The wonder with which King David looked up on a starry night remained with him as long as he lived. Not many people today see the stars as he did, because of smog, smoke and other pollutants in the atmosphere.
Actually, without a telescope, the human eye can see only about two thousand separate stars. However, when the Milky Way can be seen, about one hundred billion stars are visible, but they are so far away that no individual star can be picked out.
Our relatively small solar system—the sun with its nine planets and moons—is part of the Milky Way galaxy. But the earth, the sun and the Milky Way are a very small part of the total heavens. Current telescopes have uncovered an estimated one hundred billion galaxies which contain more than one hundred billion, billion stars. Astronomers admit they do not know what lies beyond, and some acknowledge that this vast display had to have a "superior power" to create and control it.
We know from the Bible that the Lord Jesus Christ is the "Superior Power": "By Him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible...all things were created by Him, and for Him: and He is before all things, and by Him all things consist" (Col. 1:16-1716For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: 17And he is before all things, and by him all things consist. (Colossians 1:16‑17)).
The next time you are at a beach, pick up a handful of sand. Do you think you could count the grains? Respected astronomers claim that the total number of stars in the universe is greater than the number of grains of sand on all the ocean beaches of the earth!
Who but the divine Creator could put all those stars in space, set them in motion and keep them in their orbits in perfect order? King David tells us, "He [counts] the number of the stars; He [calls] them all by their names" (Psa. 147:44He telleth the number of the stars; he calleth them all by their names. (Psalm 147:4)). Men can only guess at the figure, but the Lord knows the exact number! Men give names to those they can see, but the Lord calls each one by name. What a reminder of His greatness and untiring interest in all things He has created!
Looking at this spectacular display, it is no wonder King David asked, "What is man that Thou art mindful of him?" Yes, God is mindful of every person, including you, and He invites you to share eternity with Him in a place of greater wonders than the starry skies. If you have admitted that you are a sinner and let Him wash your sins away in His blood shed on Calvary, you will be with Him forever in the wonders of heaven.