Psalm 51:1-9

    1      Have mercy upon me, O God,
    According to Your lovingkindness;
    According to the multitude of Your tender mercies,
    Blot out my transgressions.
    2      Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,
    And cleanse me from my sin.

    3      For I acknowledge my transgressions,
    And my sin is always before me.
    4      Against You, You only, have I sinned,
    And done this evil in Your sight—
    That You may be found just when You speak,
    And blameless when You judge.

    5      Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity,
    And in sin my mother conceived me.
    6      Behold, You desire truth in the inward parts,
    And in the hidden part You will make me to know wisdom.

    7      Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;
    Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
    8      Make me hear joy and gladness,
    That the bones You have broken may rejoice.
    9      Hide Your face from my sins,
    And blot out all my iniquities.
-Psalm 51:1-9

If you do not know, this is the beginning of the Psalm David prays to the Lord after the revealing of his sin with Bathsheba. There is a lot that we can take away from this prayer. First is seeing how David appeals to the character of God. Many people look at the Old Testament and think God was this angry vengeful God and in the New Testament God is all loving and compassionate. However, David's immediate response is to call for God's character. It is in light of the mercies and lovingkindness of God that David asks for forgiveness.

Understanding then that God is merciful and kind we seek too that we would be cleansed from our former sins. Something that makes me overflow with joy is the fact that God does not simply remove the sin from us and cleanse us, but that He then fills us with truth and wisdom. It is not just that we would be empty of sin but that we would be filled with righteousness. In sucha  truth we can rejoice before the Lord at the fact that we are forgiven in Christ Jesus.