When God, Provoked with Daring Crimes

When God

pro­voked with dar­ing crimes

Scourges the mad­ness of the times

He turns their fields to bar­ren sand

And dries the riv­ers from the land.

His word can raise the springs again

And make the wi­thered mount­ains green;

Send show­ery bless­ings from the skies

And har­vests in the des­ert rise.

Where no­thing dwelt but beasts of prey

Or men as fierce and wild as they

He bids th’op­pressed and poor re­pair

And builds them towns and ci­ties there.

They sow the fields

and trees they plant

Whose year­ly fruit sup­plies their want;

Their race grows up from fruit­ful stocks

Their wealth in­creas­es with their flocks.

Thus they are blest; but if they sin

He lets the hea­then nations in

A sav­age crew in­vades their lands

Their princ­es die by bar­bar­ous hands.

Their cap­tive sons

ex­posed to scorn

Wander un­pi­tied and for­lorn:

The coun­try lies un­fenced

un­tilled

And de­so­la­tion spreads the field.

Yet if the hum­bled na­tion mourns

Again His dread­ful hand He turns;

Again He makes their ci­ties thrive

And bids the dy­ing church­es live.

The right­eous with a joy­ful sense

Admire the works of Pro­vi­dence;

And tongues of athe­ists shall no more

Blaspheme the God that saints ad­ore.

How few with pi­ous care re­cord

These won­drous deal­ings of the Lord!

But wise ob­serv­ers still shall find

The Lord is ho­ly

just and kind.