not be sunk - because the joy was never built on his circumstances, and it was never built on him.
Lyrics
[Verse 1]
Do not be grieved, yeah the joy of the Lord is your strength,
When the walk gets heavy and the days feel bent.
I stumble and fall, same sins on repeat,
But grace steps in and it lifts my feet.
All my future faults, already covered in Christ
He whispers to my heart, “It’s gonna be alright.”
[Pre-Chorus]
When the shadows grow long, and the sorrow hits deep,
There’s a fire in His joy that won’t let me sink.
[Chorus]
Do not be grieved, the joy of the Lord is your strength!
Yeah, lift your eyes, let the heaviness break.
In the sickness, in the heartbreak, in the strain
The joy of the Lord is your strength!
Every moment, every burden, every weight
The joy of the Lord is your strength!
[Verse 2]
When work gets wild or the money runs thin,
He reminds me again where my strength begins.
When people try to wound me or tear me down,
His joy stands taller than the fear around.
When the ones I love let me down again,
His voice cuts through like a faithful friend.
[Pre-Chorus]
If the joy fades out, yeah I’m worn and weak
But His joy fuels the journey I’m called to seek.
[Chorus]
Do not be grieved, the joy of the Lord is your strength!
Yeah, lift your eyes, let the heaviness break.
In the sickness, in the heartbreak, in the strain
The joy of the Lord is your strength!
Every moment, every burden, every weight
The joy of the Lord is your strength!
[Bridge]
When I see the world’s sin and my own up close,
His righteousness shines brighter than most.
My disappointment drives me right to His heart,
Where hurting saints find a brand-new start.
[Outro]
Everything fails us, but Christ won’t fade
He is faithful, worthy, strong to save.
He will never disappoint, never step away
And His joy is the strength that lifts our day.
[Final Chorus]
Do not be grieved, the joy of the Lord is your strength!
Yeah, lift your eyes, let the heaviness break.
In the sickness, in the heartbreak, in the strain
The joy of the Lord is your strength!
Every moment, every burden, every weight
The joy of the Lord is your strength!
Commentary