Remember your mercy, Lord, and your steadfast love. Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said that this is a practice of piety that was observed by Adam, the first man. For it is written (Genesis 2:17), "for on the day you eat from it you will certainly die." But had it not been for the one day that You, God, granted to him, which was like a thousand years, how could he have produced offspring? Indeed, from the beginning of time they have existed, from the days of Adam.
"Do not remember the sins of my youth or my transgressions," said Rabbi Yudan in the name of King David. "May my sins and transgressions be as my sins of youth. Just as my sins of youth were not actual sins, so too all my sins will not be actual sins." "Remember me according to your kindness," he said. Rabbi Elazar gave a parable of a king who made a great feast and said to his steward, "Invite wise men and not common people or laborers." The steward said to him, "My lord the king, your feast is so great that only common people and laborers will suffice." So David said, "Remember me according to your kindness, for the Lord is good to all." Rabbi Yosei bar Hanina gave a parable of a king who made a feast and invited guests who were supposed to arrive at four, five, and six o'clock, but did not come. As the evening wore on, the guests began to show up. The king said to them, "I need to hold a great feast for you, for if you had not come, I would have thrown the food to the dogs." So too, the Lord said to the righteous, "I am holding a great good for you, for I created my world for you. For if not for you, to whom would I have given all the good that I have prepared for the future?" As it is said (Psalm 31:20), "How great is your goodness, which you have laid up for those who fear you."...