James Montgomery

For Acceptance in Prayer, and daily Guidance. -- Ps. cxli.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.