A Form of Prayers Used by His Majesty King William III When He Received the Holy Sacrament, and on Other Occasions
Grant me such a sense of my sins, and of the sufficiency of my beloved Saviour for them, as may affect my heart with a deep sorrow.
What it is
A collection of personal prayers attributed to William III of Orange-Nassau (1650–1702), including devotions for receiving Holy Communion and other occasions, published posthumously around 1703–04 (printed for J. Barnes in London, 1704, in an edition associated with John Carry). The prayers document the private devotional life of a Reformed monarch whose tutor Cornelis Trigland had observed him in solitary kneeling prayer from childhood. One characteristic prayer reads: 'Grant me such a sense of my sins, and of the sufficiency of my beloved Saviour for them, as may affect my heart with a deep sorrow for my sins.' Some texts in the volume are associated with Archbishop John Tillotson, who served William as Clerk of the Closet, creating genuine uncertainty about sole authorship.
Why it still matters
The eucharistic prayers offer a model of Reformed sacramental piety—combining rigorous self-examination, confession of sin, and confident faith in Christ's sufficiency—suitable for personal preparation before receiving the Lord's Supper.
Kept alongside
De Redelijke Godsdienst (The Christian's Reasonable Service)
Wilhelmus à Brakel (1635–1711), a leading figure of the Dutch Nadere Reformatie and theological heir of Voetius, published this four-volume systematic-devotional work in 1700, directed at educated laity rather than the academy. It ran through twenty Dutch editions in the eighteenth century alone and was widely regarded as the definitive synthesis of the best Dutch and English Puritan devotional literature. As the crowning monument of the Voetian Calvinist tradition that had formed William III's piety and the spiritual culture of the entire Orange era, it stands as the culmination of that world—though no direct Orange ownership or readership record has been identified, and the work appeared only two years before William III's death.
Statenvertaling (States' Bible / Statenbijbel)
The Dutch Bible commissioned by the Synod of Dort (1618–19) under the direct political patronage of Maurice of Nassau and funded by the States-General from 1624, with translation work conducted from 1626 and the completed text published in 1637. It was the first Dutch translation made directly from the original Hebrew and Greek manuscripts, immediately becoming the most widely owned book in the Netherlands for two centuries. Bound copies routinely included a psalter for worship and a catechism for instruction, making it a combined devotional toolkit for household use. As the state-financed Reformed Bible of the Dutch Republic, it was read in family devotions, Orange court chapels, and public worship throughout the entire Golden Age.
De merken der kinderen Gods (The Marks of God's Children)
De merken der kinderen Gods
Jean Taffin served as official court chaplain and preacher to William the Silent from 1574 until William's assassination in 1584, presiding over William's marriage to Charlotte de Bourbon in 1575. First published in 1585, this devotional work addresses the marks by which God's elect may recognize their election and find comfort in affliction—a profoundly pastoral concern in a Netherlands torn by war and persecution. Taffin is credited as the father of the Dutch Nadere Reformatie (Further Reformation), and this book, circulated in Dutch, French, and English, became an instant classic in the Reformed circles in which the Orange court moved. Its pastoral warmth and Scriptural texture distinguish it from more juridical Reformed writing of the period.