Hymns for Childhood/The Stars
THE STARS.
The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament showeth his handy-work.—Psalm xix. 1.
No cloud obscures the summer sky,
The moon in brightness walks on high,
And, set in azure, every Star
Shines, a pure gem of heaven, afar!
Child of the earth! oh! lift thy glance
To yon bright firmament's expanse;
The glories of its realm explore,
And gaze, and wonder, and adore!
Doth it not speak to every sense
The marvels of Omnipotence?
Seest thou not there the Almighty name,
Inscribed in characters of flame?
Count o'er those lamps of quenchless light,
That sparkle through the shades of night;
Behold them!—can a mortal boast
To number that celestial host?
Mark well each little Star, whose rays
In distant splendor meet thy gaze;
Each is a world, by Him sustained,
Who from eternity hath reigned.
Each, kindled not for earth alone,
Hath circling planets of its own,
And beings, whose existence springs
From Him, the all-powerful King of kings.
Haply, those glorious beings know
Nor stain of guilt, nor tear of woe;
But raising still the adoring voice,
For ever in their God rejoice.
What then art thou, oh! child of clay!
Amid creation's grandeur, say?
—E'en as an insect on the breeze,
E'en as a dew-drop, lost in seas!
Yet fear thou not!—the sovereign hand,
Which spread the ocean and the land,
And hung the rolling spheres in air,
Hath, e'en for thee, a Father's care!
Be thou at peace! the all-seeing eye,
Pervading earth, and air, and sky,
The searching glance which none may flee,
Is still, in mercy, turned on thee.