The new generation, which should have learned to recognize God in holy awe as Judge, Master, and Savior, forgot soon this lesson. In its pride it desires to establish itself as master upon the earth, just presented to it as a Divine gift. Because of the power with which it rules over nature, it believes that it can dispense with God in establishing and maintaining its new life. Thus begins history. God no longer wills the destruction of humanity, but its education. By experience He desires to train mankind to the knowledge of themselves and of Him. Humanity must not sink again to the deep degradation of the perished generation. Men must be dispersed, lest the human species slowly spreading over the earth form but a single family, and the corruption of one part be quickly communicated to the whole. They must be dispersed in order that mankind may rejuvenate itself from its own midst, and when one race has gone through all the stages of the sinful illusions which weaken and corrupt mankind, and is enervated, exhausted, and unfit for the Divine purpose, it shall yield its place to a stronger and hardier race, which shall begin a fresher, purer life.

Mankind must be scattered, must distribute itself among all the different regions of earth in order that the most divergent and contrary faculties of the human mind may find in nature the needed opportunities of development, in order that experience become full and complete. In order to render this plan of education possible, the earth was reconstituted after it had been laid waste and desolated; diversified as regards its soil and climate, and divided into various continents and lands, by seas and rivers, mountains and deserts. This diversity of the earth was, by the Divine plan, intended to profoundly influence man, vainly fancying himself master of the earth, and to affect, even to their innermost characteristics, his body, his opinions, his habits, his passions, and his language. Thus should a broad and variegated experience become possible. This experience should make him worthy of God and of himself; should teach him to recognize the supreme dominion of God over nature and human life; should cause him to realize that the task of man is higher than merely to possess and to enjoy.

From this time on nation after nation enters into the arena of history; each presents some new power, some new capacity of the human intellect, and uses these faculties, in battle with nature and with each other, for the purpose of obtaining wealth and enjoyment. Gladly would the nations retain for all eternity what they have thus gained, but a higher hand, upon which the conditions of their success are dependent, dashes what they thought indestructible, by a slight breath of Divine potency, into ruins, and before the eyes of wondering humanity, it brings to pass from unnoticed trifles the most tremendous results. When a people has succeeded in climbing to the summit of material greatness, in its very greatness, nay, even because of it, it crashes down into destruction, and forsakes the sphere of its activity for similar attempts on the part of the succeeding generations. The time must and will come when the inevitable results of all these efforts will be clearly manifest to the minds of the latest of men. Then, when these attempts are finally completed, when every nation in its rise and fall will have inscribed in the book of history, as its judgment of human greatness, "הבל" "vanity and folly;" when ruined are all efforts to attain lasting felicity by human possessions and greatness, and crushed all the edifices of violence and the schemes of materialistic cunning; when only that permanently endures which men have based upon God-revering righteousness and love; after mankind, which had, in strange delusion, placed all creatures, and even man himself, upon the throne of the Most High, has learned, in the destruction of human ambitions, the nothingness of these puny rivals of Deity, and lifts its eye, unobscured by superstitious veil, to the All-One, and comprehends again true human greatness, to which wealth and lust are but means; when this knowledge, this sentiment, pervades reunited humanity; when men are ripe for the question, not "what should we do in order to be happy and blessed, but, when we are happy and blessed, when we bear the fulness of good in our hands, what shall we do with this blessing?" then

"At the end of days the mount of the Lord will be firmly established upon the peaks of the mountains,

And born by the hills — and to it all peoples shall stream.

And there shall go great nations and speak:

"Come, let us go to the mount of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob,

And He will teach us His ways and we shall walk in His paths;

For from Zion shall come forth the law and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem."

He will judge between the nations, and teach mighty peoples,

That they shall beat their swords to scythes and their spears to pruning-hooks,

That no people shall lift up the sword against another,

And they shall no more learn war.

O house of Jacob! Go before us, that we may also walk in the light of the Lord!

For thou hast forsaken thy people, O house of Jacob!

So that they filled themselves from the East, Became time-servers, like the Philistines,

And satisfied themselves with things born of strangers.

And when His earth became full of silver and gold, and there was no end of treasures.

And when His earth became full of horses, and there was no end of chariots;

Then also did His earth fill with gods.

They bowed themselves to the work of His hands, to that which His fingers had formed.

Mankind sank then, humanity fell, and Thou didst not lift them up!

"Enter into the rock, hide yourselves in the dust,

Before the terror of the Lord, before the greatness of His majesty."

Thus will be lowered the eye of the haughtiness of man,

Thus will be humiliated the pride of men.

And God alone will be great on that day.

For there is a day unto the Lord of Hosts

Concerning every proud and high thing, yea, concerning all the haughty

That they sink!

Concerning all the cedars of Lebanon, though high and exalted.

And concerning all the oaks of Bashan;

Concerning all the high mountains and all the elevated hills,

Concerning every high tower and every strong wall,

Concerning all the ships of Tarshish and all the edifices of lust;

That the pride of man may be bowed down and broken human haughtiness.

And that God alone may be great on that day;

The gods He will cause to disappear in smoke,

And people shall hasten into the clefts of rocks and the cavities of earth

From before the terror of the Lord and the glory of His majesty,

When He arises to rule the earth.

On that day man shall cast away the idols of his silver

And the idols of his gold,

Which have caused him to bow to the mole and the bat;

And will hasten into the fissures of the rocks and hollows of stone

From before the terror of the Lord and the greatness of His majesty

When he arises to rule the earth,"

When you will have read through the pages of history, with the "voice which gathers all" you will exclaim —

"Vanity of vanities! All is vain! What is the end of man with all his toil under the sun?

Generations go, generations come, and the earth-development marches ever to a hidden future;

Here rises fortune's sun, there it sinks, e'en while rising, and to its place of setting its course is turned;

Rises to midday strength — turns to midnight gloom —

Thus circles the day, and in its circling turns again to its beginning.

All nation-streams rush to the sea of death, but the sea is not filled; to the spot where the streams are born.

They return again to follow anew.

The eyes can not see enough, the ear not fully hear;

What was is what shall be, what was produced is what shall be produced;

All new is nought under the sun.

If thou speakest, "behold, this is new!" verily, in the ages of the past, it came into being.

There is no remembrance of the former ones,

Forsooth, of the latest there will be no remembrance.

Would I devote my heart to search

Yea, in wisdom to study all that is done under the sun,

Useless were the toil; God gave it to the children of man

For matter of thought, that they might busy themselves with it.

I see all that is done under the sun,

And behold, all is vanity and useless wearying of the spirit!

That which is perverse can not be straightened;

The imperfections can not be counted.

This is the conclusion of the matter,

After all has been heard.

God thou shalt revere, His mandate obey,

For in this is the whole task of mankind."

" O Lord, a dwelling art Thou. Thou abidest with us

Though generation follow after generation;

Before the mountains were born, Thou broughtest forth the earth:

Even the inhabited world of men!

Yea, from hidden past to veiled future — omnipotent art Thou!

Degraded mankind thou lettest sink to destruction's verge,

Then speakest, "Return to human worth, O children of man,"

For a thousand years are in Thy sight

As yesterday when it hath passed away,

E'en as a watch in the night.

Thou causest them to flow away with the stream of life,

Sleep they become;

In the morning man is as the fresh grass.

In the morning he flourishes and blooms,

But at eventide he is withered and dry."

"O God! be gracious unto us, and bless us,

Let Thy guiding light shine e'er upon us!

That there be known on earth Thy way,

Amongst all nations Thy salvation.

That the nations acknowledge Thee, O God,

Even the nations altogether.

That the nations rejoice and be glad

When Thou judgest the people in righteousness

And the nations Thou guidest on earth. Selah!

May the nations acknowledge Thee, O God,

Even the nations all together,

When the earth shall have yielded its fruit,

God, even our God will bless us.

May God bless us and let fear Him

All the ends of the earth."

"Thus speaketh David, son of Jesse,

Thus speaketh the man, high exalted,

Anointed of the God of Jacob,

Sweet singer of Israel.

The spirit of God spoke in me.

His word was on my tongue,

There spoke to me the God of Israel,

To me spoke Israel's rock.

Among mankind righteousness shall prevail.

The fear of God shall conquer.

When salvation's morn shall shine,

Bright as the sun it shall flash.

That morn shall know no cloud,

Radiant with light, fertile with rain,

Grass shall spring from the earth.

Is not thus my house with God,

For a concealed covenant of eternity He established unto me.

In all ordered and preserved.

All embracing is my salvation.

All embracing the goal,

Though it shine not yet forth.

But the deeds of violence,

Like scattered thorns are they all.

Removed by an unseen hand.

Would one assault them,

"Twould need sword and spear.

In fire unseen they shall be consumed,

Through invisible direction."