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detach them that are nigh unto Thee from all created things, and draw them
to the throne of Thy names and Thine attributes. I yield Thee such thanks
as can cause Thee to forgive all sins and trespasses, and to fulfill the
needs of the peoples of all religions, and to waft the fragrances of
pardon over the entire creation. I yield Thee such thanks as can enable
them that recognize Thy unity to scale the heights of Thy love, and cause
such as are devoted to Thee to ascend unto the Paradise of Thy presence. I
yield Thee such thanks as can satisfy the wants of all such as seek Thee,
and realize the aims of them that have recognized Thee. I yield Thee such
thanks as can blot out from the hearts of men all suggestions of
limitations, and inscribe the signs of Thy unity. I yield Thee such thanks
as that with which Thou didst from eternity glorify Thine own Self, and
didst exalt it above all peers, rivals, and comparisons, O Thou in Whose
hands are the heavens of grace and of bounty, and the kingdoms of glory
and of majesty!
Lauded be Thy name, O Lord my God, and my Master! Thou bearest witness,
and seest, and knowest the things that have befallen Thy loved ones in Thy
days, and the continual trials, and the successive tribulations, and the
incessant afflictions, which have been sent down upon Thine elect. Such
hath been their plight that the earth became too strait for them, and they
were encompassed by the evidences of Thy wrath and the signs of Thy fear
in every land, and the doors of Thy mercy and Thy loving-kindness were
shut against them, and the garden of their hearts was deprived of the
overflowing showers of Thy grace and Thy bountiful favors. Wilt Thou
withhold, O my God, from such as love Thee the wonders of Thine ascendancy
and triumph? Wilt Thou shatter, O my Beloved, the hopes which they who are
devoted to Thee have fixed on Thy manifold bounties and gifts? Wilt Thou
keep back, O my Master, those that have recognized Thee from the shores of
Thy sanctified knowledge, or wilt Thou cease to rain down upon the hearts
of such as desire Thee the showers of Thy transcendent grace? No, no, and
to this Thy glory beareth me witness! I testify this very moment that Thy
mercy hath surpassed all created things, and Thy loving-kindness
encompassed all that are in heaven and all that are on earth. From
everlasting the doors of Thy generosity were open to the faces of Thy
servants, and the gentle winds of Thy grace were wafted over the hearts of
Thy creatures, and the overflowing rains of Thy bounty were showered upon
Thy people and the dwellers of Thy realm.
I know full well Thou hast delayed to manifest Thy triumph in the kingdom
of creation by reason of Thy knowledge which embraceth both the mysteries
of Thy decree, and the hidden things ordained behind the veils of Thine
irrevocable purpose, that thereby those who have entered beneath the
shadow of Thy transcendent mercy may be separated from those who have
dealt disdainfully with Thee, and turned back from Thy presence at the
time when Thou didst manifest Thy most exalted Beauty.
Exalted, immeasurably exalted art Thou, therefore, O my Beloved! Forasmuch
as Thou hast divided, in Thy realm, Thy loved ones from Thine enemies, and
hast perfected Thy most weighty testimony and Thy most infallible Proof
unto all who are in heaven and on earth, have mercy, then, upon those who
were brought low in Thy land, by reason of what hath befallen them in Thy
path. Exalt them, then, O my God, through the power of Thy might and the
potency of Thy will, and raise them up to proclaim Thy Cause through Thine
omnipotent sovereignty and purpose.
I swear by Thy glory! My sole purpose in showing forth Thine ascendancy
hath been to glorify Thy Cause, and to magnify Thy word. I am persuaded
that if Thou wert to delay to send down Thy victory and to demonstrate Thy
power, the signs of Thy sovereignty would assuredly perish in Thy land,
and the tokens of Thy rule would be blotted out throughout Thy dominion.
My breast is straitened, O my God, and sorrows and vexations have
compassed me round, for I hear among Thy servants every praise except Thy
wondrous praise, and behold amidst Thy people the evidences of all things
save the evidences of what Thou hast prescribed unto them by Thy behest,
and destined for them through Thy sovereign will, and ordained unto them
by Thine overruling decree. They have strayed so far from Thee that should
any of Thy loved ones deliver unto them the wondrous tokens of Thy unity,
and the gem-like utterances that attest Thy transcendent oneness, they
would thrust their fingers into their ears, and would cavil at him and
mock him. All this hast Thou set down through Thine all-encompassing
sovereignty, and apprehended through Thine omnipotent supremacy.
Glorified, immeasurably glorified art Thou, O my Master! Look, then, upon
the hearts which, in their love for Thee, have been transfixed by the
darts of Thine enemies, and the heads which were borne on spears for the
sake of the exaltation of Thy Cause and the glorification of Thy name.
Have pity, then, upon those hearts which have been consumed by the fire of
Thy love, and been touched by such tribulations as are known only unto
Thee.
All laud and honor to Thee, O my God! Thou well knowest the things which,
for a score of years, have happened in Thy days, and have continued to
happen until this hour. No man can reckon, nor can any tongue tell, what
hath befallen Thy chosen ones during all this time. They could obtain no
shelter, nor find any refuge in which they could abide in safety. Turn,
then, O my God, their fear into the evidences of Thy peace and Thy
security, and their abasement into the sovereignty of Thy glory, and their
poverty into Thine all-sufficient riches, and their distress into the
wonders of Thy perfect tranquillity. Vouchsafe unto them the fragrances of
Thy might and Thy mercy, and send down upon them, out of Thy marvelous
loving-kindness, what will enable them to dispense with all except Thee,
and will detach them from aught save Thyself, that the sovereignty of Thy
oneness may be revealed and the supremacy of Thy grace and Thy bounty
demonstrated.
Wilt Thou not, O my God, look upon the tears which Thy loved ones have
shed? Wilt Thou not pity, O my Beloved, the eyes which have been dimmed by
reason of their separation from Thee, and because of the cessation of the