Nehemiah 8:10 - Joseph Benson’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

Eat the fat, and drink the sweet Feast before the Lord, as the duty of the day requires you to do. Send portions, &c. For the relief of your poor brethren, who otherwise must mourn while you rejoice. Concerning this duty and practice, see Deuteronomy 16:11; Deuteronomy 16:14; Esther 9:10. For this day is holy Being the first new moon in the year, and the feast of trumpets, (Leviticus 23:24,) and the beginning of this joyful month, in which so many days of thanksgiving are to be observed. For the joy of the Lord is your strength That is, rejoicing in God, in the manner prescribed in his word, or serving him with cheerfulness and thankfulness, (which is always your duty, but now especially,) will give you that strength, both of body and mind, which you greatly need, that you may perform all the duties required of you, and oppose the designs of your enemies against you. But dejection of mind, and excessive grief, if you indulge it, will both offend God and damp your spirits, and will even weaken your very bodies, and make you unfit for God's service, and an easy prey to your enemies.