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Prayers and Meditations by Bahá'u'lláh
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Pages 115-117
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LXX: "Faded now is all that erstwhile flourished in the..."
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Faded now is all that erstwhile flourished in the Paradise of Thy transcendent oneness, O my God!
Where are the rain-giving clouds of Thy mercy?
Shorn are the branches of the Tree of Thy unity of
the vesture of Thy majesty and wisdom; where is the
spring-time of Thy gifts and bounties? Motionless
lies the Ark of Thy Cause on the sea of Thy creation;
where are the winds of Thy grace and favors?
Encompassed on every side is Thy Lamp by the
tempests of discord blowing from every land; where
is the globe of Thy graciousness and protection?
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Thou seest, O my God, how the eyes of these poor
creatures are bent upon the horizon of Thy riches,
how the hearts of these helpless ones are set in the
direction of Thy might. I beseech Thee, O Thou Who
art the sole Desire of them that have recognized
Thee, and the Object of the adoration of the entire
creation, not to suffer them, now that Thou hast
attracted them by Thy most exalted Word, to be far
removed from the Tabernacle which Thou hast reared
up by Thy name, the All-Glorious.
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3 |
They are sore pressed with cares, O my Lord, and
are encompassed about by the wicked. Send down,
therefore, from the heaven of Thy behest Thine invisible
hosts, that, holding aloft the ensigns of Thy
victory, they may help them in Thy land, and may
shield them against Thine adversaries.
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4 |
I entreat Thee, O my God, by Thy name through
which the clouds have rained down their rain, and
the streams have flowed, and the fire of Thy love hath
been kindled throughout Thy dominion, to assist Thy
servant who hath turned towards Thee, and hath
spoken forth Thy praise, and determined to help
Thee. Fortify, then, his heart, O my God, in Thy
love and in Thy Faith. Better is this for him than all
that hath been created on Thine earth, for the world
and whatsoever is therein must perish, and what pertaineth
unto Thee must endure as long as Thy most
excellent names endure. By Thy Glory! Were the
world to last as long as Thine own kingdom will last,
to set their affections upon it would still be unseemly
for such as have quaffed, from the hands of Thy
mercy, the wine of Thy presence; how much more
when they recognize its fleetingness and are persuaded
of its transience. The chances that overtake it, and
the changes to which all things pertaining unto it are
continually subjected, attest its impermanence.
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5 |
Whosoever hath recognized Thee will turn to none
save Thee, and will seek from Thee naught else except
Thyself. Thou art the sole Desire of the heart of him
whose thoughts are fixed on Thee, and the highest
Aspiration of whosoever is wholly devoted unto Thee.
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6 |
No God is there beside Thee, the Almighty, the
Help in Peril, the All-Glorious, the Most Powerful.
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