“Acts of self denial and mortification are means and evidences of our sanctification, and such as we ought to abound in: but they are not the ground of our justification. It is Christ’s blood that makes the satisfaction, not our tears. Therefore we must not so remember former sins, as to put away present comforts. A life of repentance will very well consist with a life of holy cheerfulness.”
– Matthew Henry, “The Communicant’s Companion”