hy sovereignty which is hid from the
eyes of men, to reveal in all directions the signs of Thy manifold
blessings and the tokens of Thy loving-kindness, that I may arise with
exultation and rapture and extol Thy wondrous virtues, O Thou the Most
Merciful, and stir up by Thy name all created things, and so kindle the
fire of Thy glorification amidst Thy creatures, that all the world may be
filled with the brightness of the light of Thy glory, and all existence be
inflamed with the fire of Thy Cause.

Roll not up, O my Lord, what hath been spread out in Thy name, and
extinguish not the lamp which Thine own fire hath lit. Withhold not, O my
Lord, the water that is life indeed from running down--the water from whose
murmuring the wondrous melodies which extol and glorify Thee can be heard.
Deny not, moreover, Thy servants the sweet fragrance of the breath which
hath been wafted through Thy love.

Thou seest, O Thou Who art my All-Glorious Beloved, the restless waves
that surge within the ocean of my heart, in my love and yearning towards
Thee. I implore Thee, by the signs of Thy majesty and the evidences of Thy
sovereignty, to subdue Thy servants by this Name Which Thou hast made to
be the King of all names in the kingdom of Thy creation. Potent art Thou
to rule as Thou pleasest. No God is there but Thee, the All-Glorious, the
All-Bountiful.

Do Thou ordain, moreover, for every one who hath turned towards Thee what
will make him steadfast in Thy Cause, in such wise that neither the vain
imaginations of the infidels among Thy creatures, nor the idle talk of the
froward amidst Thy servants will have the power to shut him out from Thee.
Thou, verily, art the Help in Peril, the Almighty, the Most Powerful.

XLVIII: "UNTO THEE BE PRAISE, O LORD MY GOD! I BESEECH..."

Unto Thee be praise, O Lord my God! I beseech Thee by Thy Most Great Name
Who hath been shut up in the prison-town of Akka, and Who--as Thou
beholdest, O my God--hath fallen into the hands of His enemies, and is
threatened by the swords of the wicked doers, to make me steadfast in His
Cause, and to direct mine eyes continually towards His court, in such wise
that nothing whatsoever will have the power to turn me back from Him.

I testify, O my Lord, that He hath surrendered His life in Thy path, and
hath wished for Himself nothing but tribulation in the love He beareth to
Thee. He hath endured all manner of vexations that He may manifest Thy
sovereign