"Lauded be Thy name, O Lord my God! Darkness..."
Lauded be Thy name, O Lord my God! Darkness hath fallen upon every land,
and the forces of mischief have encompassed all the nations. Through them,
however, I perceive the splendors of Thy wisdom, and discern the
brightness of the light of Thy providence.
They that are shut out as by a veil from Thee have imagined that they have
the power to put out Thy light, and to quench Thy fire, and to still the
winds of Thy grace. Nay, and to this Thy might beareth me witness! Had not
every tribulation been made the bearer of Thy wisdom, and every ordeal the
vehicle of Thy providence, no one would have dared oppose us, though the
powers of earth and heaven were to be leagued against us. Were I to
unravel the wondrous mysteries of Thy wisdom which are laid bare before
me, the reins of Thine enemies would be cleft asunder.
Glorified be Thou, then, O my God! I beseech Thee by Thy Most Great Name
to assemble them that love Thee around the Law that streameth from the
good pleasure of Thy will, and to send down upon them what will assure
their hearts.
Potent art Thou to do what pleaseth Thee. Thou art, verily, the Help in
Peril, the Self-Subsisting.
--Baha'u'llah
"Glory be unto Thee, O Lord, Thou Who hast..."
Glory be unto Thee, O Lord, Thou Who hast brought into being all created
things, through the power of Thy behest.
O Lord! Assist those who have renounced all else but Thee, and grant them
a mighty victory. Send down upon them, O Lord, the concourse of the angels
in heaven and earth and all that is between, to aid Thy servants, to
succor and strengthen them, to enable them to achieve success, to sustain
them, to invest them with glory, to confer upon them honor and exaltation,
to enrich them and to make them triumphant with a wondrous triumph.
Thou art their Lord, the Lord of the heavens and the earth, the Lord of
all the worlds. Strengthen this Faith, O Lord, through the power of these
servants, and cause them to prevail over all the peoples of the world; for
they, of a truth, are Thy servants who have detached themselves from aught
else but Thee, and Thou, verily, art the protector of true believers.
Grant Thou, O Lord, that their hearts may, through allegiance to this,
Thine inviolable Faith, grow stronger than anything else in the heavens
and on earth and in whatsoever is between them; and strengthen, O Lord,
their hands with the tokens of Thy wondrous power that they may manifest
Thy power before the gaze of all mankind.
--The Bab
"O Lord! Provide for the speedy growth of the..."
O Lord! Provide for the speedy growth of the Tree of Thy divine Unity;
water it then, O Lord, with the flowing waters of Thy good-pleasure, and
cause it, before the revelations of Thy divine assurance, to yield such
fruits as Thou desirest for Thy glorification and exaltation, Thy praise
and thanksgiving, and to magnify Thy Name, to laud the oneness of Thine
Essence and to offer adoration unto Thee, inasmuch as all this lieth
within Thy grasp and in that of none other.
Great is the blessedness of those whose blood Thou hast chosen wherewith
to water the Tree of Thine affirmation, and thus to exalt Thy holy and
immutable Word.
--The Bab
"O Lord! Render victorious Thy forbearing..."
O Lord! Render victorious Thy forbearing servants in Thy days by granting
them a befitting victory, inasmuch as they have sought martyrdom in Thy
path. Send down upon them that which will bring comfort to their minds,
will rejoice their inner beings, will impart assurance to their hearts and
tranquillity to their bodies and will enable their souls to ascend to the
presence of God, the Most Exalted, and to attain the supreme Paradise and
such retreats of glory as Thou hast destined for men of true knowledge and
virtue. Verily, Thou knowest all things, while we are but Thy servants,
Thy thralls, Thy bondsmen and Thy poor ones. No Lord but Thee do we
invoke, O God our Lord, nor do we implore blessings or grace from anyone
but Thee, O Thou Who art the God of mercy unto this world and the next. We
are but the embodiments of poverty, of nothingness, of helplessness and of
perdition, while Thy whole Being betokeneth wealth, independence, glory,
majesty and boundless grace.
Turn our recompense, O Lord, into that which well beseemeth Thee of the
good of this world and of the next, and of the manifold bounties which
extend from on high down to the earth below.
Verily, Thou art our Lord and the Lord of all things. Into Thy hands do we
surrender ourselves, yearning for the things that pertain unto Thee.
--The Bab
"O Lord! Enable all the peoples of the earth to..."
O Lord! Enable all the peoples of the earth to gain admittance into the
Paradise of Thy Faith, so that no created being may remain beyond the
bounds of Thy good-pleasure.
From time immemorial Thou hast been potent to do what pleaseth Thee and
transcendent above whatsoever Thou desirest.
--The Bab
"O God, my God! Praise be unto Thee for..."
O God, my God! Praise be unto Thee for kindling the fire of divine love in
the Holy Tree on the summit of the loftiest mount: that Tree which is
"neither of the East nor of the West,"(8) that fire which blazed out till
the flame of it soared upward to the Concourse on high, and from it those
realities caught the light of guidance, and cried out: "Verily have we
perceived a fire on the slope of Mount Sinai."(9)
O God, my God! Increase Thou this fire, as day followeth day, till the
blast of it setteth in motion all the earth. O Thou, my Lord! Kindle the
light of Thy love in every heart, breathe into men's souls the spirit of
Thy knowledge, gladden their breasts with the verses of Thy oneness. Call
Thou to life those who dwell in their tombs, warn Thou the prideful, make
happiness worldwide, send down Thy crystal waters, and in the assemblage
of manifest splendors, pass round that cup which is "tempered at the
camphor fountain."(10)
Verily, art Thou the Giving, the Forgiving, the Ever-Bestowing. Verily,
art Thou the Merciful, the Compassionate.
--'Abdu'l-Baha
"He is God!..."
He is God!
O Lord, my God, my Well-Beloved! These are servants of Thine that have
heard Thy Voice, given ear to Thy Word and hearkened to Thy Call. They
have believed in Thee, witnessed Thy wonders, acknowledged Thy proof and
testified to Thine evidence. They have walked in Thy ways, followed Thy
guidance, discovered Thy mysteries, comprehended the secrets of Thy Book,
the verses of Thy Scrolls and the tidings of Thy Epistles and Tablets.
They have clung to the hem of Thy garment and held fast unto the robe of
Thy light and grandeur. Their footsteps have been strengthened in Thy
Covenant and their hearts made firm in Thy Testament. Lord! Do Thou kindle
in their hearts the flame of Thy divine attraction and grant that the bird
of love and understanding may sing within their hearts. Grant that they
may be even as potent signs, resplendent standards, and perfect as Thy
Word. Exalt by them Thy Cause, unfurl Thy banners and publish far and wide
Thy wonders. Make by them Thy Word triumphant, and strengthen the loins of
Thy loved ones. Unloose their tongues to laud Thy Name, and inspire them
to do Thy holy will and pleasure. Illumine their faces in Thy Kingdom of
holiness, and perfect their joy by aiding them to arise for the triumph of
Thy Cause.
Lord! Feeble are we, strengthen us to diffuse the fragrances of Thy
Holiness; poor, enrich us from the treasures of Thy Divine Unity; naked,
clothe us with the robe of Thy bounty; sinful, forgive us our sins by Thy
grace, Thy favor and Thy pardon. Thou art, verily, the Aider, the Helper,
the Gracious, the Mighty, the Powerful.
The glory of glories rest upon them that are fast and firm.
--'Abdu'l-Baha