He telleth the number of the stars; he calleth them all by their names.
He telleth (or, literally, determines) the number of the stars; he calleth them all by their names. From earth the Psalmist turns to heaven; because the most glorious manifestations of God's power are there: it therefore fills the believer's soul with the more hearty appreciation of the excellency of the God whom He praises as his God, to think that the same God who 'calleth all the stars by their names' (knowing the characteristics of each, as being formed and upheld by Himself) is the God of redemption, who 'calleth his own' people individually 'by name,' as being peculiarly His (Exodus 33:12; John 10:3; Revelation 2:17; Revelation 3:12). To number the stars is beyond the powers of man's intellect (Genesis 15:5, where the countless number of the stars is alluded to, for the purpose of comforting Abraham with the hope of a similarly numerous offspring, literal and spiritual), much less to name them, which implies an intimate acquaintance with the special properties of each. So Isaiah, Isaiah 40:26-27, uses the same encouragement, "Behold" He "bringeth out their host by number: He calleth them all by names by the greatness of His might, for that He is strong in power, not one faileth. Why sayest thou, O Jacob My way is hid from the Lord?" etc.