13o Of Knowledge. SERisa. texts juft now cited *, in both which paffages V. the apotleis treating ofthechurch, or the whole vw numberofChiift's followers, as a colle&ive bo- dy ; of the good offices which every chriftian fhould contribu to for its edification, and the care all ought to take for avoiding every thing whereby it may be hindered : and there is not any thing which will be more effeftual for promoting our ufefulnefs than the encreafe of our knowledge. One great occafion of the divifions among the primitive chriftians, was, the weaknefs of underftanding which remained in many of them. I don't fay it was fo much the criminal caufe of their dif. fentions and animofities as uncharitablenefs was, for they ought to have borne with each other's infirmities ; but the occafion it was, whilft fome were fo weak as not to under- ftand the nature and extent of their chriftian liberty, and others treated them with too much contempt on that account, hence arofeftrifes, andmutual cenfuring and judging one another, which it's true ought to have been prevented by charity the bond of f erfe -- nef,. but at the fame time might have been in a great meafure prevented by a greater de- gree of knowledge. And as thus the weak - * Eph. iv. and ., Cor. xiv. nefs
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