Let my prayer be set forth before thee [as] incense
Which was offered every morning on the altar of incense, at which time the people were praying, ( Exodus 30:1 Exodus 30:7 Exodus 30:8 ) ( Luke 1:10 ) ; and was an emblem of it, even of pure, holy, and fervent prayer; which being offered on the altar Christ, which sanctifies every gift, and by him the High Priest; through whom every sacrifice is acceptable unto God; and through whose blood and righteousness, and the sweet incense of his mediation and intercession, it becomes fragrant and a sweet odour to the Lord; and being directed to him, it goes upwards, is regarded by him, and continues before him as sweet incense; which is what the psalmist prays for; see ( Malachi 1:11 ) ( Revelation 8:3 Revelation 8:4 ) ;
[and] the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice;
the burnt sacrifice of the evening, according to Ben Melech, the lamb slain every evening; or else the minchah, as the word is; the meat, or rather the bread offering made of fine flour, with oil and frankincense on it, which went along with the former, ( Exodus 29:38-41 ) ; and so the Targum,
``as the sweet gift offered in the evening.''This only is mentioned, as being put for both the morning and the evening sacrifice; or because the incense was offered in the morning, from which it is distinguished: or it may be, as Kimchi thinks, this psalm was composed in the evening; and so the inscription in the Syriac version is,
``a psalm of David, when he meditated the evening service.''Or because this was the last sacrifice of the day; there was no other after it, as Aben Ezra observes; and the most acceptable; to which may be added, that this was the hour for prayer, ( Acts 3:1 ) ( 10:3 ) . Wherefore "lifting up of [the] hands" was a prayer gesture, and a very ancient one both among Jews and Gentiles F24; Aristotle F25 says, all men, when we pray, lift up our hands to heaven; and it is put for that itself, ( 1 Timothy 2:8 ) ; and is desired to be, like that, acceptable unto God; as it is when the heart is lifted up with the hands, and prayer is made in the name and faith of Christ.