1 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.

2 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.

3 Now He blessed 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.

4 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.

5 When His righteous judgements 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.

The Psalter: with responsive readings, 1912

• MIDI file from The Cyber Hymnal #6298