We Had Only Arrived at the Borders
of the Works of God by Christopher Sturm When I consider your heavens,
the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars which you
have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him,
the son of man that you care for him?" Psalm 8 verses 3 and
4. Could we transport ourselves
above the moon? Could we reach the highest star
above our heads? We would instantly discover new
skies, new stars, new suns, new systems, and perhaps more magnificently
adorned. But even there, the vast dominions
of our great Creator would not terminate. We would then find,
to our astonishment, that we had only arrived at the borders
of the works of God. It is but little that we can
know of His works, but that little should teach us to be humble
and to admire God's wisdom, power, and goodness. How great must
that Being be, who produced these immense globes out of nothing,
who regulates their courses, and whose mighty hand directs
and supports them all. What is this clod of earth which
we inhabit, with all the magnificent scenes it presents to us, in
comparison to those innumerable worlds? Were this earth annihilated,
its absence would no more be observed than the removal of
a grain of sand from the vast seashore. What, then, are all
our fine homes and belongings, when compared with those infinite
worlds? They are but atoms dancing in
the air, which are revealed to us by the sunbeams. What, then,
am I, when reckoned among the infinite number of God's creatures? I am lost in my own nothingness. But as little as I appear in
this respect, I find myself great in others. There is great beauty
in this starry skies which God has chosen for His throne. How
admirable are those celestial bodies! I am dazzled with their
splendor, and enchanted with their beauty. but notwithstanding
this, however beautiful and however richly adorned, yet this sky
is void of intelligence, it is a stranger to its own beauty,
while I, who am mere clay, molded by a divine hand, am endowed
with sense and reason. I can contemplate the beauty
of these shining worlds, nay more, I am already, to a certain
degree, acquainted with their sublime author, and by faith
I see some small rays of his divine glory. Oh, may I be more
and more acquainted with his works, and make the study of
them my employ, until by a glorious change I rise to dwell with him
above the starry regions.