N00318:246
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 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 N. England.A call from heaven, to the present and succeeding generations or A discourse wherein 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 N. England.
Boston: printed by R.P. i.e for I. Brunning i.e, 1685
Title page typeset from the transcription.
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.
Reas. 1. From the Exceeding Riches of the Grace of God. That the Lord most high who hath an absolute Dominion over the works of his hands should at all deal with man in a Covenant way, or make any promise to him, is from grace; much more that he should deal thus with fallen man: And that he should extend his Covenant not only to parents but to their Children also; that their Of-spring with them are under the wings of the Covenant. And moreover, that he should promise so great a Blessing as that of giving his Spirit, and yet more, that his Spirit should be poured upon them: We may well cry out as they did Zech. 4.7. Grace! grace! None but a God of infinite Grace would have done thus.
Reas. 2. Because the Children of Gods people do many of them belong to Election, As it is expressed in the context Jesurun whom I have chosen; That Election of God is mentioned as the ground of this promise in the Text. The Elect of God are the proper Subjects of this promise. The Lord in the Covenant of grace hath not only promised that whoever doth ⟨p. 178⟩truly believe & repent, shall be saved; but as to the Elect there is a promise of the first grace, even that converting grace should be poured on them, they shall be made to repent and believe. A new heart shall be given to the house of Israel h. e. the Elect typified by the house of Israel, Gal. 6.16. Now God hath seen meet to cast the line of Election so, as that it doth (though not wholly and only, yet) for the most part run through the loins of godly parents. There are, it is true, Elect Children, who are not born of elect parents, but there are few (if any) Elect Parents without elect children: Sometimes all the Children belong to Election as we see in the many sons of Jacob, (however some of them) that the Lord remembers and establisheth his Covenant with. The Scripture doth frequently hint this Truth, that elect children are for the most part cast upon elect Parents. See