was never able to realize that his strict life had been of any help to him, or that it gave him any claim to heaven. Never, despite the greatest diligence in prayer, confession, etc., had he ventured to believe that he possessed the Holy Spirit, or even that his prayers were heard. The reason of this was, that by this very working and doing he was seeking his own righteousness. But he was always pointed, says he, to these works of his own. It was in this that he afterward recognized the characteristic