Pray the Word with David Platt is a resource from radical.net.

Nehemiah chapter 12 verse 43 says they offered great sacrifices that day and rejoiced

for God had made them rejoice with great joy. The women and children also rejoiced, and the joy of Jerusalem was heard far away.

I mean, how many times can you mention joy in one verse, five different times in one verse?

This picture of rejoicing, they offered great sacrifices that day rejoice.

God had made them rejoice with great joy.

The women and children rejoice.

The joy of Jerusalem was heard far away.

The whole picture here is now that the walls have been built,

they take choirs of singers and people with instruments,

and they climb up on the walls,

and they do this procession around the walls,

where they're just singing and shouting and dancing and playing music,

and it's loud music, so that the nations around Jerusalem can hear this noise

of a people who are celebrating their God.

It is an awesome picture.

And it makes me think about all kinds of Psalms

where we see the psalmist singing with great joy,

with loud songs of joy.

There should be times in our life,

and particularly in the church, when, yes,

there's times for mourning,

...