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.





XII: “PRAISED BE THOU, O LORD MY GOD! THIS IS THY...”


Praised be Thou, O Lord my God! This is Thy servant who hath quaffed from
the hands of Thy grace the wine of Thy tender mercy, and tasted of the
savor of Thy love in Thy days. I beseech Thee, by the embodiments of Thy
names whom no grief can hinder from rejoicing in Thy love or from gazing
on Thy face, and whom all the hosts of the heedless are powerless to cause