199 I swear by God, O King!  Wert thou to incline thine ear to the melodies of that Nightingale which warbleth in manifold accents upon the mystic bough as bidden by thy Lord, the All-Merciful, thou wouldst cast away thy sovereignty and set thy face towards this Scene of transcendent glory, above whose horizon shineth the Book of the Dawntide,(25) and wouldst expend all that thou possessest in thine eagerness to obtain the things of God.  Then wouldst thou find thyself raised up to the summit of exaltation and glory, and elevated to the pinnacle of majesty and independence.  Thus hath the decree been recorded in the Mother Book by the Pen of the All-Merciful.  Of what avail are the things which are yours today and which tomorrow others shall possess?  Choose for thyself that which God hath chosen for His elect, and God shall grant thee a mighty sovereignty in His Kingdom.  We beseech God to aid thy Majesty to hearken unto that Word whose radiance hath enveloped the whole world, and to protect thee from such as have strayed far from the court of His presence.

200 Glory be to Thee, O Lord My God!  How many the heads which were raised aloft on spears in Thy path, and how many the breasts which were made the target of arrows for the sake of Thy good pleasure!  How many the hearts that have been lacerated for the exaltation of Thy Word and the promotion of Thy Cause, and how many the eyes that have wept sore for love of Thee!  I implore Thee, O Thou Who art the King of kings and the Pitier of the downtrodden, by Thy Most Great Name which Thou hast made the Dawning-Place of Thy most excellent names and the Dayspring of Thy most exalted attributes, to remove the veils that have come in between Thee and Thy creatures and debarred them from turning unto the horizon of Thy Revelation.  Cause them, then, O My God, by Thy most exalted Word, to turn from the left hand of oblivion and delusion unto the right hand of knowledge and certitude, that they may know what Thou hast purposed for them through Thy bounty and grace, and may set their faces towards Him Who is the Manifestation of Thy Cause and the Revealer of Thy signs.

201 O My God!  Thou art the All-Bountiful, Whose grace is infinite.  Withhold not Thy servants from the most mighty Ocean, which Thou hast made the repository of the pearls of Thy knowledge and Thy wisdom, and turn them not away from Thy gate, which Thou hast opened wide before all who are in Thy heaven and all who are on Thy earth.  O Lord!  Leave them not to themselves, for they understand not and flee from that which is better for them than all that Thou hast created upon Thine earth.  Cast upon them, O My God, the glances of the eye of Thy favour and bounty, and deliver them from self and passion, that they may draw nigh unto Thy most exalted Horizon, taste the sweetness of Thy remembrance, and delight in that bread which Thou hast sent down from the heaven of Thy Will and the firmament of Thy grace.  From everlasting Thy bounty hath embraced the entire creation and Thy mercy hath surpassed all things.  No God is there but Thee, the Ever-Forgiving, the Most Compassionate.