Ecclesiastes 5:4
When thou vowest a vow unto G-d,
defer not to pay it; for he hath no pleasure in fools:
pay that which thou hast vowed.
Boere Nation Vows to G-d
BLOODRIVER
(1838)
My brethren and fellow countrymen, at this moment we stand before the holy G-d of heaven and earth, to make a promise, if He will be with us and protect us and deliver the enemy into our hands so that we may triumph over him, that we shall observe the day and date as an anniversary in each year and a day of thanksgiving like the Sabbath, in His honour; and that we shall enjoin our children that they must take part in this, for a remembrance even for our posterity; and if anyone sees a difficulty in this, let him return from this place. For the honour of His name shall be joyfully exalted, and to Him the fame and the honour of the victory must be given.
VAN RIEBEECK's PRAYER
(1652)
Merciful, gracious G-d and Heavenly Father, by Your divine will we are called to manage the affairs of the United Netherlands Chartered East-Indian Company here in the Cape of Good Hope.
With this aspiration in sight we, together with our Council, are gathered in Your Holy Name in order that together with the Council’s advice we will be able to make decisions that will enable us to best endorse the interests of the Company.
We are here in this place to maintain the law and, if at all possible, to propagate Your true Reformed Christian doctrine among these wild and uncultured people in order that we may glorify Your Holy Name while benefiting those who rule over us.
We are least able to attain this end without your merciful help and guidance.
Therefore we pray, our Supreme G-d and Father that You, with Your fatherly wisdom might remain with us.
We pray that You will grant us Your guidance in our meeting and that You will enlighten our hearts so that all iniquitous desires, discord and other similar blemishes may be obliterated from our hearts and minds so that they may be pure and chaste from all human desires and passions.
May our state of minds be so attuned that all our deliberations and decisions accede only to that which will glorify and magnify your Most Holy Name while being of serviceto those who rule over us.
May we not, in any way, heed our own desires for profit or gain but merely execute our duties and that which is proper for our own salvation.
We pray and ask this in the name of Your beloved Son, our Saviour, Jesus Christ who taught us to pray…
Our Father Who art in Heaven........ Amen
PAARDEKRAAL
(1880)
In de tegenwoordigheid van den Almachtigen G-d, de kenner aller harten onder bidden opzien om Zijn genadige hulp en ontferming, zijn wij Burgers van de Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek, plegtig overeenkomen, om voor ons en onze kinderen een heilige verbond op te rigten, het welk wij met plegtigen eed bezzweren.
Ruim veertig jaren is het geleden, dat onze vadere de Kaapkolonie ontvlugt zijn, om een vrij en onafhanklik volk te worden. Deze veertig jaren waren veertig jaren van smart en lijden.
Wij hebben Natal. Den Oranje-Vrijstaat en de Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek gesticht, en driemaal heeft de Engelsche Regering onze vrijheid vertrapt .... En onze vlag, die onze vaderen met hum bloed en tranen gedoopt hebben van den grond neergehaal.
Als door een dief in de nacht in onze vrije Republiek weggestolen. Wij kunnen en wij mogen dat nie dragen.
G-d wil, dat de eerbied onze vaderen en de liefde jegen onze kinderen ons voorscrijft, het erfpand der vaderen geschonden aan onze kinderen over te leven.
Daarom is het dat wij hier bijeentreden en dat wij elkander de hand geven als mannen, broeders, plegtig beloven, trouw te houden aan ons land en volk en met het oog "Zoo waarlijk helpe ons G-d Almachtig".
(The original pile of stones was stacked by approximately 6000 people in 1880 as proof of their intention to fight to very end for the restore of the republics of Transvaal, Northern Natal and the Orange Freestate. During the Anglo-Boer war this pile of stones was transported by rail to Vereeniging, where it was thrown into the Vaalriver under the train bridge. They are still there today, under a thick layer of mud.)
Topic: Important Boere Nation Vows (Read 2548 times)