A new version of the Bahá’í Reference Library is now available. This ‘old version’ of the Bahá’í Reference Library will be replaced at a later date.
The new version of the Bahá’i Reference Library can be accessed here »
LXXXIII: “Praised be Thou, O Lord my God! Thou seest my…” |
Praised be Thou, O Lord my God! Thou seest my
poverty and my misery, my troubles and my needs,
my utter helplessness and my extreme lowliness, my
lamentations and my bitter wailing, the anguish of
my soul and the afflictions which beset me. The power
of Thy might beareth me witness! Such is the depth of
mine abasement that Thy servants who have strayed
far from Thy path deride me. Thou knowest that
I am recognized as the bearer of Thy name among
Thy creatures. Thou knowest that my station is but
an image of Thy station, that my virtues recount
140
Thy virtues, that within mine inmost being naught
can be found except the revelations of Thy signs, and
that my very essence is but a reflection of the evidences
of Thy unity.
|
All these things Thou hast noised abroad among
Thy creatures, in such wise that none can recognize
me, except as one who beareth Thy name. I swear
by Thy glory! My lamentations are not for the things
which have befallen me in Thy path, but are due to
my recognition that by reason of mine abasement the
hearts of them that love Thee have been sore shaken,
and the souls of Thine adversaries have been so filled
with joy that they rejoice over those who have detached
themselves from all except Thee and have
hastened towards the river of Thy remembrance and
praise. So great is their waywardness that when meeting
Thy loved ones, they shake their heads in derision
of Thy Cause and say: “Where is your Lord Whom
ye mention in the daytime and in the night season?
Where is He to be found Whom ye call your Sovereign,
to Whom ye summon all men to turn?” Their
pride and haughtiness waxed greater and greater until
they denied the power of Thy might and rejected Thy
sovereignty and dominion.
|
Thy glory beareth me witness! I delight in mine
own afflictions and in the afflictions which they who
love me suffer in Thy path. Neither I nor they, however,
are able to bear such affronts and reproaches as
are uttered by Thine enemies against Thy Self, the
Unrestrained. How long shalt Thou remain seated,
141
O my God, on the throne of Thy forbearance and
patience? Speak Thou Thy word of wrath, O Thou
Whom no eyes can see! Well-beloved is Thy
mercy unto the sincere among Thy servants, and
well-beseeming Thy chastisement of the infidels
among Thine enemies. Send down upon them, therefore,
O my Lord, that which will unmistakably reveal
unto them the fury of Thy wrath and the ascendancy
of Thy power, and will enable them to recognize the
weight of Thy might and the greatness of Thy
strength. If Thou refusest, O my God, to aid them
that love Thee, assist Thou, then, Thine own Self and
Him Who is Thy Remembrance.
|
I entreat Thee by Thy name, that hath caused the
ocean of Thy wrath to surge, to chastise them who
have repudiated Thy truth and disowned Thine
utterances. Abase them, then, by Thy might and
power, and exalt such as have, wholly for Thy sake,
set their faces towards Thee, that through them the
ensigns of Thy glorification may be unfurled among
all nations, and Thy tokens be spread abroad among
all peoples, and that all may testify that Thou art
God, that there is none other God beside Thee, the
God of power, of majesty and glory.
|