“The final chapters of Nehemiah record the positive and negative steps that were taken to ensure the continuation of reform among the people. A dedication service was held upon the newly rebuilt wall of the city, during which the people were divided into two groups who positioned themselves on opposite sides of the wall and rejoiced with jubilant singing before the Lord.

The ceremony itself was unique, marking a particular occasion of restoration, but it resulted in the reclaiming of the element of psalmody among the people which had apparently been lost during their captivity. The appointed singers among the Levites, we are told, kept the charge of their God, ‘according to the command of David and Solomon his son. For in the days of David and Asaph of old there were chiefs of the singers, and songs of praise and thanksgiving to God.’ This is a clear reference to the canon of song that had been compiled by divine inspiration under the leadership of David and Asaph.

The reform of worship in the days of Nehemiah thus included a return to Biblical Psalmody according to God's command. Chapter 13 concludes the account of reformation with a record of several actions taken by the people in general and Nehemiah in particular to separate from all corruptions and cleanse the people ‘of everything pagan.’ Once again the pattern emerges that reformation in worship leads to reformation in daily life and practice.

Thus it is seen that genuine reform must include the vigilant guarding of purity by God's grace. These elements, then, are the necessary ingredients of a true reformation of worship within the Church of God:

1. A commitment to full and prayer
2. the preeminence of the written Word of God as the only rule for the Church’s practice
3. Solemn renewal of covenant obligations
4. A public commitment to walk in obedience
5. A return to God's prescribed ordinances”
(Comin, 166-167)