Springs and streams no long­er bless
All the dry and thirs­ty land;
Fertile fields in ver­dant dress
God con­verts to des­ert sand;
For that they who dwell there­in
Turn to wick­ed­ness and sin.

Once again the wa­ters well,
All the des­ert blos­soms fair;
There He makes the hun­gry dwell,
There a ci­ty they pre­pare,
Plant their vines and sow their fields,
And the earth her in­crease yields.

Now He bless­es them indeed,
They are great­ly mul­ti­plied;
On the hills their cat­tle feed,
Fast in­creas­ing, spread­ing wide;
Then again they are brought low
Through opp­res­sion, grief, and woe.

His con­tempt the princ­es taste:
Driven out, they help­less fly,
Wandering in the track­less waste;
But He lifts the needy high,
Where no ev­il shall an­noy,
And with child­ren gives him joy.

When His right­eous judg­ments come,
Strong to bless and to de­stroy,
All in­i­qui­ty is dumb,
All the right­eous sing for joy;
Who Je­ho­vah wise­ly heed,
In His works His mer­cy read.