Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion, blot out my transgressions - Psalm 51

As I meditated on the opening verse of Psalm 51, David’s great cry of repentance in light of his sin against Bathsheba and Uriah, it struck me that under the weight of conviction of sin, David still knew to whom he should turn.  And he understood that his only hope was the merciful character of God.  This reminds me of the following prayer found in The Valley of Vision:

O Eternal God,

Yours is surpassing greatness, unspeakable goodness, super-abundant grace;

I can more easily count the sands on the ocean's shore

   than number your favors towards me;

I know only a part, but that part exceeds all praise.

I thank you for personal mercies,

   a measure of health, preservation of body,

   comforts of house and home, sufficiency of food and clothing,

   continuance of mental wellness,

   my family, their mutual help and support

      the delights of domestic harmony and peace,

      the seats now filled that might have been vacant,

   my country, church, Bible, faith.

But, O, how I mourn my sin, ingratitude, vileness,

   the days that add to my guilt,

   the scenes that witness my offending tongue;

All things in heaven, earth, around, within, without, condemn me -

   the sun which sees my misdeeds,

   the darkness which is light to you,

   the cruel accuser who justly charges me,

   the good angels who have been provoked to leave me,

   your face which scans my secret sins,

   your righteous law, your holy Word,

   my sin-soiled conscience, my private and public life,

   my neighbors, myself -

      all write dark things against me.

I deny them not, offer no excuse, but confess,

   "Father, I have sinned";

Yet still I live, and fly repenting to your outstretched arms;

   you will not cast me off, for Jesus brings me near,

   you will not condemn me, for he died in my place,

   you will not mark my mountains of sin, for he leveled all,

   and his beauty covers my deformities.

O my God, I bid farewell to sin by clinging to his cross,

   hiding in his wounds, and sheltering in his side.

Saints, let us follow David’s example and when we fall into sin, let us confess it and cling once again to Jesus.  He forgives and cleanses.  He will not turn us away.  He will welcome us home.