Far, immeasurably far, art Thou exalted above all things, O Thou Who art the King of Kings!  I entreat Thee by Thy Self and by Them Who are the Manifestations of Thy Cause and the Day-Springs of Thine authority to write down for us that which Thou hast written down for Thy chosen ones.  Withhold not from us that which Thou didst ordain for Thy loved ones, who, as soon as Thy call reached them, hastened unto Thee, and when the splendors of the light of Thy countenance were shed upon them, instantly prostrated themselves in adoration before Thy face.

We are Thy servants, O my Lord, and in the grasp of Thy power.  If Thou chastisest us with the chastisement inflicted upon the former and the latter generations, Thy verdict would be assuredly just and Thine act praiseworthy.  Powerful art Thou to do what pleaseth Thee.  None other God is there beside Thee, the Almighty, the All-Glorious, the Help in Peril, the Self-Subsisting.

LXXXI:  “Unto Thee be praise, O Thou Who inclinest Thine...”

Unto Thee be praise, O Thou Who inclinest Thine ear to the sighing of them that have rid themselves of all attachment to any one but Thee, and Who hearest the voice of the lamentation of those who are wholly devoted to Thy Self!  Thou beholdest all that hath befallen them at the hands of such of Thy creatures as have transgressed and rebelled against Thee.  Thy might beareth me witness, O Thou Who art the King of the realms of justice and the Ruler of the cities of mercy!  The tribulations they have been made to suffer are such as no pen, in the entire creation, can reckon.  Should any one attempt to make mention of them, he would find himself powerless to describe them.

As these tribulations, however, were sustained in Thy path and for love of Thee, they who were afflicted by them render thanks, under all conditions, unto Thee, and say:  “O Thou Who art the Delight of our hearts and the Object of our adoration!  Were the clouds of Thy decree to rain down upon us the darts of affliction, we would, in our love for Thee, refuse to be impatient.  We would yield Thee praise and thanksgiving, for we have recognized and are persuaded that Thou hast ordained only that which will be best for us.  If our bodies be, at times, weighed down by our troubles, yet our souls rejoice with exceeding gladness.  We swear by Thy might, O Thou Who art the Desire of our hearts and the Exultation of our souls!  Every trouble that toucheth us in our love for Thee is an evidence of Thy tender mercy, every fiery ordeal a sign of the brightness of Thy light, every woeful tribulation a cooling draught, every toil a blissful repose, every anguish a fountain of gladness.”

Whosoever, O my Lord, is impatient in the tribulations befalling him in Thy path, hath not drunk of the cup of Thy love nor tasted of the sweetness of Thy remembrance.  I implore Thee, by Him Who is the King of all names and their Sovereign, Who is the Revealer of all attributes and their Creator, and by them who have soared aloft and drawn nigh unto Thee and winged their flight into the atmosphere of Thy presence, and have endured the galling of chains for Thy sake, to grant that all Thy people may be graciously aided to recognize Him Who is the Manifestation of Thine own Self, Who, because He summoned mankind unto Thee, hath been exiled and cast into prison.