Christ in Song 260
How Pleasant
Words: Woodbury
1How pleasant, how divine it is
To see brethren dwell in love;
The eye of God with pleasure sees,
What angels praise above.
2It is like precious balm poured forth
On Aaron's sacred head;
That ran down his beard and clothes,
With fragrant odors spread.
3It is like Hermon's pearly dew
That gently falls at night;
On Zion's hill, where God bestows
His blessings and delight.
4For there the Lord has promised life,
Eternal life to give;
O happy people, happy land,
Where saints in union live.
- Words
- Woodbury
The verse
- Meter
- 8.7.8.6
- Foot
- iambic (da-DUM) · 70% of beats fit
- Rhyme
- ABCB
Scan every line
/ stressed · ˘ unstressed · ? not in the dictionary
Verse 1
How pleasant, how divine it is//˘/˘/˘˘8A
To see brethren dwell in love;˘//˘/˘/7B
The eye of God with pleasure sees,˘/˘/˘/˘/8C
What angels praise above.˘/˘/˘/6B
Verse 2
It is like precious balm poured forth˘˘//˘///8A
On Aaron's sacred head;˘/˘/˘/6B
That ran down his beard and clothes,˘//˘/˘/7C
With fragrant odors spread.˘/˘/˘/6B
Verse 3
It is like Hermon's pearly dew˘˘//˘/˘/8A
That gently falls at night;˘/˘/˘/6B
On Zion's hill, where God bestows˘/˘///˘/8C
His blessings and delight.˘/˘˘˘/6B
Verse 4
For there the Lord has promised life,˘/˘/˘/˘/8A
Eternal life to give;˘/˘/˘/6B
O happy people, happy land,˘/˘/˘/˘/8C
Where saints in union live.//˘/˘/6D
Counted by machine from the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. It cannot hear emphasis or a poet’s licence, so treat it as a place to start reading, not the last word.