Skip to content

A copy of Advent Hymnals. Open this page on adventhymnals.org →

Millennial Harp 118

Christian Fellowship

1How pleasant 't is to see
Kindred and friends agree—
Each in his proper station move,
And each fulfil his part,
With sympathizing heart,
In all the cares of life and love.

2'T is like the ointment shed
On Aaron's sacred head—
Divinely rich, divinely sweet;
The oil through all the room
Diffused a rich perfume,
Ran through his robes, and blest his feet.

3Like fruitful showers of rain
That water all the plain,
Descending from the neighboring hills:
Such streams of pleasure roll
Through every friendly soul,
Where love, like heavenly dew, distils.

The verse

Meter
7.6.8.6.6.8
Foot
iambic (da-DUM) · 58% of beats fit
Rhyme
AABCCD
Scan every line

/ stressed · ˘ unstressed · ? not in the dictionary

Verse 1

How pleasant 't is to see//˘/˘˘/7A
Kindred and friends agree—/˘˘/˘/6A
Each in his proper station move,/˘˘/˘/˘/8B
And each fulfil his part,˘/˘/˘/6C
With sympathizing heart,˘/˘/˘/6C
In all the cares of life and love.˘/˘/˘/˘/8D

Verse 2

'T is like the ointment shed/˘/˘/˘/7A
On Aaron's sacred head—˘/˘/˘/6A
Divinely rich, divinely sweet;˘/˘/˘/˘/8B
The oil through all the room˘///˘/6C
Diffused a rich perfume,˘/˘/˘/6C
Ran through his robes, and blest his feet.//˘/˘/˘/8B

Verse 3

Like fruitful showers of rain//˘/˘˘/7A
That water all the plain,˘/˘/˘/6A
Descending from the neighboring hills:˘/˘˘˘/˘˘/9B
Such streams of pleasure roll//˘/˘/6C
Through every friendly soul,//˘˘/˘/7C
Where love, like heavenly dew, distils.////˘˘/˘/9D

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.