Compunction

1Be gracious to me, O God, according to Your lovingkindness;
According to the greatness of Your compassion blot out my transgressions.
Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.
For I know my transgressions, And my sin is ever before me.
Against You, You only, I have sinned and done what is evil in Your sight,
So that You are justified when You speak and blameless when You judge.

...Hide They face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities.
Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
Do not cast me away from They presence,
And do not take Thy Holy Spirit from me.
Restore to me the joy of Thy salvation,
And sustain me with a willing spirit.
Then I will teach transgressors Thy ways and sinners will be converted to Thee.

...The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;
A broken and a contrite heart, O God, Thou wilt not despise.

Psalm 51

"It takes the grace of God to act rightly in a world that is inhospitable to righteousness and is contrary to God, so that every moral choice, act, and decision that is virtuous requires the grace of God... Someone likened this to the development of muscle. Muscle grows in response to the tension of opposition. There is a growth of something visible by meeting that which opposes it. So we grow moral muscle by exercising something in the face of that which opposes it"-Art Katz 'Virtue, Power, Healing'-