An exposition with practical observations continued upon the thirty-eighth, thirty-ninth, fortieth, forty-first, and forty-second,…

The Lord speaks here of a special place, to which he designs the Rain: where should that be? Surely the pastures, and tilled grounds, gardens, and vineyards, places cultivated and inhabited by men; the Lord hath Rain for them, yet not all for them, or not for them all: Here the Cargo or lading of the clouds is consigned to places uninhabited by man; He causeth it to rain on the earth where no man is. Some Parts of the earth are full of men, well inhabited; there are other parts of the earth which are uninhabited, or where no man is. This Text tells us, there is an earth where no man is. Travellers and Navigators have found some Parts of the earth which were counted uninhabitable, not only habitable, but actually inhabited by many people. Yet there may be some Parts of the earth habitable in their own nature, wherein no man dwells, or in which (as the Text speaks) no man is. Yea possibly there are some Parts of the earth uninhabitable, or wherein no man can dwell. Now is it not strange that the Lord should carry his rain to such parts of the earth, to places where no man is? where there are neither Cities, nor Towns, nor Villages, no nor the meanest Cottages, nor a man breathing on the face of that earth? or that, as the latter part of the verse speaks, (which is but an explication of the same thing) he should cause it to rain on the Wilderness, where there is no man? If we would know what the Lord intends by earth where no man is, the Text answers, The Wilderness where there is no man, or, where none of Adam dwelleth, as Mr. Broughton translates. So then this latter clause of the verse is but a repetition of the same thing, yet a repetition made not only for variety and elegance, but also to ⟨p. 207⟩signify the certainty of the thing, that God gives rain even to such places where no man is. There is a very elegant turn of the words in this verse. The former part saith, To cause it to rain on the earth where no man is; the latter saith, On the wilderness where there is no man. There are some wildernesses which are inhabited, and therefore God tells us distinctly what wilderness he means.

The Lord speaks here of a special place, to which he designs the Rain: where should that be? Surely the pastures, and till'd grounds, gardens, and vineyards, places cultivated and inhabited by men; the Lord hath Rain for them, yet not all for them, or not for them all: Here the Cargo or lading of the clouds is consigned to places uninhabited by man; He causeth it to rain on the earth where no man is. Some Parts of the earth are full of men, well inhabited; there are other parts of the earth which are uninhabited, or where no man is. This Text tells us, there is an earth where no man is. Travellers and Navigators have found some Parts of the earth which were counted uninhabitable, not only habitable, but actually inhabited by many people. Yet there may be some Parts of the earth habitable in their own nature, wherein no man dwells, or in which (as the Text speaks) no man is. Yea possibly there are some Parts of the earth uninhabitable, or wherein no man can dwel. Now is it not strange that the Lord should carry his rain to such parts of the earth, to places where no man is? where there are neither Cities, nor Towns, nor Villages, no nor the meanest Cottages, nor a man breathing on the face of that earth? or that, as the latter part of the verse speaks, (which is but an explication of the same thing) he should cause it to rain on the Wilderness, where there is no man? If we would know what the Lord intends by earth where no man is, the Text answers, The Wilderness where there is no man, or, where none of Adam dwelleth, as Mr. Broughton translates. So then this latter clause of the verse is but a repetition of the same thing, yet a repetition made not onely for variety and elegancy, but also to