Prayers and Meditations Part 21

I am poor, O my Lord, and Thou art the Rich. I have set my face towards Thee, and detached myself from all but Thee. Deprive me not, I implore Thee, of the breezes of Thy tender mercy, and withhold not from me what Thou didst ordain for the chosen among Thy servants.

Remove the veil from mine eyes, O my Lord, that I may recognize what Thou hast desired for Thy creatures, and discover, in all the manifestations of Thy handiwork, the revelations of Thine almighty power. Enrapture my soul, O my Lord, with Thy most mighty signs, and draw me out of the depths of my corrupt and evil desires. Write down, then, for me the good of this world and of the world to come. Potent art Thou to do what pleaseth Thee. No G.o.d is there but Thee, the All-Glorious, Whose help is sought by all men.

I yield Thee thanks, O my Lord, that Thou hast wakened me from my sleep, and stirred me up, and created in me the desire to perceive what most of Thy servants have failed to apprehend. Make me able, therefore, O my Lord, to behold, for love of Thee and for the sake of Thy pleasure, whatsoever Thou hast desired. Thou art He to the power of Whose might and sovereignty all things testify.

There is none other G.o.d but Thee, the Almighty, the Beneficent.

CXXIX: "PRAISED BE THOU, O MY G.o.d! THOU SEEST HOW THY..."

Praised be Thou, O my G.o.d! Thou seest how Thy righteous servants have fallen into the hands of the wicked doers, who have disbelieved in Thy name, the Unconstrained, and denied Thy majesty, and Thine unrestrained authority, and Thy strength, and Thy sovereign might. Their mouths utter what the mouths of the Jews uttered aforetime.

Put forth, therefore, out of the bosom of Thy glory, O my Lord, the hand of Thine omnipotence, and through it a.s.sist Thou Thy loved ones who, though sore-tried in Thy path with such trials as have caused the inmates of the kingdom of Thy Cause to groan, were not deterred from turning towards the horizon of Thy Revelation.

Set, then, the seal of Thine unerring protection on their hearts, O my Lord, lest perchance the remembrance of aught else except Thee enter therein. Make them able, moreover, to proclaim Thy name amidst Thy creatures, and supply them with the best of what Thou hast destined for such of Thy chosen ones as enjoy near access to Thee.

Potent art Thou to do Thy pleasure. Thou truly art the All-Glorious, to whom all cry for help.

Cx.x.x: "LAUDED BE THY NAME, O LORD MY G.o.d! THOU SEEST..."

Lauded be Thy name, O Lord my G.o.d! Thou seest how Thy servants have everywhere been compa.s.sed with tribulations, how their adversaries have all risen up against them and grievously wronged them. Thy glory beareth me witness! Were all the wicked doers of the earth to band themselves against us, and to cast us into a fire such as no man hath kindled, they would be powerless to distract our gaze from the horizon of Thy name, the Most Exalted, the Most High, and would fail to turn aside our hearts from the seat of Thine effulgent glory.

I swear by Thy might! The arrows that transfix us in Thy path are the ornaments of our temples, and the spears which pierce us in our love for Thee are as silk unto our bodies. By the glory of Thy might! Nothing whatsoever can beseem Thy servants except what the pen of Thine irrevocable decree hath traced in this priceless and exalted Tablet.

All praise be to Thy Self at all times and under all conditions. Thou art, verily, the G.o.d of knowledge and wisdom.

Cx.x.xI: "PRAISE BE UNTO THEE, O MY G.o.d! THOU SEEST HOW..."

Praise be unto Thee, O my G.o.d! Thou seest how He Who is Thy Light hath been shut up in the fortress-town of Akka, and been sore oppressed by reason of what the hands of the wicked doers have wrought, whose corrupt desires have kept them back from turning towards Thee, O Thou Who art the King of all names!

I swear by Thy glory! Tribulations, however woeful, can never hinder me from remembering Thee or from celebrating Thy praise. Every vexation borne for love of Thee is a token of Thy mercy unto Thy creatures, and every ordeal suffered in Thy path is but a gift from Thee bestowed on Thy chosen ones. I testify that my countenance, which s.h.i.+neth above the Day-Spring of eternity, hath been irradiated by adversity, and my body hath been adorned by it before all who are in heaven and all who are on earth.

I pray Thee, by Thy Most Great Name, to aid all them that have believed on Thee and on Thy signs to be steadfast in Thy love and to set themselves towards the Dawning-Place of the Day-Star of Thy loving-kindness. Inspire them, then, O my G.o.d, with what will unloose their tongue to praise Thee, and will draw them nigh unto Thee in the life that now is and the life that is to come.

Thou truly art the Almighty, the All-Glorious, the Beneficent.

Cx.x.xII: "GLORIFIED BE THY NAME, O LORD MY G.o.d! I BESEECH..."

Glorified be Thy name, O Lord my G.o.d! I beseech Thee by Thy power that hath encompa.s.sed all created things, and by Thy sovereignty that hath transcended the entire creation, and by Thy Word which was hidden in Thy wisdom and whereby Thou didst create Thy heaven and Thy earth, both to enable us to be steadfast in our love for Thee and in our obedience to Thy pleasure, and to fix our gaze upon Thy face, and celebrate Thy glory.

Empower us, then, O my G.o.d, to spread abroad Thy signs among Thy creatures, and to guard Thy Faith in Thy realm. Thou hast ever existed independently of the mention of any of Thy creatures, and wilt remain as Thou hast been for ever and ever.

In Thee I have placed my whole confidence, unto Thee I have turned my face, to the cord of Thy loving providence I have clung, and towards the shadow of Thy mercy I have hastened. Cast me not as one disappointed out of Thy door, O my G.o.d, and withhold not from me Thy grace, for Thee alone do I seek. No G.o.d is there beside Thee, the Ever-Forgiving, the Most Bountiful.

Praise be to Thee, O Thou Who art the Beloved of them that have known Thee!

Cx.x.xIII: "O THOU WHOSE TESTS ARE A HEALING MEDICINE TO SUCH..."

O Thou Whose tests are a healing medicine to such as are nigh unto Thee, Whose sword is the ardent desire of all them that love Thee, Whose dart is the dearest wish of those hearts that yearn after Thee, Whose decree is the sole hope of them that have recognized Thy truth! I implore Thee, by Thy divine sweetness and by the splendors of the glory of Thy face, to send down upon us from Thy retreats on high that which will enable us to draw nigh unto Thee. Set, then, our feet firm, O my G.o.d, in Thy Cause, and enlighten our hearts with the effulgence of Thy knowledge, and illumine our b.r.e.a.s.t.s with the brightness of Thy names.

Cx.x.xIV: "I AM HE, O MY LORD, THAT HATH SET HIS FACE TOWARDS..."

I am he, O my Lord, that hath set his face towards Thee, and fixed his hope on the wonders of Thy grace and the revelations of Thy bounty. I pray Thee that Thou wilt not suffer me to turn away disappointed from the door of Thy mercy, nor abandon me to such of Thy creatures as have repudiated Thy Cause.

I am, O my G.o.d, Thy servant and the son of Thy servant. I have recognized Thy truth in Thy days, and have directed my steps towards the sh.o.r.es of Thy oneness, confessing Thy singleness, acknowledging Thy unity, and hoping for Thy forgiveness and pardon. Powerful art Thou to do what Thou willest; no G.o.d is there beside Thee, the All-Glorious, the Ever-Forgiving.

Cx.x.xV: "UNTO THEE BE PRAISE, O LORD MY G.o.d! I TESTIFY..."

Unto Thee be praise, O Lord my G.o.d! I testify that Thou art G.o.d, and that there is none other G.o.d besides Thee. Thou hast from eternity been immeasurably exalted above the praise of any one except Thee, and far above the description of any of Thy creatures. All created things have borne witness to Thy unity, and every dweller in Thy kingdom hath confessed Thy oneness. The essence of the apprehension of the a.s.sured among Thy creatures can never attain unto Thee, and the gem-like utterances with which Thy people have praised and glorified Thee can never hope to ascend unto the atmosphere of Thy holiness. For men's apprehension of Thee is but the apprehension of Thine own creation; how can it reach up to Thee? And all human praise and glorification of Thee pertain unto Thy servants; how can they be deemed worthy of the court of Thy oneness?

I swear by Thy glory! The quintessence of knowledge is powerless to comprehend Thy nature, and the inmost reality of every praise of Thee falleth short of the seat of Thy great glory and of Thine all-compelling power. Every utterance that seeketh to describe Thee, and every knowledge that attempteth to comprehend Thee, is but an expression of Thine own creating, and is begotten by Thy will, and fas.h.i.+oned in conformity with Thy purpose.

I implore Thee, O Thou Who art inscrutable to all except Thee, and can be comprehended through naught else save Thyself, by the wrongs which He Who is the Day-Spring of Thy Cause hath suffered at the hands of the ign.o.ble among Thy creatures, and by what hath befallen Him in Thy path, to grant that I may, at all times, be wholly dissolved in Thee, and fix my gaze upon the horizon of Thy will and be steadfast in Thy love.

I have, O my Lord, turned unto Thee according to what Thou hast commanded me in Thy Book, and have set my face towards the horizon of Thy loving-kindness even as Thou hast permitted me in Thy Tablets. Cast me not out of the door of Thy grace, I beseech Thee, and write down for me the recompense destined for him who hath entered Thy presence, and hath risen to serve Thee, and hath been carried away by the drops sprinkled upon him from the Ocean of Thy favors in Thy days, and by the splendors of the Day-Star of Thy gifts that have been shed upon him at the revelation of the light of Thy countenance.