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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 |
signs of Thy victory? |
Wilt Thou not behold, |
O my Master, |
the hearts |
wherein have beaten the wings of the dove of longing and love for Thee? |
By |
Thy glory! |
Things have come to such a pass that hope hath well nigh been |
banished from the hearts of Thy chosen ones, |
and the breaths of despair |
are ready to seize them, |
by reason of what hath befallen them in Thy days. |
Behold me, |
then, |
O my God, |
how I have fled from myself unto Thee, |
and have |
abandoned my own being that I may attain unto the splendors of the light |
of Thy Being, |
and have forsaken all that keepeth me back from Thee, |
and |
maketh me forgetful of Thee, |
in order that I may inhale the fragrances of |
Thy presence and Thy remembrance. |
Behold how I have stepped upon the dust |
of the city of Thy forgiveness and Thy bounty, |
and dwelt within the |
precincts of Thy transcendent mercy, |
and have besought Thee, |
through the |
sovereignty of Him Who is Thy Remembrance and Who hath appeared in the |
robe of Thy most pure and most august Beauty, |
to send down, |
in the course |
of this year, |
upon Thy loved ones what will enable them to dispense with |
any one except Thee, |
and will set them free to recognize the evidences of |
Thy sovereign will and all-conquering purpose, |