* He told me he had often heard me say, that persons
must see and feel themselves utterly helpless and un-
done ; that they must be emptied of all dependence
upon themselves, and of all hope of saving themselves
by their own doings, in order to their coming to
Christ for salvation. He had long been striving
after this view of things, supposing this would be an
excellent frame of mind, to be thus emptied of a de-
pendence upon his own goodness ; that God would
have respect to this frame, would then be well
pleased with him, and bestow eternal life upon him.
But when he came to feel himself in this helpless
and undone condition, he found it quite contrary to
all his thoughts and expectations ; so that it was not
the frame, nor indeed any thing like the frame he
had been seeking after. Instead of its being a good
frame of mind, he now found nothing but badness
in himself, and saw it was for ever impossible for
him to make himself any better. He wondered, he
said, that he had ever hoped to mend his own heart.
