Lauded Be Thy Name, O Thou Who Art My God

Sources: Prayers And Meditations

Lauded be Thy name, O Thou Who art my God and throbbest within my heart!

Thou art well aware and dost witness that whatsoever shameth them that are

dear to Thee must shame also Him Who is the Manifestation of Thyself and

the Day-Spring of Thy Revelation. Nay, He is put to greater shame than

they when they are led to confess the good things which have escaped them

in Thy days.



These are Thy servants, O my ord, who for love of Thee have abandoned

their homes, and sustained the tribulations decreed by Thee in Thy path. I

swear by Thy glory! Every time any one of them testifieth before Thee to

his evil doings, shame covereth my face, for they are Thy servants who

have tasted of the cup of woe in Thy Cause, who have quaffed from the

chalice of adversity when the light of Thy countenance was lifted upon

them, and who were so vexed by trials that peace was utterly denied them

within the precincts of Thy court.



The power of Thy might beareth me witness! My heart hath melted by reason

of my love for them that are dear to Thee, and my soul is laden with

anguish for the sorrows which have afflicted them at the revelation of Thy

Cause and the appearance of the billowing oceans of Thy grace and favors.

The sighs they uttered, O my Lord, have caused my sighs to ascend towards

Thee, and the burning of their hearts hath consumed mine own heart within

me.



I beseech Thee, O Thou Who art the Lord of all being and the Enlightener

of all things visible and invisible, to grant that every one of them may

become an ensign of Thy guidance among Thy servants, and a revelation of

the splendors of the Day-Star of Thy loving-kindness amidst Thy creatures.

Thou hast, O my God, chosen them to love Thee, and to stand before the

throne of Thy majesty. No other station hath excelled the station to which

Thou hast called them. How many the nights, O my God, when sleep failed to

overtake them because of their remembrance of Thee, and how numerous the

days which they spent in lamentation over the things that have befallen

Thee at the hands of Thine enemies! I entreat Thee, O Thou Who art the

Ruler of rulers, and the Uplifter of the downtrodden, to aid them so to

assist Thy Cause and exalt Thy word that through them Thy praise may be

shed abroad amidst Thy creatures, and Thy virtues recounted throughout Thy

realm. Thou art, verily, the Almighty, the Most Exalted, the

Ever-Forgiving, the Most Generous.



Praised be Thou, O Lord my God! This is Thy servant whom Thou hast in the

kingdom of Thy names called by Thine own name, and whom Thou hast reared

under the wings of Thy grace and favors. Thou seest him, therefore,

hastening in the direction of Thy gifts, and rushing forth towards Thee

seeking after Thy bounty. Attire him, O my God, with the mantle of Thy

favor and the robe of Thy munificence and generosity, that all created

things may perceive from him the sweet smell of the raiment of Thy love.

Adorn, then, his head with the crown of Thy remembrance, in such wise that

his fame may be noised abroad among Thy servants as one who loveth Thee

and cleaveth steadfastly to Thy Cause. Assist him, moreover, at all times

and under all conditions to help Thee and to remember Thee, and to extol

Thy virtues amidst Thy creatures.



I swear by Thy glory, O my God! Every time I muse on Thy glory and Thy

sovereignty I find myself as the most guilty among them that have

transgressed against Thee in Thy realm, and every time I contemplate the

heights in which none except Thee can abide, I discover that I am the most

sinful of all the creatures that dwell in Thy land. Had it not been for

Thy name, the Concealer, and for Thy name, the Ever-Forgiving, and for the

sweet savors of Thy name, the Most Merciful, all Thy chosen ones had been

reckoned amongst the perverse and the wicked.



I render Thee thanks that Thy mercy hath overtaken them and Thy grace and

bountiful favors compassed them on every side.



And now, having confessed the things Thou didst cause to flow down from my

Pen, I implore Thee, by Thy name which Thou hast raised up above every

other name, and hast caused to overshadow all that are in heaven and all

that are on earth, to cast not away him that hath turned towards Thee, and

to deny him not the wonders of Thy grace and the hidden evidences of Thy

mercy. Let the hands of Thine omnipotence kindle in his heart a lamp that

will enable him to shine brightly in Thy days, and to cry out with such

vehemence in Thy name that no timidity will deter him from soaring in the

atmosphere of Thy love, and from ascending to the horizon of rapture and

longing for Thee, and that the pursuits of Thy creatures will not withhold

him from magnifying Thy word, that Thou mayest behold him sanctified as

Thou wishest and as beseemeth Thy majesty and glory.



Exalted though this station may be, O my God, and however excellent this

position--for who else except Thyself hath the power to show forth what may

be deemed worthy of Thine exaltation and befit Thy greatness--yet Thou art

He Who is the All-Bountiful, the Most Compassionate. All the atoms of the

earth testify that Thou art the Ever-Forgiving, the Benevolent, the Great

Giver, the All-Glorious, the All-Wise. Look, then, upon him, O my God,

with the eyes of Thy loving-kindness, and cast upon him the glance of Thy

generosity. Enrapture him, moreover, with the sweet melodies of Him Who is

the Fountain-Head of Thy Revelation, in such wise that he may wholly

surrender his will to Thy pleasure, and fix his hopes upon the things Thou

didst ordain in Thy Tablets. Strengthen, then, his heart by Thy name, the

Almighty, the Faithful, that he may draw forth the hand of power, and with

it help Thy Cause when the light of Thy beauty is manifested and the

Day-Star of Thy majesty is risen.



Since Thou hast called him by Thy name, O my Lord, single him out among

Thy servants for Thy service. Thou well knowest, O my Lord, that in

revealing myself I have sought only to reveal Thy Cause, and have turned

to no one except for the sake of Thy Revelation and for the purpose of

manifesting Thy loving-kindness. I beseech Thee, by Thy treasured Name

Who, at this very moment, is speaking, to send down upon him and upon them

that love Thee that which is enshrined in the heaven of Thy favor and

bounties, that they may be filled with vehement longing towards Thee, and

exult in Thy Covenant, O Thou Who art the Lord of Lords! Ordain, then, for

him and for them that which becometh Thy name, the All-Bountiful.



Thou art, in truth, the Almighty, the Most Exalted, the Most Powerful, the

All-Glorious, the Most Great.