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“In the final words of Elihu we find a profound summary of man's inability to approach God, or even know what to say to Him, because of the surpassing majesty of the Almighty and the utter darkness of our understanding. The appeal is to God's transcendent glory, which renders man utterly unable to draw near to Him, or even to know how to address Him.

What folly it is for mere man to imagine that he can approach the God of glory by his own means! Let those who contend for man's right to improvise in worship answer Elihu’s challenge: ‘Teach us what we shall say to Him, for we cannot order our speech by reason of darkness,’ Then let them say with Job: ‘Behold, I am vile; what shall I answer You? I lay my hand over my mouth.’

The word ‘vile’ is better translated ‘insignificant’ or ‘self -despised.’ True worship according to the lessons of Job, is found in the realization of our own insignificance, so that we leave off striving to approach God on our own terms and determined to seek Him according to His sovereign will. Those who thus seek Him shall find Him.” (Comin 182)

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“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)

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“In the second speech of Elihu we encounter a phrase which Spurgeon remarks ‘is written in language of the most ancient kind, which is but little understood,’ He is referring to the question of Elihu to Job in verse 33, which the Authorized Version renders best: ‘Should it be according to thy mind?’ Spurgeon summarizes the meaning by restating it in more contemporary language: ‘Do men really think that things should be according to their mind?’ Applying this to the Church, he then asks, ‘Should gaudy ceremonies drive the Lord's homely ordinances out of doors? Should taste override divine commands?’

It is ever the tendency of men to imagine that the Lord is altogether like them, and would be pleased by what pleases them (see psalms 50:21). Their view of God, His Providence, the Gospel and corporate worship are continually shaped by this foolish notion that it should be ‘according to their mind.’ The tragic results of such thinking in the Church are that (a) God's glory is obscured; (b) men's consciences are trampled; (c) men play the role of God; (d) temptations are increased; (e) desires become more greedy; (f) sins go uncorrected; and (g) dissension becomes the rule.

True worship is the recognition that we can only approach God according to His mind, which is revealed to us in His infallible Word.” (Comin, 181)

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“The public prayer of confession was followed by a solemn ceremony in which the people renewed their covenant with God, ‘entering into a curse and an oath to walk in God's Law, which was given by Moses the servant of God, and to observe and do all the commandments of the Lord, and His ordinances and statutes.’ All of the people, from the greatest to the least, ‘whoever had knowledge and understanding,’ pledged themselves to pursue the course of obedience to God's Law. The formal covenant sworn on this occasion included several key points in which the people proposed to conform to God's revealed will and bound themselves with an oath.

First, they determined not to intermarry with the people of the land, indicating their commitment to guard themselves from compromising influences which would lead them to corrupt God's worship.

Second, they purposed to keep the Sabbath holy and to refrain from worldly business on God's holy day.

Third, they determined to make the necessary provisions from their own resources for the maintenance of the priests and Levites and the services of the Temple.

Fourth, they renewed their commitment to dedicate the firstfruits of their increase to the Lord, and to bring the whole tithe into God's storehouse for the maintenance of a faithful ministry.

Fifth, they swore an oath that they would ‘not neglect the house of God,’ making God's pure worship their priority.

The basis for each of these particular points of the covenant was the written Word of God, which they recognized as the rule for their faith and practice. This formal covenant renewal was the result of their asking, ‘What does the Lord require?’ and determining to conform their corporate practice to His revealed will.

This is the question that the Church must ask in our day, and its asking must be followed by a solemn covenant to return to the prescribed ordinances of God, forsaking all that finds no warrant in His word.” (Comin, 165-166)

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“In Job’s final speech we find a detailed account of his righteousness, which illustrates what it meant for him to be described as a man who ‘fears the Lord and shuns evil.’ Protesting his innocence of any known sin, Job gives a list of offenses which, had he been guilty of them, would have provided ample reason for judgment to fall upon him. Under oath before God, he testifies that he is innocent of each offense.

Among those listed we find in verses 26- 28 a description of idolatry which sheds light on the nature of this grievous transgression. He speaks of the worship of the sun and moon, which was a common form of idolatry in his day among those who turned from the Creator to worship the creation instead. He speaks of the secret enticement of the heart, indicating that idolatry begins in the inward thoughts as the apparent glories of this world captivate the thoughts and turn them away from the true God.

James tells us that ‘each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed’ (James 1:14). Thus we learn that man's heart is naturally inclined to make the elements of this world the object of his worship, and that this temptation must be resisted.

Next, Job uses an obscure figure of speech, saying, ’if my mouth has kissed my hand.’ The meaning seems to be that of self -congratulation. The inward idolatry of the heart leads to the outward idolatry of the hand, which is kissed in approval of its own works. This is the uniform progression of the sin of false worship. The heart is enticed by the view of some worldly glory, and the hand proceeds to create a form of worship to serve the desire. Then the hand is kissed in praise of its inventiveness. Job says that such a sin is a denial of God deserving of punishment by the judge, because it amounts to a denial of God, who is above.” (Comin, 180-181)

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“While the reading of the Law was to be accompanied by joy rather than sadness, there was a place for national mourning over sin. Such mourning, which issues forth in public confession and repentance, is an essential element of genuine reform. The people assembled ‘with fasting, in sackcloth, and with dust on their heads,’ indicating an attitude of profound humility and self- accusation. The agenda of the assembly included one-fourth of the day spent in the public reading of God's Law, followed by one-fourth of the day spent in confession of sin in the context of public worship. The prayer of confession was led by the priests and Levites, who spoke for the people. The prayer recorded here can be divided into several distinct parts:

a. adoration (vss. 5- 6)
b. acknowledgement of God's covenant (vss. 7- 8)
c. confession of past sins interspersed with the recounting of God's mercies (vss. 9 – 31)
d. appeal for restoration (vs. 32)
e. justification of God's severity (vss. 33- 35)
f. acknowledgement of present distress (vss. 36- 37)
g. pledge to renew covenant with God (vs. 38)

Such corporate confession and repentance is indispensable to the work of genuine reform, since without the acknowledgement of sin there can be no hope of future perseverance in the path of obedience. The confession of particular offences against God's law, along with their acknowledgement that He is just in passing sentence upon our rebellion, is an indication of the sincerity of the heart in its desire to reform.

The Church today needs to take inventory of her history, identifying particular offenses against God -especially in regard to her approach to Him in worship- confessing her rebellion against His statutes, commandments and ordinances, and covenanting to return to the way of obedience. Nothing short of this will suffice to restore the former glory of the Body of Christ. The only standard by which such corporate sins can be identified and confessed is the revealed will of God in His written Word” (Comin, 164-165)

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“The book of job is largely made-up of the discourses that pass between this suffering saint and three so-called friends who visit him in his affliction and seek to demonstrate that Job must be guilty of some great sin for which he is being punished. Job’s answers to his accusers are interspersed between their speeches. Following a lengthy monologue by Job, a young man named Elihu addresses the group and delivers a series of speeches on the power and justice of God, but his words were cut off by the Lord Himself, who answers Job and humbles him. The book ends with Job’s repentance, a rebuke from God to his foolish counselors, the intercession of Job on behalf of his friends, and an account of the restoration of the sufferer’s prosperity.

While the words that pass between Job and his friends missed the mark with regard to the cause of suffering in the world, there is much truth in their observations of the nature and effects of righteousness and wickedness in general. Job’s reply to Zophar recorded in chapter 21 is a case in point.

His purpose is to prove that it is often the case in this life that the wicked prosper while the godly suffer affliction. In making his argument, Job shines a light upon the inclination of the wicked to seek their own fulfillment above obedience to God. He portrays the wicked and their children rejoicing in their prosperity with dancing and joyful music. They are hedonistic to the core, intent upon nothing but the enjoyment of this world's passing pleasures. Conformity to God's commands only stands in the way of their self- seeking desires. They dismiss God, saying. ‘We do not desire the knowledge of Your ways.’ Literally, the phrase is: ‘We find no pleasure in the understanding of your path.’ God's commands are no part of their thought. They see no benefit to the duties of prayer and piety.

The attitude of the wicked describes so eloquently by Job continues from age to age. There are many today, even in the Church, who find the pursuit of the knowledge of God's ways a burdensome obstacle to their personal fulfillment. They see God's commands as a burdensome service, and come to His house asking, ‘What's in it for me?’ The answer of Job to such self -seeking men stands fast: ‘Behold, their good is not in their hand!’ In other words, they do not know what is best for them, nor will they find true blessing by rejecting God's
ordinances in favor of their self-serving activities. The real blessing of worship is found by those who lay aside their obsession with personal fulfillment, and seek Him according to His revealed will.” (Comin, 179-180)

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“As in the book of Ezra, the written Word has a prominent place in Nehemiah. When the people were settled in the newly- restored city, they called upon Ezra the scribe to read the book of the Law of Moses in their hearing. All of the people who were able to understand gathered together and listened attentively while the Scriptures were read from morning until midday.

It ought to be noted that in times of great spiritual awakening, both in Biblical times and in subsequent history, a particular mark of the movement of God's Spirit among His people has been an increased and lively interest in the reading and preaching of God's Word. These people stood and listened with eager attentiveness to the reading of Scripture for half of a day! Can you imagine such a scene? Have you ever witnessed this?

Our age is marked by a desire to keep worship short and convenient. In the 20th chapter of the book of Acts, as God's Spirit moved mightily through the Apostles of Jesus Christ, we read of Paul preaching to the assembly at Troas from evening until daybreak! True reformation is established on the ground of hunger for the Scriptures…

When God stirs the hearts of His people to forsake their own ways and to look attentively into His revealed Word, determining to follow His commands, there is a great reason for joy and celebration. ‘There was the very great gladness,’ we are told, ‘as day by day, from the first day until the last, [Ezra] read from the Book of the Law of God.’ Sadly, many professing Christians today regard the reading and exposition of God's Word as a stale and unexciting activity, preferring instead to fill their worship assemblies with innovations and gimmicks designed to appeal to their emotions. The more the emotions are stirred by these man-made novelties, the more the people are assured that they are witnessing a revival. Yet the Scriptures make it clear that genuine revival restores to the hearts of God's people a fervent love for His written Word, and a heartfelt desire to conform to its mandates and forsake the folly of will -worship.” (Comin, 162-163)

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“Although the theme of this book from the time of the patriarchs is not directly related to worship, there are several important aspects, principles and characteristics of Biblical worship that may be gleaned from it and which demonstrate that even outside of the immediate covenant community, those who feared God understood and conformed to the Divine regulation of worship.”

The essence of worship is bowing to the sovereign will of God (Job 1: 1-22)

“All that we know of Job’s character is what is revealed to us in this book which bears his name. In summary of his character, four specific attributes are mentioned, coming from both the author of the book and directly from the mouth of God.

a. He is described as a perfect man referring not to moral perfection, but rather to the fact that he was complete in his integrity.
b. He is also said to be upright, which means that his actions conformed to God's standard of goodness.
c. He is called one that feared God, or held Him in reverence and was therefore careful to do His will.
d. And it is said that he shunned evil or rejected whatever was opposed to God's law.

Here we find that the definition of a perfect and upright man is that he fears God and rejects evil. He is a man who knows his place, and who purposes to keep it. This is the character of the one who knows that his Redeemer lives.

God had savingly revealed Himself to Job, so that even in the land of Uz there was found one who understood that the essence of worship is bowing to the will of the sovereign God. We are told something also about Job’s religious practice. He lived in the days of the patriarchs before the ceremonial laws of worship were revealed through Moses, and yet, like Noah, he understood the necessity of burnt sacrifice. He knew that sin demanded payment, and the covering of blood was necessary to atone for man's transgressions. He acted as priest in his own household, by offering sacrifices for his seven sons, and the providential arrangement of his family resulted in a special service of atonement every seventh day continually. Thus God sovereignly revealed His will to Job, and the patriarch steadfastly conformed his priestly role to God's design.” (Comin, 177-178)