Lord, let my prayer like incense rise

Verse 1

Lord, let my prayer like incense rise, And when I lift my hands to Thee, As on the evening sacrifice Look down from heaven well-pleased on me.

Verse 2

Set Thou a watch to keep my tongue, Let not my heart to sin incline; Save me from men who practise wrong, Let me not share their mirth and wine.

Verse 3

But let the righteous, when I stray, Smite me in love,--his strokes are kind; His mild reproofs, like oil, allay The wounds they make, and heal the mind.

Verse 4

Mine eyes are unto Thee, my God! Behold me humbled in the dust; I kiss the hand that wields the rod, I own thy chastisements are just.

Verse 5

But O! redeem me from the snares With which the world surrounds my feet, Its riches, vanities, and cares, Its love, its hatred, its deceit.