N00213:71
A call from heaven to the present and succeeding generations or A discourse wherein…A call from heaven to the present and succeeding generations or A discourse wherin…
A call from heaven to the present and succeeding generations or A discourse wherein is showed, I. That the children of godly parents are under special advantages and encouragements to seek the Lord. : II. The exceeding danger of apostasy, especially as to those that are the children and posterity of such as have been eminent for God in their generation. : III. That young men ought to remember God their creator. / By Increase Mather, teacher of a church in Boston in New-England. ; [Nine lines of quotations]A call from heaven to the present and succeeding generations or A discourse wherin is shewed, I. That the children of godly parents are under special advantages and encouragements to seek the Lord. : II. The exceeding danger of apostasie, especially as to those that are the children and posterity of such as have been eminent for God in their generation. : III. That young men ought to remember God their creator. / By Increase Mather, teacher of a church in Boston in New-England. ; [Nine lines of quotations]
Boston: printed by John Foster, 1679
Modern spelling is a reading aid: the words are the author’s, only the spelling is modernized. Original shows the page as printed, with the transcription marks.
Consider, 3. The evil that is in your not seeking the Lord. What a grief of mind will this be to your godly Parents? The Father of a fool hath no joy. Alas! there is many a poor parent may say to their Children, as Jephthah upon another account spake to his daughter, Judg. 11. 35. He rent his clothes, and said, alas my daughter, thou hast brought me very low, thou art one of them that trouble me. Why should you bring your Parents down with sorrow to their graves? How did it go to the heart of David, when Absalom dyed, and was cut off in his sins? 2 Sam. 18. 33. He was much moved, and as he went, thus he said, O my Son Absalom, my Son, my Son Absalom, would God I had dyed for thee, O Absalom, my Son, my Son. As if he had said, had I dyed, my Soul had been happy, but now thou art dead, I have no other hope but that thy Soul is suffering the vengeance of eternal fire. Remember that this will aggravate your sin, and condemnation, that you were born of godly Parents, and did not walk in their steps, Jer. 50. 7. They sinned against the hope of their Fathers; it is mentioned as the great aggravation of their sin. Such Children roll reproach upon the Covenant of God; they cause men to say, there is nothing in being in Covenant with God, nor is it any mercy to be born of Parents that fear the Lord; 'And will not the Lord judge you for causing such a vile reproach to be cast upon his holy Covenant? you will be most inexcusable before the Lord another day; If a righteous ⟨p. 28⟩man beget a Son that becometh a Robber, or an Adulterer, shall he live? he shall not live, but dye, and his blood shall be upon him, Ezek. 18. 10, 13. The blood of thy Soul shall be upon thy own head; All the instructions, Exhortations, Admonitions, Prayers, Examples of thy godly Parents, will be brought in as so many witnesses for thy condemnation at the last day; yea, the tears of thy blessed Parents will be as oil to make the everlasting flames of hell burn the more vehemently upon thy Soul, throughout the days of Eternity; The Lord will cast thee off for ever; Thy Father that begat thee, thy Mother that bare thee, will not pity thee when thou shalt be sentenced to eternal Death at the last day. Remember Dives; In hell he lift up his eyes being in Torments, and cried, Father Abraham! have mercy on me; but all the mercy his Father Abraham would show to him, was, he!