Baha’i Teachings

When we investigate the scriptural history we find that David did not place his trust in popular opinion as represented by Saul (in that the people chose to have a king reign over them) nor did he place his trust in religious opinion (as represented by the fallen House of Eli and that of Abin’adab-Elea’zar).

No. David did not fear these rulers. David put his trust in God by trusting the wisdom of a man from the tribe of Ephraim, upon whom God had bestowed spiritual authority – Samuel, whose mother Hannah, had prophesied:

“… for the pillars of the earth are the Lord’s and on them He has set the world. He will guard the feet of His faithful ones; but the wicked shall be cut off in darkness; for not by might shall a man prevail. The adversaries of the Lord shall be broken to pieces; against them He will thunder in heaven. The Lord will judge the ends of the earth; He will give strength to His king, and exalt the power of His anointed.” 1st Samuel 2:8-10

From the wisdom of Samuel’s lips was David educated, learning the prophesy concerning the Messiah and choosing, of his own free will, to believe in the promises of God. Through that choice he developed steadfast faith. Thus in his 110th Psalm, David acknowledged that future Messiah as his Lord declaring:

“The Lord God said to my Lord, sit at My right hand, till I put thy enemies under thy feet.” (see also Mark 12:36)

Furthermore, David had the Psalms set to music so that the prophesies would not be forgotten. Among them is the 22nd bearing the words “… why hast Thou forsaken me?”

This is the cry which, in 70 ad, went up from a million or more people of the tribes of Benjamin, Judah and Levi upon witnessing the destruction of the temple in the siege and subjugation of the city of Jerusalem by the Roman general Titus in response to their insurrection against the rule God had placed upon them.

This was all in accord with His Word and His warning such as that from Jesus’ mouth: “ … there will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.” (Matthew 24:2)

Perhaps, when they witnessed that their temple and city were indisputably forsaken some of them remembered that, just 36 years before, Jesus – whom their Sanhedrin had crucified – cried out with his dying breath those same words: “O God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?”

Perhaps they even called to mind other verses in that same Psalm. For instance:

Verse 16 “ … a company of evildoers encircle me; they have pierced my hands and feet …”
Verse 17 “ … they stare and gloat over me …”
Verse 18 “ … they divide my garments among them, and for my raiment they cast lots.”

All fulfilled at the hands of the unwitting and forgetful in 34 ad.

Then within less than 40 years the religious elites in Israel fell from power. Jesus prophesied it beforehand, “Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all these things have happened.” (Matthew 24:34)

For a fleeting sovereignty ye have abandoned

My imperishable dominion,

and have adorned yourselves

with the gay livery of the world

and made of it your boast.

By My beauty!

All will I gather

beneath the one-colored covering of the dust

and efface all these diverse colors

save them that choose My own,

and that is purging from every color.

Know, verily, that while the radiant dawn

breaketh above the horizon of eternal holiness,

the satanic secrets and deeds done in the gloom of night

shall be laid bare and manifest

before the peoples of the world.

Think not the secrets of hearts are hidden,

nay, know ye of a certainty

that in clear characters they are engraved

and are openly manifest in the holy Presence.

“Ye, tho I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I fear no evil for Thou art with me …”

The courage of King David, exemplified in this verse 1000 years before the Advent of his Messiah, flowed from his obedience to the First Commandment revealed by Lord Moses:

“I am the Lord thy God thou shalt have no other god beside Me …” Exodus 20:3

In the Septuagint this is: οὐκ ἔσονταί σοι θεοὶ ἕτεροι πλὴν ἐμοῦ.

“I am the Lord thy God thou shalt have no additional god other than Me …”

The Second Commandment shows how to be dutiful to the first, again from the Septuagint:

verse 4 (οὐ ποιήσεις σεαυτῷ εἴδωλον …) “You shall not make for yourself an idol, whether in the form of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. verse 5 (οὐ προσκυνήσεις αὐτοῖς οὐδὲ μὴ λατρεύσῃς αὐτοῖς) “You shall not bow your self to them nor serve your self …”

The three locales in verse four are allusions to three aspects of self: the mind, the heart and the unconscious. Thus we are instructed not to submit to the false gods of ideology, nor those of our overt desires, nor those of our covert desires. We are not to revere them, nor are we to serve our own selves as gods.

We are not to fear any of the false gods — however powerful they may seem in this world, nor are we to revere them — however alluring their appearance.

Too many have failed to obey God’s Command. Not only have they worshiped false gods erected by the religions they have even fallen prey to new gods! For do we not witness at this very moment a worldwide submission to the forces of Technocracy, Popular Opinion and The State?

“They have as king over them the angel of the bottomless pit; his name in Hebrew is Abad’don, and in Greek he is called Apol’lyon.” Revelation 9:11

Abad’don signifies enslavement and Apol’lyon signifies fear.

When humanity fails to turn to the Only Real God it becomes fearful, weak and vulnerable — falling prey to predatory would-be-gods. This is the root cause of all dis-ease, an invisible plague assailing the world.

By what power was King David free of the influence of such goliathan monsters?

“Men at all times and under all conditions stand in need of one to exhort them, guide them and to instruct and teach them. Therefore He hath sent forth His Messengers, His Prophets and chosen ones that they might acquaint the people with the divine purpose underlying the revelation of Books and the raising up of Messengers, and that everyone may become aware of the trust of God which is latent in the reality of every soul.” Baha’u’llah

Summons of the Lord of Hosts to World Rulers

(excerpts)

“ …Lay not aside the fear of God, O rulers of the earth, and beware that ye transgress not the bounds which the Almighty hath fixed. Observe the injunctions laid upon you in His Book, and take good heed not to overstep their limits. Be vigilant, that ye may not do injustice to anyone, be it to the extent of a grain of mustard seed. Tread ye the path of justice, for this, verily, is the straight path.

Compose your differences and reduce your armaments, that the burden of your expenditures may be lightened, and that your minds and hearts may be tranquillized. Heal the dissensions that divide you, and ye will no longer be in need of any armaments except what the protection of your cities and territories necessitate. Fear ye God, and take heed not to outstrip the bounds of moderation and be numbered among the extravagant.

We have learned that ye are increasing your outlay every year, and are laying the burden thereof on your subjects. This, verily, is more than they can bear, and is a grievous injustice. Decide ye justly between men, O rulers, and be ye the emblems of justice amongst them. This, if ye judge fairly, is the thing that behooves you, and beseems your station.

Beware not to deal unjustly with anyone that appeals to you and enters beneath your shadow. Walk ye in the fear of God, and be ye of them that lead a godly life. Rest not on your power, your armies, and treasures. Put your whole trust and confidence in God, Who hath created you, and seek ye His help in all your affairs. Succor cometh from Him alone. He succors whom He will with the hosts of the heavens and of the earth.

Know ye that the poor are the trust of God in your midst. Watch that ye betray not His trust, that ye deal not unjustly with them and that ye walk not in the ways of the treacherous. Ye will most certainly be called upon to answer for His trust on the day when the Balance of Justice shall be set, the day when unto everyone shall be rendered his due, when the doings of all men, be they rich or poor, shall be weighed.

If ye pay no heed unto the counsels which, in peerless and unequivocal language, We have revealed in this Tablet, Divine chastisement shall assail you from every direction, and the sentence of His justice shall be pronounced against you. On that day ye shall have no power to resist Him, and shall recognize your own impotence. Have mercy on yourselves and on those beneath you, and judge ye between them according to the precepts prescribed by God in His most holy and exalted Tablet, a Tablet wherein He hath assigned to each and every thing its settled measure, in which He hath given, with distinctness, an explanation of all things, and which is in itself a monition unto them that believe in Him.

Examine Our Cause, inquire into the things that have befallen Us, and decide justly between Us and Our enemies, and be ye of them that act equitably towards their neighbor. If ye stay not the hand of the oppressor, if ye fail to safeguard the rights of the downtrodden, what right have ye then to vaunt yourselves among men? What is it of which ye can rightly boast? Is it on your food and your drink that ye pride yourselves, on the riches ye lay up in your treasuries, on the diversity and the cost of the ornaments with which ye deck yourselves? If true glory were to consist in the possession of such perishable things, then the earth on which ye walk must needs vaunt itself over you, because it supplies you, and bestows upon you, these very things, by the decree of the Almighty. In its bowels are contained, according to what God hath ordained, all that ye possess. From it, as a sign of His mercy, ye derive your riches. Behold then your state, the thing in which ye glory! Would that ye could perceive it!

Nay, by Him Who holds in His grasp the kingdom of the entire creation! Nowhere doth your true and abiding glory reside except in your firm adherence unto the precepts of God, your wholehearted observance of His laws, your resolution to see that they do not remain unenforced, and to pursue steadfastly the right course. …”

“… Upon Our arrival at this Prison, We purposed to transmit to the rulers the messages of their Lord, the Mighty, the All-Praised. Though We have transmitted to them, in several Tablets, that which We were commanded, yet We do it once again as a token of God’s grace. Perchance they may recognize the Lord, Who hath come down in the clouds with manifest sovereignty. … Know of a truth that your subjects are God’s trust amongst you. Watch ye, therefore, over them as ye watch over your own selves. Beware that ye allow not wolves to become the shepherds of the fold, or pride and conceit to deter you from turning unto the poor and the desolate. … By the world is meant that which turns you aside from Him Who is the Dawning-Place of Revelation, and inclines you unto that which is unprofitable unto you. Verily, the thing that deters you from God in this day is worldliness in its essence. Eschew it, and approach the Most Sublime Vision, this shining and resplendent Throne. Blessed is he who allows nothing whatsoever to intervene between him and his Lord. No harm, assuredly, can befall him if he partakes with justice of the benefits of this world, inasmuch as We have created all things for such of Our servants as truly believe in God. …”

O God! Grant Washington happiness and peace. Illuminate that land with the lights of the faces of the friends. Make it a paradise of Glory. Let it become an aspiration of the green gardens of the earth.

Help the friends, increase their number, make their hearts sources of inspiration and the souls springs of Light.

Thus may that City become a beautiful paradise and perfumed with the fragrance of musk.

(`Abdu’l-Baha, March 15, 1905)

O my God, O Thou Who confirms every just and equitable sovereignty in ever-abiding majesty, everlasting might, eternal continuance, inviolable stability, steadfastness and glory! By the bountiful effusion of Thy providential care, confirm every government that deals justly with its peoples, every sovereignty beneath whose ensigns Thou shelters the impoverished and the powerless.

I beseech Thee by the outpourings of Thy holiness and the showers of Thy munificence, to aid this equitable government, which hath outstretched its pavilions over far-reaching and diverse states, and hath made justice its testimony in its civilized and splendid domains.

O God, aid Thou its armies and legions; make its word persuasive; strengthen its defenses; safeguard its honor; reveal its prestige; spread abroad its influence; and raise aloft its flag, by Thy might which conquers all things and Thy power which is effulgent in the realm of creation. Thou confirms whomsoever Thou wills. Thou art verily the Omnipotent, the Almighty.

(`Abdu’l-Baha)

O Thou kind Lord! This gathering is turning to Thee. These hearts are radiant with Thy love. These minds and spirits are exhilarated by the message of Thy glad-tidings. O God! Let this American democracy become glorious in spiritual degrees even as it has aspired to material degrees. Render this Just government victorious. Confirm this revered nation to upraise the standard of the Oneness of Humanity, to promulgate the Most Great Peace, to become thereby most glorious and praiseworthy among all the nations of the world. O God! This American nation is worthy of Thy favors and is deserving of Thy mercy. Make it precious and near to Thee through Thy bounty and bestowal.

(`Abdu’l-Baha)