Hymns and Tunes 1886 372
Strait Is the Way
Words: Isaac Watts6s, 8s & 6s
1Strait is the way, the door is strait,
That leads to joys on high;
'Tis but a few that find the gate,
While thousands pass it by.
2Beloved self must be denied,
The mind and will renewed,
Passion suppressed, and patience tried,
And vain desires subdued.
3Lord! can a feeble, helpless worm
Fulfil a task so hard?
Thy grace must all my work perform,
And give the free reward.
- Words
- Isaac Watts
- Meter
- 6s, 8s & 6s
- Scripture
- Matthew 7:13-14; Luke 13:24
Public Domain
The verse
- Meter
- 8.6.8.6 · the hymnal prints 6s, 8s & 6s
- Foot
- iambic (da-DUM) · 65% of beats fit
- Rhyme
- ABAB
Scan every line
/ stressed · ˘ unstressed · ? not in the dictionary
Verse 1
Strait is the way, the door is strait,/˘˘/˘/˘/8A
That leads to joys on high;˘/˘/˘/6B
'Tis but a few that find the gate,/˘˘/˘/˘/8A
While thousands pass it by.//˘/˘˘6B
Verse 2
Beloved self must be denied,˘///˘˘/7A
The mind and will renewed,˘/˘˘˘/6B
Passion suppressed, and patience tried,/˘˘/˘/˘/8A
And vain desires subdued.˘/˘/˘˘/7B
Verse 3
Lord! can a feeble, helpless worm/˘˘/˘/˘/8A
Fulfil a task so hard?˘/˘/˘/6B
Thy grace must all my work perform,////˘/˘/8C
And give the free reward.˘/˘/˘/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.