May my prayer be counted as incense before You, the lifting up of my hands as the evening offering.
Psalm 141:2
Words: Paraphrase of Psalm 141. Author unknown.
Music: Compton (Greatorex) in A Collection of Psalm and Hymn Tunes, Chants, Anthems, and Sentences, by Henry W. Greatorex (Boston, Massachusetts: Oliver Ditson, 1851), page 2 (🔊 pdf nwc).
If you know where to get a good picture of Greatorex (head & shoulders, at least 200×300 pixels),
Lord, in Thy sight, O let my prayer
Like morning incense rise;
My lifted hands accepted be
An evening sacrifice.
From hasty language curb my tongue,
And let a constant guard
Still keep the portal of my lips
With wary silence barred.
From wicked men’s designs and deeds
My heart and hands restrain;
Nor let me share their evil works,
Or their unrighteous gain.
Let upright men reprove my faults,
And I shall think them kind;
Like healing oil upon my head
I their reproof shall find.