“Come now, and let us reason together,”
Says the Lord,
“Though your sins are like scarlet,
They shall be as white as snow;
Though they are red like crimson,
They shall be as wool.”
~ Isaiah 1:18
Have mercy on me, O God,
according to Your unfailing love;
according to Your great compassion
blot out my transgressions.
Wash away all my iniquity
and cleanse me from my sin.
For I know my wrongdoings,
And my sin is constantly before me…
Behold, You delight in truth in the inward being,
and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart.
Purify me with hyssop, and I will be clean;
Cleanse me, and I will be whiter than snow.
Let me hear joy and gladness,
Let the bones You have crushed rejoice.
Hide Your face from my sins
And wipe out all my guilty deeds.
Create in me a clean heart, O God,
and renew a right spirit within me.
Do not cast me from Your presence
or take Your Holy Spirit from me.
Restore to me the joy of Your salvation,
And sustain me with a willing spirit.
Then I will teach wrongdoers Your ways,
and sinners will return to You.
Deliver me from the guilt of bloodshed, O God,
The God of my salvation,
And my tongue shall sing aloud of Your righteousness.
O Lord, open my lips,
And my mouth shall show forth Your praise.
For You do not desire sacrifice, or else I would give it;
You do not delight in burnt offering.
The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit,
A broken and a contrite heart ~
These, O God, You will not despise.
~ From Psalm 51