47-2. A service of public worship is not merely a gathering of God’s children with each other, but before all else, a meeting of the triune God with His chosen people. God is present in public worship not only by virtue of the Divine omnipresence but, much more intimately, as the faithful covenant Savior. The Lord Jesus Christ said: “Where two or three are gathered together in My name there I am in the midst of them” (Matthew 18:20).

[DIGEST: What we have now as chapter 47 was not part of either the Proposed Book of Church Order (1973) or the Book of Church Order as adopted by the first General Assembly later that same year. Rather, this chapter, with its nine paragraphs, dates to 1975 when this text was presented by the Constitutional Documents Committee, as part of its proposed revision of the Directory. [M3GA, 3-15, pp. 55-56] This chapter, originally numbered as chapter 48, presents entirely new text not previously part of any prior Presbyterian Book of Church Order. The chapter was renumbered as chapter 47 when the original chapters 8 and 9 were merged in 1980.

ANTECEDENT TEXTS:
1975, 48-2, [M14GA, p. 339]
A service of public worship is not merely a gathering of God’s children with each other, but before all else, a meeting of the triune God with his chosen people. God is present in public worship not only by virtue of the divine omnipresence but, much more intimately, as the faithful Covenant Savior. The Lord Jesus Christ said: “Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there I am in the midst of them”

[No comparable text in any of the following editions:]
1. PCA 1973, Adopted text, as printed in the Minutes of General Assembly
2. Continuing Presbyterian Church 1973, Proposed text
3. PCUS 1933
4. PCUS 1925
5. PCUS 1894

COMMENTARY:
Morton H. Smith, Commentary on the Book of Church Order, 6th edition, 2007, p. 396.
This paragraph introduces the subject of public worship. As it indicates public worship is more than just a gathering of the people of God with each other. It is a meeting of the triune God with His chosen people. This concept is rooted in the Tabernacle, which was called the Tent of Meeting, the place where God met with His people.
As this paragraph indicates, this is not just the general presence of God, who is present everywhere, but is the special presence of the covenant God meeting with his people. Matthew 18:20 is cited as the basis for this promise. Though this verse occurs in the context of the exercise of discipline, the principle given is that where we gather in the name of Christ, he will be with us. If this is true of discipline, it must also be true of the worshipping people of God.