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the dictates of my passions, and have cast away the
statutes of Thy Book, and seized the book of mine
own desire. O misery, misery! As mine iniquities
waxed greater and greater, Thy forbearance towards
me augmented, and as the fire of my rebelliousness
grew fiercer, the more did Thy forgiveness and Thy
grace seek to smother up its flame. By the power of
Thy might! O Thou Who art the desire of the world
and the Best-Beloved of the nations! Thy long-suffering
hath puffed me up, and Thy patience hath emboldened
me. Thou beholdest, O my God, the tears
that my shame hath caused to flow, and the sighs
which my heedlessness hath led me to utter. I
swear by the greatness of Thy majesty! I can find
for myself no habitation save beneath the shadow of
the court of Thy bounty, nor any refuge except
under the canopy of Thy mercy. Thou seest me in
the midst of a sea of despair and of hopelessness, after
Thou didst cause me to hear Thy words "Despair
not." By Thy power! My sore injustice hath severed
the cord of my hope, and my rebellion hath darkened
my face before the throne of Thy justice. Thou
beholdest, O my God, him who is as one dead fallen
at the door of Thy favor, ashamed to seek from the
hand of Thy loving-kindness the living waters of Thy
pardon. Thou hast given me a tongue wherewith to
remember and praise Thee, and yet it uttereth that
which hath caused the souls of such of Thy chosen
ones as are nigh unto Thee to melt, and the hearts of
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