d how my hands are stretched out
unto the heaven of Thy bestowals. Thy might beareth me witness! Every limb
of my body crieth out to Thee and saith: "O Thou Who art the Well-Beloved
of the worlds, and the Lord of all that are in heaven and on earth, and
the one Desire of the hearts which are devoted to Thee! I implore Thee, by
Thine Ocean unto which Thou didst summon all the inmates of heaven and all
the dwellers of the earth, to help Thy servants who have been kept back
from turning unto it and from approaching its shores. Make them, then, O
my God, to be detached from all else but Thee, and enable them to speak
forth Thy praise and extol Thy virtues. Supply them, moreover, O my God,
with the choice Wine of Thy mercy, that it may cause them to be forgetful
of any one except Thee, and to arise to serve Thy Cause, and to be
steadfast in their love for Thee. Thou art, verily, the Lord of their
lives and the Object of their adoration. If they be driven away by Thee,
who will then look upon them; and if they be removed far from Thee, who is
there that can help them to approach Thy Presence? I swear by Thy might!
No refuge is there to flee to except Thee, and no shelter to seek except
Thy shelter, and no protection except Thy protection. Woe betide him who
hath taken as Lord any one beside Thee, and blessed are the ones who have
rid themselves of all attachment to all the dwellers of Thine earth, and
clung to the hem of Thy bounteousness. These! the people of Baha, before
all that are in heaven and all that are on earth. No God is there but
Thee, the Omniscient, the All-Wise."

Praise be to God, the Lord of all worlds.

CX: "I KNOW NOT, O MY GOD, WHETHER I SHOULD SPEAK..."

I know not, O my God, whether I should speak forth the wonders of Thy
praise among Thy servants, and lay bare before them the secrets of Thy
mercy and the mysteries of Thy Cause, or keep them wrapped up within the
receptacle of my heart. Though the lover be loth to share with any one the
intimate conversation of his beloved, yet at whatever time Thine
inescapable commandment to declare Thy Cause reacheth me, I will
unhesitatingly obey it. I would proclaim Thee, undeterred by the darts of
affliction that may rain down upon me from the clouds of Thy decree.

I swear by Thy might! Neither the hosts of the earth nor those of heaven
can keep me back from revealing the things I am commanded to manifest. I
have no will before Thy will, and can cheris