The Voice of God

It is difficult to pick just one Psalm that sounds like Baha'u'llah
since so many do, but here is one.

35

---

Strive, O LORD, with those who strive against me;
fight against those who fight me.
Grasp shield and buckler, and rise up to help me.
Uncover the spear and bar the way against my pursuers.
Let me hear thee declare, 'I am your salvation.'
Shame and disgrace be on those who seek my life;
and may those who plan to hurt me retreat in dismay!
May they be like chaff before the wind,
driven by the angel of the LORD!
Let their way be dark and slippery
as the angel of the LORD pursues them!
For unprovoked they have hidden a net for me,
unprovoked they have dug a pit to trap me.
May destruction unforeseen come on him;
may the net which he hid catch him;
may he crash headlong into it!
Then I shall rejoice in the LORD
and delight in his salvation.
My very bones cry out,
LORD, who is like thee?-
thou saviour of the poor from those too strong for them,
the poor and wretched from those who prey on them.'
Malicious witnesses step forward;
they question me on matters of which I know nothing.
They return me evil for good,
lying in wait to take my life.
And yet when they were sick, I put on sackcloth,
I mortified myself with fasting.

When my prayer came back unanswered,
I walked with head bowed in grief as if for a brother;
as one in sorrow for his mother I lay prostrate in mourning.
But when I stumbled, they crowded round rejoicing,
they crowded about me;
nameless ruffians jeered at me
and nothing would stop them.
When I slipped, brutes who would mock even a hunchback
ground their teeth at me.
O Lord, how long wilt thou look on
at those who hate me for no reason
Rescue me out of their cruel grasp,
save my precious life from the unbelievers.
Then I will praise thee before a great assembly,
I will extol thee where many people meet.
Let no treacherous enemy gloat over me
nor leer at me in triumph.
No friendly greeting do they give
to peaceable folk.
They invent lie upon lie,
they open their mouths at me:
'Hurrah!' they shout in their joy,
feasting their eyes on me.
Thou hast seen all this, O LORD, do not keep silence;
O LORD, be not far from me.
Awake, bestir thyself, to do me justice,
to plead my cause, my Lord and my God.
Judge me, O LORD my God, as thou art true;
do not let them gloat over me.
Do not let them say to themselves,
'Hurrah! We have swallowed him up at one gulp.'
Let them all be disgraced and dismayed
who rejoice at my fall;
let them be covered with shame and dishonour
who glory over me.
But let all who would see me righted shout for joy,
let them cry continually,
'All glory to the LORD who would see his servant thrive!'
So shall I talk of thy justice
and of thy praise all the day long.

The Same Voice

Those that read the Psalms.

If you are a Bahá'í you should be familiar with the many writings
of Bahá'u'lláh that refer to his long suffering. You also know that
these writings are for our benefit. They explain the love of God
for man, that he would show us a man, who would reveal His Word
without having any worldly rewards, only persecution.

There is a certain voice that speaks out of these tablets of Bahá'u'lláh.

When I and a friend started reading the Psalms together, it became very clear that these verses had that same voice of the Blessed Beauty. They spoke of that same suffering that only Bahá'u'lláh has suffered, of that same persecution that only He underwent.

I would be interested to know as to what men of the last 3000 years thought these Psalms to be. I can not see that any would understand them until the time of Bahá.

A.G.W.

O King! I was but a man like others, asleep upon My couch, when lo, the breezes of the All-Glorious were wafted over Me, and taught Me the knowledge of all that hath been. This thing is not from Me, but from One Who is Almighty and All-Knowing. And He bade Me lift up My voice between earth and heaven, and for this there befell Me what hath caused the tears of every man of understanding to flow." - Bahá'u'lláh

I do nothing of Myself; but as My Father taught Me, I speak these things. John 8:28 NKJ

This is but a leaf which the winds of the will of thy Lord, the Almighty, the All-Praised, have stirred. Can it be still when the tempestuous winds are blowing?... His all-compelling summons have reached Me, and caused Me to speak His praise amidst all people. I was indeed as one dead when His behest was uttered.

The hand of the will of thy Lord, the Compassionate, the Merciful, transformed Me. Can any one speak forth of his own accord that for which all men, both high and low, will protest against him? Nay, by Him Who taught the Pen the eternal mysteries, save him whom the grace of the Almighty, the All- Powerful, hath strengthened. - Bahá'u'lláh