Psalm 132:6

Christ has been found in the fields of the wood; in a low, mean, abject state, as this phrase signifies: Ezekiel 16:5 . The shepherds found him rejected from being in the inn, there being no room for him, anti lying in a manger ( Luke 2:7 Luke 2:16 ); the angels found him in the wilderness, among tile wild beasts of the field ( 1:13 ); nor had he the convenience even of foxes and birds of the air; he had no habitation or place where to lay his head: Matthew 8:20 . And he is to be found in the field of the Scriptures, where tiffs rich treasure and pearl of great price lies hid: Matthew 8:44 . -- John Gill.

Verse 6. We heard of it at Ephratah. The only explanation, equally agreeable to usage and the context, is that which makes Ephratah the ancient name of Bethlehem ( Genesis 48:7 ), here mentioned as the place where David spent his youth, and where he used to hear of the ark, although he never saw it till long afterwards, when he found it in the fields of the wood, in the neighbourhood of Kirjathjearim, which name means Forest town, or City of the Woods. Compare 1 Samuel 7:1 with 2 Samuel 6:3-4 . --Joseph Addison Alexander.

Verse 6. We heard of it at Ephratah, etc. Having prepared a sumptuous tabernacle, or tent, for the ark on Mount Zion, in the "City of David", a great national assembly was summoned, at which all the tribes were invited to attend its removal to this new sanctuary. The excitement spread over all Israel. "We heard men say at Ephratah Bethlehem, in the south of the land, and we found them repeat it in the woody Lebanon", sings the writer of the 132nd Psalm, according to Ewald's rendering. "Let us go into his tabernacle; let us worship at his footstool." The very words of the summons were fitted to rouse the deepest feelings of the nation, for they were to gather at Baalah, of Judah, another name for Kirjathjearim, to "bring up thence" to the mountain capital "the Ark of God, called by the name, the name of Jehovah of Hosts that dwelleth between the cherubim": 2 Samuel 6:2 . It "had not been enquired at in the days of Saul": but, when restored, the nation would have their great palladium once more in their midst, and could "appear before God in Zion." and be instructed and taught in the way they should go. --Cunningham Geikie, in "Hours with the Bible." 1881.

Verse 6. Ephratah. The Psalmist says, that David himself, even when a youth in Bethlehem Ephratah, heard of the sojourn of the ark in Kirjathjearim, and that it was a fond dream of David's boyhood to be permitted to bring up the ark to some settled habitation, which he desired to find ( Psalms 132:5 ). --Christopher Wordsworth.

Verse 6. We found it. The Church can never long be hid. The sun reappears after a short eclipse. --Henry Law.

Verse 6. It is not always where we first seek God that he is to be found. "We heard of it at Ephratah: we found it in the fields of the wood." We must not be governed by hearsay in seeking for God in Christ; but seek for ourselves until we find. It is not in every house of prayer that God in Christ can be found: after seeking him in gorgeous temples we may find him "in the fields of the wood." "If any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or lo, there; believe it not" upon his own testimony, but seek him for yourselves. --George Rogers, 1883.

HINTS FOR PASTORS AND LAYPERSONS

Verse 6-7. We shall use this for practical purposes. A soul longing to meet with God. God has appointed a meeting place.