A field of harvest ready oats near MacNutt, SK — photo by David Kitz

He turned rivers into a desert,
    flowing springs into thirsty ground,
and fruitful land into a salt waste,
    because of the wickedness of those who lived there.
He turned the desert into pools of water
    and the parched ground into flowing springs;
there he brought the hungry to live,
    and they founded a city where they could settle.
They sowed fields and planted vineyards
    that yielded a fruitful harvest;
he blessed them, and their numbers greatly increased,
    and he did not let their herds diminish.

Then their numbers decreased, and they were humbled
    by oppression, calamity and sorrow;
he who pours contempt on nobles
    made them wander in a trackless waste.
But he lifted the needy out of their affliction
    and increased their families like flocks.
The upright see and rejoice,
    but all the wicked shut their mouths.