Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: KEEPING BACK PAET OF THE PEICE. When the Spirit was poured out at the Pentecost, the disciples were of one heart and of one soul, they were full of joy, and of the Holy Ghost, and great grace was upon them all. They were like a body animated by one soul, all were members one of another; and so great was their love, that no one said that aught that he possessed was his own, but they had all things common. They also that had houses or lands sold them, and brought the price of them, and laid it at the Apostles' feet, and distribution was made unto every man, according to his need. But even then pretenders crept in, some who wished to be thought a great deal better than they were. Covetous persons, who wanted to be thought liberal?Ananias and Sapphira, agreed to sell their land, bring a part and give it to the church, pretending that they had given the whole, for which they were punished with immediate death, in the presence of the multitude, and against them it stands recorded, that " they kept lack part of the price." Acts. v. 2. Now, I am not about to bring a charge against professors of the present day, of committing the same sin to the same extent, or from the same motive exactly, or in the sameway; and vet it appears to me, that we do, and have done something very much like it. At our profession of Christ, did we not profess to make a full surrender, and to give him all P Now, have we acted as though we believed that we were entirely the Lord's, and as if our property were the Lord's tooP Have we kept back no talent from his service P Have we never withheld the heart, or the head, or the hand, from GodP Have we lived, and loved, and purposed, and acted, as consecrated persons P As realising, that both we and ours were entirely the Lord's P If we have not, are we not guilt...