majesties have always befriended | ent parts of the world. Scotland

the toleration, the spirit of persecution has been long curbed.

IRELAND

for many years together has been the scene of cruelty and bloodshed, till it was delivered by the mohas likewise been drenched with narch at the revolution. Spain, the blood of the Protestants, for- Italy, and the valley of Piedmont, ty or fifty thousand of whom were and other places, have been the cruelly murdered in a few days, seats of much persecution. Poin different parts of the kingdom, pery we see has had the greatest in the reign of Charles I. It be- hand in this mischievous work. It gan on the 23d of October, 1641. has to answer, also, for the lives Having secured the principal gen- of millions of Jews, Mohammetlemen, and seized their effects, dans, and barbarians. When the they murdered the common peo- Moors conquered Spain in the ple in cold blood, forcing many eighth century, they allowed the thousands to fly from their houses Christians the free exercise of and settlements naked into the bogs their religion; but in the fifteenth and woods, where they perished century, when the Moors were with hunger and cold. Some they overcome, and Ferdinand subdued whipped to death, others they the Moriscoes, the descendants of stript naked, and exposed to the above Moors, many thousands shame, and then drove them like were forced to be baptized, or herds of swine to perish in the burnt, massacred, or banished, and mountains: : many hundreds were their children sold for slaves; bedrowned in rivers, some had their sides innumerable Jews, who shared throats cut, others were dismem- the same cruelties, chiefly by means bered. With some the execrable of the infernal courts of inquisition. villains made themselves sport, try-A worse slaughter, if possible, was ing who could hack the deepest into an Englishman's flesh; wives and young virgins abused in the presence of their nearest relations; nay, they taught their children to strip and kill the children of the English, and dash out their brains against the stones. Thus many thousands were massacred in a few days, without distinction of age, sex, or quality, before they suspected their danger, or had time to provide for their defence.

SCOTLAND, SPAIN, &c. Besides the above-mentioned persecutions, there have been several others carried on in differ

made among the natives of Spanish America, where fifteen millions are said to have been sacrificed to the genius of popery in about forty years. It has been computed that fifty millions of Protestants have at different times been the victims of the persecutions of the Papists, and put to death for their religious opinions. Well, therefore, might the inspired penman say, that at mystic Babylon's destruction" was found in her the blood of prophets, of saints, and of all that was slain upon the earth," Rev. xviii, 24.

To conclude this article, Who

can peruse the account here given ||tions of God are considered as without feeling the most painful strong arguments to prove this emotions, and dropping a tear doctrine. God, as a Being posover the madness and depravity of sessed of infinite love, faithfulness, mankind? Does it not shew us wisdom, and power, can hardly be what human beings are capable of supposed to suffer any of his peowhen influenced by superstition, ple finally to fall into perdition, bigotry, and prejudice? Have This would be a reflection on his not these baneful principles meta-attributes, and argue him to be morphosed men into infernals; worse than a common father of his and entirely extinguished all the family. His love to his people is feelings of humanity, the dictates unchangeable, and therefore they of conscience, and the voice of cannot be the objects of it at one reason? Alas! what has sin done time and not at another, John xiii, to make mankind such curses to 1. Zeph. iii, 17. Jer. xxxi, 3. His one another? Merciful God! by faithfulness to them and to his prothy great power suppress this mise is not founded upon their worst of all evils, and let truth merit, but his own will and goodand love, meekness and forbear-ness; this, therefore, cannot be ance prevail. Limborch's Intro- violated, Mal. iii, 6. Numb. xxiii, duction to his History of the Inquisi-19. His wisdom foresees every tion; Memoirs of the Persecutions obstacle in the way, and is capa of the Protestants in France, by ble of removing it, and directing Lewis De Enarolles; A. Robinson's them into the right path. It History of Persecution; Lockman's would be a reflection on his wisHist of Popish Persec.; Clark's dom, after choosing a right end, Looking Glass for Persecutors ; not to choose right means in acDoddridge's Ser. on Persecution; complishing the same, Jer. x, 6, Fortin's ditto, ser. 9, vol. iv; Bow-7. His power is insuperable, and er's Lives of the Popes; Fox's is absolutely and perpetually disMartyrs; Woodrow's History of played in their preservation and the Sufferings of the Church of Scot-protection, 1st Peter i, 5.--2. land; Neal's Hist. of the Puri- Another argument to prove this tans and of New England; History of the Bohemian Persecutions.

doctrine is their union to Christ, and what he has done for them. PERSEVERANCE is the con- They are said to be chosen in him, tinuance in any design, state, opi-Eph. i, 4. united to him, Eph. i, nion, or course of action. The per- 23. the purchase of his death, severance of the saints is their con- Rom. viii, 34. Tit. ii, 14. the obtinuance in a state of grace to ajects of his intercession, Rom. v, state of glory. This doctrine has 10. Rom. viii, 34. 1st John ii, 1, afforded considerable matter for 2. Now if there be a possibility controversy between the Calvinists of their finally falling, then this and Arminians. We shall briefly choice, this union, his death, and here state the arguments and ob- intercession, may all be in vain, jections. And, first, the perfec-and rendered abortive; an idea

as derogatory to the Divine glory, but cannot prove that it ever in and as dishonourable to Jesus fact happens.-2. It is foretold as Christ as possibly can be.-3. It a future event that some should is argued from the work of the Spi-fall away, Matthew xxiv, 12, 13. rit, which is to communicate grace John xv, 6. Matt. xiii, 20, 21. and strength equal to the day, To the first of these passages it is Phil. i, 6. 2d Cor. i, 21, 22. If, answered, that their love might be indeed, Divine grace were depend- said to wax cold without totally ent on the will of man, if by his ceasing; or there might have been own power he had brought himself an outward zeal and shew of love into a state of grace, then it might where there never was a true follow that he might relapse into faith. To the second it is anan opposite state when that power swered, that persons may be said at any time was weakened; but to be in Christ-only by an external as the perseverance of the saints profession, or mere members of is not produced by any native principles in themselves, but by the agency of the Holy Spirit enlightening, confirming, and establishing them, of course, they must persevere, or otherwise it would be a reflection on this Divine Agent, Rom. viii, 9. 1st Cor. vi, 11. John iv, 14. John xvi, 14.

4. Lastly, the declarations and promises of scripture are very numerous in favour of this doctrine, Job xvii, 9. Psal. xciv, 14. Psal. CXXV. Jer. xxxii, 40. John x, 28. John xvii, 12. 1st Corinthians i, 8. 9. 1st Peter i, 5. Proverbs iv, 18, all which could not be true if this doctrine were false. There are objections, however, to this doctrine, which we must state.1. There are various threatenings denounced against those who apostatize, Ezek. iii, 20. Heb. vi, 3, 6. Psal. cxxxv, 3 to 5. Ezek. xviii, 24. To this it is answered, that some of these texts do not so much as suppose the falling away of a truly good man; and to all of them, it is said, that they only shew what would be the consequence if such should fall away;

the visible church, John xv, 2. Matt. xiii, 47, 48. As to Matthew, ch. xiii, v. 20, 21. it is replied, that this may refer to the joy with which some may entertain the offers of pardon, who never, after all, attentively considered them.3. It is objected that many have in fact fallen away, as David, Solomon, Peter, Alexander, Hymeneus, &c. To which it is answered, that David, Solomon, and Peter's fall, were not total; and as to the others, there is no proof of their ever being true Christians.—-4. It is urged, that this doctrine supersedes the use of means, and renders exhortations unnecessary. To which it may be answered, that perseverance itself implies the use of means, and that the means are equally appointed as well as the end: nor has it ever been found that true Christians have rejected them. They consider exhortations and admonitions to be some of the means they are to attend to in order to promote their holiness Christ and his apostles, though they often asserted this

But all things of which we may build churches for the service of be persuaded are not capable of God, who will accept of a sincere demonstration. See Blair's Rhe-worship wherever it is offered; and

toric, vol. ii, p. 174.

that, therefore, such churches as PETER-PENCE was an an- had already been erected were to nual tribute of one penny paid at be pulled down and destroyed.Rome out of every family at the 3. That the crucifixes, as instrufeast of St. Peter. This, Ina, the ments of superstition, deserved the Saxon king, when he went in pil- same fate.-4. That the real body grimage to Rome, about the year and blood of Christ were not exhi740, gave to the pope partly as bited in the eucharist, but were alms, and partly in recompense of merely represented in that ordia house erected in Rome for Eng-nance.-5. That the oblations, lish pilgrims. It continued to be prayers, and good works of the paid generally until the time of living, could be in no respect adking Henry VIII, when it was vantageous to the dead. The enacted, that henceforth no per-founder of this sect, after a labosons shall pay any pensions, peter-rious ministry of twenty years, pence, or other impositions to the was burnt in the year 1130 by use of the bishop and see of Rome. an enraged populace set on by the PETITION, according to Dr. clergy, whose traffic was in danger Watts, is the fourth part of prayer, from the enterprising spirit of this and includes a desire of deliver- new reformer. ance from evil, and a request of PETROJOANNITES, were good things to be bestowed. On followers of Peter John, or Peter both these accounts petitions are Joannis, i. e. Peter the son of to be offered up to God not only John, who flourished in the twelfth for ourselves, but for our fellow-century. His doctrine was not creatures also. This part of pray-known till after his death, when er is frequently called intercession. his body was taken out of his See PRAYER.

grave, and burnt. His opinions were, that he alone had the knowledge of the true sense wherein the apostles preached the Gospel; that the reasonable soul is not the form of man; that there is no grace infused by baptism; and that Jesus Christ was pierced with a lance on the cross before he expired.

PETROBRUSSIANS, a sect founded about the year 1110 in Languedoc and Provence, by Peter de Bruys, who made the most laudable attempts to reform the abuses and to remove the superstitions that disfigured the beautiful simplicity of the Gospel; though not without a mixture of fanaticism. The following tenets were held by PHARISEES, a famous sect him and his disciples: 1. That no of the Jews who distinguished persons whatever were to be bap- themselves by their zeal for the tratized before they were come to dition of the elders, which they dethe full use of their reason. -2.rived from the same fountain with That it was an idle superstition to the written word itself; pretending