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servants, and the gentle winds of Thy grace were wafted over the hearts of
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Thy creatures, and the overflowing rains of Thy bounty were showered upon
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Thy people and the dwellers of Thy realm.
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I know full well Thou hast delayed to manifest Thy triumph in the kingdom
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of creation by reason of Thy knowledge which embraceth both the mysteries
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of Thy decree, and the hidden things ordained behind the veils of Thine
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irrevocable purpose, that thereby those who have entered beneath the
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shadow of Thy transcendent mercy may be separated from those who have
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dealt disdainfully with Thee, and turned back from Thy presence at the
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time when Thou didst manifest Thy most exalted Beauty.
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Exalted, immeasurably exalted art Thou, therefore, O my Beloved! Forasmuch
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as Thou hast divided, in Thy realm, Thy loved ones from Thine enemies, and
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hast perfected Thy most weighty testimony and Thy most infallible Proof
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unto all who are in heaven and on earth, have mercy, then, upon those who
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were brought low in Thy land, by reason of what hath befallen them in Thy
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path. Exalt them, then, O my God, through the power of Thy might and the
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potency of Thy will, and raise them up to proclaim Thy Cause through Thine
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omnipotent sovereignty and purpose.
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I swear by Thy glory! My sole purpose in showing forth Thine ascendancy
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hath been to glorify Thy Cause, and to magnify Thy word. I am persuaded
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that if Thou wert to delay to send down Thy victory and to demonstrate Thy
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power, the signs of Thy sovereignty would assuredly perish in Thy land,
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and the tokens of Thy rule would be blotted out throughout Thy dominion.
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My breast is straitened, O my God, and sorrows and vexations have
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compassed me round, for I hear among Thy servants every praise except Thy
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wondrous praise, and behold amidst Thy people the evidences of all things
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save the evidences of what Thou hast prescribed unto them by Thy behest,
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and destined for them through Thy sovereign will, and ordained unto them
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by Thine overruling decree. They have strayed so far from Thee that should
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any of Thy loved ones deliver unto them the wondrous tokens of Thy unity,
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and the gem-like utterances that attest Thy transcendent oneness, they
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would thrust their fingers into their ears, and would cavil at him and
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mock him. All this hast Thou set down through Thine all-encompassing
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sovereignty, and apprehended through Thine omnipotent supremacy.
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Glorified, immeasurably glorified art Thou, O my Master! Look, then, upon
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the hearts which, in their love for Thee, have been transfixed by the
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darts of Thine enemies, and the heads which were borne on spears for the
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sake of the exaltation of Thy Cause and the glorification of Thy name.
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Have pity, then, upon those hearts which have been consumed by the fire of
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Thy love, and been touched by such tribulations as are known only unto
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Thee.
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All laud and honor to Thee, O my God! Thou well knowest the things which,
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for a score of years, have happened in Thy days, and have continued to
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happen until this hour. No man can reckon, nor can any tongue tell, what
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hath befallen Thy chosen ones during all this time. They could obtain no
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shelter, nor find any refuge in which they could abide in safety. Turn,
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then, O my God, their fear into the evidences of Thy peace and Thy
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security, and their abasement into the sovereignty of Thy glory, and their
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poverty into Thine all-sufficient riches, and their distress into the
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wonders of Thy perfect tranquillity. Vouchsafe unto them the fragrances of
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Thy might and Thy mercy, and send down upon them, out of Thy marvelous
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loving-kindness, what will enable them to dispense with all except Thee,
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and will detach them from aught save Thyself, that the sovereignty of Thy
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oneness may be revealed and the supremacy of Thy grace and Thy bounty
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demonstrated.
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Wilt Thou not, O my God, look upon the tears which Thy loved ones have
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shed? Wilt Thou not pity, O my Beloved, the eyes which have been dimmed by
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reason of their separation from Thee, and because of the cessation of the
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signs of Thy victory? Wilt Thou not behold, O my Master, the hearts
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wherein have beaten the wings of the dove of longing and love for Thee? By
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Thy glory! Things have come to such a pass that hope hath well nigh been
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banished from the hearts of Thy chosen ones, and the breaths of despair
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are ready to seize them, by reason of what hath befallen them in Thy days.
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Behold me, then, O my God, how I have fled from myself unto Thee, and have
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abandoned my own being that I may attain unto the splendors of the light
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of Thy Being, and have forsaken all that keepeth me back from Thee, and
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maketh me forgetful of Thee, in order that I may inhale the fragrances of
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Thy presence and Thy remembrance. Behold how I have stepped upon the dust
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of the city of Thy forgiveness and Thy bounty, and dwelt within the
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precincts of Thy transcendent mercy, and have besought Thee, through the
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sovereignty of Him Who is Thy Remembrance and Who hath appeared in the
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robe of Thy most pure and most august Beauty, to send down, in the course
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of this year, upon Thy loved ones what will enable them to dispense with
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any one except Thee, and will set them free to recognize the evidences of
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Thy sovereign will and all-conquering purpose, in such wise that they will
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seek only what Thou didst wish for them through Thy bidding, and will
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desire naught except what Thou didst desire for them through Thy will.
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Sanctify, then, their eyes, O my God, that they may behold the light of
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Thy Beauty, and purge their ears, that they may listen to the melodies of
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the Dove of Thy transcendent oneness. Flood, then, their hearts with the
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wonders of Thy love, and preserve their tongues from mentioning any one
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save Thee, and guard their faces from turning to aught else except
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Thyself. Potent art Thou to do what pleaseth Thee. Thou, verily, art the
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Almighty, the Help in Peril, the Self-Subsisting.
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Protect, moreover, O my Beloved, through Thy love for them and through the
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love they bear to Thee, this servant, who hath sacrificed his all for
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Thee, and expended whatsoever Thou hast given him in the path of Thy love
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and Thy good pleasure, and preserve him from all that Thou abhorrest, and
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from whatsoever may hinder him from entering into the Tabernacle of Thy
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holy sovereignty, and from attaining the seat of Thy transcendent oneness.
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Number him, then, O my God, with such as have allowed nothing whatever to
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