Voice of Man

O Jehovih, what am I that I should supplicate You? Do I know my own weakness, or do I understand the way of my thoughts? You have placed before me most wonderful creations. They impress me, and my senses rise up in remembrance of the Almighty. Where have I invented one thought other than by looking upon Your works? How can I do otherwise than remember my Creator, and out of Your creations, O Jehovih, find rich food for meditation all the days of my life?

And yet, though I have appropriated the earth to myself, I am neither happy nor perfect. Misery, crime and selfishness are upon my people.

What is my weakness that I cannot overcome it? Or, what is my strength that I give in to the desires of the earth? I build up my belief and courage in You; but before I know the way of my weakness, I stumble and fall. Am I made that I shall be forever a disappointment to myself, and a censure to my own behavior?

How can I say to anyone: Be pure and holy, O man! || Are my flesh and blood not proof that man cannot be without sin? O this corruptible self, this tendency to fall from the right way! You, O my Creator, have proven to my senses, every day of my life, that You alone are mighty in purity and truth.

If only I had a starting point from which to estimate Your wonderful decrees, or could find a road in which I would never stumble! But yet, O Jehovih, I will not complain because of the way of Your works. You have invented a limit to my understanding, by which I am reminded of You, to call upon Your name. I perceive my own vanity; that were all knowledge mine, I would become less beholden to You!

What am I, O Jehovih, without You; or how am I to find the glory of Your creations, other than by the light of Your countenance? You raised me up out of sin and darkness, and clothed me in light. I perceive the smallness of myself in Your great works. You have bound me to travel on the earth, to sojourn with beasts and all types of creeping things; nor have You given me one attribute in which I can boast over them, except in the power of destruction. The high firmament You have placed above me; the stars, moon and sun! I know You have been there, but I am bound down in a little corner of Your works! Neither do I have power to rise up to Your distant places, nor to know Your extended heavens.

No, I do not even have power to shape my own size and stature; but all things take form and dimension whether I will it or not. In Your own way the walls of the world are built; by their magnitude I am confounded; by the majesty of Your hand, appalled. Why have I vainly set myself up as the highest of Your works? My failures are worse than any other living creature under the sun. I cannot build my house in perfection as a bird does; my ingenuity cannot fashion a spider’s net; I cannot sail up in the air like a bird, nor live in the water like the fish, nor dwell in harmony like the bee. Half of my offspring die in infancy; and the multitude of my household are quarrelers, fighters, drunkards and beggars; the best of my sons and daughters are less faithful than a dog! I go forth to war, to slay my brother, even while Your wide earth has room for all. Yes, I plague the earth with starvation, sin and untimely death. O, if only I could school myself to not boast of my greatness; instead I should be forever ashamed in Your sight, Jehovih!

But I will acknowledge my iniquities; I can hide nothing from the eye of my Creator. Hear me then, O Father!

I took up arms against my brother. With great armies I encompassed him, to despoil him.

By the stroke of my sword I multiplied his widows and orphans; the cry of anguish that came out of their mouths I answered by the destruction of my brother’s harvests.

To my captains and generals who showed great skill in killing, I built monuments in stone and iron. Yes, I inscribed them from top to bottom with their bloody victories.

And in my vanity I called out to the young, saying: Behold the glory of these great men! To honor them, I have built these great monuments!

And the youth of my household were whetted with ambition for spoil. The example of my hand made them train themselves for warfare.

To my colonels and generals I gave badges of gold. I called to the young women, saying: Come, a great honor I give you; you shall dance with the officers of death!

And they fluttered up on tip-toe, elated by the honey of my words! O Jehovih, how gaping my wickedness; how utterly I have failed, except in making the flow of my brother’s blood the relish of satan!

To my destroying hosts I have given great honor and glory. In the pretense of enforcing peace I hewed my way in flesh and blood.

I made an illusion, a kingdom. I called out to my people, saying: We must have a kingdom! I showed them no reason for it; but I pressed them to take up arms and follow me for patriotism’s sake. And yet what was patriotism? Behold, I made it as something greater than You and Your commandment: YOU SHALL NOT KILL.

Yes, by the cunning of my words, I taught them my brother was my enemy; that to fall upon and destroy him and his people was great patriotism.

And they ran at the sound of my voice, for my glory in the greatness of my kingdom; and they committed great havoc.

Yes, I built colleges for training my young men in warfare. I drew boundaries, making borders here and there, saying: This is my kingdom! All others are my enemies!

I patted my young men on the head, saying: You dogs of war! Great shall be your glory!

And their judgment was turned away from peace; I made them think that righteousness was to stand up for me and my country, and to destroy my brother and his people.

Yes, they built me forts, castles and arsenals, without number. I called to my people, saying: Come, behold the glory of my defenses which I built for you!

And they gave me money, garrisons, ships of war and torpedoes, shouting: Hurrah for our kingdom! We have faith in these things, but not in You, our Creator!

Thus I led them away from You. Their eyes I turned to look down, in the way of death. By the might of my armies, I put away righteousness.

Yes, I covered the earth over with drunkards, widows and orphans; to beggary I reduced them; but I whetted their pride by saying: Look what great standing armies we have!

To the man who said: There shall come a time of peace, when war shall be no more forever, I mocked and said: You fool! ||

I know the counts against me, O Father. I cannot hide my iniquity from Your sight. I have said war was a necessary evil to prevent a too populous world! I turned my back on the wide, unsettled regions of the earth. With this falsehood in my mouth I stood up before You! Yes, I cried out as if for the righteous, saying: I war for righteousness, and for the protection of the weak! In the destruction of my brothers and sisters I stood as a murderer, pleading this excuse. Stubbornly I persisted in not seeing justice on the other side, while I cut down those whom You had created alive. Above the works of Your hand I raised myself up as a pruning knife in Your vineyard.

Even more than this, I persuaded my sons and daughters that to war for me was to war for our Father in heaven. By my blasphemy I led them into ruin. And when the battle was over for a day, I cried out: Behold the glory of those who were slain for the honor of their country! || Thus I have added crime to crime before You, Jehovih; and so, destroyed Your beautiful creation. Truly, I have not one word in justification of my deeds before You!

O, if only I had remained faithful with You, Jehovih! But I invented Gods to the glory of the evil one. In one place I called out to my sons and daughters, saying: Be Brahmins; Brahma saves whoever professes his name. In another place I said: Be Buddhists; Buddha saves whoever calls on his name. In another place I said: Be Christians; Christ saves whoever calls on his name. In another place I said: Be Mohammedans; whoever says: “There is only one God and Mohammed is his prophet!” shall have indulgence without sin. ||

Thus I have divided the earth, O Jehovih! Into four great idolatries I have established them, and into their hands put all manner of weapons of destruction; and they have become more terrible against one another than the beasts of the forest. O, if only I could put away these great iniquities which I raised up as everlasting torments to the earth. Truly, there is no salvation in any of these.

Their people are continually destroying one another. They quarrel and kill for their respective religions; setting aside Your commandment: You shall not kill. They love their own nation and hate all others. They set aside Your commandment: Love your neighbor as yourself.

They preach and pray in sufficient truth; but not one of these people practices peace, love and virtue, in any degree equal to their understanding. These religions have not saved from sin any nation or city on the whole earth.

In vain I have searched for a plan of redemption; a plan that would make the earth a paradise, and the life of man a glory to You our Creator, and a joy to himself. But alas, the two extremes, riches and poverty, have made the prospect of a millennium a thing of mockery.

For one rich man there are a thousand poor, and their interests ceaselessly conflict with one another. Labor cries out in pain; but capital strikes him with a heartless blow.

Nation is against nation; king against king; merchant against merchant; consumer against producer; yes, man against man, in all things upon the earth.

Because the state is rotten, the politician feeds on it; because society is rotten, the lawyer and court have riches and sumptuous feasts; because the flesh of my people is rotten, the physician finds a harvest of comfort.

Now, O Jehovih, I come to You! You hold the secret of peace, harmony and goodwill among mortals. Give me of Your light, O Father! Show me the way to proceed so that war, crime and poverty, may come to an end. Open the way of peace, love, virtue and truth, so that Your children may rejoice in their lives, and glorify You and Your works forever.

Such is the voice of man, O Jehovih! In all the nations of the earth this voice rises up to You! As You spoke to Zarathustra, Abraham and Moses, leading them forth out of darkness, O speak, Jehovih!

Man has faith in You only; You alone were sufficient for the past: Today, You alone are sufficient for Your own creation. Speak, O Jehovih! Book of Jehovih In which is revealed the three great worlds (realms), corpor, atmospherea, and etherea. As in all other Bibles it is revealed that this world was created, so in this Bible, Oahspe, it is revealed how the Creator created it. As other Bibles have proclaimed heavens for the spirits of the dead, behold, this Bible reveals where these heavens are, and the manner, glory and work that the spirits of the dead enjoy; and through which the wisdom, power, love and glory of the Almighty is magnified for the understanding of man.