XX: “LAUDED BE THY NAME, O THOU WHO BEHOLDEST ALL...”


Lauded be Thy name, O Thou Who beholdest all things and art hidden from
all things! From every land Thou hearest the lamentations of them that
love Thee, and from every direction Thou hearkenest unto the cries of such
as have recognized Thy sovereignty. Were their oppressors to be asked:
“Wherefore have ye oppressed them and held them in bondage in Ba_gh_dád
and elsewhere? What injustice have they committed? Whom have they
betrayed? Whose blood have they spilled, and whose property have they
plundered?” they would know not what to answer.

Thou knowest full well, O my God, that their only crime is to have loved
Thee. For this reason have their oppressors laid hold on them, and
scattered them abroad. Aware as I am, O my God, that Thou wilt send down
upon Thy servants only what is good for them, I nevertheless beseech Thee,
by Thy name which overshadoweth all things, to raise up, for their
assistance and as a sign of Thy grace and as an evidence of Thy power,
those who will keep them safe from all their adversaries.

Potent art Thou to do Thy pleasure. Thou art, verily, the Supreme Ruler,
the Almighty, the Help in Peril, the Self-Subsisting.





XXI: “PRAISED BE THOU, O LORD MY GOD! I AM THY SERVANT...”