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straight on in the path of Thy Cause, the path wherein have slipped the
footsteps of the doubters among Thy people and the froward among Thy
servants. Thou art, verily, the All-Powerful, the Almighty, the Most
Great.
Lauded and glorified art Thou, O my God! I entreat Thee by the sighing of
Thy lovers and by the tears shed by them that long to behold Thee, not to
withhold from me Thy tender mercies in Thy Day, nor to deprive me of the
melodies of the Dove that extolleth Thy oneness before the light that
shineth from Thy face. I am the one who is in misery, O God! Behold me
cleaving fast to Thy Name, the All-Possessing. I am the one who is sure to
perish; behold me clinging to Thy Name, the Imperishable. I implore Thee,
therefore, by Thy Self, the Exalted, the Most High, not to abandon me unto
mine own self and unto the desires of a corrupt inclination. Hold Thou my
hand with the hand of Thy power, and deliver me from the depths of my
fancies and idle imaginings, and cleanse me of all that is abhorrent unto
Thee.
Cause me, then, to turn wholly unto Thee, to put my whole trust in Thee,
to seek Thee as my Refuge, and to flee unto Thy face. Thou art, verily, He
Who, through the power of His might, doeth whatsoever He desireth, and
commandeth, through the potency of His will, whatsoever He chooseth. None
can withstand the operation of Thy decree; none can divert the course of
Thine appointment. Thou art, in truth, the Almighty, the All-Glorious, the
Most Bountiful.
Lauded be Thy name, O Lord my God! Thou seest how I have turned myself
toward Thee, and set my face in the direction of Thy grace and Thy gifts.
I implore Thee, by Thy name through which Thou didst enable all them that
have recognized Thy unity to partake of the wine of Thy mercy, and all
such as have drawn nigh unto Thee to quaff the living waters of Thy
loving-kindness, to rid me entirely of all vain imaginings, and to incline
me in the direction of Thy grace, O Thou Who art the Lord of all men!
Graciously assist me, O my God, in the days of the Manifestation of Thy
Cause and of the Day-Spring of Thy Revelation, to tear asunder the veils
which have hindered me from recognizing Thee, and from immersing myself
beneath the ocean of Thy knowledge. Hold Thou me with the hands of Thy
power, and grant that I may be so carried away by the sweet melodies of
the Dove of Thy oneness, that I will cease to regard in all creation any
face except Thy face, O Thou the Goal of my desire, and will recognize in
the visible world naught else save the evidences of Thy might, O Thou Who
art the God of mercy!
I am but a wretched creature, O my Lord, and Thou art the All-Possessing,
the Most High; and I am all weakness, and Thou art the Almighty, and the
Supreme Ordainer in both the beginning and the end. Withhold not from me
the fragrances of Thy Revelation, and shatter not my hopes in the
outpourings which have been sent down out of the heaven of Thy gifts.
Ordain Thou for me, O my God, the good of this world and the world to
come, and grant me what will profit me in every world of Thy worlds, for I
know not what will help or harm me. Thou, in truth, art the All-Knowing,
the All-Wise.
Have mercy, then, O my God, upon Thy servants who are drowned in the midst
of the ocean of evil suggestions, and deliver them by the power of Thy
sovereignty, O Thou Who art the Lord of all names and attributes! Thou art
He Who from everlasting hath ordained what hath pleased Thee, and will
unto everlasting abide the same. No God is there but Thee, the
Ever-Forgiving, the Most Merciful.
O God, my God! I have set out from my home, holding fast unto the cord of
Thy love, and I have committed myself wholly to Thy care and Thy
protection. I entreat Thee by Thy power through which Thou didst protect
Thy loved ones from the wayward and the perverse, and from every
contumacious oppressor, and every wicked doer who hath strayed far from
Thee, to keep me safe by Thy bounty and Thy grace. Enable me, then, to
return to my home by Thy power and Thy might. Thou art, truly, the
Almighty, the Help in Peril, the Self-Subsisting.
From the sweet-scented streams of Thine eternity give me to drink, O my
God, and of the fruits of the tree of Thy being enable me to taste, O my
Hope! From the crystal springs of Thy love suffer me to quaff, O my Glory,
and beneath the shadow of Thine everlasting providence let me abide, O my
Light! Within the meadows of Thy nearness, before Thy presence, make me
able to roam, O my Beloved, and at the right hand of the throne of Thy
mercy, seat me, O my Desire! From the fragrant breezes of Thy joy let a
breath pass over me, O my Goal, and into the heights of the paradise of
Thy reality let me gain admission, O my Adored One! To the melodies of the
dove of Thy oneness suffer me to hearken, O Resplendent One, and through