48-7. Let the time not used for public worship be spent in prayer, in devotional reading, and especially in the study of the Scriptures, meditation, catechising, religious conversation, the singing of psalms, hymns, or spiritual songs; visiting the sick, relieving the poor, teaching the ignorant, holy resting, and in performing such like duties of piety, charity, and mercy.

BACKGROUND AND COMPARISON :
[The 1894 text shown below was deleted from the PCUS revision of 1929 and so was not found in the 1933 PCUS edition. Since the 1933 PCUS edition was the basis for the Proposed PCA BCO, the content of this paragraph was not brought into the first PCA edition in 1973. It was only with the report of the Constitional Business Committee in 1975 that a lightly reworded version was returned to the PCA edition. (M3GA, 3-15, p. 56).

PCUS 1927, §308 – I-VI
PCUS 1926, §308 – I-VI
PCUS 1925, §308 – I-VI
PCUS 1894, I-VI (p. 100)
VI. the solemn services of the congregation in public are over be spent in prayer, in devotional reading, and especially in the study of the Scriptures, meditation, catechising, religious conversation, the singing of psalms, hymns, or spiritual songs ; visiting the sick, relieving the poor, teaching the ignorant, and in performing such like duties of piety, charity, and mercy.

RPCES 1973, DfW, III-5
After the public worship has been concluded, the worshippers should set aside a time for the reading of the Word, meditation upon the sermons, catechizing, conversations concerning spiritual things, prayer for blessings upon the public ordinances, singing of hymns and spiritual songs, visiting the sick, witnessing to the lost, relieving the needy, and similar duties of true piety, love, and mercy.

COMMENTARY
Morton H. Smith, Commentary on the Book of Church Order, 6th edition, 2007, p. 405-406.
The parenthetical clause is one that needs to be emphasized to the people. If the members of a congregation truly prepared for worship prior to coming to worship, there could be a remarkable impact upon the service of worship. For one thing, the entrance into the house of worship would be with an attitude of worship and of
expectancy to meet God. All too often people spend the time just prior to the beginning of the service of worship with socializing, with little thought to what they are about. Also, if this preparation included
prayer for the ministry of the Word, that it be accompanied with the power of the Holy Spirit, we could expect greater blessings from the preaching of the Word. This, of course, holds true for each of the acts of worship.
Of particular interest is the statement against the pretense of private meetings as an excuse for absenting oneself from the worship services of the congregation. The Session should not allow the scheduling of other meetings at the time of congregational worship.