A Narration of the Life of Henry Burton, Title page – Poem
A NARRATION OF THE LIFE OF Mr. Henry Burton. WHEREIN Is ſet forth the various and remarkable Paſſages thereof, his Sufferings, Supports, Comforts, and Deliverances. Now publiſhed for the Benefit of all thoſe that either doe or may ſuffer for the Cauſe of CHRIST. According to a Copy written with his owne Hand.
PHIL. 1. 21.
Chriſt is to me, to live, and dye, gaine.
Dum patior pro Chriſto, potior Chriſto.
LONDON: Printed in the Yeare, 1643.
The Preface to the Reader.
Chriſtian Reader,
I May ſay, as old Iacob, and no leſſe truly, few and evill have the dayes of the yeares of my Gen. 47. 9.pilgrimage been. For proofe hereof, As it is with a Mariner, or traveller, who after a long Voyage, comming within ken of his native Country, begins to recount with himſelfe the many hazzards he hath run, what by terrible ſtormes in the midſt of Rocks and ſhelves, what by pirates, and other perills; all which having now waded out of, and overcome, and arriving at his wiſhed port, after thankſgiving to God for bringing him to the haven where he would be; Pſa. 107 30he …ts him downe, and (to recreate himſelfe and friends) begins to diſcourſe of his travells, and of the moſt memorable paſſages therein: So is it now with me. OnelyOnly, I cannot yet ſay, that after ſo long, tedious, and perillous a Voyage as I have paſſed through by Sea and Land, every where attended and aſſailed by fierce tempeſts and Pyrates, I have already arrived at the Port or Haven, which I have long wiſhed for, to wit, my celeſtiall Countrey, and which through the Perſpective Glaſſe of Faith I can as yet (in compariſon) at ſuch a distance, but darkly diſcover. For although by 1 Cor. 13.…his divine providence, whoſe exiled priſoner I have lately been, I am now delivered from that (otherwiſe perpetuall) priſon and exile: yet I ſtill carry about with me the manicles and fetters of this mortall and ſinfull body, which I cannot be freed from, untill I have paid my *To wit, Death. 2 Cor. 5. Ioh. 14 2.priſon-fees, that ſo my ſoule may flit out of this her earthly tabernacle to her heavenly manſion.
Nor is it unuſuall for men to ſet forth a deſcription of their owne lives. Moſes did ſo. David ſo. Paul ſo. And who fitter Exodus. Pſalmes Act 2. 2 Cor. 11. &c.then a mans ſelfe, as being beſt acquainted with, and moſt privy to the many paſſages of his life. Nor had I undertaken this taske, but partly to ſatisfie the importunity of many godly friends, and partly to give a juſt account to Gods people of that divine ſupport and comfort, which it pleaſed the Lord to uphold mee with, in all my tryalls. To which purpoſe I may uſe the Apoſtles words: Bleſſed be God even the Father of our Lord Ieſus Chriſt the Father of Mercies, and the God of all conſolation, who comforteth 2 Cor. 1. 3, …us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any affliction, by the comfort, wherewith wee our ſelves are comforted of God. As alſo the words of David, Come and hearken, all ye that feare God, and I will tell you what he hath done for my ſoule. And theſe are they eſpecially, to whom Pſal. 66. 16next unto Ieſus Chriſt the Righteous Iudge, as I owe my life, ſo I ought to give an account thereof. For the reſt, I am not aſhamed to make my ſelfe herein a ſpectacle even to thoſe that are without, this being but an anticipation, ſeeing we muſt all appeare before the Iudgement Seat of Chriſt, that every one may receive 2 Cor. 9. 10.the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or evill. Farewell.
HEN. BURTON.
… 64. 1642.
foreign
He that once dead, unburied lay
Three dayes (count yeares) & halfe a day:
Reviv'd here shews his pilgrimage,
Now in the last ſcene of his age:
The short remainder, ſharpe or ſweet,
Expect till death shall make complete.