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 have
committed what hath caused the faithful among Thy creatures and the
detached amidst Thy servants to groan. Thou hast given me ears that I may
incline them unto Thy praise and Thy celebration, and unto that which Thou
didst send down from the heaven of Thy bounty and the firmament of Thy
will. And yet, alas, alas, I have forsaken Thy Cause, and have commanded
Thy servants to blaspheme against Thy trusted ones and Thy loved ones, and
have acted, before the throne of Thy justice, in such wise that those that
have recognized Thy unity and are wholly devoted to Thee among the
dwellers of Thy realm mourned with a sore lamentation. I know not, O my
God, which among my evildoings to mention before the billowing ocean of
Thy favor, nor which of my trespasses to declare when face to face with
the splendors of the suns of Thy goodly gifts and bounties.

"I beseech Thee, this very moment, by the mysteries of Thy Book, and by
the things hid in Thy knowledge, and by the pearls that lie concealed
within the shells of the ocean of Thy mercy, to reckon me among such as
Thou didst mention in Thy Book and describe in Thy Tablets. Hast Thou
decreed for me, O my God, any joy after this tribulation, or any relief to
succeed this affliction, or any ease to follow this trouble? Alas, alas!
Thou hast ordained that every pulpit be set apart for Thy mention, and for
the glorification of Thy Word, and the revelation of Thy Cause, but I have
ascended it to proclaim the violation of Thy Covenant, and have spoken
unto Thy servants such words as have caused the dwellers of the
Tabernacles of Thy majesty and the denizens of the Cities of Thy wisdom to
lament. How often hast Thou sent down the food of Thine utterance out of
the heaven of Thy bounty, and I denied it; and how numerous the occasions
on which