THB CHRISTIAN NATURALIST. 15 



stretch the mind to such contemplations as these (and 

 surely there is no rational being who has not thought 

 on this subject at some time or other,) we may well be 

 filled with astonishment at the power of that Divine 

 Word by whom these worlds were made : who " telleth 

 the stars by number ;" who calleth them all by their 

 names, and who marshals their shining hosts with the 

 same ease as a skilful general directs the movements of 

 a mighty army. 



The 19th Psalm is an evidence of what ** the man 

 after God's own heart" could think and feel on such a 

 subject; and when he observes, that "they have no 

 speech, nor language, and yet their voice is heard," 

 he utters a paradox as beautiful as it is descriptive of 

 the effect which the Starry Heavens have in all ages 

 produced upon mankind. The very circumstance that 

 men have in many countries adored the sun, and the 

 moon, and the stars ; and that this was the earliest 

 species of idolatry, is a proof of the admiration which 



— As to the number of the fixed stars, it may be observed 

 that modern Astronomers have discerned, by the aid of the 

 telescope, a far greater number than are visible to the naked 

 eye. Upwards of 75,000 stars have been so observed, and their 

 positions determined, within a 24th part of a Zone, extending 

 15 degrees on each side of the equator. 



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