"All are His servants, and all abide by His bidding!"

"Is there any Remover of difficulties save God? Say: Praised be God! He is God! All are His servants, and all abide by His bidding!

- The Báb, Bahá'í Prayers: A Selection of Prayers Revealed by Bahá'u'lláh, The Báb, and `Abdu'l-Bahá

Hiroshige

" ...guard ye My trust ..."

"O YE RICH ONES ON EARTH! The poor in your midst are My trust; guard ye My trust, and be not intent only on your own ease."

-Bahá'u'lláh, The Hidden Words of Bahá’u’lláh, No. 54 Persian

" ... it is incumbent on every one to engage in crafts and professions ..."

"O MY SERVANTS! Ye are the trees of My garden; ye must give forth goodly and wondrous fruits, that ye yourselves and others may profit therefrom. Thus it is incumbent on every one to engage in crafts and professions, for therein lies the secret of wealth, O men of understanding! For results depend upon means, and the grace of God shall be all-sufficient unto you. Trees that yield no fruit have been and will ever be for the fire."

-Bahá'u'lláh, The Hidden Words of Bahá’u’lláh, No. 80 Persian

Cotman

"For minds cannot grasp Me nor hearts contain Me."

"O CHILDREN OF THE DIVINE AND INVISIBLE ESSENCE! Ye shall be hindered from loving Me and souls shall be perturbed as they make mention of Me. For minds cannot grasp Me nor hearts contain Me."

-Bahá'u'lláh, The Hidden Words of Bahá’u’lláh, No. 66 Persian

"Thou art even as a finely tempered sword concealed in the darkness of its sheath ..."

"O MY SERVANT! Thou art even as a finely tempered sword concealed in the darkness of its sheath and its value hidden from the artificer’s knowledge. Wherefore come forth from the sheath of self and desire that thy worth may be made resplendent and manifest unto all the world."

-Bahá'u'lláh, The Hidden Words of Bahá’u’lláh, No. 72 Persian

"Alas, alas! Would that we had never been created and revealed by Thee!”

"I was walking in the Land of Tá (Ṭihrán)—the dayspring of the signs of thy Lord—when lo, I heard the lamentation of the pulpits and the voice of their supplication unto God, blessed and glorified be He. They cried out and said: “O God of the world and Lord of the nations! Thou beholdest our state and the things which have befallen us by reason of the cruelty of Thy servants. Thou hast created us and revealed us for Thy glorification and praise. Thou dost now hear what the wayward proclaim upon us in Thy days. By Thy might! Our souls are melted and our limbs are trembling. Alas, alas! Would that we had never been created and revealed by Thee!”

-Bahá'u'lláh, Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, p. 127


Michaelangelo

"Thou hast lighted the lamp of Thy Cause with the oil of wisdom; protect it from contrary winds."

“O God, my God! Thou hast lighted the lamp of Thy Cause with the oil of wisdom; protect it from contrary winds. The lamp is Thine, and the glass is Thine, and all things in the heavens and on earth are in the grasp of Thy power. Bestow justice upon the rulers, and fairness upon the divines. Thou art the All-Powerful, Who, through the motion of Thy Pen, hast aided Thine irresistible Cause, and guided aright Thy loved ones. Thou art the Possessor of power, and the King of might. No God is there but Thee, the Strong, the Unconstrained.”

-Bahá'u'lláh, Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, pp. 104-105

© 2010 Chuck Egerton