Prizing Public Worship

The Lord loves the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacob. —Psalm 87:2

Public worship has fallen on hard times. In our individualized age, there is little we value doing communally, especially when there is an alternative that can be tailor-fit for our personal wants and preferences. Thankfully, David Clarkson helps us understand the superior privilege of public worship and the responsibilities believers have as they engage in it. He compellingly argues that the glory of God demands the corporate worship of His people. Moreover, public worship is not simply something we should do; it is something we should love. Read this book and learn to prize the ordinary means of grace as God’s precious gifts to His people.

Endorsement

"Clarkson's message is one we desperately need to hear today. What is the priority: public or private worship; congregational or individual devotions; or, to bring the discussion up-to-date, physical presence with the church or live stream at home? With Puritan thoroughness and an eye to the practical, he provides a clarifying and convincing case for the supremacy of the church gathered publicly under the means of grace as administered by the ordained ministry."
—Terry L. Johnson, senior minister, Independent Presbyterian Church, Savannah, Georgia

Contents

Preface

Part 1: The Primacy of Public Worship

1. God Loves the Gates of Zion
2. Why God Prefers Public Worship to Private
3. Why We May Not Love Corporate Worship
4. Reproving Two Errors
5. Spiritual Helps to Prioritizing Public Worship

Part 2: Profiting from Public Worship

6: Practices to Inhabit
7: Pitfalls to Avoid

Part 3: Hearing the Word

8: Hearing and Hearing Well
9: Impediments for Not Hearing Well
10: Directions for Hearing Well