Throne On High (LOP V, Notes 47-54)

Photo © Baha’i International Community

O Thou in separation from Whom hearts and souls have melted, and by the fire of Whose love the whole world hath been set aflame! [V]

47) “I know not, O my God, what the Fire is which Thou didst kindle in Thy land. Earth can never cloud its splendor, nor water quench its flame. All the peoples of the world are powerless to resist its force. Great is the blessedness of him that hath drawn nigh unto it, and heard its roaring.”

(Baha'u'llah, Prayers and Meditations, LIII, p. 76)


“A drop out of the ocean of Thy mercy sufficeth to quench the flames of hell, and a spark of the fire of Thy love is enough to set ablaze a whole world.”

(Baha'u'llah, Prayers and Meditations, CLIII, p. 245)

I implore Thee by Thy Name through which Thou hast subdued the whole creation [V]

48) There are many, many references in the Baha’i writings to the Greatest Name, in its several forms, all of which refer to Baha’u’llah, (see Note 55), and it seems, could well apply here. However, could not "Thy Name through which Thou hast subdued the whole creation" also apply to the name of God "the All-Subduing"? In the writings of Baha'u'llah thus far translated into English, the name "the All-Subduing" appears some twenty times or more.

In the passage that follows, Baha’u’llah speaks of the generative potency of names of God and cites two other names as examples:

“Every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God is endowed with such potency as can instill new life into every human frame, if ye be of them that comprehend this truth. All the wondrous works ye behold in this world have been manifested through the operation of His supreme and most exalted Will, His wondrous and inflexible Purpose. Through the mere revelation of the word "Fashioner," issuing forth from His lips and proclaiming His attribute to mankind, such power is released as can generate, through successive ages, all the manifold arts which the hands of man can produce. This, verily, is a certain truth. No sooner is this resplendent word uttered, than its animating energies, stirring within all created things, give birth to the means and instruments whereby such arts can be produced and perfected. All the wondrous achievements ye now witness are the direct consequences of the Revelation of this Name. In the days to come, ye will, verily, behold things of which ye have never heard before. Thus hath it been decreed in the Tablets of God, and none can comprehend it except them whose sight is sharp. In like manner, the moment the word expressing My attribute "The Omniscient" issueth forth from My mouth, every created thing will, according to its capacity and limitations, be invested with the power to unfold the knowledge of the most marvelous sciences, and will be empowered to manifest them in the course of time at the bidding of Him Who is the Almighty, the All-Knowing. Know thou of a certainty that the Revelation of every other Name is accompanied by a similar manifestation of Divine power. Every single letter proceeding out of the mouth of God is indeed a mother letter, and every word uttered by Him Who is the Well Spring of Divine Revelation is a mother word, and His Tablet a Mother Tablet. Well is it with them that apprehend this truth.”

(Baha'u'llah, Gleanings, LXXIV, pp. 141-42)

O Thou Who rulest over all men! [V]

49) “Ye are but vassals, O kings of the earth! He Who is the King of Kings hath appeared, arrayed in His most wondrous glory, and is summoning you unto Himself, the Help in Peril, the Self-Subsisting.”

(Baha'u'llah, The Kitab-i-Aqdas, p. 49)

Kingship in the Long Obligatory Prayer

• “Thy sovereignty,” “the court of Thy holiness”

• “Thou Who rulest over all men”

• “bow down before Thy Lordship,” “Thy grandeur”

• “Thy majesty,” “Thy bidding,” “Thy Dominion”

• “the court of Thy glory,” “Thy mighty Throne”

• “O King of the seen and the unseen”

• “Thine is the authority to command”

• “the Kingdom of thine utterance”

• “Thine is the command at all times”

• “Lord of the Throne on high and of earth below” (two times)

• “The kingdoms of earth and heaven are Thine, O Lord of the worlds!”

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this stranger hastening to his most exalted home beneath the canopy of Thy majesty [V]

50) This reference to “hastening to his most exalted home” seems to encompass an allusion to the goal of this life, and the swiftness with which our years on earth pass.

Pilgrimage to the City of God through the Long Obligatory Prayer

• “a light that will lead me”

• “wishing,” “seeking,” “knocking at the door,” “longing,” “yearning”

• “this stranger hastening to his most exalted home”

• “that I should dare to stand at the gate of the city of Thy nearness”

"The Faith of Bahá'u'lláh...has changed the hearts of its adherents... Of such men and women it may be truly said that to them "every foreign land is a fatherland, and every fatherland a foreign land." For their citizenship, it must be remembered, is in the Kingdom of Bahá'u'lláh. Though willing to share to the utmost the temporal benefits and the fleeting joys which this earthly life can confer, though eager to participate in whatever activity that conduces to the richness, the happiness and peace of that life, they can, at no time, forget that it constitutes no more than a transient, a very brief stage of their existence, that they who live it are but pilgrims and wayfarers whose goal is the Celestial City, and whose home the Country of never-failing joy and brightness."

(Shoghi Effendi, The World Order of Baha'u'llah, p. 197-98) [Emphasis added.]

See Note 70.


within the precincts of Thy mercy; and this transgressor seeking the ocean of Thy forgiveness [V]

51) “I beg Thee to forgive me, O my Lord, for every mention but the mention of Thee, and for every praise but the praise of Thee, and for every delight but delight in Thy nearness, and for every pleasure but the pleasure of communion with Thee, and for every joy but the joy of Thy love and of Thy good-pleasure, and for all things pertaining unto me which bear no relationship unto Thee, O Thou Who art the Lord of lords, He Who provideth the means and unlocketh the doors.”

(The Bab, Baha'i Prayers, p. 80, 2002 Edition, Baha'i Publishing Trust, Wilmette, IL 60091, USA)

God’s Mercy and Forgiveness in the Long Obligatory Prayer

• “awaiting the mercy of his Lord, the Most Merciful, the Compassionate.”

• “the Ocean of Thy mercy”

• “the precincts of Thy mercy”

• “the ocean of Thy forgiveness”

• “Thy forgiveness hath emboldened me and Thy mercy hath strengthened me”

• “Thy grace” (four times)

• “Thy benevolence”

this lowly one the court of Thy glory; and this poor creature [seeking] the orient of Thy wealth [V]

52) “The essence of wealth is love for Me; whoso loveth Me is the possessor of all things, and he that loveth Me not is indeed of the poor and needy.”

(Baha'u'llah, Tablets of Baha'u'llah, p. 156)


“Thou art He, O God, Who hath proclaimed Himself as the Lord of Wealth, and characterized all that serve Him as poor and needy.”

(Baha'u'llah, Gleanings, LXVIII, p. 134)

See Notes 60 and 91.


Thine is the authority to command whatsoever Thou willest. [V]

53) “O SON OF LIGHT!
Forget all save Me and commune with My spirit. This is of the essence of My command, therefore turn unto it.”

(Baha'u'llah, The Arabic Hidden Words, No.16) [Emphasis added.]

I bear witness that Thou art to be praised in Thy doings, and to be obeyed in Thy behests, and to remain unconstrained in Thy bidding. [V]

54) “O SON OF MAN!
Neglect not My commandments if thou lovest My beauty, and forget not My counsels if thou wouldst attain My good pleasure.”

(Baha'u'llah, The Arabic Hidden Words, No. 39)

In this day, to obey God’s "behests" includes being guided by the legislation, directives and exhortations of the Universal House of Justice.

The prayer says “remain unconstrained” – nothing can or ever will thwart God’s purpose. [Emphasis added.]


Next: "Corroboration"