which Thou didst graciously remember me, and didst show me Thy path, whilst I turned away from Thee and from Thy signs!  By Thy glory!  O Thou Who art the Hope of such as have acknowledged Thy unity, and the Desire of the hearts of them that are rid of all attachment to any save Thee!  I find no succorer except Thee, nor king, nor refuge, nor haven besides Thyself.  Alas, alas!  My turning away from Thee hath burnt up the veil of mine integrity, and my denial of Thee hath rent asunder the covering cast over mine honor.  O would that I were beneath the depths of the earth, so that my evil deeds would remain unknown to Thy servants!  Thou seest the sinner, O my Lord, who hath turned towards the dawning-place of Thy forgiveness and Thy bounty, and the mountain of iniquity that hath sought the heaven of Thy mercy and pardon.  Alas, alas!  My mighty sins have prevented me from approaching the court of Thy mercy, and my monstrous deeds have caused me to stray far from the sanctuary of Thy presence.  Indeed, I am he that hath failed in duty towards Thee, and hath broken Thy Covenant and Thy Testament, and committed that which hath made the dwellers of the cities of Thy justice, and the dawning-places of Thy grace in Thy realms, to lament.  I testify, O my God, that I have put away Thy commandments, and clung to the dictates of my passions, and have cast away the statutes of Thy Book, and seized the book of mine own desire.  O misery, misery!  As mine iniquities waxed greater and greater, Thy forbearance towards me augmented, and as the fire of my rebelliousness grew fiercer, the more did Thy forgiveness and Thy grace seek to smother up its flame.  By the power of Thy might!  O Thou Who art the desire of the world and the Best-Beloved of the nations!  Thy long-suffering hath puffed me up, and Thy patience hath emboldened me.  Thou beholdest, O my God, the tears that my shame hath caused to flow, and the sighs which my heedlessness hath led me to utter.  I swear by the greatness of Thy majesty!  I can find for myself no habitation save beneath the shadow of the court of Thy bounty, nor any refuge except under the canopy of Thy mercy.  Thou seest me in the midst of a sea of despair and of hopelessness, after Thou didst cause me to hear Thy words “Despair not.”  By Thy power!  My sore injustice hath severed the cord of my hope, and my rebellion hath darkened my face before the throne of Thy justice.  Thou beholdest, O my God, him who is as one dead fallen at the door of Thy favor, ashamed to seek from the hand of Thy loving-kindness the living waters of Thy pardon.  Thou hast given me a tongue wherewith to remember and praise Thee, and yet it uttereth that which hath caused the souls of such of Thy chosen ones as are nigh unto Thee to melt, and the hearts of the sincere amongst the dwellers of the habitations of holiness to be consumed.  Thou hast given me eyes to witness Thy signs, and to behold Thy verses, and to contemplate the revelations of Thine handiwork, but I have rejected Thy will, and