The well-loved verse from Nehemiah chapter 8, "The joy of the Lord is your strength", became our motto at Goldings Church in around 1995, towards the end of a series of studies in the book. We were moved to see the people of God filled with deep sorrow as they listened to Ezra, the Old Testament priest, reading the newly rediscovered Law of Moses. They were realising how much they had grieved their holy and compassionate God by their wilful disobedience, but Nehemiah the governor encouraged them to find real joy as they turned back to their Creator in repentance and resolved to follow him faithfully. The verse is a wonderful truth, full of promise and relevance for all time.

This song, both Words and tune, were an almost simultaneous response after the sermon that day.