to
describe Thee, and wilt abide for ever the same with no one else to equal
or rival Thee. Were the existence of any co-equal with Thee to be
recognized, how could it then be maintained that Thou art the
Incomparable, or that Thy Godhead is immeasurably exalted above all peers
or likeness? The contemplation of the highest minds that have recognized
Thy unity failed to attain unto the comprehension of the One Thou hast
created through the word of Thy commandment, how much more must it be
powerless to soar into the atmosphere of the knowledge of Thine own Being.
Every praise which any tongue or pen can recount, every imagination which
any heart can devise, is debarred from the station which Thy most exalted
Pen hath ordained, how much more must it fall short of the heights which
Thou hast Thyself immensely exalted above the conception and the
description of any creature. For the attempt of the evanescent to conceive
the signs of the Uncreated is as the stirring of the drop before the
tumult of Thy billowing oceans. Nay, forbid it, O my God, that I should
thus venture to describe Thee, for every similitude and comparison must
pertain to what is essentially created by Thee. How can then such
similitude and comparison ever befit Thee, or reach up unto Thy Self?

By Thy glory, O my God! Though I recognize and firmly believe that no
description which any except Thyself can give of Thee can beseem Thy
grandeur, and that no glory ascribed to Thee by any save Thyself can ever
ascend into the atmosphere of Thy presence, yet were I to hold my peace,
and cease to glorify Thee and to recount Thy wondrous glory, my heart
would be consumed, and my soul would melt away.

My remembrance of Thee, O my God, quencheth my thirst, and quieteth my
heart. My soul delighteth in its communion with Thee, as the sucking child
delighteth itself in the breasts of Thy mercy; and my heart panteth after
Thee even as one sore athirst panteth after the living waters of Thy
bounty, O Thou Who art the God of mercy, in Whose hand is the lordship of
all things!

I give thanks to Thee, O my God, that Thou hast suffered me to remember
Thee. What else but remembrance of Thee can give delight to my soul or
gladness to my heart? Communion with Thee enableth me to dispense with the
remembrance of all Thy creatures, and my love for Thee empowereth me to
endure the harm which my oppressors inflict upon me.

Send, therefore, unto my loved ones, O my God, what will