thy fingers, the moon and
stars which thou hast ordained; what is man, that thou art mindful of
him, and the son of man, that thou regardest him!_

4. In the same manner, when I consider that infinite host of stars, or,
to speak more philosophically, of suns, who were then shining upon me,
with those innumerable sets of planets or worlds, which were moving
round their respective suns; when I still enlarged the idea, and
supposed another heaven of suns and worlds rising still above this which
he had discovered, and these still enlightened by a superior firmament
of luminaries, which are planted at so great a distance, that they may
appear to the inhabitants of the former as the stars do to us; in short,
while I pursued this thought, I could not but reflect on that little
insignificant figure which I myself bore amidst the immensity of God's
works.

5. Were the sun, which enlightens this part of the creation, with all
the host of planetary worlds that move about him, utterly extinguished
and annihilated, they would not be missed, more than a grain of sand
upon the sea-shore. The space they possess is so exceedingly little in
comparison of the whole, that it would scarce make a blank in the
creation. The chasm would be imperceptible to an eye that could take in
the whole compass of nature, and pass from one end of the creation to
the other; as it is possible there may be such a sense in ourselves
hereafter, or in creatures which are at present more exalted than
ourselves.

6. We see many stars by the help of glasses, which we do not discover
with our naked eyes; and the finer our telescopes are, the more still
are our discoveries. _Huygenius_ carries his thought so far, that he
does not think it impossible there may be stars whose light is not yet
travelled down to us, since their first creation. There is no question
but the universe has certain bounds set to it; but when we consider that
it is the work of infinite power, prompted by infinite goodness, with an
infinite space to exert itself in, how can our imagination set any
bounds to it!

7. To return, therefore, to my first thought, I could not but look upon
myself with secret horror, as a being that was not worth the smallest
regard of one who had so great a work under his care and
superintendency. I was afraid of being overlooked amidst the immensity
of nature, and lost among that infinite variety of creatures, which in
all probability swarm through all these im