born of the Spirit. Second: those not willing to do God's will; who
are not ready to take the place that God has mapped out for them, but
want to fill some other place.

Some one will ask "Have all God's people Assurance?" No; I think a
good many of God's dear people have no Assurance; but it is the
privilege of every child of God to have beyond doubt a knowledge of
his own salvation. No man is fit for God's service who is filled with
doubts. If a man is not sure of his own salvation, how can he help
any one else into the kingdom of God? If I seem in danger of drowning
and do not know whether I shall ever reach the shore, I cannot assist
another. I must first get on the solid rock myself; and then I can
lend my brother a helping hand. If being myself blind I were to tell
another blind man how to get sight, he might reply, "First get healed
yourself; and then you can tell me." I recently met with a young man
who was a Christian: but he had not attained to victory over sin. He
was in terrible darkness. Such an one is not fit to work for God,
because he has besetting sins; and he has not the victory over his
doubts, because he has not the victory over his sins.

None will have time or heart to work for God, who are not assured as
to their own salvation. They have as much as they can attend to; and
being themselves burdened with doubts, they cannot help others to
carry their burdens. There is no rest, joy, or peace--no liberty, nor
power--where doubts and uncertainty exist.

Now it seems as if there are three wiles of Satan against which we
ought to be on our guard. In the first place he moves all his kingdom
to keep us away from Christ; then he devotes himself to get us into
"Doubting Castle:" but if we have, in spite of him, a clear ringing
witness for the Son of God, he will do all he can to blacken our
characters and belie our testimony.

Some seem to think that it is presumption not to have doubts; but
doubt is very dishonoring to God. If any one were to say that they
had known a person for thirty years and yet doubted him, it would not
be very creditable; and when we have known God for ten, twenty or
thirty years does it not reflect on His veracity to doubt Him.

Could Paul and the early Christians and martyrs have gone through
what they did if they had been filled with doubts, and had not known
whether they were going to heaven or to perdition after they had been
burned at the stake? They must have had Assuran