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XXXIX: Praise be to Thee, O Lord My God, for the… |
Praise be to Thee, O Lord My God, for the
wondrous revelations of Thy inscrutable decree and
the manifold woes and trials Thou hast destined for
Myself. At one time Thou didst deliver Me into the
hands of Nimrod; at another Thou hast allowed Pharaoh’s
rod to persecute Me. Thou, alone, canst estimate,
through Thine all-encompassing knowledge
and the operation of Thy Will, the incalculable afflictions
I have suffered at their hands. Again Thou didst
cast Me into the prison-cell of the ungodly, for no
reason except that I was moved to whisper into the
ears of the well-favored denizens of Thy Kingdom
an intimation of the vision with which Thou hadst,
through Thy knowledge, inspired Me, and revealed
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to Me its meaning through the potency of Thy
might. And again Thou didst decree that I be beheaded
by the sword of the infidel. Again I was crucified
for having unveiled to men’s eyes the hidden
gems of Thy glorious unity, for having revealed to
them the wondrous signs of Thy sovereign and everlasting
power. How bitter the humiliations heaped
upon Me, in a subsequent age, on the plain of Karbilá!
How lonely did I feel amidst Thy people! To
what a state of helplessness I was reduced in that
land! Unsatisfied with such indignities, My persecutors
decapitated Me, and, carrying aloft My head
from land to land paraded it before the gaze of the
unbelieving multitude, and deposited it on the seats
of the perverse and faithless. In a later age, I was
suspended, and My breast was made a target to the
darts of the malicious cruelty of My foes. My limbs
were riddled with bullets, and My body was torn
asunder. Finally, behold how, in this Day, My treacherous
enemies have leagued themselves against Me,
and are continually plotting to instill the venom of
hate and malice into the souls of Thy servants. With
all their might they are scheming to accomplish their
purpose…. Grievous as is My plight, O God, My
Well-Beloved, I render thanks unto Thee, and My
Spirit is grateful for whatsoever hath befallen me
in the path of Thy good-pleasure. I am well pleased
with that which Thou didst ordain for Me, and welcome,
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however calamitous, the pains and sorrows I
am made to suffer.
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