Appears in 32 hymnals First Line: When God, provok'd with daring crimes Lyrics: 1 When God, provok'd with daring crimes,
Scourges the madness of the times,
He turns their fields to barren sand,
And dries the rivers from the land.
2 His word can raise the springs again,
And make the wither'd mountains green,
Send show'ry blessings from the skies;
And harvest's in the desert rise.
3 [Where nothing dwelt but beasts of prey,
Or men as fierce and wild as they,
He bids th' oppret and poor repair,
And builds them towns and cities there.
4 They sow the fields, and trees they plant,
Whose yearly fruist supplies their want;
Their race grows up from fruitful stocks,
Their wealth increases with their flocks.
5 Thus they are blest: but if they sin,
He lets the heathen nations in;
A savage crew invades their lands,
Their princes die by barb'rous hands.
6 Their captive sons, expos'd to scorn,
Wander unpity'd and forlorn;
The country lies unfenc'd, untill'd,
And desolation spreads the field.
7 Yet if the humbled nation mourns,
Again his dreadful hands he turns;
Again he makes their cities thrive,
And bids the dying churches live.]
8 The righteous with a joyful sense
Admire the works of Providence;
And tongues of atheists shall no more
Blaspheme the God that saints adore.
9 How few with pious care record
These wond'rous dealings of the Lord!
But wise observers still shall find
The Lord is holy, just and kind.
Colonies planted; or, Nations blest and purified